London Pride at 40

1 July 2011 Last updated at 05:41 GMT

Saturday's Pride London event will mark the 40th annual gay pride march in the capital.

Images depicting London's gay pride parades over the last four decades are on display in bars across Soho, in central London.

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell talked about organising the first UK Gay Pride Rally in July 1972.

Continue reading the main story Photos courtesy of Peter Tatchell, Hall-Carpenter Archives, John Chesterman, Peter Wicker, Pride London, Press Association (PA) and Getty Images.

Slideshow production by Andy Dangerfield.

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Boy is stabbed to death in London

1 July 2011 Last updated at 19:32 GMT A 16-year-old boy has been stabbed to death in south-east London, Scotland Yard has said.

Police were called at 1700 BST to reports of a stabbing in Upper Wickham Lane, Welling.

He was taken to a south London hospital where he later died. Police believe they know his identity but his next of kin are yet to be informed.

A man has been arrested and remains in custody at a south London police station.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Officers attended and a 16-year-old boy was taken to a south London hospital where he died at 1810 BST."

The spokesman said the police were called by the London Ambulance Service.

Officers from the homicide and serious crime command have been informed, he said.

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Blue Peter bids farewell to London

28 June 2011 Last updated at 16:49 GMT David Sillito talks to the editor of Blue Peter, Tim Levell, about why Television Centre is so iconic

Children's programme Blue Peter has made its final broadcast from the BBC's Television Centre in London before moving to Salford.

As part of the farewell, the team broke the world record for the most people to hula-hoop simultaneously.

After its summer break, Blue Peter will be broadcast from new studios as part of the relocation of several BBC departments.

The Blue Peter garden will be sited on a studio roof at the BBC's new complex.

Former presenters Diane-Louise Jordan and Anthea Turner returned for the final London show to participate in the world record hula-hooping challenge.

A Guiness World Records official confirmed a new record had been set after 426 people managed to simultaneously dance with hula hoops for two minutes - beating the previous record of 326.

Presenter Helen Skelton explained to viewers the show was "leaving home" from its London studios, adding it meant "we have to say goodbye to some very dear friends".

"The crew here are some of the nicest and best in the business and they've made some really magical moments in TV centre," she said.

'End of an era'

As well as showing a montage of clips of shows from years gone by filmed at Television Centre, the team also said goodbye to presenter Andy Akinwolere who is leaving after five years fronting the programme.

Memorable moments from the Blue Peter studio and garden

He was presented with a gold Blue Peter badge - the show's highest honour.

"I don't know what to say - it's been full of some amazing experiences," he said.

Earlier this month, viewers saw him set a new world record for open water swimming as he conquered his fear of the water in the Pacific Ocean.

Blue Peter is the longest-running children's programme in the world, after first being broadcast in October 1958. BBC Television Centre opened in Shepherd's Bush, west London, two years later.

"Blue Peter has had some amazing times at Television Centre and we were determined to mark the end of an era with a really special programme," said Blue Peter editor Tim Levell.

"It was amazing to gather so many people together and to add another world record to the Blue Peter portfolio."

As part of relocation plans, children's programmes are moving to the BBC's new Salford development, along with BBC Sport, TV's Breakfast programme and Radio 5 live.

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Bomb warning received in London

16 May 2011 Last updated at 18:51 GMT Streets around the Mall were shut for five hours on Monday morning A bomb threat for London has been issued by Irish dissidents in the first coded warning outside Northern Ireland in 10 years, officials say.

Whitehall officials said the call with the coded warning came from a number in the Irish Republic on Sunday evening.

The threat level for Northern Ireland-related terrorism, which stands at severe, has not been changed.

Streets around the Mall were closed on Monday morning in a security alert which police said was unrelated.

The warning comes ahead of the Queen's historic visit to the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday, amid a massive security operation.

Vigilance urged

The Metropolitan Police said the threat was not specific regarding location or time.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said in a statement: "All officers have been advised to be highly vigilant to ensure the safety of London."

The public were urged to go about their normal business but to look out for "unusual activity or behaviour".

Earlier on Monday, The Mall and Carlton House Terrace were closed after a security alert was sparked by a break-in at Carlton Gardens.

The break-in is thought to have taken place at 2 Carlton Gardens, which houses the Institute for Government think tank.

That is adjacent to the foreign secretary's residence, where William Hague is believed to have been at the time.

'Within the know'

Pictures from the scene showed a van of search dogs, and the Met's underwater and confined spaces search team.

Roads around Northumberland Avenue were also closed while a bag was destroyed in a controlled explosion. The roads have now re-opened.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said that the call with the coded bomb threat "was not directly related to the break-in near the foreign secretary's house in Carlton Gardens or the abandoned suitcase near Trafalgar Square, but both were taken very seriously in the light of the bomb threat."

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said the level of security in the Republic of Ireland would make it difficult for dissidents to disrupt the Queen's trip there.

"There was always a concern that timed with the visit there was the possibility of something happening in Northern Ireland, or perhaps in Britain," he said.

'Real, serious threat'

The former security minister, Lord West, said that if a coded message was being used, then it would have come from someone "within the know, within the circle".

He added: "We know very well that this very, very tiny number of dissidents who can cause mayhem way beyond the scale of the numbers there, are absolutely set on trying to revert to the bloodshed, mayhem and bloody massacres of the past."

A Home Office spokesman said the UK faced a "real and serious threat from terrorism".

"The threat level to Great Britain from Northern Irish-related terrorism remains at substantial, which means that an attack is a strong possibility.

"There is a continuing need for vigilance and the public should report any suspicious activity to the police."

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