91-630: The Special Demonstration Squad ( SDS ) was an undercover unit of Greater London 's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS or the Met), set up in 1968 with the approval of the Wilson government , to infiltrate British protest groups . It was part of the Special Branch , and worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). It operated from 1968 to 2008. The SDS was established by Special Branch as
182-456: A ceremonial county also called Greater London , and the City of London . The Greater London Authority is responsible for strategic local government across the region, and regular local government is the responsibility of the borough councils and the City of London Corporation . Greater London is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Hertfordshire to the north, Essex to the north-east, Kent to
273-489: A 45-page paper read in court. Steel and Morris were found liable on several points, but the judge also found some of the points in the factsheet were true. McDonald's considered this a legal victory, though it was tempered by the judge's endorsement of some of the allegations in the sheet. Specifically, Bell ruled that McDonald's endangered the health of their workers and customers by "misleading advertising", that they "exploit children", that they were "culpably responsible" in
364-425: A large sum of money to a charity chosen by the two. They further specified they would drop the case if Steel and Morris agreed to "stop criticising McDonald's". Steel and Morris secretly recorded the meeting, in which McDonald's said the pair could criticise McDonald's privately to friends but must cease talking to the media or distributing leaflets. Steel and Morris wrote a letter in response saying they would agree to
455-576: A policy that officers can use sexual relations for the purposes of policing". Scotland Yard had previously refused to either confirm or deny whether Bob Lambert was an SDS operative, despite his own admissions to journalists. However, it was forced to change its position in August 2014 after a legal ruling. Mr Lambert did not respond to BBC requests for comment on the settlement but had previously said that he wanted to apologise to women with whom he had relationships and that he had made some "serious mistakes". At
546-722: A request that the Crown Prosecution Service should prosecute SDS officer Jim Boyling for the offences of rape, indecent assault, procurement of sexual intercourse and misconduct in public office. Officer John Dines had a two-year relationship with campaigner Helen Steel while working undercover for the SDS. In 2016, Steel tracked down Dines in Australia; he apologised for the emotional suffering caused. An independent public inquiry into undercover policing in England and Wales since 1968,
637-406: A result of their further findings against the corporation, the three Lord Justices reduced Mr Justice Bell's award of £60,000 damages to McDonald's by £20,000. The court ruled against the argument by Steel and Morris that multinational corporations should no longer be able to sue for libel over public interest issues. Steel and Morris announced their intention to appeal over these and other points to
728-474: A small environmental campaigning group that existed between 1972 and 2001. In 1986 they distributed "a few hundred copies" of a six-page leaflet titled "What's wrong with McDonald's: everything they don't want you to know" in Strand, London . The leaflet accused the company of paying low wages, cruelty to animals used in its products, damaging the environment, and other malpractices. The group were not affiliated with
819-481: A television drama series was announced based on the Special Demonstration Squad officers and their long-term relationships with activists upon whom they were spying. The working title was Undercovers with writing to be done by Simon Beaufoy , Alice Nutter , and Franny Armstrong who had previously worked on McLibel . The series was scheduled to be produced by Spanner Films with Tony Garnett as
910-502: A time extension, but were denied. The verdict for the appeal was handed down on 31 March, in Court 1 at the Royal Courts of Justice. The judges ruled it was fair comment to say that McDonald's employees worldwide "do badly in terms of pay and conditions" and true "if one eats enough McDonald's food, one's diet may well become high in fat, etc., with the very real risk of heart disease". As
1001-684: A two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council (GLC) sharing power with the City of London Corporation (governing the small City of London) and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 . Its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards. Greater London formed
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#17328550923351092-618: Is Westerham Heights (245 m (804 ft)), part of the North Downs . In the north-east the area contains part of Epping Forest , an ancient woodland. The City of London has had its own government since the Anglo-Saxon period. The first London-wide directly elected local government was the London County Council , established for the County of London in 1889, which covered the core of
1183-445: Is a vindication of all the efforts of those around the world who have been exposing and challenging the corporation's business practices. In the course of the UK undercover policing relationships scandal it was revealed that one of the authors of the "McLibel leaflet" was Bob Lambert , an undercover police officer who infiltrated London Greenpeace . John Dines, another undercover officer,
1274-512: Is covered by two or three constituencies. The London Region does not have city status granted by the Crown. The Cities of London and Westminster within it have received formal city status. Despite this, Greater London is commonly regarded as a city in the general senses of a conurbation and a municipality. A Lord Lieutenant of Greater London is appointed for its area, excluding the City of London. For
1365-774: Is explained by the quantity of independent schools getting good A-level results. The state school system is often bypassed at age 16 by the more able pupils. Some London boroughs need more good sixth form colleges. The region's 34 further education colleges are funded through the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency . Large colleges include Kingston College , Havering College of Further and Higher Education , and Croydon College . McLibel McDonald's Corporation v Steel & Morris [1997] EWHC 366 (QB) , known as "the McLibel case ",
1456-808: Is home to sizeable Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish communities. Many Muslims live in Tower Hamlets and Newham ; the most important Muslim buildings are the East London Mosque in Whitechapel and the London Central Mosque on the edge of Regent's Park . London's large Hindu community is in the north-western boroughs of Harrow and Brent, the latter containing one of Europe's largest Hindu temples, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London . Sikh communities are in East and West London, particularly Southall in
1547-513: Is the defining geographic feature of the area, entering it near Hampton in the west and flowing east before exiting downstream of Dagenham . Several tributaries of the Thames flow through the area, but are now mostly culverted and form part of London's sewerage system . The land immediately north and south of the river is flat, but rises to low hills further away, notably Hampstead Heath , Shooter's Hill , and Sydenham Hill . The area's highest point
1638-477: Is titled "McSpies". In recounting the history of the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) it recounts the involvement of undercover policemen Bob Lambert and John Dines in the activities which led up to the trial. The Guardian later reported that Lambert had co-written the leaflet that was central to the libel trial. Steel has stated that Dines became treasurer of London Greenpeace. Documents from
1729-630: Is under the strategic local governance of the Greater London Authority (GLA). It consists of an elected assembly, the London Assembly , and an executive head, the Mayor of London . The current Mayor (not to be confused with the Lord Mayor of London ) is Sadiq Khan . He is scrutinised by the elected London Assembly , which may amend his annual budget (by two-thirds majority) but otherwise lacks
1820-734: The BBC , made it the longest-running libel case in English history. McDonald's announced it did not plan to collect the £40,000 it was awarded by the courts. Following the decision, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in Steel & Morris v United Kingdom that the pair had been denied a fair trial, in breach of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to a fair trial), and their conduct should have been protected by Article 10 of
1911-471: The European Union . The region covers an area of 1,579 square kilometres. The population density is 4,761 people per square kilometre, more than ten times that of any other British region. In terms of population, London is the 25th largest city and the 17th largest metropolitan region in the world. It is ranked 4th in the world in the number of US dollar billionaires residing in the city. It ranks as one of
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#17328550923352002-605: The European Union . Irish people, from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, number about 200,000, as do the Scots and Welsh combined. In January 2005, a survey of London's ethnic and religious diversity claimed that there were more than 300 languages spoken and more than 50 non-indigenous communities with a population of more than 10,000. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2006 London's foreign-born population
2093-614: The House of Lords , and then take the UK government to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. In response to the verdict, David Pannick said in The Times : "The McLibel case has achieved what many lawyers thought impossible: to lower further the reputation of our law of defamation in the minds of all right thinking people." Steel and Morris appealed to the Law Lords , arguing that their right to legal aid had been unjustly denied. When
2184-889: The International Solidarity Movement from 2004 till 2007. The SDS used the names of 80 dead children to create false identities for its operatives. Some members of the SDS engaged in sexual relationships with protest organisers in an attempt to gain trust, and in some cases fathered children by them. In 2013, former SDS undercover officer Peter Francis revealed that the SDS investigated the family of Stephen Lawrence in order to seek possible evidence to smear Lawrence with in case of racially motivated public order issues. The revelation of this information led to Home Secretary Theresa May announcing an investigation in Parliament, while Stephen Lawrence's father Neville Lawrence arguing that
2275-501: The London County Council (LCC) and County of London were created in 1889, the area did not cover all of London. London's built-up area, postal district , transport network and Metropolitan Police District, extended vastly beyond the boundaries of the new administrative county. Many of the LCC housing projects, including the vast Becontree Estates , were also outside its boundaries. The LCC pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after
2366-526: The Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a similar way to the city's parks. The closest and furthest boundaries are with Essex to the northeast between Sewardstonebury next to Epping Forest and Chingford and with the Mar Dyke between Bulphan and North Ockendon . Greater London is also bounded by Hertfordshire to the north, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to
2457-485: The Metropolitan Police Service agreed to pay £425,000 to a woman called Jacqui whose child was fathered by former SDS operative Bob Lambert ; she did not know at the time of their relationship that he was an undercover police officer . The payment was part of an agreement for her to drop her legal action alleging assault, negligence, deceit and misconduct by senior officers. She was a 22-year-old activist at
2548-570: The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London , chaired by Sir Edwin Herbert , which issued the 'Herbert Report' after three years of work in 1960. The commission applied three tests to decide if a community should form part of Greater London: how strong is the area as an independent centre in its own right; how strong are its ties to London; and how strongly is it drawn outwards towards
2639-589: The Special Operations Squad in March 1968. Formed as a response to the anti-war demonstrations held outside the U.S. Embassy in London , then based at Grosvenor Square , the squad's purpose was to infiltrate "left-wing direct-action groups" using undercover police officers (nicknamed "hairies" because of their hippie appearance), who would liaise with MI5 . In 1972 it was renamed the Special Demonstration Squad. It
2730-546: The Undercover Policing Inquiry , was announced by Theresa May , the United Kingdom Home Secretary , on 12 March 2015, due to report by 2023. It is chaired by retired judge Sir John Mitting , and started hearing evidence on 2 November 2020. The inquiry will focus on the deployment of about 140 undercover police officers to spy on over 1,000 political groups over more than 40 years. In early 2014
2821-635: The 12th century and is separate from the county of Greater London, although is still part of the region served by the Greater London Authority. All London Borough councils belong to the London Councils association. Three London Boroughs carry the honorific title of Royal Borough : Kensington and Chelsea , Kingston , and Greenwich . Within the City of London are the liberties of Middle Temple and Inner Temple . With increasing industrialisation, London's population grew rapidly throughout
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2912-414: The 1920s). It has now surpassed the previous 1939 peak, and is over 9 million. Figures here are for Greater London in its 2001 boundaries. Figures before 1971 have been reconstructed by the Office for National Statistics based on past censuses to fit the 2001 boundaries. Figures from 1981 onward are mid-year estimates (revised in August 2007), which are more accurate than the censuses, known to underestimate
3003-790: The 1990s to parts of the boundaries of three boroughs near the M25 . The only part of Greater London outside the motorway is North Ockendon , the furthest land unit from its centre. The majority of Greater London forms the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). The London postal district does not cover all of Greater London. Sadiq Khan ( L ) Statutory Deputy Mayor Joanne McCartney ( L/Co ) London Assembly Lord Mayor Peter Estlin London boroughs ( list ) Vacant Greater London
3094-444: The 19th and early 20th centuries, and it was the most populated city in the world until overtaken by New York in 1925. Its population peaked at 8,615,245 in 1939. There were an estimated 7,753,600 official residents in mid-2009. London's wider metropolitan area has a population of between 12 and 13 million depending on the definition of that area. According to Eurostat, London has been the most populous city and metropolitan area of
3185-586: The British armed forces in Germany. London has been a focus for immigration for centuries, whether as a place of safety or for economic reasons. Huguenots , Eastern European Jews, Cypriots and East African Asians are examples of the former; Irish, Bangladeshis and West Indians of the latter. The East End district around Spitalfields has been first home for several ethnic groups, which have subsequently moved elsewhere in London as they gained prosperity. The population of
3276-614: The City and Southwark Cathedral south of the river are Anglican administrative centres, while the clerical head of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion , the Archbishop of Canterbury , has his main residence at Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth . Important national and royal ceremonies are shared between St Paul's and Westminster Abbey . The Abbey is not to be confused with nearby Westminster Cathedral ,
3367-593: The City of London and the 32 London boroughs, since the 1990 enactment of the Education Reform Act 1988 . From 1965 to 1990, 12 Inner London boroughs and the City of London were served by the Inner London Education Authority . The introduction of comprehensive schools , directed by Circular 10/65 in 1965, was mostly followed in Greater London; however, 19 grammar schools have been retained in some Outer London boroughs, with Sutton having
3458-615: The Convention, which protects the right to freedom of expression. The court awarded a judgment of £57,000 against the UK government. McDonald's itself was not involved in, or a party to, this action, as applications to the ECHR are independent cases filed against the relevant state . Franny Armstrong and Ken Loach made a documentary film, McLibel , about the case. Helen Steel and David Morris were two environmental activists of London Greenpeace ,
3549-404: The Court held: in a democratic society even small and informal campaign groups, such as London Greenpeace, must be able to carry on their activities effectively and that there exists a strong public interest in enabling such groups and individuals outside the mainstream to contribute to the public debate by disseminating information and ideas on matters of general public interest such as health and
3640-638: The European Court decision, other than to point out that it was the Government and not McDonald's who was the losing party and that "times have changed and so has McDonald's". On a website aiming to state its view on issues raised about it, McDonald's stated that the case is in the past and the issues more so, and that both sides in it have moved on (although Morris and Steel did continue related litigation). Chapter 5 of Paul Lewis and Rob Evans ' 2012 book Undercover: The True Story of Britain's Secret Police
3731-472: The GDP of Outer London to be 103 billion euros in 2009 and per capita GDP of 21,460 euros. The largest religious groupings are Christian (48.4%), Muslim (8.4%), Hindu (8.0%), Jewish (1.8%), Sikh (1.5%), and Buddhist (1.0%), alongside those of no religion (21.7%). The United Kingdom has traditionally been Christian, and London has a large number of churches, particularly in the city. St Paul's Cathedral in
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3822-527: The Law Lords refused to accept the case, the pair formally retained solicitor Mark Stephens and barrister Keir Starmer to file a case with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), contesting the UK government's policy that legal aid was not available in libel cases, and setting out a highly detailed case for what they believed to be the oppressive and unfair nature of UK libel laws in general, and in their case in particular. In September 2004, this action
3913-641: The London region in 1994. The 1998 London referendum established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority , London Assembly and the directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999 . In 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone , who had been
4004-467: The UK government pay Steel and Morris £57,000 in compensation. In their ruling, the ECHR criticised the way in which UK laws had failed to protect the public right to criticise corporations whose business practices affect people's lives and the environment (which violates Article 10); they also ruled that the trial was biased because of the defendants' comparative lack of resources and what they believed were complex and oppressive UK libel laws. In particular
4095-494: The UK, with "a huge majority of them living in London"). Though a Polish community has existed in London since the late-Middle Ages, it was not significant in the 2001 Census but has grown significantly since 2004, when Poland joined the European Union and by June 2010; London had 122,000 Polish residents. The German-born population figure may be misleading, however, because it includes British nationals born to parents serving in
4186-481: The allegations merited an independent investigation. In the documentary broadcast as part of Channel 4 's Dispatches programme, Francis confirmed that allegations made about officers having relationships with women involved with political protest movements were true. After its closure in 2008 the role of the SDS was taken up in part by the National Domestic Extremism Unit . On 23 October 2014,
4277-464: The authority. The commission made its report in 1923, rejecting the LCC's scheme. Two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and a central authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the commission. Reform of local government in the County of London and its environs was next considered by
4368-505: The best GCSE results in England, at A-level it is not even above average. Sutton gets the best A-level results in London and in England. Three of the schools in the top four at A-level in London are in Sutton. It has only one independent school. The few other boroughs with above-average A-level results are Havering, Barnet, Bexley, Redbridge, and Ealing. The poor A-level results in many London boroughs
4459-426: The best results for regions of England. Greater London is generally a prosperous region, and prosperous areas generally have good GCSE results. The City of London has no state schools, just two independent schools. Haringey and Kensington and Chelsea have the most people that pass no GCSEs. At A-level, the average results for LEAs are disappointing compared to their good GCSE results. Although Kingston upon Thames gets
4550-453: The case of the businessmen and women who manage them, the limits of acceptable criticism are wider in the case of such companies. In response to the European Court of Human Rights' decision, Steel and Morris issued the following press release: Having largely beaten McDonald's ... we have now exposed the notoriously oppressive and unfair UK laws. As a result of the ... ruling today, the government may be forced to amend or scrap some of
4641-520: The case showed that McDonald's private investigators had been receiving information from the Metropolitan Police. The Metropolitan Police were sued over this, which was settled out of court and with an apology and the Metropolitan Police undertaking not to share information from police computers with corporations. A feature-length documentary film, McLibel , was made about the case by Franny Armstrong and Ken Loach in 1997. An extended version
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#17328550923354732-532: The country rather than inwards towards London. Greater London was created by the London Government Act 1963 , which came into force on 1 April 1965, replacing the administrative counties of Middlesex and London , including the City of London , where the London County Council had limited powers, and absorbing parts of Essex , Hertfordshire , Kent and Surrey . Greater London originally had
4823-406: The current area of Greater London rose from about 1.1 million in 1801 (when only about 850,000 people were in the urban area, while 250,000 were living in villages and towns not yet part of London) to an estimated 8.6 million in 1939, but declined to 6.7 million in 1988, before starting to rebound in the 1990s. By 2006, the population had recovered to the level of 1970 (and the level of population in
4914-623: The end of the First World War , noting that within the Metropolitan and City Police Districts there were 122 housing authorities. A Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider the issue. The LCC proposed a vast new area for Greater London, with a boundary somewhere between the Metropolitan Police District and the home counties . Protests were made at the possibility of including Windsor , Slough and Eton in
5005-487: The environment. The safeguard afforded by Article 10 to journalists in relation to reporting on issues of general interest is subject to the proviso that they act in good faith in order to provide accurate and reliable information in accordance with the ethics of journalism ..., and the same principle must apply to others who engage in public debate. It is true that large public companies inevitably and knowingly lay themselves open to close scrutiny of their acts and, as in
5096-453: The executive producer. A TV series based on this, along with Stephen Lawrence's family being spied on , was aired in 2016 as Undercover . Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region , containing most of the continuous urban area of London . It contains 33 local government districts : the 32 London boroughs , which form
5187-466: The existing UK laws. We hope that this will result in greater public scrutiny and criticism of powerful organisations whose practices have a detrimental effect on society and the environment. The McLibel campaign has already proved that determined and widespread grass roots protests and defiance can undermine those who try to silence their critics, and also render oppressive laws unworkable. The continually growing opposition to McDonald's and all it stands for
5278-426: The final leader of the GLC. The 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson . The 2016, 2021 and 2024 elections were won by Sadiq Khan . London was covered by a single Parliamentary constituency in the European Parliament before Brexit . Greater London includes the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers and includes, in five boroughs, significant parts of
5369-435: The infliction of unnecessary cruelty to animals , and they were "antipathetic" to unionisation and paid their workers low wages. Furthermore, although the decision awarded £60,000 to the company, McDonald's legal costs were much greater, and the defendants lacked the funds to pay it. Steel and Morris immediately appealed against the decision. In 1998 a documentary film was made about the case, also titled McLibel . This
5460-556: The larger Greenpeace International organisation, which they declined to join as they saw it as too "centralised and mainstream". In 1990, McDonald's brought libel proceedings against five London Greenpeace supporters, Paul Gravett, Andrew Clarke and Jonathan O'Farrell, as well as Steel and Morris, for distributing the sheet on the streets of London. This case followed past instances in which McDonald's threatened to sue more than fifty organisations for libel, including Channel 4 television and several major publications. In all such cases,
5551-442: The largest Roman Catholic cathedral in England and Wales. Religious practice in London is lower than in any other part of the UK or Western Europe and is around seven times lower than American averages. Despite the prevalence of Anglican churches, weekly observance is low within that denomination , although in recent years church attendance , particularly at evangelical Anglican churches in London, has started to increase. London
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#17328550923355642-415: The majority of the Greater London Built-up Area , which extends into Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Berkshire and in 2011 had a population of 9,787,426. None of the administrative area, region, or ceremonial county hold city status , but the City of London and City of Westminster separately do. The area was historically part of Middlesex , Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire. The River Thames
5733-786: The media outlets settled and apologised. Under English defamation law at the time, the defendant had to show that each disparaging statement made was substantively true. This could be an expensive and time-consuming process. Gravett, Clarke and O'Farrell apologised as requested by McDonald's, but Steel and Morris chose to defend the case. The two were denied legal aid , as was policy for libel cases, despite having limited income. Thus, they had to represent themselves, though they received significant pro bono assistance, including from Keir Starmer . Steel and Morris called 180 witnesses, seeking to prove their assertions about food poisoning , unpaid overtime , misleading claims about how much McDonald's recycled , and "corporate spies sent to infiltrate
5824-760: The most expensive cities in the world, alongside Tokyo and Moscow . In the 2001 UK Census, 71.15% of the population classed their ethnic group as White, including White British (59.79%), White Irish (3.07%) or "Other White" (8.29%, mostly Greek-Cypriot, Italian, Polish and Portuguese). 12.09% classed themselves as British Asian, including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and "Other Asian" (mostly Sri Lankan, Arab and other Southern Asian ethnicities). 10.91% classed themselves as Black British (around 6% as Black African, 4% as Black Caribbean, 0.84% as "Other Black"). 3.15% were of mixed race; 1.12% as Chinese; and 1.58% as other (mostly Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other "British Orientals"). 21.8% of inhabitants were born outside
5915-492: The most with five, followed by Bexley with four and others in five other boroughs. In these boroughs the state schools outperform the (relatively few) independent schools. In inner London, private schools always get the best results and are larger in number. At GCSE and A level , Outer London boroughs have broadly better results than Inner London boroughs. At GCSE, the best borough is Kingston upon Thames, closely followed by Sutton. Both boroughs have selective schools, and get
6006-410: The pamphlet to be false. They found it difficult to support this position despite the indirectness of some of the claims. The case eventually became a media circus . McDonald's executives, including Ray Cesca, entered the witness box, enabling cross-examination by the defendants. In June 1995 McDonald's offered to settle the case (which "was coming up to its [tenth] anniversary in court" ) by donating
6097-608: The population of London. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added (GVA) of Inner London at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling. Eurostat data shows the GDP of Inner London to be 232 billion euros in 2009 and per capita GDP of 78,000 euros. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Outer London at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling. Eurostat data shows
6188-412: The power to block his directives. The headquarters of the GLA, previously at City Hall in Southwark , moved to The Crystal in Newham in January 2022. The Mayor is responsible for Greater London's strategic planning and is required to produce or amend the London Plan each electoral cycle. The Mayor of London is a directly elected politician who, along with the London Assembly, is responsible for
6279-407: The purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 , this area is defined as a county . The term "London" usually refers to region or to the conurbation, but not often to the ancient, tiny City of London. That small area is often referred to as "the City" or "the Square Mile" and it forms the main financial district. Archaically, the urbanised area of London was known as the Metropolis . In common usage,
6370-417: The ranks of London Greenpeace". McDonald's spent several million pounds, while Steel and Morris spent £30,000; this disparity in funds meant Steel and Morris were not able to call all the witnesses they wanted, especially witnesses from South America who were intended to support their claims about McDonald's activities in that continent's rainforests. In its libel allegation, McDonald's asserted all claims in
6461-423: The south-east, Surrey to the south, and Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to the west. Greater London has a land area of 1,572 km (607 sq mi) and an estimated population of 8,866,180 in 2022. The ceremonial county of Greater London is only slightly smaller, with an area of 1,569 km (606 sq mi) and a population of 8,855,333 in 2022. The area is almost entirely urbanised and contains
6552-399: The strategic government of Greater London. For elections to the London Assembly , London is divided into 14 constituencies, each formed from two or three boroughs. The City of London forms part of the City and East constituency. London is divided into 73 Parliamentary borough constituencies , formed from the combined area of several wards from one or more boroughs. Typically a borough
6643-429: The terms "London" and "Greater London" are usually used interchangeably. Greater London is officially divided for some purposes, with varying definitions, into Inner London and Outer London . For some strategic planning purposes, it is divided into five sub-regions . Greater London is divided into 32 London Boroughs, each governed by a London Borough council. The City of London has a unique government dating back to
6734-415: The terms if McDonald's ceased advertising its products and instead only recommended the restaurant privately to friends. The case was adjudicated by Mr Justice Rodger Bell. On 19 June 1997, Bell delivered his more than 1,000-page judgment largely in favour of McDonald's, finding the claims that McDonald's was responsible for starvation and deforestation were false and libellous. The ruling was summarized by
6825-635: The time of her relationship with Lambert – who was using the pseudonym Bob Robinson – and she gave birth to their son in 1985. When the boy was two years old his father vanished, and she told BBC News she had received psychiatric care after learning the officer's real identity. The unprecedented payment resulted from a legal battle with women who said they were duped into relationships with officers who were spying on them. Scotland Yard said it "unreservedly apologises for any pain and suffering" but added that "the Metropolitan Police Service has never had
6916-495: The time of the October 2014 settlement there were 12 other legal claims relating to undercover officers still being fought. But Jules Carey of Bindmans lawyers, acting for Jacqui, said the legal battles so far suggested Scotland Yard wanted to maintain a "never say never" stance to sexual relations after the Met's lawyers argued there could be a hypothetical extreme situation where such a tactic
7007-599: The top 21 countries of birth of residents in 2011. These figures do not give a fair indication of the total population of the specific ethnic groups associated with each country. For example, Londoners of Greek origin (from both Greece and Cyprus) number 300,000, since an organised Greek community has been established for nearly two centuries. The same can be said for Italian and French Londoners whose communities have been here for centuries (the French Embassy estimates there are between 300,000 and 400,000 French citizens living in
7098-421: The top two average GCSE results in England for LEAs. Next is Kensington and Chelsea, the third best in England, then Redbridge , Hammersmith and Fulham, Bromley, Barnet and Harrow. Only ten boroughs have GCSE results under the England average, and some inner-London boroughs have surprisingly good results considering where they lie on the scale of deprivation, e.g. Lambeth. Overall at GCSE in 2009, Greater London had
7189-406: The urban area. In 1965 the county was abolished and replaced by Greater London, a two-tier administrative area governed by the Greater London Council , thirty-two London boroughs, and the City of London Corporation. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, and its responsibilities largely taken over by the boroughs. The Greater London Authority was formed in 2000. The term "Greater London"
7280-435: The west, Kent to the southeast and Surrey to the south and southwest. The highest point is Westerham Heights, in the North Downs and on the boundary with Kent, at 245 m (804 ft). Central government has implemented small boundary changes . The greatest were the 1969 transfers of Farleigh to Surrey and Knockholt to Kent. Others have included exchange of two Thames islands with Surrey and adjustments during
7371-522: The western borough of Ealing, which is also home to the largest Sikh temple in the capital. The majority of British Jews live in London, with significant communities in Stamford Hill (the most Orthodox Jewish area outside New York City and Israel) and St. John's Wood , Golders Green , and Edgware in North London. Publicly funded education has been administered through 33 LEAs , which correspond to
7462-856: Was 2,288,000 (31%), up from 1,630,000 in 1997. The 2001 UK Census showed that 27.1% of the population were born outside the UK, and a slightly higher proportion were classed as Non-White. In the 2011 UK Census, 59.79% of the population classed their ethnic group as White, including White British (44.89%), White Irish (2.15%) or "Other White" (12.65%, mostly Greek-Cypriot, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Colombians and Portuguese). 18.49% classed themselves as British Asian, including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and "Other Asian" (mostly Sri Lankan, Arab and other Southern Asian ethnicities). 13.32% classed themselves as Black British (7% as Black African, 4.22% as Black Caribbean, 2.08% as "Other Black"). 4.96% were of mixed race; and 3.44% as other (mostly Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other "British Orientals"). The table shows
7553-519: Was Helen Steel's partner for two years; she was unaware of his true identity and motives. The Defamation Act 2013 brought some changes to libel cases, which were expected to make it harder for corporations to abuse libel law. The McLibel case also raised awareness about how defamation proceedings can harm the reputation of companies that raise them, similarly to the Streisand effect . The McLibel film quoted McDonald's as offering little comment on
7644-428: Was adjudicated by Lord Justices Pill and May and Mr Justice Keene . The defendants represented themselves in court, assisted by first year law student Kalvin P. Chapman ( King's College London ). McDonald's were represented by libel lawyer Richard Rampton , and a junior barrister, Timothy Atkinson, and Ms Pattie Brinley-Codd of Barlow, Lyde & Gilbert. Steel and Morris filed a 63-point appeal. They had requested
7735-407: Was an English lawsuit for libel filed by McDonald's Corporation against environmental activists Helen Steel and David Morris (often referred to as "The McLibel Two") over a factsheet critical of the company. Each of two hearings in English courts found some of the leaflet's contested claims to be libellous and others to be true. The original case lasted nearly ten years which, according to
7826-406: Was heard by the ECHR. Lawyers for Steel and Morris argued that the lack of legal aid had breached the pair's right to freedom of expression and to a fair trial. On 15 February 2005, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the original case had breached Article 6 (right to a fair trial) and Article 10 (right to freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights and ordered that
7917-474: Was needed. Mr Carey said: "The Metropolitan Police are prepared to criticise the conduct of an individual officer, Bob Lambert. They are even prepared to be critical of the unit he was from – but they refuse to condemn the practice itself. It is time for the commissioner of Metropolitan Police to publicly commit to seeing the end of this shameful and abusive practice". In December 2018, the High Court ruled against
8008-547: Was produced in 2005, with estimated viewing audience of 25 million. The documentary features courtroom reconstructions of the trial. It also features interviews with Eric Schlosser (author of the 2001 book Fast Food Nation ), Morgan Spurlock (writer/director of the 2004 film Super Size Me ), Keir Starmer (who provided free legal support to the McLibel defendants for many years) and Howard Lyman who appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show about Mad Cow disease . In April 2022
8099-555: Was renamed the Special Duties Squad in 1997 and disbanded in 2008. The SDS's first operation was surveillance of anti-Vietnam war protesters, the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign . For example, nine SDS officers were covertly deployed into a 1968 public meeting of 250 campaigners deciding the route of a major anti-war demonstration. It also spied on pro- Palestinian rights organisations with 'Rob Harrison' infiltrating
8190-553: Was updated in 2005 after the verdict of the final appeal. In September 1998, the pair sued the Metropolitan Police for disclosing confidential information to investigators hired by McDonald's and received £10,000 and an apology for the disclosure. An appeal began on 12 January 1999, and lasted 23 court days, ending on 26 February. The case was heard in Court 1 of the Court of Appeal in the Royal Courts of Justice . The case
8281-889: Was used before it was established by statute in 1965. It referred to the Metropolitan Police District , the area served by the Metropolitan Water Board , the London Passenger Transport Area , and the area defined by the Registrar General as the "Greater London Conurbation". The term was also used for the Greater London Arterial Road Programme, devised between 1913 and 1916, and the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles (4,810 km ) and included 9 million people. Although
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