East London

Singer-songwriter Talay Riley worked on tracks for stars including Tinie Tempah, Britney Spears and Craig DavidStormzy and Oritsé Williams are among the artists who have paid tribute to the singer-songwriter Talay Riley, who was stabbed to death in Silvertown, east London.The 35-year-old musician, whose real name was Mark Orabiyi, was found with stab wounds by paramedics on the morning of 5 June and pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Met police say they pursued vehicle believed stolen before it collided with another vehicle in IlfordNine people have been injured after a car being pursued by police crashed in east London.The Metropolitan police said officers had tried to stop a vehicle they believed had been stolen. Continue reading...

Role marks a major return for the actor after falling off the stage in 2024 and is a coup for the forward-thinking theatreIan McKellen is to play King Lear in his first major theatrical role since falling from the stage into the first row of the audience in 2024.The accident, which left him with “agonising pains”, happened during a performance of Player Kings in the West End and led McKellen to withdraw from the production. He will now return as Shakespeare’s Lear – a character he played to great acclaim in 2007 and 2017 – in the opening season of the redeveloped Yard theatre in east London, known for its DIY spirit and adventurous experimental work with emerging artists. Continue reading...

Moses Edwards, 45, from Wanstead, to appear in court in connection with incident in Whitechapel last weekA 45-year-old man has been charged with arson with intent to endanger life after reports of a fire at a former synagogue in east London.Moses Edwards, from Wanstead, will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday after the alleged arson attack on the building in Nelson Street, Whitechapel, on 5 May. Continue reading...

Man, 45, and 52-year-old woman held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson after blaze in WhitechapelTwo people have been arrested by counter-terrorism officers investigating an arson attack at a former synagogue in east London.A 45-year-old man and a woman, 52, were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson and have been taken into police custody. Continue reading...

Whitaker Malem worked with pop art sculptor Allen Jones, visual artist Nadia Lee Cohen and a car bodyshop in KentAt Monday’s Met Gala, it inevitably fell to Kim Kardashian to deliver the evening’s biggest jolt. One of the few celebrities to straightforwardly interpret the “fashion is art” dress code – which focused on how the dressed and undressed human body is the through-line in most works of art – she decided to forgo her usual role as a walking billboard for a major fashion house and instead arrived in an orange fibreglass breastplate created by a small east London art duo and a car bodyshop in Kent.“Good art should start conversation, and Kim did exactly that,” says 61-year-old Patrick Whitaker, half of the design practice Whitaker Malem, who made the breastplate just weeks before the gala. “She was very clear on wanting a breastplate, very clear on the car body finish. And I think she was nervous really. She understands the competition.” Continue reading...

Counter-terrorism officers investigating blaze at former synagogue in Tower HamletsCounter-terrorism police are investigating a fire at a former synagogue in Tower Hamlets, east London, the Metropolitan police have said.More details soon … Continue reading...