Watch: Londoners remove graffiti from Tube in swipe at Sadiq Khan
Credit: X/ @isnit0
A group of Londoners have filmed themselves removing graffiti from inside tube trains in a swipe at Sadiq Khan.
The group, founded Joe Reeve, a 28-year-old Londoner, say they are 'doing what Sadiq Khan can't' by cleaning up Bakerloo Line carriages.
It comes after Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, confronted fare dodgers on the tube in a video which has been viewed millions of times on X.
Mr Reeve said: 'I take the Bakerloo line every morning and I see someone push past the barrier.
'Then when I get down to the Tube, every single carriage is full of graffiti. It feels like no one is doing anything to make the city better,' he told the London Standard.
Mr Reeve is the co-founder of political lobbying group Looking For Growth, which says it was founded to challenge 'high energy costs, excessive bureaucracy, and a Government that has lost its ambition'.
Mr Reeve, who was wearing a hi-vis vest with the slogan 'Doing what Sadiq Khant', was joined by Tom Harwood, a GB News presenter.
Mr Harwood posted on X: 'I'm absolutely sick of seeing endless disgusting graffiti on the tube.'
In a video, he added: 'We have been wiping away, swiping away, with eco-friendly graffiti remover…
'A couple of guys with cheap graffiti remover can make it look slightly less terrible. You can too!'
The Bakerloo Line has the oldest passenger trains in regular scheduled use in the whole of the UK.
Its 1972 Mark 2 stock trains are now 53 years old, well beyond their design lifespan of 40 years. The original 1972 Mark 1 trains were used on the Northern Line, but were withdrawn in the mid-1990s when faster and more spacious rolling stock was introduced.
Although TfL wants to order replacement trains from German company Siemens, doing so is estimated to cost around £1.9 billion.
Rail magazine reported earlier this year that even that price could soar because it is based on adding trains to an existing order with Siemens for new Piccadilly Line stock.
If that order is fully delivered before a decision is made about the Bakerloo, the production line would have to be restarted.
TfL was contacted for comment.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
27 minutes ago
- News24
Huawei chips are one generation behind US, but ‘no need to worry', says CEO
Huawei Technologies' chips are one generation behind those of US peers but the firm is finding ways to improve performance through methods such as cluster computing, Chinese state media quoted CEO Ren Zhengfei as saying on Tuesday. The chipmaker invests 180 billion yuan (R444 billion) in research annually and sees promise in compound chips - chips made from multiple elements - Ren said in an interview with the People's Daily newspaper of the governing Communist Party. There is "no need to worry about the chip problem", Ren said, addressing concerns stemming from US export controls. The article, published on the front page of the newspaper, come as top US and Chinese officials are set to resume trade talks for a second day in London where topics such US tech restrictions on China are expected to be discussed. Since 2019, a slew of US export curbs, aimed at curbing China's technological and military advancements, have restricted Huawei and other Chinese firms from accessing high-end chips and the equipment needed to produce them from abroad. Ren's comments are the first ever from him or Huawei about the company's advanced chipmaking efforts, which have become a flashpoint in US-China tensions. Huawei is just one of many Chinese chipmakers, Ren said in the interview, adding: "The United States has exaggerated Huawei's achievements. Huawei is not that great. We have to work hard to reach their evaluation." "Our single chip is still behind the US by a generation. We use mathematics to supplement physics, non-Moore's law to supplement Moore's law and cluster computing to supplement single chips and the results can also achieve practical conditions. Software is not a bottleneck for us," he said. Cluster computing is when multiple computers work together. Moore's law refers to the speed of chip advancement. Huawei's Ascend series of AI chips compete in China with offerings from Nvidia, the global leader in AI chips. The US commerce department last month said the use of Ascend chips would be a violation of export controls. Nvidia's AI chips are more powerful than Huawei's but the company has been barred by Washington from selling its most sophisticated chips to China, causing it to lose significant market share to Huawei. In April, Huawei launched "AI CloudMatrix 384", a system that links 384 Ascend 910C chips in a cluster that companies can use to train AI models, which has been described by analysts as able to outperform Nvidia's GB200 NVL72 system on some metrics. Dylan Patel, founder of semiconductor research group SemiAnalysis, said in an article that month that it meant that Huawei and China now had AI system capabilities that could beat Nvidia. Nvidia and the US commerce department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ren's remarks. Ren also said about a third of Huawei's annual research spending went to theoretical research while the rest was spent on product research and development. "Without theory, there will be no breakthroughs, and we will not catch up with the United States."
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Toyota supplier hit with criticism at shareholder meeting over $33 billion deal
By Maki Shiraki TOKYO (Reuters) -Some investors in Toyota Industries voiced disapproval of a $33 billion buyout offer on Tuesday, adding to criticism that the bid from Japanese parent Toyota Motor was unfair to minority shareholders. The 4.7 trillion yen ($33 billion) offer to take the forklift maker private has already come under fire from international shareholders including London-based Zennor Asset Management and Hong Kong-based Oasis Management. But on Tuesday, domestic shareholders at what is likely to be the company's last annual general meeting before it is taken private, also expressed their concerns about the plan. The world's top-selling automaker plans to take Toyota Industries private in a complex, multi-part transaction that includes an offer price of 16,300 yen a share. The price, some shareholders have said, undervalues the supplier's intrinsic value and strengthens the founding Toyoda family's control over the broader group. "I don't think I am the only one who feels the price is too low," said one shareholder at the meeting. Another said the acquisition would lead to the "domination" of Toyota Industries, one of Toyota's key suppliers, by the automaker. The meeting ran for almost 2 hours, its longest ever, the company said. Toyota Industries' executives also took some two dozen questions from shareholders, the most ever. On Thursday Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda may face similar questions at the automaker's annual general meeting. Toyota has said the acquisition would allow Toyota Industries to deepen collaboration with group companies, without concerns of short-term profit targets, as Toyota itself becomes a broader "mobility company". Under the deal, a new holding company will be set up. Unlisted real estate company Toyota Fudosan will invest 180 billion yen while Toyoda, the founder's grandson, will invest 1 billion yen. Toyota Motor will invest 700 billion yen for non-voting preferred shares. "This was not a decision that neglected minority shareholders, but rather one that was taken with all the factors in mind," Toyota Industries' President Koichi Ito told shareholders. Oasis, which has shares in both Toyota Motor and Toyota Industries, said on Friday it would push for a higher price. Zennor and some others have said the price undervalues the substantial real estate on Toyota Industries's books. Toyota Industries had 1.5 trillion yen of property, plants and equipment on its balance sheet as of the end of March, a number that reflects the cost paid for the assets, minus depreciation, rather than their current market value. Toyota Group companies hold at least 39% of Toyota Industries, according to LSEG data and the deal is widely expected to go through. Shares finished at 16,300 yen on Tuesday. Toyota Industries, formerly Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, was founded in 1926 to make automatic looms. An automotive division within the company was set up and later spun off as Toyota Motor. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
CNN
38 minutes ago
- CNN
The rare earths problem: Why it could soon be more difficult to get a car, electronics or even an MRI
Call it a 'chip shortage on steroids.' That's how one expert told CNN the auto industry is describing a possible shortage of rare earth elements — minerals that are now center stage in the global trade war. Running low on those minerals could recall the pandemic-era chip shortage that jacked up car prices, used and new, across America. China has a virtual monopoly on those 17 metallic elements, which are critical components to everyday products from cars to jet engines to electronics like smartphones and flat-screen TVs. They're even crucial for the contrast dye used in MRI machines and some cancer drugs. And, recently, China made it even harder to get them: The country introduced a new licensing requirement on the export of the elements in April, effectively slowing the flow of outbound shipments to most of the world, including the United States. Delegations from the US and China are meeting in London this week to talk about a new trade deal, and rare earths are almost certainly a major part of those discussions. Right now, US companies have only about two or three months' worth of supply, according to Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. After that, 'industry simply could not manufacture' unless an agreement is reached between the US and China, she told CNN. President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to allow exports of rare earth minerals products to begin. But even that promise might not be enough for US manufacturers if a new deal only lifts the restrictions temporarily, said Baskaran. 'It makes it extremely difficult for industry to get a reliable read on what the next three months, six months or a year are going to look like,' she said. Nor might exports flow fast enough compared to past levels. 'Keep in mind that prior to the (Trump-Xi) call, they were beginning to flow out, but not at the pace that allows supply chains to continue without interruptions,' she added. US companies might soon burn through stockpiled inventory, according to Baskaran. One auto industry expert, who asked not to be identified because they aren't authorized to speak publicly, told CNN it is becoming apparent that the auto industry is prepping for widespread shutdowns in the coming months due to rare earth shortages. It's something the expert has heard described by people in the industry as 'the chip shortage on steroids.' Four years ago, a shortage of computer chips caused halts in auto production, which fueled record car prices. The limited supply drove most people to pay above sticker price for new cars. 'People think that it's only EVs (electric vehicles), but it's not,' the expert told CNN. 'It's in everything in every car. It's in the motors that run windshield wipers. One supplier I'm talking to said there are sensors in seat belts. I think there's going to be production disruptions all over the place. China really has our balls in a vise.' Ford already had to shut down production at the Chicago plant that builds the Explorer for a week, according to Baskaran. Ford would neither confirm nor deny the shutdown was caused by a rare earth shortage. Reuters, citing sources with knowledge of the situation, reported that suppliers of major American carmakers – including General Motors, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis – were granted temporary export licenses for rare earths, but only for a period of up to six months. The companies would not comment on their supplies of the minerals. With rare earths so critical to important US industries, there are efforts to find replacements, such as other types of magnets and electric motors that don't use magnets at all, said Roderick Eggert, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines and deputy director of the Critical Materials Innovation Hub, a research consortium established by the Department of Energy. But Eggert said those alternatives all have shortcomings. 'These substitutes come at the cost of performance,' he said. 'Motor designs that don't use magnets at all, those tend to be less efficient.' He said that the only hope to avoid significant disruptions is that the China and US reach an agreement that will restore the normal flow of rare earths. 'It is in the interest of the Chinese to remain a stable and trusted source for rare earths magnets and other rare earths products,' Eggert said. 'Unfortunately, what has happened is that rare earths have gotten caught up in much larger tensions associated with US-China trade negotiations.' The name rare earths is a bit of a misnomer. The materials are found throughout the Earth's crust but are difficult and costly to extract and process. China has the only equipment needed to process some of the various elements and currently controls 92% of the global output in the processing stage. Other countries, including the United States, are rushing to create their own processing capabilities. But that will take months, if not years. Baskaran said more should have been done to prepare for this scenario in advance. 'Of course we should have seen this coming,' she said. 'We should have started this 15 years ago.'
