1 Locals crowdfund to buy Corbyn the bike of his dreams, p.2
FREE Issue 2 2nd Feb 2016
Holloway Prison to close as premises turned into housing for locals, p 3
Watching TV without a licence? More and more prosecutions on the way, p. 2
H
the
No meat, no eggs, no dairy. Take the Vegan Challenge, p. 4
IArsene Wenger’s failure against Chelsea sees him crying into his cups, p.6
www.thehollowayexpress.co.uk
lloway express
Woman fatally stabbed in Islington
New superhero hits the streets
of London
by Marina Mariano
Detectives at work
by Ammaarah Khan A man has been held in custody at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court after being charged with the murder of a woman in Islington on Sunday night. Arben Rexha, 31, allegedly stabbed a 25-year-old woman in her throat, which lead to her death. The woman, who can’t be named, was an Albanian national and had been liv-
Source: Islington Gazette
ing in the Jessop Court tower block on Graham Street for two months. Rexha contacted the police at 11.50pm on Sunday night claiming that he had killed a woman. He was arrested at the scene wearing a sleeveless vest and no shoes. Tracy Baxter, 49, the next-do or-neighb our of the murdered woman, heard screams during an alleged argument. She told the Islington Gazette: “At
about 10.30pm, we could hear her screaming, a few things being thrown and the next minute - silence. I’m just shocked.” Amir Shaikh, 32, a local Holloway resident said: “You usually hear about knife crime amongst teenagers in Islington so this is truly shocking. I don’t understand how the neighbours were aware of the distress the woman was under and didn’t call the police sooner.
“This was really a tragic loss of such a young woman.” Knife crime in London is on the rise overall. Recent statistics say the number has risen by at least 18 percent. Authorities say a reduced number of stop and searches have contributed to the rise. Anyone with information about this incident can contact the police on 0208 345 3734, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
The Lucky Man, a new series from the co-creator of Spiderman, has chosen Islington and Camden as the backdrop to the adventures of Stan Lee’s new super-hero. The first episode, about the power of good luck, aired on January 22nd. The first season is broadcast every Friday at 9pm on Sky 1. Islington and Camden are two of the boroughs that will star as the background to the adventures of Lucky Man, played by James Nesbitt. Islington’s Dingley Place saw Nesbitt perform an exciting chase scene, involving motorbikes and a lorry. St. Pancras Station and Camden’s British Museum will also feature in the series, along with other tourist locations such as London Bridge, St. Paul’s and Tate Modern. The locations will show London “in a very modern context and in quite a slick and sexy way”, said Nesbitt, adding that residents received donations from the production company as a way of saying thanks. Clerkenwell Green represents a typical image of the “London Village” and is one of the locations benefiting from the donations, which were given to the Clerkenwell Green Preservation Society. Andrew Pavord, director of FilmFixer, described the production team as very considerate to the residents during the filming.
Further cuts to fire engines hit Holloway tary, Paul Embery, who used serve at Islington fire staby Sophie Deijkers to tion, is strongly against the proposal. He told the HolPlans to axe 13 fire engines loway Express: “We (the across the capital, includ- Fire Brigade Union) are ing one in Holloway, will completely opposed to the put lives at risk according scrapping of any fire ento the firefighters’ union. gines; it’s an incredibly danThe cuts to the fire bri- gerous proposal. Losing the gade come after Bo- engines is going to put peoris Johnson’s proposed ple’s lives at risk and people budget savings of £6.4m are going to die as a result.” added for the year 2016/2017. Embery that it would be especial London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) regional secre- ly dangerous for Islington
due to last year’s closure of the Clerkenwell station, which left the borough with only two engines. The head of the fire brigade, Ron Dobson, defended the axing, saying the response time would not be affected. The 13 fire engines in question have already been out of action for two and a half years, since August, 2013. They have been kept on standby in the event of a strike. The engines were meant to
be returned in June of last year, but this was unsuccessful due to introduced cuts by Boris Johnson. Embery believes the borough of Islington has already been treated unfairly, compared to other boroughs, as 10 stations, 14 engines and 600 frontline jobs were already axed in 2014. He said: “I am going to meetings every day to speak to firefighters who are convinced that the fire engines should not
be axed. They understand that losing them will severely impact public safety.” Several alternative proposals are being set out by Andrew Dismore, chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority’s Resource Committee. Dismore is looking to meet the savings demands by changing the work patterns around the fire stations. A second option is to axe fire engines from stations with two or more engines.