The leader of Southwark Liberal Democrats, Cllr Anood Al-Samerai, has slammed Labour Southwark's spending of £1,223.13 on a self promotional picture of the Council Leader, Deputy Leader and Cabinet which is displayed in the entrance to the Council's Tooley Street offices.

Councillor Anood Al-Samerai commented:

Simon Hughes MP welcomed a new compensation scheme for victims of terrorism abroad announced by the Justice Secretary Ken Clark. British victims of overseas terrorism since 2002 will be entitled to compensation for the first time.

The Justice Secretary stated that victims of overseas terrorism with now be treated 'exactly the same' as victims of domestic terrorism who have access to compensation through the taxpayer funded Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

Simon Hughes MP has welcomed the announcement yesterday (Monday, 30^th January) by the Home Secretary Theresa May to introduce urgent legislation to combat the epidemic of metal theft in the UK. Measures, including the banning of cash payments for scrap metal, will be tabled as amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, currently in the House of Lords.

Simon Hughes, MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, has written an open letter to Cllr Peter John, the leader of Southwak Council, calling on him to abandon unpopular council proposals to to cut the number of Community Councils and the frequency of their meetings.

The full text of the letter can be found below:

Post Offices in Southwark have been saved by Liberal Democrat Business Minister, Ed Davey.

After ending Labour's shameful Post Office closure programme, which saw more than 7100 Post Offices disappear in their 13 years in office, Ed Davey has announce a ten-year deal between the Post Office and the Royal Mail has been reached.

Simon Hughes, MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark has congratulated Peter Tatchell on his 60th birthday.

Simon said: "I warmly congratulate Peter Tatchell on his birthday. There are many years left for campaigning after 60. I know I have just discovered this for myself!"

The full text of Simon's birthday message can be found below:

Speaking to a Liberal Democrat meeting in Derby on Saturday (January 21st). Simon Hughes, MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, set out his case for an English parliament.

He said:

"It is now clear that there will be a vote during this parliament on Scottish independence. Given the policy and election commitments of the SNP government in Scotland this is right and proper.

Southwark Liberal Democrats are fighting to save Community Councils as Labour plan to cut them in next Tuesday's (24th) Cabinet meeting. The proposals, buried deep in Tuesday's Cabinet agenda, seek to merge 8 Community Councils in Southwark into 5 and reducing the number of meetings to 5 per year. Proposals also strip funding from the Community Councils and remove their influence over planning decisions, completely destroying the principle of Community Councils and the local decision-making that comes with it.

Dear local resident,

Save your Community Council

You may have heard your local Community Council is under threat. We need your help to save them.

Liberal Democrats believe in local democracy and local residents making their own decisions. That's why we are proud we introduced Community Councils in Southwark - a way of giving local people a say over how money is spent in their area.