But it insisted the move was not an act of decommissioning.It said in a statement: “Tonight the West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association left pipe bombs at Ewarts Playing Fields to be disposed of by the security services. We took this action to eradicate pipe bombs from our community as part of the ongoing steps to stabilise and normalise loyalist west Belfast.”Police chiefs and Government officials at the Northern Ireland Office were alerted to the operation before it was launched. Senior detectives and Army explosives experts were heading to the area last night to ensure the pipe bombs were made safe.. Takings at shops in central London have slumped but journey times on some of the capital’s busiest roads have been cut drastically because of the congestion charge. About 12 per cent fewer people are believed to be visiting stores in the centre compared with the same time last year. Transport for London estimated that traffic levels were about 25 per cent down on normal yesterday – similar to Monday and Tuesday.The number of shoppers in central London on Tuesday, the second day of the £5 charge, showed a rise of 7.1 per cent compared with the same time last week, indicating that the school half-term holiday was drawing people in.David Smyth, of the retail analysts FootFall, said the week-on-week increase was to be expected in a half-term break because the capital attracted people from all over the country, but it was not the typical level of increase.Colin Stambridge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce, said there was a clear reduction in the number of shoppers in central London. “We won’t know for some time whether it is down to the school holidays, fears over terrorism or the fact that the Central Line is still closed after the derailment,” he said.

“If it is because of congestion charging, a feeling could grow and grow that it is too much trouble to go into central London, that it is too expensive. We don’t want to lose the buzz and vibrancy in the centre of London.”Larger stores were coy on their takings but most are known to have suffered a substantial downturn Smaller retailers were more frank. Parimal Thaker, a 43-year-old newsagent in Charlotte Street, near Soho, said: “It’s gone dead Before, you could see the traffic and hear the noise. It’s mainly restaurants round here but now people only come when they have to It’s not just my business that is suffering It’s everyone round here. I’ve never seen it like this in 15 years.”Anasia Gafar, 19, a sales assistant at a stationers in Covent Garden, said there had been fewer customers since Monday. “If things don’t pick up then the shop may be seriously affected,” she said.Tim Collins, the shadow Transport Secretary, said the congestion charge should be scrapped if it continued to affect shops badly.

“If Ken Livingstone is not careful, his legacy will be seen in emptier shops, fewer jobs and a slowing London economy, for which no one will thank him.”Better news for Mr Livingstone came from Trafficmaster, which said car journey times on some overcrowded roads into the centre had been reduced. For instance, the 8.4 miles on the A1 between Mill Hill and Islington took 28 minutes, 45 per cent quicker than last year.* London Underground admitted last night that engineers’ checks on the Waterloo and City line found that bolts on motors underneath train carriages needed tightening. The line had been closed since the Chancery Lane derailment on 25 January, which was caused by loose bolts on a carriage, and had only been back in operation for a few hours.. A trusting interviewee with a loopy world view, a credulous interviewer, claims of betrayal over the docu-softsoap that results. Two weeks ago it was Wacko Jacko, tonight it is Crazy Carole.
The Conman, His Lover and the Prime Minister’s Wife, a BBC1 film about Cherie Blair’s health guru and her partner, Peter Foster, certainly has uncanny echoes of Martin Bashir’s expos?f Michael Jackson’s private life.Just as Bashir bashed the pop star with his charm and smarm, so Lynn Alleway, allegedly a “friend” of Ms Caplin, somehow duped the golden couple into letting her camera follow their every move at the height of the “Cheriegate” saga.The parallels are striking.