“I understand how frustrating it must be for the residents of Rotherhithe to have slower broadband areas than they rightly expect to receive,” said Mayor of London Boris Johnson this week.

The Mayor was responding to questions tabled by London Assembly members Val Shawcross (Labour) and Darren Johnson (Green).

The Green Party assembly member asked the Mayor: ” Will you write to the European Commission urging them to investigate the market failure that is depriving residents in Rotherhithe of superfast broadband, enabling the Government and GLA to ensure that all properties – for businesses and residents – are able to gain superfast connections without falling foul of state aid rules?”

The Mayor replied: “Through the process to develop the Super Connected Cities Programme, BDUK, on the delivery authorities’ behalf, have discussed extensively the barriers to the public sector taking a role in the installation of ultrafast broadband.

“As a result of this process, the entire programme has been reviewed and shifted from a supply to demand led offer, as the state aid legislation was seen as an insurmountable barrier. DCMS are taking this up with the EU Commissioner.”

Grace Jones, the UK’s oldest resident, has died just short of her 114th birthday.

Grace Jones, born on 7 December 1899 and the only surviving Briton to have lived for the whole of the 20th century,  died peacefully on Thursday morning.

Grace was 113 years and 342 days old, and as well as being Britain’s oldest resident, was the sixth oldest person in the world.

Grace Jones was born and lived nearly all her life in Bermondsey, continued to live in her own council flat until just a few weeks ago, but after a fall, and treatment in St Thomas’ Hospital, had to spend her last few weeks in a local nursing home, where she died peacefully this morning.

Grace – who was engaged during the first world war to a fiancé who was killed on active service – never married, worked as a seamstress and for the Government during and after the second world war until her retirement about half a century ago.

Grace continued to live with her mother, brother and sister until the final member of her close family, George, died about thirteen years ago. Since then Grace continued to live in her own flat, looked after by  neighbours Carol Pooke and Sue Wilmer and other friends.

Grace did her own shopping until only a few years ago, went out as recently as this autumn, and was mentally as bright as a button with a brilliant memory. A committed and lifelong Christian, Grace was visited in the last 24 hours by her local parish priest as well as several close friends.

Reacting to the news of her death Simon Hughes, MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, who with other friends last visited Grace yesterday, said this morning:

“Grace’s friends and neighbours and the wider Bermondsey community are very sad today at the news of Grace’s death. But we pay tribute to Grace for her wonderful long life, for her commitment to her faith, her family and her community, and we know that a woman of such strong Christian faith faced death with no fear. Although she found her failing strength frustrating, right up until her last week Grace’s memory and intellect were undimmed.

“Enormous thanks are due to her neighbours, Carol and Sue, to her friends Ron and Eileen, Joan and Fred and Sandra and Trevor and to the nurses and other staff of Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals, the local health and social services team and the nursing home where she died. All those who met Grace knew they had met one of London’s most doughty individuals and she will never be forgotten.”

Arrangements for Grace Jones’ funeral will be made by FA Albin and Sons of Bermondsey and announced in due course.

Bermondsey & Old Southwark MP Simon Hughes apologised to the House of Commons last week after an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

The investigation by the commissioner  and subsequent report by the standards committee were triggered by a complaint made last year by Cllr Peter John, Labour leader of Southwark Council.

The investigation looked at the handling of donations of £5,000 made by two companies – Southwark Metals and Westminster Waste – as well as sponsorship of Mr Hughes’ Christmas cards by the City Cruises company.

The MP had had dealings with Southwark Metals and Westminster Waste in connection with the proposed development of a high-rise building and new accommodation for the Southwark Free School in Rotherhithe New Road.

“From the beginning I believed that I had not breached the lobbying rules and I am grateful and relieved that the commissioner and the committee have rejected these complaints,” Mr Hughes told the Commons last Thursday.

“The committee has found that there was no attempt to conceal any donations, which were all reported to the Electoral Commission and therefore in the public domain, but that I failed to register in the register of members’ financial interests, some donations to my local party, that I failed to make declarations in debate and in connection with one meeting in relation to two of these donations, and that I registered two donations late.

“I have of course admitted my mistakes and apologised from the outset to the commissioner and to the committee. Although the commissioner found that none of these breaches of the rules was intentional, I accept entirely the committee’s finding that I was not as attentive to these matters or as careful as I should have been, and therefore in these ways failed properly to observe the code of conduct, and that I did not sufficiently seek advice from the registrar. I will immediately register the outstanding interests as the committee recommends.

“I take full responsibility for these failures and I apologise unreservedly to the House.”

Commenting on the report Cllr Peter John, leader of Southwark Council, said: “This damning report shows that Hughes accepts he was meeting company directors and then asking them for money to pay for interns in his office. At the same time he was setting up meetings with the council. That’s not in the best interests of people in Southwark, that’s about the best interests of the Lib Dems.

“The committee found Hughes guilty of failing to declare over £30,000 of donations from companies and then speaking about them in Parliament.  This is not just embarrassing for him, it more importantly falls well short of the standards people in Southwark would expect from their MP.

“One breach on its own could have been easily dealt with, but months of investigation were needed because of the number of breaches, the large value of the donations and allegations of paid advocacy.

“I referred this to the parliamentary commissioner on standards to shine a light on what Simon Hughes is up to and welcome the decision that he has breached the rules and has to apologise to the House of Commons.”

* Read the committee’s report in full