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We unpick the issues that have got Londoners all riled up. This week, it's those pesky drones flying around our city's skies.
Ah, drones, you say? Those harmless flying robots.
Yes and no. Sure, they can be used to get some pretty sweet aerial footage of the city and, if there’s any justice in the world, it’s only a matter of time before an enterprising Londoner launches some kind of drone fast-food delivery service. But in less positive (and non-hypothetical) drone news, a British Airways flight coming into Heathrow from Geneva was recently struck by one at about 1,700 feet over Richmond Park.
Oh, that's not good.
No, it’s not. It’s the first time this kind of thing has happened in the UK (though there have been issues with lasers being pointed at planes), but luckily it doesn’t seem to have done any lasting damage. Police are currently investigating the incident, while the Air Accidents Investigation Branch has launched its own probe into the incident. No, not that kind of probe.
So does this spell the end of our drone fun?
London introduced a brief ban on drones while Barack Obama was visiting last week. But some people are calling for better regulation, and not just when the US president’s in town. Enfield Southgate MP David Burrowes, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee, is calling for the introduction of a licence and a drone-owners’ register. He reckons drones can no longer be classified as an ‘innocent leisure pursuit’. So you can still play with your drone, but from now on you have to do it guiltily.
Can't get enough of those flying robots? Check out this dreamy drone footage of south London in the snow