Hello from The National and welcome to the View from London – your weekly guide to the big stories from our London bureau
Extreme loss
Under the atrium dome of Parliament's Portcullis House office block stand six posters paying tribute to the late MP Jo Cox. Her murder in 2016 came in the fraught atmosphere of the closing days of the referendum on Brexit that has since dominated political life.
Just over a fifth of the Commons members today were MPs on the day that Cox was killed and her humanitarian work, campaigning on Syria and Afghanistan, is remembered with fondness and sadness today. Her catch cry that we have more in common than divides us remains a cherished memory for those who knew her.
There is another MP who has since entered Parliament, Jo Cox's sister, Kim Leadbetter.
Ms Leadbetter told us that social media-driven political hate in Britain has put society in a “worse position than we were in then”.
Now the representative of what was her older sister’s constituency in Parliament, Ms Leadbetter revealed how the family have chosen to “channel that anger and devastation” from Cox’s murder by a far-right Brexit fanatic “into doing something positive and trying to make a difference”.
Our Editor-in-Chief, Mina Al-Oraibi, has also written about the 10 years that have elapsed and asks why there has been no formal commemoration of such a pivotal figure?
The UK would be well-placed to remember Jo Cox’s legacy and honour it, she adds. “The lacklustre reaction to her death at the time is echoed by incompetent progressive political actors in Westminster today unable to deliver for their constituents.”
The 10th anniversary of that Brexit decision falls next week.
Big issues
US President Donald Trump presented the US-Iran ceasefire agreement as a lasting one to G7 leaders and associates, including from the Middle East.
The US leader says the deal keeps the Strait of Hormuz open and oil prices down.
Further details of the deal are to be announced on Friday, launching a 60-day negotiation window for a bargain to wrap up Iran's nuclear programme.
In Evian, Trump assured fellow leaders that Tehran will not have a nuclear weapon.
French officials cited some “irony” in the situation as expected division turned to a convergence of European, French, American and Iranian voices demanding that the war stop in Lebanon. Meanwhile Italy's Meloni and Germany's Merz may not have approved of the war but they also expressed trenchant criticism of Iran.
Slice and dice
Parts of North London’s Billionaires’ Row have been downright shabby for years, money-spinning but derelict buildings filling the gaps between monolith mansions.
A recent trend on The Bishops Avenue has turned the tide, upgrading the scarred plots into luxury apartments. The latest example, the restoration of Oak Lodge, a 1920s Arts & Craft manor building, is a collection of 36 residences known as Bishops Avenue Gardens.
We'll be on hand as developer Valouran and designer Albion Nord unveil the interiors of the two-to-four bedroom homes priced between £2.5 million and £8.8 million.
Trevor Abrahmson, who has sold more than 100 homes on the road, said it "introduces the luxury of prime central London to the leafy inclines of The Bishops Avenue".
He described the development as "a refreshing contrast to the large mansions elsewhere in the road and, undoubtedly, will help to enhance the community".
Egypt mission
Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, is in Egypt on Wednesday to discuss the right of transit passage in the Strait of Hormuz.
With her counterpart, she will co-chair the UK-Egypt Association Council, and seek to renew progress on the 20-point Gaza Peace Plan.
UK co-operation with the Egyptian government includes efforts to secure a ceasefire and humanitarian relief in Sudan.
In questions with MPs on Tuesday, Ms Cooper robustly defended the government's stance on the West Bank after a controversial property fair in London last week. Recently, trade rules guidance was strengthened. “We have been very clear that not only should no businesses be engaging in trade or in marketing around the illegal settlements, they certainly should not be doing so on UK soil,” she said.
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