“T-glottaling” – the swallowing of the “t” sound in words such as butter is less pronounced, the research found. The dropping of “h” – a common sign of what some have seen as a growing trend towards so-called “Estuary English” was also not as prevalent as expected.Intriguingly it is boys rather than girls who are leading the change. It has been replaced by a shorter vowel sound producing a word sounding like “fehs”. She believes the findings have important ramifications not just for the accent in the capital but for the supposed “levelling” of traditional accents around Britain.The key change in east London is the disappearance of the diphthong – a long vowel sound which changes mid pronunciation from an “a” to an “i”, for example – as in the cockney “faice” for face. What we are finding is an accent used by people of all ethnic backgrounds,” she said.Ms Fox gathered evidence of the new accent during interviews and observation of 16- to 19-year-olds, many of them second or third-generation immigrants, at a further education college in east London. It is a move away from the traditional cockney speech form which was previously used by working-class Londoners,” said Ms Fox.But far from being an affectation by white children emulating what they regard as their “cooler” ethnic minority friends, or a response to the speech patterns used by popular television characters, such as Ali G, pictured above, it is a genuine linguistic trend.”There is a certain amount of affectation in terms of vocabulary but in terms of accent we cannot claim the media has any influence.

It is also causing the virtual disappearance among London teenagers of speech patterns dating back to the Victorian period and before.The phenomenon, which has been variously described as “Jafaican” – a combination of Caribbean and African – or Tikkiny, in honour of the influence of Bengali in areas such as Tower Hamlets, is more properly referred to as “multicultural London English”.”We have got young people from many different ethnic backgrounds and have found that it is this blend that is responsible for the change. It is also caused by the post-war exodus from east London of the traditional white working-class to the lush green pastures of Basildon and Harlow.
The result is the growing influence of words like nang, nuff and diss, which while they may leave the average middle-class observer baffled, are forming an accepted code among the new generation of real-life East Enders. The fading call of the old cockney sparrow is due in part to immigration to an area synonymous with new arrivals to Britain, according to Sue Fox of London University’s Queen Mary College. New academic research has found that young people born within earshot of Bow Bells are more likely to speak with a blend of Jamaican, Bengali, Turkish or even Brazilian than they are with the twang of the traditional East End. Cor blimey.

Not since Dick Van Dyke first brandished a chimney brush has the cockney accent been in such peril. Only those who have a direct need are permitted access, and they are subject to security vetting.”Any loss is reported to civilian police and subject to a full investigation and a board of inquiry, the spokeswoman added.It was understood that 30 of the weapons that went missing were antique rifles taken from the walls of officers messes while others would have included weapons accidentally dropped overboard from naval vessels into deep sea.. It basically shut down handgun competitions in this country in the wake of Dunblane.”You would expect the Government to put its own house in order and ensure that its own weapons under the care of the Ministry of Defence are properly looked after.”Dr Peter Squires, a criminologist at Brighton University, told the programme that, with shotguns stolen from farms or converted or reactivated weapons, they could cause a “significant problem”.A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said 167 weapons had been recovered since 1997 although there were no guarantees all of them were from the 200 that had gone missing.She added: “Even one weapon going missing is serious and the armed forces would take it very seriously.”But if you think about the number of weapons used in use on a daily basis, 200 is actually a tiny proportion.”All of our personnel are given clear direction that weapons should never be left unattended or in the care of unauthorised people.”When not in use they are always kept in secure stores. Tory MP Stephen Crabb urged the Government to “put its house in order”, fearing the guns could end up being used by criminals.
The figure emerged as Lance Corporal James Piotrowski, from Birmingham, was jailed by a military court for handling a stolen assault rifle.Mr Crabb, MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Heaven forbid that a British Army firearm goes missing and ends up being used in an armed assault, armed robbery, or even murder.”This is a Government that has put a great deal of emphasis on gun control. More than 200 weapons belonging to the British military have been lost or stolen since 1997, it emerged today. The hotel for the Jurys Doyle group was to open later this year..

The collapse was at one end of the building, and half or more of the scaffolding along one wall remained in place. About 14 stories of scaffold collapsed at the site, where a hotel is under construction, Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Fraser Pearson said. TV footage from the scene showed a tangle of lumber and steel around a crane. Police were continuing to search the wreckage with heat-sensitive cameras and other specialist equipment, but they believed that all the workers on the site had been accounted for, Standen said.