Driverless taxis are coming to London's streets in the Spring

The de facto legalisation of low-level theft is one of the most annoying aspects of life in London, whether it’s the tens of thousands of stolen mobile phones being wrapped in tinfoil before being sent abroad, or the failure to prosecute bike thieves. There are certain non-violent incidents that elicit a shrug from the police, a crime number, and an email closing the case — if you can be bothered to report the theft in the first place.

One of the main reasons the police give for not investigating such thefts is the time it would take officers to review hours of CCTV that could catch the perpetrator. There is a solution — and a Cambridge professor has spelled out for us how police could process hours of footage in just a few minutes, if they would just adopt a simple mathematical trick.

Scroll to the end to find out how — or first read about the driverless taxis coming to London.

I’ve been working on an investigation into a scam that has turned into the single most bizarre story I’ve reported in my journalism career. Paying subscribers will get to read it first this weekend — if you’re not a member, sign up now to ensure you get it straight to your inbox. Your support enables all this reporting to happen.

Get ready to ask “shall we get a Waymo home?” as robotaxis come to London.

Londoners will be able to pay to use self-driving taxis to get around the capital from as early as next Spring, after Google-backed Waymo confirmed plans to launch in the capital.

The first test vehicles, complete with boxy cameras on the roof and a human supervisor in the driving seat, will start to appear on the roads of London in the coming weeks. Paying customers are expected to follow at some point early next year, depending on when central government gives its approval.

Waymo told London Centric they would launch with a very small fleet of autonomous electric Jaguar I-Pace cars. A broader roll out of autonomous taxis in the capital is then likely to take place in late 2027, although don’t expect the streets to be immediately flooded with thousands of vehicles.

Waymo is in a race against its (confusingly similarly named) British rival Wayve to be the first to launch in London.