Council tenants in Finsbury were facing rents hikes as the council was forced to make up a £23,000 deficiency in its coffers.
The increases affected about 1,500 households, and Finsbury Council held a public meeting to explain it.
Council leader E. Johnson said it was only fair to spread the cost among all tenants, and added: “The situation has been forced upon us by what the government has seen fit to do. There is nothing we can do about it.”
Meanwhile, a kitchen porter accused of wounding a watchman at a jeweller shop in King’s Cross told an officer: “I came in here for some easy money.”
George Young, 63, was robbed of 15 ladies’ watches at the York Way shop and wounded in the forehead. He staggered outside and collapsed. A passing officer went in to investigate, where he found the 22-year-old suspect.
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