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Neighbour of new Montenegro embassy in London sues council over impact on mental health

Case in Pimlico is latest instance of tensions between small countries seeking a space in capital and residents

It is not a classic neighbour-from-hell dispute, what with the protagonist inviting everyone over for evening drinks and canapés. But the sudden conversion of a five-bedroom family home in Pimlico, central London, into the embassy of Montenegro has triggered a neighbourhood row that has gone all the way to the desk of a high court judge.

The first stirrings of trouble came when one resident argued in a submission to the council this spring that the new embassy’s “flagpole and rather tacky-looking flag stick out like a sore thumb” among Cambridge Street’s Grade II-listed homes.

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© Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

© Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

© Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

BBC allegations cost Tory and Reform donor a peerage, defamation trial told

Mohamed Amersi is suing over Panorama episode that made claims of his suspected involvement in corruption

A Conservative and Reform UK donor lost out on a knighthood and a peerage amid claims of his involvement in corruption, the high court has heard at the start of his defamation case against the BBC.

An episode of Panorama in 2021 and a BBC article caused “very serious harm” to Mohamed Amersi, his barrister, Oliver Powell, said on Wednesday.

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© Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

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