The Real Greek restaurant chain has been rescued from the brink of collapse after the owners of Cote Brasserie stepped in to buy 19 of its 28 outlets.

The Real Greek's owners had announced they planned to appoint administrators for the Mediterranean restaurant business.

However, Karali Group, which late last year bought the 70-strong Cote Brasserie chain, has made an offer for most of the smaller operator's sites.

A statement on behalf of The Real Greek's parent company, Fulham Shore, said 358 out of 509 jobs would be saved.

The Japanese restaurant group Toridoll, which owns Fulham Shore, had said on Friday that it planned to appoint administrators, raising fears the chain would close altogether.

Fulham Shore also owns the Franco Manca chain, but Toridoll said The Real Greek had suffered more than the pizza chain from the "deterioration in the economic environment".

Fulham Shore chief executive Marcel Khan said the company had made "clear and sustained improvements" since it was purchased by Toridoll in 2023.

That had started to translate into "green shoots of trading momentum", he said.

"However, the sustained pressures facing the hospitality sector, including elevated cost inflation and a fiscal environment that continues to place UK operators at a disadvantage relative to international peers, present significant challenges even for businesses that are delivering progress," he said.

He said the pre-pack administration and sale to Karali would place the business on a more sustainable footing while allowing Fulham Shore to focus on Franco Manca and "its significant growth potential".

The Real Greek, which was founded in London in 1999, says its aim is to "take you to Greece" with its blue and white decor, down-to-earth atmosphere, and hummus and moussaka-laden menu.

Nearly half of its "tavernas" are in London, with the rest spread between Scotland and the rest of England.

Its last set of accounts showed an operating loss of £3.6m.

A statement from the chain's Japanese owners echoed warnings from hospitality industry bodies in the UK, which have pointed to increasing pressure from rising business rates, energy and labour costs.

Toridoll said: "In recent years, high levels of inflation in the UK, driven by rising energy and food prices together with increase in labour costs resulting from rises in the minimum wage, have created a more challenging operating environment for the hospitality industry than initially anticipated."

Two weeks ago Fulham Shore said it was closing 16 of around 70 Franco Manca restaurants across the UK as part of a company voluntary arrangement, or restructuring plan, blaming "disproportionately high" UK taxes, including business rates.

At the time Khan said: "Even restaurant businesses that are doing all the right things from a customer and operational perspective are not immune to widely publicised pressures impacting the hospitality industry."

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A man has been charged with attempted murder after an attack on Dunmurry Police Station on Saturday.

The 66-year-old was arrested under the Terrorism Act on Tuesday 28 April in the Dunmurry area.

He has been charged with a number of offences including causing an explosion and possessing explosives.

The man is expected to appear before Lisburn Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

All charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

Shortly after 22:50 BST on Saturday a delivery driver's car was hijacked in the Twinbrook area of west Belfast.

The vehicle was fitted with a gas cylinder device and he was forced to drive it to the police station, on the outskirts of Belfast.

The police said they believed the attack may have been carried out by the dissident republican group known as the New IRA.

The attack took place in a built-up area, close to family homes in which many children were in bed asleep.

Several residents, including two babies, were taken to safety by officers when the bomb exploded.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said no one was injured or killed thanks to the swift action taken by officers.

The full list of charges against the 66-year-old include attempted murder, possessing explosives with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property and causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property.

He has also been charged with possession of articles for use in terrorism and hijacking.

The attack in Dunmurry came just weeks after a similar incident at Lurgan police station.

A controlled explosion was carried out on the bomb in that attack.

The term "dissident republicans" describes a range of individuals who do not accept the Good Friday Agreement – the 1998 peace deal which ended the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The Provisional IRA – the main armed republican paramilitary group for most of the Troubles – declared a ceasefire in the run up to the agreement and officially ended its violent campaign in 2005.

Dissident republicanism is made up of various groups which broke away from the Provisional IRA in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, including the Continuity IRA and New IRA.

The groups are much smaller than the Provisional IRA, although they have access to high-calibre weapons and have used improvised explosive devices and mortars in attacks and attempted attacks.

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Zack Polanski has apologised for sharing a social media post condemning the actions of police officers who arrested the suspect in the Golders Green attack.

The Green Party leader had reposted a message on X accusing officers of "repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by Taser".

In a statement on Friday, Polanski apologised for "sharing a tweet in haste", adding that he should not have commented on the police response via social media.

Sir Keir Starmer branded the decision to share the post "disgraceful", in a BBC interview recorded before Polanski's apology.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme in an interview to be broadcast on Saturday, Sir Keir said he had met the officers involved in the arrest.

He added that in the circumstances, you could understand why the officers acted in the way that they did.

"There's a guy on the ground, he's got a rucksack on. And I don't know what was going through the mind of those officers, but if I was there, I'd be thinking, he's going to detonate something. He's going to blow me up and everybody around here," the prime minister added.

"In those circumstances, I think you can quite see why what could have gone through their mind is, we need to do whatever we can to disable this guy."

Polanski hit back at the PM's criticisms in a post on X, saying: "Today the prime minister uses his office to attack the only Jewish party leader to score political points."

Polanski's repost had also been criticised by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who accused the Green leader of amplifying "inaccurate and misinformed commentary" in a letter published by the force.

In his statement, Polanski said he had invited Sir Mark to "meet with me to discuss the police response and the wider issues raised in his letter".

But he added: "Everyone in leadership has a responsibility for lowering the temperature at a time of such tension".

"Police responses to emergency situations such as these do need later reflection in the right forums, but I accept that social media is not the appropriate channel for doing so."

It is unusual for senior police leaders to publicly criticise politicians, and Sir Mark's letter comes at a time of heightened political sensitivity ahead of elections in Scotland, Wales and some English councils next week.

Speaking earlier, the Met chief denied his move marked an "intervention into politics", arguing it was legitimate for him to defend his officers in the face of public criticism from "somebody eminent".

"If someone wants to step onto my responsibilities of operational policing, I will deal with that assertively, like I did in this case," he added.

The Met has released footage from the officers' body-worn cameras, in which they can be heard shouting repeatedly for the suspect to "get down on the ground" before he is Tasered, and then "drop the knife".

It came after video shared on social media appeared to show the moment of the arrest, in which the officers can be seen kicking the man in the head several times in the struggle to wrest a knife from him.

Regarding the incident, a spokesperson from the Independent Office for Police Conduct said on Thursday evening: "We received a mandatory referral from the Met this afternoon, which relates to injuries reportedly sustained by the man who was arrested following yesterday's attacks in Golders Green."

Polanski, a member of the London Assembly, which has a role in overseeing the Met, became leader of the Green Party of England and Wales last September.

He had faced criticism for his repost from Anthony Slaughter, who leads the Greens in Wales, who said it seemed "inappropriate".

Green Party deputy leader Rachel Millward also appeared to distance herself from the comments on Thursday, praising the officers as "brave", and adding the incident would have been "beyond terrifying".

Multiple senior figures within the Greens are understood to have expressed concern about Polanski's decision to share the post criticising officers.

One source accused Polanski of an approach that fuels "culture wars".

"It is not how you win wider support," they said. "It is crucial that the leadership thinks about the direction it is taking the party in and who that is attracting."

The Liberal Democrats accused Polanski of making a "non-apology" and said he should disown the comments he reposted "in unambiguous terms".

The Metropolitan Police said on Friday it had received Polanski's letter, and would meet him after next week's elections.

Essa Suleiman, 45, has been charged with attempting to murder Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, in Golders Green on Wednesday morning.

It is also alleged Suleiman attempted to murder Ishmail Hussein in a knife attack at Hussein's flat in Southwark, south London, earlier on the same day. Hussein had known Suleiman for around 20 years.

He also faces a charge of possessing a knife in a public place in Golders Green.

He appeared in court earlier and stood to confirm his name and date of birth, but did not enter any pleas.

His case has been sent to the Old Bailey where he will next appear on 15 May for a preliminary hearing. He remains in custody.

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