An “extensive search” is under way to find an 11-year-old girl after she fell into the River Thames in east London.

The Metropolitan Police said it was called at around 1.15pm on Monday to reports the girl had entered the river near Barge House Causeway, near London City Airport.

All emergency services are forming a “large-scale response” to the incident.

The girl’s next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by officers.

The London Ambulance Service was also called at a similar time, after receiving a report of a person in the water at Lowestoft Mews, which is close to the airport.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team,” a spokesperson said.

“Our crews assisted our emergency services partners at the scene but were later stood down.”

London Fire Brigade Deputy Assistant Commissioner Joseph Kenny added that “firefighters responded to reports of a person in the River Thames near Lowestoft Mews, Newham”.

He said crews from East Ham, Barking, Ilford and Bexley fire stations were sent to the scene alongside other emergency services.

“The brigade also deployed its drone team and fire boat as part of its response, with crews carrying out a systematic search of the area,” he added.

“The brigade was first called about the incident at 1.23pm. Search operations for firefighters were concluded at 3.49pm when responsibility for the incident was left with the police.”

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Controversial sentencing guidelines that were due to come into force on Tuesday have been delayed after a political backlash.

The Sentencing Council, the independent body that sets out sentencing guidance to courts in England and Wales, was due to bring in new rules around how judges should determine punishment for people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The new guidance states that a pre-sentence report – the results of which are taken into account when considering a criminal’s sentence – will “usually be necessary” before handing out punishment for someone from an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women.

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Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, had said the proposed guidance was “unacceptable” and amounted to “differential treatment before the law” as she urged the council to reverse it.

When the Sentencing Council initially refused her request, Ms Mahmood threatened to legislate to overturn the guidance if necessary.

She confirmed this evening that she would introduce legislation on Tuesday to block these guidelines coming into effect.

The Sentencing Council has now delayed the “in force date of the guideline pending such legislation taking effect”.

It said in a statement that the council “remains of the view that its guideline, imposition of community and custodial sentences, as drafted is necessary and appropriate”.

However, in a meeting between the chairman Lord Justice Davis and Ms Mahmood on Monday, the minister “indicated her intention to introduce legislation imminently that would have the effect of rendering the section on ‘cohorts’ in the guideline unlawful”.

The council said it is unable to introduce a guideline when there is a draft bill due for introduction that would make it unlawful.

Ms Mahmood said: “This differential treatment is unacceptable – equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice system. I will change the law to ensure fairness for all in our courts.”

The Sentencing Council also attracted criticism from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, who said its updated guidance was an example of “two-tier justice” that would lead to “blatant bias” against Christians and straight white men.

He also argued that it would make “a custodial sentence less likely for those from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community” – something the council denied.

The council previously rejected calls from the government to abandon the guidelines, which ask judges to consider offenders’ racial, cultural and religious background when deciding a sentence.

Lord Davis denied that pre-sentence reports reduced the prospect of a jail sentence.

However, he said the council would provide “some clarification of the language” to avoid confusion.

A woman who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault says she has four days to live after a car accident.

In a post on Instagram, Virginia Guiffre said she was in a car that was hit by a school bus “driving 110km [68.3mph] as we were slowing for a turn”.

Ms Giuffre then said: “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure, they’ve given me four days to live, transferring me to a specialist hospital in urology.

“I’m ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time, but you know what they say about wishes. S**t in one hand and wish in the other & I guarantee it’s still going to be s**t at the end of the day.”

A spokesperson for Ms Giuffre told Sky’s US partner network in a statement: “Virginia has been in a serious accident and is receiving medical care in the hospital.

“She greatly appreciates the support and well wishes people are sending.”

She sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.

In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.