Jon Snow adds his weight to campaign to save local pub

Newsreader Jon Snow will tonight speak out in protest against development plans he says threaten the future of his local pub.

The broadcaster is among hundreds of residents, including actor Bill Nighy, who oppose plans to redevelop the Torriano. Camden council planners will rule this evening on an application to build flats over the pub.

Owner Spaces UK also wants to turn the basement - which hosts comedy and live music, including Pete Doherty in March - into a kitchen.

Landlord Dean Guberina, 42, said he believed the firm, which bought the pub almost two years ago, just wanted to close the pub. Mr Guberina, who lives above the venue with his partner and baby son, faces eviction if the plans go ahead. He said: "It will make it impossible to run. It's over 100 years old, one of the few community locals remaining."

The Torriano campaign has more than 2,000 signatures and the council has received 200 letters of protest.

A spokesman for Spaces UK said they were "committed to retaining the pub on the site".