Judge denies he was asked to give advice about Letby because he is a Freemason

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Simon Medland KC told inquiry his membership of organisation was not the reason he was approached by hospital boss

A judge has denied he was asked to give legal advice to hospital bosses over concerns about nurse Lucy Letby because he is a Freemason, a public inquiry has heard.

The Thirlwall inquiry into events surrounding the crimes of Letby heard that both Judge Simon Medland KC and the Countess of Chester’s former director of corporate and legal services, Stephen Cross, are members of the organisation.

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Slapps used to silence whistleblowers should be outlawed, says group of MPs

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Cross-party group cites legal threats used to hide Post Office Horizon scandal and allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed

Excessive legal threats used to silence those who tried to expose the Post Office Horizon scandal and allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed should be outlawed, a cross-party group of MPs have said.

MPs raised a series of cases, documented by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, where media outlets and whistleblowers have been prevented from publishing material that they believed was in the public interest.

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Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro charged with plotting coup d’état

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Police accuse 37 people of crimes including conspiracy and trying to tear down one of world’s largest democracies

The former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and some of his closest allies are among dozens of people formally accused by federal police of being part of a criminal conspiracy designed to obliterate Brazil’s democratic system through a rightwing coup d’état.

Federal police confirmed on Thursday that investigators had concluded their long-running investigation into what they called a coordinated attempt to “violently dismantle the constitutional state”.

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How Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz unravelled in just eight days

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In a Washington farce for the ages, the far-right Republican has withdrawn from consideration for US attorney general – how did it happen?

Donald Trump decided to nominate Matt Gaetz as attorney general last Wednesday, during a flight home from Washington, where the president-elect had visited Joe Biden at the White House. The pick proved as surprising as it was controversial. Just eight days later, after a week of relentless hullabaloo, Gaetz withdrew from contention.

It was a Washington farce for the ages. But how did it happen?

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Putin says Russia fired experimental ballistic missile into Ukraine

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President says missile was in reply to Kyiv’s strikes in Russia with western missiles, and appears to directly threaten US and UK

Vladimir Putin has said Russia fired an experimental ballistic missile at a military site in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday morning, and that Moscow “had the right” to strike western countries that provided Kyiv with weapons used against Russian targets.

The Russian president, speaking during an unannounced televised address to the nation, appeared to directly threaten the US and UK, who earlier this week allowed Ukraine to fire western-made Atacms and Storm Shadow missiles into Russia.

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The US is ramping up sanctions by targeting the last major Russian bank not yet blacklisted – Business Insider

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  1. The US is ramping up sanctions by targeting the last major Russian bank not yet blacklisted  Business Insider
  2. New Sanctions Against Gazprombank: Too Little, Too Late  Forbes
  3. Japan to take all steps to ensure uninterrupted Sakhalin-2 LNG supply from Russia  Reuters
  4. US Sanctions Gazprombank to Squeeze Russian Gas Exports  Bloomberg
  5. Treasury imposes sanctions on Russian banks, financial officials  The Hill
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How John Prescott used humour and grit to unite old and New Labour

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Prescott, from proud working-class stock, represented the part of Labour that Tony Blair knew he had to carry with him

The first time I met John Prescott, we were in a helicopter flying over the Thames Gateway where he and Tony Blair, the then prime minister, also on board, were announcing a multimillion-pound regeneration plan.

It was August 2003 and I was a young pool reporter for the Press Association, there to ask the politicians about their plans on behalf of the rest of the media. The flight was noisy and we all wore ear protectors, so conversation was limited.

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Essex police drop Allison Pearson case after CPS advice

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Police were advised there was no chance of conviction against journalist after hate crime investigation, Guardian understands

Essex police have dropped their hate crime investigation into Allison Pearson, the Daily Telegraph columnist visited by police after she wrongly accused people of colour of being antisemitic.

The decision followed advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that there was no reasonable chance of a conviction, the Guardian understands.

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Defence firm Thales faces bribery and corruption investigation

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UK Serious Fraud Office and French equivalent ‘will pursue every avenue’ in allegations against Paris-based company

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating suspected bribery and corruption at Thales Group, a multinational aerospace and defence electronics contractor.

The company, which is headquartered in Paris and has a UK subsidiary employing more than 7,000 staff, is known in defence circles for its varied businesses, which include making missiles and launchers, supplying sonar systems for the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines and designing the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

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Poor nations may have to downgrade climate cash demands, ex-UN envoy says

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Rich country budgets are stretched amid inflation, Covid and Ukraine war, Mary Robinson tells Cop29

Poor countries may have to compromise on demands for cash to tackle global heating, a former UN climate envoy has said, as UN talks entered their final hours in deadlock.

In comments that are likely to disappoint poorer countries at the Cop29 summit, Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and twice a UN climate envoy, said rich country budgets were stretched amid inflation, Covid and conflicts including Russia’s war in Ukraine.

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US moves to list giraffes under Endangered Species Act for first time

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Climate crisis, habitat loss and poaching have reduced its numbers – but will Trump put the kibosh on protections?

They are the tallest animal to roam the Earth and have become an icon of children’s books, toys and awed wildlife documentaries. But giraffes are in decline, which has prompted the US government to list them as endangered for the first time.

Giraffes will be listed under the US Endangered Species Act, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed in a move that will cover five subspecies of the animal. The agency hopes the listing will crack down on the poaching of giraffes, as the US is a leading destination of rugs, pillowcases, boots, furniture and even Bible covers made from giraffe body parts.

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