Category Archives: UK news

Labour says firms will be penalised for late payments to suppliers

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Government drive to support small business will include startup loans for 69,000 companies worth £4bn

Keir Starmer has warned businesses who persistently delay payments to their suppliers that it is “time to pay up” as the government prepares to impose fines and penalties on repeat offenders.

In what Labour has billed as the toughest crackdown on late payments in a generation, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will say on Thursday that the changes will slash a cost to the economy that has escalated to £11bn a year.

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Calls for UK air traffic control boss to resign as new glitch disrupts flights

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System restored after Nats limited flights due to technical problems that raised fears of repeat of chaos in August 2023

The head of the UK’s air traffic control company is facing calls to resign after the second disruption to flights in two years due to technical problems.

Hundreds of flights were delayed after the air traffic control (ATC) system went down for about 20 minutes on Wednesday.

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‘At 80, to be treated like a terrorist is shocking’: arrested on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action

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Retired priest and former magistrate among those held after Palestine Action was banned as a terror organisation

Palestine Action’s co-founder has won a bid to bring a high court challenge over the group’s ban as a terrorist organisation, which has made membership of or support for the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

About 200 people have been arrested on suspicion of publicly protesting in support for PA since it was banned. They include:

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Freed British-Israeli hostage accuses Starmer of ‘moral failure’ over move to recognise Palestine

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Emily Damari was held captive by Hamas for more than 15 months and says decision ‘risks rewarding terror’

A British-Israeli woman who was held hostage by Hamas for more than 15 months has accused Keir Starmer of “moral failure” after he set the UK on course to recognise a Palestinian state.

Emily Damari, 29, who was released in January, said the prime minister was “not standing on the right side of history” and should be ashamed.

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Council recognises right of River Test to flow unimpeded and unpolluted

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Test is one of only about 200 chalk streams in the world and councillors says biodiversity in and around it has declined

The right of a famous chalk stream, the Test in Hampshire, to flow freely and unpolluted has been officially recognised by politicians.

Councillors on Test Valley borough council voted unanimously to acknowledge “the intrinsic rights” of the rivers within its boundaries including the Test, which is renowned for its trout and fly fishing.

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Bank of England governor blocks Rachel Reeves’s Revolut meeting

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Concerns about chancellor’s involvement in independent process over fintech’s banking licence

The governor of the Bank of England blocked a meeting that Rachel Reeves tried to secure with watchdogs and Revolut, amid concerns the chancellor was meddling in an independent process over the fintech’s UK banking licence.

Andrew Bailey intervened after learning of the plan to bring together representatives from Revolut, the Treasury and the Bank’s regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority, to discuss the fintech’s ambitions to become a fully authorised UK bank.

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Number of asylum seekers at ex-RAF base in Essex to rise by more than 50%

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Home Office to move 445 more people to MDP Wethersfield site, scene of previous anti-migrant protests

The Home Office is increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at a controversial military base by more than 50%.

There are about 800 asylum seekers housed at the remote former RAF base MDP Wethersfield in Essex and the Home Office is moving in 445 more.

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Zack Polanski’s ‘eco-populism’ could put voters off Greens, opponents say

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Exclusive: Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns say party could slide into irrelevance if it chooses new leader with ‘polarising’ approach

The Green party risks going into reverse if they elect Zack Polanski as leader, his two opponents have said, arguing that his promised brand of “eco-populism” would prove polarising, divisive and likely to put off more moderate voters.

Speaking to the Guardian before the opening of the month-long leadership vote, which begins on Friday, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns said the party in England and Wales was at “a crossroads”, and could miss the chance to hold the balance of power at the next election.

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HSBC boss says Rachel Reeves putting up bank taxes would harm UK growth

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Georges Elhedery’s comments come amid speculation the chancellor could make such a move in autumn budget

The boss of HSBC has joined a growing chorus of bankers cautioning Rachel Reeves against increasing taxes on banks in her autumn budget, warning it risked “eroding” investment and ultimately harming UK growth.

Georges Elhedery, its chief executive, said banks in the UK were already subject to the highest level of taxes on profits compared with other sectors, and paid more than in most other countries. He said placing further financial pressures on lenders could spell trouble for the UK economy.

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British Jewish leaders call for rapid increase in Gaza aid

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UK’s largest Jewish body adds to pressure on Israel, saying recent move to allow in limited aid was ‘long overdue’

The UK’s largest Jewish organisation has called for a “rapid, uninhibited, and sustained increase in aid through all available channels” in Gaza in a rare implicit criticism of the Israeli government.

The Board of Deputies held an emergency meeting on Tuesday evening amid growing horror among British Jews at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with children malnourished and starving and desperate parents being killed as they try to secure food for their families.

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Starmer hopes ‘pathway to peace’ will end Gaza war. History is not on his side

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From Balfour declaration to Tony Blair, UK has struggled to drive meaningful progress towards peace in Middle East

The former British prime minister Harold Macmillan once said there was no problem in the Middle East because a problem had a solution. Keir Starmer is the latest incumbent in No 10 to try to prove Macmillan wrong, with a plan that has been described by Downing Street as a “pathway to peace” for Gaza and the wider region. The record of Britain’s previous interventions do not augur well.

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Sarah Jessica Parker in possible conflict of interest over Booker longlisted author

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Actor and book prize judge’s production company in process of developing novel by Claire Adam

An apparent conflict of interest has emerged over the Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker’s judging of this year’s Booker prize.

A production company run by the actor is reportedly in the process of developing a book written by Claire Adam, whose second novel, Love Forms, appears on this year’s longlist, announced on Tuesday.

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UK to recognise state of Palestine in September unless Israel holds to ceasefire

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Cabinet agrees to support Middle East roadmap at emergency meeting called amid humanitarian crisis in Gaza

The UK will formally recognise the state of Palestine this September as a result of the “increasingly intolerable” situation on the ground in Gaza, unless Israel abides by a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution in the Middle East.

Keir Starmer’s cabinet has agreed a roadmap for peace in the region after coming under intense domestic pressure over the mounting humanitarian crisis in the territory, and calls to follow France in acknowledging statehood.

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From safety first to Palestine first, Keir Starmer shows some leadership | John Crace

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The PM is to lead recognition of a Palestinian state – a good day for him, the UK and the starving people of Gaza

What a difference a week makes. Last Tuesday, Keir Starmer batted away all invitations to recognise the state of Palestine. It wasn’t happening. Keir was committed to being appalled by the situation in Gaza but not appalled enough to do anything about it.

He then received a letter from more than 250 MPs, including some cabinet ministers, later in the week begging him to recognise the state of Palestine. He still stonewalled. The time was not yet right.

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UK to recognise Palestinian statehood in September unless Israel agrees ceasefire and two-state solution, Starmer says – as it happened

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UK also demands Hamas release all hostages, disarm, sign up to a ceasefire and accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza. This live blog is closed

Donald Trump is speaking now at the opening of his new golf course in Aberdeenshire. He said that as president he had “stopped about five wars”.

Yesterday he was claiming to have stopped six of them, and it is not clear why he has revised the number down.

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John Swinney urges Trump to exempt scotch whisky from 10% tariffs

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First minister says there is ‘window of opportunity’ as he holds talks with US president at Aberdeenshire golf resort

Scotland’s first minister has urged Donald Trump to exempt scotch whisky from 10% tariffs as the leaders met before a lavish opening ceremony for a second golf course at the US president’s Aberdeenshire resort.

John Swinney said he believed there was “a window of opportunity” to look at the specific tariff, which is believed to be costing the scotch whisky industry £4m a week.

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ChatGPT launches study mode to encourage ‘responsible’ academic use

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Tool gives guidance rather than serving up complete essays or answers, amid rising AI misuse at universities

ChatGPT is launching a “study mode” to encourage responsible academic use of the chatbot, amid rising cases of misuse of artificial intelligence tools at universities.

The feature, which can be accessed via the chatbot’s tools button, can walk users through complex subjects in a step-by-step format akin to an unfolding academic lesson.

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Five survivors of Rotherham grooming gangs say they were also raped by police officers

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Three former South Yorkshire police officers arrested in investigation into claims by the women, as young as 12 at the time

Five women who were abused as children by Rotherham grooming gangs were also raped by police officers when they were as young as 12 years old, they have claimed.

In one case a girl who reported the abuse after being put under pressure by the gang to have an illegal abortion was left “destroyed” when an officer who had allegedly raped her turned up to interview her, she told the BBC.

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Labour focused on appeasing Reform, not beating them, says Jeremy Corbyn

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Former Labour leader says his new party will inspire hope, not fear, and promises to reset ‘broken’ political system

Jeremy Corbyn has accused the Labour government of “appeasing” Reform UK by “scapegoating” migrants and minorities for its own domestic policy failures, saying his new leftwing political party would take on Nigel Farage instead.

The veteran leftwing MP, who confirmed last week he was launching a new, as yet unnamed, movement with former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, said British politics was at a “critical juncture” with the rise of rightwing populism. He said he saw their role as providing hope, not fear.

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Southport MP says city won’t be defined by atrocity one year on from attack

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Police monitor social media for attempts to stir up disorder as town pays tribute to three girls murdered last year

Southport must not be defined by the atrocity at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club last summer, its leaders have said, a year on from the murders.

The Merseyside town will hold a three-minute silence and lower flags on public buildings on Tuesday in tribute to those caught up in the attack on 29 July last year.

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