Category Archives: UK news

UK to plunge into deepest slump on record with worst GDP drop of G7

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Official measure to be declared this week as coronavirus lockdown shrinks GDP by 21% in second quarter

Britain’s economy will be officially declared in recession this week for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, as the coronavirus outbreak plunges the country into the deepest slump on record.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday are expected to show that gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic prosperity, fell in the three months to June by 21%.

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Ravers and boomers: is intergenerational Covid tension real?

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With ‘don’t kill granny’ warnings and talk of an over-50s lockdown, there are fears unity is fraying in the UK

On a Saturday evening in mid-July, Michael made a video call to his grandmother and checked she had everything she needed. Then, along with about 3,000 others, he set out for an illegal rave.

Despite coronavirus lockdown measures, Michael, a 20-year-old student from Bristol who asked to use a pseudonym, went to the event at a former RAF airfield near Bath three weeks ago with a group of friends. Before they met up, he said, their group chat was “mostly excitement, but a little bit of trepidation”. Michael added: “But we just thought, none of us live with old people, and the rules are all confusion.”

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UK weather: heatwave to continue before ‘severe thunderstorms’ roll in

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The mercury is set to hit 35C in Kent and Sussex on Sunday before thunderstorms arrive early in the week

Many Britons are set to bask in another hot day, with temperatures well above 30C.

The mercury looks set to reach as high as 35C on Sunday – with Kent, Sussex and parts of London being the most likely to see the warmest temperatures, according to Met Office forecaster Craig Snell.

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Presenter quits after BBC defends use of N-word in report

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Radio 1Xtra presenter Sideman says he can no longer work for broadcaster after ‘slap in the face’

A BBC radio presenter has quit his job after the corporation defended its decision to broadcast the N-word in a television news broadcast.

Radio 1Xtra presenter Sideman said he no longer felt comfortable working for the national broadcaster after it stuck by the decision to broadcast the language in a report on a racially motivated hit-and-run attack.

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Tottenham protest marks anniversary of Mark Duggan’s death

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Action supported by Black Lives Matter calls for end to ‘institutionally racist policing’

Chants of “no justice no peace” echoed around Tottenham police station on Saturday afternoon as hundreds of peaceful demonstrators gathered outside the building calling for an end to what they say is institutionally racist policing in this part of north London.

The event marks the ninth anniversary of the fatal shooting by police in Tottenham of Mark Duggan. His death was followed by the biggest riots in recent times. The event is supported by Black Lives Matter, Tottenham Rights and Stopwatch.

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Former Labour donors returning to party under Keir Starmer

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Several former financial backers report rejoining, with some ‘ready to give again’ in wake of Jeremy Corbyn’s departure

Former Labour donors who had abandoned the party are already considering renewing their support under Keir Starmer’s leadership, it has emerged.

Figures who have given the party large sums in the past said they had rejoined Labour, with one major donor saying they were already prepared to give again. Another former supporter said there was “a long road” ahead after allegations of antisemitism in the party, but that they had been impressed with Starmer’s start.

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MoD considering request to deploy navy to stop Channel migrants

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Home Office asked for patrols after saying migrants should face ‘real consequences’

Alarm is growing over UK proposals to introduce hardline measures to discourage refugees and illegal migrants from seeking sanctuary after the Ministry of Defence confirmed it was considering a Home Office request to deploy navy vessels in the Dover Straits.

It comes after the immigration minister, Chris Philp, called for migrants caught crossing the Channel to be fingerprinted and face “real consequences”, before a meeting next week with his French counterparts.

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Brexit backers Tate & Lyle set to gain £73m from end of EU trade tariffs

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Greenpeace investigators say the firm, which also donated to the Conservatives, will be sole beneficiary of rule changes on importing raw cane sugar

A company that backed Brexit and has donated to the Conservatives is in line to save £73m as the only direct beneficiary of a post-Brexit trade reform.

Under plans that will come into force at the end of the year, the government has confirmed that companies will be able to import 260,000 tonnes of raw sugar cane from anywhere in the world, tariff-free.

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Protesters march for fair pay for nurses and other NHS staff

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More than 30 marches due on Saturday in recognition of work during coronavirus pandemic

Thousands of NHS workers have protested across the UK calling for fair pay for NHS staff and true recognition of their work during the pandemic.

More than 30 marches were planned on Saturday as anger grows about an absence of action to match gestures such as weekly applause for healthcare workers.

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Black Lives Matter group offers rural people ‘insight into prejudice’

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BLM in the Stix promotes online toolkit to encourage UK communities to take a stand

Black Lives Matter activists have launched a toolkit designed to help rural communities across the UK to fight racism in their local area.

Their campaign, BLM in the Stix, is aimed at building on the momentum of June and July, when more than 260 towns and cities held anti-racism protests, from Monmouth in south Wales to Shetland in Scotland. It offers rural communities support to take a stand against racism at a local level.

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Jeremy Corbyn accuses Labour officials of sabotaging election campaign

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Exclusive: Former leader and allies say alleged diversion of funds in 2017 could be fraud

Jeremy Corbyn and his former leadership team have openly accused disgruntled Labour officials of potentially costing the party the chance of victory by sabotaging the 2017 election campaign in a factional dispute.

In a joint statement that shines a light on the scale of continued Labour splits, Corbyn, the former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and seven other former shadow ministers and aides have for the first time formally endorsed claims made in a party report leaked in April.

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Two stories, different witnesses. So where was Dominic Cummings on 19 April?

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Witness accounts pile on pressure for PM’s aide to show proof he did not visit Durham a second time in lockdown

The official version is Cummings’s own, and places him squarely in London. While the prime minister’s chief aide notoriously acknowledged a trip to Durham in late March, his denial of a second visit days after he returned was unequivocal.

On a sunny afternoon in the Downing Street rose garden, he insisted the witness who said they had seen him admiring bluebells in Houghall woods was wrong, and he had the evidence.

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Revealed: UK’s rapid Covid test not yet approved by regulators

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Exclusive: no data on accuracy of this and other test bought by government has been published

One of two 90-minute rapid coronavirus tests bought by the UK government and announced on Monday has yet to be approved by regulators, while no data on the accuracy of either has been published, the Guardian has learned.

The test, from Oxford Nanopore, a young biotech company spun off from Oxford University, has not yet gained a CE mark. Before Covid-19, Oxford Nanopore had been involved only in research, not tests for patients.

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Prince Harry hits out at social media for creating ‘crisis of hate’

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Duke of Sussex urges advertisers to demand companies do more to curb hate speech online

Prince Harry has hit out at social media companies for creating a “crisis of hate” and called for “meaningful digital reform” after an unprecedented advertiser boycott of Facebook.

In an opinion piece for the US business magazine Fast Company, the Duke of Sussex revealed that he and his wife, Meghan, had begun campaigning for change in social media “a little over four weeks ago”.

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Europe treats undocumented children with less care than livestock | Michele Levoy

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Countless young people are being pushed to Europe’s margins by hardline border and migration policies

We don’t know how many undocumented children are living in Europe. We don’t even know how many children are currently locked up in detention because of their own or their parents’ immigration status. While the European Union requires precise data collection in numerous sectors – we know how many dairy cows there are in the EU and the UK, for example – the lack of data and visibility of undocumented children seems a political, rather than a technical, void.

Being born in Europe is not enough to prevent a child from becoming undocumented, if they are born to undocumented parents. No European country grants citizenship solely based on birth in the national territory. Others in the ranks of the undocumented moved to Europe as kids and have spent most of their lives here. For them, Europe is home. But policy hasn’t caught up with this reality.

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Covid led to ‘brutal crackdown’ on garment workers’ rights, says report

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Brands including Primark, Zara and H&M accused of failing to protect workers at factories in Asia from ‘union busting’

Some of Europe’s biggest retailers, including Primark, Zara and H&M, are failing to stop Covid-19 being used as a pretext for union busting, human rights activists are warning.

Millions of garment workers in some of the poorest parts of Asia have lost their jobs since coronavirus shutdowns hit the retail industry worldwide.

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Italy infections jump 38% in a day as Japan confirms record number of new cases – as it happened

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‘The holiday is over,’ says Norwegian health minister; PPE destroyed in Beirut blast; Africa passes 1m confirmed cases. This blog is now closed.

U.S. president Donald Trump said he would take part in a conference call on Sunday with leaders of Lebanon, France and other countries following the devastating blast in Beirut.

He also said he will be doing a press conference shortly, which would touch on both Beirut and the coronavirus.

I will be doing a news conference on the ChinaVirus, the just announced very good economic numbers, and the improving economy, at 7pm from Bedminster, New Jersey. Also, the subject of the Beirut, Lebanon catastrophe will be discussed.

Australia passed 20,000 coronavirus cases yesterday, with case numbers doubling in less than a month thanks to the outbreak in the Victorian capital of Melbourne.

Melbourne residents are beginning their first full weekend under stage four lockdown conditions, which will remain in place until 13 September.

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Met Office issues amber health for potentially hottest day of year

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Temperatures could reach up to 38C during string of very hot days, say forecasters

The UK could see record-breaking temperatures on Friday, with forecasters saying it could be the hottest day of the year. People are being warned to look out for older people, young children and those with underlying health conditions, as the UK prepares for the heatwave to continue through the weekend.

The Met Office issued the amber heat health warning, the second-highest available, on Thursday as it warned people to look out for each other and drink plenty of fluids, while avoiding excessive quantities of alcohol, to deal with temperatures that could rise as high as 38C (100F) in some places.

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Watchdog exposes ‘unacceptable’ treatment of children in English court cells

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Children with autism among those detained in England and Wales and left for hours in sometimes filthy cells

Children with Down’s syndrome and autism were among those left for hours in court cells while they waited for legal representation or transport, a custody watchdog has revealed in a damning report.

The treatment of some young people, including those with disabilities, was labelled unacceptable and a “matter of embarrassment” for the criminal justice system by the Lay Observers (LO), volunteers who inspect court custody conditions and transport arrangements for detainees in England and Wales.

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