Category Archives: UK news

Neolithic long cairn in Yorkshire given extra protection after walkers remove stones

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Dudderhouse Hill in dales is thought to be one of first structures in UK to be communally constructed by humans

A rare and remarkable 5,000-year-old monument that is an example of one of the earliest visible structures in England is to receive extra protection because walkers, sometimes innocently, have been removing and moving stones.

The Dudderhouse Hill long cairn in the Yorkshire Dales has been granted “scheduled monument” status by the government, making it a site of national importance with greater legal protection.

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7,000 steps a day could be enough to improve health, say researchers

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Target easier to achieve than 10,000 steps and linked to 37% reduction in cancer deaths

Walking more could reduce your risk of dementia, depression and dying from cancer, as well as being good for your heart, according to research. And you may not need to walk as far as previously thought to reap those benefits.

The NHS recommends a brisk 10-minute walk every day. Many people aim to walk 10,000 steps, but struggle to achieve it. Now researchers have calculated that even 7,000 steps could be enough to protect health.

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Teachers’ union elects former FBU general secretary on turnout below 5%

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Matt Wrack wins ballot for NASUWT general secretary after legal challenge to executive’s earlier decision

Matt Wrack, a former leader of the firefighters’ union, has been elected as permanent general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union after a ballot in which less than 5% of eligible members voted.

He beat his challenger, Neil Butler, winning 5,249 votes to his rival’s 3,126, after the NASUWT’s first contested leadership election for a generation.

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‘This is not action’: MPs respond to David Lammy’s condemnation of Israel

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Keir Starmer’s government struggling to convince MPs and public it is doing enough for civilians starving in Gaza

When David Lammy stood at the dispatch box to deliver a statement condemning Israel’s killing of starving civilians in Gaza on Monday, he was met with anger from MPs.

“We want action, and this is not action,” thundered one Labour MP. Another questioned: “Is this it?” A third asked: “At what point does our basic humanity require us to take stronger action? Many of us think the red line was passed a long time ago.”

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M&S advert banned for featuring model who looked ‘unhealthily thin’

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ASA ruling comes amid fears fashion industry reversing progress in body positivity movement

An advert by high street retailer Marks & Spencer has been banned for featuring an “irresponsible” image of a model who appeared “unhealthily thin”.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the model’s pose, choice of clothing and the camera angle which seemed to tilt downwards all contributed to the impression she was too thin.

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British families ‘sent wrong remains’ of loved ones killed in Air India crash

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Victims misidentified and ‘commingled’ parts of more than one person placed in same casket, says lawyer

British families grieving after the Air India disaster have discovered that the remains of their loved ones have been wrongly identified and repatriated, according to an aviation lawyer representing them.

Relatives of one victim had to abandon funeral plans after being informed that their coffin contained the body of an unknown passenger.

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Tories say Starmer has a ‘disconnect from reality’ over housing asylum seekers – UK politics live

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Newly-appointed shadow housing secretary James Cleverly says there is no excuse for recent riots but government is making a difficult situation worse

Charities have warned of the increasing danger to asylum seekers posed by far-right protesters after small boat arrivals were moved from their usual landing place in Dover to further along the coast to avoid clashes.

The Guardian understands that Home Office officials received intelligence that some of those participating in what was billed the Great British National Protest in Dover on Saturday afternoon could have been planning to target Kent Intake Unit, where small boat arrivals are initially processed after being escorted to shore in Dover by the Border Force.

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UK watchdog investigates eight years of Deloitte audits of mining firm Glencore

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FRC examines whether accounting firm ‘gave sufficient consideration to risk of non-compliance with laws’

The accounting firm Deloitte is under investigation by the sector regulator over eight years of its audits into the FTSE 100 commodities and mining company Glencore and a UK subsidiary.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it was looking into whether Deloitte’s audits of Glencore and its subsidiary Glencore Energy UK for the financial years ending 2013 to 2020 “gave sufficient consideration to the risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations”.

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Ian Hislop calls arrest of man holding Private Eye cartoon at Gaza protest ‘mind-boggling’

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Jon Farley arrested under Terrorism Act at Leeds demonstration for holding sign making joke about Palestine Action ban

The terrorism arrest of a man for holding up a Private Eye cartoon during a protest at the weekend was “mind-boggling”, the magazine’s editor, Ian Hislop, has said, as the retired teacher called for an apology from police.

Jon Farley was picked up by police at a silent demonstration in Leeds on Saturday, which he described as a “pretty terrifying and upsetting experience”, for holding a sign that made a joke about the government’s proscription of the group Palestine Action from the last issue of the fortnightly satirical magazine.

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Wednesday briefing: ​The Conservative​s ​reshuffle​ in an attempt to ​stay ​relevant ​amid ​poor polling

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In today’s newsletter: A year into opposition, Kemi Badenoch’s​ party is still searching for its place in UK politics

Good morning. Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative party (remember them?), has announced a reshuffle of her top team a year into her leadership.

The reshuffle itself has not come as a surprise – it was rumoured for months. Badenoch has kept much of her team in place, including the shadow home secretary, Robert Jenrick, shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, and the shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel.

Israel-Gaza war | Israel’s government is pursuing an “unacceptable and morally unjustifiable” policy in Gaza, the Catholic Latin patriarch of Jerusalem has said after visiting a church in the territory that was attacked by Israeli forces and meeting survivors.

Environment | The world is on the brink of a breakthrough in the climate fight and fossil fuels are running out of road, the UN chief said on Tuesday, as he urged countries to funnel support into low-carbon energy.

Immigration | Officials are to start using artificial intelligence to help estimate the age of asylum seekers who say they are children, Angela Eagle, the immigration minister, said on Tuesday.

UK news | A man has been found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service after handing over personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to two British undercover officers he believed to be Russian agents.

Music | Ozzy Osbourne, whose gleeful “Prince of Darkness” image made him one of the most iconic rock frontmen of all time, has died aged 76. His death comes less than three weeks after his retirement from performance.

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Dover asylum protests pose danger to small boat arrivals, charities say

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Home Office orders diversion from usual landing place to Ramsgate to avoid clashes with far right

Charities have warned of the increasing danger to asylum seekers posed by far-right protesters after small boat arrivals were moved from their usual landing place in Dover to further along the coast to avoid clashes.

The Guardian understands that Home Office officials received intelligence that some of those participating in what was billed the Great British National Protest in Dover on Saturday afternoon could have been planning to target Kent Intake Unit, where small boat arrivals are initially processed after being escorted to shore in Dover by the Border Force.

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Ministers urged to help students trapped in Gaza with places at UK universities

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Forty people who have been offered scholarships unable to travel without biometric data they have no way of getting

Pressure is mounting on ministers to intervene on behalf of 40 students in Gaza who have been offered full scholarships to study at UK universities, but are unable to take up their places this September because of government red tape.

A high-level meeting is understood to have taken place at the Home Office on Tuesday after MPs and campaigners highlighted the students’ plight, calling on ministers to take action to help secure their safe passage to the UK. Some students are reported to have been killed while waiting, while others are said to be in constant danger.

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Eurostar calls for ‘credible’ Channel rail strategy as monopoly decision looms

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Operator says if rivals are allowed to squeeze into existing facilities it could jeopardise its investment

Eurostar has urged the UK government to choose a “credible long-term strategy” for international rail or risk “falling behind” the rest of Europe, before a crucial decision by the regulator that could end its cross-Channel monopoly.

The high-speed train operator warned that a “premature” ruling from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to allow competitors to squeeze trains into existing facilities could jeopardise its planned investment and expansion.

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UK’s aid cuts ‘will hit children’s education and raise risk of death’

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Cutting aid budget to 0.3% of national income will hurt many African countries, says FCDO impact assessment

Labour’s deep aid cuts will hit children’s education and increase the risk of disease and death in some African countries, according to the government’s own impact assessment.

Keir Starmer announced earlier this year that he would reduce the aid budget to 0.3% of national income, from 0.5%, to fund increased spending on defence.

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Starmer under pressure from cabinet to recognise Palestinian statehood

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Exclusive: Wes Streeting among ministers pushing for action after calling Israeli attacks on aid sites ‘intolerable’

Keir Starmer is under pressure from cabinet ministers for the UK to immediately recognise Palestine as a state, as global outcry grows over Israel’s killing of starving civilians in Gaza.

The prime minister is understood to have been urged by a number of senior ministers in different cabinet meetings over recent months that the UK should take a leading role in issuing recognition.

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‘Completely unprecedented’: resident doctors to press ahead with strike

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Wes Streeting says move shows ‘disdain for patients’ while BMA insist pay demands not taken seriously in talks

Wes Streeting has condemned the decision by resident doctors to “recklessly and needlessly” press ahead with strike action, saying it is “completely unprecedented in the history of British trade unionism”.

In a fiery statement after the British Medical Association (BMA) said there was no offer on the table that could avert the industrial action on Friday, the health secretary said resident doctors were offered changes to working conditions and career progression but chose to continue with industrial action.

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Immigration and deprivation causing UK public to lose faith in politicians, says Rayner

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Deputy PM says government must show it is helping people amid concerns about potential for more riots in England

Immigration and deprivation are the main factors causing public disenchantment with politicians and the government that has led to social unrest and rioting, Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, has warned.

According to an official summary of Tuesday’s meeting of the cabinet, Rayner, who is leading a wider government project on improving social cohesion, also highlighted the increasing amount of people spending time alone and online as a driver of disturbances.

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UK strikes deal with private investors to build £38bn Sizewell C nuclear power plant

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Government’s deal with EDF, Centrica and other backers marks end of 15-year journey to win funding for project

The UK government has struck a deal worth more than £38bn with private investors to back Britain’s biggest nuclear project in a generation, at the Sizewell C site on the Suffolk coast.

The long-awaited multibillion-pound deal, which will be paid for through taxes and energy bills, gives the final go-ahead for construction of the nuclear project, which has almost doubled in cost from when it was first proposed.

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UK ban on Palestine Action is an abuse of power, high court told

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Intelligence assessment before proscription found that vast majority of group’s activities were lawful, court hears

An intelligence assessment before Palestine Action was banned under anti-terrorism laws found that the vast majority of its activities were lawful, a court has heard.

Raza Husain KC, appearing for Huda Ammori, a co-founder of the group, said Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe the group on 5 July was “repugnant” and an “authoritarian and blatant abuse of power”.

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Cenotaph wreath rules were changed to placate unionists, Blair-era files show

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Archives reveal political manoeuvring to ensure DUP’s inclusion in 2004 Remembrance Sunday ceremony

Tony Blair’s government altered the rules on party leaders laying wreaths at the Cenotaph to keep unionists onboard with Northern Ireland’s peace process, newly released files show.

The decision was taken in the run-up to the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in 2004 to change rules drawn up in 1984 that meant leaders of parties who won at least six seats at the previous general election could lay a wreath.

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