The police regulator says it has been tracking down witnesses across the world, as it seeks to explain why it has yet to decide whether to launch an investigation into Boris Johnson and his relationship with the US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri.
Since late September the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been evaluating whether to investigate the prime minister for possible criminal misconduct over his friendship with Arcuri when he was mayor of London.
Continue reading...Melanie Chisholm, the former Spice Girl Mel C, dates her past struggle with eating disorders and depression back to an incident at a Brit awards ceremony, she reveals on Desert Island Discs on 23 February.
In 1996, before the girl group was officially launched, Chisholm was almost chucked out of the Spice Girls for unruly behaviour, following “a scuffle between me and Victoria” that she has only recently admitted to.
Continue reading...Outsiders can be forgiven for being tired of the Syrian conflict. After all, the violence has lasted for nearly a decade and the worst chapters – for outsiders, at least – have come and gone: Islamic State (Isis) seized almost half the country, in addition to one-third of Iraq and launched a global network of terror in 2014. But the world has now caught its breath and the threat has all but ended. Refugees, too, flooded Europe some years ago but the influx has been contained.
Also, expert warnings about a resurgence of violence or extremism did not materialise and the return of state control seems to be the steady trajectory of the conflict despite persistent problems. Most of the country is currently under the control of either the regime, Turkey or the United States-backed Kurdish forces in eastern Syria. Even in the Kurdish zone, many would concede that it might be just a matter of time before these areas are recaptured by Damascus, even without much fighting, if and when the US eventually ends its presence there.
Continue reading...Fishing was a powerful factor in the case for leaving the EU. On the eve of crucial trade talks, the Observer finds optimism tempered by caution on the quays of Devon and Cornwall
Neil Watson was eight or nine when his dad took him out to sea for the first time. Soon he was earning his first pocket money by washing fish boxes on the quay at Brixham in south Devon. Three years after he started crewing, he got his skipper’s ticket and eventually he bought his own boat. For 30 years, he regularly spent seven days at sea followed by one night off, only stopping when his boat sank two years ago.
“I fished through good times and bad times. Fishing’s like riding a wave – one minute you’re up the top, and the next you’re down in the trough,” he said. Now Watson works at Brixham’s fish market, one of the largest in England, where £40m of fish was sold last year across the UK and Europe. A fisherman’s life is brutal, he said, but he badly misses the camaraderie.
Continue reading...Downing Street is accusing the EU of being in disarray over its plans for a post-Brexit trade deal, in the latest deterioration of relations ahead of crunch talks next month.
Boris Johnson will also unveil his blueprint for a US trade deal next week, in a move designed to heap further pressure on Brussels. However, EU sources regard the hostile briefings as a bluff from the prime minister’s team, saying that their pre-negotiation plans are on track.
Continue reading...US ‘hypocritical’ to seek Wikileaks founder’s extradition but not send Anne Sacoolas back to UK for trial over son’s death
The family of Harry Dunn has called for Julian Assange not to be extradited as long as the United States refuses to send the suspect in the teenager’s death back to Britain.
The family has have accused the US government of “demonstrating an extraordinary amount of hypocrisy” in seeking the Wikileaks founder’s extradition but rejecting a request for Anne Sacoolas to return to Britain.
Continue reading...Scanning the magazine aisle at her local supermarket last weekend, Nikki Evans suddenly felt sick. She was stocking up on celebrity and gossip weeklies for her beauty salon when she realised that she couldn’t face buying them any more.
“It’s awful that it took the passing of Caroline [Flack] for people to stop and think ‘enough is enough’, but I re-evaluated and looked at all these magazines and I couldn’t see anything positive in them,” she told the Observer. “People come to my salon to feel good; we’re all about wellbeing and wellness, and I’m going to hand them magazines calling people trash? I’m done with it.”
Continue reading...Hundreds of Cambridge students have accused the university of “a complete failure” to deal with complaints of sexual misconduct after an investigation that raised concerns about a conflict of interest among academics.
In a letter signed by more than 500 current and former students, Cambridge University Students’ Union Women’s Campaign has called for colleges to be stripped of their powers to investigate sexual misconduct complaints against their own members.
Continue reading...Daniel Horton, 29, remanded in custody over attack on 70-year-old prayer leader
A homeless man has appeared in court charged with stabbing a prayer leader with a kitchen knife at a London mosque.
Daniel Horton, 29, is accused of grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article. He appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Saturday. Horton spoke only to state his nationality as British and confirm his name and date of birth.
Continue reading...Exclusive: experts have queried methods of Narconon, which has given talks in UK schools
Amazon has agreed to channel funds to a controversial drug rehabilitation charity linked to the Church of Scientology, the Guardian has learned.
The web giant will make donations to Narconon – which runs programmes for drug addicts based on the teachings of the Scientology founder, L Ron Hubbard – when supporters buy products through the site, with shoppers able to pledge 0.5% of purchases to selected charities under Amazon’s “Smile” feature.
Continue reading...US lawyer Gloria Allred, who is representing several of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers has admitted arranging an American-style school bus to drive through different parts of London, including past Buckingham Palace, with a message on the side asking Prince Andrew to speak with the FBI.
Andrew has so far failed to respond to FBI approaches in the ongoing investigation into Epstein and his abuse of underaged girls
Continue reading...Meghan and Harry’s non-profit organisation will no longer be named Sussex Royal Foundation, spokeswoman says
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer use the word royal, as in their “Sussex Royal” branding, a spokeswoman for the couple has said.
The spokeswoman said: “While the duke and duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organisation, given the specific UK government rules surrounding use of the word royal, it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organisation, when it is announced this spring, will not be named Sussex Royal Foundation.
Continue reading...US lawyer Gloria Allred arranged for bus to be driven past Buckingham Palace with message for prince
An American-style school bus has driven past Buckingham Palace with a message on the side appealing for Prince Andrew to answer questions from the FBI about his links to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The stunt was arranged by the US lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents some of Epstein’s victims.
Continue reading...From Wuhan to the north of England, people have been affected by the outbreak in different ways
The coronavirus is a public health emergency, but its threat is not only medical. Millions of lives have been altered by the outbreak, from those in self-isolation in China to Chinese nationals experiencing racism abroad. We talk to those affected in different ways, from Wuhan to the north of England.
Continue reading...Police say one migrant was charged $22,000 before being taken to China, France and then the UK
Police in Vietnam have charged seven people in connection with the deaths of 39 migrants whose bodies were discovered in the back of a lorry in the UK in 2019, authorities said late on Thursday.
The victims, who included two 15-year-old boys, were mostly from two provinces in north-central Vietnam, where poor job prospects, encouragement by authorities, smuggling gangs and environmental issues have fuelled migration.
Continue reading...Far-right figure was stopped at Heathrow on way back from meeting at Russian parliament and refused to give Pin of phone and devices, says Met
Paul Golding, the leader of the fringe far-right group Britain First, has been charged with an offence under the Terrorism Act after refusing to give police access to his phone.
He was stopped at Heathrow airport in October while returning from a trip to the Russian parliament in Moscow by officers from the Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism command.
Continue reading...Man, who has name suppression, to spend at least 17 years in prison after murder of British backpacker that shocked New Zealand
The New Zealand man found guilty of murdering British backpacker Grace Millane has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years.
The man appeared in Auckland’s high court on Friday morning, and his sentencing was overseen by Justice Simon Moore.
Continue reading...Harry and Meghan’s split from the firm, Prince Andrew and The Unpleasantness, and a double whammy of divorces make the royals ever more popular. Plus: how Al Pacino lost the bloom of youth
News that Prince Harry and Meghan will cease their royal duties at the end of next month is now in, yet offers no letup in the backbreaking schedule of Windsors-related toss-giving demanded of all UK humans.
On the one hand, we are told that all this may turn out to be a mortal blow for the royal family, though my feeling is the mere fact of “Charles III” has the potential to be rather more seismic. On the other hand, we have never seemed to care more about these people. Whatever happened to Prince Charles’s much vaunted plan for a slimmed-down royal family?
Continue reading...Femicide Census for 2018 shows 149 women killed, the highest number since census began
More than half the women killed by men in the UK in 2018 were killed by a current or former partner, many after they had taken steps to leave, according to a report on femicide.
The fourth Femicide Census, conducted by Women’s Aid and the campaigner Karen Ingala Smith, found 149 women were killed by 147 men in 2018. The number of deaths is an increase of 10 on the previous year and the highest number since the census began.
Continue reading...Trump’s chief of staff gives clear warning about using Chinese firm to supply equipment
Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff has warned there could be “a direct and dramatic impact” on the sharing of intelligence between the US and UK if Boris Johnson’s government goes ahead with allowing Huawei to supply equipment to build the British 5G mobile phone network.
Mick Mulvaney’s remarks represent one of the most forceful warnings yet by senior Trump administration officials, who have repeatedly made clear their concerns about the British decision to allow the Chinese company to supply its technology.
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