Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Woman attacked by Sudesh Amman tells how she escaped harm during ‘horrific’ incident
A woman attacked by Streatham terrorist Sudesh Amman has revealed she escaped harm because he tried to stab her with a knife still in its plastic packaging.
The woman, 36, originally from the Dominican Republic, told the BBC the incident was “horrific” and “like a movie”. In an interview translated from Spanish, she said she is struggling to walk the streets again after the traumatic experience.
Downing Street issues series of dos and don’ts on language department staff must use
Foreign Office staff have been banned from using certain words and phrases in discussing Brexit – including “implementation period”, “no deal”, “special partnership” and even Brexit itself unless in certain narrow circumstances.
The directive underlines the degree to which Downing Street is determined that everyone in the department follows its ideological lead in using language that frames Britain’s departure from the European Union as a clean break.
All 30,000 British nationals in China have been urged to leave the country “if they can” because of the coronavirus outbreak, in a surprise move that prompted criticism that the UK government has left its citizens to fend for themselves.
In a further sign of mounting international concern about the spread of the coronavirus, the Foreign Office also recommended a ban on Britons travelling to China.
Channel island politicians back proposal that married women should have equal tax rights
An “archaic” tax law on the island of Jersey in effect deeming that a wife’s income belongs to her husband is being scrapped.
Politicians on the Channel island have backed a proposal that married women should have the same income tax rights – and responsibilities – as their husbands.
The British government’s surprise announcement telling Britons to leave China “if they can” comes amid mounting international concern about the spread of coronavirus.
But the advice came with no detailed guidance about why the UK’s position had changed – making it unclear whether this was a political stance, or a position based on new medical guidance that British authorities have not shared publicly.
Letter calls for full inquests into deaths of 39 people in a refrigerated lorry last year
Families of the 39 Vietnamese migrants whose bodies were discovered in a refrigerated lorry in Essex last year and campaigners in the UK are calling for inquests to be held into the deaths.
While criminal proceedings related to the tragic deaths continue, there has been no indication whether there will be any wider investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In the north of England, the arguments over whether to push on with the HS2 project are as polarised as they are in Westminster. Amy Walker speaks to those opposed to HS2
Ask commuters in the north of England what improvements they would like to see on the railways and their wishlist is usually fairly modest: regular, reliable services with adequate carriages, non-leaking roofs and toilets that don’t empty straight out on to the track. Forget USB ports or wifi. Justthe basics – and some dignity.
Few would put at the top of their list a £100bn-plus railway that will get them to London an hour quicker.
Report also urges government to consider making firms such as Facebook share their data
New regulation should be passed to control the algorithms that promote content such as posts, videos and adverts on social networks, the UK government’s advisory body on AI ethics has recommended.
As part of a forthcoming overhaul of regulation covering the internet, the government should also consider requiring social media platforms to allow independent researchers access to their data if they are researching issues of public concern, the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) suggested. That could include topics such as the effects of social media on mental health, or its role in spreading misinformation.
Journalists in Downing Street walk out after Johnson aide tries to exclude some reporters
Political journalists boycotted a Downing Street briefing on Monday after one of Boris Johnson’s aides banned selected reporters from attending.
The confrontation took place inside No 10 after Lee Cain, Johnson’s most senior communications adviser, tried to exclude reporters from the Mirror, the i, HuffPost, PoliticsHome, the Independent and others from an official government briefing.
Nazir Afzal, the former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England, has said, as he did after November’s London Bridge attack, which was – like the Streatham attack – carried out by a convicted terrorist, that he warned Boris Johnson four years ago about the threat posed by such individuals on release. He said he told the prime minister that proper de-radicalisation programmes were needed with mentoring, to which the response was that “that costs money”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning that longer sentences were not the answer.
We could have delayed this inevitable crime by a few months if we’d given him that [a longer sentence] but there is a real problem with de-radicalisation and disengagement programmes. They have been largely underfunded, they are poorly executed.
Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Sir Lanka and Denmark have world-renowned evaluated de-radicalisation programmes, properly resourced, which are making a significant difference.
My thoughts with those harmed in #Streatham & with thanks to our police & security services for running towards danger I hate to remind people that the time bomb that releasing still radicalised terrorists was brought to the PMs personal attention 4 yrs ago https://t.co/lOsLktILSKpic.twitter.com/s7FkqZNiwO
Hello, this is Haroon Siddique taking over the liveblog from Jessica.
A witness told Sky News he thought at the time that it was probably gang-related.
"I just saw a fight, but that's kind of normal around here."
A witness to the terror attack in Streatham, south London told Sky News he thought it was just a regular fight until he heard a "shout" and everyone ran.
Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments, including Johnson’s speech on EU trade talks, and Barnier publishing EU’s draft negotiating guidelines
The chief secretary to the Treasury has rejected the idea that cuts to prison and probation services have made it harder to rehabilitate or monitor terrorism suspects after a man who left prison days ago was shot dead by police after he stabbed two people in London.
Rishi Sunak declined to reveal the measures that Boris Johnson or the home secretary, Priti Patel, would announce on Monday after the attack by Sudesh Amman on Streatham High Road.
Actor’s speech addressing issues of diversity and reputation meets with ‘uncomfortable silence’ – and much praise
Joaquin Phoenix’s powerful broadside against the body that awarded him the best actor prize on Sunday night has met with a chorus of praise across the film industry.
In his speech, Phoenix said he felt conflicted by his victory “because so many of my fellow actors who are deserving don’t have that same privilege”.
The British Red Cross has provided this statement on the Streatham terror incident:
Our sympathies are with those affected by this afternoon’s incident in Streatham. We are in communication with the authorities leading the response and are closely monitoring the situation.
We are ready to make the UK Solidarity Fund available to those affected by the attack.
Police have given an update on the condition of the three people known to have been injured in the Streatham terror attack this afternoon.
One is in hospital in a life-threatening condition.
A second victim was treated for minor injuries at the scene before being taken to hospital.
A third victim has been taken to hospital – their condition is not life-threatening.
The Baftas awards frontrunner joins protestors on Tower Bridge in London to campaign for a meat-free world
Oscar and Bafta nominee Joaquin Phoenix has made a plea for people to “go vegan” as he led an animal equality protest in central London.
The actor gathered activists for a protest where he dropped a 390-square-foot banner from Tower Bridge that declared: “Factory farming destroys our planet. Go vegan.”
Former European council president’s remarks will boost SNP’s campaign for second independence referendum
Donald Tusk, the former president of the European council, has said there would be widespread enthusiasm in the EU if Scotland applied to rejoin after independence.
In remarks that will boost Nicola Sturgeon’s campaign for a second referendum, Tusk told the BBC he had great sympathy with the desire of many Scots to rejoin the EU after Brexit.
The MSNBC host’s show has become a safety blanket for many US progressives. She discusses her demonisation by the right, tackling the president’s lies – and coming out at 17
Rachel Maddow, the US TV host, has a message for her critics: “Bring it. Your hatred makes me stronger. Come on. Give me more. Give me more. I love it!”
That is just as well, given the way she has polarised viewers in the past few years. Maddow, 46, has presented her primetime show on MSNBC, a 24-hour cable news channel, on weeknights since 2008. If most cable news and social media is fast food, she tries to rustle up a three-course meal: sensible, sober, sometimes painfully detailed and replete with oblique references to half-forgotten politicians of yesteryear. Since Donald Trump’s rise in 2016, however, The Rachel Maddow Show has become a nightly safety blanket for many progressives who identify with the “resistance”.
‘Happy Brexit Day’ sign in Norwich block said foreign tongues would not be tolerated
A poster telling residents of a block of flats “we do not tolerate” people speaking languages other than English in the building has been reported to police.
The typewritten poster, bearing the title “Happy Brexit Day”, was reportedly found stuck to fire doors in Winchester Tower in Norwich on Friday morning. The discovery came hours before the UK officially left the European Union at 11pm later that day.
One of the first two people to test positive for coronavirus in the UK has been confirmed as a student at the University of York.
The university’s vice-chancellor, Prof Charlie Jeffery, said: “Our immediate concerns are for the affected student and family, along with the health and continued wellbeing of our students, staff, and the residents and visitors of our city."
He stressed that the university would continue to operate as normal