Exclusive: UK will have option to leave earlier if deal is ratified, leaked draft shows
The EU is preparing to sign off on a Brexit extension to 31 January 2020 with an option for the UK to leave earlier if a deal is ratified, according to a leaked draft of the agreement seen by the Guardian.
Despite objections raised by the French government, a paper to be agreed on Monday circulated among member states suggests the EU will accede to the UK’s request for a further delay.
Continue reading...Downing Street hints at bill-based path if MPs do not back election motion on Monday
The government could try to force a pre-Christmas election via a simple majority for a parliamentary bill, Downing Street has said, following a Liberal Democrat-devised plan to try to end the House of Commons impasse.
While ministers have dismissed a Lib Dem-Scottish National party idea to bring about an election on 9 December by amending the Fixed-term Parliaments Act as a “gimmick”, a Downing Street source said Boris Johnson’s government could consider a similar bill-based route.
Continue reading...Maurice Robinson is charged with manslaughter after bodies of 39 people found in Grays
Three people arrested in connection with the investigation into the deaths of 39 people whose bodies were found in the back of a lorry in Essex last week have been released on bail.
The development came after it emerged that investigators are considering the possibility that the lorry in Grays was part of a convoy carrying more than 100 people, and as Vietnamese police took hair and blood samples on Sunday to get DNA from relatives of people feared to be among the dead
Continue reading...The actor Wendell Pierce reveals today he warned Meghan Markle, his former co-star on the legal drama Suits, that her world would be “forever changed” by her relationship with Prince Harry.
Pierce, 55, who played Robert Zane, a successful lawyer and father to Markle’s character, Rachel Zane, on the show, worked alongside Markle for four years after joining the series in 2013. “It was great,” he recalled. “She’s a really good actress and was always sweet, always kind.”
Continue reading...Offering safe and legal routes into Britain must be at heart of efforts to tackle trafficking
The plight of people who arrive in the UK in refrigerated lorries, or rubber dinghies, or between wheel caps, rarely makes the news. But last week, the discovery of 39 dead people in a container lorry in Essex was a story that made headlines across the world. While their individual stories remain unknown, we can be certain that they have left behind families and friends, who even now may not know the fate of their loved ones.
The deaths of these 39 victims lay bare the perilous dangers facing those who travel to the UK via dangerous routes. I do not know why these 39 people were in that lorry. I do not know if they had climbed inside hoping to reach a place of safety, in this country or elsewhere, or whether they were forced into that journey against their will.
Continue reading...The number of British citizens leaving for European Union countries is at a 10-year high, with the rate of departure accelerating since the referendum, new research has revealed.
According to initial findings of a report on the migration of UK citizens, 84,000 people are expected to leave Britain for another EU nation this year, compared with 59,000 in 2008. It found that about 11,500 people moved from the UK to Germany in 2018, compared with more than 8,500 in 2008.
Continue reading...Essex lorry tragedy has brought back painful memories for those who made similar decisions in search of a better life
For Loan Hoang, news of the tragedy in Essex brought memories rushing back of how her own brothers risked their lives to help their family flee Vietnam four decades ago.
In 1978, three of them were among 600 people crammed on to a boat made for 400. With the boat barely floating under the weight of its cargo, they set out to sea uncertain whether the voyage would end in safety or death.
Continue reading...Mo Robinson, 25, has also been charged with human trafficking and money laundering
The driver of the lorry that contained 39 dead migrants has been charged with manslaughter and human trafficking.
Maurice Robinson, 25, from Co Armagh in Northern Ireland, faces 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering, Essex police said on Saturday.
Continue reading...Stifling international regulations have been blamed for delaying the approval of a food that could have helped save millions of lives this century. The claim is made in a new investigation of the controversy surrounding the development of Golden Rice by a team of international scientists.
Golden Rice is a form of normal white rice that has been genetically modified to provide vitamin A to counter blindness and other diseases in children in the developing world. It was developed two decades ago but is still struggling to gain approval in most nations.
Continue reading...Arlene Foster highlights importance of party’s 10 parliamentary votes in propping up government
The Democratic Unionist party leader has demanded honesty from the government on Brexit as she vows to keep opposing the current deal until changes are made.
Arlene Foster told her party conference on Saturday afternoon the current withdrawal agreement would take Northern Ireland in the “wrong direction”.
Continue reading...Supporters around country and overseas post videos of fans celebrating in pubs and rugby clubs
When Manu Tuilagi swan-dived over the line within two minutes of the end of England’s World Cup semi-final with New Zealand, their dejected opponents briefly regrouped.
But the All Blacks, who had not lost in 18 consecutive World Cup matches since the 2007 quarter-finals, were unable to find a way past an imperious England side who marched into the final. Rugby fans at the Cabbage Patch pub near Twickenham roared with delight.
Continue reading...Mocked-up ‘boarding pass’ for the late footballer distributed on social media
Police are investigating after an image of a mocked-up “boarding pass” for the late Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala was distributed on social media.
The 28-year-old Argentinian player died in a plane crash in the Channel two days after the Welsh club announced his signing on 19 January.
Continue reading...Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Sussex, was last seen in early hours of Thursday at beach party on Koh Rong
Police and volunteers in Cambodia are searching for a missing British woman last seen by friends in the early hours of Thursday at a beach party on the island of Koh Rong.
Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Worthing in Sussex, went to a party on Wednesday at Police Beach, which is popular with backpackers and located off the south-west coast of the South-East Asian country. Her handbag, containing her phone and bank cards, was found on the beach on Thursday but she has not been seen since the event.
Continue reading...Rail services from the London hub suspended while police dealt with trespassing incident
Commuters travelling through London Euston faced major disruption after services were delayed or cancelled during rush hour.
All rail services from the central London station were suspended and the West Coast main line was closed while police dealt with a trespassing incident on Friday evening.
Continue reading...39 people found dead in refrigerated lorry in Essex were initially believed to be Chinese
Distraught Vietnamese families were seeking information about their missing loved ones last night amid growing fears that some of the 39 people who died in a refrigerated lorry in Essex were from the country.
Text messages from one woman, 26-year-old Pham Thi Tra My, to her mother matched the time of the tragedy. They said: “I’m dying because I can’t breathe.” She has not been heard from since, a family representative told the Guardian.
Continue reading...Supporters of a second referendum may try to seize control of timetable next week
Rebel MPs are exploring ways to seize control of the agenda from Boris Johnson by allowing parliament to debate and vote on Brexit legislation and a second referendum possibly as soon as next week.
Several MPs told the Guardian this was a plan under consideration if Johnson persisted with his insistence that his withdrawal agreement bill was “paused” until MPs agree to an election on 12 December.
Continue reading...Prince says private sector needs to lead with green investments towards sustainable economy
Prince Charles has called on the City of London to help protect the environment by investing trillions of pounds into green investments which help create a sustainable economy.
In an interview with the Evening Standard the heir to the British throne said big businesses and City investors must drive a rapid decarbonisation of the economy before the environmental crisis becomes “a total catastrophe”.
Continue reading...Ismail Ahmed, boss of money transfer firm WorldRemit, tops list of star names and entrepreneurs
The grime artist Stormzy, the Duchess of Sussex and the footballer Raheem Sterling have been named among the most influential black people in Britain.
However, it was the founder of pioneering money transfer firm WorldRemit, Ismail Ahmed, who topped the Powerlist 2020, an annual list of the 100 most powerful people of African, African-Caribbean and African American heritage across Britain.
Continue reading...Man and woman arrested in Warrington as postmortems begin on 39 Chinese nationals
Two more people have been arrested in England as part of the investigation into the deaths of 39 people found in the back of a lorry in Essex, police have said.
A man and a woman, both 38 and both from Warrington, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and on suspicion of 39 counts of manslaughter, Essex police said.
Continue reading...Chancellor says Tories will insist on election but experts outline problems with pre-Christmas vote
Sajid Javid has said the government will repeatedly push for a general election if parliament rejects Boris Johnson’s motion on Monday, as electoral administrators outlined potential problems with a pre-Christmas election including a lack of polling stations and late postal votes.
Johnson on Thursday night threatened to pull his Brexit deal if Jeremy Corbyn rejected the offer of a general election on 12 December, but Labour appeared poised to block Monday’s motion by telling MPs to abstain. The party has said it will only back an early election when a no-deal Brexit scenario can be firmly ruled out.
Continue reading...