Category Archives: UK news

Gold climbs above $3,500 for first time as Wall Street rallies after slide

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Dollar also recovers after Monday’s sell-off prompted by Donald Trump’s attack on Federal Reserve chair

Gold has climbed above $3,500 an ounce for the first time while stocks on Wall Street and the dollar rose following Monday’s sell-off prompted by Donald Trump’s blistering attack on the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell.

Spot gold reached the record price of $3,500.01 (£2,620) on Tuesday, extending a rally that has pushed bullion up from $2,623 an ounce at the start of this year.

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UK ministers face questions over supreme court gender ruling repercussions

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Labour backbenchers demand clarity on practical impact of transgender people’s use of toilets and hospital wards

Ministers have come under pressure to provide answers on how last week’s supreme court ruling on gender identity will affect the daily lives of transgender people, amid confusion over issues such as toilet provision and hospital wards.

Keir Starmer said he welcomed what he called “real clarity” and “a welcome step forward” in his first response to the court decision, which ruled that “woman” in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman.

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Badenoch says Labour’s claims to have always defended single-sex spaces are a ‘shameless work of fiction’ – UK politics live

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Minister for women and equality makes statement after supreme court ruling on gender recognition

Some MPs and peers are calling for President Trump not to be invited to address parliament when he visits the UK. In 2017, during Trump’s first presidency, the then Speaker, John Bercow, vetoed a proposal for Trump to address parliamentarians in Westminster Hall.

In an interview with Times Radio this morning, Stephen Morgan, an education minister, said Trump should be allowed to give a speech in parliament. Asked if Trump should be allowed to address MPs and peers, Morgan said:

I look forward to the US president addressing parliament in due course.

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Manchester van driver pleads guilty to killing three-year-old girl

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Rawal Rehman had been on a cocaine binge when his van collided with Louisa Palmisano and her parents on 22 February

A convicted drug dealer has pleaded guilty to killing a three-year-old girl while driving recklessly, shortly after being released from prison on licence.

Rawal Rehman, 35, had been on all-night cocaine binge when his van collided with Louisa Palmisano and her parents in Manchester city centre on 22 February.

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Scottish government abandons plan to fight court ruling on gender recognition

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Social justice secretary says Holyrood ‘fully accepts’ supreme court ruling and would amend guidance

The Scottish government has said it will abandon its plans to change legislation on gender recognition, the high watermark of Nicola Sturgeon’s progressive agenda, as it moved to reassure the trans community that “you are valued”.

In a statement to MSPs on Tuesday afternoon, the social justice secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said Holyrood “fully accepts” the judgment of the supreme court, which ruled against Scottish ministers last Wednesday in the culmination of a long-running legal action brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland.

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UK manufacturers to cut jobs ‘within weeks unless ministers can strike trade deal’

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Bosses from automative, manufacturing and energy warned MPs about effect of Trump tariffs

Britain’s manufacturers will start cutting jobs “within weeks” unless the government can strike a deal to safeguard the UK economy from Donald Trump’s trade war, industry leaders have told MPs.

Senior executives from the UK’s automotive, manufacturing and energy sectors warned a committee of MPs to expect job losses this summer if the US moves ahead with a swathe of global trade tariffs set out by Trump earlier this month.

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British Steel halts redundancy plans after government rescue

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Union welcomes announcement company is closing consultation on laying off up to 2,700 Scunthorpe workers

British Steel will not continue with a consultation on making up to 2,700 steelworkers at its Scunthorpe plant redundant, after the government took control of the firm earlier this month.

The Chinese company Jingye, which promised a “new chapter” when it bought British Steel in 2020, last month proposed closing Scunthorpe’s two blast furnaces, putting the roles under threat and ending Britain’s ability to produce steel from scratch.

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Keir Starmer to seek to bolster defence ties as he hosts New Zealand PM

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UK prime minister and Christopher Luxon expected to sign £30m weapons deal and extend training of Ukrainian troops

Keir Starmer will seek to strengthen the UK’s defence ties with New Zealand when he hosts the country’s prime minister on Tuesday.

When he meets Christopher Luxon, Starmer will discuss extending a training programme for Ukrainian troops run by the two countries and agree a new £30m weapons deal.

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Three men charged with manslaughter after death of woman on golf course

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Suzanne Cherry, 62, was fatally struck by a van that was being pursued by police in Staffordshire

Three men have been charged with manslaughter after a woman was fatally struck on a golf course by a van following a police pursuit.

Suzanne Cherry, 62, died in hospital on 15 April, four days after she was struck by a van at Aston Wood golf club in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

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Changeable weather across UK forecast after unusually warm, dry spell

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Sun and showers will alternate this week and temperatures will return to the seasonal average

Pack an umbrella, sunglasses and a warm coat is the message from forecasters who have said the weather is expected to be changeable this week with rain continuing across the UK after the previous dry spell.

Much of the country will have alternating sunny spells and showers over the next few days and temperatures will be within the seasonal average of 14C (57F) to 18C (64F).

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Family of student murdered in London 10 years ago make fresh appeal for help

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Ola Raji’s sisters ask public for support in finding killers of 21-year-old, who was shot and stabbed in Peckham

The family of a 21-year-old student who was shot and stabbed while cycling home after watching a football match 10 years ago has renewed an appeal for the public’s help to find those responsible.

Ola Raji had spent the evening at a friend’s house watching a Champions League match between Bayern Munich and Porto before he was killed in Peckham, south London on the night of Tuesday 21 April 2015.

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Top cancer experts ‘being put off UK by politicians’ messaging on immigration’

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Exclusive: Leaked report says high visa costs also derailing clinical trials and research, denying NHS life-saving drugs

The world’s best cancer doctors, scientists and researchers are being put off moving to or staying in the UK by politicians’ rhetoric on immigration, a leaked report reveals.

Recruiting and retaining “global talent” to treat NHS patients and find new ways to cure cancer is vital, amid an acute British workforce crisis and rising numbers being diagnosed with the disease.

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NatWest investors to scrutinise pay in last AGM before full privatisation

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UK government expected to sell remaining stake in bailed-out bank in coming weeks

This week, NatWest will hold its last annual shareholder meeting before returning to full private ownership, with the government expected to sell its remaining stake in the bailed-out bank in the coming weeks.

The bank, formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), will host shareholders on Wednesday at its sprawling Gogarburn campus in Edinburgh, the £350m complex that became a symbol of the excesses that led to RBS’s £46bn bailout in 2008.

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Some British MPs spending equivalent of a day a week doing second jobs

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Guardian analysis finds seven MPs have worked at least 300 hours since July in outside employment

A total of seven MPs have spent on average one working day a week on second jobs since the start of the 2024 parliament, with additional gigs as TV presenters, lawyers and consultants.

A Guardian analysis of self-declared working hours found the seven had worked at least 300 hours since July – the equivalent of eight hours a week, in outside employment averaged across the parliament – totalling more than 3,000 hours between them. A further seven MPs had worked at least five hours a week on a second job.

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Ten assaults a day on asylum seekers in Home Office care, figures reveal

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Exclusive: There were 380 safeguarding referrals of victims of hate crimes from January 2023 to August 2024

The Home Office is recording an average of 10 assaults a day on asylum seekers in its care, according to internal government data, amid harsh government rhetoric on those crossing the Channel.

Figures reveal that there were 5,960 referrals of assaults upon asylum seekers while in the care of the Home Office between January 2023 and August 2024. There were also 380 referrals of victims of hate crimes to their internal safeguarding hub during this period.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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London Gatwick is UK’s worst airport for flight delays, figures show

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CAA data shows flights departed more than 23 minutes late last year, with Birmingham and Manchester second and third-worst

London Gatwick is the UK’s worst airport for flight delays, official figures showed, with air traffic control issues blamed for continuing disruption.

In 2024, flights departed on average more than 23 minutes late from Britain’s second-biggest airport, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority.

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UK set to ramp up weapons production to reduce reliance on US and French imports

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Defence secretary says lessons from Ukraine highlight need for homegrown supply chain

Britain is set to significantly increase its weapons production in order to no longer rely on importing from the US and France.

This comes as British and European defence companies move away from buying US-made weaponry and equipment due to concerns over president Donald Trump making the country an unreliable military partner.

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Scottish Water staff to strike for two days as pay standoff continues

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Emergency repairs and quality checks for 5m people in Scotland will not be done on Tuesday and Wednesday, union says

Scottish Water staff will strike for two days from the early hours of Tuesday as a standoff over pay continues at the state-owned company.

The striking workers’ union warned that emergency repairs and quality checks to water supplied to 5 million people across Scotland would not be carried out during the action on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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NHS cancer patients denied life-saving drugs due to Brexit costs, report finds

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Exclusive: Britons found to have ‘lost out’ while rest of Europe benefits from golden age of research and treatments

British cancer patients are being denied life-saving drugs and trials of revolutionary treatments are being derailed by the red tape and extra costs brought on by Brexit, a damning report warns.

Soaring numbers are being diagnosed with the disease amid a growing and ageing population, improved diagnosis initiatives and wider public awareness – making global collaborations to find new medicines essential.

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‘Children with cancer cannot wait’: the human cost of clinical trial delays after Brexit

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Exclusive: Price of importing drugs for a Paris and Birmingham study has almost quadrupled to £175,000

British clinical trials of revolutionary cancer treatments are being derailed by red tape and extra costs caused by Brexit, according to a report obtained by the Guardian.

These two examples illustrate how the UK’s departure from the EU is harming UK cancer research, leaving patients in limbo and unable to access pioneering treatments.

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