Category Archives: UK news

Trump hits back over UK ambassador’s leaked memos

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US president criticises Kim Darroch, saying he ‘has not served Britain well’

Donald Trump has said Britain’s ambassador to the US has “not served the UK well” as he hit back following the leak of confidential internal memos that presented an unflattering portrait of the president and his administration.

Earlier, the Foreign Office ordered an inquiry into the leaking of the cables, written by the ambassador, Kim Darroch, in which Trump’s White House is described as “uniquely dysfunctional” and “inept”.

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Ten people taken to hospital after Leicester chemical attack

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Three police among those checked over after substance was sprayed outside pub

Ten people including three police officers were taken to hospital after a chemical attack outside a pub in Leicestershire in the early hours of Sunday.

A substance believed to be ammonia was sprayed during a mass brawl in which a group armed with baseball bats damaged The Cricketers pub in Aylestone, a suburb of Leicester.

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Chinese ambassador accuses Jeremy Hunt of ‘cold war mentality’

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Foreign secretary refused to clarify Britain’s stance in row over Hong Kong protests

China’s ambassador to the UK has accused the UK’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, of having a “cold war mentality” in his approach to the diplomatic row over Hong Kong.

Liu Xiaoming criticised the Conservative leadership candidate for his stance of “strategic ambiguity” on the possibility of sanctions against China over the crackdown on the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.

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This year’s Pride biggest yet, claim march organisers

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Estimated 1.5 million people attended London parade

“I’m trying to be a walking piece of political art,” said actor Billy Porter ahead of headlining London Pride. “Just as a human being, as an out black gay Christian man, my very existence is political.”

The star of Kinky Boots and TV series Pose performed to thousands in Trafalgar Square on Saturday at what organisers claimed was the biggest, most inclusive Pride yet. About 30,000 people from more than 600 groups took part in the official parade through central London, which was attended by an estimated 1.5 million people.

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Donald Trump ‘inept’ and ‘dysfunctional’, UK ambassador to US says

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In ‘leaked’ diplomatic memos, Kim Darroch reportedly says presidency could ‘end in disgrace’

Britain’s ambassador in the United States has described President Donald Trump and his administration as “inept” and “uniquely dysfunctional”, according to ‘leaked’ diplomatic memos published by the Mail on Sunday.

Ambassador Kim Darroch reportedly said Trump’s presidency could “crash and burn” and “end in disgrace”, in the cache of secret cables and briefing notes sent back to Britain and seen by the newspaper.

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Scottish secretary warns Johnson: no-deal Brexit could split UK

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David Mundell says Nicola Sturgeon would use October exit to push for independence

Boris Johnson is being warned that embracing a disruptive no-deal Brexit would fuel nationalism in Scotland and risk the future of the union, as both opponents and supporters predict that he will now claim a decisive victory in the Tory leadership election.

Related: Brexit must work for the whole UK to see off Scottish nationalism

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Pride in London: many thousands take to the streets to celebrate LGBT rights – video

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Huge crowds gathered on Saturday to celebrate LGBT rights in London’s biggest Pride parade yet. This year’s theme is Pride Jubilee, marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York, regarded as the birth of the Pride movement. Organisers predicted as many as 1.5 million people would attend

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Edinburgh gives female medical students their degrees – 150 years late

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Victorian women who were prevented from qualifying as doctors are finally recognised

Seven women who were among the first females to be admitted to a British university have been awarded posthumous degrees 150 years after they started their studies.

The group, known collectively as the Edinburgh Seven, enrolled to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869. But they faced substantial resistance from their male peers and were ultimately prevented from graduating and qualifying as doctors.

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China looks at Britain and sees only weakness and hypocrisy | Simon Tisdall

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Jeremy Hunt’s support for the Hong Kong protests has released old resentments long suppressed

Last week’s sudden outbreak of verbal hostilities with China, triggered by violent clashes in Hong Kong, provided a disturbing glimpse of post-Brexit Britain’s isolated and impotent future in a world of more muscular adversaries. It also underlined a dilemma facing all the western democracies in their dealings with Beijing: what matters most – liberal values or money-making?

Like bullies sensing weakness, Chinese officials let rip after Britain dared defend the demonstrators’ right to protest against the erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms. The row released tensions largely suppressed since the former colony was handed back in 1997. The depth of China’s pent-up fury was cautionary.

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Millionaire businessman ‘granted secrecy over sexual harassment claims’

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The Times says it was blocked from identifying man who agreed settlements with two women

A millionaire businessman has been granted a secrecy order preventing the disclosure of his identity over allegations of sexual harassment, assault and bullying in an employment case, it has been reported.

In the latest case of controversy over non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), the Times reported that it was not allowed to identify a man who had agreed financial settlements with two women before their accusations were scheduled to be heard at an employment tribunal.

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Johnson pledges to make all immigrants learn English

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Tory leadership contender says English is not first language in ‘too many parts of our country’

Boris Johnson has said there are “too many parts of our country” where English is not spoken as a first language and that he would require all immigrants to Britain to learn English.

At a hustings event for the Conservative leadership race in Darlington on Friday, the former mayor of London praised the capital’s diversity but suggested some communities were not doing enough to integrate into society.

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Brexit: Hammond warns Johnson and Hunt that parliament will block no deal – live news

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Follow the day’s political developments, including the latest on the Conservative leadership race as 160,000 Tory members begin voting

Boris Johnson has apologised for offending Scots, while condemning the SNP’s record in government and insisting that a no-deal Brexit is “extremely unlikely” in an interview in the Press and Journal.

Asked about a series of magazine articles in which he described being a Scottish MP as a “political disability” and said that “government by a Scot is just not conceivable”, Johnson replied:

“Of course I am sorry if people take offence at distorted quotations from old newspaper articles – but one of the things I want to make clear is that Conservatives must reach out beyond the Westminster bubble and that means not just speaking in waffle and jargon”.

Boris Johnson has been shearing sheep in North Yorkshire before the hustings in Darlington today.

Good luck @BorisJohnson #BackBoris pic.twitter.com/2dqd2FRCbK

Our house, two Tory members voted for Boris today ... #backboris pic.twitter.com/2mf5zeM0i9

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Competition regulator pauses Amazon’s deal with Deliveroo

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Enforcement order issued after online retailer bought stake in food courier service

The UK’s competition regulator has ordered Amazon and the food delivery company Deliveroo to pause any integration efforts pending an investigation into potential breaches of competition rules.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Friday issued an initial enforcement order against the companies after Amazon bought a stake in Deliveroo.

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Nico in Manchester: ‘She loved the architecture – and the heroin’

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She had been a top model, then sang with the Velvet Underground, and in 1981 Nico moved to Manchester. Her friends there share their touching, alarming memories of ‘a true bohemian’

An imperious blond German ex-model with a voice once described as like “a body falling through a window”, Nico was already extraordinary by the time she leant her vocals to songs including Femme Fatale and All Tomorrow’s Parties on the Velvet Underground’s classic first album, produced by Andy Warhol.

Soon after that, she embarked on a solo career, and made records, such as The Marble Index, that were even darker, with despairing lyrics and a wheezing harmonium accompanying Nico’s Teutonic tones. By this time, she was no longer blond – she disdained her traffic-stopping looks – and was addicted to heroin.

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Who owns England? – podcast

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It is a simple question with an incredibly complex answer – not even the Land Registry knows the exact ownership of all parts of the country. Guy Shrubsole set out to solve the mystery. Plus Alex Hern on the police’s use of facial recognition technology

For nearly 1,000 years, there has been no comprehensive answer to the question of who owns England. Ever since William the Conqueror ordered the “great survey”, the issue has not been satisfactorily resolved. Even the central body that should know, the Land Registry, can only pin down the ownership of about 80% of the country.

Using creative techniques and old-fashioned detective work, Guy Shrubsole set about solving the mystery. The author and campaigner looked at the prime suspects: royalty, the church, the aristocracy, foreign oligarchs and major companies. He tells Anushka Asthana that although some of the names have changed, we still live in a country recognisable from the middle ages, one in which a small elite owns the majority of the land.

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VIP abuse ring accuser gives graphic account of alleged killings

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Carl Beech repeats claim that alleged paedophile gang ran over his childhood friend

A former nurse accused of lying about a VIP paedophile ring that he claimed murdered three boys has given a graphic account of the alleged killings and insisted: “I was there and I know it took place.”

Carl Beech is alleged to have fabricated claims that he was among the victims of a group of high-profile establishment figures who he said raped, kidnapped and murdered boys in the late 1970s and early 80s.

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Joss Stone ‘detained and deported’ from Iran

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Singer says authorities did not believe she would not be playing a public show

The British singer Joss Stone says she has been deported from Iran, claiming the authorities believed she would play an unsanctioned concert in the country, where there are strict restrictions on female musicians performing in public.

In a video posted on Instagram, the 32-year-old said: “We got detained and then we got deported,” while dressed in a white headscarf, adding that she was on a “blacklist” and that the authorities “don’t believe we wouldn’t be playing a public show” on what would have been the final leg of her world tour.

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