Category Archives: UK news

Lessons of the second world war are at risk of being forgotten, or even rewritten | Sadiq Khan

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As we mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the second world war, with liberal democracies again under siege, Britain should be leading the fight against extremism

Eighty years ago, the start of the second world war saw Nazi Germany invading Poland. Six years later, up to 85 million people were dead. I’m in Poland this weekend to commemorate the start of the bloodiest war in human history.

An entire generation of brave men and women around the globe sacrificed everything to defeat the singular evil of Nazism and fascism.

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From Bodmin to Berlin, crowds vent their fury at Boris Johnson’s ‘coup’

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Protesters ranged from students at the prime minister’s old Oxford college to retired teachers, children and activists

In Cambridge’s Market Square, a crowd of families, young people and silver-haired academics listened as Percy Bysshe Shelley’s The Masque of Anarchy was read out. Many joined in, from memory, making a collective appeal for non-violent resistance: “Rise, like lions after slumber... Ye are many – they are few.” There were moments of more garrulous protest too. During a speech criticising Boris Johnson, someone shouted: “Off with his head!”

From Bodmin to Berlin, Bristol to Oxford, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in towns and cities across England, Scotland and Wales on Saturday to vent their fury at Johnson’s plan to suspend parliament. Around 1,200 people attended the rally in Cambridge, where they booed the prime minister and his adviser Dominic Cummings as though they were pantomime villains.

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Javid defends settled status scheme in response to criticism

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Campaigners point to rise in grants for pre-settled status, which has fewer rights

Sajid Javid has responded to concerns raised over thousands of EU citizens in the UK having no legal rights after 31 October , by saying “there shouldn’t be a single person that should be concerned about their status”.

The settled status scheme has been running since March for EU nationals living in the UK to establish their permanent right to live in Britain.

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Four males held over north London stabbing of teenage boy

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Boy, 15, remains in critical condition after incident in Tottenham on Friday

A man in his early 20s has become the fourth person to be arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over the stabbing of a 15-year-old boy.

The victim is in a critical condition in hospital after the attack in Tottenham, north London, on Friday morning. He was found with multiple stab wounds on Willan Road, in the Broadwater Farm estate, at about 11.15am.

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Thousands protest against Boris Johnson’s parliament shutdown

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Crowds march, wave banners and chant ‘stop the coup’ in cities across UK

Tens of thousands of demonstrators are taking to the streets across Britain and outside the gates of Downing Street in protest against Boris Johnson’s move to suspend parliament.

Crowds brandished banners pledging to “defend democracy”, chanted “stop the coup” and waved EU flags in London in a bid to resist the parliament shutdown.

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Riot police out in Glasgow as Irish unity march sparks disorder

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Council calls for fewer marches amid reports of smoke bombs and closure of Govan Road

Riot police, mounted officers, a force helicopter and dog units are being used in Glasgow after protesters against an Irish unity march sparked “significant disorder”.

Police said the planned march through the city’s Govan area, organised by the James Connolly Republican Flute Band, was met by hundreds of “disruptive” counter-demonstrators at about 7pm.

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Gove watches no-deal Brexit practice run in Port of Calais

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New systems to ensure smooth transit of goods are tested in France before UK’s exit from EU

The Port of Calais has staged a no-deal Brexit rehearsal to test new systems ahead of the UK’s anticipated departure from the EU on 31 October. Michael Gove, the minister in charge of no-deal planning, witnessed the practice run during a visit to France on Friday afternoon.

Related: Rebel MPs confident they have time to stop no-deal Brexit

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‘Culture of fear’ claims as Javid confronts PM over adviser’s sacking

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Dominic Cummings ‘pissed off’ about briefings on pay and gender balance – report

A furious Sajid Javid confronted Boris Johnson on Friday and demanded an explanation of why his media adviser was sacked without his knowledge, amid claims that a deep “culture of fear” has taken hold within the government.

Sonia Khan, Javid’s media adviser, was escorted from No 10 by an armed police officer after a meeting with Johnson’s top strategist, Dominic Cummings, in which she was accused of being dishonest about her contact with the former chancellor Philip Hammond and one of his ex-advisers, who have been trying to block a no-deal Brexit.

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Boris Johnson claims: ‘We have a way to get Brexit done’ – live news

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Follow the latest fallout from decision to suspend parliament amid mounting fears about a no-deal Brexit

A hearing at the High Court in London relating to a bid to challenge the suspension of Parliament will take place on Thursday 5 September, a spokesman for the judiciary has confirmed.

The spokesman told PA:

“A hearing into an application for judicial review received from Gina Miller with the Prime Minister as defendant has been fixed for Thursday 5 September 5 2019 at the Divisional Court in Court 4 at the Royal Courts of Justice, with the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett presiding.

“The court will first consider the request for the case to be heard and, if it agrees, a full hearing will follow the same day. Further information will be given early next week.”

Here’s a summary of what’s happened so far today:

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Sajid Javid was not told in advance of adviser’s sacking by Cummings

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Sonia Khan was accused of misleading PM’s strategist over contact with ex-Hammond aide

The chancellor, Sajid Javid, was not informed in advance about the sacking of one of his senior advisers by Boris Johnson’s strategist Dominic Cummings, it has emerged.

Sonia Khan, Javid’s media adviser, was escorted from No 10 by a police officer after being accused of misleading Cummings over her contact with individuals close to the former chancellor Philip Hammond, who has been trying to block a no-deal Brexit.

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Google says hackers have put ‘monitoring implants’ in iPhones for years

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Visiting hacked sites was enough for server to gather users’ images and contacts

An unprecedented iPhone hacking operation, which attacked “thousands of users a week” until it was disrupted in January, has been revealed by researchers at Google’s external security team.

The operation, which lasted two and a half years, used a small collection of hacked websites to deliver malware on to the iPhones of visitors. Users were compromised simply by visiting the sites: no interaction was necessary, and some of the methods used by the hackers affected even fully up-to-date phones.

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Westminster looks at giving France money to curb Channel crossings

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Priti Patel discusses increasing financial support amid hike in attempted crossings

The UK government is considering increasing the amount it pays France to help deal with people trying to make the perilous Channel crossing to England using small boats, Paris has said.

The proposal was discussed during talks on Thursday between the British home secretary, Priti Patel, and her French counterpart, Christophe Castaner, that were prompted by an increase in the number of such attempted crossings over the summer.

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Breast cancer risk from using HRT is ‘twice what was thought’

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Study prompts medicines regulator to advise all women using HRT to remain vigilant

The risk of breast cancer from using hormone replacement therapy is double what was previously thought, according to a major piece of research, which confirms that HRT is a direct cause of the cancer.

The findings of the definitive study will cause concern among the 1 million women in the UK and millions more around the world who are using HRT. It finds that the longer women take it, the greater their risk, with the possibility that just one year is risk-free. It also finds that the risk does not go away as soon as women stop taking it, as had been previously assumed.

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Political uncertainty puts London listing for Saudi Aramco in doubt

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Decision to rule out UK and Hong Kong would be major blow to both financial centres

Saudi Arabia’s revived plans for a $2tn mega-listing of its state oil company may rule out the London Stock Exchange amid Britain’s rising political uncertainty, according to reports.

Saudi Aramco, the world’s most profitable company, may instead look to Japan’s Tokyo stock exchange to host the second phase of what would be the biggest public offering in history.

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Germany citizenship rules for descendants of Nazi victims eased

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Move could help some Britons seeking EU passports who were rejected after the referendum

The German government has said it will ease the process for descendants of people persecuted by the Nazis to regain citizenship, after a campaign by a British-based group.

The interior minister, Horst Seehofer, said on Thursday he had issued a decree that would overturn the rejections of those previously considered ineligible. These are most commonly descendants of women who fled Nazi Germany and who lost their citizenship after marrying non-German men.

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Home Office faces legal battle over Prevent reviewer

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Human rights campaigners claim Lord Carlile’s appointment undermines review’s credibility

Human rights campaigners have threatened the Home Office with legal action over its appointment of Lord Carlile as the independent reviewer of its anti-radicalisation programme Prevent.

The peer’s appointment, announced this month, was met with criticism from human rights and civil liberties groups, citing his previous on-record support for the Prevent programme.

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Government plans to suspend parliament with new Queen’s speech on 14 October – Politics live

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Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

SNP MP Joanna Cheery has confirmed that she has spoken to her legal team about speeding up the action in the Scottish courts to stop Boris Johnson shutting down parliament, which was due to be heard of September 6.

Ian Murray, another of the cross-party group of more than 70 MPs and peers said that they will now consider seeking an interim interdict (similar to an injunction in England and Wales) in the Court of Session to block prorogation.

The Speaker, John Bercow, has issued an extraordinary statement. “I have had no contact from the government, but if the reports that it is seeking to prorogue parliament are confirmed, this move represents a constitutional outrage,” he says.

Statement from Speaker’s Office pic.twitter.com/BGSYCcpxjB

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