Decision will cut dramatically the time MPs will have to take action to prevent no-deal Brexit
Boris Johnson has confirmed he has asked the Queen for permission to suspend parliament for five weeks from early September.
The prime minister claimed MPs would have “ample time” to debate Brexit, as he wrote to MPs on Wednesday, saying he had spoken to the Queen and asked her to suspend parliament from “the second sitting week in September”.
Continue reading...Pilot of Airbus A320 aircraft with up to 186 passengers was forced to take avoiding action
An airliner carrying up to 186 passengers was forced to take avoiding action after a drone was spotted, a near-miss report has revealed.
The incident involved an Airbus A320 approaching Gatwick airport and a dark-coloured drone, the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) said.
Continue reading...Royal has previously denied Virginia Giuffre’s accusation that she was forced to have sex with him
An accuser of the financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday addressed her accusation that she was coerced into sex with Prince Andrew, saying the royal “knows what he’s done”.
Related: Prince Andrew took a flight on Epstein private jet with Russian model
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments, including meeting of opposition party leaders called by Jeremy Corbyn
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has responded to an invitation from MPs to chair a “citizens’ forum on Brexit” in which alternatives to a no deal would be discussed.
It’s an unexpected privilege to be asked to chair the proposed Citizens’ Forum on Brexit. In the past such gatherings have opened the way for careful deliberation. I’m open in principle – provided the Forum doesn’t aim to stop or delay Brexit, and has cross-party support. https://t.co/pYLYUDFzwJ
It is an unexpected privilege to be asked to chair this proposed citizens’ forum on Brexit. In the past this kind of gathering has, in many places and in difficult situations, opened the way for careful deliberation if at the right time and genuinely representative.
I am honoured to be approached and would be willing to accept in principle, subject to some conditions which have not yet been met. The main three are first, and indispensably, that the forum should not be a Trojan horse intended to delay or prevent Brexit in any particular form. That power can only be exercised by the government and MPs in parliament. A forum must be open to all possibilities. Second, that it has cross-party support (although its members will not be politicians). Third, the process must have time to be properly organised.
I generally don’t criticise the archbishop but he shouldn’t allow himself to be tempted into what is essentially a very political issue right now. This assembly is designed to destabilise Boris Johnson’s position. As such I hope he will recognise the deeply political nature of this.
Jeremy Corbyn was not at today’s meeting of opposition leaders at Church House – the shadow chancellor said he was busy in meetings – but the Labour leader has spoken to broadcast media this afternoon.
"The priority is to prevent a no-deal exit from the European Union" - Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outlines strategy to block no-deal #Brexit https://t.co/6nPyoPsXrS pic.twitter.com/dzCtD0Ao4o
Continue reading...Labour leader tells opposition parties he will not seek early confidence vote in government
Jeremy Corbyn has backed cross-party plans to delay a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson and prioritise rebel MPs’ attempts to use legislation to stop a no-deal Brexit, with plans set to be agreed by the end of the week..
In a meeting with opposition parties convened by the Labour leader, Corbyn opened the discussion by reassuring MPs that Labour would not seek a premature vote of no confidence that might stymie legislative efforts to stop no deal.
Continue reading...Group taken to hospital from Coil to the Soil national metal detecting event in Doncaster
A group of metal detectorists have been taken to hospital after eating cake reportedly infused with cannabis at an event in South Yorkshire.
Fifteen people were taken ill at the Coil to the Soil national metal detecting event in Doncaster on Saturday. Yorkshire ambulance service said it had received an emergency call just before 6.30pm reporting that people had become ill after “ingesting an unknown substance”.
Continue reading...Aras Amiri and Anousheh Ashouri accused of spying as UK-Iran tensions rise
Iran has sentenced a British-Iranian man to 12 years in prison after accusing him of spying for Israel, while upholding the 10-year sentence of another UK resident.
A spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, Gholamhossein Esmaili, said on Tuesday that Anousheh Ashouri – the latest Iranian national with a western passport to be detained in Iran – had been sentenced to 12 years for ties to Israel’s Mossad spy agency.
Continue reading...Isla and Eilidh Noble praised by emergency services after coming to aid of struggling pair
Two teenage sisters who used a lilo to rescue a man and his young son when they got into difficulty off the north-east coast of Scotland “deserve medals”, according to the emergency services.
Isla and Eilidh Noble were on the beach at the Waters of Philorth, near Fraserburgh, on Monday afternoon when they heard shouting. At first they thought the man was playing with his child, who was on his shoulders as he swam in deep water, but quickly realised he was out of his depth and in trouble.
Continue reading...While temperatures in the UK were just about tolerable last summer, Europe faced serious extremes
Last year brought the summer of the heatwave. As Britain baked in sunshine, the England men’s football team even managed to reach a World Cup semi-final.
But while temperatures in Britain remained just the right side of uncomfortably hot, much of Europe experienced serious extremes, in the continent’s warmest August on record. And far from being confined to the area around the Mediterranean, even Scandinavia had worryingly hot weather.
Continue reading...The 18-year-old was found with stab wounds in Newham at about 3.30pm on Monday
An 18-year-old male has died after being stabbed in east London, police have said.
Officers found the teenager with critical injuries to the south of West Ham Park in Newham at about 3.30pm on Monday. The London ambulance service was called but he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Continue reading...Research claims people who ‘look on the bright side’ stand better chance of reaching 85
Seeing the glass as half full may mean a longer life, according to research suggesting that optimists not only live longer in general, but have a better chance of reaching 85 or older.
It is not the first time optimism has been linked to health benefits. People of an upbeat disposition have previously been found to have a lower risk of heart conditions and premature death. Researchers now say it could also play a role in living a long life.
Continue reading...Flight from Manchester to Madeira rerouted amid reports a passenger assisted landing
A pilot fell ill at the controls of an aeroplane flying from Manchester to the Atlantic island of Madeira, forcing the flight to be diverted to northern Portugal.
The airline, Jet2, confirmed that the aircraft had to land in Porto on Monday, adding that a replacement aircraft and crew had been dispatched to get passengers to their proper destination.
Continue reading...PM repeatedly declines to rule out proroguing parliament if MPs try to thwart his Brexit policy
Boris Johnson has repeatedly refused to rule out proroguing parliament to try to push through his Brexit policy.
Pressed repeatedly at a press conference at the end of the G7 summit about what he would do if MPs tried to thwart his policy, the British prime minister declined to rule out shutting down parliament.
Continue reading...Photographer Anselm Ebulue found revellers feeling hot, hot, hot on the festival’s scorching second day
As temperatures soared to over 30C (86F) in London, the tempo picked up at the Notting Hill carnival – and so did the costumes. The elaborate handmade outfits known as mas – short for masquerade – are at the heart of the annual spectacular.
Continue reading...Emergency crews were called to Woodmill high school at around 5pm on Sunday as fire burned in main building
More than 80 firefighters are battling a “very large and complex” blaze at a high school in Dunfermline, Scotland.
The blaze at Woodmill high school was being fought by 15 fire engines after the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was called at 5.05pm on Sunday.
Continue reading...PM said EU leaders would be blamed for their ‘obduracy’ and that UK could keep much of £39bn settlement
Britain could “easily cope” with a no-deal Brexit, which would be the fault of EU leaders’ “obduracy”, Boris Johnson claimed at the summit of G7 countries in France, as he continued to resist mounting pressure to spell out his own plans for breaking the deadlock.
“I think we can get through this, this is a great, great country, the UK, we can easily cope with a no-deal scenario,” Johnson insisted in Biarritz, as he made his debut on the international stage as prime minister with a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders including Donald Trump, the EU council president, Donald Tusk, and the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Continue reading...Police say boy died on Saturday night, a week after coming into contact with power lines
A boy injured when he came into contact with overhead power lines on a railway track a week ago has died.
The 12-year-old was being treated for severe electric shock after the incident in Glasgow last Sunday. He died in hospital on Saturday night, British Transport Police (BTP) said.
Continue reading...PM says keeping £39bn is not threat but ‘reality’ before meeting with Donald Tusk
Boris Johnson has said the £39bn Brexit divorce bill would not “strictly speaking” be owed to Brussels in full in the event of no deal, insisting: “It’s not a threat. It’s a reality.”
Speaking to broadcasters as he prepared to meet the European council president, Donald Tusk, at the G7 summit in Biarritz, Johnson said: “If we come out without an agreement it is certainly true that the £39bn is no longer, strictly speaking, owed.”
Continue reading...Met police said man in his 30s arrested on suspicion of murder after incident in Southall
A man in his 60s has been stabbed to death in west London. The Metropolitan police said a man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the incident on Saturday evening in Southall.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene in St Mary’s Avenue and his family has been informed. The arrested man is in hospital where he is under police guard and being treated for minor injuries.
Continue reading...Emmanuel Macron has asked for world powers to help Brazil and its neighbours fight the fires raging in the Amazon and to plan huge replanting programmes. The appeal came as the French president piled pressure on Brazil’s far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who has been accused of fuelling the burning of the rainforest.
As environmental protesters marched nearby, the G7 summit’s, opening meeting was dominated by the spectre of economic repercussions for Brazil and its South American neighbours and showed how the Amazon is becoming a battleground between Bolsonaro and the west. Many governments have become alarmed that vast swathes of the Amazon are going up in smoke, affecting biodiversity and worsening the climate crisis.
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