Category Archives: UK news

Brexit free-movement cutoff plans worse than Windrush, says Abbott

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Senior Labour MP says no-deal Brexit proposal would create chaos for EU citizens in UK

Ending the free movement of people with a no-deal Brexit on 31 October would cause chaos and confusion for EU citizens on a scale that would make the Windrush scandal look like a minor blip, Diane Abbott has said.

The shadow home secretary said Boris Johnson’s policies were taking the country “towards a catastrophe” as 2 million EU citizens resident in Britain had not yet registered for settled status, having been told the deadline was December 2020.

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Employee at UK’s consulate in Hong Kong detained in China

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Detention comes amid more than two months of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong

An employee at the UK’s consulate in Hong Kong has been detained by mainland Chinese authorities on his way back to the city, his girlfriend has said.

Simon Cheng, 28, was returning from a trip in Shenzhen to his native Hong Kong on 8 August when his girlfriend, Li, stopped receiving communications from him.

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Elton John defends Harry and Meghan over use of private jets

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Singer reveals he paid for a flight for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their son Archie

Sir Elton John has defended the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over their use of private jets, revealing that he had paid for a flight for them and their son Archie to “maintain a high level of much-needed protection”.

The singer hit back at what he called “these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character”, after Prince Harry and Meghan faced mounting criticism for reportedly taking four private jet journeys in 11 days, rather than opting for commercial flights, despite speaking out on environmental issues. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

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Man, 20, charged with the murder of PC Andrew Harper

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Jed Foster charged with murder and theft after death of police officer in Berkshire on Thursday

A man has been charged with the murder of the newlywed police officer Andrew Harper, who was killed on Thursday night while investigating a burglary, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Jed Foster, 20, from Reading, is due to appear at Reading magistrates court on Tuesday.

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‘Reckless’ plan to cut off free movement alarms EU nationals

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European citizens in UK fear they could be caught up in hostile environment policies

Plans to end freedom of movement for EU citizens immediately after a no-deal Brexit have caused anxiety and confusion among European nationals in the UK, with concerns they could be caught up in hostile environment policies.

Downing Street confirmed rules allowing EU nationals to move to live and work freely in the UK would end abruptly if the UK leaves the bloc without an agreement at the end of October.

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Has the far right become mainstream in the UK?

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The heads of counter-terrorism policing and MI5 have warned far-right criminality is growing

In his paper on how the far right became part of the mainstream, the academic Joe Mulhall said far-right demonstrations had grown to sizes not seen since the 1930s.

The “Free Tommy [Robinson]” event in August, the “Day of freedom” march in May and the “Brexit betrayal” demonstration in December all attracted large numbers of people.

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Prince Andrew urged to tell all he knows about Jeffrey Epstein

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Lawyer for abuse victim asks prince to support investigation into late financier’s crimes

Prince Andrew should give sworn testimony on “everything he knows” about his friend Jeffrey Epstein after saying he was appalled by the disgraced financier’s sex crimes, lawyers for some of Epstein’s victims have said.

Representatives of women including Virginia Giuffre, who was pictured with Andrew in a now notorious photograph and alleges she was made to have sex with him, urged the prince to help them secure justice for the women Epstein abused.

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Iranian tanker at centre of diplomatic row leaves Gibraltar

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Shipping data show vessel moving as territory rejects final US request to hold it longer

The Iranian supertanker at the centre of a diplomatic row between Britain and Iran left Gibraltar on Sunday night, according to shipping data.

The marine traffic monitoring site Refinitiv showed the vessel moving away from the British territory, where it had been held for six weeks. Shortly later Refinitiv said the tanker revised its destination to Kalamata.

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Prince Andrew ‘appalled’ by Epstein sex abuse claims

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Royal makes statement following release of video showing him in paedophile’s mansion in 2010

The Duke of York has said he is “appalled” by recent sex abuse claims surrounding his former friend Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew released a statement after new footage emerged showing him inside the convicted paedophile’s Manhattan mansion in 2010.

The video, obtained by MailOnline, was reportedly shot on December 6 2010, around the time Andrew was photographed with the disgraced billionaire in New York’s Central Park. It shows the duke looking out from a large door of the mansion waving goodbye to a woman after Epstein leaves and enters a chauffeur-driven car.

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No 10 furious at leak of paper predicting shortages after no-deal Brexit

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Government figures seek to play down predictions of food, medicine and fuel shortages in leaked document

Downing Street has reacted with fury to the leak of an official document predicting that a no-deal Brexit would lead to food, medicine and petrol shortages, with No 10 sources blaming the disclosure on a hostile former minister intent on ruining Boris Johnson’s trip to see EU leaders this week.

The leaked document, detailing preparations under Operation Yellowhammer, argues that the most likely scenario is severe extended delays to medicine supplies and shortages of some fresh foods, combined with price rises, if there is a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

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Jack Letts stripped of British citizenship

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Canada accuses UK of ‘offloading responsibilities’ over dual-national Isis recruit

Jack Letts, who left his home in Oxfordshire to join Isis five years ago, has been stripped of his British citizenship while being held in a Syrian prison.

The move sparked a diplomatic row as Canada – where Letts qualifies for a passport through his father – accused the UK government of “offloading its responsibilities”.

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Gap in NHS provision forcing gaming addicts to seek help abroad

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Addicted teenagers travelling to overseas clinics as there are no NHS facilities to treat them

Teenagers addicted to gaming are travelling to private clinics overseas for treatment due to a lack of services in England and Wales to tackle the growing problem, the Guardian has learned.

There are no NHS facilities to treat gaming addiction, which was listed and defined as a condition in the 11th edition of International Classification of Diseases. It means people are having to seek treatment privately or travel abroad.

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Brexit: leaked papers predict food shortages and port delays

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Medicines will also be subject to shortages in what Whitehall sources called ‘the most realistic assessment’

The UK will be hit with a three-month meltdown at its ports, a hard Irish border and shortages of food and medicine if it leaves the EU without a deal, according to government documents on Operation Yellowhammer.

The documents predict severe extended delays to medicine supplies and shortages of some fresh foods combined with price rises as a likely scenario if the UK leaves without a withdrawal agreement, which is due to happen on 31 October.

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G7 leaders wait nervously for Boris Johnson’s debut on the world stage

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As the prime minister heads for the Biarritz summit, he has no relationship with the other governments and very little trust

For weeks things have been quiet in the summer heat. But in recent days the normal diplomatic back-channelling between London, Brussels, Paris, Berlin and Rome has cranked into gear before the G7 meeting in Biarritz of the world’s most advanced economies.

British officials have been liaising with their EU counterparts on how to get on the right side of the trade war between the US and China, tread a diplomatic fine line over the European-backed Iranian nuclear deal opposed by Donald Trump and get the rhetoric right on the precarious situation in Hong Kong in the presence of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. “This is a diplomatic quagmire of a G7,” said a European diplomat.

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Isis suspect Jack Letts stripped of British citizenship – report

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Muslim convert, 24, has had his British citizenship revoked, according to the Mail on Sunday

The Muslim convert Jack Letts, who is suspected of leaving Britain to join the Islamic State, has been stripped of his British citizenship, it has been reported.

Jack Letts was 18 when he left his Oxfordshire home in 2014 before marrying in Iraq and moving to Raqqa in Syria. Captured by Kurdish forces as he attempted to flee to Turkey in May 2017, the 24-year-old, dubbed “Jihadi Jack”, has since been held in jail in northern Syria.

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Owen Jones attacked outside London pub

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Guardian columnist claims attack was ‘premeditated assault’

The Guardian columnist and activist Owen Jones has been physically assaulted in London while celebrating his 35th birthday with friends.

In an attack he called “a blatant premeditated assault”, Jones said he was kicked, punched and thrown to the ground by a group of men in the early hours of Saturday morning.

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Jeremy Corbyn pleads with MPs: back me now before it’s too late

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Britain stands on precipice, warns Labour leader, as 100 MPs tell Boris Johnson to recall parliament

Jeremy Corbyn has issued an urgent plea to MPs to unite to stop no-deal Brexit “before it’s too late”, amid cross-party demands for an immediate recall of parliament to deal with the crisis.

In a show of defiance, a group of more than 100 MPs representing every Westminster party except the DUP has signed a letter stating it is “unacceptable” for parliament to wait until next month to sit again, with the Brexit deadline looming.

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