Camra awards Wonston Arms pub of the year after landlord left job in marketing to save it
A small pub in Hampshire saved from closure by the community four years ago has been named pub of the year, with the landlord saying he was “flabbergasted his little pub has beaten off the big boys”.
The Wonston Arms, which looked likely to be lost to developers, won the prize at the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) awards 2019.
Continue reading...Costa amendment passed after its proposer is sacked, while Labour amendment fails
The government has bowed to MPs’ pressure over the post-Brexit rights of EU citizens and reaffirmed pledges to give the Commons a veto on a no-deal departure after the latest parliamentary wrangling over Theresa May’s deadlocked plans.
A day that had been heralded as the moment when backbenchers would seize control of the Brexit timetable from the prime minister lost some of its drama after May and her ministers gave way in a series of areas where they were likely to lose Commons votes.
Continue reading...Ajibola Shogbamimu, 40, from north London, is due to appear at Hatfield remand court
A man has been charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of Hertfordshire University student Joy Morgan.
Ajibola Shogbamimu, 40, from London, will appear at Hatfield remand court on Thursday, Hertfordshire constabulary said.
Continue reading...Music festival will no longer sell single-use plastic water bottles in bid to cut waste
With its sea of discarded tents and litter-strewn fields, Glastonbury has become almost as infamous for the mountain of rubbish left in its wake as it is renowned for its music.
But this year, organisers are hitting back – by banning plastic bottles in a bid to stem the tide of waste.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including the Commons debate on Brexit next steps, and Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs
The Electoral Commission has released its latest figures for political donations. In the last three months of 2018 £10.4m was given to political parties - £1.9m more than in the previous quarter. Most of it, £7.4m went to the Conservatives, who received more than four time as much in donations as Labour (£1.6m). The increase is almost certainly linked to speculation about a possible early election.
There are more details on the Electoral Commission website here.
Yesterday the arch Corbynite MP Chris Williamson was reprimanded by Labour party officials after he helped to arrange a screening in parliament of a film defending Jackie Walker, the activist suspended from the party over comments about antisemitism. This morning Williamson is in the headlines again after the Yorkshire Post uncovered a video of him saying Labour had been “too apologetic” over antisemitism allegations.
On Sky’s All Out Politics the Labour MP Phil Wilson said Williamson should be suspended from the party for his comments. Wilson said:
I think it is just outrageous, really. And I think he should be suspended from the Labour party. I actually spoke to Tom Watson [the Labour deputy leader] about this this morning, and Tom is [of] the same view. Tom, I know, is writing to the general secretary of the Labour party to express his concerns about it. I just think it’s outrageous. There has got to be tough action taken on people like this in the Labour party. And when you have got a member of parliament expressing these views, I don’t think there is any place for them ultimately in the Labour party.
Stomach-turning. No action will be taken. https://t.co/gWd1a8G3zK
Continue reading...Supreme court says investigation into killing of Belfast solicitor was ineffective
The official investigation into the 1989 murder of the Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane, one of the most notorious killings of the Troubles, was ineffective and failed to meet the required human rights standards, the supreme court has ruled.
In a unanimous judgment, five justices said the investigation carried out by Sir Desmond de Silva in 2011 was frustrated by his inability to compel witnesses to testify about the killing. The court did not, however, order a public inquiry and has left it up to the government to decide whether further investigation is needed.
Continue reading...Winning and shortlisted images from the magazine’s annual competition, with categories for Cities, People, Food, Nature and Portfolio
Continue reading...Latest no-deal notice forecasts Northern Ireland to be hit hard and food prices likely to rise
The government has issued a bleak warning over a no-deal Brexit, estimating the UK economy could be 9% weaker in the long run, businesses in Northern Ireland might go bust and food prices will increase.
In an official document only published after repeated demands by the former Conservative MP Anna Soubry, the government also revealed it was behind on contingency planning for a third of “critical projects” in relation to business and trade.
Continue reading...Official commemorations of the battle on 6 June to honour the ‘enormous sacrifice’
The defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, has urged veterans to continue to pass their stories on to future generations, as the 100-day countdown to the 75th anniversary of D-day begins.
Related: Parachutists to fill skies over Normandy on 75th anniversary of D-day
Continue reading...Spokesman says party will not oppose measure but cites lack of sufficient evidence
Labour has said it will not seek to block the government’s decision to ban the political wing of Hezbollah in the UK, but suggested the move by Sajid Javid was motivated by his leadership ambitions rather than actual evidence.
Membership of the Lebanon-based group’s military wing is already outlawed, but the proscription will now be extended to its political arm, the home secretary announced on Monday.
Continue reading...Alicante airport is likely to be worst affected, says consumer group Which?
British tourists to Spain could face airport queues of five hours or more after a no-deal Brexit, according to analysis by Which?, and the consumer group suggests travellers should take food, water and even nappies to survive prolonged delays.
Alicante airport, which serves Benidorm and other Costa Blanca resorts, is likely to be the worst-affected airport, and Which? said visitors to Tenerife, Lanzarote and Málaga were also facing “life in the slow lane”.
Continue reading...The Apprentice host says his wife is upset he has never been allowed to keep a statuette
Awards season is in full swing but one man feels particularly hard done by: Alan Sugar.
The host of The Apprentice has called for himself to be given his own special award in recognition of the reality show’s success, after revealing that his wife is upset that he has never been allowed to keep a Bafta statuette.
Continue reading...Hollis and the ‘post-rock’ band made a name with 1980s hit singles including It’s My Life
Figures from the world of music have paid tribute to Mark Hollis, frontman of the band Talk Talk, after it was reported that he had died at the age of 64.
With Hollis as its singer and creative mastermind, the group made a name with 1980s hit singles such as It’s My Life, Today, Talk Talk and Life’s What You Make It. They progressed to albums like Spirit of Eden, which was hailed as a “masterpiece”, and Laughing Stock.
Continue reading...Labour leader tells MPs party will back another vote as last resort to stop Tory deal
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Jeremy Corbyn has finally thrown his party’s weight behind a second EU referendum, backing moves for a fresh poll with remain on the ballot paper if Labour should fail to get its own version of a Brexit deal passed this week.
The decision to give the party’s backing to a second referendum follows a concerted push by the shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, and deputy leader, Tom Watson, who fear any further delay could have led to more defections to the breakaway Independent Group (TIG), whose members all back a second referendum.
Continue reading...Mining group agrees to walk away from Simandou project, with all legal actions ceasing
The mining group controlled by the controversial tycoon Beny Steinmetz is to walk away from a massive iron ore project in Guinea as part of an agreement that settles a long-running corruption dispute with the west African nation.
Development of Simandou – one of the world’s biggest iron deposits, containing billions of tonnes of high-grade ore – has been hindered by years of legal wrangling as well as the enormous cost of the required infrastructure, estimated at more than $20bn (£15bn).
Continue reading...European council president has walked through process of delaying Britain’s departure
Theresa May will not get her Brexit deal through the Commons, Donald Tusk has warned, leaving the UK with the option of “a chaotic Brexit” or an extension of its membership of the EU beyond 29 March.
The European council president, to quell “speculation”, disclosed that, during private talks with the prime minister at a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, he had walked through the legal process that would need to be followed to delay Brexit.
Continue reading...Activists’ lawyer says notice has caused the group ‘great anxiety and distress’
Activists known as the Stansted 15 who were convicted under a terrorism-related law for chaining themselves around an immigration removal flight at Stansted airport have been ordered back to court over the same incident in a move they have described as “cruel and vindictive”.
Earlier this month the activists received suspended sentences or community orders after they were convicted of endangering the safety of an aerodrome following a 10-week trial. The offence carries a potential life sentence.
Continue reading...Essex police conclude their inquiry into incident that was filmed and put on social media
The man who launched a tirade of racist abuse at a 77-year-old woman on a Ryanair flight last October has avoided charges in the UK after the Crown Prosecution Service said the offence took place under Spanish jurisdiction.
David Mesher, from Yardley Wood, Birmingham, was filmed by fellow passengers calling Delsie Gayle an “ugly black bastard” and told her “don’t speak to me in a foreign language, you stupid ugly cow” on a stationary plane at Barcelona airport on 19 October.
Continue reading...Yew Fook Sam’s case exposes the endemic culture of xenophobia that goes unchallenged in the Home Office
Last week, it was revealed that a 67-year-old man faces deportation to Malaysia because Home Office officials, and a tribunal judge, refuse to believe he is gay. Yew Fook Sam, known as Sam, came out two years ago and spent 10 months in Harmondsworth immigration removal centre. He arrived in the UK in 2005 after his wife found out he had been having sex with ladyboys in Thailand and left him.
The Home Office has suggested the fact that Sam does not have a boyfriend raises suspicions about the legitimacy of his asylum claim, leading to a rejection of his claim. His lack of sexual partners lent weight to their suspicions.
Continue reading...Holidaymaker shocked to see stowaway python in her slip-ons on return from Queensland
As souvenirs go, it is a unique one. A woman has returned to Scotland from a holiday in Australia to discover a stowaway snake hidden in one of her shoes.
In an incident that will confirm the worst fears of visitors to Australia, Moira Boxall unpacked her luggage after the more than 9,300-mile journey from Queensland to find the small and very much alive creature curled up in her slip-ons. It even shed its skin during its voyage in her footwear.
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