Category Archives: UK news

Former Citibank exec settles maternity discrimination case for £215,000

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Maeve Bradley, who worked for Citibank in Belfast, lost out on expected promotion after having a baby

A former Citibank employee has received £215,000 in a discrimination settlement after she lost out on an expected promotion when she returned from having a baby.

Maeve Bradley, who had worked at the American bank’s offices in Belfast as an assistant vice-president of derivatives since March 2021, took maternity leave in 2023 and said she was devastated to be offered a different role on her return.

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Prince Harry resigns ‘in shock’ from African charity he founded in 2006

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Duke of Sussex and co-founder of Sentebale step down as patrons amid infighting in the organisation

The Duke of Sussex has resigned from an African charity he set up 20 years ago after infighting in the organisation, saying he is “in shock” and “truly heartbroken”.

Prince Harry and the co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho both stepped down as patrons on Tuesday until further notice after trustees quit over a dispute with the chair, Dr Sophie Chandauka, a lawyer who was appointed in 2023.

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UK ministers vow to tackle forced labour in supply chains to mollify MPs

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Pledge comes after Labour MPs were whipped to remove legal protections from Great British Energy bill

Ministers have vowed to tackle forced labour in supply chains to mollify MPs after asking them to remove legal protections from the Great British Energy bill.

Labour MPs were whipped on Tuesday night to strip out an amendment intended to ensure that companies using forced labour do not drive the UK’s green energy transition.

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Royal Society decides not to take disciplinary action against Elon Musk

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Exclusive: Fellows argue Musk has violated code of conduct but council believes investigation ‘could do more harm than good’

The Royal Society has decided not to take disciplinary action against Elon Musk over his conduct, saying that to do so could cause damage to the academy and science itself.

Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO who also owns the social media platform X, was elected a fellow of the UK’s national academy of sciences in 2018, apparently in recognition of his work in the space and electric vehicle industries.

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Noel Clarke employee spoke up ‘to protect young women in film industry’

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Gina Powell, who alleges she was sexually assaulted by actor, tells court of ‘guilt’ at not stopping him earlier

A woman who worked for Noel Clarke said she spoke up about the actor sexually assaulting her because she did not think he should be “around young women in the film industry”, the high court has heard.

Gina Powell, who worked for the former Doctor Who actor at Unstoppable Productions from 2014 to 2017, has been accused by Clarke of being involved in a conspiracy with the Guardian and others to destroy his career by making allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

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Rupert Lowe report details ‘credible’ claims of bullying or harassment

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Report follows bitter row between former Reform MP Lowe and Nigel Farage, the party’s leader

Two women who worked for Rupert Lowe, the former Reform UK MP who was suspended from the party earlier this month, gave “credible” evidence of bullying or harassment by him and his team, according to a report from a KC hired by the party.

The report also disputed Lowe’s statement that the women had only made complaints after they faced internal disciplinary proceedings against them, saying the timeline of events showed this was “incorrect”.

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Online gangs of teenage boys sharing extreme material are ‘emerging threat’ in UK

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National Crime Agency says such groups are fuelling crimes including fraud, violence and child sexual abuse

Teenage boys are joining online gangs where they share sadistic and misogynistic material that fuels crimes including fraud, violence and child sexual abuse, the director general of the National Crime Agency has warned.

Offenders in online communities collaborate and compete to cause harm online and offline through cyber-attacks such as launching malware, ransomware or executing data breaches; fraud; extremism; grooming and blackmailing; serious violence; and child sexual abuse, according to the NCA, which leads the UK’s fight to cut serious and organised crime.

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Domestic abusers driving more victims to suicide, warn police

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Report finds that 98 domestic abuse victims in England and Wales died by suspected suicide in 2023-2024

Domestic abusers are driving their victims to suicide, police have warned as they admitted to past mistakes and pledged to investigate more “hidden” cases of violence against women.

The concession came as a new report revealed that deaths by suicide among victims of domestic abuse surpassed the number of people killed by an intimate partner for a second year in a row.

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UK police to charge more abusers with manslaughter after suicide of partner

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Change comes after death of Kiena Dawes, whose partner was cleared of manslaughter but convicted of domestic abuse

A senior police chief has unveiled a plan to charge more domestic abusers with manslaughter after their partners take their own lives. It comes after the death of Kiena Dawes, whose partner Ryan Wellings was cleared of manslaughter but convicted of domestic abuse.

Wellings had subjected Dawes to repeated assaults and verbal abuse before she killed herself and left a suicide note on her phone in which she described Wellings as a monster, stating: “Slowly … Ryan Wellings killed me.”

If you are experiencing domestic abuse you can contact the Refuge freephone 24-hour national domestic abuse helpline: 0808 2000 247 or visit www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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City watchdog ponders rule changes to simplify comparisons of financial products

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FCA to explore simplifying communications about savings accounts and review parts of its credit advertising rules

The City watchdog is considering changing rules to allow people to receive clearer information from financial firms to make it easier for them to find and compare products.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is exploring how it can simplify communications about savings accounts. The watchdog, which will announce its five-year strategy on Tuesday, will also review parts of its credit advertising rules, such as lengthy terms and conditions.

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Reeves to put £2bn into affordable housing to ‘sweeten the pill’ of cuts

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Chancellor will announce plans to fund 18,000 social homes before fraught spring statement on Wednesday

Rachel Reeves will plough £2bn into affordable housing in a bid to “sweeten the pill” of the spending cuts being announced at this week’s spring statement.

The chancellor made the surprise announcement of the new cash – a down payment on the June spending review – as the Treasury bids to demonstrate that it remains focused on investment, rather than cuts. It will fund 18,000 affordable and social homes, part of the target to build 1.5m homes over the course of the parliament.

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Airlines could take legal action over Heathrow shutdown

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Body representing over 90 firms says it could take airport to court over costs of closure if issue not ‘amicably settled’

A body representing more than 90 airlines using Heathrow airport said there might be a case for legal action if a settlement over the costs incurred from Friday’s closure after a fire is not reached.

Europe’s largest airport was closed in the early hours of Friday morning after the blaze at a major electricity substation hit electricity supplies.

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No change needed: campaigner saves his last local phone box

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BT had planned to remove the familiar red kiosk in rural Norfolk until 89-year-old Derek Harris intervened

An 89-year-old man has won his battle to save the last remaining phone box in a village in East Anglia.

Derek Harris learned in January that BT was planning to remove the K6-style box in Sharrington, Norfolk, where he has lived for 50 years.

Harris and his fellow campaigners argued it was “an iconic heritage asset” and a vital asset to the community, due to the poor mobile signal in the rural area and North Norfolk having the highest proportion of older residents in England and Wales.

On Monday, BT informed Harris it had decided not to withdraw the payphone.

In a letter, the company said: “Given the poor mobile service in the area and the significant number of calls made from this payphone, it is clear that it serves an important function for the community. Therefore, we are withdrawing it from the removal programme.

“We understand the importance of maintaining reliable communication options, especially in areas where mobile service is lacking. The payphone has proven to be a vital resource for residents, ensuring that they have access to emergency services and can stay connected.

“Our decision reflects our commitment to supporting the community’s needs and ensuring that essential services remain accessible.”

Harris was born in 1935, the same year that the K6 style of red phone box was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. It went into production in 1936, becoming a familiar sight across the UK in just a few years.

Linda Jennings, from Brinton and Sharrington parish council, said: “It’s fantastic, the ‘normal man’ has won over the big company. We are all very pleased. It’s really good that BT has backed down.

“The mobile phone signal is really poor, it’s a lifeline for people. If you can’t get a signal there, you need these phone boxes. We have a parish council meeting on Thursday, Derek will get a big pat on the back.”

Last month, Harris told the Guardian of the need for the phone box to remain.

“We live next to perhaps the most beautiful part of Norfolk, the tranquil Glaven Valley with a pure chalk stream running through it,” he said. “It attracts ramblers, walkers, the lot, and everyone knows that there’s a working kiosk.”

In the event of an emergency and the mobile network being down, he added, “Wouldn’t it be awful if someone said: ‘If only they had kept that working kiosk’?

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DNA testing firm 23andMe files for bankruptcy as CEO steps down

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Co-founder Anne Wojcicki to pursue independent bid as California attorney general tells users to delete data

The genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US to help sell itself, as its chief executive quit to pursue a bid for the business after several aborted attempts.

23andMe said late on Sunday that it had started voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to “facilitate a sale process to maximise the value of its business”. It added that it is operating as usual throughout the sale process.

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Motability: is it true that the disability scheme is taking UK taxpayers for a ride?

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Understanding the rightwing backlash over the government scheme helping people with serious disabilities get cars

  • This article is an extract from our First Edition newsletter. Sign up here

Motability really ought to be a boring subject: a government scheme helping people with serious disabilities get a car by using a portion of their benefits to pay for the lease. But over the past week, anyone who had never heard of Motability would have got a more lurid impression.

First reported in the Daily Mail, and then in a string of follow-up stories, Motability was portrayed not as a useful mechanism for helping people with disabilities but an outrageous example of con artists milking the taxpayer.

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Starmer confirms he wants to ‘take some money out of government’ as part of efficiency drive – UK politics live

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PM also claims government is spending record amount on pothole repairs amid criticism of spring statement plans

Well, that did not really get us very far. Apologies to anyone who feels misled by “grilling” in the headline. We learned very little. After the interview was over, Rachel Burden, the Radio 5 Live presenter, read out some listener reaction, including a message from someone who said: “The country is literally falling apart and Sir Keir is fixated on potholes. I give up.”

But in the interview Keir Starmer did not challenge the claim that some government departments will have to reduce spending. This is what he said when it was put to him that unprotected deparments would face cuts.

We’re looking across the board. We made a budget last year, we made some record investments, and we’re not going to undo that.

So, for example, we’ve got a record amount into the NHS. That’s just delivered five months’ worth of waiting lists coming down – five months in a row during the winter, that’s really good. So we’re not going to alter the basics.

I do think this is something that we have to take seriously. We have to address. We can’t shrug our shoulders at it.

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Prostate cancer surgery breakthrough offers hope for erectile function

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Neurosafe procedure allows doctors to remove prostate while preserving as much nerve tissue around it as possible

A more precise form of prostate cancer surgery nearly doubles the chances of men retaining erectile function afterwards compared with standard surgery, according to the first comprehensive trial of the procedure.

Doctors in five UK hospitals assessed the surgical approach that aims to preserve crucial nerves that run through the outer layer of the prostate and are thought to be responsible for producing erections.

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Monday briefing: Why has the rightwing press turned on Motability?

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In today’s newsletter: How a dubious ‘scandal’ about the scheme to help people with serious disabilities get a car made its way into the mainstream

Good morning. Motability really ought to be a boring subject. A government scheme designed to help people with serious disabilities get a car by using a portion of their benefits to pay for the lease doesn’t sound like fertile territory for a scandal, after all. But over the last week, anyone who had never heard of Motability before would have got a much more lurid impression.

First in the Daily Mail last Saturday, and then in a string of stories spinning off the same basic analysis, Motability was portrayed not as a useful mechanism for reducing some of the inequities that always accompany disability – but an outrageous example of con artists milking the taxpayer to live a life of luxury. The saga took in “bedwetting boy racers”, so-called “sickfluencers” teaching fellow chancers how to cheat the system, an anonymous social media user who has previously caught the eye of Elon Musk and even the legacy of the Battle of Britain.

UK economy | Keir Starmer has been warned against “appeasing” Donald Trump as he considers reducing a major tax for US tech companies while cutting disability benefits and public sector jobs. Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed on Sunday that there were “ongoing” discussions about the UK’s £1bn-a-year digital services tax.

Canada | Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has called a snap election on 28 April, firing the starting gun on a contest expected to focus on the strained relationship with the US amid threats to Canada’s economic and political future. Carney’s decision comes as the Liberals experience an unprecedented polling swing putting them ahead of the Conservatives.

Gaza | Malnutrition is spreading in Gaza, medics and aid workers in the devastated Palestinian territory are warning, as a total Israeli blockade of all supplies enters its fourth week. On Sunday, Palestinian officials said the total death toll from nearly 18 months of conflict had passed 50,000.

Heathrow | There was enough power for Heathrow to remain open during the entire period it was shut down on Friday, the head of National Grid has said. Speaking for the first time since a fire forced North Hyde substation to close, the National Grid chief executive, John Pettigrew, said two other substations that serve Heathrow were working and could have supplied the airport.

Turkey | An Istanbul court has formally arrested the city’s mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, on corruption charges, sending him to pre-trial detention on the day he received his party’s nomination to run for president. Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the city after days of tension sparked by İmamoğlu’s initial detention in a dawn raid earlier this week.

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Ministers may siphon off stalled £950m fund for motorway chargers

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Talks to take place with operators about the scheme, announced in 2020, which has failed to make any grants

Ministers are considering diverting money from a £950m scheme to install rapid chargers for electric cars on the UK’s motorways, announced five years ago, after it failed to make a single grant.

Much of the cash allocated to the rapid charging fund (RCF) could be redirected to investments in other charging schemes, or to support the transition to electric vehicles more broadly, although decisions have yet to be made, according to a person close to discussions in government.

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MPs think they may have been targets of ‘disinformation’ over Bangladesh inquiry

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Group received emails about Ahsan Mansur, the central bank official investigating money laundering allegations

British MPs believe they may have been targeted by a “disinformation” campaign aimed at discrediting the man leading efforts to trace funds allegedly laundered from Bangladesh into the UK.

MPs raised the alarm after receiving emails about Ahsan Mansur, who was installed as the central bank governor of Bangladesh last year, after a student-led revolution swept away the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina.

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