Category Archives: UK news

Rightwing media falsely blame Ed Miliband for UK steel crisis, experts say

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Net zero and clean energy can actually help save the steel industry, experts point out

Ed Miliband and the UK’s net zero target are being falsely blamed for the UK’s steel crisis, experts have said.

On Saturday, parliament passed a law containing emergency powers to gain control of the last remaining maker of mass-produced virgin steel in England, based in Scunthrope, after its Chinese owner, Jingye, declined government support to keep the plant running over the next few weeks.

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UK MP refused entry to Hong Kong accuses China of ‘hidden blacklist’

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Wera Hobhouse says her apparent presence on secret list of critics of country’s human rights record made her a target

A Liberal Democrat MP refused entry to Hong Kong to see her young grandson has said her experience should be “a wake-up call for any parliamentarian”, given that it seems to show China holds a secret list of banned politicians.

Wera Hobhouse, who was turned back by officials on Thursday, said she was given no explanation as to why this happened, and could only assume that it was because she had spoken out about rights abuses by China.

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Mickey Rourke ejected from Big Brother house over ‘unacceptable behaviour’

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Actor, 72, understood to have used behaviour and language considered threatening against housemate Chris Hughes

The Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke has been kicked out of the Celebrity Big Brother house over “instances of unacceptable behaviour” and “inappropriate language”.

The 72-year-old Bafta winner is understood to have used behaviour and language that was considered to be threatening and aggressive during a task, directed towards his housemate Chris Hughes, a former Love Island contestant. No physical altercation took place, according to the PA news agency.

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British Steel to deploy emergency measures to save Scunthorpe furnaces

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Firm in race against time to get key materials as business secretary says no guarantee it will get what it needs

British Steel is to deploy emergency measures in a race against time to save the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, as the business secretary refused to guarantee the plant could get what it needed in time.

The company is understood to be looking at offers of help from more than a dozen businesses to obtain materials such as iron ore and coking coal, potentially allowing it to avoid the temporary shutdown of one of the two furnaces.

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Melanoma patients in England get fast-track access to cancer vaccine

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NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad expanded to include trial for patients with advanced type of skin cancer

Patients with an advanced type of skin melanoma in England will be given fast-track access to a “revolutionary” new cancer vaccine as part of an NHS trial.

The vaccine, known as iSCIB1+ (ImmunoBody), helps the immune system recognise cancer cells and therefore better respond to immunotherapy treatment.

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Army planners sent in to help clear Birmingham’s rubbish piles

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Government calls in military experts as month-long refuse workers’ strike brings warnings of public health emergency

Office-based military specialists have been called in to deal with the mounting piles of rubbish on the streets of Birmingham after a month-long strike by refuse workers.

Tens of thousands of tonnes of rubbish have gone uncollected and Birmingham city council has declared a major incident and issued a public health warning since the all-out-strike by Unite union members began on 11 March.

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Jean Marsh, co-creator of 1970s TV hit Upstairs, Downstairs, dies aged 90

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ITV drama set in aristocratic house in Edwardian London explored class and social change, and won many awards

Jean Marsh, the actor and writer best known for co-creating and starring in the 1970s TV show Upstairs, Downstairs, has died aged 90.

The film-maker Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who was a close friend of Marsh, said she died of complications with dementia in her London home on Sunday.

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Arrest warrant issued in Bangladesh for UK MP Tulip Siddiq

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Former City minister accused of illegally receiving plot of land from her aunt, ousted PM Sheikh Hasina

An arrest warrant for the former City minister Tulip Siddiq has been issued in Bangladesh with a new allegation accusing her of illegally receiving a plot of land from her aunt, the ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Bangladeshi media reported the warrant was issued by a judge for 53 people connected to Hasina, including Siddiq. There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Bangladesh.

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UK could target parts of Chinese state under new foreign influence rules

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Exclusive: Government is weighing up security concerns against economic benefits of closer ties with Beijing

The government could target parts of China’s security apparatus under new foreign influence rules, the Guardian has learned.

Ministers are considering including parts of the Chinese state accused of interference activities on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme (Firs).

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Labour MPs push for Foreign Office to recognise Palestinian statehood

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Emily Thornberry calls for UK to join France, as Emmanuel Macron says June UN conference must be decisive moment

The Foreign Office is under pressure from Labour MPs to recognise a Palestinian state if Emmanuel Macron, the French president, presses ahead with plans to recognise Palestine at an international conference set for June.

France is co-chairing the conference at the UN in New York alongside Saudi Arabia, and Macron has said the conference must be a decisive moment.

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British man, 63, dies after falling at Roman aqueduct in Spain

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Unnamed tourist fell from viewing platform overlooking the historic structure in Segovia, authorities say

A 63-year-old British man has died after falling from a viewing platform overlooking the historic aqueduct of Segovia in central Spain, according to local authorities.

In a brief statement on Saturday, officials described the man as a British passport holder who had arrived in the city on Thursday with two other people.

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‘Unprecedented’ sightings of Asian hornets raise fears for UK bees

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Early reports have led experts to believe there could be a surge in the deadly invader, threatening native species

They have bright yellow legs, are about 25mm (almost 1in) long, and a single colony, if left unchecked, can “butcher” 90,000 pollinating insects in just one season.

Since the first UK sighting in 2016 of Vespa velutina – the Asian or yellow-legged hornet – beekeepers and scientists have waged a vigorous campaign to minimise the damage this invasive species can do to Britain’s biodiversity and bee colonies.

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Explosion partly destroys house in Nottinghamshire

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Major incident declared and surrounding homes evacuated after suspected gas explosion in terrace house in Worksop

A major incident has been declared following a suspected gas explosion at a home in Nottinghamshire on Saturday evening that partly destroyed the property.

Nearby homes in Worksop were evacuated as fire crews and the East Midlands ambulance service worked to account for all residents. On Saturday night, it was unclear if the blast had caused any casualties.

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Big brands send out barrage of junk food ads before obesity rules bite

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Advertising on snacks rises 26% compared with last year, months before restrictions on promoting unhealthy food come into force

Big food brands dramatically increased their spending on advertising last year, months before new junk food regulations aiming to curb Britain’s obesity crisis are due to come into force, the Observer can reveal.

Food companies spent an extra £420m in 2024, an increase of 26% year on year that coincided with a bumper 12 months for sales of snack foods. Shoppers bought an extra 45.4m packs of chocolate, cakes and crisps from the top-selling brands.

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Voters want Keir Starmer to focus on rebuilding trade ties with EU, poll reveals

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Open trade with Europe is more important to the UK than a deal with Donald Trump, most Britons believe

A clear majority of UK voters want the government to concentrate on rebuilding trade ties with the EU over forging a new economic deal with the US, according to research published this weekend.

The study, based on analy­sis of polling that used new methods of questioning participants, suggests people of voting age now see their economic interests, and the UK’s, as far more closely linked to open trade relations with our EU neighbours than any deals that Keir Starmer might or might not strike with the US.

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Bill to save British Steel plant becomes law after king’s approval

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Emergency legislation giving government power to instruct British Steel to keep plant open passed unopposed

Proposals to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces have been granted royal assent after an extraordinary parliament sitting on Saturday.

Emergency legislation giving the government the power to instruct British Steel to keep the plant open passed the Commons and Lords in a single day unopposed.

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Travellers arriving in Great Britain face import ban on EU meat and dairy

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Government introduces measure to prevent spread of foot-and-mouth disease after rise in cases across Europe

Tourists from Great Britain who travel to the continent to satisfy their epicurean desires for cured meats and fragrant cheeses will be frustrated in their attempts to bring home some of their favourite foods after a ban on meat and dairy imports from EU countries came into force this weekend.

From Saturday, holidaymakers will no longer be able to bring meat from cattle, sheep, goats or pigs, or dairy products, from EU countries into Great Britain for personal use, in a move aimed at preventing the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) after a rise in cases across Europe.

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‘I’m super worried’: fewer UK tourists visiting US amid Trump’s policies and rhetoric

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Number of Brits crossing Atlantic down 14.3% from 2024 – and the travel industry fears decline could continue

After backpacker Rebecca Burke was arrested and locked up for nearly three weeks by US immigration ­officials in February, she started urging people not to travel to America.

Britons seem to have listened: UK residents visiting the US were down 14.3% in March compared with the same month in 2024, official figures show.

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Greek vase ‘looted’ in Italy removed from sale by London gallery

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Contact from the Observer prompts withdrawal as dealers urged to do more to stop illicit trade in antiquities

A London antiquities dealer has withdrawn an ancient Greek amphora from sale after evidence arose that links it to a notorious smuggler.

The Kallos Gallery in Mayfair, London, has removed a black-figure amphora – a jar with two handles and a narrow neck made around 550BC – from sale after the Observer contacted it about concerns raised by an expert in the illegal trade of antiquities.

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National Trust bans coaches from East Sussex beauty spot to cut visitor numbers

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More than 600,000 people a year visit Birling Gap, part of Seven Sisters cliffs, which are vulnerable to coastal erosion

The National Trust has banned coaches from one of Britain’s most popular beauty spots in an attempt to reduce the growing numbers of people visiting the site.

Up to 600,000 people a year visit Birling Gap which is part of the Seven Sisters cliffs in East Sussex on England’s south coast.

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