PM says UK does not have to choose between Europe and US, before meeting EU leaders in Brussels
Keir Starmer has said he wants an “ambitious security partnership” with the EU, while insisting the UK does not have to choose between Europe and the US.
The prime minister was speaking before meeting EU leaders in Brussels to discuss security and defence, the first time a British leader has attended a European Council meeting since Britain left the EU five years ago.
Continue reading...Hearing to rule on whether to grant emergency funds to water utility, which says it may run out of cash by March
Thames Water will seek court approval for up to £3bn in emergency funding, which could stave off temporary nationalisation, at a court hearing in London.
A high court judge will hear from Britain’s biggest water supplier and groups of rival creditors on Monday before deciding whether to approve the rescue. Without the debt lifeline, Thames Water has said it could run out of cash by March.
Continue reading...Unions as well as school leaders say proposed changes to replace four-grade approach in England are ‘demoralising’
Moves to overhaul the way schools are inspected in England have been criticised by headteachers and teaching unions as “demoralising” and worse than the system they are aiming to replace.
The changes by the Ofsted schools inspectorate would replace single judgments such as “outstanding” with a new report card for parents. They will be unveiled by Ofsted’s chief inspector, Martyn Oliver, on Monday alongside the launch of a public consultation.
Continue reading...Home Office process will leave some with eight-week gap when they are unable to prove right to live and work in UK
Ukrainian refugees face losing their jobs and homes due to uncertainty over the Home Office’s visa extension process which will leave some with an eight-week gap in which they are unable to prove their right to live and work in the UK.
Some have already been refused tenancy renewal because their visas are about to expire, while others have been told they will have to stop working during the extension process as landlords and employers fear hefty fines and criminal sanctions.
Continue reading...Staffer told by official it would be inappropriate for him to give evidence to review of scandal-hit benefit
The Department for Work and Pensions has been accused of blocking a whistleblower who repeatedly raised the alarm about carer’s allowance from giving evidence to an independent review of the scandal-hit benefit.
The DWP staffer was told by a senior official it was inappropriate to share with the review their knowledge of the inner workings of a system that has become notorious for its often cruel treatment of unpaid carers.
Continue reading...Greenpeace co-director responds to report finding fewer than one in 20 working in sector identifies as non-white
Environmental organisations “are still very white, especially at the top”, the co-director of Greenpeace has said as research showed little to no improvement in the ethnic diversity of their workforces.
Areeba Hamid’s comments came as the third annual racial action on the climate emergency (Race) report into diversity among environmental charities found fewer than one in 20 of those working in the sector identified as people of colour or as other racial or ethnic minority groups.
Continue reading...Researcher at Swansea University says tiny plant spores mixed into bitumen can extend surface lifespan by 30%
For all motorists, but perhaps the Ferrari-collecting rocker Rod Stewart in particular, it will be music to the ears: researchers have developed a road surface that heals when it cracks, preventing potholes without a need for human intervention.
The international team devised a self-healing bitumen that mends cracks as they form by fusing the asphalt back together. In laboratory tests, pieces of the material repaired small fractures within an hour of them first appearing.
Continue reading...PM wants to ‘see all allies stepping up’, saying Donald Trump’s threat of sanctions has rattled Vladimir Putin
Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to put more economic pressure on Russia, saying Donald Trump’s threat of sanctions has left Vladimir Putin “rattled”.
Before a meeting in Brussels on Monday, the prime minister said it was necessary to “see all allies stepping up – particularly in Europe” when it comes to inflicting economic harm on Russia, and argued it would help bring about peace by ending the Ukraine war sooner.
Continue reading...The Labour first minister talks to people in Blackwood, as Reform and Plaid snap at her heels
The next Welsh parliament elections are more than a year away but the first minister, Eluned Morgan, appeared to be on the campaign trail already as she swept through the town of Blackwood in the south Wales valleys.
Within half an hour, she had spoken to dozens of people, asking what they wanted of her government, acknowledging where things needed to be improved, challenging voters who she felt were not being fair on her party.
Continue reading...Andy Shovel, who worked at McDonald’s and co-founded THIS™, says A Bit Weird aims to ‘disarm people through fun’
Andy Shovel’s career to date has been, you might say, a journey. A little over a decade ago he was working on the chicken station in a branch of McDonald’s. He then set up a burger delivery business in west London, which he and a co-founder would go on to sell for seven figures.
A celebratory holiday in the Maldives and a period of research later, in 2019 they launched THIS™, the range of meat-alternative packaged foods, which boomed from zero to more than £20m of revenue, becoming the UK’s fastest-growing food brand in 2023.
Continue reading...National Fire Chiefs Council says ability of firefighters to respond is at risk as it calls for urgent preventive action
The UK is not prepared for the impact of climate breakdown, fire chiefs have warned, as they called on the government to take urgent action to protect communities.
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said the ability of fire services to tackle weather-related emergencies was at risk, despite often being the primary frontline response to major weather events including flooding, fires caused by heatwaves, and storm-related emergencies, all of which are becoming more common.
Continue reading...Data to be permanently deleted on 13 February after ‘matrix’ was found to be unlawful
Campaigners say deletion of an unlawful database known as the “matrix” will destroy vital evidence of discriminatory policing and prevent miscarriages of justice being exposed.
The gangs violence matrix (GVM) operated by the Metropolitan police, which linked individuals to alleged gang membership, is being permanently deleted on 13 February after it was found to be unlawful in 2022.
Continue reading...Tory leader forgot to register as controller of party’s companies until error was pointed out last week
Labour has called Kemi Badenoch a “shambles” after it emerged she forgot to register as controller of the Conservative party companies in a breach of corporate rules.
Badenoch, a former business secretary, became Conservative leader on 2 November but her predecessor Rishi Sunak was still registered as the controller of the party’s companies until the party was notified of the error last week.
Continue reading...Police say man and woman arrested over alleged hit-and-run in Pitsea remain in custody
Tributes have been paid to two children who died after an alleged hit-and-run in Essex.
Police said officers received reports that a girl and a boy had been involved in a collision with a car on Ashlyns, in Pitsea, near Basildon, at about 6.25pm on Saturday, and that the car had failed to stop at the scene.
Continue reading...Home secretary rules out return to full union with bloc as Keir Starmer prepares for talks in Brussels this week
Keir Starmer will seek to improve customs arrangements with Europe without returning to a full union with the bloc, the home secretary has said.
As the prime minister heads to Brussels as part of his attempted reset with the EU, Yvette Cooper said it was still a red line that the UK would not be part of a customs union or single market.
Continue reading...Former Labour leader says government should show greater willingness to work with bloc
Labour needs to end its “cycle of hesitation” over Europe and press ahead with an ambitious new relationship with the European Union, the party’s former leader Neil Kinnock has said.
Keir Starmer will head to a Brussels dinner with EU leaders this week as he attempts to negotiate a security and defence pact with the bloc. It is the first summit of its type to be attended by a British prime minister since Brexit.
Continue reading...Essex police said a boy and a girl died at the scene and the car involved failed to stop
Two people have been arrested after two children died in a car collision in Essex, police have said.
Officers were called to Walthams Place in Basildon at about 6.25pm on Saturday to reports of a crash and a car failing to stop.
Continue reading...UK will be first country to bring in tough new laws to tackle the technology behind the creation of abusive material
Britain is to become the first country to introduce laws tackling the use of AI tools to produce child sexual abuse images, amid warnings from law enforcement agencies of an alarming proliferation in such use of the technology.
In an attempt to close a legal loophole that has been a major concern for police and online safety campaigners, it will become illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material.
Continue reading...The chancellor is under fire after a study cited as evidence for expanding the terminal to boost the UK’s economic growth was ordered by Heathrow itself
Rachel Reeves was facing criticism on Saturday night as it was confirmed that a report she cited as evidence that a third runway at Heathrow would boost the UK economy was commissioned by the airport itself.
Experts and green groups also challenged Reeves’s view that advances in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) had been a “gamechanger” that would substantially limit the environmental damage of flying, saying the claims were overblown and did not stand up to scrutiny.
Continue reading...Judge condemns firm for use of customer’s data after problem gambler was sent 1,300 emails over two years
Gambling companies in Britain could be forced to overhaul their advertising practices after a betting firm was ruled to have unlawfully targeted a problem gambler who was bombarded with more than 1,300 marketing emails.
In a ruling at the high court, a judge found that Sky Betting & Gaming sent the man personalised marketing without proper consent after gathering hundreds of thousands of pieces of data about him and his gambling habits.
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