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.
Continue reading...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’?
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.
Continue reading...Understanding the rightwing backlash over the government scheme helping people with serious disabilities get cars
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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Rami Battikh, 24, got caught up in five-year nightmare after stolen ID card was used in string of crimes
A young German citizen has told how his life has been destroyed after a London criminal used his ID to rack up a string of convictions that now appear on the German database against his name.
The phantom record has left the 24-year-old in despair, effectively blacklisted and unable to get a job for the past four years in his native Bonn, stymying a budding career and the start of his adult life.
Continue reading...Labour MP and Lib Dem leader express concern social media companies could be let off hook just as benefits are cut
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.
His chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed on Sunday that there were “ongoing” discussions about the UK’s £1bn-a-year digital services tax that affects companies including Meta and Amazon.
Continue reading...Bridget Phillipson instructs Public Sector Fraud Authority to look into whether millions of pounds falsely claimed
Fraud experts will investigate the university loans system amid concerns that students are falsely claiming millions of pounds without intending to study, the education secretary has announced.
Bridget Phillipson has instructed the Public Sector Fraud Authority to coordinate the response to allegations that individuals with no genuine academic intent are enrolling in degree courses to secure loans.
Continue reading...More than a thousand flights were cancelled on Friday after a fire at an electrical substation caused a power cut
Heathrow airport has returned to normal business two days after it was forced to close when a fire at an electrical substation caused a power cut.
Europe’s busiest airport had more than 1,000 flights cancelled on Friday after the fire at the substation in Hayes, west London.
Continue reading...Age of ‘command and control’ is over, says Demos, with work needed from business, charities, unions and public
Labour’s missions are at risk of failing unless the government does more to involve the whole country from businesses to the wider public, as the age of “command and control” is over, a report from Demos has warned.
The thinktank called on the government to embrace “mass mobilisation” for businesses, charities, unions and the wider public to drive its flagship missions, which promise growth, clean energy, cutting crime, rebuilding the NHS and reforming education.
Continue reading...Host of Top of the Pops and My Top Twelve among other shows was one of last people to interview John Lennon
Andy Peebles, the former Radio 1 DJ and presenter who was one of the last people to interview John Lennon, has died aged 76, his family has confirmed.
Peebles began his radio career in Manchester in 1973 and joined Radio 1 in 1978, where he was a familiar voice for 14 years.
Continue reading...Jason Stockwood, ex-chair of Grimsby Town FC, has plan for keeping rival Andrea Jenkyns from implementing US-style cuts
Labour can beat Reform UK by focusing relentlessly on the cost of living, the party’s mayoral candidate for Greater Lincolnshire, who is taking on the Conservative defector Andrea Jenkyns, has said.
Jason Stockwood, the former chair of Grimsby Town football club, is standing for Labour in the most high-profile mayoral race of the local elections.
Continue reading...PM agrees with US president that Europe must bear greater burden for its collective self-defence
Keir Starmer has spoken of how he personally “likes and respects” the US president, Donald Trump, and understands what he is trying to achieve.
The prime minister made the comments in an interview with the New York Times, saying: “President Trump has a point when he says there needs to be a greater burden borne by European countries for the collective self-defence of Europe.”
Continue reading...Departments will be asked next week to reduce spending by 10% by 2028-29, says Cabinet Office source
The civil service will be told to slash more than £2bn a year from its budget by the end of the decade as part of the government’s spending review, with unions warning of significant job losses, the Guardian understands.
The Cabinet Office will tell departments to cut their administrative budgets by 15%, which is expected to save £2.2bn a year by 2029-30.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer has been dealt a fresh blow to his living standards pledge in advance of the spring statement
Living standards for all UK families are set to fall by 2030, with those on the lowest incomes declining twice as fast as middle and high earners, according to new data that raises serious questions about Keir Starmer’s pledge to make working people better off.
The grim economic analysis, produced by the respected Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), comes before the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, makes her spring statement on Wednesday in which she will announce new cuts to public spending rather than increase borrowing or raise taxes, so as to keep within the government’s “iron clad” fiscal rules.
Continue reading...Government says lessons need to be learned after the substation fire that caused chaos for 300,000 passengers
The government has launched an urgent investigation into the power shutdown that crippled Heathrow airport, with experts warning it was a “wake-up call” about vulnerabilities in the nation’s critical infrastructure.
The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has commissioned the independent National Energy System Operator (Neso) to investigate the incident and assess the UK’s energy resilience. The regulator Ofgem warned it would “not hesitate” to take action if there were any breaches of standards or licence obligations.
Continue reading...