Boys charged with rape, threats to kill and kidnap after alleged incident in town of Fordingbridge on 17 January
Two 14-year-old boys have been charged with the kidnap and rape of a girl of the same age in a public park in the New Forest in Hampshire.
The incident is alleged to have taken place at a recreation ground in the town of Fordingbridge on the evening of 17 January.
Continue reading...Home secretary also says inquiry into the attack will cover wider threat posed by youth violence
Starmer says nothing will be off the table in the inquiry.
There are also questions about the accountability of the Whitehall and Westminster system – a system that is far too often driven by circling the institutional wagons, that does not react until justice is either hard won by campaigners, or until appalling tragedies like this [take place].
Time and again we see this pattern, and people are right to be angry about it. I’m angry about it.
There are also bigger questions, questions such as how we protect our children from the tidal wave of violence freely available online.
Because you can’t tell me that the material this individual viewed before committing these murders should be accessible on mainstream social media platforms, but with just a few clicks, people can watch video after horrific video – videos that, in some cases, are never taken down,
Continue reading...Exclusive: Timpson says government plans to reverse rise in female inmates and use alternative forms of punishment
A women’s jail in England or Wales should be closed by diverting offenders to alternative forms of punishment and rehabilitation, the prisons minister, James Timpson has said.
In an interview with the Guardian, the former head of the shoe repair chain said the government planned to reverse the rise in the number of women being sent to jail, around half of whom are mothers.
Continue reading...Exclusive: NGOs say safeguarding policies need improving, as victims tell of multiple assaults and incidents of race hate
NGOs are calling for improvements in UK government safeguarding policies after multiple acts of violence and race hate incidents in Home Office accommodation.
The incidents include 20 assaults of asylum seekers in one small area of Essex and a separate incident where another was attacked and threatened with a knife by a man recently released into shared asylum accommodation from prison on licence. Slices of bacon were also laid over food belonging to Muslim residents stored in a communal kitchen fridge.
Continue reading...The survey of chief executives, published ahead of the World Economic Forum, follows an upgraded growth forecast from the IMF
The UK is the second most attractive country for investment behind the US, signalling a climb up the rankings, according to an annual survey of global business leaders by the consultancy PwC.
Published at the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the survey of almost 5,000 chief executives from 109 countries puts the UK in second place, ahead of China, Germany and India.
Continue reading...Industry body says businesses and jobs at risk unless Rachel Reeves’s tax changes delayed or altered
The hospitality industry will incur an extra £1bn of costs for 774,000 of its workers who will be newly eligible for employer national insurance contributions from April, endangering jobs and businesses, a leading industry body has claimed.
UKHospitality, which represents thousands of restaurants, hotels, pubs, cafes and nightclubs, is calling on the government to delay or alter changes to the tax announced in Rachel Reeves’s October’s budget in order to protect jobs.
Continue reading...Annual survey finds workers have ‘multifaceted expectations’ after changes cause by Covid pandemic
Work-life balance has soared in importance for workers around the world, becoming their top motivator and pushing pay into second place, according to an annual international survey of thousands of employees.
It is the first time that finding or keeping a job that fits in with the rest of their lives has outranked salary in the 22-year history of the international recruitment company Randstad’s annual review of the world of work, highlighting the corporate revolution caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading...Emily Damari, released with two other hostages after 471 days in captivity, overjoyed after being reunited with family
A British-Israeli hostage freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Sunday has said she has “returned to life” and is the “happiest person in the world” after being reunited with her family.
In her first comments since being freed, Emily Damari, 28, thanked her family and friends who campaigned for her release. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m the happiest in the world,” she said in Hebrew on Instagram.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Teenager who has admitted murdering three young girls in Southport was first referred to Prevent in 2019
The teenager who murdered three young girls at a dance class in Southport was referred three times to Prevent, the government’s scheme to stop terrorist violence, the Guardian has learned.
One of the referrals followed concerns about Axel Rudakubana’s potential interest in the killing of children in a school massacre, it is understood.
Continue reading...Reform UK leader, who is in the US for Trump’s inauguration, says early election is ‘not impossible’
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, thinks that his chances of becoming PM before Donald Trump leaves the White House in January could be as high as 25%. He made the comment in an interview with Dan Walker for 5 News being broadcast tonight. Farage told Walker he did genuinely believe he could be the next PM. And this is what he said when he was asked if that could happen during Trump’s presidency.
Look, Labour have got a whopping great big majority. The only thing that really brings an early election is if we get an economic meltdown.
Now, that is not impossible for two reasons. One, the level of indebtedness is worse than it was in 2008 when we had the big meltdowns. And I think we’ve lived through rocketing stock markets for years. That can’t go on.
For Reform to replace the Tories three things would need to happen. First they would need to sustain their current momentum well into 2025, then there would need to be a tipping point moment when donors, right-wing media and a number of Tory MPs decided to shift support en masse, and then they would have to win more seats in the 2028/2029 election.
The first of these seems fairly likely. The enthusiasm of Reform’s voter base, the weakness of the Tory party, and the media need for narrative all point the same way. The biggest barrier is probably Farage’s ability to manage the negative associations caused by Musk (who is not at all popular in the UK).
It may take a long time but if - and it is a big if - Reform remain a major player in British politics, under the voting system we have, it will ultimately lead to the end of the Tory party as we know it.
Continue reading...Bitcoin rises by 4% past $109,000, reversing earlier losses; Donald Trump meme coin price tanks after wife Melania also launches token
The UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will travel to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos this week in the hope of convincing some of the world’s largest companies to invest, with allies saying she will use spending cuts rather than further tax increases to meet her own fiscal rules.
At the same time, the Treasury is considering a push to cut the benefits bill, in a move that is causing nervousness among Labour MPs.
Continue reading...Publisher was helped by strong digital advertising performance towards end of year, say analysts
Shares in the owner of the Daily Mirror rose more than a quarter after the publisher said it expects to beat annual profit expectations, after a strong end to the year and the benefit of deep cost-cutting in recent years.
Reach, which owns national papers including the Mirror and Express and scores of local titles including the Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Echo, said the profit upgrade was because of a strong final quarter last year.
Continue reading...FRC confirms inquiry into accounting firm’s 2022 audit of Ladbrokes, Coral and Sportingbet owner
The accounting firm KPMG is under investigation by the sector’s UK regulator over its audit of the 2022 accounts of the gambling company Entain.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said its enforcement division would be examining the conduct of the “big four” accounting firm, without saying what the investigation related to.
Continue reading...Exclusive: William Blake-inspired artwork to feature alongside new paintings in artist’s biggest exhibition
A previously unseen painting by David Hockney has been revealed for the first time before its unveiling in the biggest exhibition to be devoted to one of Britain’s foremost living artists.
Titled After Blake: Less is Known than People Think, the work will be among hundreds of previously unknown Hockneys that are to be displayed alongside his famous masterpieces at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris from April.
Continue reading...String jellyfish species that has killed millions of salmon in Norwegian sea farms reported in Scotland
A jellyfish species that has been wreaking havoc on Norway’s salmon industry has made its way to Scotland, causing significant damage and prompting calls for urgent action.
The string jellyfish has killed millions of salmon in Norwegian sea farms with officials urging an extermination of affected stocks.
Continue reading...Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher return to Israel after 15 months in captivity
Three women held hostage by Hamas in tunnels beneath Gaza during 15 months of devastating conflict, including the joint British national Emily Damari, have been released and reunited with their mothers in the first act of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the conflict.
Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24 and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were handed over to the International Committee for the Red Cross in Gaza on Sunday afternoon, ending a protracted ordeal that began with their violent abduction by Hamas on 7 October 2023.
Continue reading...Former Labour leader and former shadow chancellor due to be interviewed under caution following protest in London
Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell were due to be interviewed under caution by police after a pro-Palestine march in central London on Saturday.
Nine people have been charged with public order offences after protesters allegedly breached conditions as they marched through the city, allegedly breaking through a police line in the process.
Continue reading...Cheryl Bennett has been paid substantial damages after fake clip taken when she was canvassing for Labour was viewed millions of times
A teacher subjected to a torrent of abuse after doctored footage falsely alleged she used a racist slur while canvassing for the Labour party has said she was forced into hiding and feared it would ruin her career.
Cheryl Bennett, a PE teacher from Wednesbury in the West Midlands, was helping her colleague, Qasim Mughal, hand out Labour leaflets during the local elections in May last year when she was recorded on a household security camera.
Continue reading...Newspapers had reported that new president might veto UK pick, as ministers brace for a turbulent four years
Donald Trump will not block the appointment of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to the US, according to a London-based ally of the president-elect, as ministers brace for a turbulent four years of British-American relations.
Greg Swenson, the head of the UK branch of Republicans Overseas, told the BBC on Sunday he did not believe Trump would prevent the Labour peer from taking up his post in Washington, despite reports to the contrary.
Continue reading...From showers to unlocked rooms, types of spaces offered to mothers wanting to express have been a source of dismay
An employment judge has ruled that a healthcare worker suffered “harassment related to sex” after a suitable private space for her to express breast milk was not provided to her by an NHS health board.
Robyn Gibbins told an employment tribunal that she was not given a room that she could lock and felt let down by the trust in Cardiff. A trust spokesperson said the Cardiff and Vale university health board was committed to ensuring all colleagues are treated respectfully, with dignity and without discrimination or prejudice.
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