Callout ends in tragedy after an as yet unnamed person fell on Thursday and their body was recovered by a rescue team
A man has died after falling 70 metres from a mountain ridge.
Keswick Mountain Rescue said its first callout of the year ended in tragedy after the man fell from Sharp Edge on Blencathra in the Lake District on Thursday.
Continue reading...Closed roads, multi-vehicle collisions and train problems reported as Met Office warnings remain in place
Homes were left without power, roads were closed, cars stranded, and flights and train services disrupted on Saturday as heavy snow and freezing rain hit much of the UK.
The National Grid said on Saturday night that power was cut to properties across the Midlands, south-west England and south Wales, including Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff, and that work was under way to get services restored.
Continue reading...Marcus Fakana from north London was convicted of having sex with British girl, now 18, when they were on holiday
Protesters have marched through central London calling for the release of a teenager in prison in Dubai for having sex with a 17-year-old British girl.
Marcus Fakana, from Tottenham in north London, was jailed last month after being convicted of having sex with the girl, who has now turned 18, when they were on holiday in September.
Continue reading...Police say 18-year-old released pending further inquiries over death of Elizabeth Kennedy, 70, on New Year’s Eve
An 18-year-old man has been arrested after a woman died during an alleged hit-and-run incident in Renfrewshire on New Year’s Eve.
Elizabeth Kennedy, 70, was pronounced dead at the scene after being struck by a car on Barrhead Road in Paisley at 7pm on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Election manifesto promise to set up specialist tribunals to deal with huge backlog of cases has been put on hold
The government appears to have stalled on plans to set up dozens of specialist rape courts to deal with a huge backlog of cases, amid warnings there are not enough lawyers to make the proposals work.
Labour pledged during the election campaign to use vacant rooms and buildings on crown court sites to fast-track rape cases and reduce the numbers awaiting trial.
Continue reading...Speaking at party conference, its leader calls reports of tech mogul’s potential $100m donation ‘somewhat overexaggerated’
Nigel Farage has hailed Elon Musk as a “hero” and said he was “very pleased he’s backing our party”, but he called reports that the tech mogul was preparing to donate $100m (£80m) to Reform UK “somewhat overexaggerated”.
Speaking at Reform’s East Midlands conference on Friday night, the party leader said Musk’s efficiency plan for Donald Trump’s government was the “blueprint we need” as he called for a “complete change of culture in Britain”.
Continue reading...Skylar Dalziel’s hard drives showed access to about 290,000 tracks from artists also including Shawn Mendes, police say
A dark web dealer who stole unreleased music from the likes of Coldplay, Shawn Mendes and Bebe Rexha has been given a suspended 21-month jail sentence.
Skylar Dalziel, 22, made tens of thousands of pounds after accessing the copyrighted tracks by illegally accessing cloud storage accounts linked to the artists.
Continue reading...Those close to PM worry voters are running out of patience and want reforms to directly help public
Keir Starmer has at last managed a family holiday, but by next week the Madeira sun may already feel a distant memory as he embarks on a policy blitz that could be crucial in deciding his government’s fortunes over this parliament.
A speech on Monday detailing what No 10 is billing as a “radical” approach to cut NHS waiting lists is expected to be followed by an announcement on crime, as the prime minister faces pressure to make changes that directly and rapidly benefit voters, rather than just promising they are on the way.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Patients in England to get direct referrals for tests without seeing consultant, but critics say plan is ‘deluded’
Keir Starmer will attempt to reset his premiership next week by setting out a series of radical NHS changes aimed at reducing waiting times for millions of patients in England.
The shake-up comes after a torrid first six months in government and amid mounting frustration among patients. More than 6 million are waiting for care.
Continue reading...Ex-health worker who exposed paedophile ring says billionaire’s triggering of row ignores plight of survivors
Elon Musk has “politicised” the rape of young girls in the UK in an attempt to attack Keir Starmer, a former health worker who exposed a major paedophile ring has told the Guardian.
Sara Rowbotham, who gathered evidence that led to the imprisonment of nine men in Rochdale, said the tech billionaire had launched a “political swipe” at the prime minister that overlooked the plight of abuse survivors.
Continue reading...Health secretary says initial reports from commission led by Louise Casey will come next year
As well as being asked about plans for adult social care and a new national care service, Wes Streeting was questioned this morning on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme about progress on assisted dying legislation in England and Wales.
As health secretary, Streeting intervened before November’s vote, suggesting that legalising assisted dying in the two countries would have resource implications for the NHS, and might lead to healthcare cuts.
The bill committee will work through those policy issues before the bill comes back to the Commons as a whole for further amendment, and then a final vote on a third reading before it goes to the Lords.
So whatever my misgivings, I’ve said all the way through this that I’ve respected parliament, that this isn’t the government’s responsibility, the government is neutral. That is for the Commons and the Lords to decide.
Continue reading...Despite its awful name it’s my favourite time of year, an excuse to pause any activity – including new year celebrations
And so we find ourselves again at the Christmas perineum, the time between the end of the yuletide celebrations and before the new year shenanigans begin, and a phrase so awful I have felt compelled to use it as often as possible ever since the dark day I learned it about five years ago. Sorry.
Watch less Brooklyn Nine-Nine every evening;
Add a new meal to my culinary repertoire and take the total to nearly three;
Work harder, walk more, cull wardrobe, sort finances, declutter house, clean more, lose weight, see if this improves life or makes me wish I was dead. You’ve got to find out at some point, I reckon.
Continue reading...Union calls for regular health checks for 600 Grenfell firefighters after many developed long-term conditions
The government “needs to seriously look” at the effects of toxic smoke inhalation on firefighters who served at the Grenfell Tower fire, a minister has said.
The comments from Andrew Gwynne, the health minister, came after the Guardian disclosed that more than a quarter of firefighters who battled against the fire eight years ago have long-term health disorders.
Continue reading...With just over a week to go, more than 11,200 people have donated generously to support victims of conflict and war
With just over a week to go, an incredible £1,250,000 has been raised by generous readers for the 2024 Guardian and Observer appeal in support of victims of conflict and war.
Three charities will benefit from the appeal: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and War Child, which carry out frontline medical aid work in war zones, and Parallel Histories, which helps schools teach sensitive and controversial histories such as those of Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine.
Continue reading...Cloud Bai-Yun was asked to resign from Ecctis, which runs language and qualifications tests for UK visa applicants
An entrepreneur who represented the UK on an ethics body was asked to resign from a company running government visa services after officials found it made a £13.64m gain on its not-for-profit contract.
After the discovery of years of profit-making, the company, Ecctis, repaid the money to the government and a number of executives, including Cloud Bai-Yun, stood down from the firm, which runs language tests and qualification recognition for people applying for UK visas.
Continue reading...Troubleshooter for four previous prime ministers is charged with saving troubled national care sector
She is the no-nonsense civil servant from Portsmouth who was called upon by four prime ministers to tackle deep-rooted social issues, including rough sleeping, antisocial behaviour, victims’ rights and troubled families.
Now Louise Casey has been tasked by a fifth to chair an independent commission into adult social care. Her mission? Develop a plan to save the sector.
Continue reading...But final report on reforms would not emerge until 2028, which health leaders say is kicking crisis ‘into the long grass’
Ministers are to launch a historic independent commission to reform adult social care, as they warned older people could be left without vital help and the NHS overwhelmed unless a “national consensus” was reached on fixing a “failing” system.
The taskforce, to be led by the cross-bench peer Louise Casey, will be charged with developing plans for a new national care service, a Labour election manifesto pledge, in the biggest shake-up to social care in England in decades.
Continue reading...No evidence of physical trauma on Greta Marie Otteson and Arno Els Quinton, who were found in separate rooms
The bodies of a British woman and her fiance have been discovered in separate rooms at a tourist villa in Vietnam, police said.
The victims were named locally as Greta Marie Otteson, a 33-year-old Briton, and Arno Els Quinton, a 36-year-old South African, who were staying at the complex in Hội An in the central Quang Nam province.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Data from 524 firefighters who risked their lives showed 136 reported life-changing conditions
More than a quarter of firefighters exposed to toxic smoke during the Grenfell Tower fire have had long-term health disorders, a study shows.
Ministers are facing demands for an urgent review after data from 524 firefighters who risked their lives at the 2017 disaster showed that over the first three years, 136 reported life-changing conditions. These included 11 cases of cancer, 64 respiratory diseases, 22 neurological disorders and 66 digestive illnesses.
Continue reading...Nazir Afzal and police whistleblower Maggie Oliver say previous lengthy inquiries were not acted upon
A former chief prosecutor and a police whistleblower who uncovered a notorious paedophile gang have hit back at demands from senior Conservatives and the billionaire Elon Musk for a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation.
Nazir Afzal, the ex-chief prosecutor who was central to successful prosecution of the Rochdale grooming gang, said lengthy and expensive inquiries were not acted upon by the previous Conservative government.
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