Category Archives: UK news

Rediscovered, a young English novelist’s warning of the Nazi threat

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Crooked Cross, Sally Carson’s ‘electrifying masterpiece’ from 1934, to be republished

Sally Carson was not an oracle or a prophet, just a young woman from Dorset, born in 1901. Yet she foresaw a dark and violent future for Europe and gave voice to those fears in a 1934 novel that is now being hailed as “an electrifying masterpiece”.

Carson’s book, Crooked Cross, predicted the scale of the Nazi threat and is to be republished for the first time this spring, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war. Controversial in its day, her novel had to walk a careful path to avoid the accusation that it was alarmist about the Fuhrer’s aims. A stage adaptation of her story was even censored, shorn of all its “Heil Hitlers”.

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‘Repeated failures’ at Nottinghamshire prison where three inmates took their lives

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Inquest into deaths of three prisoners within three weeks at HMP Lowdham Grange in 2023 criticises ‘poor leadership’

There were several failings and missed opportunities at an overwhelmed prison where three inmates took their lives in the space of three weeks, an inquest jury has found.

Anthony Binfield, 30, Rolandas Karbauskas, 49, and David Richards, 42, were found in their cells at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire between 6-25 March 2023.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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Prince Andrew aide fights to prevent release of statement about ‘Chinese spy’

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Media group led by Guardian seeks release of document written by Dominic Hampshire in support of Yang Tengbo

Lawyers for an aide to Prince Andrew are fighting to prevent his statement in support of a man accused of being a Chinese spy, who briefly became a trusted business partner and associate of the prince, from being released to the press.

The Guardian is leading a group of media organisations seeking the release of a witness statement written by the prince’s fixer and close friend Dominic Hampshire, originally at the personal request of the businessman Yang Tengbo.

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Naomi Campbell claims she did not know of financial misconduct at charity

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Supermodel alleges ‘concerted deception’ by fellow trustee kept her in dark over running of Fashion for Relief

The supermodel Naomi Campbell has claimed she knew nothing of the extensive financial misconduct and mismanagement at the anti-poverty fashion charity she created and sat on the board of for more than five years.

Campbell was disqualified from running a charity in May 2024, before the publication of a devastating watchdog report that revealed a trail of administrative chaos, misuse of charity funds, and chaotic record-keeping.

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Rothschild braces for more ‘skeletons in the cupboard’ over conduct of late chair

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Exclusive: Bank holds crisis meeting to discuss response to news that Sir Evelyn de Rothschild left after allegation of sexual misconduct

Senior bankers at Rothschild & Co gathered on Tuesday in a meeting room at its St Swithin’s Lane headquarters in the heart of the City of London to discuss a memo that would shake the storied financial group to its foundations.

The memo, to be sent to staff on Wednesday morning, would admit for the first time that their celebrated former leader, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, had left the bank in 2004 after an allegation of sexual misconduct.

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Netflix increases UK subscription prices despite record audience

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Analysts warn streaming service needs to tread carefully as its standard subscription rate goes up by 18%

Whether you are binging The Night Agent or American Primeval, getting a Netflix fix has become pricier in the UK as the streaming giant increased subscription costs despite a record audience.

The streaming service has upped the cost of its most popular standard subscription without adverts by £2, or 18%, to £12.99 a month. Its other packages are going up in price, too. The last time it pushed through a price increase in the UK was October 2023.

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Sam Kerr jury asked to consider difference if she had called a police officer ‘stupid and black’

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Prosecutor argues Matildas star’s claims about what happened in taxi do not make ‘one blind bit of difference to what this case is about’

Prosecutors in the trial of Australian star Sam Kerr, who called a police officer “stupid and white”, have asked the jury to consider if it would be different had she said “stupid and black”.

The 31-year-old Matildas striker is on trial charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to PC Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London in the early hours of 30 January 2023. Kerr denies the charges.

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‘Strong reasonable doubt’ over Lucy Letby insulin convictions, experts say

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Exclusive: ‘No scientific justification’ to say former nurse definitely poisoned babies with insulin, according to study authors

The claim that Lucy Letby definitely poisoned babies with insulin has “no scientific justification whatsoever” and there is a “very strong level of reasonable doubt” about the convictions, according to the authors of a 100-page study on the case.

Prof Geoff Chase, one of the world’s foremost experts on the effect of insulin on pre-term babies, told the Guardian it was “very unlikely” anyone had administered potentially lethal doses to two of the infants.

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Mystery behind Viking-age treasure find in Scotland may finally have been solved

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A runic inscription on one of the Galloway hoard’s elaborately decorated arm rings has been deciphered

When the Galloway hoard was discovered in a ploughed field in western Scotland in 2014, it proved to be the richest collection of Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland. Now the long-standing mystery of who might have owned it when it was buried more than 1,000 years ago may have been solved.

The spectacular silver and gold treasure had in fact belonged to everybody – “the community” – just as it does today, having been acquired in 2017 by National Museums Scotland (NMS).

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Watchdog to investigate two former figures at bankrupt Woking council

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Exclusive: Local authority in Surrey declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023 after series of risky investments

Two former senior figures at bankrupt Woking council are to be investigated by the UK’s accounting watchdog after it racked up more than £2bn in debt on a failed investment spree.

The Surrey council declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023 after ploughing vast sums of borrowed money into skyscrapers, a luxury hotel and other risky commercial investments, in what was one of the biggest financial failures in local government history.

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Alleged Russian spy denies knowing of ‘honeytrap’ plan to target journalist

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London-based Vanya Gaberova, 30, tells Old Bailey she was lied to and manipulated by alleged spy ring

An alleged Russian spy tearfully told the Old Bailey she knew nothing of plans to deploy her as a “honeytrap” and claimed she was “lied to, manipulated, used, and exposed”.

London-based Vanya Gaberova, 30, is accused of being part of a spy ring which targeted people and places of interest to the Russian state over three years.

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Green campaigners fear UK to renew subsidies to Drax power station

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Billions of pounds from energy bill payers to run out in 2027 but could be extended as soon as Monday

Green campaigners fear ministers are poised to award billions of pounds in fresh subsidies to Drax power station, despite strong concerns that burning trees to produce electricity is bad for the environment.

Drax burns wood to generate about 8% of the UK’s “green” power, and 4% of overall electricity. This is classed as “low-carbon” because the harvested trees are replaced by others that take up carbon from the atmosphere as they grow.

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‘Stagflation’ fears as Bank of England cuts growth forecast and warns of price rises

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UK economy expected to grow by just 0.75% this year, in fresh blow to Rachel Reeves’s attempts to raise confidence

Rachel Reeves’s plans for growth suffered a double blow after the Bank of England halved its forecast for the year and warned households would face mounting pressure from rising prices.

In a downbeat assessment as it cut interest rates for a third time in six months, Threadneedle Street warned people would face a fresh squeeze on living standards from rising inflation even as the economy stalled.

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‘How patronising’: rail bosses face anger over plan to hide train departure times

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New scheme, aimed at reducing platform dashes, will see schedules deleted from boards three minutes before departure

Rail bosses have been accused of patronising passengers by hiding trains’ departure information minutes before they are due to leave in a bid to tackle last-moment platform dashes.

Under the scheme, which is being trialled at King’s Cross, the final call for long-distance trains will be made four minutes before departure. Train details will be deleted from departure boards three minutes before they leave.

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Fishing rights will not derail EU-UK security pact, says European Council president

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With member states keen to link quotas to any deal, António Costa says defence and fisheries ‘are different things’

The EU will not let the question of fishing rights derail a pact with the UK on security and defence, the president of the European Council has said.

The comments from António Costa, who took over as the European Council president in December, is a boost for Keir Starmer, amid frustration among UK officials over EU insistence on linking a security deal to other demands, notably fishing rights.

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Make first-time, low-level offenders go to rehab instead of court, Bar Council suggests

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Exclusive: Barristers also say offenders could pay compensation to victims, in effort to tackle court backlog

First-time offenders in low-level crimes should be diverted from trials by paying compensation to victims or enrolling in rehabilitation to solve the courts crisis, the Bar Council has said.

The government has proposed abandoning jury trials in some cases to tackle the backlog in crown court cases, but the body representing barristers in England and Wales said this was “not a principled response” and would not work.

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Mandelson says he will treat Trump with ‘respect and understanding’ in new job as ambassador to US – UK politics live

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New UK ambassador to US says is hoping to persuade Trump administration to maintain isecurity guarantee for Europe and boost growth

During PMQs yesterday Keir Starmer implied there were national security factors not in the public domain that explained why the government was so committed to transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

Alex Wickham from Bloomberg says he has cracked the secret. It is all to do with the International Telecommunication Union, apparently. He explains this in a post on social media. Here is an extract.

The US and UK currently have full and unrestricted access to the electromagnetic spectrum at the Diego Garcia military base, allowing them to securely control American and British military and diplomatic communications in the region, as well as monitor hostile activity from foreign states, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity discussing sensitive information …

The US and UK are members of the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency based in Geneva, Switzerland which coordinates the electromagnetic spectrum and global satellite communications. If an international court was to rule in future that the US and UK were using Diego Garcia to run satellite communications in breach of international law, that would have consequences for the base and defense and technology companies involved in supply chains used there, the people said, highlighting the need to secure its legal status.

There must be no forced displacement of Palestinians, nor any reduction in the territory of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian civilians should be able to return to and rebuild their homes and their lives. That is a right, guaranteed under international law.

The UK is clear that we must see a negotiated two state solution, with a sovereign Palestinian state, which includes the West Bank and Gaza, alongside a safe and secure Israel with Jerusalem as the shared capital that has been the framework for peace for decades.

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BBC and ITV slash big-budget TV spend as US streamers pour money into UK

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Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky also among UK broadcasters making cuts as Netflix, Disney and Amazon pile on pressure

UK broadcasters slashed their spending on big-budget TV shows to the lowest level in almost a decade last year, even as their US rivals Netflix, Disney and Amazon ploughed hundreds of millions more into British-made premium content.

In a sign of the increasing competitive pressures of the streaming era, the amount spent on high-end TV shows costing more than £1m an hour to make by domestic operators such as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky, plunged by a quarter last year to £598m.

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Unambiguously bleak Bank of England forecasts pave way for spending cuts

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Weak jobs market and above-target inflation will dent Reeves’s growth plans and may wipe out fiscal headroom

With the public finances tight and Rachel Reeves having pledged to balance the books, interest rate cuts are one of the few levers that could boost the UK’s economic growth in the short term, and the chancellor will be glad of the Bank of England’s quarter-point reduction on Thursday – and the clear signal that it is now in cutting mode.

Seven of the monetary policy committee’s (MPC) nine members backed the quarter-point drop, taking the Bank’s policy rate to 4.5%, while two wanted to be more “activist”, proposing a half-point cut. The Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, said the MPC would be “taking a gradual and careful approach to reducing rates further”.

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Grenfell Tower demolition would risk fire being forgotten, some survivors say

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Grenfell United says voices of bereaved have been ignored and they fear disaster could be ‘put out of mind’

The demolition of Grenfell Tower could mean that the injustice of the fatal fire is “put out of sight and out of mind” and forgotten, some survivors have said.

The deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, told a meeting on Wednesday that the 24-storey block in which 72 people were killed in June 2017 would be dismantled to ground level. The decision has prompted anger and claims that the government has failed to listen to the views of the bereaved and survivors.

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