Kantar figures could be good news for government as food price rises have fuelled persistent UK inflation
Grocery inflation slowed in January – for the first time in six months – as retailers ramped up promotions to attract budget-conscious shoppers.
The price of groceries increased by 3.3%, easing from 3.7% in December, as the costs of toilet roll and cat food fell but those of chocolate, butter and chilled juices rose, according to analysts at Kantar.
Continue reading...Former party deputy chair Jack Lopresti said to be carrying out support work to help the country’s fight against Russia
A former Conservative MP ousted in the 2024 election has reportedly joined the International Legion in Ukraine in a non-combat role to help the fight against Russia.
Jack Lopresti, who represented the Filton and Bradley Stoke constituency in South Gloucestershire from 2010 to 2024, is carrying out support work for the unit, including foreign relations and diplomacy duties, weapons procurement and work with veterans and charities, the Independent reported.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Paywall to return after a decade with new Sun Club offering also featuring Royal Exclusive video show
Sun readers will have to pay £2 a month to access columns by star writers including Jeremy Clarkson, popular content such as from the agony aunt Dear Deidre and some exclusive stories and investigations, as the UK’s biggest tabloid launches a paid-for content strategy.
Called Sun Club and initially priced at £1.99 a month, it launches on Tuesday and comes a decade after the Sun scrapped a subscription strategy that put all of its content behind a paywall.
Continue reading...If successful, the scheme could speed up testing and reduce radiologists’ workload by around half
The NHS is launching the world’s biggest trial of artificial intelligence to detect breast cancer, which could lead to faster diagnosis of the disease.
AI will be deployed to analyse two-thirds of at least 700,000 mammograms done in England over the next few years to see if it is as accurate and reliable at reading scans as a radiologist.
Continue reading...Summary of care received by Valdo Calocane will be made public, but complete version to be kept confidential
NHS England (NHSE) has been urged to reconsider its decision to refuse to publish a report into the care received by Nottingham triple killer Valdo Calocane, despite the wishes of the victims’ families.
A summary of the independent mental health homicide report is due to be made public later this week, but the full version will be kept confidential due to “data protection legislation relating to patient information”, with only Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to be granted access.
Continue reading...The singer paid tribute to her home city wearing an LA Dodgers baseball cap crafted by English woollen mill Moon
When Billie Eilish took to the stage at the 67th Grammy awards wearing a hat with the branding of the baseball team the Los Angeles Dodgers, few would have noticed the much smaller logo on the side with two tiny union flags and the word “Moon”.
But in a small town in West Yorkshire, Moon is a household name, as one of the last surviving woollen mills in the UK.
Continue reading...Experts and thinkers signed open letter expressing concern over irresponsible development of technology
Artificial intelligence systems capable of feelings or self-awareness are at risk of being harmed if the technology is developed irresponsibly, according to an open letter signed by AI practitioners and thinkers including Sir Stephen Fry.
More than 100 experts have put forward five principles for conducting responsible research into AI consciousness, as rapid advances raise concerns that such systems could be considered sentient.
Continue reading...Chair Jürgen Maier also refused to put a date on when the agency would bring down energy bills
It could take 20 years for GB Energy to meet its pledge to employ 1,000 people, its chair acknowledged on Monday.
Jürgen Maier also refused to put a date on when it would bring down energy bills.
Continue reading...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...