Category Archives: UK news

Ministers urged to add audiobooks to England’s new schools curriculum

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Charity calls for move after poll finds ‘crisis’ levels of reading for pleasure and rise in 8- to 18-year-olds enjoying audio

The government has been urged to include audiobooks in the new schools curriculum in England, after research showed fewer children were reading books for pleasure and more were listening to them instead.

A poll by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) found that children’s enjoyment of listening to audio and podcasts had risen compared with the previous year, overtaking their enjoyment of reading for the first time since the charity began asking about audio in 2020.

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Norman Foster on shortlist to design Queen Elizabeth II memorial

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Architect who was once highly critical of King Charles is part of team that is one of five finalists for scheme

The shortlist of teams competing to design a national memorial to the late Queen Elizabeth II has been unveiled and includes an architect once highly critical of King Charles.

Five finalists are in the running for what has been described as one of the most significant design initiatives in modern British history, in tribute to the UK’s longest-serving monarch.

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Women hold almost 45% of seats on FTSE 100 boards, report says

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New high tempered by dip in number of female CEOs at 100 biggest listed firms to fewer than 10 last year

Women occupy more than two in five seats on the boards of Britain’s biggest listed companies after further progress was made last year, but the number of female FTSE 100 chief executives dipped for a time to fewer than 10, according to a report.

The proportion of board positions held by women at FTSE 350 companies rose to a new all-time high of 43.4% last year, up from 42.1% in 2023, according to the government-backed annual FTSE Women Leaders Review. Among the 100 biggest listed companies, the proportion of women in the boardroom was even higher, at 44.7% versus 42.6% in 2023.

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Police to get new powers to find stolen phones in England and Wales

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Warrant will not be required where tracker shows an item is present, as part of raft of measures in crime and policing bill

Police will be able to search properties without a warrant for stolen phones or other electronically geotagged items under the government’s crime and policing bill.

The measure is among dozens in the bill, which will be put before parliament on Tuesday and would mostly apply to England and Wales. It has a particular focus on lower-level offences such as theft and wider antisocial behaviour.

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Sayeeda Warsi and Mishal Husain back new lobby group for British Muslims

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British Muslim Network aims to bring together experts to identify challenges the community faces to policymakers

Prominent British Muslims in politics, media, business and sport have come together to influence government policy on behalf of 4 million British Muslims.

The minister for faith Wajid Khan, the Tory MP and deputy speaker Nusrat Ghani, the former Conservative party chair Sayeeda Warsi, the broadcaster Mishal Husain, the ex-England cricketer Azeem Rafiq and the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate are backing the newly formed British Muslim Network (BMN).

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Trump has changed Ukraine debate ‘for the better’, says Downing Street

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Starmer’s spokesperson says US intervention ‘could bring lasting peace’ as No 10 treads carefully before White House visit

Donald Trump has changed the global conversation around Ukraine “for the better”, Downing Street has said, as the UK imposed further sanctions on Russia in an effort to force Vladimir Putin to make concessions.

As world leaders marked the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the US president had opened the door to talks that could bring lasting peace.

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Missing British businessman’s body found in Kenyan forest

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Campbell Scott, a senior director at Fico, was reported missing while in Nairobi for a three-day conference

Police searching for a British businessman missing in Kenya have recovered a body, found in a sack in scrubland about 60 miles from Nairobi, reports said.

Campbell Scott, 58, a senior director at the data analytics company Fico, went missing on 16 February after arriving in the Kenyan capital to attend a conference at the JW Marriott hotel.

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Family of elderly British couple held by Taliban call for Foreign Office support

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Daughter of Peter and Barbie Reynolds says government must do ‘everything in their power’ to secure their release

The family of a British couple arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan have called on the government to do “everything in their power” to secure their release.

Peter and Barbie Reynolds, 79 and 75, who run education and training programmes in Afghanistan, were detained by the Taliban on 1 February while returning to their home in the central province of Bamiyan.

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Thousands of children in England accused of witchcraft in past decade

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Figures emerge as Kindoki Witch Boy film tells true story of Mardoche Yembi who underwent an exorcism as a child

Thousands of children in England have been accused of witchcraft over the past decade, according to new figures that come alongside a film released on Monday.

Faith-based abuse is a worldwide phenomenon but experts found 14,000 social work assessments linked to witchcraft accusations since 2015. In the year running to March 2024 alone, there were 2,180 assessments linked to witchcraft.

Children accused of witchcraft can call Childline on 0800 1111 or NSPCC on 0808 800 500.

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Starmer announces ‘UK’s largest packet of sanctions’ against Russia since early days of war with Ukraine – UK politics live

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​PM says Trump has ‘changed global conversation on Ukraine’ as he pledges more military aid and sanctions

Keir Starmer called for support for Ukraine to be boosed in three ways in his virtual speech to the conference in Kyiv.

First, military support should increase, he said.

The UK is doing that, providing £4.5bn pounds in military aid this year, more than ever before. We’re doing more than ever to train Ukrainian troops helping Ukraine to mobilise even further. And we are proud to have taken on the leadership of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

So today, we’re announcing the UK’s largest packet of sanctions since the early days of the war, going after Russia’s shadow fleet and going after companies in China and elsewhere who are sending military component.

Later day, I will be discussing further steps with the G7. But I am clear that the G7 should be ready to take on more risk, including the oil price cap, sanctioning Russia’s oil giants and going off the banks that are enabling the evasion of sanctions.

President Trump has changed the global conversation over the last few weeks, and it has created an opportunity.

Now we must get the fundamentals right if we want peace to endure. Ukraine must have a seat at the table, and any settlement must be based on a sovereign Ukraine backed up with strong security guarantees.

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UK delays plans to regulate AI as ministers seek to align with Trump administration

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Exclusive: Government reluctant to take action that could weaken UK’s attractiveness to AI firms, says Labour source

Ministers have delayed plans to regulate artificial intelligence as the UK government seeks to align itself with Donald Trump’s administration on the technology, the Guardian has learned.

A long-awaited AI bill, which ministers had originally intended to publish before Christmas, is not expected to appear in parliament before the summer, according to three Labour sources briefed on the plans.

Ministers had intended to publish a short bill within months of entering office that would have required companies to hand over large AI models such as ChatGPT for testing by the UK’s AI Security Institute.

The bill was intended to be the government’s answer to concerns that AI models could become so advanced that they pose a risk to humanity, and were different from separate proposals to clarify how AI companies can use copyrighted material.

Trump’s election has led to a rethink, however. A senior Labour source said the bill was “properly in the background” and that there were still “no hard proposals in terms of what the legislation looks like”. “They said let’s try and get it done before Christmas – now it’s summer,” the source added.

Another Labour source briefed on the legislation said an iteration of the bill had been prepared months ago but was now up in the air because of Trump, with ministers reluctant to take action that could weaken the UK’s attractiveness to AI companies.

Trump has torpedoed plans by his predecessor Joe Biden for regulating AI and revoked an executive order on making the technology safe and trustworthy. The future of the US AI Safety Institute, founded by Biden, is uncertain after its director resigned this month. At an AI summit hosted in Paris, JD Vance, the US vice-president, railed against Europe’s planned regulation of the technology.

The UK government chose to side with the US by refusing to sign the Paris declaration endorsed by 66 other countries at the summit. Peter Mandelson, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, has reportedly drafted proposals to make the UK the main hub for US AI investment.

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UK pop stars fail to reach global Top 10 albums and singles chart for first time since 2003

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Global chart dominated by US acts including Benson Boone, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpenter, with K-pop bands also strong

British pop stars have failed to reach the worldwide annual charts of the year’s Top 10 biggest singles and albums for the first time in more than two decades.

In 2022, UK acts such as Harry Styles and Glass Animals made up seven of the 20 entries in the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) list. This year, the leading UK act was producer and singer Artemas, for I Like the Way You Kiss Me.

Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department

Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft

Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet

Enhypen – Romance: Untold

SZA – SOS

Seventeen – Spill the Feels

Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time

Seventeen – 17 Is Right Here

Noah Kahan – Stick Season

Stray Kids – ATE

Benson Boone – Beautiful Things

Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso

Teddy Swims – Lose Control

Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather

Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Hozier – Too Sweet

Post Malone – I Had Some Help ft Morgan Wallen

Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us

Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer

Noah Kahan – Stick Season

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Flood warnings issued in parts of UK after weekend of rain and wind

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Environment Agency warns of risk of river and surface flooding, as climate crisis brings warmer and wetter winters

Flood warnings are in place across the UK after a weekend of heavy rain and high winds.

As sunshine and scattered showers moved in on Monday, flood warnings were issued across much of Wales, the south and south-west of England and a few in central Scotland.

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Just Eat Takeaway.com bought by South Africa’s Prosus in €4bn deal

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Food delivery group’s board approves takeover by investor in German rival Delivery Hero

The food delivery business Just Eat Takeaway.com has been snapped up by an investor in its German rival Delivery Hero for €4.1bn (£3.4bn), two months after it left the London Stock Exchange.

Just Eat’s board has unanimously approved the takeover by the South African-owned internet investor Prosus, in an all-cash deal six years after Prosusmade its first effort to buy the British part of the business.

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UK universities educate the most national leaders globally, analysis shows

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Research reveals UK institutions educated 50 world leaders in post in 2022, despite job cuts, course closures and a fall in foreign students

Universities in the UK, many of which are in the grip of a financial crisis, “educate more national leaders than any other country in the world”, according to analysis.

Research by Jisc, the UK’s higher education digital, data and technology agency, found UK institutions had educated 50 world leaders who were in post in 2022, with the US in second place with 41, followed by the Russian Federation (14) and France (six).

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Cult folk singer Bill Fay, who wrote The Healing Day, dies aged 81

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Songs by the reluctant performer have been covered by The War on Drugs, Wilco, Pavement and Marc Almond

The folk singer Bill Fay, known for songs such as The Healing Day and Thank You Lord, has died aged 81, his record label has announced with “great sadness”.

Fay began work on his latest album just a month before his death, and his label Dead Oceans said they hoped to “find a way to finish and release it”.

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Police release image of wetsuit in attempt to identify body found in Welsh reservoir

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Public asked to help with investigation after postmortem examination in October failed to find any DNA

He was wearing a wetsuit when police found his body floating in a Welsh reservoir in October. No clothes or belongings were discovered on the shoreline, and no car or bicycle was found nearby, despite it being a seven-mile hike to the nearest bus stop.

A postmortem examination failed to find any DNA or fingerprint matches and two police appeals for information about the man were unsuccessful.

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Roksanda channels sculptor Phyllida Barlow at London fashion week show

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Teetering designs, upside-down fabrics and garments made from offcuts created a feel of topsy-turvy drama

Where can you find the author Daphne du Maurier and the sculptor Phyllida Barlow, along with the actor Tippi Hedren and the costume designer Edith Head? Only at London fashion week.

All four women were muses for designers on the third day of catwalks. Barlow’s uncompromising art was the inspiration at Roksanda, where vast ballgowns in bright felt wobbled perilously on the 16th floor of an empty brutalist office block, channeling the audacious spirit of Barlow’s teetering towers of fabric, rope, chicken wire or papier-mache.

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British couple in their 70s arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan

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Peter and Barbie Reynolds were detained in Bamiyan provice for ‘teaching mothers parenting with children’

The Taliban have arrested a British couple in their 70s for “teaching mothers parenting with children”.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife, Barbie, 75, were detained when returning to their home in Bamiyan province on 1 February.

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