Category Archives: UK news

B&Q owner Kingfisher reports weak demand for kitchens and bathrooms

Posted on by

Shares in FTSE 100-listed company rise after it reports improved full-year profit forecast

The chief executive of Kingfisher, which owns the B&Q and Screwfix chains, has said demand for kitchens and bathrooms in the UK has plateaued but overall sales are showing signs of recovery, as the retail group reported sliding half-year revenues.

Thierry Garnier said demand for big-ticket categories had remained weak, in line with the wider market, while sales of seasonal products – from garden furniture to barbecues – had improved since early July.

Continue reading...

Kyle Clifford appears in court charged with murdering Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt

Posted on by

Former soldier, 26, also charged with false imprisonment after killings in Bushey, Hertfordshire in July

A former soldier has appeared in court charged with the crossbow murder of three women at their home in Hertfordshire in July, police have said.

Kyle Clifford, 26, has been charged with three counts of murder after the deaths of Carol Hunt and her two daughters, Louise and Hannah Hunt, in Bushey on 9 July, Hertfordshire police said.

Continue reading...

Giorgia Meloni: Starmer showed great interest in our Albania migration deal

Posted on by

Britain promises to send £4m to back Italian crackdown on irregular migration

Keir Starmer has shown “great interest” in the Italy-Albania migration deal, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has said, as the UK vowed to send £4m to support her controversial crackdown on irregular migration.

Speaking at a press conference in Rome, the prime minister agreed with Meloni, stressing the importance of the relationship betwen the UK and Italy.

Continue reading...

Traffic to be banned from London’s Oxford Street under Sadiq Khan plan

Posted on by

Mayor to be given power to overrule Westminster council, which blocked previous plan amid concerns over rerouting buses

Traffic will be banned from London’s Oxford Street under plans announced by the mayor, Sadiq Khan, using new powers from Labour to push through long-thwarted pedestrianisation of the capital’s famous shopping strip.

Khan said urgent action was needed so that the mile-long street could “once again become the leading retail destination in the world.”

Continue reading...

Sky Betting & Gaming reprimanded for unlawfully sharing users’ personal data

Posted on by

ICO says online gambling company passed customers’ information to advertising technology companies

The online gambling company Sky Betting & Gaming has been reprimanded by the data regulator for unlawfully sharing customers’ information with advertising companies that could then target those users with personalised marketing.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it had investigated Bonne Terre Ltd, trading as Sky Betting & Gaming, after a complaint by the campaign group Clean Up Gambling.

Continue reading...

Ex-NatWest CEO who left after Nigel Farage row to advise law firm

Posted on by

Alison Rose appointed as diversity and inclusion adviser at leading firm Mishcon de Reya

Alison Rose, the former chief executive of NatWest, has taken a job as an adviser to one of the UK’s top law firms as she tries to return to the City after a career-damaging row with Nigel Farage last year.

Rose is joining Mishcon de Reya as a diversity and inclusion adviser, a role that will involve mentoring some of the firm’s partners. She will also work closely with the equity, diversity and inclusion committee at the firm, which is known for having represented Diana, Princess of Wales during her divorce.

Continue reading...

Lib Dems hopeful of more election gains if Tory drift to right continues

Posted on by

Officials predict further gains if next Conservative leader focuses on winning back voters from Reform UK

The Liberal Democrats could take dozens more seats from the Conservatives at the next general election if the Tories select a leader who keeps pushing them to the right, Lib Dem officials believe.

The prediction came as Ed Davey prepared to attack the Conservatives in his leader’s speech to the Lib Dem conference, saying he wants his party to supplant them at “the top table of our politics”.

Continue reading...

Shropshire zoo seeks runaway ‘beloved’ capybara

Posted on by

Telford’s Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World urges public to report sightings of Cinnamon and not approach her

A zoo has issued a plea on social media for help in finding a capybara named Cinnamon which escaped from its habitat in Shropshire.

Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World posted to its Facebook page on Monday announcing its “beloved capybara” was at large.

Continue reading...

Loch Lomond Flamingo Land plan rejected after fierce opposition

Posted on by

Proposal for mega-resort on Lomond Banks turned down over concerns including loss of ancient woodland

Proposals by the theme park operator Flamingo Land to build a mega-resort on one of Scotland’s best-loved shorelines, on Loch Lomond, have been rejected, prompting celebrations among local people at the conclusion of a “David and Goliath” planning battle.

The Lomond Banks development, which would have included two hotels, more than 100 lodges, a waterpark and a monorail, had encountered fierce opposition, first from the village of Balloch, on the south-west shore of the loch, and then across Scotland, since it was first proposed in 2018.

Continue reading...

Starmer puts ‘pragmatism’ before perceptions in meeting with Meloni

Posted on by

Some Labourites may see a hard-right populist but the British PM has an eye on the immigration policies of an ally

Keir Starmer will be under no illusions at the level of discomfort some in his party may have felt at the sight of their leader smiling and joking with Giorgia Meloni as they strolled through the gardens of the Villa Doria Pamphili on his trip to Rome on Monday.

The Italian prime minister’s brand of hard-right populism is far out of the comfort zone of many Labour MPs, and even though she governs, for the most part, from the centre-right, they are unable to shrug off her party’s neo-fascist roots.

Continue reading...

Planned Shein IPO needs closer scrutiny, says former Labour minister

Posted on by

Trade committee head Liam Byrne wants checks on firm’s possible supply chain links to forced labour

A former minister has called on the government to closely scrutinise Shein for possible links to forced working as the China-founded fast-fashion retailer prepares for a stock market listing in London.

Liam Byrne, the Labour MP who heads parliament’s business and trade committee, said the UK should introduce new legislation to increase scrutiny of supply chains that may include products made in the Xinjiang region of north-western China.

Continue reading...

Solved: the mystery of how Victorians built Crystal Palace in just 190 days

Posted on by

Rapid assembly of structure for 1851 Great Exhibition in London was possible thanks to nut-and-bolt revolution

It was built at unprecedented speed to exhibit the British empire’s greatest treasures and manufacturing achievements to the world. Now, the mystery of how the Victorians managed to erect the Crystal Palace so quickly in 1851 has finally been solved.

Experts have discovered that the answer to this 173-year-old riddle lies in the first known use of standardised nuts and bolts in construction – a humble engineering innovation that would power the British empire and revolutionise the industrial world.

Continue reading...

Valued GP ‘will be forced to leave UK’ after autistic daughter refused visa

Posted on by

London-based doctor Tajwer Siddiqui says Home Office rules are separating him from his wife and Alina, 19

An experienced and highly regarded doctor who is working at a GP surgery in east London says he has no choice but to walk away from his job because the Home Office is separating him from his wife and autistic daughter.

Tajwer Siddiqui says he has found himself in this situation at a time when the number of full-time GPs in the UK is falling.

Continue reading...

Young people addicted to ketamine a national problem, says UK expert

Posted on by

Situation potentially fuelled by people unable to access mental health services self-medicating, clinic founder says

Young people becoming addicted to ketamine is a national problem that is growing rapidly, a leading addiction psychiatrist has said.

Specialist ketamine clinics have recorded a surge over the past two years in the numbers of young people coming through their doors, many of whom have struggled to engage with mainstream treatments. NHS and private clinics have also reported significant rises.

Owen Bowden-Jones, a consultant psychiatrist and founder of the pioneering Club Drug clinic, said he had seen a definite increase in young people after “a pretty big lift off” in ketamine’s popularity, making the drug a national problem.

Continue reading...

‘Quite shocking’ lack of government contact during UK riots, says MCB head

Posted on by

Zara Mohammed calls for review of Downing Street’s non-engagement policy with Muslim Council of Britain

The head of the Muslim Council of Britain has called for an explanation and a review of the government’s policy of non-engagement with the body after her appeals for contact during the summer riots were ignored.

Zara Mohammed, who was elected more than three years ago as the MCB’s youngest and first female secretary general, said there had been a “quite shocking” lack of contact with the new government at a time when mobs were targeting Muslims and mosques.

Continue reading...

Benefit sanctions more likely for minority ethnic claimants, UK data shows

Posted on by

Black universal credit claimants 58% more likely to get sanctions than white people, while mixed ethnic groups are 72% more likely

Black and minority ethnic benefit claimants are disproportionately likely to be hit with universal credit sanctions – financial penalties typically running into hundreds of pounds – according to official statistics unveiled for the first time.

Black universal credit claimants were 58% more likely to be sanctioned than white claimants, mixed ethnic groups were 72% more likely and Asians 5% more likely, according to the figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Continue reading...

Public inquiries should be shorter and recommendations tracked, Lords says

Posted on by

Committee says major overhaul required to restore public confidence among victims and survivors

Public inquiries should be shortened and the progress of their recommendations tracked, according to a House of Lords committee, which says a major overhaul is required to restore public confidence among victims and survivors.

The committee’s report, published in the wake of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry, which took almost seven years, warns there is a perception that inquiries are frequently “too long and expensive”, undermining their credibility and prolonging trauma for those affected.

Continue reading...

Starmer under pressure to distance UK from Italy’s hard-right immigration plans

Posted on by

Backbenchers and NGOs criticise decision to explore how country has cut migrant numbers at Rome talks

Keir Starmer is under pressure from Labour backbenchers and NGOs to distance his government from Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right immigration policies on the eve of bilateral talks in Rome.

After the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, said the UK would consider copying Italy’s plans to process asylum applicants in a third country such as Albania, one backbencher questioned why a Labour administration was “seeking to learn lessons from a neo-fascist government”.

Continue reading...

Women ‘disheartened’ by UK decision to halt Harvey Weinstein charges

Posted on by

Film producer’s former assistant says decision calls into question CPS’s ability to deal with rape and sexual assault cases

Women who were key to exposing the disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein have told of their frustration at the decision by UK prosecutors to discontinue two indecent assault charges against him.

Zelda Perkins, a former personal assistant to Weinstein who broke a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to help expose him as a rapist, said the decision called into question the justice system’s attitude towards sexual assault and rape.

Continue reading...

Columnists quit Jewish Chronicle over Gaza stories based on ‘fabrications’

Posted on by

David Baddiel and Jonathan Freedland among those to resign over articles by former IDF soldier Elon Perry

A number of prominent columnists have resigned in protest from the Jewish Chronicle after allegations it printed articles about the Gaza conflict that were based on “wild fabrications”.

The weekly title, the world’s oldest Jewish newspaper, is facing calls for an investigation after it deleted nine articles by Elon Perry because of doubts over their accuracy and concerns he had misrepresented his CV.

Continue reading...