Category Archives: UK news

Russia revokes accreditation of six British diplomats it accuses of spying

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FSB says documents show diplomats in Moscow were helping to coordinate ‘escalation of military situation’ in Ukraine

Russia announced it had revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow on accusations of espionage as Keir Starmer prepared to meet Joe Biden in Washington to discuss how Ukraine could use long-range missiles deep inside Russian territory.

Moscow’s FSB domestic spy agency said on Friday that it had acted on documents showing that part of the Foreign Office was helping coordinate what it called “the escalation of the political and military situation” in Ukraine.

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Teenager arrested after deaths of three people at property in Luton

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Man, 18, held after emergency services find three people with injuries who were pronounced dead at scene

A teenager has been arrested after the deaths of three people at a property in Luton on Friday morning.

Officers were called at about 5.30am to reports of concerns for welfare at a flat in Leabank, off Wauluds Bank Drive. Emergency services attended and discovered three people with injuries. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

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Labour and Starmer suffer sharp fall in popularity since election, poll suggests – UK politics live

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Labour still more popular with voters than Conservative party but those saying they view party and leaders unfavourably has risen

The government’s defence review should consider the importance of Britain being able to “wage peace” as well as war, Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, told peers.

In a debate in the House of Lords on Sudan this morning, Welby said the strategic defence review (SDR) announced by Labour should include a “peace-building option”, to stop conflict before it happens.

A peace-building option, well developed and acting in areas of fragility, would extend our influence, protect our interests and guard against fresh waves of migration …

In other words, the SDR should be full spectrum, preparing this nation not only to wage war but to wage peace as well. I fear that may not be the case …

No, absolutely not

And let’s just try to quash this now. The budget is on October 30. So, between now and then, you are all going to ask me questions, as you did before the election, ‘will you rule out X, Y, Z?

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Jay Blades charged with engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour

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Repair Shop presenter has appeared at Kidderminster magistrates court, say West Mercia police

The BBC presenter Jay Blades has been charged with engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour against his wife. The Repair Shop presenter appeared at Kidderminster magistrates court on Friday, West Mercia police said.

The Guardian understands that the BBC took steps to remove a programme featuring Blades from its Friday evening schedule after the charge, and that no programmes with the former furniture maker would be shown in the foreseeable future.

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Experts raise concerns over ‘unreliable’ marking of GCSE English

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Some high-achieving pupils in England received lower than expected grades that rose after being re-marked

Concerns have been raised about the reliability of the marking of GCSE English this summer, after complaints that normally high-achieving pupils in schools in England were awarded lower than expected results, which then went up after being re-marked.

In some cases, marks for individual questions doubled after a review, and at least one pupil’s grade jumped from 6 to 9. GCSEs are graded on a scale of 1 to 9, with 9 the highest grade.

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‘We need to hear about hope’: unions greet Keir Starmer TUC speech with mixed emotions

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Enthusiasm for public sector pay awards tempered by concern over winter fuel payment cuts and job losses

“We’re hearing an awful lot about tough times: it’s like being in a Dickens novel. What comes after the tough times? We need to hear about hope.”

Onay Kasab, the national lead officer for the Unite trade union, was addressing a leftwing fringe meeting, but similar sentiments reverberated through the bars and coffee shops at this week’s TUC congress in Brighton.

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How national parks failed nature – and how to fix them

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The image of huge, glorious landscapes, where wildlife runs free under the protection of the state, is far from reality

What do you think of when you think of a national park? Is it a wide area of glorious natural beauty, where wildlife runs free under the protection of the state? Or is it a wide area mostly farmed by private landowners, in which nature is faring worse than outside its boundaries, and largely off-limits to the public?

In England, the reality is the latter, and this matters. The country is one of the most nature-depleted nations in the world, in the bottom 10% of nations for biodiversity. “Nature is in freefall in our national parks,” says Dr Rose O’Neill, the chief executive of the Campaign for National Parks (CNP).

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‘Usually just rhetoric’: European policy leaders downplay Putin’s war threats

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International reaction muted over Russia’s warning about allowing Kyiv to strike it with western-made missiles

European leaders have dismissed Vladimir Putin’s warning that the west would be directly fighting Russia if it allowed Kyiv to strike Russian territory with western-made long-range missiles.

The US and UK are discussing, in conjunction with other allies, allowing Kyiv to strike military targets inside Russia with Storm Shadow missiles, which can hit targets up to 155 miles (250km) from their launch site.

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Starmer tells Putin he started Ukraine war and can end it any time

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UK PM responds to Putin’s threat that use of long-range British missiles inside Russia would put it at war with Nato

Keir Starmer has told Vladimir Putin that he started the war in Ukraine and could end it at any time after the Russian leader warned that any use of long-range British missiles into Russian territory would put Nato at war with his country.

The prime minister spoke en route to Washington to see US president Joe Biden as he sought to justify a western decision made behind closed doors that would allow Ukraine to attack inside Russia with partly British-made Storm Shadow missiles.

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Pro-Palestine protester stands trial for racial offence over ‘coconut’ placard

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Marieha Hussain attended a London march against the war in Gaza carrying a sign depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts

A woman who held a poster depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts during a London protest against Israel’s war in Gaza has gone on trial accused of a racially aggravated offence.

Marieha Hussain, 37, pleaded not guilty as her trial began at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday morning. Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan said the term “coconut” was a “well-known racial slur which has a very clear meaning”.

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Keir Starmer ready to face down ‘nanny state’ jibes in radical public health drive

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Junk food ad ban, age limit on energy drinks and expanded water fluoridation among measures planned to help NHS

Plans to ban junk food ads and to stop children buying high-caffeine energy drinks are among radical public health measures being drawn up by ministers to prevent illness and so ease pressure on the NHS.

The government made clear it would face down “predictable cries of ‘nanny state’” because Keir Starmer was convinced this was the way to fix the service.

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‘The UK is invited’: Bradford reveals 2025 City of Culture lineup

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West Yorkshire city to host magic, music, film and theatre performances celebrating local talent, plus Turner prize

A city centre magic show, the Brontës as you’ve never seen them before, and a bassline house symphony are all part of Bradford’s City of Culture lineup, which its organisers call a celebration of everything that makes the West Yorkshire city great.

Shanaz Gulzar, the creative director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, said the whole of the country was invited to come next year to a place she billed as young, diverse, creative and “the heart of the UK”.

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Parents ‘don’t use’ parental controls on Facebook and Instagram, says Nick Clegg

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Meta’s global affairs chief points to ‘behavioural issue’ around child safety tools on the social media platforms

Parents do not use parental controls on Facebook and Instagram, according to Meta’s Nick Clegg, with adults failing to embrace the 50 child safety tools the company has introduced in recent years.

Meta’s global affairs chief said there was a “behavioural issue” around using the tools, after admitting they were being ignored by parents. Regulatory pressure is building on tech companies to protect children from harmful content, with the Australian government announcing plans this week to ban younger teenagers from accessing social media.

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Putin: lifting Ukraine missile restrictions would put Nato ‘at war’ with Russia

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Comments come after Antony Blinken hints US will lift restrictions on Kyiv’s use of weapons inside Russia

Vladimir Putin has said that a western move to let Kyiv use longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean Nato would be “at war” with Moscow.

Putin spoke as US and UK top diplomats discussed easing rules on firing western weapons into Russia, which Kyiv has been pressing for, more than two and a half years into Moscow’s offensive.

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Diane Abbott says Tories paying ‘lip service’ to fighting racism after further Hester donation

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Party took £5m after Rishi Sunak condemned businessman for saying Abbott made you ‘want to hate all black women’

Diane Abbott has said the Conservatives are “only paying lip service to fighting racism” after it emerged their controversial donor Frank Hester had given a further £5m to the party before the election.

The donation, made by his company the Phoenix Partnership, brings his total funding to the Tories to more than £20m, cementing his status as their single biggest donor.

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We did not do impact assessment of winter fuel payment cut, No 10 admits

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Spokesperson for Keir Starmer says focus was instead on encouraging pensioners to seek additional support

Ministers did not carry out a specific impact assessment on the withdrawal of the winter fuel payment from the bulk of pensioners, such as the potential effect on illness and death rates among older people, Downing Street has said.

After days of No 10 refusing to comment, Keir Starmer’s deputy spokesperson said the only assessment made before the policy announcement was a standard legal one of potential equalities impacts.

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Grenfell survivors urge golfer Leona Maguire to axe Kingspan sponsorship

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Irish building materials firm was identified by Grenfell inquiry as behaving with ‘persistent dishonesty’

A second professional golfer, Leona Maguire, is under pressure to end her sponsorship deal with the Irish company Kingspan after the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster found it behaved with “persistent dishonesty” in selling combustible foam insulation.

Grenfell United (GU), the bereaved and survivors group, is calling on the 29-year-old to drop the firm and stop wearing its logo on her golf shirts after the Ryder Cup player Shane Lowry announced he was doing so earlier this week.

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IDF investigates claim Jewish Chronicle published stories based on ‘fabricated intelligence’

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Israeli military launches inquiry into claims that stories may have been planted as part of disinformation campaign

The Israel Defense Forces have launched an investigation into claims in the Israeli media that the London-based Jewish Chronicle published stories based on “fabricated intelligence” relating to Hamas, amid claims that they may have been planted as part of a disinformation campaign.

Among the most controversial claims published by the Jewish Chronicle, the world’s oldest Jewish newspaper, was the suggestion last week that the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, might be preparing to flee to Iran with Israeli hostages, a suggestion that has also been made by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Moscow importing western aircraft tyres despite ban, says Ukraine agency

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Exclusive: Michelin, Dunlop, Goodyear and Bridgestone products have found way to Russia via intermediaries

More than $30m (£23m) worth of aircraft tyres made by western manufacturers including the French firm Michelin and Britain’s Dunlop were imported into Russia last year via intermediaries despite attempts to ban the trade, according to a Ukrainian government agency.

Russian aviation is critically dependent on foreign-made tyres and, according to the available customs records, the vast majority imported into the country in 2023 were produced by companies headquartered in France, Britain, the US and Japan.

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Consumerism and the climate crisis threaten equitable future for humanity, report says

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The Earth Commission says hope lies in sustainable lifestyles, a radical transformation of global politics and fair distribution of resources

All of humanity could share a prosperous, equitable future but the space for development is rapidly shrinking under pressure from a wealthy minority of ultra-consumers, a groundbreaking study has shown.

Growing environmental degradation and climate instability have pushed the Earth beyond a series of safe planetary boundaries, say the authors from the Earth Commission, but it still remains possible to carve out a “safe and just space” that would enable everyone to thrive.

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