Category Archives: UK news

Wrongly denied Windrush payments causing ‘further harm and injustice’

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Home Office has paid more than £430,000 extra compensation after watchdog investigations of complaints

The Home Office has wrongly denied compensation to numerous Windrush victims, a watchdog report has found, concluding that “further harm and injustice” has been caused as a result of systemic problems with the scheme.

More than £430,000 of extra compensation has been awarded to people affected by the scandal as a result of investigations by the parliamentary and health service ombudsman.

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Tony Blair told to ‘take responsibility’ after Grenfell criticism

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Campaigners call for apology after inquiry report makes several criticisms of decisions made during Blair’s tenure

Grenfell campaigners have called on Tony Blair to apologise and take responsibility for decisions made by his government that contributed to the fire that killed 72 people.

The former prime minister said on Thursday that tragedies such as the west London fire, which came after years of missed opportunities to regulate combustible cladding, were a result of unavoidable mistakes.

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British pop art pioneer Derek Boshier dies aged 87

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Portsmouth-born, working-class artist was known for collaborations with David Bowie and the Clash

Derek Boshier, the working-class artist who was a key part of the pop art movement and a collaborator with the Clash and David Bowie, has died aged 87.

The Portsmouth-born artist studied at the Royal College of Art in London from 1959 to 1962 alongside David Hockney and was profiled with Pauline Boty and Peter Blake in Ken Russell’s 1962 film about the pop art movement, Pop Goes the Easel.

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Cleared man’s claim to wife’s fortune blocked as judge rules he did kill her

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Family of Paula Leeson sued Donald McPherson after criminal prosecution over fatal drowning collapsed

A man who stood to claim a £4.4m estate from his wealthy wife has had his inheritance blocked by a judge who ruled he killed her.

The family of Paula Leeson, 47, who was found dead in a swimming pool in a Denmark holiday home in 2017, sued her husband, Donald McPherson, 51, for unlawful killing after a criminal prosecution collapsed when there was not enough evidence.

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Noel Edmonds to present TV series from his New Zealand country estate

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Former gameshow host reportedly signs £1m deal with ITV for show in same vein as global hit Clarkson’s Farm

It seems to be turning into a rite of passage for former Top Gear hosts who have been the subject of public opprobrium.

Noel Edmonds is set to follow in the footsteps of Jeremy Clarkson by presenting a new TV series from his country retreat. The presenter, 75, who began working as a DJ in the late 1960s, has reportedly signed a £1m deal to return to television after a six-year gap by presenting a series from his park and vineyard in New Zealand.

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Campaigners press US to ban Israel arms sales after UK’s partial halt

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Activists say Britain’s decision bolsters case for Congress to follow suit and may embolden opposition to Biden policy

The UK decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel has bolstered the case for Congress to follow the example of its ally, US campaigners for a ban have said.

The campaigners are pressing the US Senate and the house to pass a joint resolution of disapproval blocking authorisation for an unprecedented $20bn (£15.2bn) weapons sale. The massive transfer was notified to Congress last month when it was in recess.

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Do public inquiries work? What comes after Grenfell and other UK disasters

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People involved in some of the UK’s highest-profile recent inquiries discuss what they achieved and what was left undone

After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: “We did not ask for this inquiry … It’s delayed the justice my family deserves.”

Although he thanked the inquiry for its findings, Choucair was devastated that the police had put the criminal investigation on the back burner until it had concluded. A decision on prosecutions is now not expected to happen until the end of 2026 at the earliest.

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Asos to charge shoppers who regularly return large amounts of goods

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Online fashion retailer writes to some customers to say they face £3.95 fee unless they keep up to £40 of order

Asos is to start charging UK shoppers who frequently return large amounts of goods a fee of £3.95 to send items back unless they keep up to £40 worth of their order.

The online fashion retailer, which until now has made free returns of unused items within 14 days an important part of its offer in Britain, has written to some shoppers saying it has updated its “fair use” policy for orders made from 8 October.

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PwC to start tracking working locations of all UK employees

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Accounting firm tells its 26,000 workers move is to ensure workers spend ‘minimum of three days a week’ in office

The consultancy PwC has told its employees it is going to begin tracking their working locations to ensure that all workers spend “a minimum of three days a week” in the office or at client sites.

In a memo sent to its 26,000 UK employees, the big four accounting firm announced that it will start monitoring how often employees work from home in the same way it monitors how many chargeable hours they work.

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Justice for Grenfell deaths may not come this decade, warns former chief prosecutor

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Lord Macdonald warns of likely delays in criminal justice system as survivors denounce ‘arrogant’ building firms

Justice for those responsible for the 72 deaths in the Grenfell Tower fire may not come until the end of this decade, a former chief prosecutor has warned, as survivors voiced growing fury over building firms’ “arrogant” refusal to admit wrongdoing.

The public inquiry findings of “systematic dishonesty” by multimillion-dollar building companies involved in the tower’s disastrous refurbishment prompted a clamour for accelerated criminal charges this week, seven years on from the blaze.

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Fixer for donations to king’s charities banned from trustee and director roles

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Watchdog report strongly criticises Michael Wynne-Parker, who was middleman for more than £500,000 of donations

A society fixer who acted as a middleman for more than £500,000 of donations to King Charles’s charities from a wealthy Russian banker has been disqualified from running a charity after a highly critical watchdog inquiry report.

The Charity Commission said the conduct of Michael Wynne-Parker, revealed during its investigation into the Mahfouz Foundation charity, showed him to be unfit to be a charity trustee or director and banned him for 12 years.

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Lucy Letby victims’ families call for CCTV on neonatal wards

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Lawyer for relatives says Thirlwall inquiry into case of killer nurse, due to begin next week, is ‘vitally important’

Families of some of Lucy Letby’s victims are calling for CCTV on neonatal wards, tighter control of insulin in hospitals and more protection for NHS whistleblowers, their lawyer has said before a public inquiry begins next week.

The Thirlwall inquiry, which starts on Tuesday, has been set up to examine what happened at the Countess of Chester hospital, where Letby worked. She has been convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more while based there as a neonatal nurse.

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Target for cutting premature birthrate in England will not be met, minister says

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Gillian Merron tells Lords the goal of reducing rate of preterm births to 6%, which was set in 2019, may be changed

The women’s health minister has admitted there is no chance the government will meet its target of reducing the premature birthrate to 6% in England by 2025.

Preterm birth, when a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, is the biggest cause of death among children under five in the UK. The previous government set a target in 2019 to reduce the preterm birthrate to 6% by 2025.

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Watchdog to investigate Ticketmaster over Oasis ticket sales

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Competition and Markets Authority to look at how ‘dynamic pricing’ may have been used to increase prices

The competition watchdog has launched an investigation into the Oasis ticket sales fiasco.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will investigate Ticketmaster’s handling of sales for the band’s forthcoming tour, including how “dynamic pricing” may have been used to adjust the price.

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UK signs first international treaty to implement AI safeguards

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Also signed by the EU, US and Israel, the declaration aims to mitigate the threats that AI may pose to human rights, democracy and the rule of law

The UK government has signed the first international treaty on artificial intelligence in a move that aims to prevent misuses of the technology, such as spreading misinformation or using biased data to make decisions.

Under the legally binding agreement, states must implement safeguards against any threats posed by AI to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The treaty, called the framework convention on artificial intelligence, was drawn up by the Council of Europe, an international human rights organisation, and was signed on Thursday by the EU, UK, US and Israel.

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M&S using AI as personalised style guru in hopes to boost sales

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Shoppers can use technology to advise them on outfit choices based on their body shape and style preferences

Marks & Spencer is using artificial intelligence to advise shoppers on their outfit choices based on their body shape and style preferences, as part of efforts to increase online sales.

The 130-year-old retailer is using the technology to personalise consumers’ online experience, and suggest items to buy.

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YouTube to restrict teenagers’ exposure to videos about weight and fitness

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Platform will ensure algorithms do not keep pushing similar content to young viewers, even though it does not breach guidelines

YouTube is to stop recommending videos to teenagers that idealise specific fitness levels, body weights or physical features, after experts warned such content could be harmful if viewed repeatedly.

The platform will still allow 13- to 17-year-olds to view the videos, but its algorithms will not push young users down related content “rabbit holes” afterwards.

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US playwright donates £1m to save home of Shakespeare’s daughter

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Exclusive: Ken Ludwig gives Shakespeare Birthplace Trust largest private donation in its 177-year history

The charity that cares for historic Shakespeare sites in Stratford-upon-Avon has received an unprecedented donation of £1m from the Olivier award-winning US playwright Ken Ludwig.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) can now pay for crucial conservation work on Hall’s Croft, the home of Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna and her physician husband, John Hall, who is believed to have advised his father-in-law on medical matters.

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School exclusions rise by fifth in England in past year, study finds

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Increasing amounts spent on educating pupils outside mainstream ‘where quality and safety is less guaranteed’

Suspensions and exclusions from schools in England went up by more than a fifth in the past year, according to analysis of live attendance data in a new report that raises concerns about children being shifted out of mainstream education into alternative provision.

Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that cash-strapped councils are spending increasing amounts on educating pupils outside the mainstream schools “where quality and safety is less guaranteed”.

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Labour eager for progress on special tribunal to try Russia over Ukraine

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Exclusive: Lord chancellor says she wants to ‘inject energy’ into stalling efforts to set up Nuremberg-style trial

The new Labour government wants to inject renewed energy into the two-year-long international effort to set up a special tribunal with the authority to try Russia’s leadership for the crime of aggression, the lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, has said.

Discussions have been dogged by disputes over the appropriate body to set up the special tribunal, and fears in the US that if an organisation were empowered to strip the Russian leadership of immunity from prosecution in a foreign court, western leaders might face the threat of legal action in the future.

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