The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London was the result of ‘decades of failure’ by central government, the public inquiry into the catastrophe has found. The Guardian’s John Harris looks at the findings of the report with the social affairs leader writer Susanna Rustin. And, as Labour continues to warn ‘things will get worse before they get better’, we are joined by the economists James Meadway and Ann Pettifor to discuss whether a painful period of austerity-lite is the only way through the storm
Continue reading...Category Archives: UK news
‘Everyone failed them’: what the papers say on report into deadly Grenfell Tower fire
British papers hone in on push for criminal charges after inquiry blames 2017 disaster on government failures and dishonesty of companies
UK papers on Thursday focused on the seven-year public inquiry into the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, which concluded that the deaths of 72 people were avoidable and blamed “decades of failure” by central government to stop the spread of combustible cladding combined with the “systematic dishonesty” of the multimillion-dollar companies producing it.
The Guardian headlined its story “Grenfell: a disaster caused by ‘dishonesty and greed’”. It reported that police are now “under pressure to accelerate the criminal investigation” into the blaze, although it could be another 12 to 18 months before police can send files to prosecutors to consider charges.
Continue reading...French police clear site where victims of Channel tragedy are said to have lived
Belongings and tents removed, and residents bussed away, as part of official policy to deter coastal encampments
French police have cleared a camp believed to have been used by some of the dozen people, including six children, who died after their dinghy ripped apart in the Channel.
In the early hours of Wednesday, belongings and tents were removed and tens of people were bussed away from an unofficial refugee settlement near Calais known locally as the “BMX site”.
Continue reading...Priti Patel knocked out of Tory leadership race with Robert Jenrick securing most votes in first round – UK politics live
Former home secretary finishes behind Mel Stride after only securing 14 votes
PMQs is starting soon. Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Kemi Badenoch is the clear favourite of Conservative members for next leader, and will be very hard to beat if she makes it into the final ballot of two, according to a survey by ConservativeHome.
Continue reading...‘Better than medication’: prescribing nature works, project shows
Scheme helping people in England connect with nature led to better mental health, report finds
A major scheme helping people in England connect with nature led to big improvements in mental health, a report has found.
The prescribing of activities in nature to tackle mental ill health has benefited thousands of people across England, a government-backed project has shown.
Continue reading...Woman, 86, told she no longer has to repay £13,000 in benefits in DWP U-turn
Exclusive: Case of Sia Kasparis, who has dementia, had been highlighted in Guardian investigation into unpaid care
An 86-year-old woman with advanced dementia has been told by the government she no longer has to repay a £13,000 benefit debt after her case was highlighted by the Guardian.
Sia Kasparis, who is partially blind and has been bed-bound for two years, was ordered to repay the huge sum after officials said she had failed to notify them her son had taken up caring duties.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer offers apology ‘on behalf of British state’ to victims of Grenfell Tower fire – as it happened
Prime minister says country failed its most fundamental duty to protect those affected by fire as he apologises to families affected. This live blog is closed
Sir Martin Moore-Bick will be giving a statement as the final inquiry report is published at 11am. You can watch the inquiry’s chair give the address here …
We will bring you the key lines that emerge.
Continue reading...Banks warned over denying sex workers business accounts
FCA gives detailed guidance to lenders after hearing lack of access could lead to ‘significant harm’ for individuals
The City regulator has warned UK banks over denying accounts for sex workers, after hearing that a lack of access to business banking could lead to “significant harm” for individuals.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that while banks said they were able to provide accounts for the adult entertainment industry in theory, they were often denying or shutting down business accounts in practice.
Continue reading...Priti Patel knocked out of Tory leadership contest in first round
Former home secretary got two fewer votes than Mel Stride, while Robert Jenrick leads race to succeed Rishi Sunak
Priti Patel has been knocked out of the race to succeed Rishi Sunak as Conservative party leader in the first round of voting by Tory MPs.
The former home secretary received 14 votes from her colleagues, leaving her two behind the fifth-placed candidate, Mel Stride.
Continue reading...Family of British aid worker killed in Gaza call for independent inquiry
James Kirby was among seven WCK staff killed when an Israeli airstrike targeted their marked vehicle in April
The family of James Kirby, a World Central Kitchen aid worker killed in Gaza, have called for an independent investigation into his death and said neither British nor Israeli diplomats had been in touch, even though an internal Israeli inquiry said his death had been a tragic accident.
Kirby was among seven aid workers, including Britons John Chapman and James Henderson, who were killed when an Israeli airstrike targeted their clearly marked vehicle on 1 April. The Israeli inquiry led to the dismissal of two officers.
Continue reading...NHS faces ‘tipping point’ in England where most appointments will not be with GPs
Rapidly falling number of family doctors will harm ‘continuity and quality’ of care according to new research
The NHS in England is heading towards a “tipping point” after which GPs will no longer provide the majority of appointments because their numbers are falling so fast.
That is the conclusion of an extensive piece of new research that also shows one in five surgeries has shut and the number of patients each family doctor looks after has soared over the last decade.
1,625 GP surgeries closed between 2013 and 2023 – a fall of 20% or 178 a year – reducing the total number from 8,044 to 6,419.
The average number of patients on each surgery’s books rose by 40% – or 291 a year – over the same period, from 6,967 to 9,724.
Total patient numbers have grown from 56 million to 62.4 million.
Although the overall number of GPs working in the NHS rose, after taking changes in working hours into account those working the equivalent of full-time fell from 27,948 to 27,321.
Continue reading...Councils in England draining reserves to stay afloat, leaders say
Survey of 24 city authorities finds two in five plan to sell off assets and reduce services
Local authority leaders say they are having to drain their financial reserves to keep services afloat and avoid effective bankruptcy.
A survey of the mid-tier group of English city councils, which includes Southampton, Hull, Sunderland and Norwich, found that many that had previously avoided financial difficulties during periods of austerity were close to running out of funds.
Continue reading...Pension pot amount needed for ‘basic’ retirement rises 60% in three years
Research shows ‘alarming’ rise in essential living costs during retirement, with low-paid workers worst affected
The average pension pot needed for a “basic” retirement has risen by almost 60% in three years, according to research that highlights how the UK cost of living crisis has left many workers fearing they will never be able to retire.
The study from the Resolution Foundation thinktank and the Living Wage Foundation found that a number of price rises across housing, energy, food and transport had helped “significantly” increase the cost of securing an adequate income in retirement.
Continue reading...Starmer to face test next week as MPs vote on limiting winter fuel allowance
Plan to means-test benefit for pensioners criticised by opposition parties and some Labour backbenchers
Keir Starmer faces a test of his authority next week after promising a vote on the government’s plans to limit winter fuel allowance to the poorest pensioners.
MPs will get the chance to vote on secondary legislation on Tuesday that will introduce means-testing of the benefit after pressure from opposition parties and Labour backbenchers.
Continue reading...Boy, 14, held on suspicion of murdering 80-year-old man in Leicestershire
Bhim Kohli died in hospital after alleged attack while walking his dog in Franklin Park 20 metres from his home
A 14-year-old boy is being held on suspicion of murdering an 80-year-old man, named by police as Bhim Kohli, who died on Sunday after being allegedly attacked while walking his dog just 20 metres from his home.
Leicestershire police said Kohli was found at about 6.30pm in Franklin Park, Braunstone Town. Four other children who had been arrested have been released.
Continue reading...New Titanic expedition finds lost bronze ‘Diana of Versailles’ statue
First salvage expedition in years captures more than 2m high-resolution images of 1912 shipwreck
A bronze statue from the Titanic – not seen in decades and feared to be lost for good – is among the discoveries made by the company with salvage rights to the wreck site on its first expedition there in many years.
RMS Titanic Inc, a Georgia-based company that holds the legal rights to the 112-year-old wreck, has completed its first trip since 2010 and released images from the expedition on Monday. The pictures show a site that continues to change more than a century later.
Continue reading...Pregnant woman and six children among 12 victims after migrant boat capsizes in Channel, French official says – as it happened
Victims ‘primarily of Eritrean origin’, French prosecutor says, as France mobilises helicopters, fishing boats and military vessels
La Voix du Nord’s Florent Caffery has shared footage from the scene where emergency services are gathering.
French authorities have confirmed at least five people died in a Channel crossing attempt, AFP reported.
Continue reading...Robert Jenrick inquired into revoking Palestinian student’s visa, emails reveal
Court documents show then immigration minister wrote to Home Office after Dana Abu Qamar spoke at university demonstration
The former immigration minister and Conservative leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick inquired into revoking a Palestinian student’s visa, court documents have revealed.
Dana Abu Qamar, 20, a law student who led the Friends of Palestine society at the University of Manchester, was stripped of her visa in 2023 after speaking at a university demonstration on Gaza’s historical resistance to Israel’s “oppressive regime” and a subsequent interview with Sky News.
Continue reading...European Commission to examine Ticketmaster’s ‘dynamic pricing’
Review follows UK competition watchdog’s announcement of ‘urgent review’ into Oasis concert tickets fiasco
Ticketmaster’s ability to raise the price of concert tickets based on demand is being scrutinised by the European Commission, the Guardian has learned, as the UK’s competition watchdog launches an “urgent review” into the Oasis concerts fiasco.
The US-owned ticketing giant has been told it may have breached laws in the UK and Europe for inflating the price of some Oasis tickets from £135 to £350, leaving many fans devastated.
Continue reading...Scottish government announces spending cuts worth £500m – as it happened
Shona Robison, Scottish finance secretary, says current financial situation facing Scottish government is ‘not sustainable’
Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, is launching his campaign for the Tory leadership. There is a live feed here.
Tugendhat started by saying that he did not actually want the job, because he does not want to be leader of the opposition. He wants to be prime minister, he said.
Politics is not a game, and we all know the cost when government isn’t sober and serious. We saw it in the lives lost in Afghanistan and then in that wasted chaos of that withdrawal. We saw it during Covid, not just in the lost years of education that cost so many or the opportunities missed, or even in the grief for lost loved ones or those left to cope alone, but through the disrespect.
That’s why I’m standing before you today, because this country can change. We must change, and Britain deserves better, and we need a different government.
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