Category Archives: UK news

UK retailers may have to cut thousands of jobs after bleak Christmas

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British Retail Consortium figures show sales growth close to flatlining, as card spending fails to rise

Britain’s largest retailers are warning they could be forced to cut thousands of jobs this year as the industry braces for higher taxes and employment costs after a bleak Christmas shopping season.

In the latest sign of tough trading conditions on the high street, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show sales growth over the “golden quarter” between October and December came close to flatlining.

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Bus services cut disproportionately in deprived areas of England, study finds

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Most deprived areas suffer ten-fold bigger reduction, which in turn exacerbates deprivation

People living in deprived areas of England have suffered disproportionately larger cuts to bus services, according research by a leading thinktank.

The analysis by IPPR North found that cuts to services in England had been felt the most in “left-behind neighbourhoods”.

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UK cut health aid to vulnerable nations while hiring their nurses, research finds

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Royal College of Nursing says Labour has a duty to fix health ‘double whammy’ by raising aid and funding for UK nursing

The UK cut health aid to some of the world’s vulnerable countries at the same time as recruiting thousands of their nurses, in a “double whammy” for fragile health systems, new analysis has found.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which carried out the research, said Labour had a “duty to fix” aid cuts imposed by the previous government, and to work on increasing the UK’s domestic supply of nurses.

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Harlan Coben says ‘quite a bit of tragedy’ in his 20s made him a better writer

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Bestselling author and Netflix producer said extensive early experience of grief was ‘very cruel but effective teacher’

American thriller writer Harlan Coben said experiencing “quite a bit of tragedy” in his 20s made him a better writer.

The bestselling author, who wrote the Myron Bolitar thriller series and novels turned Netflix shows such as Fool Me Once and Missing You, said he was in his 20s when his father died of a heart attack at the age of 59 in 1988.

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Give working parents help with childcare and commuting costs, UK thinktank says

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Child poverty plan must address the 70% of families with at least one parent in work, Resolution Foundation says

Labour must offer extra support to working parents, including with childcare and commuting, if it is to fulfil its promise of cutting child poverty, the Resolution Foundation thinktank has argued.

The government’s manifesto promised an “ambitious strategy” on child poverty, and ministers have said they will publish a 10-year plan in the spring.

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Swinney to warn opposition of fuelling populism if Scottish budget not passed

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Scottish Labour, Greens and Lib Dem MSPs accuse first minister of ‘creating false narrative’

John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, will warn opposition parties that they will fuel populist forces if they prevent his budget from being passed this month.

In a keynote speech in Edinburgh on Monday to mark the new year, Swinney will say Scottish voters would be astonished and public services damaged if MSPs fail to allow the budget to go through.

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UK charity steps up campaign against child hygiene poverty

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The Multibank, founded by Gordon Brown, receives boost with Amazon-led drive for 250,000 items this month

A charity founded by the former prime minister Gordon Brown is to increase its campaign efforts against child hygiene poverty this year.

The Multibank, which was founded by the former Labour leader, is working with a number of sports clubs across Britain and the Hygiene Bank charity. Over the Christmas and new year period it collected thousands of hygiene products at sporting fixtures.

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Expanded seven-day health hubs to help tackle NHS waiting times in England

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Proposals to be outlined by Keir Starmer will offer patients 500,000 more appointments a year, as health secretary says without reforms NHS could collapse ‘like Woolworths’

Patients in England will be offered 500,000 more appointments a year via seven-day health hubs under plans to tackle lengthy waiting times, as ministers warned the NHS could collapse like Woolworths without major reform.

Millions of people will be able to access checks, tests and scans closer to home as the health service expands the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) opening 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

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UK weather warnings in place as country hit by snow and freezing rain – live updates

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Amber warnings for snow and freezing rain in place for much of Wales and England while second snow warning affects most of northern England

Some pictures of heavy snow from the Pennines

Heavy snow is threatening to postpone Manchester United’s Premier League game with Liverpool on Sunday.

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Cash incentives for GPs under Labour’s radical plan to cut NHS waiting lists

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Doctors will be given £20 each time they consult with a specialist to see if there is an alternative to hospital visits

GPs will be offered financial incentives to discuss with specialists whether patients can be treated outside hospital, under radical plans to cut NHS waiting lists.

Doctors will be given £20 each time they consult a specialist either by phone or email under the so-called advice and guidance (A&G) scheme, to see if there is an alternative to hospital visits and treatment.

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New year, new deal: the buyout boom poised to take over City lawyers’ lives

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Around-the-clock work will be commonplace to tackle an M&A surge fuelled by tax changes, activist investors … and the Trump factor

Whether they’re on skis or a sunlounger, there is no beach, mountain or fireside that can spare lawyers from the urgent calls of zealous, dealmaking executives and private equity bosses. After a breathless 2024, the City’s army of corporate lawyers are set for another year of masking their poolside backgrounds on video calls, braced for an even busier 2025.

“Sadly, we were incredibly busy in July and August. We were both on holiday and working up to 14 hours a day,” says Patrick Sarch, partner at law firm White & Case and head of its public mergers and acquisitions (M&A) division. He and Sonica Tolani, another partner at the same firm, specialise in advising activist investors.

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Curb extremism now or face new terrorist threats, Labour warned

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Experts say measures announced so far are not enough to turn the tide

Labour must reverse years of ­political failure on extremism to stop it ­fuelling more disorder, violence and terrorism in Britain, leading figures have said.

Neil Basu, the former head of counter-terrorism policing, and Dame Sara Khan, previously the government’s counter-extremism tsar, warned that proposals unveiled last month would not be enough to address a toxic pool of hatred, conspiracy theories and “dangerous rhetoric” from high-­profile figures including Elon Musk.

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‘Eyewatering’ £100m spent on repairs in Scotland’s ‘ferry fiasco’ over past decade

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Government plans for publicly funded operator CalMac have been mired in controversy, with replacement vessels delayed and costs spiralling

Almost £100m has been spent over the past decade on repairs for eight of the largest publicly owned ferries in Scotland.

The figure has been described as “eye-watering” by Sue Webber, transport spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives, who obtained details of the repair bill from ferry operator CalMac.

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Man dies after 70-metre fall from mountain ridge in Lake District

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Callout ends in tragedy after an as yet unnamed person fell on Thursday and their body was recovered by a rescue team

A man has died after falling 70 metres from a mountain ridge.

Keswick Mountain Rescue said its first callout of the year ended in tragedy after the man fell from Sharp Edge on Blencathra in the Lake District on Thursday.

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UK weather: power cuts, traffic chaos and cancelled flights due to heavy snow

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Closed roads, multi-vehicle collisions and train problems reported as Met Office warnings remain in place

Homes were left without power, roads were closed, cars stranded, and flights and train services disrupted on Saturday as heavy snow and freezing rain hit much of the UK.

The National Grid said on Saturday night that power was cut to properties across the Midlands, south-west England and south Wales, including Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff, and that work was under way to get services restored.

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Protesters march in London for release of teenage boy in Dubai jail

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Marcus Fakana from north London was convicted of having sex with British girl, now 18, when they were on holiday

Protesters have marched through central London calling for the release of a teenager in prison in Dubai for having sex with a 17-year-old British girl.

Marcus Fakana, from Tottenham in north London, was jailed last month after being convicted of having sex with the girl, who has now turned 18, when they were on holiday in September.

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Man arrested over fatal alleged hit-and-run in Paisley

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Police say 18-year-old released pending further inquiries over death of Elizabeth Kennedy, 70, on New Year’s Eve

An 18-year-old man has been arrested after a woman died during an alleged hit-and-run incident in Renfrewshire on New Year’s Eve.

Elizabeth Kennedy, 70, was pronounced dead at the scene after being struck by a car on Barrhead Road in Paisley at 7pm on Tuesday.

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Labour goes slow on rape courts pledge amid fears over shortage of lawyers

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Election manifesto promise to set up specialist tribunals to deal with huge backlog of cases has been put on hold

The government appears to have stalled on plans to set up dozens of specialist rape courts to deal with a huge backlog of cases, amid warnings there are not enough lawyers to make the proposals work.

Labour pledged during the election campaign to use vacant rooms and buildings on crown court sites to fast-track rape cases and reduce the numbers awaiting trial.

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Nigel Farage ‘very pleased’ Elon Musk backs Reform UK, calling him a ‘hero’

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Speaking at party conference, its leader calls reports of tech mogul’s potential $100m donation ‘somewhat overexaggerated’

Nigel Farage has hailed Elon Musk as a “hero” and said he was “very pleased he’s backing our party”, but he called reports that the tech mogul was preparing to donate $100m (£80m) to Reform UK “somewhat overexaggerated”.

Speaking at Reform’s East Midlands conference on Friday night, the party leader said Musk’s efficiency plan for Donald Trump’s government was the “blueprint we need” as he called for a “complete change of culture in Britain”.

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Dark web dealer who stole unreleased Coldplay music gets suspended sentence

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Skylar Dalziel’s hard drives showed access to about 290,000 tracks from artists also including Shawn Mendes, police say

A dark web dealer who stole unreleased music from the likes of Coldplay, Shawn Mendes and Bebe Rexha has been given a suspended 21-month jail sentence.

Skylar Dalziel, 22, made tens of thousands of pounds after accessing the copyrighted tracks by illegally accessing cloud storage accounts linked to the artists.

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