Category Archives: UK news

UK says it voted against UN nuclear war panel because consequences already known

Posted on by

Foreign Office argues scientific study into modern effects of nuclear war not needed

The UK was one of three countries to vote against creating a UN scientific panel on the effects of nuclear war because, the Foreign Office argued, the “devastating consequences” of such a conflict are already well known without the need for a new study.

The UK, France and Russia were the only countries to vote on Friday night against a UN general assembly committee resolution drafted by Ireland and New Zealand to set up an international scientific inquiry to take a fresh look at the multifaceted impact of nuclear weapons use.

Continue reading...

Ryanair profits plunge amid lower fares and Boeing delays

Posted on by

Problems with delivery of 737 aircraft left airline ‘over-crewed and over-costed’, says CEO Michael O’Leary

Ryanair’s profits have dropped by nearly a fifth, as lower peak-season fares met higher costs that the airline blamed partly on problems at Boeing.

Summer fares were down by an average 7% as Ryanair cut prices to keep its planes full, carrying 9% more passengers from April to September this year than last.

Continue reading...

Senior Labour MPs frustrated at lack of Black officials in No 10

Posted on by

Exclusive: one frontbencher said the absence was a ‘serious embarrassment and a blind spot’ as Tories elect first Black leader

Senior Labour MPs have expressed their frustration at the lack of Black representation in No 10 as the Conservatives elected Kemi Badenoch as their new leader.

Labour sources said the WhatsApp group for Labour MPs of colour contained some furious messages from those who believe the party is not doing enough to represent Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups at the top of government.

Continue reading...

Greggs scoffs at reports of snub by its Christmas ad star Nigella Lawson

Posted on by

TV chef, who has signed up for bakery chain’s first ever festive advert, says she is a fan of its sausage rolls

Nigella Lawson has issued an impassioned paean to the Greggs sausage roll, amid reports of a banger-based dust-up that threatened to cast a shadow over her appearance in the bakery chain’s first ever Christmas advert.

Greggs confirmed on Sunday that the celebrity chef and cookbook author had agreed to star in its inaugural Christmas promotion, in which Lawson will purr over such delicacies as vegan festive bakes.

Continue reading...

Rachel Reeves ‘missed opportunity’ to raise £900m from online casinos

Posted on by

Labour’s links to gambling industry questioned again after decision not to raise tax rate for online gaming

Rachel Reeves has been criticised over a “missed opportunity” to raise £900m from online casinos in her first budget as chancellor, amid concerns about the Labour party’s ties to the £11bn-a-year gambling sector.

Both the Liberal Democrats and Derek Webb – one of Labour’s largest donors – questioned the chancellor’s rejection of proposals to double remote gaming duty (RGD), levied on online games of chance, from 21% to 42%.

Continue reading...

Police ask public not to share images of man in fatal bus collision in Edinburgh

Posted on by

‘Distressing’ images and videos were circulating after 74-year-old was struck by a single-decker in Cowgate area

Police have asked the public to stop sharing “distressing” images and videos after a man died in Edinburgh on Saturday evening.

The 74-year-old man was struck by a single-decker bus in the Cowgate area of the city, when the streets were busy with weekend revellers.

Continue reading...

Covid bereaved angered by Badenoch’s ‘insulting’ Partygate remarks

Posted on by

Families group calls Tory leader ‘deeply misguided’ after telling BBC that Boris Johnson-era scandal was ‘overblown’

Families bereaved by the Covid pandemic say they feel insulted by Kemi Badenoch’s claim that the Partygate scandal was “overblown”.

The new Conservative party leader also told the BBC that Boris Johnson had fallen into a “trap” of breaking lockdown rules that should never have been introduced.

Continue reading...

Kemi Badenoch says Partygate scandal was ‘overblown’

Posted on by

New Tory leader calls Boris Johnson a ‘great prime minister’ who fell into a ‘trap’ over Covid rules

The new Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has said the Partygate scandal was “overblown” as she rejected the need to “churn over” everything that went wrong with previous Tory prime ministers.

Badenoch won the party leadership on Saturday and said she was going to be “honest” about what went wrong in the party under her predecessors.

Continue reading...

Revealed: billionaires are ‘ultimate beneficiaries’ linked to €3bn of EU farming subsidies

Posted on by

Thousands of small farms have closed according to analysis of official but opaque data from EU member states

The European Union gave generous farming subsidies to the companies of more than a dozen billionaires between 2018 and 2021, the Guardian can reveal, including companies owned by the former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš and the British businessman Sir James Dyson.

Billionaires were “ultimate beneficiaries” linked to €3.3bn (£2.76bn) of EU farming handouts over the four-year period even as thousands of small farms were closed down, according to the analysis of official but opaque data from EU member states.

Continue reading...

Boy, 14, charged with attempted murder after stabbing of girl, 13, near Hull

Posted on by

Young victim found beside A63 in Hessle early Friday morning with lacerations to neck, stomach, chest and back

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after a 13-year-old girl was stabbed in the neck, stomach, chest and back near Hull on Friday morning.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has also been charged with possession of a bladed article.

Continue reading...

King and Prince William’s estates ‘making millions from charities and public services’

Posted on by

Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster likely to make at least £50m from leasing land to services such as NHS and schools, according to investigation

King Charles and Prince William’s property empires are taking millions of pounds from cash-strapped charities and public services including the NHS, state schools and prisons, according to a new investigation.

The reports claim the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, which are exempt from business taxes and used to fund the royals’ lifestyles and philanthropic work, are set to make at least £50m from leasing land to public services. The two duchies hold a total of more than 5,400 leases.

Continue reading...

Labour challenges Badenoch to back billions for public services and tax rises

Posted on by

Rachel Reeves throws down budget gauntlet to new Tory chief as party’s first black leader is congratulated on win

Labour has thrown down an immediate challenge to the new Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, to back Rachel Reeves’s budget plans for big increases in tax, spending and borrowing, as a huge political divide threatened to open up over economic policy and the future of public services.

All the main party leaders congratulated Badenoch on Saturday on becoming the first black leader of a main UK party after she stormed to victory over former immigration minister Robert Jenrick with 56.5% of the vote among Conservative party members.

Continue reading...

Footage shows arrest of Sara Sharif’s alleged killers on plane from Pakistan

Posted on by

Ten-year-old’s stepmother says ‘I think you’re looking for us’ in bodycam footage played to jurors during trial

Footage of the moment police boarded a plane to arrest the alleged killers of Sara Sharif has been shown to jurors, showing the 10-year-old’s stepmother saying to officers: “I think you’re looking for us.”

The exchange was captured on cameras worn by officers and played in court during their trial.

Continue reading...

Devon cliff collapse leaves Sidmouth cottage teetering by 400ft drop

Posted on by

Council closes coastal path and warns beachgoers to stay clear after landslip at Jacob’s Ladder Beach

The views from the old thatched cottage perched on top of Sidmouth cliffs in Devon have always been spectacular.

Now, though, they are downright terrifying after part of the 185m-year-old sandstone cliff collapsed, leaving the period property teetering on the edge of a 400ft drop.

Continue reading...

Tory leadership election live: Kemi Badenoch elected new Conservative leader

Posted on by

Badenoch says Tories need ‘a clear plan to change this country by changing the way that government works’

Here are the results from previous Conservative leadership contests, and from the final MPs’ ballot of this contest, that will help put today’s results in context.

2024 contest

The choice is between two people who each played their part in 14 years of Conservative chaos and decline, and who have refused to apologise it.

Whoever wins, they have learnt nothing.

Continue reading...

Kemi Badenoch wins Tory leadership election

Posted on by

Conservative party announces Badenoch has beaten rival Robert Jenrick in ballot of party members

Kemi Badenoch is the new Conservative party leader after defeating Robert Jenrick in a members’ vote, becoming the first Black leader of a major UK party and the fourth woman to lead the Tories.

Badenoch took just over 56% of the 95,000 votes, in a poll that had a 73% turnout of eligible members. This amounts to the narrowest win of the four since the party changed its rules to allow party members the final say in contested leadership elections.

Continue reading...

Hard to overstate challenges Kemi Badenoch faces as leader of the opposition

Posted on by

There are questions over whether new Tory leader can hold splintered party together, or even piece together a worthy shadow cabinet

Kemi Badenoch might have avoided the cursed 52%-48% ratio which has riven the Conservative party before, but the close-run nature of her 56.5% winning margin in the Tory members’ vote shows the scale of the task before her.

It is hard to overstate the challenges Rishi Sunak’s replacement faces, even setting aside the much-cited fact that the last new UK leader to take a party directly from an election defeat to government was Margaret Thatcher in 1979.

Continue reading...

UK schools boost maternity pay to stem exodus of female teachers in their 30s

Posted on by

Sector faces ‘catastrophic loss’ as more than 9,000 thirtysomething women leave state education in a year

Schools across England are ramping up maternity pay and offering flexible working in a bid to stem the exodus of thousands of women in their 30s from teaching.

In Wednesday’s budget, Rachel Reeves confirmed she would fund the recruiting of 6,500 new teachers by pressing ahead with imposing VAT on private school fees. Yet heads and charities are warning that with more than 9,000 women aged between 30 and 39 having left state education last year, the government will not fix the teacher shortage unless it also acts to stop experienced women leaving.

Continue reading...

‘You have to disguise your human form’: how sea eagles are being returned to Severn estuary after 150 years

Posted on by

Use of bird hand-puppets to rear young among innovative methods unveiled as part of project to restore species

Sea eagles were last seen soaring over the shimmering mud flats and brackish tidal waters of the Severn estuary more than 150 years ago. Now wildlife charities have unveiled innovative plans to bring the raptor back to the estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel between south-west England and south Wales, by 2026.

“Sea eagles used to be common in these regions. But they were wiped out through human persecution,” says Sophie-lee Williams, the founder of Eagle Reintroduction Wales, which is leading the project. “We strongly believe we have a moral duty to restore this lost native species to these landscapes.”

Continue reading...

Scottish comedian Janey Godley dies aged 63

Posted on by

Godley, whose comedy drew upon her Glasgow upbringing, died ‘surrounded by her loved ones’, her management says

Janey Godley, the Scottish comedian and author whose quick wit led her to swap pint-pulling in Glasgow for international standup tours, has died aged 63.

She died in a hospice “surrounded by her loved ones”, her management said on Saturday. Godley had announced she was receiving palliative care in September after her terminal cancer spread.

Continue reading...