Category Archives: UK news

Police not ruling out links to A66 crash after two killed in Middlesbrough house fire

Posted on by

Murder inquiry launched after blaze in Grangetown area, amid investigation into collision in which seven died

A murder investigation has been launched after two people were killed in a house fire in Middlesbrough, with police not ruling out links to organised crime or the crash on the A66 on Saturday that killed seven people including two police officers.

A child was one of those killed in the blaze in the early hours of Wednesday and a woman was in a critical condition in hospital. Three other people sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Two men aged 23 and 31 have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Continue reading...

Devon man becomes first person to swim Switzerland’s 10 largest lakes

Posted on by

Neil Gilson completes 230-mile challenge after a ‘tough’ 22-hour crossing of Lac Léman

He staggered rather than sprang out of the lake but it wasn’t surprising.

Neil Gilson, a former international athlete, could be forgiven for feeling a little wobbly, having become the first person to swim the 10 largest lakes in Switzerland, a total of about 230 miles (370km).

Continue reading...

Labour MPs will push Burnham to back voting reform in first 100 days

Posted on by

Exclusive: Nearly 100 Labour MPs support commission on changing the system used for Westminster election

Andy Burnham will face an immediate test of his backing for electoral reform in his first week in parliament as prime minister, with almost 100 Labour MPs supporting a bid for a new national commission.

Burnham, a longtime advocate of electoral reform, will be asked to support the new commission into ditching first past the post in his first 100 days as prime minister.

Continue reading...

Labour MPs will push Burnham to back voting reform in first 100 days

Posted on by

Exclusive: Nearly 100 Labour MPs support commission on changing the system used for Westminster election

Andy Burnham will face an immediate test of his backing for electoral reform in his first week in parliament as prime minister, with almost 100 Labour MPs supporting a bid for a new national commission.

Burnham, a longtime advocate of electoral reform, will be asked to support the new commission into ditching first past the post in his first 100 days as prime minister.

Continue reading...

UK to warn citizens to stock up on food amid threat from climate crisis and hostile states

Posted on by

Government resilience campaign aims to ensure people can cope in a national disaster, in order to free resources for most vulnerable

UK citizens will be told to stock up on tinned food and take steps to ensure they are prepared for national emergencies as part of a new government campaign to improve the nation’s resilience.

The new campaign from the Cabinet Office will set out ways people can prepare for extreme weather events and potential attacks from hostile states, including stocking up on bottled water, sources told the Guardian.

Continue reading...

London bus drivers resume strike over heatwave working amid fears over air con deal

Posted on by

Drivers concerned that bus operator’s offer to retrofit cabs on 730 buses will not be complete by next summer

London bus drivers have resumed strike action over having to work in high temperatures, amid fears that proposed improvements to air conditioning will not be complete by next summer.

About 1,500 members of the Unite union working across north London and Essex are taking part in the four-day strike from Tuesday to Friday, after industrial action earlier this month. Further stoppages are planned for the coming weeks.

Continue reading...

London bus drivers resume strike over heatwave working amid fears over air con deal

Posted on by

Drivers concerned that bus operator’s offer to retrofit cabs on 730 buses will not be complete by next summer

London bus drivers have resumed strike action over having to work in high temperatures, amid fears that proposed improvements to air conditioning will not be complete by next summer.

About 1,500 members of the Unite union working across north London and Essex are taking part in the four-day strike from Tuesday to Friday, after industrial action earlier this month. Further stoppages are planned for the coming weeks.

Continue reading...

Badenoch plotted to remove Sunak as PM months before election, book claims

Posted on by

Anthony Seldon’s book alleges Badenoch asked fellow Tory ministers ‘if anyone was interested in changing the captain’

Kemi Badenoch plotted with fellow Conservative cabinet ministers to remove Rishi Sunak as prime minister months before the general election, it has been claimed.

Anthony Seldon, who has written political biographies of every prime minister since John Major, has alleged in a new book that Badenoch, who was business secretary at the time, phoned several other cabinet ministers to ask “if anyone was interested in changing the captain”.

Continue reading...

Badenoch plotted to remove Sunak as PM months before election, book claims

Posted on by

Anthony Seldon’s book alleges Badenoch asked fellow Tory ministers ‘if anyone was interested in changing the captain’

Kemi Badenoch plotted with fellow Conservative cabinet ministers to remove Rishi Sunak as prime minister months before the general election, it has been claimed.

Anthony Seldon, who has written political biographies of every prime minister since John Major, has alleged in a new book that Badenoch, who was business secretary at the time, phoned several other cabinet ministers to ask “if anyone was interested in changing the captain”.

Continue reading...

UK officials prepare for potential Trump talks as Burnham plans New York trip

Posted on by

PM known to be keen to attend UN general assembly after meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine

UK officials are making preparations for a potential meeting between Andy Burnham and Donald Trump after the prime minister said he hoped to attend next month’s UN general assembly in New York.

Burnham is known to be particularly keen to attend the annual gathering after meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday, when he pledged to help drum up more international support for Ukraine.

Continue reading...

UK officials prepare for potential Trump talks as Burnham plans New York trip

Posted on by

PM known to be keen to attend UN general assembly after meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine

UK officials are making preparations for a potential meeting between Andy Burnham and Donald Trump after the prime minister said he hoped to attend next month’s UN general assembly in New York.

Burnham is known to be particularly keen to attend the annual gathering after meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday, when he pledged to help drum up more international support for Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Freddie Mercury’s ‘splendid things’ to go on display at V&A

Posted on by

Eight costumes spanning Queen frontman’s career will feature in a free trail developed with his former fiancee

Eight famous costumes worn by Freddie Mercury, including the outfit featured on the cover of Queen’s debut album and the catsuit from the video for Bohemian Rhapsody, are to go on display at the V&A in London this autumn to mark what would have been the singer’s 80th birthday.

Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things, a free trail developed with Mercury’s former fiancee and close friend Mary Austin, will run from 24 October 2026 to 17 January 2027. Austin is lending seven of the looks, which span Mercury’s career from the 1970s to his final years.

Continue reading...

NHS England to offer women ‘gamechanging’ free home testing kits for cervical cancer

Posted on by

NHS has target of eliminating the cancer by 2040, but up to 4 million eligible women are not up to date with screening

Millions of women in England who have missed cervical screening appointments will be offered free home testing kits on the NHS.

The move comes amid concerns that only two-thirds of women attend in-person cervical screening appointments when asked to do so, leaving as many as 4 million women not up to date.

Continue reading...

Prince Harry quits board of wildlife charity after rangers’ human rights abuses

Posted on by

Spokesperson for Duke of Sussex says he remains an ‘active and avid supporter’ of African Parks’ mission

The Duke of Sussex has stepped down from the board of a major African wildlife charity that had been at the centre of a human rights controversy.

Prince Harry’s spokesperson confirmed he was no longer a trustee of African Parks, which admitted last year that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers in the Republic of the Congo.

Continue reading...

Households in Great Britain ‘could owe energy suppliers £7bn by end of year’

Posted on by

After higher prices for winter kick in, energy debt unpaid for more than 30 days likely to rise, says Energy UK

Households in Great Britain could owe their energy suppliers as much as £7bn by the end of the year after higher gas and electricity prices forecast for the winter kick in, an industry group is warning.

Domestic energy debt and arrears climbed by about £500m over the past year to a record £6bn at the end of June as the Middle East conflict continued to stoke rising gas market prices.

Continue reading...

Guns, axes, explosives: violent museum heists are on the rise, says Europol

Posted on by

EU police agency says shift could point to involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific artefacts

Robberies at European museums are becoming increasingly violent, with thieves sometimes brandishing guns, assaulting staff and using sledgehammers, axes and even explosives to smash their way into buildings and display cases, according to a report by Europol.

The EU police agency said that while museum thefts were generally seen as a non-violent form of organised property crime, member states had detected a recent shift “towards violent and forceful methods” that could point to the involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific cultural artefacts.

Continue reading...

Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott found guilty of sexually abusing children

Posted on by

Five-day trial at high court in Glasgow heard Dott subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse

The former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been found guilty of sexually abusing two primary school age children. The 49-year-old subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse, with the girl targeted between 1993-96 and the boy between 2006-10.

A five-day trial at the high court in Glasgow heard Dott exposed himself in front of both children, touched them inappropriately, and kissed them. On Monday, he was found guilty of two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour towards them. In both cases the abuse happened in the Glasgow area.

Continue reading...

Twelve people arrested after A66 crash that killed seven including two police officers

Posted on by

Nine men and three women aged between 19 and 61 arrested as part of investigation into events leading to deadly collision

Twelve people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including being involved with organised crime as part of the investigation into events leading to a crash on the A66 that killed two police officers and five others.

Cleveland police confirmed that nine men and three women were detained by officers investigating the events that led up to PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough dying when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on the A66 near Middlesbrough collided with their marked armed response vehicle. All five men who were in the second car, aged between 17 and 23, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Continue reading...

Survivors of violent crime criticise MoJ for not explaining offender restriction zones

Posted on by

Campaigners accuse ministers of trying to grab headlines with announcement before a working system is ready

Survivors of violent crime and families of victims have criticised the UK government for announcing “world first” plans to introduce restriction zones for serious offenders freed from prison within a few weeks without spelling out how they would work.

Key campaigners who have championed the idea of the zones, designed to “lock” offenders into specific areas, accused the government of seeking to grab headlines rather than providing the detail that would reassure survivors and families.

Continue reading...

Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon price rises in western Europe ‘highest in world’

Posted on by

World’s largest streaming services have also increased subscription costs repeatedly in US, research finds

Subscribers to Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video in western Europe have faced higher price increases than in any other market in recent years, according to research.

Over the past four years the world’s largest subscription video streaming services have dramatically changed their business models introducing lower-priced, basic advertising tiers to attract new subscribers, while also increasingly monetising users willing to pay more for a premium experience.

Continue reading...