Roadworks mean stretch between junctions 10 and 11 will be shut from 9pm on Friday to 6am on Monday
Drivers have been warned to expect delays this weekend as part of the M25 shuts down for the third time this year.
Major roads in the south-east will be “incredibly busy” this weekend as National Highways closes a section of London’s orbital motorway for roadworks in both directions between junctions 10 and 11 in Surrey from 9pm on Friday to 6am on Monday, the AA said.
Continue reading...After the UK justice minister praised the system in the Netherlands, experts there say the reality is more complex
Earlier this year, before he became the UK justice minister, James Timpson described how Britain should follow the Dutch example of mild sentencing to help solve the prisons crisis.
“They have shut half their prisons not because people are less naughty in Holland,” he told Channel 4. “It’s because they have a different way of sentencing, which is community sentencing so people can stay at home, keep their jobs, keep their homes, keep reading their children bedtime stories, and it means they are far less likely to commit crime again. A custodial sentence is not always the right thing.”
Continue reading...Network Rail route directors will also attend next week as UK government aims to reform railways quickly
Labour has summoned the bosses of some of the worst-performing train operators, including Avanti West Coast and TransPennine, for meetings next week as it seeks to rapidly reform the railways and reset industrial relations.
The transport secretary, Louise Haigh, will bring in Network Rail route directors to attend all talks with the train companies, signalling the move towards an integrated railway.
Continue reading...Allegations about monks and staff at North Yorkshire private school were shared with Charity Commission
An inquiry into the running of a prestigious private school said it uncovered a string of “serious abuse allegations” committed against pupils by monks and staff within the last decade.
The Charity Commission’s report found “significant weaknesses” in the safeguarding, governance and management of the two trusts responsible for running Ampleforth College, a Catholic private school in North Yorkshire founded more than 200 years ago by Benedictine monks and Ampleforth Abbey.
Continue reading...Deal for undisclosed sum secures Bristol-based company’s future after ‘material uncertainty’ in 2023
Graphcore, a British chipmaker once seen as a potential competitor to Nvidia, has been bought by Japan’s SoftBank in a deal that secures the company’s future.
The Bristol-based startup’s products are focused on artificial intelligence and it has been acquired by the powerful Japanese tech investor for an undisclosed sum. Last year, Graphcore warned that there was a “material uncertainty” over its survival and that it needed fresh funding by May 2024.
Continue reading...World’s oldest grand slam breaks with tradition to host ‘eChamps’ as part of efforts to attract younger audience
From Hawk-Eye to AI, Wimbledon traditionalists have spent 20 years railing against the introduction of computer technology on the hallowed turf.
But now the oldest grand slam in tennis is experimenting with hosting a whole tournament in a virtual world.
Continue reading...Snail mail replaced with slug mail as scientists need 1,000 grey field slugs to explore their impact on various crops
It may be known as snail mail, but researchers are hoping the public will use the postal service to send them a different kind of mollusc: slugs.
A team of scientists and farmers carrying out research into slug-resistant wheat say they need about 1,000 of the creatures to explore how palatable slugs find various crops.
Continue reading...Asked about speculation over US president’s health, PM says he dealt with issues at pace and was across all detail
Keir Starmer has said Joe Biden was “on good form” and went through serious issues at pace during their first bilateral talks at the White House as he was asked about claims the US president could be senile.
The prime minister said his personal view, having spent almost an hour in private talks with Biden and attended a dinner for Nato leaders at the White House, was that he was mentally agile.
Continue reading...Dan Jarvis says government examining legislation as part of commitment to halve violence against woman and girls
Ministers will move “at pace” to review the law on crossbow ownership, the security minister has said, after three women were killed in a suspected crossbow attack in Hertfordshire.
Dan Jarvis said it was “entirely reasonable” to question whether existing laws on the weapons were fit for purpose and that ministers would act decisively if they needed to be changed.
Continue reading...Rescuers including vets rush to save 12 survivors from 77-strong group lying on Sanday shore
Dozens of long-finned pilot whales have died after a 77-strong pod came ashore on an Orkney beach in what could be the biggest mass stranding in decades.
Twelve of the animals at Tresness beach, on the island of Sanday, were still alive, but according to rescuers from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), it was thought unlikely they could be saved.
Continue reading...A woman, 71, died at a workshop run by Hongchi Xiao after she stopped taking insulin for diabetes, court hears
An alternative healer accused of the manslaughter of a British woman with diabetes who died at his slapping therapy workshop has told a jury that he learned his method from kung fu masters and hermits in China.
Hongchi Xiao said paida lajin therapy could combat all diseases including diabetes but also insisted he would never tell a person with type 1 diabetes to stop taking insulin.
Continue reading...PM to hold bilateral talks at Chequers next week when European leaders will also gather for summit at Blenheim Palace
Keir Starmer is to kickstart the resetting of the UK’s relationship with the EU in bilateral meetings next week with the prime minister of Ireland and president of France.
He will meet the taoiseach, Simon Harris, at Chequers on Wednesday on the eve of the fourth meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), a conference of more then 45 EU and non-EU leaders, which takes this place this year at Blenheim Palace near Oxford.
Continue reading...Hugh Bayley says NGOs would also benefit as he releases report on impact of UK programme in Afghanistan
The UK should consider restoring its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan to support Afghan women and to help monitor the impact of British aid, a commissioner for the official UK aid watchdog has suggested.
Hugh Bayley, who visited Kabul in May, said he believed Afghan women and NGOs would welcome more western diplomats to represent the opinions of women to the Taliban as he released a report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) on the effectiveness of the UK programme, which is the second largest operated by Britain.
Continue reading...Retired newsagent who fundraised £50,000 for legal battle was due to take case to court in autumn
A retired newsagent and “local legend” from Merseyside has said he feels marvellous after a Home Office U-turn granted him the right to live in the UK almost 50 years after he arrived.
Nelson Shardey, 75, launched legal action against the Home Office and fundraised almost £50,000 earlier this year after he was refused the right to stay in the UK permanently, despite living in the country since 1977 and running his shop, Nelson’s News, in Wirral for 31 years.
Continue reading...Dr Henrietta Hughes said focus on budgets had led to substandard care and dismissal of legitimate fears
NHS patients raising safety concerns are too often “gaslighted”, “fobbed off” or dismissed as “difficult women”, according to England’s patient safety commissioner, who criticised health leaders for a “relentless focus” on finance and productivity.
Dr Henrietta Hughes said patients and loved ones sounding the alarm about substandard care should be an early indicator of danger or potential harm, but far too frequently they were completely ignored. NHS trusts focusing too much on budgets meant that “the culture becomes toxic, and we’re just on the road back to the Mid Staffs scandal”, she added.
Continue reading...England’s patient safety commissioner says NHS patients raising concerns are dismissed as ‘difficult women’
England’s patient safety commissioner, Henrietta Hughes, has warned that NHS patients raising concerns are too often “gaslighted”, “fobbed off” or dismissed as “difficult women”.
“It shows a very dismissive and very old fashioned, patronising attitude to patients who have identified problems and need to have their voices heard,” she said.
Continue reading...Prime minister holds first official bilateral talks with Volodymyr Zelenskiy at Nato summit in Washington
The new government will stick with plans to spend at least £3bn every year on military support for Ukraine for “as long as is it takes” in its conflict with Russia, Keir Starmer has said.
After his first official bilateral talks with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, at the Nato summit in Washington, the prime minister confirmed the military aid would continue until at least 2030-31.
Continue reading...Government to announce terms which could free more than 20,000 inmates in coming months to manage capacity
The “shocking” prisons crisis is even worse than feared, Keir Starmer has said as the government prepares to release tens of thousands of inmates early in a bid to prevent jails becoming full.
The prime minister suggested he was opposed to freeing violent criminals and sex offenders when ministers announce the terms of a new prisoner release scheme for England and Wales on Friday.
Continue reading...Neighbours of Carol Hunt and her daughters express shock as racing community sends John Hunt sympathy
Tributes have been paid to three women killed in an “utterly devastating” crossbow attack.
Carol Hunt and her two daughters, beautician Hannah Hunt, 28, and dog groomer Louise Hunt, 25, were found injured at a home in Bushey, Hertfordshire on Tuesday and died shortly after at the scene.
Continue reading...John Healey acknowledges likely shift of US focus to China and says Britain and EU must raise military spending to counter Russia
Britain will be “the leading European nation” in Nato under a Labour government, the new defence secretary, John Healey, pledged in an interview at the Nato summit in Washington DC – though spending may have to rise significantly if the UK is to remain ahead of Germany.
The cabinet minister, appointed last Friday, acknowledged that European countries within Nato would have to take on more of the burden of defending the west against Russia – regardless of whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November.
Continue reading...