French police accused of rising use of violence to stop Channel crossings

NGO criticises ‘human cost’ of UK-funded crackdown on attempts to set off from French beaches in small boats

People trying to cross the Channel to the UK have reported an increase in French police use of violence on beaches to prevent them from getting into dinghies, according to a French NGO.

Utopia 56, which works on beaches from where migrants attempt Channel crossings, says so far this year 2,720 people have reported being victims of French police violence, compared with 1,954 over the same period last year, when crossings overall were much higher.

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Fast-fashion giant Shein sets cut-price $27bn valuation for Hong Kong IPO

China-based retailer swung to $99m loss in first quarter and faces scrutiny over its environmental footprint

Shein, which built a fast-fashion empire on what seemed like impossibly low prices, has been forced to lower its own valuation in a cut-price stock market float, after falling into the red earlier this year.

The online retailer will list on the Hong Kong stock exchange on 1 September at a valuation of close to $27bn (£19.8bn), significantly down from a near-$100bn private market peak four years ago.

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UK productivity growing faster than official figures suggest, thinktank finds

Resolution Foundation suggests economy may finally be emerging from shadow of 2008 financial crisis

Productivity in the UK – a vital measure of economic health – is growing more strongly than official figures suggest, according to analysis from the Resolution Foundation.

The thinktank suggests the chancellor, John Healey, may have inherited an economy finally starting to emerge from the long shadow of the 2008 global financial crisis.

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Families release pictures of police officers killed in A66 crash in which five others died

Emotional tributes paid to PCs Matthew Blades and Tom Clough whose vehicle was in a head-on collision with car travelling wrong way

Cleveland police have published photographs of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough who died when a car travelling the wrong way on the A66 crashed head-on into their police vehicle.

Two 17-year-old boys were among the seven people who were killed in the incident on Teesside.

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Iran-linked hackers blamed for cyber-attack that shut down UK power plant

Incident marks apparent escalation by Tehran in its in retaliation against UK over allowing US to use British bases

Hackers linked to Iran have been blamed for a cyber-attack that caused a British power plant to be temporarily shut down.

The incident involved a small-scale energy generator, according to the UK government, which said that at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system.

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Russia withdraws ambassador to UK as Kremlin raises pressure over Ukraine support

Embassy in London says Andrey Kelin left last month after seven years in diplomatic post

Russia has withdrawn its ambassador to the UK, it has emerged, as the Kremlin continues to try to put pressure on Britain over its support for Ukraine.

Andrey Kelin left last month after seven years in the diplomatic post, according to the Russian embassy in London.

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Burnham to face pressure at Labour conference to recognise Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide

Grassroots groups to urge PM to break with Starmer policy and impose full arms embargo on Israel

Grassroots Labour groups are gearing up for a conference showdown with Andy Burnham over Gaza, as the party’s members seek to force the prime minister to recognise Israel’s actions as a genocide and impose a full arms embargo.

Momentum, Labour & Palestine, the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy and Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) plan to ramp up pressure on Burnham before his first Labour conference as prime minister next month.

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‘Friday afternoon fraud’: warning for UK homebuyers on bank scams

Victims have lost tens of thousands – and in one case £300,000 – due to fake emails from solicitor or estate agent

You are poised to move house and are awaiting the solicitor’s instructions that things are ready to go and it is time to hand over your deposit. When the email arrives giving you their bank details, you set up the transfer and move the cash. And then the solicitor calls to ask where the money is.

Conveyancing fraud involves criminals getting access to an email chain between homebuyers and their solicitors or estate agents and requesting payment to a bank account they control. Sometimes the solicitor has been hacked, but often the homebuyer has been the victim of a phishing exercise.

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Burnham expected to give mayors new powers over local planning decisions

Move would allow mayors to greenlight large-scale developments and have more say on national housing funding

Andy Burnham is expected to give mayors new powers to take control of local planning decisions and greenlight large-scale developments in proposals to be presented next week.

The move would allow mayors to “call in” the decisions and direct councils to take them forward or refuse them.

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Badenoch says Reform defectors ‘some of the most dishonest people I have met’

Tory leader rules out coalition with Farage’s party and says ‘drama queens’ who left will not be welcomed back

Kemi Badenoch has called defectors who left for Reform “some of the most dishonest people” she has ever met, as she ruled out allowing “drama queens” to return to the party.

Speaking at the Edinburgh festival fringe, the Conservative party leader again ruled out any prospect of an election deal with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, insisting there would be no coalition between the parties.

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Badenoch says Reform defectors ‘some of the most dishonest people I have met’

Tory leader rules out coalition with Farage’s party and says ‘drama queens’ who left will not be welcomed back

Kemi Badenoch has called defectors who left for Reform “some of the most dishonest people” she has ever met, as she ruled out allowing “drama queens” to return to the party.

Speaking at the Edinburgh festival fringe, the Conservative party leader again ruled out any prospect of an election deal with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, insisting there would be no coalition between the parties.

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Thousands of sex offenders in England and Wales could get libido-suppressing drugs

Exclusive: Voluntary use of sex drive-suppressing medication to expand to 20 prisons and expert says it could be rolled out widely by late 2028

Drugs that help control the libidos of people who have committed sexual offences could be rolled out for thousands of male prisoners in England and Wales from December 2028, an expert has said.

Prof Belinda Winder, who has evaluated the use of sex drive-suppressing medication in prisons, said about one in four sex offenders – equating to 3,750 current prisoners – would be considered for the treatment.

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Abusers coercing or duping women to post explicit OnlyFans content, UK court cases reveal

Separate criminal convictions come as domestic violence charities warn of tech-facilitated abuse and coercion

Two men have been convicted this week in separate criminal cases that revealed they had posted explicit content on OnlyFans without the full consent of the women whose images were uploaded.

In the first case, Alexander Tang, 37, took and uploaded 47 intimate images and four videos of a woman to OnlyFans without her consent, and was paid money for the material he posted to the website.

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Abusers coercing or duping women to post explicit OnlyFans content, UK court cases reveal

Separate criminal convictions come as domestic violence charities warn of tech-facilitated abuse and coercion

Two men have been convicted this week in separate criminal cases that revealed they had posted explicit content on OnlyFans without the full consent of the women whose images were uploaded.

In the first case, Alexander Tang, 37, took and uploaded 47 intimate images and four videos of a woman to OnlyFans without her consent, and was paid money for the material he posted to the website.

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Former British and French diplomats urge action over Israel’s ‘erasure’ of Palestine

In letter to Macron and Burnham, more than 100 senior figures accuse Israel of ethnic cleansing and call for measures including trade ban

More than 100 French and British former diplomats have said Palestine is being erased in front of the world’s eyes and called for urgent action including trade and arms sales bans to press Israel to accept a Palestinian state.

An unprecedented joint letter dispenses with diplomatic language by accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and warning that the world no longer sees Israel as a genuine democracy.

Uphold the decisions of the international court of justice and the international criminal court.

Suspend the EU-Israel association agreement and the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement for breach of human rights provisions.

Suspend arms transfers to and from Israel and all bilateral military cooperation.

Insist on unrestricted aid access to Gaza, led by the UN Relief and Works Agency, other UN agencies and international NGOs, with consequences for non-compliance, and access too for journalists, diplomats and parliamentarians.

Ban all trade with settlements, including goods, investment, insurance and other financial services.

Warn potential bidders for the “red line” E1 settlement or other settlement financing/construction that their interests in and with the UK and France will suffer.

Make it an offence for British and French citizens to buy property on stolen Palestinian land and remove charitable status from “charities” funding settlements.

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Former British and French diplomats urge action over Israel’s ‘erasure’ of Palestine

In letter to Macron and Burnham, more than 100 senior figures accuse Israel of ethnic cleansing and call for measures including trade ban

More than 100 French and British former diplomats have said Palestine is being erased in front of the world’s eyes and called for urgent action including trade and arms sales bans to press Israel to accept a Palestinian state.

An unprecedented joint letter dispenses with diplomatic language by accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and warning that the world no longer sees Israel as a genuine democracy.

Uphold the decisions of the international court of justice and the international criminal court.

Suspend the EU-Israel association agreement and the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement for breach of human rights provisions.

Suspend arms transfers to and from Israel and all bilateral military cooperation.

Insist on unrestricted aid access to Gaza, led by the UN Relief and Works Agency, other UN agencies and international NGOs, with consequences for non-compliance, and access too for journalists, diplomats and parliamentarians.

Ban all trade with settlements, including goods, investment, insurance and other financial services.

Warn potential bidders for the “red line” E1 settlement or other settlement financing/construction that their interests in and with the UK and France will suffer.

Make it an offence for British and French citizens to buy property on stolen Palestinian land and remove charitable status from “charities” funding settlements.

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Deselected candidate claims Lib Dems’ religious discrimination cost him £790,000

David Campanale seeks damages after what he says was organised campaign against his faith in Sutton and Cheam

How much is a career in politics worth? The Liberal Democrats, despite admitting claims of religious discrimination, say about £22,800. A former Lib Dem candidate claims £790,000.

It is a question before the Central London county court after David Campanale argued that discrimination against his Christianity cost him his political career in a civil case against the party.

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MPs ‘failing to learn lesson’ over freebies after accepting £400,000 of hospitality

MPs receive Harry Styles concert tickets worth £858, Chelsea flower show tickets worth £1,839, and £3,432 of hospitality at Brit awards

MPs have been accused of failing to learn their lesson over freebies after taking almost £400,000 of hospitality to concerts, sport matches and other events this year, with Louise Haigh, Lucy Powell and Wes Streeting among those accepting tickets.

Despite the outcry in 2024 over Keir Starmer accepting football tickets and gifts of clothing, MPs appear to have been declaring hospitality since the start of the year on a greater scale than previously seen.

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‘Shameful’: UK, Australia and Canada criticise Israel over Gaza aid convoy killings decision

Joint statement issued after IDF said it will not pursue criminal investigations into April 2024 strike that killed seven humanitarian workers

Britain, Australia and Canada have called the decision of the Israeli military authorities not to open a criminal investigation into the April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of aid vehicles in Gaza “shameful”. The strikes killed seven humanitarian workers from the US-based World Central Kitchen (WCK) organisation.

WCK staff from the three countries were among the casualties of the attack, which prompted global outrage.

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Airbus bows to remote working demands after series of strikes

Aeroplane maker said to have watered down plans to restrict working from home to one day a week

Airbus has bowed to employee demands on remote working, after a series of strikes over its chief executive’s return-to-the office orders.

The world’s largest aeroplane maker is said to have watered down plans to restrict remote working to one day a week from September. At present, staff are able to work remotely for two.

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