The UK has agreed to hand the archipelago over to Mauritius after decades of diplomatic dispute
The UK has agreed to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a historic deal. Here we detail the history of the archipelago.
Continue reading...Category Archives: UK news
Tories challenge other Labour ministers to follow Keir Starmer in paying back donations – UK politics live
The prime minister said he’d paid back £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality, including Taylor Swift tickets and his wife’s rented clothing
The UK has agreed to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending years of bitter dispute over Britain’s last African colony, Haroon Siddique reports.
Today’s homelessness figures highlight the need for the government to press on with banning no-fault evicitions, campaigners say.
It’s frankly ridiculous section 21 still exists – we’re approaching 6 years since the previous government first promised to abolish it, while every indicator on the dashboard has been going in the wrong direction. And now we discover homelessness caused by evictions is up almost 5% on the previous year. It’s clear from today’s data that that the renting crisis is driving the homelessness crisis …
Amid this escalating social crisis, the government’s renters’ rights bill is absolutely crucial. This legislation is a significant improvement on the last government’s effort. As drafted it will already make a difference for a lot of people.
Britain to return Chagos Islands to Mauritius ending years of dispute
Agreement to hand back UK’s last African colony follows 13 rounds of negotiations and international pressure
The UK has agreed to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending years of bitter dispute over Britain’s last African colony.
The agreement will allow a right of return for Chagossians, who the UK expelled from their homes in the 1960s and 1970s, in what has been described as a crime against humanity and one of the most shameful episodes of postwar colonialism.
Continue reading...Tesco boss says new workers’ rights laws must not hurt growth
Bill is likely to include measures such as ending ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts and changes to sick pay
The boss of Tesco has called on the UK government to work with business to ensure new legislation to improve workers rights also increases productivity and growth as the retailer revealed better-than-expected profits.
Ken Murphy, the chief executive of the UK’s biggest supermarket, said he was keen to use a planned consultation on the wide-ranging employment rights bill, announced by the government in the king’s speech in July, to “make sure that whatever the government decides to put forward has the intended consequence of stimulating productivity and growth and protecting workers at the same time”.
Continue reading...Starmer repaid freebies to restore trust in politics, minister says
Sarah Jones suggests PM believes he should be held to higher standards now he is in government
Keir Starmer has repaid thousands of pounds in freebies to restore trust in politics, a minister has said as she ruled out accepting more hospitality.
Sarah Jones, the industry minister, said the prime minister’s motivation for repaying the money was “to do more to make people trust politicians”.
Continue reading...Europe’s exhausted oyster reefs ‘once covered area size of Northern Ireland’
Study uncovers vivid and poignant accounts of reefs as high as houses off countries including UK, France and Ireland
Only a handful of natural oyster reefs measuring at most a few square metres cling on precariously along European coasts after being wiped out by overfishing, dredging and pollution.
A study led by British scientists has discovered how extensive they once were, with reefs as high as a house covering at least 1.7m hectares (4.2m acres) from Norway to the Mediterranean, an area larger than Northern Ireland.
Continue reading...Graves could be reused under proposals to tackle lack of space for the dead
Law Commission also suggests reopening cemeteries declared full as part of England and Wales consultation
Graves could be reused and closed burial grounds reopened under proposals aimed at tackling a lack of space for the dead.
The Law Commission has suggested that cemeteries that have been declared full could be reused for new burials. The proposal is part of a public consultation by the commission on updating 170-year-old burial laws in England and Wales.
Continue reading...BBC cancels Boris Johnson interview after Laura Kuenssberg message gaffe
Briefing notes mistakenly being sent to ex-PM meant it was ‘not right for the interview to go ahead’, says presenter
The BBC has cancelled a prime-time interview with Boris Johnson after the presenter Laura Kuenssberg accidentally sent the former prime minister her briefing notes.
Kuenssberg said she sent Johnson the notes “in a message meant for my team”. The former BBC political editor said it was “embarrassing and disappointing”, adding the error meant it was “not right for the interview to go ahead”.
Continue reading...Unresolved water complaints in England and Wales rise to near-decade high
Customer disputes over sewage spills, billing mistakes and water meters soar in past year
The number of customer complaints that were unable to be resolved by water companies in England and Wales has risen by almost a third to the highest level in nearly a decade.
There was a 29% increase in 2023-24 in cases escalated to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) by households that failed to achieve a resolution from their supplier, the watchdog said.
Continue reading...Why official register of MPs’ financial interests is now a must-read
Revelations about gifts of clothes and tickets to sporting events have put MPs’ declarations in the spotlight
Revelations that Keir Starmer and his team have accepted donations of clothes, accommodation and sports tickets have focused attention on the official register of MPs’ interests, usually published every couple of weeks.
Here are some highlights from the latest version, published on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Starmer vows to turn page on UK’s relationship with the EU
PM promises ‘constructive’ relations, despite resisting talks with the bloc on a proposed youth mobility scheme
Keir Starmer has vowed to turn the page on the UK’s relationship with the EU, despite differences with Brussels over proposals for a European youth mobility scheme.
The prime minister said: “Of course, there will be challenges” in resetting relations but insisted he was “turning the page on the old way of doing these negotiations” in favour of a more “constructive” approach.
Continue reading...UK begins evacuating citizens from Lebanon as Israel’s offensive continues
First charter flight has left Beirut, says David Lammy, with officials planning ‘sea and air’ rescues if situation worsens
The UK has laid on a charter flight to evacuate Britons from Lebanon and said it is ready to commission more for the 5,000 nationals and their dependants remaining in the country.
Beirut’s international airport remains open but ministers and officials are preparing contingency plans for sea and air rescues via Cyprus should the security situation in Lebanon deteriorate to the point at which commercial flights are stopped.
Continue reading...Migration during adolescence linked to increased psychosis risk, study finds
Risk found to be highest among black and north African people, as experts call for better mental health provision
People who migrate in adolescence have an increased risk of psychosis, researchers have found, noting the link is particularly strong among black and north African people.
While research has previously suggested migration could play a role in the increased risk of psychosis among people from ethnic minorities, the study suggests age could be an important factor.
Continue reading...West planned for months to repel long-range Iranian attack – but Israel did not need them
Most of the defensive effort appears to have been undertaken by Israeli air defence systems
Quiet planning by the US, UK and other allies to help Israel repel an Iranian long-range attack have been going on for several months or more – but most of the defensive effort appears to have been undertaken by Israeli air defence systems.
The only reported military engagements in support of Israel were a dozen interceptors fired by two US warships in the eastern Mediterranean, while Jordan said its own air defence systems and air force were involved in targeting Iranian missiles.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer pays back £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality
Prime minister is covering cost of Taylor Swift tickets and designer clothing rental agreement after donations row
Keir Starmer has paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality, including Taylor Swift tickets and rented clothing for his wife, after a row over his acceptance of freebies.
The prime minister handed back some tickets and gifts he had received since he entered No 10 in July as he vowed to overhaul the rules on what ministers are allowed to accept.
Continue reading...Prosecutors call for 15-year sentence for McCann suspect in unrelated rape trial
Prosecutors say Christian Brückner, main suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, should be kept in preventive detention
German prosecutors have called for a sexual offences conviction and 15-year prison sentence for a man who is also under investigation separately over the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann.
The 47-year-old German national, who has been identified by local media as Christian Brückner, is on trial at the Braunschweig state court in northern Germany over offences he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer tells Brussels press conference it was ‘right’ for him to repay £6,000 worth of gifts – as it happened
Announcement that PM is returning gifts comes after news Labour peer Lord Alli is under investigation by Lords commissioner
Richard Fuller, the Tory chair, is on the conference platform now introducing the morning session.
He starts with thanks to various people who have helped with the conference.
After a frenetic Conference for Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat and Robert Jenrick the tiredness will be kicking in, but also for the teams of advisers who want, and maybe need, their principal to take another go at delivering the twenty-minute speech of their career.
It’s a four hoarse race.
The problem for the party, and for me, is that none of this gossipy chatter has taken the conference attendees much further forward – nor has any of the four taken conference by storm.
Continue reading...Sellafield ordered to pay nearly £400,000 over cybersecurity failings
Nuclear waste dump in Cumbria pleaded guilty to leaving data that could threaten national security exposed for four years, says regulator
Sellafield will have to pay almost £400,000 after it pleaded guilty to criminal charges over years of cybersecurity failings at Britain’s most hazardous nuclear site.
The vast nuclear waste dump in Cumbria left information that could threaten national security exposed for four years, according to the industry regulator, which brought the charges. It was also found that 75% of its computer servers were vulnerable to cyber-attack.
Continue reading...Stranded luxury cruise ship still stuck off coast of Northern Ireland
Villa Vie Odyssey set sail on three-and-a-half-year voyage on Monday after repairs but departure delayed again
The luxury cruise liner stranded in Belfast for four months remains anchored off the coast of Northern Ireland after two failed attempts to finally set sail on a round-the-world voyage.
The Villa Vie Odyssey was originally due to embark on a “perpetual” three-and-a-half-year trip on 30 May but was marooned after requiring repairs, leaving passengers stranded in Belfast over summer.
Continue reading...Daniel Day-Lewis ends retirement from acting after seven years
Three-time Oscar winner to star in his son Ronan’s directorial debut, Anemone, which he also co-wrote
Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis is ending his retirement from acting to star in his son’s directorial debut.
The 67-year-old British actor quit acting after starring in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 film Phantom Thread, and has largely stayed out of public life since.
Continue reading...