Category Archives: UK news

Southport stabbings: boy, 17, charged with murder and attempted murder

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Teenager from Banks in Lancashire charged after three children killed and eight injured during dance class

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and attempted murder after 13 people, including 11 children, were stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, police said.

Merseyside police said they charged the suspect, who is from the village of Banks, Lancashire, with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of an offensive weapon. He will appear at Liverpool city magistrates court on Wednesday morning.

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Felled Sycamore Gap tree may live on after green shoots appear on stump

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‘Astonishing’ signs of regrowth discovered on world-famous tree, whose destruction led to outpouring of grief

The felling of the Sycamore Gap tree brought forth an outpouring of emotion last year, with local people and tourists alike left bereft by pictures showing it on its side.

But the latest stage of the saga has brought some “astonishing” green shoots of recovery, the National Trust has said – in a literal and metaphorical sense.

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Teenagers displaying ‘problematic phone use’ more likely to be depressed

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About one in five teenagers aged 16-18 display problematic behaviour with their phones, study finds

Teenagers who fall prey to “problematic smartphone use” are more likely to suffer from insomnia, anxiety and depression, a new study suggests.

About one in five teenagers aged 16-18 displayed problematic behaviour with their phones, with many saying they wanted help cutting down, experts from King’s College London found.

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Long Covid health issues persist in those hospitalised early in pandemic, study finds

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Substantial proportion have cognitive and mental health problems years after infection, with some symptoms worsening

Health problems and brain fog can persist for years in people hospitalised by Covid early in the pandemic, with some patients developing more severe and even new symptoms after 12 months, researchers say.

They found that while many people with long Covid improved over time, a substantial proportion still had cognitive problems two to three years later and saw symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue worsen rather than subside.

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Five arrested after 53 police officers injured in Southport riots

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Arrests come after far right staged violent protests following deaths of three children in knife attack

More than 50 police officers were injured and five men arrested after far-right riots in Southport, which broke out as the town reeled from a knife attack that killed three children.

The Merseyside chief constable, Serena Kennedy, said the five were arrested in connection with riots in which 53 police officers were injured – 49 from Merseyside police and four from Lancashire. Three police dogs, Zoe, Ike and Quga, were also hurt.

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Chip designer Arm Holdings reports 39% surge in revenue but shares fall

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Even as shares fall about 9%, chief financial officer says firm is seeing ‘more investment’ in AI than ‘even 90 days ago’

Chip designer Arm Holdings on Wednesday reported a stronger-than-expected 39% surge in quarterly revenue, and forecast fiscal second-quarter sales broadly in line with Wall Street estimates, yet its shares fell about 9% in extended trading.

For the current fiscal second quarter, Arm forecast revenue in a range between $780m and $830m, compared with an average analyst estimate of $804.1m, according to LSEG data.

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‘Really special’: Farm near London to be rewilded to enable new housing in Essex

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Farm north of London to be returned to something like pasture once enjoyed by Anglo-Saxon king

It was once woodland where Harold Godwinson, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king, rode in pursuit of deer. Over recent decades, the hillside with a panoramic view of London has become arable fields, pony paddocks and a Christmas tree plantation.

But now Harold’s Park, a 200-hectare (500 acre) farm just north of the M25 on the edge of the capital, is to be rewilded and returned to something like the tangled wood pasture once enjoyed by King Harold.

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Hidden cost of UK workplace sickness rockets to £100bn a year, report finds

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Rising bill largely result of ‘staggering’ levels of presenteeism causing loss of productivity

The hidden cost of rising workplace sickness in the UK has increased to more than £100bn a year, largely caused by a loss of productivity amid “staggering” levels of presenteeism, a report warns.

Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows the cost of staff sickness has grown by £30bn a year to £103bn in 2023. The annual bill was £73bn in 2018, its study found.

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Keir Starmer says Southport rioters will feel ‘full force of the law’

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Far-right protesters threw bricks at officers, set vehicles on fire and attacked mosque

Keir Starmer has said those who rioted in Southport on Tuesday night will “feel the full force of the law” after police vehicles were set alight and missiles hurled at officers.

It came after far-right protesters pelted police with glass bottles and bricks and attacked a mosque following a knife attack that killed three children.

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Labour tries to attract clean energy contracts with record £1.5bn for auction

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The new budget comes after the previous government failed to award a single new offshore wind contract in 2023

The Labour government will make record amounts of funding available to clean energy developers after it increased the value of its summer subsidy auction by 50%, to £1.5bn.

The addition, compared with figures previously announced, means the total budget is seven times the amount available at last year’s auction, the government said.

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Benefit cap traps families in crowded, rat-infested homes, report finds

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Limit on welfare support, introduced in 2013, leaves some with just £4 a day for each family member

Low-income families affected by the benefit cap are living on as little as £4 for each person a day, often in overcrowded, rat-infested and damp homes with little prospect of escape, according to a new study.

The cap puts a ceiling on the amount a working-age family can receive in welfare support if no one in the household is working or they are on very low wages. Families affected by it in many parts of the country are, in effect, trapped in poor quality, private rented properties they cannot afford, even though these are often already the cheapest homes available in their local area, the London School of Economics study said.

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Goals to stop decline of nature in England ‘off track’, report warns

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Audit of Environmental Improvement Plan finds it inadequate as government announces overhaul of goals

Goals to stop the decline of nature and clean up the air and water in England are slipping out of reach, a new report has warned.

An audit of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which is the mechanism by which the government’s legally binding targets for improving nature should be met, has found that plans for thriving plants and wildlife and clean air are deteriorating. This plan was supposed to replace the EU-derived environmental regulations the UK used until the Environment Act was passed in 2021 after Brexit.

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Greens say Labour should focus more on building council homes and that new housing plan is flawed – UK politics live

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Rayner says housing target system will raise number of homes planned to 370,000 and confirmed targets will be mandatory

Balls, who, of course, is a former Labour cabinet minister, and a former shadow chancellor, questions whether Reeves is right to suggest that Jeremy Hunt is wholly to blame for the black hole. He says that other cabinet ministers and departments drew up the spending plans that she says were unfunded.

Reeves repeats the point she has been making all morning about how the public were misled. (See 8.06am.)

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Southport stabbing: chaotic scenes as police clash with far-right protesters outside mosque – as it happened

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Violent clashes at street protest, hours after police released names of three children who were killed

Southport Football Club said it has cancelled tonight’s pre-season friendly match with Morecambe FC “out of respect to those who have so tragically lost their lives” and to those who will be “deeply impacted” by the Southport attack. The match was scheduled to take place in the club’s Haig Avenue stadium this evening, near the scene of the incident.

In a post on social media yesterday evening, the club said in a statement:

The club would like to reiterate that tomorrow the Club Lounge will be open from 10am-3pm for those who wish to gather, share their thoughts and find support during this difficult time.

Specialist support staff will be present to offer assistance and comfort to those who need it.

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Police name three girls killed in Southport stabbing attack

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Five children and two adults remain in critical condition in hospital, as police question 17-year-old over stabbings

The three children who were killed in a knife attack at a dance class in Southport have been named as Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.

Eleven children and two adults were stabbed in what police described as a “ferocious attack” in a studio on Hart Street on Monday morning during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class for children.

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More than half UK’s film and TV workers still unemployed after Hollywood strikes

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Bectu survey shows just 6% of workers have seen a full recovery in employment a year on from joint industrial action by Sag-Aftra and the Writers Guild of America

More than half of the UK’s film and TV workforce are still out of work a year after the Hollywood strikes of 2023, new research has found.

According to a survey of more than 2,300 film and TV workers by the Bectu trade union, 52% of workers in the UK film sector are out of work, 51% in TV drama, 57% in unscripted TV and 53% in commercials.

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Greggs adds 5p to cost of sausage rolls despite plan not to raise prices

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Bakery chain says price of meal deals will stay the same but increased costs have put it under pressure

Greggs has increased the amount it charges for some of its items, including an extra 5p on sausage rolls and their vegan equivalent, despite the bakery chain having said earlier this year it had no plans to increase prices.

Roisin Currie, chief executive of the Newcastle-based group, said it had increased prices on a small number of products, including cheese sandwiches, in recent weeks as it continued to come under pressure from a growing wage bill.

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‘Axis of upheaval’ adds urgency to review of UK defence spending

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Deepening military and trade links between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are making western powers uneasy

Gen Roly Walker, the head of the British army, has described it as the “axis of upheaval”. George Robertson, the new head of the UK’s defence review, has called the countries the “deadly quartet”. Either way, less than a month into a Labour government, an emerging geopolitical alignment is being highlighted as a threat.

The concerns centre on the growing military and trade links between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Though the four are some way from a cold war-style bloc acting in concert, they have enhanced bilateral ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in a manner that has fuelled anxiety among defence officials and policymakers.

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Tanker carrying jet fuel for Israel must not dock in Gibraltar, say MPs

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Campaigners say overseas territory will be complicit in breach of international law if US vessel stops there

There is an overwhelming case for the UK to intervene to stop a US oil tanker carrying 300,000 barrels of jet fuel for use by Israel in Gaza from docking in Gibraltar, according to a letter from a cross-party group of MPs addressed to David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary.

Protests in Spain led by trade unionists and political activists have already resulted in the owners of the Overseas Santorini abandoning plans to dock in the Spanish port of Algeciras. According to Marine Traffic, the ship is now destined to reach Gibraltar at 3pm UK time on Tuesday.

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Winter fuel payments to be restricted as Reeves says there is £22bn spending shortfall – UK politics live

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Chancellor suggests budget, on 30 October, will involve tax rises and cuts to spending and benefits

Downing Street has refused to comment on a report saying junior doctors are being offered a pay rise worth about 20% over two years.

In a story for the Times, Steven Swinford reports:

The British Medical Association’s (BMA) junior doctors committee has recommended an offer that includes a backdated pay rise of 4.05 per cent for 2023-24, on top of an existing increase of between 8.8 per cent and 10.3 per cent.

Junior doctors will be given a further pay rise of 6 per cent for 2024-25, which will be topped up by a consolidated £1,000 payment. This is equivalent to a pay rise of between 7 per cent and 9 per cent.

As we’ve said before, we’re committed to working to find a solution, resolving this dispute, but I can’t get into detailed running commentary on negotiations.

We’ve been honest with the public and the sector about the economic circumstances we face. But the government is determined to do the hard work necessary to finally bring these strikes to an end.

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