Category Archives: UK news

David Lammy warns of rising risk of full-scale regional war in Middle East

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The UK foreign secretary and his French counterpart write in the Observer about their fears over Israel’s escalating tensions with Iran

• It’s never too late for peace in the Middle East – we must break the cycle of violence

There is a rising risk of “full-scale regional war” in the Middle East, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, has warned, amid frantic international efforts to calm tensions with Iran and reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

With the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, flying into Israel this weekend to push for a deal, Lammy has joined forces with his French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné, to warn that now is a “perilous moment” for the region in the midst of widespread fears of escalation involving Tehran and allied militias in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

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UK launches its first Earth-imaging military satellite

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Satellite named Tyche to support armed forces operations as well as monitor natural disasters and impact of climate change

The UK has launched its first military satellite able to capture daytime images and videos of the Earth’s surface.

The satellite, named Tyche, will support British armed forces operations as well as monitor natural disasters, help map information development and track the impact of climate change globally, the Ministry of Defence said.

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Former Sunak adviser urges Labour to introduce wealth tax on housing

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The economist behind the Covid furlough scheme has called for ‘unfair’ council tax and stamp duty to be axed

Council tax and stamp duty are “unfair and unpopular” taxes that should be abolished, says the economist who devised the Covid furlough scheme.

Tim Leunig, who has advised a series of cabinet ministers, including Rishi Sunak during his prime ministership, said it was time for a new and radical approach that would axe the two taxes and replace them with proportional levies.

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Labour must raise GP funding to end ‘8am scramble’, says doctors’ group

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General practices forced to ‘do more and more with less and less’, says Doctors’ Association UK

Labour’s promise to “end the 8am scramble” for medical appointments will be impossible without increasing core funding for GPs, according to a leading medical association.

The health secretary, Wes Streeting, pledged during the general election campaign that Labour would “end the 8am scramble by allowing patients to easily book appointments to see the doctor they want, in the manner they choose”.

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Ambulances called to Amazon’s UK warehouses 1,400 times in five years

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GMB union urges Health and Safety Executive to investigate ‘shocking’ figures revealed by the Observer

Ambulances have been called out to Amazon warehouses more than 1,400 times in the past five years, the Observer can reveal. The figures, which were described as shocking by the GMB trade union, raise fresh questions about safety at the American giant’s UK workplaces.

Amazon centres in Dunfermline and Bristol had the most ambulance callouts in Britain, listing 161 and 125 across the period respectively.

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‘Kafkaesque’: bank blocks cash transfer, saying it could be an AI scam

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Starling’s fraud team repeatedly refused to allow UK man to send £12,800 to friend in Austria, then froze account

An Edinburgh academic has accused Starling bank’s fraud team of behaving like officers in a police state after they repeatedly refused to allow him to send a €15,000 (£12,800) payment to a friend in Austria, then froze his account when he complained about their “absurd demands”.

John MacInnes, a professor emeritus of sociology and statistics, says he has been left astonished by his treatment by staff at the challenger bank.

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London City airport: 54% of journeys take under six hours by train, data shows

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Exclusive: Most popular routes can be reached quickly by train, as government mulls expansion proposal

More than half of the journeys taken from London City airport last year can be reached in six hours or less by train, data reveals.

The Labour government is preparing to make the final call on the airport’s application to significantly increase its passenger numbers. The airport wants to increase capacity from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers a year by putting on more weekend and early morning flights.

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Nigel Farage revealed to be UK’s highest-earning MP

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Reform UK leader banked £1.2m from role as presenter on GB News and payments from social media

Nigel Farage appears to have become the highest-earning MP, having made almost £1.2m a year from GB News.

In the first register of interests of the new parliament, the Reform UK MP declared that he was earning £97,900 a month as a presenter for GB News, the channel co-owned by the hedge fund billionaire Paul Marshall.

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Man jailed for six years after mob forced Romanians from car during Hull riot

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David Wilkinson, 48, was part of ‘baying mob’ who left driver in fear for his life, court heard

A man who was part of a “baying mob” who forced three terrified Romanians from their car during a riot has been jailed for six years, as the number of people sentenced for their part in far-right disorder topped 100.

David Wilkinson, 48, previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder, attempted arson and racially aggravated criminal damage after playing a “prominent role” in the violence that gripped Hull on 3 August.

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Border Force staff at Heathrow to take strike action for most of September

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Union says forced changes to working hours and practices have most harmed those with caring responsibilities

Hundreds of Border Force officers at Heathrow will take industrial action for 23 days from the end of the month over a long-running dispute about changes to their terms of employment.

About 650 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will go on strike from 31 August to 3 September at which point a period of work to rule – where no overtime is undertaken and no extra work is done beyond what is contractually required – will begin and continue until 22 September.

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Higher-tariff universities admit 13% more UK school-leavers than 2023, figures show

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Number of pupils accepted by ‘high tariff’ providers passes 100,000, after better than expected A-level results and fewer international students

Sixth-formers are rushing to take up places at the most selective universities, with figures showing a substantial increase in the numbers enrolling compared with last year after receiving their A-level results.

Experts said that “high tariff” universities, including those in the Russell Group of research intensive universities, were allocating more places to UK school-leavers this year after recruiting fewer international students.

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Scottish Tory deputy leader quits over ‘deeply troubling’ Douglas Ross claims

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Meghan Gallacher says allegations about Ross’s actions in leadership contest pose risk to party’s reputation

One of the candidates standing to replace Douglas Ross as leader of the Scottish Conservatives has resigned as the party’s deputy because of “deeply troubling” allegations about Ross’s conduct over the leadership contest.

The Telegraph on Thursday reported that senior party figures alleged Ross had planned to quit as leader a year ago and install as his successor the current favourite to replace him, Russell Findlay.

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‘We fear the police’: young people share their concerns with Yvette Cooper

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Home secretary says predecessors ‘turned their backs’ on a generation as she discusses her young futures programme

Yvette Cooper has had a baptism of fire as home secretary – a national tragedy when three girls were murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club and an ensuing week of race riots fuelled by dangerous misinformation.

It has not been easy, but Cooper has been in waiting for more than a decade to take the home secretary job – in the shadow role and as chair of the powerful home affairs committee – and is not about to waste a moment. In fact, her only complaint about the job so far is that her busy schedule and tight security means she is struggling to get enough exercise – apart from the many flights of stairs to her Home Office desk she must climb each day.

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Hundreds of Ulez non-compliant vehicles sent from London to Ukraine

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Transport for London confirms 330 vehicles approved for donation to help country’s war effort

More than 200 vehicles that fell foul of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) have been sent to Ukraine to aid the country’s war effort, despite initial legal concerns over the plan.

Transport for London (TfL) said on Friday that 330 vehicles had been given the green light to be sent to Ukraine under the Ulez vehicle scrappage scheme. More than 200 are already in the eastern European country.

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Prince Harry hits out at spread of disinformation via AI and social media

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Duke speaks at summit on digital responsibility while on visit with Duchess of Sussex to Colombia

The Duke of Sussex has hit out at online disinformation during a four-day visit to Colombia, warning: “What happens online within a matter of minutes transfers to the streets.”

Speaking in Bogotá at a summit on digital responsibility, Harry said of the spread of false information via artificial intelligence and social media: “People are acting on information that isn’t true.”

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British MPs appeal to Azerbaijan government to free detained academic

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In letter to Ilham Aliyev, campaigners urge release of Gubad Ibadoghlu after pre-trial process halted indefinitely

A group of British MPs have called on the Azerbaijan government to free an academic from the London School of Economics and Political Science who was detained after writing articles critical of the country’s environmental policies.

Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, who is based in the UK, was arrested and held by Azerbaijan authorities while visiting members of his family in July 2023. He has been a prominent critic of the ruling elite in the Eurasian nation, which is preparing to host the Cop29 Climate Summit in November.

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Contaminated blood scandal payouts to start by end of year, says UK government

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Individuals could get up to £2.6m in compensation over blood products that caused HIV and hepatitis C

Victims of the contaminated blood scandal will begin receiving compensation before the end of the year, and some people will be entitled to more than £2.5m, the government has confirmed.

An outline of the long-awaited compensation scheme was set out in May, after the final report of the infected blood inquiry laid bare what Rishi Sunak, the then UK prime minister, called “a decades-long moral failure at the heart of our national life”.

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NHS plans review of adult gender services following Cass criticisms

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Workers in adult gender clinics allege ‘chaotic’ administration and ‘out of control’ waiting lists

The NHS has set out plans for a review into the safety of adult gender services, in response to detailed concerns raised by the author of the Cass report on gender care for children and young people.

Dr Hilary Cass, the leading consultant paediatrician, listed 16 separate points of concern about the quality of treatment being offered to adults with gender dysphoria in a strongly worded letter to NHS England.

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‘Safer than ever’: Swifties gather at Wembley for first concert since foiled Vienna plot

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Fans in sequins and cowboy hats arrive undeterred at first of five Taylor Swift concerts in London

Thousands of fans have arrived at Wembley stadium in London to see Taylor Swift perform for the first time since her shows in Vienna were cancelled after a foiled terror attack.

Despite heightened security concerns, fans have arrived unfazed, wearing sequins, cowboy hats and friendship bracelets. Angelina Morris, 20, said her mum had spent more than 50 hours hand-sewing her outfit and had not thought twice about attending the concert after the attack plot.

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The class of 2024 aced maths. Take an A-level challenge to see how you compare

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Pupils in England delivered strong A-level results this summer, with 42% of entrants getting A* or As in maths. Here are three questions to ponder

The class of 2024 proved exceptional at maths – but are you? Here are some questions pupils faced in last year’s A-level exams. The answers are at the bottom.

Turn over your exam paper and begin!

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