Adapting to global heating: which UK public services are struggling in hot weather?

As NHS told to prepare for extreme weather, strain also felt in other areas including transport and farming

The NHS has been told it must become more resilient to increasingly frequent heatwaves supercharged by the climate crisis, as the UK government puts adaptation to extreme heat high on its agenda. But what other public services are already feeling the strain?

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Adapting to global heating: which UK public services are struggling in hot weather?

As NHS told to prepare for extreme weather, strain also felt in other areas including transport and farming

The NHS has been told it must become more resilient to increasingly frequent heatwaves supercharged by the climate crisis, as the UK government puts adaptation to extreme heat high on its agenda. But what other public services are already feeling the strain?

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Man charged in connection with death of girl on camping trip in Scotland

Police say man, 35, was known to nine-year-old girl, who was found seriously injured in industrial estate in Arbroath

A man has been charged in connection with the death of a nine-year-old girl on a family camping trip in Scotland.

The girl, from West Yorkshire, was found seriously injured just after midnight on Monday morning at the Elliot industrial estate in Arbroath, Angus.

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Andy Burnham reveals wife’s reaction to third Labour leadership bid

Burnham said his wife, Marie-France van Heel, took some persuading after he ran and lost in contests in 2010 and 2015

Andy Burnham has revealed his wife’s dismayed reaction when he told her he wanted to make another attempt at becoming Labour leader.

Burnham said that his wife, Marie-France van Heel, had been surprised by his decision to run, having lost contests in 2010 and 2015 to Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn respectively.

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Burnham not considering public inquiry into UK activities of Jeffrey Epstein

Victims’ minister said earlier that PM was ‘looking into’ inquiry into Epstein and another into Mohamed Al Fayed

Andy Burnham is not actively considering a public inquiry into the actions of Jeffrey Epstein in the UK, despite claims to the contrary, it is understood.

The victims’ minister, Alex Davies-Jones, said on Tuesday had the prime minister had agreed to meet the sex offender’s victims, was “looking into” an inquiry and was “taking this very seriously”. A separate inquiry into the alleged actions of the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed is also being considered. But the Guardian understands a public inquiry is not being actively considered by No 10.

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Campaign warns of perils UK waters can pose for dogs and owners

Dogs Trust points to hundreds of incidents over recent years, some involving deaths of pets or people

With its gentle rippling water, tall purple flowers and rustling trees, Earlswood Lakes near Solihull in the West Midlands seems the perfect spot for dogs to paddle. But their owners have been warned that the otherwise idyllic open water could prove perilous to pets.

“We’ve had all this hot weather and millions of families are now spending time around open bodies of water, and it’s easy to not realise the dangers,” said Emma-Jane Thomas, rehoming manager at Dogs Trust Kenilworth during a walk around Earlswood.

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Charity Commission to investigate donations to illegal Israeli settlements

Official action by regulator for England and Wales comes after formal complaint made by Labour MP about the funds

An official investigation has been launched into charities in England and Wales donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.

The Charity Commission will aim to establish the amount of charitable funds going to illegal settlements, whether the spending was in furtherance of their purposes and any regulatory action that may be necessary.

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MI6 is top European foreign intelligence service, peer review finds

UK’s Secret Intelligence Service praised for playing long game and having ‘a taste for dirty tricks’

MI6 has been ranked as the most powerful foreign intelligence service in Europe ahead of France and the Netherlands, according to a peer review.

The British intelligence agency scored 251 points in the research and was commended for its expertise in recruiting high-level informants and penetrating the ruling elites in Russia, China, Iran and Turkey, according to the review by 60 professionals from 25 countries.

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Dinghy carrying 173 people capsizes in Channel after engine catches fire

All passengers thought to have been taken to Boulogne after large air and sea rescue operation by France and UK

A dinghy carrying 173 people has capsized after its engine caught fire as it attempted to cross the Channel from France.

The people onboard were rescued from the water after a large air and sea operation was launched using UK border security and French vessels along with an RNLI boat.

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Mother of PC Harper ‘bitterly disappointed’ that son’s killers remain eligible for early release – UK politics live

Government revises plans to tackle prison overcrowding amid pressure from MPs and victims but domestic abusers and killers could still be released early

Some 86,495 people were in prison in England and Wales as of 3 August, according to the latest data published by the Ministry of Justice.

This is 2,026 below the record high of 88,521 reached on 6 September 2024, just before the current early release scheme began.

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Calls for UK bank tax to fund cost of living help as HSBC profits hit £7.5bn

Levy could raise £19bn to help pay for Andy Burnham’s support for those struggling with bills, say campaigners

Campaigners have renewed calls for a windfall tax on UK banks that could raise £19bn towards Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, after HSBC raked in $10.1bn (£7.5bn) worth of profits in the second quarter of the year.

Bosses at HSBC reported on Tuesday that profits rose 60% year on year in the three months to the end of June, helped by fees from wealth management and insurance business, as well as higher interest rates, which allow the bank to charge more for loans and mortgages.

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About 1,000 fewer prisoners to get early release as Burnham tightens rules

Justice secretary says blocking more would have caused prison system to ‘break’ but admits impact on grieving relatives such as those of PC Andrew Harper

About 1,000 fewer prisoners will be released early after Andy Burnham’s intervention to exclude those convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming from the scheme.

The justice secretary, Alex Norris, said 5,000 prisoners would be released over 10 months from October in England and Wales, down from the government’s original plan for 6,000 from September.

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BP boss urges Burnham to prioritise UK oil and gas even as firm exits North Sea

Meg O’Neill says ‘where we generate jobs, we generate tax revenue’, as company’s profits more than double

BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin.

In a conversation with the new prime minister, Meg O’Neill said the country should prioritise using energy produced in the UK, “where we generate jobs, we generate tax revenue, we generate all those additional positive impacts”.

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PM to tighten early release rules but men jailed over PC Harper’s death can be freed

Rapists, child abusers and groomers will not leave prison early but some of those serving sexual or violent offences will now leave after half their sentence

Rapists, child sexual abusers and groomers will be excluded from early release plans to ease critical prison overcrowding in a major intervention by Andy Burnham.

The prime minister said on Monday evening that he would delay the planned early release of thousands of prisoners across England and Wales by a month until October.

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AstraZeneca shares fall 8.9% over merger talks with US cancer drug firm

$400bn tie-up with Bristol Myers Squibb would create world’s fourth largest drugmaker but analysts question rationale for deal

More than £17bn was wiped off the value of Britain’s biggest drugmaker, AstraZeneca, on Monday after a report that it was in discussions to take over its US rival Bristol Myers Squibb in a deal that would create a near $400bn (£300bn) pharmaceutical group.

AstraZeneca, run by Pascal Soriot, its longtime chief executive, had been worth nearly £196bn before the news broke. BMS, headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, and known for its cancer treatments, was worth $133bn (£98bn).

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Driver jailed for four years after faking brake failure on motorway

Nathan Owen drove his electric Jaguar at up to 86mph and lied to police it was malfunctioning and out of his control

A man who drove his electric Jaguar at up to 86mph on motorways falsely telling police the car was malfunctioning and out of his control has been jailed for four years and three months.

Nathan Owen fabricated not being able to brake in a “frighteningly stupid” ploy to avoid paying car finance, Liverpool crown court heard.

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French boy thrown from Tate balcony has ‘smile back’ after hospital release

Family update on GoFundMe page says child, who was six when badly injured in 2019 incident, is now back at school

A boy thrown from the viewing balcony in London’s Tate Modern art gallery has a “smile back on his face” after being discharged from hospital, his family have said.

The French youngster, whose name remains undisclosed for privacy reasons, was six when he was badly hurt in an attack by then teenager Jonty Bravery at the London attraction on 4 August 2019.

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UK’s first ‘super-university’, merging Greenwich and Kent, to launch in September

The new London and South East University Group will be UK’s third largest higher education institution

The UK’s first “super-university”, which will merge the universities of Greenwich and Kent, is set to launch in September.

The new London and South East University Group, to be known as the LASEUG, will have more than 50,000 students on four campuses across London, Medway and Kent, making it the third largest higher education institution in the UK.

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Ariana Grande to take ‘a step back’ from public life due to ‘endless, ongoing scrutiny’

Singer was due to reunite with Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey in London production of Sunday in the Park With George

Ariana Grande has announced plans to take a break from public-facing work after her tour ends due to “endless, ongoing public scrutiny”. She is pulling out of the upcoming London revival of Sunday in the Park With George.

The pop singer was due to appear opposite her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey in a new production of Stephen Sondheim’s critically acclaimed musical at the Barbican in 2027.

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Artists, writers and scientists urge UK government to save Jodrell Bank Observatory

New Order and Simon Armitage among more than 100 signatories to criticise ‘foolish and shortsighted’ cuts

More than 100 artists, writers and scientists have called for the UK government to save the “world’s clearest eyes on the sky”, after funding for thenetwork of radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank Observatory was slashed.

New Order, the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and the poet laureate, Simon Armitage, are among those calling on the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, to save the deep space observatory which includes the Grade I-listed Lovell telescope, prized by astronomers who study galaxies, star formation and planets beyond the solar system.

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