Category Archives: UK news

Europe is unprepared for risks from Russia and Trump, says Airbus boss

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Aerospace group chief executive urges UK and Europe to pool efforts and merge fighter jet programmes

Europe is unprepared for war with Russia or the risk that Donald Trump could withdraw the US from Nato and needs to ramp up spending on defence equipment, the boss of Airbus has said.

Guillaume Faury, the chief executive of Europe’s biggest aerospace and defence company, said it was a “defining moment” for the continent’s defence industry, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 brought war to western Europe’s borders.

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Thames Water absent from industry’s £180m anti-pollution drive

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Ministers disappointed by decision of one of worst sewage dumpers not to join England-wide initiative

Thames Water has risked a fresh backlash over its commitment to tackling sewage dumping after it declined to commit funds to a £180m industry-wide initiative to fast-track efforts to reduce pollution in England’s waterways.

The government said on Monday that the sum would be spent by six companies over the next 12 months to prevent more than 8,000 sewage spills, as water companies attempt to address their woeful record on tackling spills.

However, Britain’s biggest water company, which has a £14bn debt mountain, has not taken part in the drive and it is understood that government officials are disappointed in its refusal to do so.

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Staff at Alan Turing Institute speak out after four men given top roles

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Employees say there is a trend of limited diversity among the senior scientific leadership at the London centre for AI

Staff at the UK’s national institute for artificial intelligence and data science have expressed “serious concerns” about the organisation’s approach to diversity after it appointed four men to senior roles.

A letter addressed to the leadership of the Alan Turing Institute (ATI) said the appointments showed a “‘continuing trend of limited diversity within the institute’s senior scientific leadership”.

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Artist defends Tate Britain’s display of ‘undeniably racist’ Whistler mural

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Keith Piper says engaging with offensive and traumatic imagery can be important in keeping a clear sense of history

An artist commissioned to respond to a mural in Tate Britain that has been sealed off from the public since 2020 because of its depictions of black and Chinese people, says viewing traumatic and racist images is crucial for us to truly grapple with our history.

Keith Piper was commissioned by Tate Britain in 2022 to create a work that reacted to the Rex Whistler mural, titled The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats, which had been closed after Tate’s ethics committee decided it was “offensive”.

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Coroner criticises benefits rules after vulnerable claimant’s death

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DWP missed many chances to act as woman’s mental health declined while under overpayment investigation

A coroner has criticised the Depart­ment for Work and Pensions (DWP) after a woman died from an overdose in the wake of a six-month official investigation that left her with soaring universal credit debts.

Fiona Butler, the assistant coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire, wrote a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report to the DWP highlighting its failures to respond to the victim’s mental health issues.

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Blind people in England at risk from ‘shocking’ social care delays, finds report

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At least a quarter of councils are taking more than a year to provide vital support to people with a new visual impairment diagnosis

The lives of thousands of blind and partially sighted people are being put at risk by delays in vital care that they have a legal right to after being assessed as visually impaired, according to a report.

More than a quarter of English councils are leaving people who have just been diagnosed as blind waiting more than a year for vision rehabilitation assessments and potentially life-saving support, the report by the RNIB revealed.

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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: ministers doing ‘next to nothing’ to tackle obesity

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Celebrity chef clashes with health secretary over what he calls government’s lack of obesity strategy

The celebrity chef and Green party supporter Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has clashed with the UK health secretary, Victoria Atkins, over what he says is the government’s failure to tackle the obesity crisis.

Fearnley-Whittingstall challenged Atkins during a live discussion on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, accusing ministers of doing “next to nothing” to tackle obesity in England.

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Fate of precious Henry VIII stained glass in dispute as ‘haunted house’ auction halted at last minute

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Intervention by conservationists halts sale of 1530s roundel from Grade-I listed manor, created to celebrate king’s union with Anne Boleyn

The fate of precious Tudor stained glass marking the union of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn is in dispute after its last-minute withdrawal from a private auction, the Observer has learned.

Urgent intervention by conservationists prevented the sale of English glasswork “of exceptional importance”, including a window made in the 1530s as well as older ­medieval glass. The windows were hanging in a 16th-century Dorset manor and were destined for a private contents auction until spotted listed alongside vintage furniture and china.

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First Princess of Wales photo after surgery released for Mother’s Day

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Picture of Catherine with her three children posted on social media with message thanking well-wishers

The first official photograph of the Princess of Wales after her abdominal surgery has been released to mark Mother’s Day.

A picture of Catherine sitting on a chair surrounded by her three children was posted to the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media accounts on Sunday morning, along with a message thanking well-wishers for their support.

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Home Office breaks pledge to fund sex-crime research after Everard murder

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Government was to look at whether offenders tend to commit increasingly serious crimes after outcry over warning signs with police officer Wayne Couzens

The government has failed to fund research into the escalation of sex crimes, despite promising to do so in the wake of the kidnapping, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.

In 2021, the Home Office pledged to “take forward work looking at the escalation of sexual offending” as part of its plan to tackle violence against women and girls. The plan, which had the tagline “the safety of women and girls across the country is our priority”, was informed by 180,000 public submissions after Everard was killed by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.

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Michelle Donelan set to face more questions over taxpayer-funded £15,000 payout

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Cross-party group of peers expected to ask for more details about why minister made and withdrew claims about two academics

The cabinet minister Michelle Donelan is to face more questioning this week over her judgment after taxpayers funded a payout to an academic she had falsely accused of supporting Hamas.

The science secretary will appear before a cross-party group of peers on Tuesday, when she is expected to be questioned on the process that led her to make the accusation, which she has since retracted. The decision to leave taxpayers with the £15,000 bill is also likely to be raised. The sum was paid “without admitting any liability”, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said.

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Boris Johnson ‘held unofficial talks with president of Venezuela in February’

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Former PM apparently met autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro over concerns he may supply weapons to Russia

Boris Johnson flew to Venezuela in February for unofficial talks with its autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, according to reports.

The former prime minister spoke to the Venezuelan president about the war in Ukraine, amid concerns that the socialist republic could supply weapons or military support to Russia, according to the Sunday Times.

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Royal Navy shoots down Houthi drones after US and allies attacked in Red Sea

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HMS Richmond destroyed two targets with Sea Ceptor missiles, defence secretary Grant Shapps said

A Royal Navy frigate used its missiles to shoot down two attack drones as the US and its allies came under sustained Houthi attack in the Red Sea in the early hours of Saturday.

The UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, announced HMS Richmond’s role in destroying the targets in a post on X.

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Labour steps up preparations to govern as Reeves attacks ‘unfunded’ Tory tax cuts

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Shadow cabinet talk with Whitehall officials after Keir Starmer meets head of civil service

All members of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet are to meet top civil servants in Whitehall departments before Easter as Labour steps up preparations to form the next government, according to senior party sources.

The Observer has been told that Starmer recently held a first round of so-called “access talks” with the cabinet secretary Simon Case, the head of the civil service, at a “neutral venue” in London, to kick off an exchange of information between the official opposition and Whitehall in advance of a potential handover of power.

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Revealed: legal fears over Michael Gove’s new definition of ‘extremism’

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The communities secretary wants ‘trailblazer’ government departments to pilot a scheme to ban individuals and groups deemed extremist from public life

Michael Gove is set to announce a controversial plan this week to ban individuals and groups who “undermine the UK’s system of liberal democracy” from public life, despite fears inside government that the scheme is at risk of a legal challenge, leaked documents reveal.

Officials working for Gove, the secretary of state for the levelling up, housing and communities, have drawn up plans for “trailblazer” departments to pilot the scheme, according to documents that have been circulated to the Home Office and Downing Street and seen by the Observer.

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‘I’m Jewish and feel totally safe marching for Gaza’: London protesters defy Sunak’s ‘extremist’ slur

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Marchers on Saturday came from wide range of backgrounds as rightwing press characterises city as ‘no-go zone for Jews’

As on previous Saturdays in the past six months, there were two marches taking place in London yesterday. The first, a gathering of tens of thousands of full-throated, flag-waving supporters of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza gathered at Hyde Park Corner at noon, and shuffled peaceably and patiently in the sunshine in the direction of the American embassy at Vauxhall, over the river.

The second march was taking place mostly in the imaginations of right-wing commentators and politicians who increasingly choose to see these displays of solidarity with the Palestinian cause only as a provocation and a threat. Following the prime minister’s Downing Street address on 1 March which represented these gatherings as representative of “forces trying to tear apart” our democracy, the latest figure to loud-hailer that version of reality was the government-appointed commissioner for countering extremism, Robin Simcox, who argued on Friday the marches were “a permissive environment for radicalisation”, leading to a hysterical Daily Telegraph front-page headline that read: “London is now a no-go zone for Jews”.

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Tens of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters march through London

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Attenders reiterate call for ceasefire in Gaza and condemn PM’s comments linking protests to ‘extremism’

Tens of thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday reiterating calls for a ceasefire in Gaza in the first national demonstration since Rishi Sunak suggested pro-Palestine demonstrations were a display of “extremism”.

The march began in Hyde Park Corner and ended outside the US embassy in Nine Elms. Near the start of the march, a crowd gathered around drummers, whose instruments were clad with the Palestinian flag and who played to chants calling for an end to Israeli occupation.

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‘It’s an absolute mess’: building work seriously delayed on 33 new special schools in England

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Promised provision, particularly for autistic children, was announced a year ago but few schools will open on time

Plans to deliver thousands of new special school places by 2026 are falling seriously behind, with experts branding the building programme “a mess”, the Observer can reveal.

The news calls into question the only announcement on schools the chancellor made in last week’s budget – a commitment of £105m towards 15 additional special schools.

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Legal row could finally force mystery artist Banksy to reveal his real name

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Two art collectors are taking legal action against artist over his ‘refusal’ to confirm the authenticity of one of his famous images

His identity has long been a matter of speculation and investigation, but Banksy may be forced to reveal his real name if a dispute over a print of the late Queen Elizabeth depicted as a bejewelled primate ends up in court.

Two art collectors are taking legal action against the graffiti artist’s company, Pest Control, following its apparent refusal to confirm the authenticity of Monkey Queen. After three years of trying to get an answer, Nicky Katz and Ray Howse have lost patience and are suing Pest Control for breach of contract.

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‘We don’t need another bar’: St Andrews film fans take on Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake

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Celebrity plan to turn a much-loved retro cinema into a sports bar faces stiff opposition from thousands of angry movie goers

In central St Andrews, the New Picture House (NPH) independent cinema, with its 1930s facade and distinctive pointed roof towering above nearby restaurants and houses, has stood relatively unchanged for the past 94 years.

Open every day of the week and boasting three screens, the category B listed building has showed blockbusters and independent films, as well as plays, community events and festivals, for the best part of a century.

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