Category Archives: UK news

Labour ditches radical reforms as it prepares ‘bombproof’ election manifesto

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Plans to reform social care and House of Lords are trimmed as Keir Starmer’s party opts for caution ahead of vote

Labour is planning only limited first-term reforms of social care and the House of Lords and a smaller green investment plan as part of a stripped-down general election manifesto, as it seeks to make its policies “bombproof” to Tory attacks.

Shadow cabinet ministers have been given until 8 February to make policy submissions for the manifesto, as Keir Starmer’s party gears up for an election that, according to opinion polls, looks likely to return it to government for the first time since 2010.

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‘I will be a first minister for all’: Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill marks historic moment for once unionist state

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Countdown for republicans to potential Irish unification ticks louder as new first minister pledges to ‘serve everyone equally’ at Stormont

The chamber’s ornate ceiling remained blue, red and gold, and Portland stone still held up the Stormont edifice, but the beaming Sinn Féin faces declared this was a historic moment for Irish nationalism.

Michelle O’Neill became Northern Ireland’s first nationalist first minister in a day of symbolism and pomp that restored devolved government and etched an epitaph on the tomb of what was once a unionist state.

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‘The situation has become appalling’: fake scientific papers push research credibility to crisis point

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Last year, 10,000 sham papers had to be retracted by academic journals, but experts think this is just the tip of the iceberg

Tens of thousands of bogus research papers are being published in journals in an international scandal that is worsening every year, scientists have warned. Medical research is being compromised, drug development hindered and promising academic research jeopardised thanks to a global wave of sham science that is sweeping laboratories and universities.

Last year the annual number of papers retracted by research journals topped 10,000 for the first time. Most analysts believe the figure is only the tip of an iceberg of scientific fraud.

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Family of Brianna Ghey murderer apologise and pay tribute to mother

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Scarlett Jenkinson’s relatives thank Esther Ghey for ‘incredible selflessness and empathy towards our family’

The family of Scarlett Jenkinson, who was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years for the murder of Brianna Ghey, have said they are “truly sorry” for the teenage killer’s “brutal” actions and paid tribute to Brianna’s mother.

Jenkinson, described by the judge as the “driving force” behind the murder, was sentenced on Friday for what the Crown Prosecution Service said was “one of the most disturbing cases” its lawyers had ever dealt with. Her accomplice, Eddie Ratcliffe, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

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And the winner is… the Scottish chocolatier creating sweet treats for the Oscars

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Fiona McArthur’s vegan sweets began as an experiment – and now they’re food for the Hollywood stars

It’s a long way from the windswept waterfront of Campbeltown to Hollywood: but for next month’s Oscar nominees a taste of this remote corner of Scotland awaits, after the owner of the town’s chocolate shop was chosen to produce the sweet treats for the famed $125,000 award ceremony goodie bags.

Fiona McArthur, who started creating her chocolates in her mother’s kitchen four-and-a-half years ago, says she’s still pinching herself at the coup. “It’s blowing my mind that my chocolates are going to be eaten by people like Bradley Cooper and Margot Robbie,” she says.

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Crime victims die while waiting for justice as England and Wales legal system ‘on its knees’

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‘Shameful’ backlogs in cases are causing severe mental health problems, says victims commissioner

Victims of crime are dying waiting for justice as they face delays of up to six years for their cases to be dealt with in court, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales has said.

As a new law to enshrine victims’ rights is scrutinised in the House of Lords, Baroness Helen Newlove warned that the wider justice system was “on its knees”, with “shameful” backlogs leaving victims suffering acute mental health problems.

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‘We’re going to blame the women, not our sexism’: bias holding back top female pianists

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Discrimination and misogyny in classical music are denying women opportunities at festivals, venues and in recordings, research finds

A discordant chord over sexism in the classical music world has sounded again. The head of one of the most prestigious competitions is calling for the industry to confront an apparent bias that is holding back female pianists from pursuing concert careers, however brilliant their talent.

Fiona Sinclair, chief executive of the Leeds International Piano Com­petition, told the Observer that female pianists are failing to reach the top of their profession despite an equal number of men and women now training at conservatoires.

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Michelle O’Neill: Sinn Féin leader from IRA family who has vowed to respect royals

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She’s pledged to be first minister ‘for all’ and her ability to navigate political tensions will shape her Stormont tenure

When Michelle O’Neill is sworn in as Northern Ireland’s first minister, it will be a moment of personal triumph steeped in irony.

As a teenage mother, she was treated as if she had the “plague”, and wept, yet went on to ascend the ranks of Sinn Féin and is now poised to make history as the first nationalist to lead Northern Ireland – a state that, in theory, she wishes to eradicate.

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Rishi Sunak says his parents wanted him to speak without an accent to ‘fit in’

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PM says he experienced racism as a child and that his parents sent him for extra drama lessons so that he could ‘speak properly’

Rishi Sunak has spoken about the racism he experienced as a child and how his parents were so determined he should fit in and speak without an accent that he was sent for extra drama lessons.

“You are conscious of being different,” he told the deputy political editor of ITV News, Anushka Asthana. “It’s hard not to be, right, and obviously I experienced racism as a kid.”

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Presenter of Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun Jonnie Irwin dies at 50

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The TV personality, who also hosted the BBC show Escape to the Country, said in 2022 his lung cancer had spread to his brain

The TV presenter Jonnie Irwin has died aged 50, his agent has confirmed.

Irwin, who presented Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun and the BBC’s Escape to the Country, revealed in November 2022 that his lung cancer had spread to his brain and it was terminal.

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Spa pool at Captain Tom’s daughter’s home removed as ‘unauthorised building’

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Family were given permission for L-shaped building in 2021, but instead built a large, C-shaped structure

The spa pool at the home of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has been lifted out by crane as the unauthorised complex was demolished. The tub was hoisted up through the open top of the block, whose roof had been removed by workers earlier in the week.

Hannah Ingram-Moore, 53, and her husband, Colin, 66, lost an appeal against an order to remove the Captain Tom Foundation building in the grounds of their property after a hearing in October.

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UK universities to review international student admissions after recruitment controversy

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Move comes after accusations of lowering entry standards to foreign applicants who pay far higher tuition fees

Vice-chancellors are to review international student admissions by British universities, including how to identify “bad practice” among agents employed to attract people from overseas, after controversy over recruitment.

Universities UK, which represents university leaders, announced a series of reviews into the use of recruitment agents and international foundation programmes, as well as the code of practice governing admissions.

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Labour’s mixed messages on £28bn green pledge put it in worst of all worlds

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Tories watch on delighted as Starmer repeats figure while the shadow Treasury team distance themselves

For weeks, Labour officials have been locked in meetings as they try to figure out how to present Westminster’s worst kept-secret: Keir Starmer’s slow U-turn away from his pledge to spend £28bn a year on the green economy.

Publicly, senior party figures insist that nothing has changed since last summer, when the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said the party would spend £28bn only if the party’s strict fiscal rules allowed.

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‘Thought it would be fun’: why did two teenagers kill Brianna Ghey?

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Scarlett Jenkinson said killing was ‘exciting’ while Eddie Ratcliffe wanted help to woo a girl he fancied, court hears

One question hung over the trial of the two teenagers convicted of killing Brianna Ghey: why? At the sentencing on Friday, Brianna’s family finally received some answers.

The hearing began with some startling new information: though she had pleaded not guilty at trial, Scarlett Jenkinson had now admitted to stabbing Brianna repeatedly – more times than she could remember. It was “a lot”, she said.

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Judge throws out case against Greta Thunberg and other London protesters

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Court rules not enough evidence provided to prove defendants failed to comply with section 14 order at anti-fossil fuel rally

Greta Thunberg and four others charged with public order offences over a protest in London have been cleared after a judge ruled that they had no case to answer.

Thunberg was charged alongside Christofer Kebbon, Joshua James Unwin, Jeff Rice and Peter Barker with “failing to comply with a condition imposed under section 14 of the Public Order Act”.

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Brianna Ghey’s teenage murderers named ahead of sentencing

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Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, killed trans schoolgirl after developing ‘warped’ obsession with torture

Two teenagers who murdered Brianna Ghey have been named for the first time before sentencing.

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16 and described by police as “really intelligent kids”, can now be named as the killers after a judge lifted reporting restrictions.

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Labour accused of ‘massive backward step’ over decision to drop £28bn green investment pledge – UK politics live

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A senior Labour frontbencher confirmed the party has ditched its commitment on green spending

Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, says reports that the government is giving up on plans for a returns agreement with Turkey are “very concerning”.

This decision by the Home Office is very concerning.

As Home Secretary I worked up proposals to list Turkey as a safe country : a member of the Council of Europe, a NATO ally and a Candidate country for EU accession.

The government should re-think this decision.

The Times said that ministers’ hopes for a returns deal, along the same lines as the current agreement with Albania, has collapsed after an internal review said Turkey was “a state that does not meet the criteria of being ‘generally safe’”.

Rishi Sunak and other leading Tories have hailed the Albania deal as a key success in the prime minister’s bid to stop small boats crossings in the Channel. But it now appears a similar agreement with Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is unlikely to happen.

Notably, the assessment also raises concerns over Turkey’s compliance with adverse rulings from the European court of human rights (ECHR), which the Home Office assessment said “raised questions about adherence to the rule of law”.

This is significant given Sunak’s plans not to comply with interim injunctions from the same court.

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‘I’m devastated it’s closing’: London shoppers bid sad farewell to Fenwick

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New Bond Street department store, which opened in 1890s, to close doors for final time this weekend

More than 130 years after it opened, the flagship Fenwick department store in central London, will close its doors for the last time on Saturday.

The historic four-storey shop in New Bond Street, Mayfair, is shutting after the retailer – which is owned by more than 40 descendants of John James Fenwick who founded the company with a single store in Newcastle in 1882 – sold the property to developers for £430m.

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Chemical assaults: how common are they and what’s the law?

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As a manhunt continues after a corrosive substance attack, we look at the legislation and the availability of products

A manhunt is under way for the perpetrator of a corrosive substance attack in south London.

Here we take a look at corrosive substance attacks, what they are, how often they occur and the relevant legislation.

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Clapham chemical attack: CPS confirms suspect convicted of sexual assault in 2018 – as it happened

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We have paused this live blog, but you can read more on this story here

Here is the last update on social media that the Metropolitan police in London gave, after a confirmed sighting of suspect Abdul Ezedi in a Tesco in north London’s Caledonian Road at 8.48pm Wednesday night.

The police have warned people not to approach him, but to call 999. There is a telephone number to give any information on 0207 175 2784.

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