Globally successful restaurateur and food writer known as the ‘godfather of avocado toast’ dies peacefully in London
The Australian cook and restaurateur Bill Granger has died in London aged 54.
Fellow cooks, celebrities and lovers of his restaurants paid tribute after the family of the food writer confirmed on Instagram he had died peacefully in hospital on Christmas Day.
Continue reading...In unrelated cases, man held on suspicion of murder after death of 29-year-old in Nottingham and another man held after second death
Murder investigations have been launched after the deaths of two men in Nottingham and Workington, Cumbria, in separate incidents on Christmas Day.
In Nottingham, emergency services were called to the scene on Wollaton Road at 8.15pm after a 29-year-old man was injured in an assault. He was taken to hospital by ambulance but died a short time later, Nottinghamshire police said. His family have been informed.
Continue reading...Luton Town have confirmed South Yorkshire police are investigating an alleged racist comment towards Carlton Morris in his side’s Boxing Day win at Sheffield United.
“We can confirm that Carlton Morris reported an alleged racist comment from the crowd during this afternoon’s Premier League fixture at Bramall Lane,” a club statement said.
Continue reading...Met Office expects potentially hazardous conditions on the roads in all four nations, with only central UK escaping a wind warning
Drivers have been warned of potentially hazardous conditions as Storm Gerrit hits the UK on Wednesday.
A number of yellow wind and rain warnings are in place across much of the UK and wintry hazards are likely, forecasters have warned.
Continue reading...Sir David Omand tells parliamentary inquiry the platform should be restricted to ‘background mood music’
The former head of GCHQ has called for an end to the government handling crises over WhatsApp, saying the platform might suit gossip and informal exchanges but is inappropriate for important decision-making.
Sir David Omand, who ran the UK intelligence service before becoming the permanent secretary of the Home Office and the Cabinet Office, criticised the way government was conducted in the pandemic and said future crises should be handled with “proper process”.
Continue reading...BBC showed nine out of 10 most popular shows, according to overnight data, with Strictly coming second and Doctor Who third
King Charles’s Christmas broadcast came top of the TV ratings on Christmas Day, with the BBC showing nine out of the 10 most watched shows.
The king’s message, which reflected on the “increasingly tragic conflict around the world”, attracted an average of 5.9 million viewers, according to overnight ratings.
Continue reading...Weaker Christmas spending amid cost of living crisis and fewer shops opening cut visitor numbers by 30% on 2019
Retailers have recorded a small pickup in Boxing Day footfall, but visits to stores remained well below pre-pandemic levels as several high street chains stayed shut.
Retailers have been braced for weak spending over the Christmas period as the UK economy stagnates amid the cost of living crisis.
Continue reading...Gracell Biotechnologies acquisition marks China’s growing importance to the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker
AstraZeneca has struck a deal to buy a Chinese cancer therapy company for up to $1.2bn (£950m), as Britain’s biggest drugmaker expands its footprint in its second-largest market.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm announced on Tuesday it would acquire Gracell Biotechnologies, which is focused on a type of cancer therapy known as CAR-T that modifies a patient’s cells to fight the disease.
Continue reading...Owner of RingGo and ParkMobile says data including parts of credit card numbers taken in cyber-attack
Europe’s largest parking app operator has reported itself to information regulators in the EU and UK after hackers stole customer data.
EasyPark Group, the owner of brands including RingGo and ParkMobile, said customer names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses and parts of credit card numbers had been taken but said parking data had not been compromised in the cyber-attack.
Continue reading...Silvana one of potentially thousands who were unaware of need to apply for post-Brexit EU settlement scheme
An Italian environmental technology investor who has lived in the UK for 14 years has discovered she could be removed despite getting a “permanent residency” card after Brexit.
She is one of potentially tens of thousands of EU citizens who were unaware the Home Office changed the rules in 2019 requiring them to apply for a different scheme, called EU settlement.
Continue reading...Monarch says in his second Christmas Day message that his coronation was ‘a call to us all to serve and care’
King Charles has praised the work of volunteers, calling them a “selfless army of people” who form an “essential backbone of our society”.
In his second Christmas speech, the king said he was delighted that hundreds of volunteers and their representatives attended his coronation in May, saying their presence “emphasised the meaning of coronation itself, above all, a call to us all to serve one another, to love and care for all”.
Continue reading...Party says American-style sweetshops – some under investigation for tax evasion – are ripping off public
A Labour government will launch a crackdown on “dodgy” candy stores if it wins the next election, as part of plans to revitalise Britain’s high streets.
There are more than 20 of the US-themed sweet stores on Oxford Street, London, alone. Many of them appeared during lockdown as high-street stalwarts closed down and landlords faced the prospect of long-term empty shops.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer mulling ‘detailed plans’ to outsource process overseas as alternative to Rwanda plan
Labour is reportedly considering a scheme that would see asylum seekers’ claims processed elsewhere.
Keir Starmer is mulling “detailed plans” for an offshoring scheme as he seeks to deter Tory attacks on Labour’s alternative to the Rwanda plan, the Times said on Monday.
Continue reading...Snowflakes in Aviemore warrant Met Office certification but mid-Atlantic conditions hand Exeter airport 13.2C
Forecasters have officially declared a “white Christmas” with snow falling across parts of Scotland – after the record for the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day was broken further south.
Snow, sleet and rain moved across parts of Scotland, with Tulloch Bridge and Aviemore recording snowflakes, the Met Office said.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Officially commissioned research lays out effects of shelving anti-obesity pledges
Children in England are at risk of diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems because ministers have shelved anti-obesity policies until 2025, according to a damning report commissioned by the government.
The independent report says that ultra-processed foods (UPF) and products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) have become “normalised” in children’s diets, with poorer parents powerless to curb them.
Continue reading...Government has shelved policies that could have helped to change landscape weighted in favour of unhealthy food options
Less than three weeks into her new role as health secretary, Victoria Atkins left health campaigners aghast when she suggested her approach to tackling obesity would largely focus on dietary advice.
Obesity is a devastating public health problem harming millions of people in the UK that will never be resolved by tips on what to eat and what to avoid. Two in three adults are overweight or obese and the problem costs £100bn a year.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Orders should be done within a year of sentence as experts blame ‘chronic understaffing’ in probation service
More than 5,500 unpaid work orders that form part of community sentences have not been completed more than two years after being handed down, with experts blaming “chronic understaffing” in the probation service.
Ordinarily the orders, which can be for between 40 and 300 hours, should be completed within 12 months of sentence. Figures show there are more than 15,100 unpaid work orders not completed in that time in England and Wales,
Continue reading...Footfall was nearly 7% lower than last week and more than a fifth down on 2022 levels
The number of in-person shoppers has fallen on Christmas Eve compared to last year amid Sunday trading hours and the cost-of-living crisis.
Footfall across all UK retail destinations up to 5pm on Sunday was 6.8% lower than last week, and 20.6% lower than 24 December 2022, the latest data from industry analyst MRI Software shows.
Continue reading...Warmest 24 December recorded in Britain since 1997, with forecast for 13C in south of England on Christmas Day
The UK has experienced its warmest Christmas Eve in more than 20 years.
Temperatures in Heathrow, south-west London, hit 15.3C on Sunday, well above average for the time of year, making it the warmest 24 December since 1997.
Continue reading...There are 121,327 in short-term housing, while 261,189 homes are empty long-term, say Lib Dems
England has more than twice as many long-term empty homes this Christmas as there are children living in temporary accommodation, the Liberal Democrats have said, calling this a stark indication of a “broken” housing market.
The numbers of families without a permanent home and in short-term housing, whether hotels and B&Bs or temporary rental properties, has hit a record high this year, with the latest statistics showing it now affects 121,327 children, according to data collated by the House of Commons library.
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