Category Archives: UK news

Millions face long-term coastal flooding risk in UK without climate action, scientists warn

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A ‘reasonable worst-case scenario’ suggests need for large-scale movement of populations away from reshaped coast

Up to 13 million people in the UK face the long-term risk of coastal flooding due to the climate crisis, scientists have warned, with a “reasonable worst-case scenario” suggesting the need for the large-scale movement of populations away from a dramatically reshaped coast.

Even if today’s global pledges to cut carbon pollution are met, about 1.4 million more people will be exposed to coastal floods in 2200 and 1.7 million in 2300 due to the sea level rise driven by melting ice caps and warming oceans.

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Former Met police chief admits force failed to properly control spycops unit

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Paul Condon tells inquiry there was ‘appalling behaviour by individual officers’ but that greater fault was systemic

A former Metropolitan police commissioner has admitted that the force failed over decades to properly control a controversial undercover unit that committed “horrendous” abuses, the spycops inquiry has heard.

Paul Condon said he was appalled by the wrongdoing of the unit, which spent 40 years spying on tens of thousands of political activists.

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Russian warship carries out rare live-fire exercise 45 miles off UK coast

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New defence secretary Wes Streeting denounces drill by Neustrashimy as ‘performative and irresponsible’

A Russian warship fired its main cannon in a short notice test 45 miles south of Plymouth on Monday, the day Andy Burnham was appointed as prime minister.

The Neustrashimy suddenly announced it intended to fire its guns in the morning and requested that a British warship, which had been tracking it, retreat a couple of miles to a safe distance.

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‘A big job ahead of him’: world leaders congratulate Andy Burnham as he becomes Britain’s PM

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Beyond the diplomatic platitudes global media focuses on the ‘immense’ scale of the challenge he faces in the job

World leaders have warmly congratulated Andy Burnham on his entry into 10 Downing Street as Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, but international media largely focused on the scale of the challenges awaiting him.

Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, said he hoped for a deeper relationship “in the service of our peoples, and by giving new momentum to the partnership between the UK and the EU” rekindled by Burnham’s predecessor, Keir Starmer.

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Andy Burnham’s first Labour cabinet: who’s in and who’s out?

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From the Treasury to the Home Office, we look at who is heading up key departments in new PM’s government

Andy Burnham has appointed his first cabinet, with the new prime minister rewarding those who have been loyal to his takeover efforts. He had promised to pick his top team from all wings of the party in an effort to show he is trying to run a more inclusive administration.

But at the same time, his decision to have a brutal clearout of Starmer allies resulted in many considered to be on the right of the party or close to the former prime minister losing their jobs. These are the key announcements so far:

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Andy Burnham vows to ‘bring back hope’ as he unveils his cabinet

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New prime minister says government must ‘do better’ to deliver change but promises prudent approach to economy

Andy Burnham has said his arrival in power will “bring back hope” to Britain as he launched his premiership with the surprise appointment of John Healey as chancellor and a promise to repair the damage caused to communities during the Thatcher era.

The new UK prime minister acknowledged people were “fed up” with politics as he addressed the country after taking over from Keir Starmer in Downing Street, saying the government needed to “do better” to deliver real change.

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‘We need to be careful’: Andy Burnham’s team keenly aware of fiscal tightrope

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Chancellor pick and early policies avoid market meltdown but next week remains ‘moment of real peril’

Andy Burnham has not quite gone for Keir Starmer’s extreme caution in the run-up to entering No 10 – but he is certainly aware that any early wrong moves would cost him.

Back in 2024, Starmer was criticised for his “Ming vase” strategy of treading very carefully so as not to drop a valuable metaphorical piece of china being carried across the room.

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Tate brothers fight extradition to UK over rape and sex-trafficking charges

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Polarizing social media influencers are being held in federal detention in Miami as district judge considers extradition

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will fight extradition to the United Kingdom, their lawyer told a US magistrate in Miami on Monday after the brothers were arrested to face rape and sex-trafficking charges.

The Tates appeared in federal court for the first time since their arrest on Saturday and are being held in federal detention. In the coming weeks, a US district judge will consider whether they meet the conditions for extradition.

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Pay gap widens as UK bosses get 130 times average worker’s salary

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In its final report the High Pay Centre says the median remuneration of a FTSE 100 CEO has risen to a record £5.06m

The bosses of Britain’s largest listed companies received record pay last year, fuelling the widest earnings gap with workers in eight years.

Median pay for FTSE 100 chief executives hit £5.06m in the last financial year, according to data released by the High Pay Centre, an 8.6% increase on £4.66m the previous year and the highest level on record.

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Burnham to say UK must be honest about its challenges as he prepares to become PM

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Labour leader will visit king to accept role on Monday and will start making cabinet appointments that afternoon

Andy Burnham will say Britain must be honest about the challenges it faces when he becomes its sixth prime minister in a decade on Monday, as he prepares to introduce measures to ease the cost of living and allow more North Sea fossil fuel drilling.

The Labour leader is expected to start making appointments in the afternoon after going to Buckingham Palace to accept the role of prime minister from the king.

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Burnham’s vow to end Labour briefing wars will test his grip on the party

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Tensions between his aims are already there, including disputes over key appointments such as chancellor

Andy Burnham’s vision for cleaning up Westminster politics is a utopian one: ending the dominance of the whipping system, Whitehall power hoarding and the “insidious briefing culture” of the bubble.

In his first speech on becoming Labour leader, he warned his party it “won’t beat Britain’s new right if we are consumed by infighting and pulling in different directions”.

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Thames Water creditors seek talks with Burnham as nationalisation looms

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Consortium preparing for potential legal battle amid reports new PM could put the company into temporary public ownership

The group of investors pursuing a rescue bid for Thames Water have said they are willing to discuss greater public control but are also preparing for a potential multi-billion pound legal battle amid reports that Andy Burnham could temporarily nationalise the company.

London & Valley Water (L&VW), a consortium of 100 institutional investors that hold £17bn of the company’s £21bn debt, has said it is open to government involvement with Thames Water, but indicated that this does not include public ownership in the struggling company.

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‘What has the BBC ever done for me?’ Romesh Ranganathan reboots corporation’s 1985 licence fee plea

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As with the John Cleese original, comedian is supported by famous faces from Claudia Winkleman to David Jason

John Cleese’s 1985 advert for the BBC in which he asks a pub full of stars “What has the BBC ever given us?” is one of the most famous examples of the corporation making the case to the public for the value of paying the licence fee.

In the advert, Cleese is complaining to the bartender that he has just bought his TV licence. “Fifty-eight quid for the privilege of sitting in your own home, watching your own television set. It’s diabolical. I mean, what’s the BBC ever given us for 58 quid?” he says, before being put right by a string of punters, ranging from David Attenborough and John Humphrys to Terry Wogan and David Jason.

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Nigel Farage admits George Cottrell paid for filming and let him use his home

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Reform leader says support from fraudster before last election is ‘totally undeclarable in every single way’

Nigel Farage has admitted his close friend the fraudster George Cottrell let him use one of his London homes and paid for social media filming before the last election but insisted it was “totally undeclarable in every single way”.

The Reform UK leader spoke in depth for the first time about his support from Cottrell and the £5m gift from the Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborne in an interview with the anti-woke Triggernometry podcast.

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South East Water supply disruption hits thousands of properties in Kent

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People in Tunbridge Wells area face lower pressure, intermittent supply or no water after ‘instrument failure’

Thousands of homes and businesses in Kent are facing water supply problems for a second day, including a “complete lack of water” in some cases, South East Water said.

About 7,000 properties in the Tunbridge Wells area could face low pressure, intermittent supply or no water, after an “instrument failure” at a nearby water treatment works, SEW said.

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Molten salt and human sweat: the weird batteries that could store renewable energy

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From Nevada to Manchester, developers are trialling innovative solutions to clean energy’s biggest challenge

In the deserts of the United Arab Emirates a sprawling clean energy project, stretching across an area roughly the size of 12,600 football fields, will play host to a breakthrough allowing solar energy to power the equivalent of half a million homes through the night.

The Gulf state has been steadily combining 5.2GW of solar power capacity with 19GWh of battery storage to create the largest battery scheme in the world.

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Restoring Britain’s health to 2014 levels could add 2% to GDP, thinktank says

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Health Foundation paper argues health is an economic asset and improving it could generate £72bn for public finances

Restoring the deteriorating health of the UK’s population to the level of 2014 would boost GDP by 2% and generate a £72bn dividend for the public finances, research suggests.

A paper by the Health Foundation thinktank, published on Sunday, argues the nation’s health should be valued by policymakers as an economic asset.

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Many carers hit with demands to repay more than £20,000 despite reforms

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Data shows 32,559 earnings-related overpayments in 2025-26 after DWP’s measures to end carer’s allowance scandal

Scores of unpaid carers were hit with demands to repay sums of more than £20,000 and hundreds more put at risk of prosecution last year as a result of official failures in what appear to be continuing problems with carer’s allowance.

New figures showed carers were asked to repay £33m in 2025-26 as a result of 32,559 earnings-related overpayments, despite the introduction of measures over a year ago designed specifically to prevent carers falling foul of the system.

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What will Keir Starmer do next?

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Outgoing PM has joked about cookery classes and cutting hedges, but does the international stage beckon?

As his time in Downing Street comes to an end, Keir Starmer has been joking with friends about what he might do after he stands down as prime minister.

He has teased that he might take a cookery course. “He needs it, he only makes two meals,” one friend said. Another not entirely serious suggestion was cutting his father-in-law’s hedge in the expectation that if he did well, he could graduate to lawns.

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White House backs Argentina players over Falklands banner in World Cup semi-final

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White House Fifa taskforce chief defends Argentina footballers, saying US believes in free speech

The White House has backed Argentina’s footballers who displayed a banner supporting their country’s claim to the Falklands Islands after their World Cup semi-final victory against England.

After Argentina’s 2-1 win in a fractious match in Atlanta on Wednesday, some players held up a banner that said: “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” – using the country’s term for the South Atlantic islands.

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