Category Archives: UK news

Boris Johnson backs Tory rebels over Rwanda bill

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Warning that bill is not compatible with international rules comes amid mounting revolt by Tory MP

Boris Johnson has backed calls by Conservative rebels to harden the Rwanda deportation bill in a direct intervention on the side of those defying his successor, Rishi Sunak.

The former prime minister used the social media platform X to retweet an article by a rightwing Tory rebel, Simon Clarke, who was describing the bill as a “flawed measure” and warning he would not support it if it was amended.

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UK fuel retailers to be forced to share prices within half hour of any changes

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Petrol station owners will have to provide near-live data amid concerns drivers are being ripped off

Fuel retailers will be forced to share near-live information on price changes at the pump to help drivers find the cheapest petrol and diesel, after the government accused them of treating motorists as “cash cows”.

Petrol station owners will be required to provide data within half an hour of any change as part of a political effort to bring transparency to the sector amid concerns that drivers are being ripped off.

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UK wasting ‘tens of billions’ on crumbling infrastructure and badly run projects

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Spending watchdog says smarter government can find huge savings for better public services

Britain is wasting tens of billions of pounds on badly run projects, cold war-era IT systems and crumbling, poorly maintained infrastructure, parliament’s spending watchdog will say on Tuesday.

Gareth Davies, head of the National Audit Office (NAO), will argue the government could save vast sums if it addresses maintenance backlogs and replaces out-of-date IT.

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Britons living abroad regain right to vote in UK elections as 15-year rule ends

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Change to franchise brings UK in line with other major democracies which allow lifelong voting rights

An estimated 3 million Britons living abroad for more than 15 years will regain their right to vote in all elections in the UK from Tuesday, ending 20 years of broken promises by successive UK governments.

The end of the so-called 15-year rule means millions more could be enfranchised in time for the next general election, the date of which has yet to be decided by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak.

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Older people urged to get Covid jab as UK study shows avoidable deaths

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More than 7,000 hospital admissions and deaths could have been avoided if people had been fully vaccinated

Older people are being urged to become fully vaccinated against Covid as a world-first study shows thousands of hospital admissions and deaths in the UK could have been avoided if everyone had had all of their doses.

The rollout began strongly in the UK, with 90% of the population over the age of 12 vaccinated with at least one dose by January 2022. However, rates of subsequent doses fell sharply, a study shows, with less than half the population fully jabbed by June 2022.

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Arctic blast set to sweep through UK, bringing temperatures as low as -15C

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‘Persistent band of snow’ likely across Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England and Wales

The UK is set to experience its coldest night of the winter season this week, thanks to an Arctic blast that is travelling from the north to the south.

Temperatures are expected to be 5C-6C lower than usual for this time of year, falling to -15C in some areas.

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Portrait of King Charles for public buildings unveiled in £8m scheme

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Move to offer the monarch’s photograph to UK bodies has been described as a ‘shameful waste of money’ by critics

A new official portrait of the king has been unveiled, created to hang in public buildings across the UK under an £8m government-funded scheme that an anti-monarchy campaign group has described as a “shameful waste of money”.

The Cabinet Office announced last year that it had set aside funds to offer every public body – local councils, courts, schools, police forces, and fire and rescue services – a free portrait of King Charles.

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French mayor blames UK for Channel-crossing deaths at weekend

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Lax employment law cited as motivation for ice-cold crossing in which five people died off Wimereux

The mayor of the French seaside resort where five people died off the coast trying to reach the UK has blamed the British immigration system for the crisis that engulfed the town at the weekend.

“What’s happening today is their fault,” said Jean-Luc Dubaële, the mayor of Wimereux, claiming Britain was offering “monts et merveilles”, a French expression meaning they were promising the world.

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Rishi Sunak: UK willing to take further military action against Houthis

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Prime minister addresses MPs hours after Yemen-based group fires on another container ship in Red Sea

Rishi Sunak has said the UK is willing to take military action against Houthi rebels again, hours after the Yemen-based group fired another missile at a container ship in the Red Sea.

The prime minister addressed MPs on Monday for the first time since the UK took part in airstrikes on the Houthis on Friday night, which he said destroyed 13 targets at two sites, including drones, an airfield and a cruise missile launcher.

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British Library begins restoring digital services after cyber-attack

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UK’s national library apologises to researchers, saying full recovery could take until end of the year

The British Library is restoring online its main catalogue, containing 36m records of printed and rare books, maps, journals and music scores, 11 weeks after a catastrophic cyber-attack.

However, access is limited to a “read-only” format, and full restoration of services provided by the UK’s national library could take until the end of the year.

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Grant Shapps dismisses significance of Tory-backed poll suggesting Labour on course for landslide election win – UK politics live

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Defence secretary dismisses poll, saying things will change by time general election takes place

And here is some more comment on the YouGov poll on X from experts and commentators.

From Will Jennings, an academic and psephologist

At last, details of the @YouGov MRP. Bad for the Conservatives (unsurprisingly), but this is curious to say the least: “In constituencies across England and Wales, the Labour vote is up by an average of just four per cent compared to 2019”.

These results are actually *way better* for the government than the most recent standard YouGov poll, which would produce a 334 seat Labour majority according to Electoral Calculus. So something quite peculiar is going on...

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AI will affect 40% of jobs and probably worsen inequality, says IMF head

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‘Crucial’ that countries build social safety nets to mitigate impact on workers, says Kristalina Georgieva

Artificial intelligence will affect 40% of jobs around the world and it is “crucial” that countries build social safety nets to mitigate the impact on vulnerable workers, according to the head of the International Monetary Fund.

AI, the term for computer systems that can perform tasks usually associated with human levels of intelligence, is poised to profoundly change the global economy with advanced economies at greater risk of disruption.

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UK housebuilder Crest Nicholson warns on profits, raising takeover speculation

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Surrey-based construction company has been hit by rising costs and impact of high interest rates

One of Britain’s largest housebuilders, Crest Nicholson, has issued its third profit warning in a matter of months because of rising costs, raising speculation that it could become a takeover target unless its fortunes reverse.

The latest warning comes less than a week before the Surrey-based company will issue its full-year results, which are expected to lay bare the challenging year that housebuilders such as Crest Nicholson have faced amid surging interest rates, which have deterred buyers and caused house prices to fall.

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Man charged over alleged plot to disrupt London Stock Exchange

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Five other people also arrested over plot being investigated by Met police after tipoff from Daily Express

A man has been charged with conspiracy to cause public nuisance after an alleged plot to disrupt the London Stock Exchange and cause “huge economic damage” was revealed.

Sean Middleborough, 31, from Liverpool, will appear at Wirral magistrates court on Monday, the Metropolitan police said.

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UK ‘will wait and see’ before deciding on further Houthi strikes

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Grant Shapps says UK has no interest in wider Yemen conflict as Rishi Sunak prepares to address MPs

The UK has no interest in taking part in any wider conflict in Yemen but is “waiting to see what happens” before deciding whether further military strikes against Houthi forces might be needed, the defence secretary has said.

Discussing the US-led strikes on the Yemen-based rebels in the early hours of Friday, which were aimed at stopping Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Grant Shapps said the aims of the military operation were always limited.

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French woman ‘heartbroken’ after losing job in UK after Brexit speaks out

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‘I’ve been in love with the UK since I was a little girl’ says woman dismissed after missing official deadline

A French woman has spoken about how she lost her job in Shropshire and was left “heartbroken” about life in the UK because of a mix-up over the immigration process for EU citizens launched after Brexit.

Sophie, who is married to a British man, was in the UK for five years before Brexit but went back to France in 2020 for 18 months after a family tragedy.

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UK government’s free childcare scheme in disarray, charities say

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Thousands of concerned parents reportedly struggling to sign up for flagship offering that starts in April

A flagship government childcare scheme is at risk of “falling apart” with parents struggling to access new free hours and nurseries in the dark about if they can afford to provide care, according to charities.

Parents’ groups have accused the government of planning the new free offering “on the back of a fag packet”, with thousands of “furious” parents struggling to sign up for the scheme, which starts in April.

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Up to 70 Tory rebels could abstain or back amendments to Rwanda bill

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Lee Anderson could be one of ‘six Conservatives on the payroll’ ready to support the amendments

Conservative rebels have said as many as 70 MPs could back amendments or abstain from supporting Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda bill, telling the prime minister he will have “nowhere to go” if he does not toughen up the legislation.

A leading figure on the right wing of the party said at least three junior ministers and six Tories on the payroll, including a vice-chair of the party, had already informed the whips they were “sympathetic” to the amendments.

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Taiwan election: global leaders draw Beijing’s ire for congratulating new president

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China urges US, UK and Japan not to interfere in ‘China’s internal affairs’ after they congratulate Lai Ching-te for election win

Global leaders have congratulated Lai Ching-te for winning Taiwan’s presidential election, praising the high turnout and democratic process – and drawing ire from Beijing, which had hoped to see Taiwan’s ruling party ousted.

Lai won an unprecedented third term in power for the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive party (DPP) in Saturday’s election, with more than 40% of the vote. Lai is taking over from the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen, who has been president since 2016, promising to continue her foreign policy efforts in resisting China’s plans to annex Taiwan.

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Bishop of Chelmsford recalls fleeing Iran in 1980 after brother’s murder

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Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani tells Desert Island Discs how she came to UK at 14 after deadly ambush of elder brother

The Bishop of Chelmsford has told of how her brother was murdered in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, leading her to flee to Britain as a child.

On Sunday, the Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani will tell BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs about the day her brother Bahram, 24, was killed in an ambush on 6 May 1980, when she was 14.

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