Category Archives: UK news

New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world as 2024 begins – as it happened

Posted on by

Macron says Olympics will bring France a 2024 full of ‘pride’ and ‘hope’; some UK New Year’s Eve firework events cancelled due to weather

New Year’s Eve is a time of both looking forward, and of looking backward, so before it slips off into the distance, why not test your knowledge on what you can remember from 2023 with our news quiz? Probably best attempted earlier in the evening rather than later.

Do the quiz set by Will Dean: Barbie, Beatles and Bankman-Fried: how well do you remember 2023?

Continue reading...

Lewis Capaldi extends touring break as his health improves: ‘I want to make absolutely sure I’m 100%’

Posted on by

Scottish singer says six-month hiatus from live shows after struggling during his performance at Glastonbury helped him ‘cope better with my Tourette’s and anxiety issues’

Lewis Capaldi has said he is “going to continue taking some time to carry on looking after myself” after his six-month hiatus from touring yielded an improvement in his health.

The Scottish singer-songwriter announced in June he would be taking a break from touring “for the foreseeable future” after he struggled with his voice during a Glastonbury set, during which the crowd stepped in to sing the lyrics to his final songs.

Continue reading...

Britain ‘considering airstrikes’ on Houthi rebels after Red Sea attacks

Posted on by

Defence secretary says UK would not hesitate to take ‘direct action’ after US sank boats targeting a container ship

Britain is reportedly considering airstrikes on Houthi rebels after the US said its navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea.

Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the government would not hesitate to take “direct action” to prevent further attacks amid reports the UK and US are preparing a joint statement to issue a final warning to the Yemeni group.

Continue reading...

Labour pledges ‘new deal for farmers’ to boost UK agriculture

Posted on by

Measures include target for British food in public institutions and seeking veterinary deal with EU

Labour has pledged to improve food security and boost the UK’s agriculture sector with a “new deal for farmers”, including a target that at least half of the food used in hospitals, schools and prisons is British.

Condemning what the party called an abandonment of farmers under the Conservatives, the plan also includes a reiteration of Labour’s proposal to seek to sign a new veterinary agreement with the EU.

Continue reading...

‘I can’t celebrate 2023 now’: Jack Grealish ‘devastated’ by burglary

Posted on by
  • Manchester City midfielder says experience was ‘traumatic’
  • Robbers reportedly took £1m worth of jewellery and watches

Jack Grealish has spoken of his devastation and the “traumatic experience” of burglars targeting his home. Raiders struck at the England and Manchester City midfielder’s Cheshire mansion during his club’s Premier League match at Everton on Wednesday.

Members of Grealish’s family and his fiancee, Sasha Atwood, were reportedly watching the televised match at the property when they heard a disturbance. An alarm was raised and an emergency response was launched with a helicopter, police dogs and a number of officers sent to the property near Knutsford, but no suspects were detected.

Continue reading...

Great Ormond Street to look at home air pollution when diagnosing illnesses

Posted on by

Pioneering initiative to consider children’s addresses after coroner ruled air pollution a factor in death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, nine

Doctors at Great Ormond Street are being encouraged to consider air pollution levels at their patients’ home addresses when assessing the causes of their illnesses, under an innovative pilot scheme.

Data showing the average annual air pollution rates at patients’ postcodes has been embedded in patients’ electronic files, so that clinicians can help families understand whether their child has been exposed to elevated risk.

Continue reading...

Family of UK mother and son killed in Alps avalanche ‘beyond heartbroken’

Posted on by

Kate Vokes, 54, and Archie Vokes, 22, from Manchester, killed while skiing off-piste near Mont Blanc

The family of a mother and son who died in an avalanche in the French Alps have said they are “beyond heartbroken” by the tragedy.

Kate Vokes, 54, and Archie Vokes, 22, from Manchester were killed when the avalanche swept through an off-piste section of the resort of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, near Mont Blanc, on 28 December.

Continue reading...

‘Absolute mayhem’: Eurostar passengers tell of stress and tears

Posted on by

Those affected decry ‘disgusting’ lack of communication, while others had to pay £1,000 to travel the next day

What promised to be a romantic New Year’s Eve in Paris ended in tears and travel trauma for Sean Winterbottom and his partner, Amy. The couple were among about 30,000 passengers to have their Eurostar journey cancelled on Saturday because of a flooded tunnel under the Thames.

“We were going to go for a flash dinner and … we had bookings, hotel reservations and everything,” Sean said of the trip they had been looking forward to for months.

Continue reading...

Labour should make UK leader in wellbeing-informed policy, says peer

Posted on by

Call by economics of happiness expert Richard Layard comes as research agency set up under David Cameron is to be axed in Whitehall cuts

A Labour government should make the UK the world’s first country to make policy based on its impact on wellbeing as well as the economy, one of the world’s leading experts on the economics of happiness has said.

With Keir Starmer in No 10, Downing Street should require Whitehall departments to appraise the potential impact on citizens’ wellbeing when they make funding bids, Richard Layard said. The next chancellor should announce measures of happiness and misery alongside GDP in their annual budget statements, he added.

Continue reading...

Dominic Cummings ‘held secret election talks with Rishi Sunak’

Posted on by

Tories express alarm over claim, with some saying it showed prime minister’s lack of judgment

Conservative MPs have expressed anger and alarm at the claim that Rishi Sunak offered Dominic Cummings a secret deal to help him win the election, with one saying Boris Johnson’s former chief aide should have “no place in political life”.

Other Tory MPs have commented in WhatsApp groups to express opposition to the idea, first revealed in the Sunday Times, with some saying it showed a lack of judgment by Sunak.

Continue reading...

John Pilger, campaigning journalist, dies aged 84

Posted on by

Renowned Australian journalist and documentary filmmaker covered conflicts in Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Biafra

The Australian journalist and documentary film-maker John Pilger has died aged 84, his family have announced.

A statement posted to his account on X said: “It is with great sadness the family of John Pilger announce he died yesterday 30 December 2023 in London aged 84.

Continue reading...

Civil servant at MoD alleges sexual assaults by three male colleagues

Posted on by

Woman came forward to Prospect trade union after feeling allegations were not sufficiently dealt with

A Ministry of Defence civil servant has told of being subjected to three separate incidents of sexual assault by male colleagues, after allegations emerged of a “hostile” and “toxic” culture at the department.

The woman came forward to Prospect, the trade union, after feeling that her allegations were not sufficiently investigated and dealt with by the Ministry of Defence.

Continue reading...

Rick Astley: why we’re never gonna give up the evergreen 80s pop idol

Posted on by

As the singer prepares to host the BBC’s new year special, it caps a stellar 2023 for the star who launched a meme phenomenon

Some may think: why is the BBC welcoming in 2024 with “Mr 1987”? Though that suggests they missed the memo about the spectacular revival of Rick Astley. On Sunday night, 1980s pop star Astley will host BBC One’s New Year’s Eve show from the Roundhouse in Camden, north-west London, following in the footsteps of Sam Ryder and Years & Years, fronted by Olly Alexander.

Stars come back. It’s what they do. But few manage to do it in a way that makes them look infinitely cooler than before. As Astley, 57, continues to ride the Rickrolling phenomenon (more of which anon), his 2023 has been stellar.

Continue reading...

Judicial review hearing granted over XL bully ban

Posted on by

From Sunday it is illegal to rehome, sell or transfer ownership of the dogs in England and Wales

A judicial review hearing has been granted for campaigners seeking to overturn the UK government’s ban on XL bully dogs, with owners of the animals now subject to tight restrictions as the legislation comes into force.

From Sunday, it is illegal to rehome, sell or transfer ownership of XL bully dogs in England and Wales, and they must be muzzled and kept on a leash when in public, with animal rescue centres fearing they could be forced to euthanise hundreds of dogs.

Continue reading...

Call to end ‘cruel’ winter rises as energy bills go up by £100 a year

Posted on by

Campaign groups call on regulator to abolish January bill increase, saying households are facing an ‘assault from all sides’

Midwinter energy price increases should be abolished to protect households from unaffordable bills “at the worst possible time”, according to a coalition of leading charities.

Charities and campaign groups have called on Ofgem, the energy regulator, to scrap future January bill increases as it prepares to raise the cap on energy prices by 5% from Monday.

Continue reading...

‘An incredible miracle’: Ukrainian families find solace in British homes

Posted on by

Many Ukrainians have been welcomed in the UK, in some cases becoming part of the extended families of their hosts

Not all blended families get through the festive period in perfect harmony. But a number of extended units whose members did not even know each other two years ago say they are looking forward to bringing in the new year together.

These blended families are composed of Ukrainians who escaped the war in their home country and Britons who have given them shelter in their homes. While not all the relationships between Ukrainian refugees and their British host families have endured, the scheme has had many successful pairings where those from both countries say they have forged friendships for life and where two families have become one.

Continue reading...

British private schools in China under threat as new ‘patriotic’ law comes in

Posted on by

Beijing steps up its efforts to tighten control of what is taught in its classrooms, deterring western teachers from working in the country

A new “patriotic” education law is set to put a squeeze on British schools in China as Beijing steps up its efforts to tighten control of what is taught in its classrooms.

Less than five years ago, the Chinese and British media were full of reports about the “boom years” of British education in China. Elite British schools had seized the commercial opportunity of opening campuses to cater to wealthy Chinese families and the children of expats, and were opening new branches at a rapid clip.

Continue reading...

UK has failed to act to free Alaa Abd el-Fattah from jail in Egypt, family says

Posted on by

Rishi Sunak told activist’s sister in 2022 that government was ‘totally committed’ to resolving the case

The family of the imprisoned British-Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah have said the British government has failed to act to free him, a year after the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, told his sister the government was “totally committed to resolving your brother’s case”.

A figurehead in Egypt’s 2011 uprising, which overthrew Hosni Mubarak as president, Abd el-Fattah spent most of the past decade behind bars for his activism. He was rearrested in 2019 following a brief period out of prison but under police surveillance, and was sentenced in December 2021 to a further five years in detention for spreading “false news undermining national security”, after resharing a social media post about torture.

Continue reading...

Eurostar Channel services restarting on Sunday as flooding is cleared

Posted on by

Tunnel under Thames near Ebbsfleet was closed not by weather, but burst pipe, with Southeastern Railway also affected

Eurostar said services through the Channel tunnel would resume on Sunday but there were warnings of further delays and busy stations.

“Unprecedented” flooding was brought under control on Saturday, meaning at least one of the affected tunnels – under the Thames near Ebbsfleet, not under the Channel itself – could be used.

Continue reading...