Bong! Big Ben broadcasts to return to Radio 4’s regular schedule

Westminster’s famous bell will be heard live from next week after years of only occasional appearances

It is one of the most recognisable sounds in the UK, and one that hasn’t been heard on BBC Radio 4 since New Year’s Eve last year, but from next week the famous bongs of Big Ben will be heard once again on the station.

The most famous bell in the UK will be heard live once again on Monday 6 November, just before the 6pm news bulletin and again before midnight. Listeners will be able to hear the chimes again before Radio 4’s Westminster Hour political discussion programme at 10pm on Sundays.

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Giving city dwellers access to nature is key aim, says National Trust

Charity to bring its gardens to urban areas to allow nature-deprived communities access to green spaces

Bringing glorious gardens and green space to nature-deprived people in cities is one of the National Trust’s most important roles, its head has said.

Maintaining some of the most famous country houses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has long been thought of as the trust’s central purpose, but the charity is aiming to bring its gardens to urban areas to increase access to nature, with an urban garden planned for Chelsea flower show that will model a pocket park that can be copied and rolled out across towns and cities.

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Tory MPs to challenge government if leaseholds ban does not apply to flats

Exclusive: Measure in planned bill stopping sale of new properties under leasehold in England and Wales likely to only cover houses

Tory MPs are preparing to force the government to toughen up its planned leasehold reforms in England and Wales, with Downing Street expected to launch a bill that falls short of campaigners’ demands.

Conservative backbenchers say they are ready to bring amendments to the long-awaited leasehold reform bill, which will be one of the centrepieces of next week’s king’s speech but will not end leasehold on the majority of properties.

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Cary Grant biopic boosts interest in star’s harsh early life in Bristol

New series, Archie, screened in English hometown of Hollywood legend many think of as being wholly American

He is better known as a debonaire habitué of sun-splashed Californian beauty spots and glamorous New York nightclubs, but a flurry of screenings and special events this month will focus attention on a sometimes overlooked aspect of Cary Grant’s life – his very modest roots in Bristol, England.

A preview of a biopic of Grant called Archie – with Jason Isaacs taking on the tough task of playing one of the most famous of all film stars – is being screened in Bristol ahead of its showing on ITVX, and a new guided walk through Grant’s former haunts in the West Country city is being launched.

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Trying to choose a school in England? Don’t rely on Ofsted reports

School leaders say parents should do their own homework to build an accurate picture of which is best for their child

If Ofsted inspection reports do not paint an “accurate picture” of schools in England, how are parents able to choose one that suits their child? Headteachers and existing research suggests Ofsted judgments may not play as large a role as its defenders think.

Chris Ashley-Jones, the executive head of Hitherfield primary school in Streatham, south London, said he had shown 100 parents around the school during recent open days. “Not a single one of them mentioned Ofsted,” he said.

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Amazon and Facebook owner Meta agree to protect consumers, CMA says

Sites agree to stop practices that give them an unfair advantage over businesses and shoppers

The UK’s competition watchdog has said it has secured commitments from Amazon and the Facebook owner Meta to protect consumers on their marketplaces.

The agreements come after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched separate investigations into Amazon, which sells its own products and allows sellers to retail via its online marketplace function, and Meta, which owns Facebook Marketplace.

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Keir Starmer defends his call for humanitarian pause in Gaza, saying it is quickest way to provide help – UK politics live

Labour leader says he thinks most practical way to get aid into Gaza is to have a humanitarian pause

Keir Starmer is delivering his speech to the North East Chamber of Commerce now.

He starts by saying they are near the A1, where there is a stretch of road that Rishi Sunak recently promised to upgrade.

It’s a story you see right across Britain. Infrastructure projects, some with billions already committed, businesses planning around the structures developed in rooms like this.

But the projects and investment get blocked by objections, consultations, legal challenges, ballooning costs delays, delays, delays – until it’s easier just to give up and move on.

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Somerset man banned from wearing gimp suit and writhing on ground

Joshua Hunt, 32, receives sexual risk order after police linked him to 25 ‘Somerset gimp’ incidents

A man has been banned for five years from wearing a mask and dressing in an all-black suit in public at night and “crawling, wriggling or writhing on the ground” after police linked him to 25 incidents committed by the so-called “Somerset gimp”.

Joshua Hunt, 32, has been given a sexual risk order after police argued there was a sexual motivation to the incidents.

Wearing any type of mask or face covering, including improvised mask or face coverings that cover all or part of the face, in any public place, including while in a vehicle in a public place, unless officially required for medical purposes or by law.

Being in possession of any type of mask or face covering, including improvised masks or face coverings that cover all or part of the face, in a public place, including while in a vehicle in a public place, between the hours of 9pm and 6am unless officially required for medical purposes or by law.

Wearing or being in possession of black all-in-one garments or any combination of full-length black-coloured top and black-coloured bottom clothing which has the appearance of an all-in-one garment, in a public place, including in a vehicle in a public place between the hours of 9pm and 6am.

Crawling, wriggling or writhing on the ground in a public place while wearing a full-body covering, clothing that appears like a full-body covering and/or mask/full-face covering.

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Women losing out as couples try to divorce ‘on the cheap’

Financial security of women in England and Wales put at risk by failure to seek professional advice

Women are losing out on fair divorce settlements because couples are trying to divorce “on the cheap”.

Research has found that most couples have so few assets that the vast majority try to save money by sorting out key arrangements themselves, including agreeing housing, pensions and ongoing maintenance.

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First of 100-strong group of Britons cross Gaza border into Egypt

Scotland first minister’s parents-in-law among those evacuated, amid concerns for those stuck in northern Gaza

The first people in a group of about 100 Britons due to leave Gaza on Friday have made the crossing into Egypt, amid concerns about whether individuals in the north of the Palestinian territory will be able to make it to the southern Rafah crossing.

By Friday, there were 127 people on the UK list to be evacuated into Egypt since the crossing opened on Wednesday, more than three weeks after the conflict began in which thousands of Palestinians and Israelis have been killed. Among those able to leave Gaza were the parents-in-law of Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, who described the last four weeks as a “living nightmare” for the family of his wife, Nadia El-Nakla.

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‘You are our enemies’: Noel Edmonds in spat with council after move to New Zealand

Entertainer has reportedly bought up 12 properties in rural Ngātīmoti and objected to a cycle trail proposal

He has wowed millions of TV viewers in the UK, taken on a big bank and loves working out in the dark. Now Noel Edmonds has brought his positive energy to a tiny town in New Zealand, where he has reportedly bought up NZ$30m (£14.5m) worth of property and is making his mark on the community.

Edmonds, 74, who found fame presenting shows such as Noel’s House Party, Top of the Pops and Deal Or No Deal, moved to New Zealand in 2019 – first to Matakana, north of Auckland, and then to the South Island in 2022.

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‘Failed to be a critical friend’: UK accused of taking eye off Israel-Palestine crisis

Critics say government shies away from standing up to Netanyahu in tilt to Indo-Pacific and pursuit of Middle East trade deals

Concerns that the UK Foreign Office has neglected the Israel-Palestine conflict in its tilt to the Indo-Pacific and the pursuit of trade deals across the Middle East is to be investigated by the foreign affairs select committee.

Alicia Kearns, the chair of the committee, which will start holding evidence sessions on the issue in November, has been one of the most prominent MPs warning that a crisis was brewing that required greater attention and a more robust approach from the UK towards Israel’s new government.

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Martha’s rule must be available 24/7, England’s patient safety commissioner says

Patients and relatives must be able to request second opinion from critical care team at any time of day or night, government told

Patients and their relatives will be able to request a second opinion from senior medics around the clock when the “Martha’s rule” system starts in hospitals in England.

The government’s patient safety commissioner, asked by the health secretary, Steve Barclay, to advise on how to implement the change, has said access to a medic’s opinion must operate 24/7.

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Most British people hold positive view of immigration, survey reveals

Although Tories claim curbing net inflow of migrants is critical issue for voters, poll shows attitudes have evolved significantly

A majority of the British public now hold positive views about the impact of immigration on the UK, despite intense political rhetoric surrounding the issue, according to an academic survey.

The European Social Survey, which has sampled attitudes every two years since 2001, said British views on immigration and its economic and cultural impact had undergone “a complete about-turn” over the past two decades, becoming significantly more favourable after 2016.

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Remote Scottish community still cut off a month after 6,000-tonne landslip

Teacher now travelling by boat to educate children at two different school sites on either side of impasse

Businesses in a remote peninsula of Scotland are fighting to survive and children are unable to attend their local school nearly a month after record-breaking rainfall caused a severe landslip, which cut off a vital road link to the wider peninsula.

The Craignish peninsula in Argyll was battered by heavy rain in early October, causing a landslip on the A816 near Ardfern which left 6,000 tonnes of debris covering the road and rendered it impassable.

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Covid inquiry: Hancock ‘wanted to decide who should live or die’ if NHS overwhelmed

‘Fortunately this horrible dilemma never crystallised,’ former NHS England head Simon Stevens tells inquiry

Former health secretary Matt Hancock told officials that he – rather than the medical profession – “should ultimately decide who should live or die” if the NHS was overwhelmed during the pandemic, the Covid inquiry heard.

“Fortunately this horrible dilemma never crystalised,” the former head of the NHS, Lord Simon Stevens, said in his evidence to the inquiry on Thursday.

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Sunak plays eager chatshow host as Musk discusses AI and politics

The prime minister flattered the entrepreneur who in turn put aside his abrasive persona for their talk on AI

Earlier this week, Elon Musk was interviewed by the American podcast host Joe Rogan. On Wednesday he was grilled by reporters outside the AI safety summit in Bletchley Park. On Thursday, it was the turn of the British prime minister.

British officials have crowed for days about their success in getting the world’s richest man to attend the summit, which was a pet project for Sunak. So delighted were they at the UK’s pulling power they decided to give the X owner a 40-minute in-person conversation with the prime minister in the glamorous surrounds of Lancaster House, previously used as a set for The Crown.

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Big tech will allow governments to vet AI products for first time, Sunak says

‘There will come a point where no job is needed’, says Elon Musk, who predicts ‘AI will be able to do everything’

The most advanced technology companies will allow governments to vet their artificial intelligence tools for the first time, Rishi Sunak has announced, as Elon Musk warned the technology could eventually replace all human jobs.

Companies including Meta, Google DeepMind and OpenAI have agreed to allow regulators to test their latest AI products before releasing them to the public, in a move that officials say will slow the race to develop systems that can compete with humans.

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Austria to work with UK on Rwanda-style plan for asylum seekers

Suella Braverman signs ‘migration and security agreement’ with Austrian counterpart in move to work more closely together

Austria is seeking to adopt a Rwanda-style deal to deport asylum seekers to a third country, having agreed a deal to work with the UK on migration.

Suella Braverman signed a “migration and security agreement” with her Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, in which the two countries agreed to work more closely together.

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The great powers signed up to Sunak’s AI summit – while jostling for position

Even China is part of the UK’s ‘Bletchley declaration’ – but Britain is not the only country ambitious to lead on the issue

Sitting in a purpose-built hut in the grounds of the historic Bletchley Park country estate, British officials believed they had pulled off a diplomatic coup.

On stage in front of them was the UK’s technology secretary, Michelle Donelan, and behind her were high-level representatives from the US and China, together for the first time to discuss the international regulation of artificial intelligence.

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