Sale of Telegraph newspapers and Spectator kicks off

Last-ditch attempt by Barclay family to shut down auction with blockbuster £1bn offer thwarted

The sale of the Telegraph newspapers and the Spectator has kicked off, thwarting a last-ditch attempt by the Barclay family to shut down the auction with a blockbuster £1bn offer.

On Friday morning, the boards of the parent companies of Telegraph Media Group (TMG), the parent company of the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, and the Spectator said that the advisers Goldman Sachs had launched a sales process for each of the businesses.

Continue reading...

Labour peer Alf Dubs calls for refugee plan for Palestinians

Former refugee says scheme could help people with family connections to Britain and those in need of medical aid

Alf Dubs, the veteran Labour peer and former child refugee, has called for the creation of a resettlement scheme for Palestinians with family connections to Britain and those in need of medical aid.

The peer, who came to Britain from Austria as a child fleeing the Nazis, also spoke of his concerns about rising antisemitism and Islamophobia against the backdrop of the crisis in Israel and Gaza.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak holds ‘productive’ talks with Saudi Arabia after Israel visit

British PM flew to Saudi Arabia after Netanyahu stressed Israel’s need for ‘continuous’ UK support in war with Hamas

Rishi Sunak has urged Saudi Arabia to use its influence to support stability in the Middle East after flying there following talks in Israel with Benjamin Netanyahu, who told him his country was counting on the UK’s “continuous support” in what will be a long war with Hamas.

Britain wanted Israel “to win”, the prime minister told his Israeli counterpart during a joint press conference in Jerusalem following talks that were part of diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and prevent a wider regional conflict.

Continue reading...

Storm Babet: body of woman recovered from river as town evacuated

Police Scotland say 57-year-old’s body recovered from River Esk after reports of someone being swept away

The body of a 57-year-old woman has been recovered from a river in Angus, Police Scotland have said, as hundreds of people were ordered to evacuate their homes in a town in the east of the country because of fears that the River Esk will burst its banks during Storm Babet.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 1.45pm on Thursday October 19, officers attended a report of a person having been swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk.

Continue reading...

Tory peer warns Labour over Israel-Hamas war protest ban

Sayeeda Warsi criticises party for strongly advising its councillors not to attend pro-Palestine-related demonstrations

A senior Conservative peer has warned the Labour party not to join a race to the bottom over Israel-Hamas war protests as a council leader urged Keir Starmer to show “sympathy to the plight of Palestinians”.

Sayeeda Warsi criticised Labour for strongly advising its councillors not to attend pro-Palestine demonstrations last weekend, “despite having spent months before the recess fighting the government to protect the right to protest in the public order act”.

Continue reading...

Slade’s Noddy Holder diagnosed with cancer five years ago, wife reveals

Suzan Holder says her husband was initially given six months to live but he is ‘feeling good and looking great’

Noddy Holder, the frontman of Slade, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer five years ago, his wife has revealed.

Doctors told Holder that he had six months to live, Suzan Holder wrote in Cheshire Life magazine on Thursday, but she said Holder, 77, had responded well to experimental chemotherapy and “coped with amazing good humour and breath-taking bravery”.

Continue reading...

Kirsty Wark to step down from BBC Newsnight after 30 years

The programme’s longest-serving presenter will leave after the next UK election

Kirsty Wark will step down as lead presenter of Newsnight after the next election, the BBC has announced.

Wark, who celebrated her 30th anniversary with the programme on Thursday, will continue presenting for the BBC on documentaries as well as on programmes such as The Reunion and Start the Week on Radio 4.

Continue reading...

Byelections live: Tory seats under threat as voting begins to replace Nadine Dorries and Chris Pincher

Formerly safe Tory seats in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth could fall to opponents in test of Sunak’s electoral fortunes

Rishi Sunak has arrived in Tel Aviv. As mentioned earlier, the British prime minister is due to meet his counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israeli resident. Sunak is also expected to ask for aid to be allowed into Gaza and for Britons stranded there to be allowed to leave the area.

Reuters has these early remarks from the British prime minister.

Above all, I’m here to express my solidarity with the Israeli people. You have suffered an unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism and I want you to know that the United Kingdom and I stand with you.

Continue reading...

Nokia to cut up to 14,000 jobs after profits plunge

Finnish telecoms group aims to cut costs as demand for mobile network equipment slumps

Nokia has announced plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs over the next three years as it slashes costs after a worse-than-expected slump in demand for its mobile network equipment.

The Finnish technology company said the plans to cut 16% of its 86,000-strong global workforce were part of efforts to cut costs by €1.2bn by the end of 2026. The cuts were announced as the company revealed a 70% drop in third-quarter profits, which fell to €133m (£116m) compared with €428m a year earlier.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak arrives in Israel for talks with Benjamin Netanyahu

PM left London on Wednesday evening and plans to visit other countries in the region for further discussions

Rishi Sunak has arrived in Israel for talks with its leaders, and will later travel to other countries in the region for further discussions, Downing Street has announced.

The prime minister left London on Wednesday evening, and was scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the country’s president, Isaac Herzog.

Continue reading...

Polls close in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth byelections

Results will be seen as a verdict on Rishi Sunak if Tories lose seats where they had large majorities

Polls have closed in the Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth byelections, seen as crucial in gauging the electoral fate of Rishi Sunak but difficult to predict.

The Conservatives are defending majorities of nearly 25,000 in Mid Bedfordshire and close to 20,000 in Tamworth, which would normally point to an easy hold. However, their chances will be hampered by the party’s dismal poll ratings and the records of departing MPs.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak and Tories seem to have yet more low expectations for byelection fortunes

Leaked memo suggests party’s votes could halve to 30% in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire

In the world of expectation management, a “leaked” memo can be a useful tool for a political party on the eve of a tricky byelection. So the publication of an internal report prepared for the Conservative party chair, Greg Hands, was initially met with some scepticism.

The document, based on telephone canvassing data from recent days, claimed the Tory vote in Thursday’s two byelections in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire could halve to about 30%, creating more problems for Rishi Sunak.

Continue reading...

‘Demand interestingness’: Thomas Heatherwick rails against boring buildings

Designer says soulless structures make people stressed and lonely as he launches book and campaign

Boring, soulless buildings are making people stressed and lonely, according to Thomas Heatherwick, the British designer behind the 2012 Olympic cauldron.

The designer is embarking on a crusade to persuade architects and developers to create buildings that inspire feelings of joy and stimulation.

Continue reading...

A radical piece of cake: feminist sculptural installation restaged at Tate Britain

Bobby Baker’s An Edible Family in a Mobile Home (1976) will be recreated – this time with a vegan option

When Bobby Baker’s sculptural work An Edible Family in a Mobile Home was installed nearly 50 years ago, art lovers were invited to not only touch her work but eat it. Now, the seminal work by the intersectional feminist is coming back – except this time, there’s going to be a vegan option.

From 8 November, Tate Britain will present a restaging of Baker’s radical installation.

Continue reading...

Tributes paid to Berkshire newlyweds killed in Uganda terrorist attack

David and Celia Barlow were married in South Africa on Saturday and were killed by a group linked to Islamic State

Tributes have been paid to a couple who were killed on their honeymoon in Uganda in a “cowardly terrorist attack”.

A British businessman, David Barlow, his wife Celia, a South African-born hotel executive, and their Ugandan guide were driving through the Queen Elizabeth national park on Tuesday when they were attacked and killed by a group linked to Islamic State.

Continue reading...

Starmer writes to Labour councillors in attempt to quash concerns he’s too pro-Israel – UK politics live

Letter from Labour leader stresses his concern for international law and sympathy with the plight of the Palestinian people

Rishi Sunak will be taking PMQs shortly. It will be his first exchange with Keir Starmer since the party conferences.

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.

We were the victims of an inside job by someone, we believe, who over a long period of time was stealing from the museum and the museum put trust in.

There are lots of lessons to be learnt as a result of that, the member of staff has been dismissed by us. The objects have started to be recovered … We have changed our whistleblowing code, changed our policy on thefts … tightened up security on thefts.

If someone is entrusted by an organisation to look after something and they are the person removing those objects, that is hard for any organisation, and it was hard for the museum, where there is a trusting culture.

If that trust is completely abused and as I think will become clear in the coming months quite a lot of steps were taken to conceal that, it wasn’t just that things were taken, records were altered and the like, it’s hard to spot.

We are intending to put on display the objects we have recovered, there is a lot of public interest in these objects.

350 have now been recovered and titles have been transferred to us so we have the makings of a good exhibition that was not previously planned.

Continue reading...

Paedophile who abducted schoolgirl while dressed as a woman jailed for 20 years

Former butcher Andrew Miller claimed he acted in a ‘motherly way’ but later admitted sexual assault

A former butcher who sexually abused a primary school pupil over 27 hours in a “nauseating” attack has been jailed for 20 years.

Andrew Miller, who also uses the name Amy George, was dressed as a woman when he offered the girl – whom he had never met before – a lift in February.

Continue reading...

Police watchdog investigates conduct of 12 officers and staff in David Carrick case

IOPC says 11 current or former officers and one staff member being investigated over handling of allegations against Carrick

Twelve police employees, including serving officers, are under investigation for misconduct over the handling of allegations against the serial rapist and former Metropolitan police officer David Carrick.

Carrick, 48, a former armed officer, pleaded guilty in January to 85 serious offences including 48 rapes between 2003 and 2020, making him one of the worst sexual offenders in modern British criminal history.

Continue reading...

Greta Thunberg charged with public order offence after London oil protest

Just Stop Oil says cofounders Indigo Rumbelow and Roger Hallam were also arrested on Wednesday

Greta Thunberg has been charged with a public order offence after she was arrested while taking part in a protest against a conference in London described as “the Oscars of oil”.

The Swedish environmental campaigner, 20, was one of 29 arrested during a protest trying to stop delegates entering the Energy Intelligence Forum at the InterContinental London Park Lane in Mayfair.

Continue reading...

EE to start selling smart TVs, fridges and kettles in move beyond mobile roots

BT-owned company to take on brands such as Amazon, Currys and Argos with move into e-commerce

The BT-owned EE is to sell smart TVs, fridges, kettles and fitness products as it looks to move beyond its roots in smartphones and enter an e-commerce market dominated by brands such as Amazon, Currys and Argos.

The mobile operator, which has 25 million subscribers, is seeking to use tactics developed selling telecoms products and services to retail products in categories such as smart home security, insurance and games consoles to all UK consumers.

Continue reading...