Category Archives: UK news

British Challenger 2 tank destroyed in combat for first time, Ukraine footage shows

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Tank could be one of 14 UK gave to Ukraine that Kyiv was keeping in reserve for frontline breakthrough

A battlefield video circulating on social media overnight showed the destruction of a British Challenger 2 from a mine and Russian drone in Ukraine, which would be the first time one of the tanks has been destroyed in combat.

At the beginning of the clip, filmed from a car involved in the fighting, the Challenger 2 with its distinctive gun barrel is seen shrouded in thick, grey smoke after the battlefield incident.

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Investigation under way to find out if parliamentary estate has any Raac

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Authorities unsure whether the aerated concrete at risk of collapse is present anywhere on the estate

Investigations are under way into whether the Houses of Parliament have any reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), the material at risk of collapse that has led to the closure of more than 100 schools.

Maintenance teams are trying to establish whether the dangerous concrete is present in any parts of the parliamentary estate, Bloomberg reported. A source told the Guardian that parliamentary authorities are unsure whether Raac is present and are trying to find out.

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More than half of dilapidated English schools were refused rebuilding money

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Only four schools were rebuilt in 2021 in government scheme intended to cover 500 schools over 10-year period

More than half of English schools that are so dilapidated they are at risk of partial closure were refused money under the government’s school rebuilding scheme, Department for Education (DfE) statistics show.

Amid mounting concerns about a wider apparent neglect of the schools estate in recent years, beyond the immediate alarm about crumbling concrete panels, it emerged that of 500 rebuilt schools planned for England over 10 years from 2020, just four were completed in 2021.

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One killed and another critical after bus and car collide in Pembrokeshire

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Major incident declared and number of passengers injured after crash on Cleddau Bridge in west Wales, police say

One person has been killed and another is critically injured after a collision involving a 52-seater bus and a car on a bridge in west Wales.

A major incident was declared on Tuesday and a health board asked people not to attend the local hospital unless they had life-threatening injuries to ensure there was enough capacity to treat the people injured in the collision.

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Pat McFadden: the most powerful Labour politician most have never heard of

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Role preparing for election will see McFadden shape party’s direction, but it will likely be done quietly

Pat McFadden is the most powerful Labour politician most people have never heard of. As Rachel Reeves’ No 2 in the shadow Treasury team, with responsibility for Labour’s public spending plans, he could derail the dreams of shadow cabinet colleagues with just a raised eyebrow.

In his new role preparing for the election campaign and – should Labour win it – running the Cabinet Office, he assumes even greater responsibility for the direction of Keir Starmer’s party. Yet much of it is likely to be done quietly, and efficiently, behind the scenes.

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Councils in England in crisis as Birmingham ‘declares itself bankrupt’

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With Birmingham indicating it cannot balance its books, experts warn of others living ‘hand to mouth’

The crisis in local authorities was laid bare on Tuesday as Birmingham city council in effect declared itself bankrupt, with experts warning that others across the UK were now living “hand to mouth”.

The council’s head of finance took the dramatic decision on Tuesday to issue a section 114 notice, indicating that it did not have the resources to balance its books.

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Concrete crisis: Labour compares Gillian Keegan’s response to mayor in Jaws

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Opposition posts spoof on education department’s ‘most schools unaffected’ tweet, referencing minimisation of shark attacks

Labour has launched a tongue-in-cheek attack on the government’s response to the school buildings crisis, comparing the response of the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, to that of the fictional mayor in Jaws.

Keegan on Tuesday defended her department’s handling of the problems surrounding crumbling concrete, publishing a Twitter picture with the phrases “Raac update” and “Most schools unaffected”.

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Global economic fears deepen as service sector dips in China and Europe

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Fresh signs of weakness in Chinese economy and weak UK and eurozone data spook investors

Fears about the health of the global economy have intensified following downbeat news about service sector activity in China, the eurozone and the UK.

Share prices fell in Asia and the pound dropped to a 12-week low against the US dollar after fresh signs of weakness in China triggered speculation that its post-lockdown recovery was running out of steam.

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Germany refuses to extradite man to UK over concerns about British jail conditions

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Court in Karlsruhe decides against extradition of Albanian man ‘in view of the state of the British prison system’

A German court has refused to extradite to the UK a man accused of drug trafficking because of concerns about prison conditions in Britain, in what is thought to be the first case of its kind.

The decision has been described as a “severe rebuke” and “an embarrassment for the UK” by a member of the Law Society.

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Schools concrete crisis is risk to pupils’ mental health, headteacher warns

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Leader of a secondary school in Essex warns upheaval could have similar negative impact to that caused by Covid lockdowns

A headteacher whose 830 pupils must learn semi-remotely for at least a term because of the schools concrete crisis has warned that the upheaval could cause a recurrence of the negative mental health impact of Covid lockdowns.

James Saunders, the leader of Honywood school in Coggeshall, Essex, fears that year-seven students entering their first term at secondary school could face future struggles after the Department for Education last week ordered the closure of 22 classrooms as part of a nationwide safety alert.

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Professor Hakim Adi shortlisted for prestigious Wolfson award

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The nomination for Adi, the first British person of African heritage to become a professor of history in the UK, is a vindication for the academic who was made redundant a week ago

Hakim Adi, the first British person of African heritage to become a professor of history in the UK, has been shortlisted for a prestigious history writing prize. This comes after Adi was made redundant by the University of Chichester when it cut a course he founded.

Adi has made the shortlist for the Wolfson history prize for his 2022 book, African and Caribbean People in Britain: A History. The winner of the prize, announced in November, will receive £50,000.

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Retailers look on sunny side as holidaymakers splash out

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Sales of health and beauty products help high street stores bounce back after a disappointing start to the summer

Britain’s retailers have received a boost from consumers making themselves beach-ready by increasing their spending on skincare and makeup before their summer holidays, despite the cost of living crisis.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said sales of health and beauty products helped drive up spending on the high street as shoppers made the most of brief spells of sunshine in August, although squeezed consumers were holding back elsewhere.

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Rolling Stones to release details of first album of original songs since 2005

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Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood to be interviewed about upcoming LP Hackney Diamonds on Wednesday

The Rolling Stones are set to release details of their first studio album of original material since 2005, an LP called Hackney Diamonds.

The surviving members of the band, now in their 70s and 80s, teased the new music online and in the form of a cryptic advert in the local newspaper the Hackney Gazette.

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Two charged with murder after remains discovered in Dorset

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Man and woman from Bournemouth taken into custody over death of man identified as Simon Shotton

Two people have been charged with murder after the discovery of partial human remains in Boscombe, Dorset police have confirmed. The force said the victim had been identified as 49-year-old Simon Shotton from Bournemouth. His family have been informed.

Debbie Ann Pereira, 38, and Benjamin Lee Atkins, 48, both from Bournemouth, were arrested after the remains were discovered by a member of the public near the Manor Steps Zig Zag, off Boscombe Overcliff Drive, on 26 August. They are due to appear at Poole magistrates court on Tuesday.

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‘Martha’s rule’: ministers consider law to give right to second medical opinion

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Mother of girl who died after hospital failed to admit her to intensive care says policy would make it easier for patients and families to seek advice from senior doctor

Ministers are considering introducing Martha’s rule in England to make it easier for patients and their families who believe their concerns are not being taken seriously by medical staff to get a second medical opinion.

Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said a similar measure enforced in Australia had been shown to have saved lives. He said officials had been tasked with looking into such initiatives could “improve patient safety here in the UK”.

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Five detained in Cyprus after British woman accuses them of gang-rape

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Alleged victim says she was sexually assaulted by a group of Israeli men while on holiday in Ayia Napa

A group of young Israeli men have been detained in Cyprus after local police said they needed time to investigate accusations of gang-rape from a British woman on holiday in Ayia Napa.

The five men, all aged 19 or 20, were remanded on order of a district court magistrate in Famagusta for a further eight days after their arrest late on Sunday. The Briton, who is 20 and cannot legally be identified, told police she had been sexually assaulted by the Israelis after being “taken by force” from the pool area of her hotel to her room.

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Wilko: rescue deal to save many stores at risk over supplier debts

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Big suppliers want debts paid upfront in order to guarantee supplying shops

A rescue deal to save the majority of Wilko’s stores has been put at risk as some key suppliers want outstanding debts repaid upfront to guarantee continuing to provide products to the chain.

Doug Putman, who engineered a turnaround of HMV in the UK and owns Toys R Us in Canada, has been negotiating a deal to save as many as 300 of Wilko’s 400 stores, throwing a lifeline to its more than 12,000 staff.

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Beatles memorabilia worth an estimated £6m goes for auction

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Items include an archive from John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1969 peace protest and a curious birthday card sent by George Harrison

An archive of material from John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1969 peace protest is among the items to be sold this month at one of the most expensive Beatles auctions ever held.

Memorabilia will go under an online hammer with an upper estimated value of $8m (£6.3m). It includes a section of TV set wall that formed the backdrop to the Beatles’ breakthrough Ed Sullivan show appearance, clothes, speakers, signed contracts and a curious birthday card from George Harrison to his caretaker signed “Adolf Schinkengruber”.

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China’s share of Europe’s electric car market accelerates as UK leads sales

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Chinese-owned MG’s MG4 is Britain’s bestselling EV after Tesla’s Model Y in first seven months of year

China’s share of the European electric car market has more than doubled in less than two years as the world’s second largest economy tries to take the lead in the transition away from petrol and diesel cars.

The UK is the largest market in Europe for Chinese electric car brands, accounting for almost a third of sales in 2023 so far, according to data from Schmidt Automotive Research on the 18 largest European car markets. About 5% of all new car sales in the UK were from Chinese brands in the first seven months of 2023, a market share second only to Sweden.

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Rishi Sunak says it is ‘completely and utterly wrong’ to blame him for school concrete crisis – UK politics live

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PM dismissed claims that he failed to properly fund school rebuilding plans when he was chancellor

Lisa Nandy has been made shadow cabinet minister for international development. She was shadow levelling up secretary.

Lisa Nandy MP @LisaNandy has been appointed Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development.

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