Category Archives: UK news

Western politicians face tough balancing act on visits to Beijing

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UK’s James Cleverly is latest to travel to Beijing hoping to improve ties and change Chinese foreign policy

The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, on Wednesday described his government’s relationship with Beijing as “complicated and sophisticated”. He said the UK’s approach was “clear-eyed” and pragmatic, neither seeking to isolate the world’s second largest economy nor shying away from raising disagreements.

The balancing act may prove difficult. Cleverly is the latest in a series of western government officials – from the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, to the French president, Emmanuel Macron – to have visited China in recent months hoping to repair soured relations and trade ties. Few have had much success.

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UK home sales in 2023 will be lowest in a decade, says Zoopla

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Interest rate rises on mortgages are weakening demand, property website says

The number of UK homes sold this year is expected to fall to the lowest level in more than a decade, as the soaring cost of mortgages puts off homebuyers.

House sales reaching completion are expected to fall 21% year-on-year to about 1m in 2023, the lowest level since 2012, according to a report from the property website Zoopla.

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UK should take China to task on human rights and Taiwan, MPs say

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Foreign select committee report published as foreign secretary, James Cleverly, travels to Beijing

Britain must take a tougher stance on China over its severe human rights abuses and help Taiwan build its defences to deter a potential attack from Beijing, an influential group of MPs says.

With the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, scheduled to land in China on Wednesday for a first official visit in five years, a report from the foreign affairs select committee says ministers have to call out the country’s transnational repression.

China’s behaviour is a threat to world security that cannot be ignored, it says.

The Chinese Communist party (CCP) is “seeking to silence criticism of its human rights abuses, and impose its foreign policy and Xi Jinping’s thought beyond its own borders”, the committee, which is Tory controlled, writes. “This is a challenge to the functioning of democracies globally.”

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UK cybersecurity agency warns of chatbot ‘prompt injection’ attacks

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Scams and data thefts could be caused by individuals overriding chatbot scripts, NCSC says

The UK’s cybersecurity agency has warned that chatbots can be manipulated by hackers to cause scary real-world consequences.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has said there are growing cybersecurity risks of individuals manipulating the prompts through “prompt injection” attacks.

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British armed forces rugby player found dead in France

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Investigators believe player died in an accidental fall in Brittany, which is hosting World Defence Rugby competition

A British armed forces rugby player has been found dead in France, where the World Defence Rugby competition is being held.

Investigators believe the player may have died in an accidental fall in northern Brittany, a prosecutor said.

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Tories accused of hypocrisy in Ulez row after call to extend congestion charge

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Ministers have claimed Ulez is cash-raising ploy – but letter reveals Grant Shapps backed a separate charge for same reason

Ministers have been accused of hypocrisy in claiming Sadiq Khan expanded London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to raise revenue after it emerged the Department for Transport urged the mayor to extend the city’s congestion charge for the same reason.

On the first day of Ulez covering every London borough there was renewed bickering between the Labour mayor and the government, with Khan castigating Mark Harper, the transport secretary, for what he called factual mistakes after the pair crossed paths at a TV studio.

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Nottinghamshire police officer dies after being hit by train

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Sgt Graham Saville had been trying to help distressed man on tracks near Newark Northgate station

A police officer has died after being hit by a train while trying to save a distressed man on the tracks, Nottinghamshire police have said.

British Transport Police said they were called to the line near Newark Northgate station at about 7.10pm on Thursday evening after reports of a casualty on the tracks.

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Gboyega Odubanjo: police appeal for help over missing poet

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Award-winning poet last seen in early hours of Saturday morning in Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire police are appealing for information to help find the award-winning poet Gboyega Odubanjo, who has been missing since the early hours of Saturday morning.

Odubanjo, 27, was last seen at about 4am on 26 August. He was attending Shambala festival in the Kelmarsh area of Northamptonshire, where he was due to perform later that day.

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Network Rail axes bonuses for union members who strike

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Move is likely to further sour relations after months of industrial action over pay dispute

Network Rail has withheld annual bonuses from its union members who took part in strikes, in a move that threatens to further sour industrial relations.

The state-owned railway infrastructure manager settled the pay dispute with its workforce in March this year, after RMT members voted to accept a rise worth 9% over two years.

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UK foreign secretary to challenge China over support for Russia in Ukraine war

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James Cleverly to say during visit to Beijing this week that China has ‘a responsibility on the global stage’

The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, will challenge Chinese officials in Beijing on Wednesday over their growing military support for Russia, but is intent that his meetings are seen as the revival of a political dialogue that eventually revives UK trade with China.

Ahead of the meetings, he said that no major international issue could be solved without China but added that the country had to live up to its international commitments and obligations.

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Rishi Sunak defends government’s green credentials after housebuilding water pollution rules scrapped – UK politics live

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Government claims ripping up EU-era protections on nutrient neutrality will allow for an additional 100,000 homes

Chronic under-investment, exploitation and low pay is leading to widespread poverty among workers in the care sector, according to damning research from the Trades Union Congress.

As it publishes its first workforce blueprint for the care economy, the TUC argues that the “Cinderella sectors” of social care and childcare need urgent investment to head off a demographic timebomb.

If the government is willing to strip away vital protection to save money for developers in polluted catchments, then where will it draw the line? This could be the most serious blow for environmental law in decades.

What the government is proposing here is to remove legal protections for nature, throw away requirements for polluters to pay, and instead use taxpayers’ money to try to fill the gap.

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Scrapping housebuilder water pollution rules in England to cost taxpayer £140m

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Under Lords amendment, developers will no longer have to offset nutrient pollution from new homes’ sewage

Taxpayers will pick up the bill for pollution by housebuilders, government officials have admitted, as rules on chemical releases into waterways are scrapped.

If an amendment in the House of Lords tabled on Tuesday passes, developers will no longer have to offset the nutrient pollution caused by sewage from new homes. The government has said it will double Natural England’s wetland funding to £280m in order to show it is trying to meet the requirements of its legally binding Environment Act.

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Tory donor issued with demolition order for hotel where Brexit deal signed

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Surinder Arora told to demolish all or part of Fairmont Windsor Park hotel where Northern Ireland deal was agreed

A multimillionaire businessman with close links to the Conservative party has been told to knock down part or all of a luxury hotel that hosted the signing of Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal because he breached planning regulations.

A planning enforcement notice issued by Runnymede borough council said Surinder Arora’s hotel company had until 7 October to take action at the Fairmont Windsor Park hotel near Windsor.

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Developed countries urged to ‘step up’ contributions to global nature fund

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Canada and UK only donor countries to contribute so far, leaving scheme short of $40m to formally launch

Developed countries have been urged to contribute to a new nature fund after it was left undercapitalised by $40m (£32m), receiving money from just two donors.

At the Cop15 biodiversity summit in December, where countries agreed this decade’s biodiversity targets that included aims to protect 30% of Earth, governments agreed to the creation of a fund to help developing countries meet the deal’s aims, which included a target to provide $200bn for nature a year by 2030.

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Clean air ‘a right not a privilege’, says London mayor as Ulez is expanded

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Sadiq Khan defends expansion of ultra-low emission zone as government continues to criticise it

Clean air is “a right not a privilege”, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said as the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) was expanded to include the outer boroughs of London.

People who drive in the zone in a vehicle that does not meet minimum emissions standards are required to pay a £12.50 daily fee or risk a £180 fine, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.

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Air passengers face further delays after UK air traffic control failure

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Transport minister rules out cyber-attack after hundreds of flights to and from the UK cancelled

Flight passengers will be affected by UK air traffic control failures for days, the transport secretary has warned as he urged airlines to step up and fulfil their responsibilities to passengers.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mark Harper said National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which provides the air traffic control systems in the UK, had apologised for the disruption, adding: “I’d like to add my apology to that.”

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Government to use Ulez expansion to attack Labour over ‘war on motorists’

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Ministers hope anti-green message will impress voters, as London mayor says he is ‘a doer, not a delayer’

The government is to use the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to go on the attack over what it has called “Labour’s war on motorists”, part of a wider battle against green policies it hopes could prove popular with voters.

With the extension of the clean air scheme to every London borough beginning at midnight on Monday, Sadiq Khan, the capital’s Labour mayor, said that while the decision was difficult, the devastating health effects of toxic exhausts trumped other considerations.

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Men in England to be offered blood pressure checks in barbershops

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Tests part of NHS drive to cut heart attacks as study finds risk for men twice as high as for women

Men are to be offered blood pressure checks in barbershops as part of an NHS drive to prevent heart attacks, as research reveals they face double the risk of women.

Having high blood pressure raises the risk of a heart attack, but many men and women remain unaware they may be affected because typically there are no symptoms.

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England’s rivers at risk as Michael Gove rips up rules on new housing

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Exclusive: Announcement set to anger environmentalists, but builders say nutrient neutrality laws are exacerbating housing crisis

Michael Gove is planning to rip up water pollution rules that builders have blamed for exacerbating England’s housing crisis but which environmental groups say are essential for protecting the country’s rivers.

The housing secretary, alongside Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, will announce the move on Tuesday, according to several people briefed on the plans, alongside hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of extra funding to mitigate the potential impact on England’s waterways.

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Issue with UK air traffic control system ‘identified and remedied’ but thousands still face major delays after fault – as it happened

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National air traffic services say they have fixed the issue that has caused a network-wide failure but significant flights backlog remains

Here are some photos from Heathrow airport after a network failure caused issues with UK air traffic control, leading to major delays.

The Liberal Democrats have said the prime minister should call a Cobra meeting after a technical fault hit air traffic control in the UK.

Rishi Sunak and his ministers need to get a grip on this issue urgently and hold a Cobra meeting.

Millions of holidaymakers could be facing huge disruption in the coming days due to this fault and we can’t risk this government being missing in action yet again.

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