Rest of audience applauds after people causing ‘disturbance’ removed from Dominion theatre on Saturday
Theatregoers were escorted from a London performance of Grease the Musical by police on Saturday night, to cheers of approval from the rest of the audience.
Footage posted online shows eight police officers and staff from the Dominion theatre lining the stairway in the balcony as audience members chant “out, out, out!”.
Continue reading...Humane alternatives to killing rampant creatures such as wild boar, deer and grey squirrels are being developed
Conflicts between humans and wildlife are triggering growing numbers of disease outbreaks, road accidents and crop damage. And the problem is likely to get worse unless new, humane measures to curtail animal numbers are developed in the near future, say scientists.
It is a critical environmental issue that will be debated this week at a major conference in Italy where experts will discuss how best to limit numbers of grey squirrels, wild boar, deer, feral goats, pigeons, parakeets and other creatures that are causing widespread ecological damage in many countries.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Data from past five years in England and Wales includes wage costs and victim payments for claims such as upskirting, indecent exposure and inappropriate videos
Local authorities in England and Wales have spent at least £2.5m in the past five years on costs relating to allegations of sexual harassment, an investigation by the Observer can reveal today.
Data obtained through freedom of information (FoI) laws shows that since 2018, 62 councils spent more than £1,728,900 to cover wage costs of staff who were suspended after allegations of sexual harassment, with accusations ranging from indecent exposure, upskirting, inappropriate comments and sexual assault to stalking and abuse of power.
Continue reading...Votes invited for the public’s top 10 resorts and experiences, from beach huts and lidos to the Blackpool Tower
The British seaside may be derided by some for being as tacky as the candyfloss stuck to the side of your mouth. Yet tackiness is fundamental to its charm, according to campaigners who say that seaside heritage sites should be protected as fiercely as castles and stately homes.
The Seaside Heritage Network (SHN) says amusement parks, lidos and scenic railways are all part of the UK’s role in the creation of modern tourism and should be cherished.
Continue reading...Administrative hold-ups leave buyers missing best mortgage deals and some owners unable to sell
Long delays in registering properties with the Land Registry across Great Britain are causing frustration among homeowners and buyers with some being left out of pocket as a result.
Latest figures from His Majesty’s Land Registry show that it is taking almost two years for some applications to make changes to the register to be completed.
Continue reading...Human rights group finds growing number of cases of minors held among prisoners
Vulnerable children who arrive in Britain by small boat are being placed in an adult prison that holds significant numbers of sex offenders.
A growing number of cases have been identified where unaccompanied children, many of whom appear to be trafficked, have been sent to HMP Elmley, Kent, and placed among foreign adult prisoners.
Continue reading...Last-minute white knight bid worth £90m from M2 Capital follows earlier offer from owner of HMV
Wilko’s administrators are facing pressure to accept a rescue deal for the ailing budget retailer after a second last-minute white knight bid worth £90m emerged from an Anglo-Canadian private equity firm.
The gardening to beauty retailer, which has 400 stores and employs almost 12,500 people, called in administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers earlier this month after running short of cash. Shops are expected to close within weeks, with thousands of job losses unless a buyout can be secured.
Continue reading...Large new study using UK Biobank data shows even a small reduction in salt intake can be beneficial
Cutting out salt from meals can slash your risk of heart problems and strokes by almost a fifth, the largest study of its kind suggests.
Research has documented how adding salt to food increases the likelihood of cardiovascular disease and premature death. Now experts have established just how big a difference you could make to your heart health – simply by reducing the number of meals to which you add salt or by ditching it altogether.
Continue reading...The position of the PM’s wife as a shareholder in a company that could benefit from an agreement is a major headache for No 10
• Read more: Rishi Sunak faces fresh conflict of interest row of India trade talks
With a general election not far away and the economy still struggling, Rishi Sunak is on the hunt for good news. Next month he will be in New Delhi for the G20 summit – a visit that will be unusually rich with picture opportunities and chances to strike deals. Sunak’s parents are of Indian Punjabi descent and his wife, Akshata Murthy, is a hugely wealthy Indian businesswoman, fashion designer and venture capitalist. In many ways it will be a homecoming for the first Asian couple ever to occupy No 10.
Sunak’s business and trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, has been in India over the past few days, laying the ground for a string of announcements with her G20 counterparts. Inevitably, much of the talk in UK and Indian diplomatic, business and trade circles has been about the possibility of a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and India. The two governments had hoped to conclude one last autumn but negotiations have dragged on.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Labour has called for more financial transparency after it was revealed the prime minister’s wife’s shares could benefit from the agreement
• Read more: trade deal with Indian could be double-edged sword for Sunak
Rishi Sunak faces a new conflict of interest row before a G20 summit in New Delhi next month over claims that his family could stand to benefit financially from a post-Brexit trade deal that he is negotiating with India.
MPs and trade experts say there are concerns at the highest levels of government over potential “transparency” issues relating to his wife Akshata Murty’s shareholding – worth almost £500m – in the massive Bengaluru-based international IT services and consultancy company Infosys.
Continue reading...Former culture secretary’s resignation letter accuses Rishi Sunak of risking her safety by ‘whipping a public frenzy’
Nadine Dorries has handed in her resignation letter 11 weeks after announcing she would resign in protest over not receiving a peerage.
The MP for Mid Bedfordshire announced that she would be leaving her seat with “immediate effect” in June but had failed to do so until today.
Continue reading...Body of black man aged between 40 and 50 with beard and moustache was recovered near Bankside Pier
Police have renewed calls for information on a body found 10 years ago that is yet to be formally identified.
Metropolitan police were called to Bankside Pier in Southwark on 26 August 2013 after reports a member of the public had seen a man’s body in the River Thames.
Continue reading...Ronnie-Lee Gray, from Essex, calmly phoned emergency services and explained the situation
A seven-year-old boy has been praised for his quick thinking after he dialled 999 when his mother collapsed at home.
Ronnie-Lee Gray, from Tilbury in Essex, called emergency services after his mother, Becky, fell unconscious at their home earlier this month. His mature actions meant an ambulance arrived quickly.
Continue reading...Compact teaching timetables will allow cash-strapped undergraduates to dovetail jobs with studies
Universities are reducing the number of days students are required to be on campus to enable them to work part-time as they struggle to survive the cost of living crisis.
Compact teaching timetables, where lectures and seminars are scheduled over two or three days rather than dotted throughout the week, are being introduced by a number of institutions. The move makes it easier for the growing number of undergraduates who have to take on part-time jobs to make ends meet. More than half of students now work alongside their studies, up from 45% in 2022 and 34% in 2021.
Continue reading...Which? advises drivers paying London ultra-low emission zone fee to make sure they’re using official TfL website
Drivers are being ripped off by copycat websites that add extra fees to the ultra low emissions zone charges in London, consumer champion Which? has warned.
As Ulez expands across all boroughs in the capital from Tuesday, Which? has found a series of identical, unofficial websites targeting people trying to pay the charge. This has led to drivers paying more than the £12.50 daily fee.
Continue reading...Police are treating the incident at Chatham Memorial synagogue in Rochester as a hate crime
A man has been arrested after gravestones were damaged in a Jewish cemetery in Kent.
Officers have been investigating the incident as a hate crime, with the damage believed to total about £19,000.
Continue reading...Plume of smoke visible for miles as 15 fire engines attend site in Bow, where no casualties have yet been reported
Thick black smoke billowed into the sky on Friday evening when a huge fire broke out in east London. About 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at a business centre with flats in Fairfield Road in Bow.
The London fire brigade (LFB) described it as a “very visible fire” and said most of the roof of the six-storey building was alight. The cause of the fire is not yet known and there were no reports of injuries.
Continue reading...Suspects, aged 66 and 33, released by Staffordshire police investigating Himley blaze
Two men arrested after a fire at the Crooked House pub in the West Midlands have been released on bail, with detectives continuing to appeal for information.
A 66-year-old man from Dudley and a 33-year-old man from Milton Keynes were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life on Thursday.
Continue reading...Fischer to step down after blunders prompt international embarrassment and questions about systemic failures
The head of the British Museum has resigned and his deputy has stepped back over its handling of the suspected widespread theft of artefacts following a string of blunders that have prompted international embarrassment and questions about systemic failures.
Hartwig Fischer said on Friday he accepted responsibility for the museum’s failure to properly respond to warnings about the suspected thefts of thousands of objects in 2021.
Continue reading...Restrictions to man who still denies killing Linda Razzell include informing police of relationships and not selling story to media outlets
A man convicted of murdering his estranged wife more than 20 years ago faces stringent restrictions if he is finally released from prison, ranging from having to inform the authorities if he begins a romantic relationship to not selling his story to a newspaper or documentary maker.
Glyn Razzell, who is in prison for murdering his wife, Linda Razzell, in 2002, has insisted at a Parole Board hearing that he would pose no risk if he is freed but has been told he will face wide-ranging checks.
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