The Midlands Today presenter has undergone surgery and plans to return to work for the broadcaster in autumn
Nick Owen has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and has undergone surgery, the BBC Midlands Today presenter has announced.
After a period of absence from the programme, the 75-year-old broadcaster spoke on Monday about the impact of the condition on his life since he received the news in April.
Continue reading...Court had earlier been told the death of Luke Brooks, 27, in 2022 had been provisionally linked to mould exposure in freezing home
A mother begged a council for help to move her family out of a privately rented house that was freezing and had chronic damp and mould, which she believes killed her son, an inquest has heard.
The hearing resumed on Monday into the death of 27-year-old Luke Brooks, from Oldham, who died in October 2022. The inquest in Rochdale has previously heard that Brooks died after developing an acute respiratory illness which was provisionally linked to mould exposure.
Continue reading...Police have arrested a 47-year-old man on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after collision on Saturday
A 12-year-old boy who was hit by a car on the M62 on Saturday evening has been named by police.
It is believed Callum Rycroft from Harehills, Leeds, was struck by the car as he attempted to cross the motorway from the hard shoulder.
Continue reading...No 10 backtracks on minister’s claim 500 asylum seekers could be on barge by end of week
According to a report in the Times, Liz Truss named 16 people on her original honours list – four for peerages, and 12 people getting other honours. Two people have declined, but there are still 14 names on the list, the Times says, one person for every four days she was in office.
The Labour MP Chris Bryant says resignation honours lists should be abolished.
Continue reading...If both parties win election in 2024, their ideological closeness would make them strong allies, says Nick Thomas-Symonds
Labour’s ideological closeness to the Democrats puts the party in an ideal position to sign trade deals with the US should both parties win their elections next year, the shadow trade secretary has said.
Nick Thomas-Symonds told the Guardian he thought Labour’s shared economic values with the Biden administration meant his party would have more success than the Conservative government has had in making trade agreements across a range of sectors.
Continue reading...Site has been plagued by issues including heatwave that left hundreds ill last week
All participants at this year’s World Scout Jamboree in South Korea will be evacuated from the campsite before the scheduled end date of 12 August due to a typhoon that is expected to make landfall over the Korean peninsula in the coming days, in the latest blow to the event.
The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) said it had received confirmation from the South Korean government that, due to the expected impact of Typhoon Khanun, an early departure would be planned for all participants at the global youth event in the south-western county of Buan.
Continue reading...Head of Scout Association says event in South Korea had been poorly organised even before threat of Typhoon Khanun
The £1m cost of relocating the 4,500-strong UK contingent at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea will affect the work of the Scout Association for as much as five years, the organisation’s boss has said.
Matt Hyde, the UK Scouts chief executive, said the association had been forced to dip into its reserves after the event’s organisers decided to clear the campsite five days early because of an incoming typhoon that is expected to make landfall over the Korean peninsula in the coming days.
Continue reading...Facility in Porton Down, Wiltshire will allow vaccines to be developed for future pandemic pathogens
Ministers have opened a new vaccine research centre in the UK where scientists will work on preparing for “disease X”, the next potential pandemic pathogen.
The state-of-the-art Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre is based at the UK Health and Security Agency’s (UKHSA) Porton Down campus in Wiltshire.
Continue reading...Committee’s report says devices including home security systems used to coerce and control victims
MPs have called on the UK government to tackle “tech abuse”, as they warned devices including smart home security systems were being used to coerce and control victims of domestic abuse.
The culture, media and sport committee launched an inquiry last year to consider the benefits and harms of connected technology, including virtual assistants and fitness trackers.
Continue reading...Offensive chants about tragedies such as Hillsborough can be public order offences under new guidance
Football fans in England and Wales could be banned from matches if they mock tragedies such as the Hillsborough disaster, under updated guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service.
The CPS guidance will state that actions such as singing, chanting or displaying offensive messages about disasters or accidents involving players or fans can be seen as a public order offence.
Continue reading...First large-scale UK investigation of its kind discovers social deprivation and ethnicity both affect sleep
People living in deprived areas of the UK have poorer sleep quality than those in affluent areas, the first large-scale study of sleep across the population has found.
Black people reported the worst sleep overall, with the research finding both social deprivation and ethnicity affect sleep quality, irrespective of age, sex, personal wealth, employment and education.
Continue reading...Tens of thousands of students face likely drop in As and A*s as ministers aim to return results in England to pre-pandemic levels
Tens of thousands of A-level students face disappointment on results day next week, amid warnings that nearly 100,000 fewer As and A*s could be awarded as the government seeks to return grades to pre-pandemic levels.
Up to 50,000 candidates this summer are likely to miss out on the top grades they might have expected last year, according to one estimate, throwing applications for the most competitive universities into doubt.
Continue reading...Labour leader claims Conservatives’ onshore turbine ban costs families £180 each and makes UK reliant on gas imports
Keir Starmer has condemned the prime minister’s climate policies, declaring the failure to invest in renewables such as wind turbines a “gift to Putin”.
The Labour leader also described the Conservatives’ onshore wind ban as “ludicrous” and said it now means every family in the country is paying £180 more on their energy bills.
Continue reading...Ex-cabinet minister calls on foreign secretary to reveal how many British minors are being held in camps
The UK must urgently end its policy of funding the illegal detention of children in north-east Syria, and disclose how many British minors are being held in camps run by Syrian Kurds on behalf of the west, the former cabinet minister David Davis has said in a letter to the foreign secretary, James Cleverly.
The letter comes after it was revealed that Yusuf Zahab, a 19-year-old Australian citizen locked up in Syria since he was 14 and presumed killed in a July 2022 Islamic State (IS) attack on a prison in the city of Hasakah, may be alive after all. A year-old video of him speaking and dated after the IS attack was released on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Finance firms defend credit deals as ethical but health experts warn of spiralling public indebtedness
Patients who face long NHS waiting lists and cannot afford to go private are being encouraged to sign up for “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) deals and other personal loans to cover the costs of basic healthcare.
The deals allow people to spread payments over months or years in exchange for rapid access to treatments and tests, including MRI scans, X-rays and routine surgery.
Continue reading...Inspectors find failures to protect victims and risks of contaminating forensic evidence
More than two-thirds of England’s specialist support centres for victims of sexual assault or abuse have been found to have flaws in the care they offer in their most recent full inspections, the Observer can reveal.
Almost half were found to be breaching their minimum legal obligations to victims in their last full inspection, with problems ranging from a failure to deal with suicide and self-harm risks, cleaning so bad it risked contaminating forensic evidence collected for criminal cases, and failures to do adequate background checks on the staff working with victims.
Continue reading...Lowering pollution produced by houses, offices and factories is just as crucial as tackling vehicle emissions
Imposing strict controls on car exhausts will only partially improve the quality of air people breathe in the UK, scientists have said. New measures to counter emissions of nitrogen oxides and other air pollutants will also be needed for buildings, heating plants and many other domestic and industrial sources in future.
The warning follows the controversy that has surrounded London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) in which drivers are charged for their vehicles’ polluting impact. This month the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will expand the zone from inner London so it covers all boroughs in the city. The decision has provoked opposition from some drivers and was blamed by various Labour party figures for the Conservatives surprise byelection win in Uxbridge and South Ruislip last month.
Continue reading...Former Lostprophets frontman reportedly taken to hospital after being held hostage by other inmates at HMP Wakefield
Ian Watkins, the former lead singer with Lostprophets who was jailed for 29 years for child sex offences, has reportedly been stabbed at HMP Wakefield.
He is said to have been taken to hospital after being stabbed at the prison in West Yorkshire.
Continue reading...The government has scrapped controversial guidance over deductions to compensation in miscarriage of justice cases
People who have been wrongly convicted will no longer have to pay living expenses for the time they spent in prison, the government will announce on Sunday after widespread outrage over the case of Andrew Malkinson.
One of Britain’s longest-serving victims of a miscarriage of justice, Malkinson, 57, had his conviction overturned last month by the court of appeal after spending 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit.
Continue reading...Woman says 16-year-old son was exhausted from camping in temperatures of up to 35C and is now at hotel in Seoul
A mother has spoken out about the “unbearable” conditions her son experienced at the World Scout Jamboree campsite in South Korea, after temperatures reached 35C (95F) and organisers refused to end the event early.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said her 16-year-old son had been removed from the site by the UK Scout Association on Saturday because of the heatwave and was sleeping on the floor of a “cramped” hotel room near Seoul airport with three other scouts.
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