Jeremy Hunt and Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey call for wage restraint to help curb inflation
Wages increased at a faster rate than expected in May, putting pressure on the Bank of England to push up the cost of borrowing at its next meeting in August.
Earnings growth hit 7.3%, driven by the strongest rise in private sector pay growth outside the pandemic period of 7.7%, the Office for National Statistics said.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Data shows policy, deepening poverty among low-income families, affects about 1.5 million children
Labour has come under fresh pressure to vow to scrap the two-child benefit cap after it emerged one in four children in some of England and Wales's poorest parliamentary constituencies live in families left at least £3,000 a year out of pocket as a result of the policy.
The party’s stance on the policy, which critics say has been a major driver of deepening poverty among low-income families, is estimated to affect about 1.5 million children and is seen by some in Labour as an indicator of the strength of its determination to tackle child poverty.
Continue reading...Plans would only supply Britain with fossil fuels for an additional three weeks a year, analysis finds
New oil and gas fields in the North Sea would produce only enough gas to satisfy the UK’s needs for a few weeks a year, with a minimal impact on energy security, analysis has found.
Fields now under consideration would supply at most an additional three weeks of gas a year to the UK, from 2024 to 2050, even if none of the gas was exported.
Continue reading...The 87-mile trail follows the River Tamar and links with other routes to create circular walk around whole county
Following the banks of one of the UK’s great rivers, a new walking way has been unveiled linking the north and south coasts of Cornwall and for the first time creating a circular walk around the whole of the county.
The 87-mile (140km) Tamara Coast to Coast Way broadly tracks the River Tamar, which forms most of the border between Cornwall and Devon, taking in landscapes ranging from wooded valley to rolling farmland, heather-covered moors and areas shaped by the region’s mining history.
Continue reading...NGOs behind report suggest minimal savings for Home Office if Bibby Stockholm barge used in place of £5.6m-a-day hotels
Controversial plans to house asylum seekers on a barge to reduce reliance on expensive hotels will save less than £10 a person a day, according to a report.
The report, Bibby Stockholm – At What Cost? from the NGOs Reclaim The Seas and One Life To Live, provides the first detailed estimated costings of the Bibby Stockholm, the barge the Home Office is planning to use in Dorset to accommodate asylum seekers.
Continue reading...Ukraine looks likely to be offered closer integration rather than clear pre-conditions as war with Russia continues
Nato members are not expected to set clear pre-conditions for Ukraine’s eventual membership to the military alliance in the face of caution from the US and Germany while the war with Russia continues.
Ukraine wants clarity on when and how it can join the alliance after the war with Russia ends, believing that western military protection is the only way it can remain unthreatened by its neighbour. However, it looks instead likely to be offered closer integration with Nato and a stronger political declaration in favour of its membership in principle.
Continue reading...No 10 spokesperson says UK ‘certainly’ wants to support Ukraine on the pathway to joining Nato after reports of rift
Joe Biden has arrived at Downing Street for his first time as president ahead of tomorrow’s Nato summit in Lithuania.
After stepping out of US presidential vehicle “the Beast”, he shared a warm handshake with Rishi Sunak on the doorstep and smiled to press before disappearing behind the door to Number 10.
Continue reading...Alleged victim tells Southwark crown court incident occurred in 2008 at US actor’s London flat
An aspiring actor broke down in tears as he told how he “conked out” at Kevin Spacey’s flat before waking up to find the Oscar-winner performing a sex act on him, a court heard.
In his police interview, which was played to Southwark crown court on Monday, the man said he had been told before the meeting that Spacey liked young straight men but that he did not know “at that point he was a predator”.
The man said he felt vulnerable during the alleged assault because of Spacey’s power in the theatre world. He said: “You don’t want to annoy someone that powerful, that high up in the business you are trying to break into. The social sway he had was massive. If he said someone wasn’t going to work, I imagine they wouldn’t work.”
He said he came forward in the wake of the #MeToo movement, telling the police officer: “I said when the Harvey Weinstein thing happened something will happen in the next few weeks with Kevin Spacey.”
Spacey has previously denied 12 charges, including sexual assault and indecent assault, against four men in their 20s and 30s, between 2001 and 2013. The two-time Academy Award winner appeared in the dock on Monday in a dark suit and blue tie, on the seventh day of his month-long trial.
The court heard the man met Spacey in 2008 after writing to the American Beauty star to ask for advice about his fledgling acting career. He said he was starstruck and felt “weirdly special” when Spacey called him a few weeks later and asked to meet him outside Waterloo Station in south London for a beer.
The man said a friend who was present when Spacey called him said the Hollywood star liked “young straight guys”. “But I didn’t know at that point he was a predator,” the man added.
He said he recalled going on a walk with Spacey and his dog before being taken to Spacey’s flat, saying: “He said: ‘This is my place, do you want to come up?’, to which I said: ‘Of course,’ because it’s Kevin Spacey.”
He said Spacey offered him leftover pizza and the pair drank beers and smoked weed. He said soon after, Spacey asked him for a hug before nuzzling his head into his crotch. “He’s rubbing face into my crotch and I remember putting my hands up and seeing Kevin Spacey’s bald patch. I remember thinking this is so weird,” the man said.
Aslef union announces industrial action on 26 and 28 July to coincide with tube strike by RMT members
London Underground drivers will strike on Wednesday 26 July and Friday 28 July in a dispute over pensions and working conditions, the Aslef union has announced.
The latest industrial action will coincide with previously announced strikes by RMT members who work on the capital’s tube network, causing more disruption for commuters and tourists.
Continue reading...Fearing defeats, government expected to limit plans to detain children and pregnant women arriving on small boats
Ministers are offering rebel Conservative MPs concessions on key anti-asylum legislation amid growing concern it could face defeats in the Commons.
The government is expected to limit plans to detain children and pregnant women who arrive in the UK by small boats and drop some of the retrospective applications of the illegal migration bill’s measures, the Guardian understands.
Continue reading...General secretary of union says party should not treat outcome as ‘blank cheque’ as rift remains with leadership
Keir Starmer has been put “on notice” by the leader of Britain’s biggest trade union, who said that its support should not be treated as a “blank cheque”.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, signalled a rift remained with the Labour leadership despite delegates voting to remain affiliated with the party.
Continue reading...Famously suave actor’s family selling items ranging from Lamborghini skis to luxury watches, cufflinks and numerous silk ties
If you ever wanted to dress, schuss or tell the time like James Bond, now might be your only chance: a selection of items including dinner suits, silk cravats, Lamborghini skis and a special edition Omega Seamaster watch are up for auction, all from the personal collection of 007 himself, Roger Moore.
Moore, who died in 2017, played Bond in seven films between 1973 and 1985, beginning with Live and Let Die and ending with A View to a Kill. His family are selling 180 lots of Moore’s own memorabilia, with part of the proceeds going to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), which appointed Moore as a goodwill ambassador in 1991.
Continue reading...Both victims, one of whom was attacked at a hotel housing Afghan refugees, taken to hospital after incident
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two people were stabbed, including one at a hotel housing Afghan refugees, in south-west London.
One person is believed to have been attacked at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Surbiton, while another man was attacked at a garage next door. The incident occurred at approximately 1.45pm on Sunday. Both victims were taken to hospital and the man was taken into police custody.
Continue reading...Scheme aims to raise standard of insulation in 19m of the UK’s leakiest homes
Labour has said that job opportunities for almost 4 million workers would be created under its plan to bring 19m of the UK’s leakiest homes up to an acceptable standard of insulation.
While it has previously said that the plan would reduce annual household energy bills by up to £500, the party has set out details of what it said would be a major expansion of the retrofitting workforce.
Continue reading...Shadow foreign secretary to accuse Conservatives of treating international law with cavalier disrespect
Labour will restore the UK’s tarnished global reputation by backing a global anti-corruption court and by reinstating a requirement to follow international law in the ministerial code, the shadow foreign secretary will say in a speech on Monday.
David Lammy says the measures will restore the country’s reputation for keeping its word, as well as going some way to undo the damage caused by Conservative party scandals in recent years.
Continue reading...Metropolitan police name Nuria Sajjad, eight, as second victim of impact in south-west London on Thursday
A second child has died after a Land Rover crashed through a school fence in south-west London on Thursday.
The Metropolitan police named the girl as eight-year-old Nuria Sajjad.
Continue reading...Scandal over male presenter could define Tim Davie’s tenure and set future direction of the corporation
Tim Davie is facing possibly the biggest crisis of his crisis-strewn stint as the BBC’s director general after one of the corporation’s prominent male television presenters was suspended.
How Davie handles the crisis – and whether he survives it – could define his tenure at the helm of the broadcaster and shape the BBC’s future.
Continue reading...Stephen Cottrell tells General Synod ‘mistakes have been made’, while sacked safeguarding board member says ‘we did our job too well’
The archbishop of York has said there is a “crisis of safeguarding” within the Church of England after its executive disbanded an independent body on abuse.
Stephen Cottrell told the C of E’s ruling body, the General Synod, on Sunday that “mistakes have been made” and that Jesus would be weeping at the events of recent weeks. “We recognise things have gone wrong,” he said. “This is a watershed moment for us. We can’t get this wrong again.”
Continue reading...Meeting between US president and UK PM carries more significance than previous visits in light of recent disagreements
Joe Biden’s meeting in Downing Street on Monday with Rishi Sunak – their fifth in the past five months and the sixth since Sunak become prime minister – probably carries more significance than any other.
Never mind that it is essentially a stopover on the way to the Nato summit in Vilnius and being squeezed between tea with King Charles at Windsor Castle and a speech on climate finance.
Continue reading...Meeting partially overshadowed by US president’s decision to send to Ukraine cluster munitions banned in Britain
Joe Biden will meet King Charles for the first time since the coronation, in a fleeting UK visit that will be used by Rishi Sunak and the US president as a “pre-meeting” ahead of joint efforts at this week’s Nato summit.
However, what will be the sixth meeting between Biden and Sunak since Sunak took office in October has been partly overshadowed by the US president’s decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, weapons that are prohibited by 100 countries including the UK, which currently holds the presidency of a convention banning them.
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