Category Archives: UK news

Man released on bail after fatal dog attack in Staffordshire

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Investigation continues after Ian Price, 52, died after being attacked by two dogs on Thursday

A man arrested in connection with the death of Ian Price, who was killed after an attack by two dogs in Staffordshire, has been released on conditional bail.

Price, who was 52, died in hospital after being attacked in Stonnall, near Walsall, shortly after 3pm on Thursday. A 30-year-old man was detained on suspicion of manslaughter and being in charge of dogs dangerously out of control.

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Russell Brand posts video denying ‘very serious criminal allegations’

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Actor and comedian makes statement after receiving letters from ‘mainstream media TV company’ and newspaper

Russell Brand has vehemently denied “very serious criminal allegations” about his personal life, in a video in which he does not specify what the claims are but insists his relationships have always been consensual.

In a clip posted on YouTube and to his social media platforms, the actor and comedian said he had received communications from a “mainstream media TV company” and a newspaper “listing a litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks” that he “absolutely refutes”.

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Man arrested over trespass at Buckingham Palace stables

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Officers detain 25-year-old man after receiving reports of person climbing walls in early hours

A man has been arrested near Buckingham Palace after police received reports of a person trying to climb the walls in the early hours of Saturday.

Officers said a 25-year-old was arrested under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act for trespassing on a protected site.

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How anti-Ulez campaigners misused air pollution finding in Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah death

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Three years after unprecedented inquest ruling, absence of other cases has left a gap for pollution sceptics to exploit

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah reserves a withering eye roll for people who question the impact that air pollution has on the health of children living in London. It helps her to shrug off the increasingly politicised debate over what needs to be done to improve the capital’s air quality.

Adoo-Kissi-Debrah fought a calm and determined campaign for seven years to make sure air pollution was included on her daughter Ella’s death certificate, and in December 2020 a second inquest ruled that air pollution contributed to Ella’s death from asthma in 2013.

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Keir Starmer arrives in Canada to set out stall on immigration policy

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Diplomatic and media blitz for Labour leader will include appearances on Sunday morning political shows

Keir Starmer has arrived in Canada to set out his doctrine for tackling international threats at a gathering of world leaders, the latest step in the Labour leader’s move to flesh out policy in politically turbulent areas such as immigration.

Amid continued efforts by Starmer and his team to push back against the “nonsense” that closer cooperation with the EU would involve the UK having to accept 100,000 asylum-seekers a year, the Labour leader was in Montreal for the Global Progress Action Summit of centre-left politicians.

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US and UK issue sanctions on Iran one year on from Mahsa Amini’s death

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Multiple rounds of sanctions mark anniversary of 22-year-old’s death in custody of Iran’s ‘morality police’

The US and Britain on Friday imposed sanctions on Iran on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the death of a Kurdish Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, while in the custody of Iran’s “morality police”, which sparked months of anti-government protests that faced often violent crackdown.

Amini, 22, died on 16 September last year after being arrested for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic’s mandatory dress code. Her death sparked months of anti-government protests that marked the biggest show of opposition to Iranian authorities in years. Iranian security forces have been deployed in her home town in anticipation of unrest this weekend.

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Brixton Academy can reopen once it meets ‘extensive’ safety conditions

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Lambeth council says measures will include new security, a crowd management system and a command centre

Brixton Academy can reopen once the venue has met 77 “extensive and robust” conditions “designed to promote public safety”, Lambeth council said.

The conditions include stronger doors, new crowd management systems, more detailed risk assessments, a new ticketing system, a centralised control and command centre and new security and management.

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Animal welfare groups criticise American XL bullies ban, saying they’re ‘deeply concerned’ about lack of evidence – UK politics live

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PM says breed, responsible for series of attacks, will be banned once it has been properly defined

Here is the full text of what Rishi Sunak said in his video statement about banning American XL bully dogs. (See 11.50am.)

The American XL bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.

I share the nation’s horror at the recent videos we’ve all seen. Yesterday we saw another suspected XL bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.

It’s clear the American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities.

I’ve ordered urgent work to define and ban this breed so we can end these violent attacks and keep people safe.

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Met police agree six-figure payout to man hit by baton at protest

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Exclusive: Alfie Meadows underwent brain surgery after being struck by officer at tuition fees demonstration

The Metropolitan police have apologised and agreed to pay a six-figure settlement to a man who needed emergency brain surgery after being hit by an officer’s baton during the 2010 university tuition fees protests.

Alfie Meadows, then a 20-year-old philosophy student at Middlesex University, sustained a brain injury after he was struck on the head during demonstrations against the tripling of tuition fees. He needed more than 100 staples in his head and was left with a large scar.

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Vogue World to donate £2m to London-based arts organisations

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National Theatre and Royal Ballet among 21 groups to receive grants from new fund

Vogue World will donate £2m to London-based arts organisations through a newly established fund, Condé Nast has announced.

The star-studded event at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Thursday night was masterminded by the Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, and the Bafta- and Olivier-winning director Stephen Daldry. Its aim was to celebrate London’s heritage as a cultural powerhouse and to raise money for the UK’s cash-strapped performing arts scene.

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Trio remanded into custody charged with 10-year-old Sara Sharif’s murder

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Father, stepmother and uncle of girl, whose body was discovered in Woking last month, will appear at Old Bailey

The father, stepmother and uncle of Sara Sharif have been remanded into custody by a district judge after being charged with the 10-year-old’s murder.

Urfan Sharif, 41, Beinash Batool, 29, and Faisal Malik, 28, from Woking appeared at Guildford magistrates court on Friday after being arrested at Gatwick airport on Wednesday evening.

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Bahraini human rights defender denied travel to kingdom to visit jailed father

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Maryam al-Khawaja fears her father, the political prisoner Abdulhadi al-Khawajar, will die soon after being denied medical treatment

A leading Bahraini human rights defender and the heads of two global rights groups have been prevented from boarding a flight to Manama, where they intended to try to get access to her father, one of Bahrain’s most prominent political prisoners.

“We were told they were not allowed to board us. Despite my being a Bahraini citizen, I was told I have to speak to Bahraini immigration … effectively we’re being denied boarding by British Airways on behalf of the Bahraini government,” said Maryam al-Khawaja, flanked by the head of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, and the acting head of Front Line Defenders, Olive Moore, in the departure area of Heathrow airport.

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TikTok fined €345m for breaking EU data law on children’s accounts

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Irish data regulator says platform put 13- to 17-year-old users’ accounts on default public setting, among other breaches

TikTok has been fined €345m (£296m) for breaking EU data law in its handling of children’s accounts, including failing to shield underage users’ content from public view.

The Irish data watchdog, which regulates TikTok across the EU, said the Chinese-owned video app had committed multiple breaches of GDPR rules.

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Starmer attacked from left and right after setting out plan to stop Channel crossings

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Labour leader accused of pandering to anti-migrant sentiments by those on the left while Tories seize on proposal for deal with EU

Keir Starmer was under attack from left and right on Thursday after he set out plans to stop small boat Channel crossings in Labour’s first big intervention on the issue.

Fleshing out his party’s proposals, the Labour leader promised to ditch the use of barges, hotels and military sites to house asylum seekers. He also promised to recruit 1,000 caseworkers to end the asylum backlog.

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Health of LSE academic detained in Azerbaijan at risk, say family

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Son calls on UK to intervene in case of Gubad Ibadoghlu, critic of Azerbaijani government who was arrested there in July

The family of a UK-based Azerbaijani academic and prominent opposition figure have raised concerns over his health after he was detained during a visit to the country and have called on the UK government to intervene.

Gubad Ibadoghlu, a senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics, was arrested and held by Azerbaijan authorities while visiting family in July. He is facing up to 12 years in prison for the production, acquisition or sale of counterfeit money by an organized group and allegedly possessing extremist material – charges he denies.

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Flights cancelled at Gatwick after short-notice staff absences

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Temporary air traffic control restrictions led to 22 flights being cancelled and others diverted

Flights have been cancelled, delayed and rerouted at Gatwick due to short-notice staff absences in the air traffic control team, the airport has said.

The transport hub in West Sussex has apologised to those affected by the temporary air traffic control restrictions enforced on Thursday evening which led to 22 flights being cancelled.

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Greater Manchester police officers’ data hacked in cyber-attack

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Details of thousands of officers may have been taken in ransomware attack on third-party supplier

The personal details of tens of thousands of public sector workers could have been breached in a cyber-attack that has hit two of Britain’s biggest police forces, an expert has said.

More than 12,500 Greater Manchester police (GMP) officers and staff were put on alert on Thursday that their private data had been compromised in a hack that also hit the Metropolitan police last month.

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Miriam Margolyes to star as ‘the Meep’ in Doctor Who 60th-anniversary series

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Actor, 82, said her new role as an alien in the sci-fi series has made ‘an old woman very happy’

Miriam Margolyes will feature in one of the 60th-anniversary episodes of Doctor Who that will air this November, the BBC has announced.

Margolyes, 82, who has appeared in Blackadder, Babe and the Harry Potter films, will be the voice behind the Meep – or Beep the Meep – the furry and seemingly adorable alien adapted from the Star Beast comic strip in a special for the series. The creature will feature in an episode with the same name.

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HS2 at risk of further cuts to route north of Birmingham amid budget squeeze

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Fresh uncertainty for high-speed line as leak suggests Sunak and Hunt have discussed cost implications of Manchester phase

The HS2 high-speed rail line is at risk of further cuts to its route north of Birmingham as the government considers whether it can afford high-cost projects in advance of the autumn budget.

The project has been mired in fresh uncertainty after the prime minister’s spokesperson refused to guarantee on Thursday it would run to Manchester, after publication of a photographed document suggesting further cuts were under discussion.

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