Category Archives: UK news

Starmer suggests US ‘trying to interfere in our democracy’ over Nowak claims

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Prime minister’s office responds after JD Vance blames British teenager’s death on mass migration

​Keir Starmer has suggested the US is trying to interfere in British democracy after JD Vance, the US vice-president, blamed the murder of the British teenager Henry Nowak on mass migration.

The prime minister’s office responded after the senior Republican politician claimed in a post on X that Nowak would be alive “if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it”.

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Thames Water should be nationalised, says Andy Burnham

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Exclusive: Labour’s Makerfield byelection candidate advocates public ownership of water companies as he prepares for potential leadership bid

Thames Water should be nationalised, Andy Burnham has said, revealing public ownership of water companies would “absolutely be an option” under his potential leadership of the Labour party.

Burnham, Labour’s candidate in the Makerfield byelection, has previously called for “greater public control” over the companies. In an interview with the Guardian, he has confirmed this could mean nationalisation.

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Two men convicted of wounding journalist in London ‘on orders of Iran’

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Pouria Zeraati of Iran International TV was stabbed three times outside his London home in attempt to ‘silence’ him

Two men have been found guilty of involvement in a targeted knife attack on an Iranian journalist in London said to have been carried out on behalf of the regime in Tehran.

Pouria Zeraati, a British journalist of Iranian origin, was working for Iran International, a Farsi-language dissident broadcaster, when he was stabbed in the leg outside his west London home in 2024.

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More than a quarter of UK musicians lost all EU work since 2021, report finds

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Average tour earnings down 45%, with nearly three-fifths of musicians saying touring in Europe is no longer viable

More than a quarter of British musicians have lost all their work in the European Union since 2021, according to new research.

The report by European Movement UK, a cross-party campaign group advocating closer UK-EU relations, found that nearly half of British musicians had experienced a reduced amount of work in the EU since 2021, while more than a quarter had stopped working there altogether.

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UK house prices fall for third successive month amid Iran war uncertainty

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Unexpected monthly drop of 0.1% in May leaves price of typical home at £298,806, says lender Halifax

UK house prices fell unexpectedly in May as rising mortgage rates fuelled by the war in Iran affected affordability and homebuyer demand.

The average price of a typical UK home fell by 0.1% in May to £298,806 compared with April, the third consecutive monthly drop recorded by the lender Halifax. Analysts had been expecting a return to growth, with a consensus of a 0.1% rise forecast for May. The monthly drop followed falls of 0.1% in April and 0.5% in March.

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US government criticises ‘two-tier’ UK policing after Henry Nowak murder

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State department warns of ‘ideological conditioning’ in message of condolence to family of murdered student

The US state department has criticised “two-tiered policing” in Britain in a message of condolence to the family of the murder victim Henry Nowak in a thinly veiled rebuke of the UK government.

The 18-year-old student’s murder has been claimed by some as evidence of two-tier policing in the UK – the argument that some groups of people are dealt with more harshly than others for ideological reasons.

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Sexism and bullying keeping women out of careers in sport, MPs told

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Women coaches routinely overlooked, undermined and denied opportunities despite qualifications, say experts

Women are being shut out of careers in sport by entrenched sexism, discrimination and workplace bullying, MPs have been told.

Female coaches are routinely overlooked, undermined and denied opportunities despite their qualifications, experts told a parliamentary select committee on Thursday.

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Get set for a painted lady summer: big year for orange butterflies in Britain

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Migrant insects have been seen in large numbers along east coast thanks to heatwave and benign southerly winds

If you’ve spotted a pale orange butterfly dashing at frenetic pace through streets, fields or gardens, you’ve noticed the new migrants that will add colour to the summer in record-breaking numbers.

What is expected to be the largest arrival of painted lady butterflies in Britain for 17 years is under way after heatwaves and favourable winds ushered thousands if not millions of the insects northwards.

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New claimants seek to sue Elon Musk’s xAI after Labour MP’s test case

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Jess Asato’s lawyer says others want to take action over demeaning sexualised material created by Grok AI tool

New claimants have come forward to take legal action against Elon Musk’s company xAI after the Labour MP Jess Asato launched a test case against the firm over demeaning sexualised material created by its Grok AI tool.

A handful of complainants contacted Asato’s lawyer on Thursday in response to coverage of the MP’s decision to sue Musk’s company for damages over its creation and circulation of fake images of her in a bikini and an AI-created video that she said showed her “being chloroformed and prepared for a sexual assault”.

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Starmer accuses Musk of trying to ‘whip up division’ in UK over Henry Nowak murder

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PM says Britons are ‘reasonable, tolerant people’ and backs MP’s legal action against Grok firm over fake sexualised images

Elon Musk is “interfering in our politics” and attempting to create division, Keir Starmer has said in a significant toughening of government language about the X owner.

The prime minister’s comments come after weeks of posts by Musk on his social media platform about the murder of Henry Nowak, many of which have used far-right themes and talking points.

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Business secretary attacks ‘entitlement’ of Starmer leadership rivals

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Peter Kyle says British politics fails to reward political accomplishment and Labour risks aping Tory instability

The Labour party has not learned the right lessons from the Conservatives about changing leader, a senior cabinet minister has warned, saying in a swipe at potential challengers that “entitlement is not a qualification”.

Peter Kyle, the business secretary, said he was worried that British politics “rewards the wrong behaviour” and there was little credit for the work of his own department, including negotiating trade deals, rescue packages for companies and preserving British industry.

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Former student arrested after man shot with crossbow at University of Surrey

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Saudi national, 21, held on suspicion of attempted murder over incident at Manor Park student village in Guildford

A former University of Surrey student has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was shot with a crossbow in Guildford.

The victim, who is in his 50s and a member of the university’s campus safety team, was seriously injured in the incident and is being treated at Royal Surrey County hospital close to the scene of the shooting.

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Hospitals in England ranking highly for empathy ‘have better patient outcomes’

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Research suggests NHS trusts with higher empathy ratings also benefit financially and have improved staff wellbeing

Patients and staff fare better at hospitals that rank highly on empathy, research suggests, with institutions also benefiting financially by spending less on agency staff, locums and consultants.

The finding comes from the first study to rate NHS trusts in England according to an empathy score that is drawn from information on the organisation’s culture, leadership behaviour and practitioner empathy, among other factors.

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Life-prolonging drug for advanced ovarian cancer gets go-ahead in England

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Elahere is first new drug for chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer to be approved by NHS for 20 years

Hundreds of women with hard-to-treat ovarian cancer can now be offered a new life-prolonging treatment, after NHS England approved its introduction. It is the first new drug for resistant ovarian cancer to be approved for more than 20 years.

Ovarian is the 18th most common type of cancer globally, affecting more than 300,000 women a year. More than three-quarters of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, making it harder to treat.

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NHS to tackle antisemitism after report finds Jewish staff and patients ‘routinely ostracised’

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Lord Mann’s review prompts new training for health bosses and restrictions on political symbols on uniforms

The NHS is taking action to tackle antisemitism after a government-ordered report found that Jewish patients and staff face “routine ostracism” in the service.

Anti-Jewish hatred in the NHS means some patients hide their identity and staff “suffer in silence”, a review by Lord Mann, the government’s adviser on antisemitism, has found.

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Starmer’s chief secretary consoled Mandelson after dismissal as US ambassador, undisclosed texts show

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Darren Jones’s messages include requests for advice on the reshuffle and remarks about former business secretary Jonathan Reynolds

The prime minster’s close ally Darren Jones sent his commiserations to Peter Mandelson after he was sacked as US ambassador in messages that were not disclosed as part of the humble address release.

Jones’s texts also included requests for advice on the reshuffle and disobliging comments about the then business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and the influence of trade unions.

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Thousands more UK black men to be invited for prostate cancer screening

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Health secretary announces expansion of Transform trial but does not back population-wide testing

Thousands more black men will be invited to take part in a prostate cancer screening trial as the health secretary insisted he was “following the science” in not backing population-wide testing.

James Murray accepted a recommendation from the UK national screening committee (UKNSC) that will result in only a few thousand high-risk men with a gene mutation being screened for the disease.

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GPs in England too ‘overloaded’ to help older people at risk of falling, say MPs

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NHS bosses giving evidence to public accounts committee admit current position is unacceptable

GPs in England are so “overloaded” that they cannot help older people who are at risk of falling in what NHS bosses accept is an unacceptable failure of care, the House of Commons’ public accounts committee has said.

Pressure on GPs’ time has intensified as a result of the government’s decision to give patients online access to their services, according to a report by the influential cross-party group of MPs.

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Puffins, dolphins and bumblebees in running to feature on new UK banknotes

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Bank of England says updated imagery will celebrate native wildlife while bolstering anti-counterfeit features

Puffins, dolphins and bumblebees are among the wildlife that could feature on new banknotes in the UK as the Bank of England announces its shortlist.

There has been controversy over the decision, with figures including Nigel Farage criticising the Bank for, he claimed, wanting to replace Winston Churchill with a beaver. The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said it was “a silly thing to do”, and Reform UK’s Farage called it “absolutely crackers”. In the end, no beaver appeared on the shortlist. Mammal options include bottlenose dolphins and red foxes.

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Weight-loss drugs may prevent thousands of knee replacements, study suggests

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Patients with knee arthritis who took medications for at least three years at reduced risk of needing surgery

Taking weight-loss drugs for at least three years could prevent thousands of knee replacements a year, research suggests.

Globally, more than 500 million people have osteoarthritis. Knee arthritis is the most common form, affecting about 14 million people in the US and more than 5 million in the UK. Many will require knee surgery. In the UK more than 120,000 knee replacements are carried out every year.

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