Committee to conclude review of bill by 7 November. This live blog is closed
The UK is preparing to recognise the state of Palestine imminently, after Israel failed to meet conditions that would have postponed the historic step, including a ceasefire in Gaza, Patrick Wintour reports.
YouGov has relased polling today suggesting that Britons are in favour of this by more than two to one, although a large minority of people do not have a view.
Continue reading...Network Rail says train named after public vote will join fleet of ‘unsung hero’ leaf-busters this autumn
If Boaty McBoatface taught us one thing, it’s that the public do not take a naming ceremony particularly seriously.
Cue the newly named leaf-removal train: Ctrl Alt Deleaf.
Continue reading...Increase of 0.5% in August helped by back-to-school shopping, while food stores also given lift
Back-to-school shopping and warm weather helped to boost retail sales last month, according to the latest official data.
Total retail sales in Great Britain rose 0.5%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, as parents prepared for the new school year and shoppers enjoyed a series of heatwave and the summer’s last bank holiday.
Continue reading...Home Office says man left Heathrow for Paris early on Friday after losing high court attempt to block move
An Eritrean man has been deported to France under the UK government’s “one in, one out” deal with the neighbouring country.
The man – the second to be deported under the agreement – was on a flight that left Heathrow for Paris at 6.15am on Friday, the Home Office confirmed after he lost a high court attempt to block the move.
Continue reading...PM cannot afford for US president to walk away from Ukraine crisis and must persuade him to publicly support specific Gaza plans
With bear traps avoided and fireworks unlit, Keir Starmer will be delighted that his press conference with Donald Trump lent credence to his claim to be America’s first partner in defence, trade and now technology.
Trump, for his part, got the “great pictures” he wanted and was on his best low-wattage behaviour. He said he did not disagree with his host about much, save Starmer’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state. And he teetered on the edge of being diplomatic, at least until he advised Starmer to use the military to stop small boats crossing the Channel.
Continue reading...Move comes after Israel fails to meet UK conditions that would have postponed step
The UK is preparing to recognise the state of Palestine as early as Friday, after Israel failed to meet conditions that would have postponed the historic step, including a ceasefire in Gaza.
Keir Starmer insisted the timing of the UK announcement had nothing to do with Donald Trump’s visit, even though the US president said at a press conference that he disagreed with Britain’s decision, without elaborating.
Continue reading...The Normal People author can no longer safely enter the UK without potentially facing arrest, according to a statement read out by her publisher at the prize ceremony
Irish author Sally Rooney could not travel to collect a literary prize this week over concerns that she may be arrested if she enters the UK, given her support of banned group Palestine Action.
Rooney won the Sky Arts award for literature for her fourth novel, Intermezzo. At a ceremony on Tuesday, audiences were told that Rooney “couldn’t be here”, before her editor, Faber publisher Alex Bowler, collected the award on her behalf.
Continue reading...Starmer says deals worth £250bn are ‘flowing both ways across the Atlantic’
President Trump is now leaving Windsor Castle. He will be flying to Chequers by helicopter.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has thanked King Charles for what he said at the state banquet last night strongly supporting the Ukrainian cause.
I extend my deepest thanks to His Majesty King Charles III @RoyalFamily for his steadfast support. Ukraine greatly values the United Kingdom’s unwavering and principled stance.
When tyranny threatens Europe once again, we must all hold firm, and Britain continues to lead in defending freedom on many fronts. Together, we have achieved a lot, and with the support of freedom-loving nations—the UK, our European partners, and the US—we continue to defend values and protect lives. We are united in our efforts to make diplomacy work and secure lasting peace for the European continent.
Our countries have the closest defence, security and intelligence relationship ever known. In two world wars, we fought together to defeat the forces of tyranny.
Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace. And our Aukus submarine partnership, with Australia, sets the benchmark for innovative and vital collaboration.
Continue reading...Report shows 334 companies backed by Future Fund, set up in May 2020 by then chancellor, have since gone under
UK taxpayers have lost £400m following the collapse of hundreds of startups backed by a heavily criticised Covid-era investment fund launched by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor.
The Future Fund spent £1.14bn backing 1,190 companies, some of them of types not usually associated with government portfolios such as the sex party organiser Killing Kittens and the now defunct festival tickets business Pollen.
Continue reading...Arun Arora, bishop of Kirkstall, says Christians should not be ‘neutral in the face of violence and injustice’
A Church of England bishop has called on Christians to reclaim the flag and their faith from rightwing activists, saying both were being desecrated by people seeking to divide the nation.
The Right Rev Arun Arora, the bishop of Kirkstall and the C of E’s co-lead on racial justice, made his comments in a sermon days after more than 110,000 people marched through London in a rightwing protest, many carrying crosses.
Continue reading...Agreement reached with France allows for removal of asylum seekers who arrive on small boats
The first Channel migrant has been deported to France under the controversial one in, one out deal, the Home Office has confirmed.
It follows three days of cancellations of tickets of asylum seekers due to fly and a high court challenge that halted the imminent removal of a 25-year-old Eritrean man to France on Tuesday evening. He was granted more time to gather evidence relating to his claim that he is a victim of trafficking.
Continue reading...Politicians, dignitaries and high-profile tech entrepreneurs attend feast
Lucy Powell has hit out at the “sexist” framing of her deputy Labour leadership campaign, with people claiming she and her rival, Bridget Phillipson, are standing as “proxies” for two men, Aletha Adu reports.
Most of Donald Trump’s policies horrify progressives and leftwingers in Britain, including Labour party members and supporters, but Keir Starmer has said almost nothing critical about the Trump administration because he has taken a view that maintaining good relations with the White House is in the national interest.
I understand the UK government’s position of being pragmatic on the international stage and wanting to maintain a good relationship with the leader of the most powerful country in the world. Faced with a revanchist Russia, Europe’s security feels less certain now than at any time since the second world war. And the threat of even higher US tariffs is ever present.
But it’s also important to ensure our special relationship includes being open and honest with each other. At times, this means being a critical friend and speaking truth to power – and being clear that we reject the politics of fear and division. Showing President Trump why he must back Ukraine, not Putin. Making the case for taking the climate emergency seriously. Urging the president to stop the tariff wars that are tearing global trade apart. And putting pressure on him to do much more to end Israel’s horrific onslaught on Gaza, as only he has the power to bring Israel’s brazen and repeated violations of international law to an end.
Continue reading...James Desborough, 39, charged with murder of Steven Kempster, 65, who was found dead in his cell early Monday morning
A 39-year-old man has been charged with murder after the death of a fellow inmate at a prison in Devon, police have said.
James Desborough has been charged with the murder of 65-year-old Steven Kempster who died after an incident at HMP Exeter on Monday.
Continue reading...Home Office says it will review modern slavery laws to save PM’s ‘one in, one out’ returns deal with France
Shabana Mahmood has accused asylum seekers of making “vexatious, last-minute claims” to avoid removal to France as the Home Office said it would review modern slavery laws to save Keir Starmer’s returns deal.
After an 11th-hour injunction that scuppered Labour’s “one in, one out” scheme, the home secretary said she would stop claimants “suddenly deciding that they are a modern slave on the eve of their removal”, adding that it made a “mockery of our laws and this country’s generosity”.
Continue reading...Met chief Mark Rowley says many questions remain and detectives are liaising with German and Portuguese police
Mark Rowley has said the British police investigation into Madeleine McCann will explore extraditing the German national Christian Brückner to the UK to stand trial over the three-year-old’s disappearance.
Brückner was released from a German prison on Wednesday after serving a seven-year jail term for the rape of an elderly woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2005, two years before Madeleine disappeared while on holiday with her family in the same town.
Continue reading...Video from ‘unite the kingdom’ rally captured man saying ‘someone needs to shoot Keir Starmer’
A man allegedly captured on video at the far-right rally in London on Saturday threatening to kill Keir Starmer has been arrested by police.
An investigation was launched on Sunday in connection with the video, which was filmed at the event organised by the far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson.
Continue reading...Third option for juries – blamed for country’s lower conviction rates for rape and sexual assault – abolished
The Scottish verdict of “not proven” – a global legal anomaly thought to be a key factor in the country’s significantly lower convictions rate for rape and sexual assault – has been abolished.
MSPs agreed to scrap the unique Scottish verdict as they voted through a series of major changes that Angela Constance, the justice secretary, said “put victims and witnesses at the heart of a modern and fair justice system”.
Continue reading...Authorities say they no longer have legal justification to hold Christian Brückner in jail after serving rape sentence
The main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is expected to be freed on Wednesday as German authorities admit they no longer have legal justification to hold him in jail.
Christian Brückner, 49, is due to be released from prison in Sehnde, northern Germany, after serving a sentence for the rape of an American woman, then 72 years old, in Portugal in 2005.
Continue reading...Negotiations soon to begin on UK’s entry to Safe scheme, which it hopes will secure bigger role for its defence firms
France has proposed limiting the use of British-produced military components in the EU’s €150bn defence fund, in a move that could complicate negotiations over the UK’s entry into the scheme.
Four diplomatic sources told the Guardian that French officials had proposed a 50% ceiling on the value of UK components in projects financed through the EU’s €150bn Security Action for Europe (Safe) fund.
Continue reading...Parentkind charity also says 33% of parents of children with special educational needs reported financial strain
One in three parents have sought a special needs assessment for their child, according to a survey that reveals a surge in demand for special needs support in schools across the UK.
The figures were released amid mounting apprehension in England over national plans to reform special needs provision amid rising costs and a severe shortage of dedicated special school places.
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