Category Archives: UK news

Private landlords in England get £1.6bn a year welfare for ‘non-decent’ homes

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Sadiq Khan describes figures from City Hall analysis as a scandal, with London the worst affected region

Private landlords in England are earning £1.6bn a year in housing benefit in return for providing “non-decent” homes, in what Sadiq Khan has described as a scandal.

The capital is the worst affected region, with £500m in welfare money going on privately rented homes that are in a state of disrepair, cold, damp, lacking modern facilities or do not meet health and safety standards, according to City Hall analysis.

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Keir Starmer says NHS is ‘broken’ and in jeopardy under Tories

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Research by Labour shows 4.5 million in England went to A&E last year due to lack of GP appointments

Keir Starmer has said the NHS is “broken” and he believes the future of the health service is in jeopardy under the Conservatives.

The Labour leader accused the Tories of presiding over a “cycle of decline” as new research by his party shows that nearly a fifth of patients in England, which equates to 4.5 million people, went to A&E last year because they were unable to get a GP appointment.

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Six people treated in hospital after dog attacks near Birmingham school

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Man, 28, arrested after out-of-control dogs injure six people and school goes into lockdown

Six people have been treated in hospital after two dogs on the loose attacked people near a primary school, police said.

An elderly man was taken to hospital with bite injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening after the incident in Willow Gardens, in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, shortly after 2.30pm on Tuesday.

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Women’s Institute will ‘continue to celebrate’ transgender women amid inclusivity row

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Exclusive: Melissa Green, CEO of the organisation, says it won’t be part of ‘toxic’ debate on trans membership

The Women’s Institute will continue to “celebrate” the lives of the transgender women enriching its membership, the head of the organisation said on Tuesday, following reports that it was facing a bid to overturn inclusive policy.

Melissa Green, CEO of the the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI), said the organisation did not want to enter into a “toxic and divisive” row that sought to sow discord among women, but instead foster sensible discourse and reflect the lives of all its members – including those that are transgender.

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French publisher arrested in London on terrorism charge

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Ernest Moret was stopped at rail station and taken into custody, where he was questioned about his participation in French protests

A French publisher has been arrested on terror charges in London after being questioned by UK police about participating in anti-government protests in France.

Ernest Moret, 28, a foreign rights manager for Éditions la Fabrique, was approached by two plainclothes officers at St Pancras station on Monday evening after arriving by train from Paris to attend the London book fair.

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Arrest of SNP treasurer overshadows Humza Yousaf’s policy relaunch

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Colin Beattie arrest announced as new first minister prepared to set out ‘fresh vision’ to MSPs

Attempts by Scotland’s new first minister, Humza Yousaf, to stamp his authority on his already beleaguered administration were scuppered by the arrest of the Scottish National party’s treasurer hours before a major policy statement.

Police Scotland said Colin Beattie, 71, the SNP MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh and a former banker, had been taken into custody on Tuesday morning and was being interviewed by detectives as part of an investigation into the party’s funding and finances. He was released without charge later that day, pending further investigation.

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UK should not ‘pull the shutters down’ on China, says James Cleverly

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Exclusive: British foreign secretary says failing to engage ‘closely and regularly’ with Beijing would be ‘really counterproductive’

Britain should not “pull the shutters down” on China, as it would be counterproductive to the national interest, the foreign secretary has told the Guardian.

In a warning to Conservative hawks, James Cleverly insisted there was not a binary choice to be made between treating China as either a threat or an opportunity, and said the UK’s approach needed to be more nuanced.

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UK imposes sanctions on art collector accused of financing Hezbollah

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Nazem Ahmad, who has owned works by Picasso and Warhol, suspected of laundering money for militant group

A high-profile art collector has been put on a Treasury sanctions list and charged in the US over claims that he uses his collection, which has included masterpieces by Pablo Picasso, Antony Gormley and Andy Warhol, to launder money for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Nazem Ahmad, a diamond and art dealer who once posed in his Beirut penthouse for a glossy magazine and featured in a piece about the “world’s most beautiful homes and the fascinating people who live in them”, has been targeted in the UK under new counter-terrorism powers.

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UK company mining gold in Amazon on disputed land

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London-listed Serabi Gold extracting gold without approval of Brazilian land registry and Indigenous communities

A London-listed company has been mining gold in the Amazon rainforest without approval from the Brazilian land agency or the consent of nearby Indigenous communities, according to an investigation by the Guardian and partners.

Serabi Gold has been blasting 4.5 metre-wide tunnels and trucking ore from the Coringa project site in Pará state. But interviews with land agency officials and documents seen by the Guardian, Unearthed and Sumaúma indicate that ownership of the area is disputed and the land was allegedly occupied by illegal land-grabbers.

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India and Russia in ‘advanced talks’ over free trade agreement

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Deal would build closer economic ties as most western states push to isolate Moscow over Ukraine

India and Russia have entered “advanced negotiations” over a free trade agreement that aims to build closer economic ties as most western governments push to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

In a development likely to add to tensions in Washington, London and EU capitals, Russia and India’s trade ministers said on Monday the two countries were in talks to strike a free trade deal.

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Sunak’s maths to 18 plan ‘misguided’, says man asked to promote it

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Film-maker asked by No 10 to be ‘maths champion’ says ‘nobody thought to ask me whether I support this policy’

Downing Street has reportedly ditched a campaign to promote Rishi Sunak’s “maths to 18” policy after officials only obtained one case study – a film-maker who actually thinks the proposal is “misguided” and “tone deaf”.

The prime minister’s office appears to have left it until the last minute to seek endorsements from people across British industry for a social media push, the Times reports. Stephen Fellows, a leading film data analyst, was approached on Friday, three days before the PM relaunched the policy with a speech in London.

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Man, 71, arrested in connection with SNP funding investigation, say police

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Suspect is in custody and being questioned by detectives, says Police Scotland

A 71-year-old man has been arrested as a suspect in connection with the investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National party, Police Scotland has said.

The force said: “A 71-year-old man has today, Tuesday, 18 April 2023, been arrested as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National party. The man is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.

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Sickness drags down UK economy as job vacancies go unfilled

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Rishi Sunak wants growth, but ONS figures show rising levels of inactivity because of ill-health

Unwelcome though it is for a government facing strikes by doctors and nurses in the months ahead, the message from the latest labour market figures is clear: Britain is already the sick man of Europe.

More than 2.5 million people who are economically inactive cite long-term sickness as the reason why they are not looking for a job – and the number is rising sharply.

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Real value of UK pay continues to slide as inflation bites

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Wage increases in February outstripped by rises in cost of living, as unemployment rate rises

The real value of UK workers’ pay has continued to fall at the fastest rate for more than a decade, as wage increases in February were outstripped by high inflation.

The Office for National Statistics said annual growth in average pay, excluding bonuses, held steady at 6.6% in the three months to February despite a small rise in unemployment and decline in the number of job vacancies.

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EasyJet expects bigger profits as summer bookings soar

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Budget airline has ramped up capacity and expects to be back to about pre-Covid levels

EasyJet has lifted its profit outlook for this year after summer bookings surged and passenger numbers over Easter returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The budget airline has increased capacity, by 40% from January to March, and expects to be back to about pre-pandemic levels in the summer.

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New prepayment meter rules must be properly enforced, says Grant Shapps

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Suppliers in Great Britain have agreed code banning them from installations in homes of over-85s

The energy secretary, Grant Shapps, has urged Ofgem to turn words “into action” to ensure new industry rules designed to protect vulnerable people from being forced on to prepayment meters are properly enforced.

The Guardian revealed on Monday that all energy suppliers in Great Britain had signed up to a code of conduct banning them from putting the meters in the homes of people aged 85 and over as well as those with severe health conditions.

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Rishi Sunak investigated by standards commissioner over claims he failed to register an interest – UK politics live

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It is thought complaint refers to prime minister’s wife, Akshata Murty, being a shareholder in a childcare agency

Q: Are you going to have to offer more money to teachers?

Sunak says what is on offer is “a good and fair settlement”.

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Scottish Labour leader criticises ‘deluded’ SNP amid party donations row

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Anas Sarwar tells rally in first minister’s constituency the party is rapidly losing right to govern

The Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, has accused the Scottish National party of being politically bankrupt and deceitful, as further questions emerged about Nicola Sturgeon’s role in discussions over party finances.

Sarwar told a Labour rally in Glasgow the SNP was rapidly losing its right to govern after Sturgeon’s party endured a divisive battle to succeed her as leader, followed by a series of dramatic developments in the police inquiry into SNP finances.

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UK progressive Judaism bodies merge to give movement more reach and voice

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New organisation will represent about 30% of British Jews who are affiliated to synagogues

Two bodies representing progressive Judaism in the UK have joined forces to give their movement greater reach and a stronger voice.

The Movement for Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism announced on Monday that they would put aside 120 years as separate organisations “to create one single unified progressive Jewish movement for the UK”.

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