Researchers find people interpret verbose statements of atonement as more genuine than concise ones
Sorry may be the hardest word, but it is also rather on the short side.
And that means it may not be enough to get out of trouble, a study suggests.
Continue reading...Scotland Yard made formal request to interview Christian Brückner, due for release from seven-year rape sentence
The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has refused to be interviewed by the Metropolitan police before his pending release from prison in Germany, the force has said.
The Met confirmed it had submitted a formal international request to question Christian Brückner, the 49-year-old German national who has long been under investigation in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance, but the suspect declined.
Continue reading...British-born Sikh woman in her 20s tells police a racist remark was made during assault in Oldbury
A man has been arrested after a Sikh woman said she had been left “deeply affected” by what police are treating as a racially motivated rape in the West Midlands.
The woman, described as a British-born Sikh in her 20s, told police a racist remark was made to her during the assault in the Tame Road area of Oldbury on Tuesday morning.
Continue reading...Huge survey reveals employment rights policies are popular with public despite many not knowing about bill
Keir Starmer must make the “populist case” for workers’ rights reforms, unions have said, after a new mega-poll suggested the changes were the most popular of almost all policies but have extremely limited public recognition.
The employment rights bill will return to the Commons on Monday with a pledge by senior government figures not to water down changes to zero-hours contracts or new rights at work.
Continue reading...Gurpreet Singh Johal wants to know if stops are linked to his efforts to find out whether UK intelligence played a role in sibling’s arrest
The brother of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh jailed in India, has written to the Home Office to ask why he is being repeatedly stopped at the airport by British border police.
Gurpreet Singh Johal, a Labour councillor in Dumbarton, asked if it was linked to his legal efforts to discover whether British intelligence played a role in his brother’s arrest eight years ago.
Continue reading...UK insurers require critical modifications for sale in country with higher levels of car theft than China
British authorities may have certain concerns about the cyber-spying threat from vehicles made in China, but it turns out the country’s manufacturers have security worries of their own.
Insurers have told Chinese carmakers they need critical modifications for vehicles on British streets: namely, tougher locking devices to make them harder to steal.
Continue reading...Sit Down was played at ‘unite the kingdom’ rally in London but singer says band is ‘antithesis’ of far-right movement
The lead singer of the band James has criticised Tommy Robinson for the “cynical” use of the group’s hit song in a protest video.
Tim Booth said he was “disgusted” that the alternative rock band’s single Sit Down had been played without their permission, as he believed the song was “the antithesis” of the far-right activist’s movement.
Continue reading...Union makes announcement alongside condemnation of racial abuse George Abaraonye suffered after ‘inappropriate remarks’ celebrating shooting
• Charlie Kirk shooting – US politics live
The president-elect of the Oxford Union will face disciplinary proceedings for making “inappropriate remarks” celebrating the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, the union has announced on social media.
George Abaraonye, a student at the University of Oxford who became president-elect of the debating society after a vote in June, posted several comments in a WhatsApp group appearing to celebrate what happened, according to the Telegraph.
Continue reading...After Angela Rayner resigned and Peter Mandelson was sacked, Labour MPs have begun to ask whether Starmer could be challenged as PM
It is the work shortcut that dare not speak its name. A third of people do not tell their bosses about their use of AI tools amid fears their ability will be questioned if they do.
Research for the Guardian has revealed that only 13% of UK adults openly discuss their use of AI with senior staff at work and close to half think of it as a tool to help people who are not very good at their jobs to get by.
Continue reading...Official agency’s figures indicate those who took journalism or marketing far more likely to regret their decision
The UK’s most satisfied graduates are those who studied healthcare subjects, while those who opted for journalism or marketing are far more likely to regret their choices, according to data obtained by the Guardian.
Vets, midwives and paramedics were the happiest with their degrees after entering the workforce, alongside those who studied vocational subjects such as architecture, computer science and construction, and were most likely to say they would study the same course if they were making their university choices again.
Continue reading...Newcastle building society aims for those with smaller deposits and no help hoping to get on to housing ladder
First-time buyers are being offered the chance to borrow up to 98% of the price of a property – but they cannot get help with their deposit from the bank of mum and dad.
Newcastle building society’s First Step mortgage is designed to help those who have been saving to get on the housing ladder.
Continue reading...With his government mired in scandal, an operation to dethrone Starmer is now under way
There has been a joke going around Labour MPs over the past week about three envelopes in Soviet Russia. “Whenever you run into trouble, open them in order,” the instructions go. Envelope one says: “Blame your predecessor.” So he does – and it works. The party officials are satisfied. A year later, problems arise again. He opens envelope two. It says: “Restructure the organisation.”
He does a big reshuffle, changes some titles, and again buys himself some time. Finally, another crisis comes. He opens envelope three. It says: “Prepare three envelopes.”
Continue reading...Mille Colling and Emma Aalto given go-ahead to compete in qualifier for national championships next month
A British ice dancer and her skating partner are to become Finland’s first same-sex team to take part in a competition after a rule change by the country’s skating federation.
Millie Colling, 20, who was born in Gateshead and moved to Finland at the age of six, and Emma Aalto, 19, will compete in a qualifier for the national championships next month after pressing for an amendment to the rules to allow them to enter as a team.
Continue reading...Watchdog says there are also allegations of discriminatory and misogynistic comments, centring on Charing Cross police station
Nine Scotland Yard officers have been suspended after an investigation was launched into claims of excessive use of force and the making of discriminatory and misogynistic comments.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the allegations centre on Charing Cross police station in central London, the source of a previous scandal for the Metropolitan police.
Continue reading...One in five institutions spending less, including in areas such as cancer and heart disease, says report
Universities are cutting back on vital research, with world-leading work on deadly conditions such as cancer and heart disease under threat from an erosion in funding from government and charities, according to a report.
The report, compiled by Universities UK, found that one in five UK universities have reduced their research activity, including cuts to life sciences, medicine and environmental sciences, and many said they were expecting to make steeper cuts in the future because of mounting financial pressures.
Continue reading...Christoper Joell-Deshields to hand over Pride for London’s banking passwords, social media and email accounts
The head of London’s Pride parade, who is fighting claims that he used its funds for his personal benefit, has been ordered by the high court to relinquish control of the organising body’s bank account.
Christoper Joell-Deshields, who was suspended as chief executive last month, consented to an order on Friday to hand over Pride for London’s banking passwords, social media and email accounts.
Continue reading...Decision expected soon after reports in Cairo about status of imprisoned dual-national human rights activist
Keir Starmer has spoken to Abdel Fatah al-Sisi amid reports the Egyptian president has directed his officials to study an internal request to grant a pardon to release the British-Egyptian human rights activist and writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah.
Abd el-Fattah’s British-based family are not commenting on developments save to say they are praying for his release.
Continue reading...It was left to a – albeit extinct – tiny relative of the kangaroo to offer some relief from the blizzard of major events
Where to start in a week so fraught with major events you could hardly draw breath for the news flashes? It started with Trump’s alleged contribution to Jeffrey Epstein’s “birthday book,” shared by the Democrats on social media on Monday and leading to the discovery of a name not widely recognised in the US but of intense interest in the UK – Peter Mandelson. The British ambassador to the US had proffered an undiplomatically warm birthday message to the late child sex offender financier, starting a press scramble that ended, on Thursday, with Keir Starmer firing him.
Continue reading...Concern for ‘anchor tenants’ as trade body warns that stores could put up prices or cut jobs to protect profits
Up to 400 large shops are at risk of closure with as many as 100,000 jobs at risk if the government goes ahead with plans to hit stores with higher business rates, retailers have warned.
Some of the UK’s largest retail premises, including supermarkets and department stores, would face higher property tax charges under new rules being considered by the government before November’s budget.
Continue reading...National Trust-owned painting will be exhibited with a meditation option for art lovers to take a long, lingering look
The impulse to race around a gallery and take in as many wonderful paintings as possible can be hard to resist.
But art enthusiasts are being urged to slow down and take a lingering, meditative look at one of the great self-portraits when it is taken on an unhurried tour of England.
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