Category Archives: UK news

One in five unpaid carers in England and Wales ‘do not have access to a vehicle’

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Census data shows nearly half a million households that cater for someone disabled or in bad health are without car or truck

About one in five households with an unpaid carer for someone who is disabled or in bad health across England and Wales have no access to a private vehicle, new analysis shows.

The findings show that nearly half a million households across England and Wales (486,341) that include someone disabled or in bad health did not have a car or truck at the time of the 2021 census.

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Rise in UK breweries going bust amid thirst for cheaper craft beers

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45 breweries, mostly smaller makers, enter insolvency in last 12 months, up from 15 the previous year

The number of UK breweries going out of business has tripled in the past year, with smaller craft beer manufacturers most at risk as consumers opt for cheaper options during the cost of living crisis, according to research.

In total, 45 breweries entered insolvency in the 12 months ending 31 March, compared with 15 in the previous year, according to the most recent official Insolvency Service statistics analysed by Mazars, an audit, tax and advisory firm.

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No point in food price measures without targeting small stores, Which? warns

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Consumer group tells chancellor ‘blanket approach’ will not address poor households’ access to affordable food

UK ministers’ efforts to reduce soaring food shopping bills “won’t touch the sides” without measures to make small grocery stores more affordable for low-income households, the chancellor has been warned.

Which?, the consumer group, has written to Jeremy Hunt over concerns that a blanket approach to lowering supermarket bills will not address the problem of accessibility to affordable food, after reports that ministers are considering a voluntary price cap scheme.

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Access to contraception has got harder in England, top doctor says

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Lesley Regan, women’s health ambassador for England, says ‘destructive’ changes to NHS system in 2012 are failing women

Women are finding it harder to access contraception than they did a decade ago, resulting in more unplanned pregnancies, the women’s health ambassador has said.

They have been discouraged by bad experiences, a confusingly disjointed system and long delays for procedures such as the coil or implant insertion, according to Prof Lesley Regan, a leading gynaecologist who was appointed women’s health ambassador for England last year.

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Bournemouth beach deaths: victims named as Joe Abbess and Sunnah Khan

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Family of Joe, 17, pay tribute to ‘fabulous young man’ and relatives of Sunnah, 12, say she ‘was an angel’

A 17-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl who died after getting into difficulty in the water off Bournemouth beach last week have been named as Joe Abbess and Sunnah Khan.

Joe, from Southampton, was described as a “fabulous young man” who was “kind and generous, loving and caring, hardworking and funny”, according to a family statement issued by Dorset police.

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Bowel cancer patients could be spared radiotherapy, US study suggests

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Doctors found some patients could rely on chemotherapy and surgery alone to treat the disease

Thousands of bowel cancer patients could be spared radiotherapy, a study suggests, after doctors discovered they could rely on chemotherapy and surgery alone to treat their disease.

Radiotherapy has been used to treat bowel cancer patients for decades, but the side-effects can be brutal. It can cause problems that negatively affect quality of life, including infertility, the need for a temporary colostomy, diarrhoea, cramping and bladder problems.

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Blocking Jamie Driscoll as Labour’s mayoral candidate is ‘error’, says Unite

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Mayor of North of Tyne was told on Friday he is not on the longlist to be party’s candidate for North East

The Labour party’s decision to exclude a sitting Labour mayor from contesting a forthcoming mayoral contest has been described as a “major error” by Unite, the UK’s leading trade union.

Jamie Driscoll – often described as “the last Corbynista in power” since becoming the first mayor for North of Tyne since 2019 – learned on Friday that he had not made the longlist to be Labour’s mayoral candidate for the new north-east region.

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Search of Nicola Sturgeon’s home ‘proportionate and necessary’, says police chief

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Sir Iain Livingstone says move was not politically motivated and defends use of forensic tent outside house

Scotland’s chief constable, Sir Iain Livingstone, has said the decision to raid Nicola Sturgeon’s home in April and erect a large tent across the entrance was “proportionate and necessary.”

In an interview with the Sunday Times to mark his retirement, Livingstone denied that the move was politically motivated and said the search warrant was independently approved by a judge.

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Met police dealing with at least one dangerous dog a day, figures show

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MPs call for new laws as data shows rise in number of dog seizures is not matched by action against owners

The Metropolitan police are dealing with at least one dangerous dog every day, figures show, as MPs call for ministers to introduce new laws to stop vicious dog attacks.

Police data shows the force seized 479 out-of-control dogs last year under the Dangerous Dogs Act – up from 333 in 2021 and 336 in 2019. As of the start of May this year the Met police had already seized 154 dogs.

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American bully: dog breed under spotlight in UK after fatal attacks

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Breed responsible for nine deaths since 2021, but dog organisations suggest ban may not address the issue

The American bully has quickly become one of the more visible dog breeds in the UK in recent years.

The breed is not recognised by any of the main dog associations in the UK, meaning there are no figures on ownership rates in the country. However, the dogs’ frequent appearance in the news, often under tragic circumstances, suggests they are more prevalent than ever.

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Thames Water accused of ‘flimsy PR stunt’ over bonus as boss’s pay swells

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Sarah Bentley lands £1.5m package despite saying she would shun bonus amid criticism of water companies

Thames Water has been accused of conducting a “flimsy PR stunt” as it prepares to report that its chief executive has landed nearly double her annual salary with a £1.5m pay package – after announcing that she would shun her bonus amid intense criticism of Britain’s water companies.

Sarah Bentley said last month that she and the firm’s finance chief, Alastair Cochran, would forgo their bonuses and any payments due under long-term incentive plans for the 2022-23 financial year.

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Holiday lets nearly negate supply of new homes in tourist areas, study shows

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Campaigners say second homes and holiday lets are taking homes away from residents in hotspots such as Devon and Cumbria

The supply of new homes in some tourist hotspots is being almost completely negated by the rise of second homes and holiday lets, analysis has revealed.

In the Copeland area of the Lake District, which includes the beauty spot of Scafell Pike, there were 426 new homes created in the last three years. Over the same period, 407 existing homes were converted to commercial holiday lets or second homes.

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King Charles to give up home in Wales on edge of Brecon Beacons

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Sources say newly crowned King is letting property go as it is ‘unlikely’ he will be able to use it as before

King Charles is giving up his home in Wales on the edge of the Brecon Beacons with the lease due to expire later this summer.

Llwynywermod was bought for £1.2m by the Duchy of Cornwall estate on behalf of the then prince in 2007 after he spent 40 years searching for the right property.

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Dua Lipa calls UK ministers’ comments on migrants ‘small-minded’

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The London-born singer of Kosovan-Albanian parents says the way Albanians have been discussed has ‘hurt’

Singer Dua Lipa has criticised the way ministers have discussed migrants as “shortsighted and small-minded”.

Lipa, born in London to Kosovan-Albanian parents, said the way the government has discussed Albanians caused her “hurt” as she called for “more empathy”.

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Boris Johnson is told legal advice funding would stop if he hinders Covid inquiry

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Cabinet Office lawyers warn ex-prime minister of consequences if he tries to ‘frustrate or undermine’ work of the investigation

Boris Johnson has been warned that he could lose public funding for legal advice if he tries to “frustrate or undermine” the government’s position on the Covid-19 inquiry.

Cabinet Office lawyers told the former prime minister that money would “cease to be available” if he breaks conditions such as releasing evidence without permission, the Sunday Times reported.

Johnson has been at the centre of a row as ministers launched a high court bid to challenge the inquiry’s demand for his unredacted WhatsApp messages and contemporaneous notebooks.

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Three police officers injured in County Durham knife attack

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Officers injured while checking on an individual in Billingham and taken to hospital to receive stitches

Three police officers were taken to hospital after being injured in a knife attack in north-east England on Friday evening. Officers attended an address in County Durham to carry out a welfare check on an individual.

At the site, they encountered a man with a knife who became aggressive towards them, leaving two Cleveland police officers with puncture wounds and the third with slash wounds.

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Sunak under fire as ‘stupid’ Eat Out to Help Out scheme to be focus of Covid inquiry

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Leading scientist attacks prime minister as criticism mounts of government approach to science during the crisis

Rishi Sunak is facing a barrage of criticism in the run-up to the official Covid-19 inquiry as a leading scientist attacks his “spectacularly stupid” Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which is believed to have caused a sudden rise in cases of the virus.

The prime minister’s role as chancellor during the pandemic is under increasing scrutiny – as is that of his predecessor at No 10, Boris Johnson – in an escalating Covid blame game at Westminster as Lady Hallett prepares to open her investigation into the government’s pandemic response later this month.

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Fan arrested at Wembley for wearing shirt referencing Hillsborough disaster

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  • Police act after image of Manchester United shirt spread online
  • ‘He has been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence’

A man has been arrested at Wembley after a picture emerged of a football fan wearing a jersey with what appeared to be a reference to the Hillsborough disaster printed on the back.

The Metropolitan Police Events Twitter account retweeted a picture of a man wearing a Manchester United shirt that had the number 97 on the back and the words “Not Enough”.

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Labour needs an ‘honest debate’ about Brexit damage, union warns

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Unless Britain develops a closer relationship with the EU it will continue to haemorrhage investment and jobs, says the GMB

The leader of one of the country’s biggest unions has urged Labour to conduct an “honest debate” about the economic damage being caused to working people by Brexit, as evidence grows that it is fuelling inflation and driving jobs and investment abroad.

In an interview with the Observer, Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB union, which is one of Labour’s biggest financial backers, giving more than £1m a year, said politicians of all parties had been too afraid to admit the adverse consequences that leaving the EU was having on jobs and life in working communities.

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Woman sexually assaulted by MP condemns Labour’s complaints process

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Exclusive: Ms A’s comments come as another MP, Geraint Davies, faces allegations of sexual harassment

A woman who was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a Labour MP has condemned the party’s complaints procedures as “fake” and “a political stunt” after the launch of a separate inquiry into claims against Geraint Davies.

The former member for Hartlepool, Mike Hill, was found by a tribunal last year to have victimised his former staff member, known as Ms A, after she spurned his advances. She said the party had initially ignored her complaints, then tried to cover them up, and had offered her little support during a four-year fight for justice.

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