Category Archives: UK news

New nurses’ strikes likely in England if RCN members reject pay offer

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Union to announce result of vote on Friday after its leaders recommended that ministers’ offer be accepted

Nurses in England will go back on strike this month if RCN members reject ministers’ latest pay offer, with officials saying the result of the three-week ballot is too close to call.

The Royal College of Nursing will announce the results of its vote on Friday after a lengthy consultation period in which many members have opposed the recommendation of union leaders to accept the government’s proposed deal.

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Ministry of Defence awards £650m to firms working on Tempest fighter jet

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BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce among those funded, with aim of producing new aircraft by 2035

The Ministry of Defence has awarded £650m to manufacturers working on its Tempest fighter jet, in the latest sign that the UK is pushing forward with the aim of producing the aircraft by 2035.

The companies who will receive the money are led by manufacturer BAE Systems, jet engine maker Rolls-Royce, and the UK arms of Italy’s Leonardo and European missile-maker MBDA.

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Joe Biden due to address Irish parliament after saying US relationship with Ireland getting ‘stronger and stronger’ – politics live

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US president praises emerging relationship with Ireland to taoiseach Leo Varadkar

Chris Philp, the policing minister, has published an article in the Telegraph today explaining the changes being introduced to the way that police record crimes in England and Wales. The changes are being introduced following recommendations from the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

Philp says:

Firstly, we are dropping the requirement for police to record some crimes twice or more, reintroducing the previous “principal offence” rule. This will remove multiple entries on the database which effectively re-record the same incident many times.

Accurate crime recording is vital, and these changes will better reflect victims’ experience. Recording crime does not equate to investigating crime and the police will continue to pursue all offences involved in the incident.

Accurate records of crime must be kept, and crimes will be recorded. These changes to the crime-recording rules will enable police to target and focus investigations and provide victims the service they deserve.

Ambulance response times for all types of emergencies have got longer, including for life-threatening illnesses and injuries, but remain below record levels.

Meanwhile around one in 10 people arriving at major A&E departments are having to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged – the first time data of this kind has been published.

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Masterpieces and margaritas: National Portrait Gallery to open new bar as part of revamp

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London gallery will be latest institution to offer after-hours events when it reopens in June after a £35m refurbishment

If gazing at paintings in the hushed surroundings of an art gallery isn’t your thing, perhaps cocktails, live DJ sets and quirky fashion shows are. In which case, head straight to that art gallery.

This week the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in central London announced that when it reopens in June after a £35m refurbishment, a new bar will serve cocktails and small plates long after its display areas have closed.

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Body found in search for dog walker missing in north Wales

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Ausra Plungiene disappeared after leaving home in Prestatyn on Tuesday morning

A body has been found in the search for a woman who went missing while walking her dog, police have said.

Ausra Plungiene, 56, from Prestatyn, north Wales, was last seen on Tuesday when she is believed to have left for a walk with her dog, Eyora, at about 10.30am but failed to return home.

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Medical crowdfunders for Britons surge amid record NHS waiting lists

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Appeals to pay for private care linked to waiting lists or cost of living crisis have soared since Covid pandemic

The number of Britons crowdfunding for private medical care has soared since the Covid-19 pandemic, as NHS waiting lists continue to reach record lengths.

Figures provided to the Guardian by GoFundMe, a website that helps people raise money, show 84% more medical crowdfunders mentioning “waits” or “waiting lists” were launched this March than in January 2019, before the pandemic.

The number of medical campaigns containing the words “go private” or “privately” had also doubled.

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Ukrainian orchestra’s key members refused visas to play in UK

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Promoter claims ‘catastrophe’ has cost it more than £88k and accuses British government of hypocrisy

Key members of a Ukrainian state orchestra were refused visas to play a series of concerts in the UK this month in a “catastrophe” that the promoter claims cost it more than €100,000 (£88,000).

The Khmelnitsky Orchestra was due to tour the UK this month with two shows: The Magical Music of Harry Potter, and The Music From the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit andThe Rings of Power.

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EU motorist fined almost £11,000 after falling foul of London Ulez rule

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French hire car met emissions standard but had not been registered with TfL, resulting in penalty notices

A motorist was fined nearly £11,000 for driving his French rental car in London’s ultra-low emission zone on a three-day trip to the UK, despite the fact the vehicle met the environmental standards to enter the Ulez for nothing.

Christian Ducarre received four penalty charge notices (PCNs) after falling foul of a little-known requirement under which foreign vehicles must be registered with Transport for London (TfL) or else be deemed non-compliant by default.

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Sunak: I can’t be sure small boats will be stopped before election

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PM calls fulfilling Channel crossings pledge ‘complicated’ in wide-ranging ConservativeHome interview

Rishi Sunak has risked provoking the ire of Conservative MPs who want a swift end to people crossing the Channel illegally, by refusing to guarantee that his pledge to “stop the boats” will be fulfilled by the next general election.

A hot topic, given that the number of landings is expected to increase as summer approaches, the prime minister tempered expectations by stressing it would not be easy to deliver on his promise.

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Why has Labour turned nasty? – podcast

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The party’s latest ad campaign launches personal attacks on Rishi Sunak. What’s behind its new ruthless approach?

Labour’s new attack ad campaign came as a shock, even to some senior members of the party. Its social media strategy ahead of next month’s local elections started with a highly personal attack on Rishi Sunak, suggesting he somehow does not think adults who sexually assault children should go to prison. It was followed by another ad focusing on the Sunak family’s taxes.

It’s a marked change from Keir Starmer’s previous approach of emphasising his personal integrity and insisting he wants to bring honesty back into politics. So what’s changed? The Guardian’s deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot, explains what it says about the party’s confidence, unity – and the threat posed by Sunak. And she tells Hannah Moore whether it could mean the next general election will be be the most ruthlessly fought yet.

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Inaction on diabetes has plunged the the UK into a wholly avoidable crisis

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Government sleepwalking, junk food and rising inactivity have created a health emergency that has been warned of for decades

The warnings about a looming, large and potentially lethal diabetes crisis in the UK have been sounded for years. Tragically, there is no longer any need for warnings.

Diabetes UK’s grim report confirms the worst: 5 million people are now living with diabetes, a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation.

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More house price drops expected despite signs of market stabilising

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Rics monthly poll shows new buyer inquiries in UK are flat as volume of agreed sales falls further

UK house prices are expected to continue to fall despite surveyors’ expectations that the housing market will stabilise over the next 12 months, a study has shown.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (Rics) monthly survey, which measures the proportion of surveyors reporting new buyer inquiries against those saying they fell, found the net balance was -29% in March, almost flat on the -30% recorded in February.

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UK in ‘rapidly escalating’ diabetes crisis as cases top 5m, report says

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Diabetes UK study also expresses concern about growing number of younger people with type 2

The UK is experiencing a “rapidly escalating” diabetes crisis, with cases topping five million for the first time and under-40s increasingly affected, a report has revealed.

About 90% of diabetes patients have type 2, a condition much more likely to develop if people are overweight. About two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese.

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Council’s failures left disabled child in chronic pain for three years, watchdog finds

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Local government ombudsman rules that delay in finding suitable accommodation for family caused serious health risks

A severely disabled child missed out on vital NHS surgery and was left in chronic pain for more than three years because a council failed to move them out of unsuitable housing despite repeated pleas from health professionals, a watchdog has ruled.

Lambeth council in London was fined £20,000 by the local government and social care ombudsman for a catalogue of service failures and administrative errors that left the child unsafe and in “significant and avoidable distress” and her mother at risk of serious injury.

Child Y’s constant pain, requiring injections and medication, could be relieved only through surgery, yet this was being delayed because the unsuitability of the family’s home meant Child Y could not safely return after an operation.

Sitting in the wheelchair for long periods caused so much pain that Child Y’s school had bought a specialist bed in which they would be wheeled around the school to ensure they could access lessons.

At home, Child Y and her mother were at risk of injury from manual handling because they were unable to use proper equipment. Because of the lack of space, Child Y could not be positioned properly for eating and was at risk of choking.

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A&E staff in England struggling to spot abuse cases in infants, says watchdog

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HSIB report identifies several barriers to child safeguarding in hospital emergency departments

Staff in hospital emergency departments in England are struggling to spot when infants are being physically abused by their parents, raising the risk of further harm, an investigation has found.

Clinicians often do not know what to do if they are concerned that a child’s injuries are not accidental because there is no guidance, according to a report from the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) that identifies several barriers to child safeguarding in emergency departments.

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Calls for better care for asylum seekers after rise in diphtheria cases in Europe

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Researchers say improved health screening of people arriving in small boats is needed to prevent outbreaks

Health experts are calling for better care for asylum seekers as research reveals small boat crossings have been linked to a sharp increase in diphtheria cases in the UK and across Europe.

Reception centres in the UK have hit by a series of scandals in recent months, including outbreaks of disease and reports that offers of assistance from public health leaders have been declined by the Home Office.

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Anne Perry, killer turned crime writer, dies aged 84

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After murdering her friend’s mother as a teenager, as dramatised in film Heavenly Creatures, she turned to writing period thrillers

A British crime writer who helped bludgeon her friend’s mother to death as a teenager and was the inspiration for Peter Jackson’s film Heavenly Creatures has died in Los Angeles, her publisher announced Wednesday. She was 84.

Anne Perry, a prolific author whose period thrillers have sold over 25m copies worldwide, was 15 years old when she and her friend Pauline Parker murdered Pauline’s mother in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1954. Honora Mary Parker died after being hit with a brick about 20 times, in a killing that shocked and captivated the country.

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UK imposes sanctions on ‘enablers’ accused of helping Russian oligarchs

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‘Financial fixers’ alleged to have helped Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov to hide assets are among those targeted

The UK government has imposed sanctions on the “financial fixers” who have allegedly helped the Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov hide their assets.

The sanctions, announced by the Foreign Office on Wednesday, are targeted at what officials describe as “oligarch enablers”, whom they accuse of knowingly assisting the billionaire businessmen to shield their wealth.

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Junior doctors’ union asks Acas to help end strikes deadlock

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Conciliation service urged to look for ways to end logjam with government over demand for 35% pay rise

The junior doctors’ union has asked the conciliation service Acas to look into ways of breaking the deadlock in their dispute with the government over their claim for a 35% pay rise.

Tens of thousands of junior doctors in England are on the second day of a four-day strike in pursuit of their campaign to achieve “full pay restoration” after a significant loss of earnings since 2008-09. It is expected that up to 350,000 appointments and operations could be cancelled as a result.

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White House rejects claim that Biden ‘hates the UK’ as he prepares to meet Sunak – politics live

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Latest updates: US president is not ‘anti-British’ as DUP has claimed, says White House

Joe Biden is “not anti-British,” one of his most senior aides has said in response to accusations by the former Democratic Unionist party leader Arlene Foster that the US president “hates the UK”. (See 10.37am.)

Just hours after he arrived in Belfast, the purpose of Biden’s short visit to Northern Ireland was being questioned by unionists who have been boycotting power-sharing arrangements in Northern Ireland for more than a year meaning the territory has no devolved government.

I think the track record of of the president shows that he is not anti-British. The president has been very actively engaged throughout his career dating back to when he was a senator in the peace process in Northern Ireland and that involved engagement with leaders of all of Northern Ireland parties from both of the two main communities.

I think his message to the DUP and to all the political leaders is going to be … the continued strong support for seeing the peace process move forward here and the strong desire by this president to increase US investment in Northern Ireland to take advantage of the vast economic potential that that seems here, and to reiterate broad support for the returning of the devolved government in Northern Ireland.

He hates the United Kingdom, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.

I just think the fact he’s coming here won’t put any pressure on the DUP at all, quite the reverse actually, because he’s seen by so many people as just simply pro-republican and pro-nationalist.

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