Grant Shapps to tell suppliers that reduced wholesale prices must be seen in consumer prices
Ministers have warned energy firms that they must pass on the benefits of lower wholesale prices to consumers, amid concern that bills could rise this spring.
In a speech on Wednesday, Grant Shapps will tell energy suppliers that reduced wholesale prices must be seen in consumer prices, “no ifs, buts or maybes”.
Continue reading...Offering places by proximity results in selection of pupils from more affluent households, say researchers
Disadvantaged children are suffering “geographic exclusion” from England’s best state schools because they cannot afford to live near those with the best exam results, according to new research published by the University of Bristol.
The research found that very few state secondary schools give priority to pupils who qualify for free school meals, despite the government’s admissions rules being redesigned more than eight years ago allowing them to do so.
Continue reading...Airline claim that it was protecting the world’s future is latest ad to fall foul of ASA rules
An ad campaign by Lufthansa claiming that its green initiatives were protecting the world has been banned by the UK advertising watchdog, which ruled it was misleading consumers over the environmental impact of flying.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation into the campaign – which featured a plane with an image of the Earth on its underside and the strapline: “Connecting the world. Protecting its future” – over concerns the German airline was giving consumers a “misleading impression of its environmental impact”.
Continue reading...Timing, trust and intense talks brought Northern Ireland deal over the finish line
During the final talks on the new post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland in Windsor on Monday, Rishi Sunak briefly halted proceedings to present Stéphanie Riso, a key member of Ursula von der Leyen’s negotiating team, with a small birthday gift.
The top official, who is moving to a senior European Commission role after six years living and breathing Brexit, was said by those present to have been visibly moved that the prime minister had both known and then chosen to mark the moment.
Continue reading...PM says DUP should be given time to assess deal as Steve Baker says party awaits reaction ‘with bated breath’
In his Today interview Rishi Sunak said that Northern Ireland was an “incredibly attractive” place to invest because it was within the UK, but also within the EU single market. It is an argument ministers are regularly made over the past three years to try to persuade unionists of the benefits of the protocol, and Sunak indicated that he will be reviving it again today when he speaks to people in Northern Ireland. He said:
I’ve spent a lot of time engaging with business group [in Northern Ireland]. I thank them, actually, for that engagement and this agreement ensures that they will have a continuing role.
But they all say to me, if we can get this resolved in the way that we have, that will unlock an enormous amount of invesment.
Continue reading...Popularity of sport utility vehicles driving higher oil demand and climate crisis, say experts
The continued global rise in the sale of SUVs pushed their climate-heating emissions to almost a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.
The 330m sport utility vehicles on the roads produced emissions equivalent to the combined national emissions of the UK and Germany last year. If SUVs were a country, they would rank as the sixth most polluting in the world.
Continue reading...Menopausal women could be offered paid time off as part of efforts to support wellbeing of women
Menopausal women could be offered paid time off and working environments with temperature-controlled areas under Labour plans to support the wellbeing of women in the workplace.
About one in 10 women aged 45-55 left their jobs last year due to their symptoms and ultimately the lack of workplace support, according to research supported by the Fawcett Society.
Continue reading...One-off dispensation for weekend celebrations will allow venues to screen events without a TV licence
The BBC is to suspend the licence fee as part of a one-off dispensation for the king’s coronation weekend.
The move will allow venues to screen the live coronation ceremony coverage on 6 May and the coronation concert on 7 May without needing to buy a TV licence.
Continue reading...Bryson, 31, committed offences in Clydebank and Glasgow in 2016 and 2019 before transitioning
A transgender woman found guilty of raping two women before transitioning has been jailed for eight years.
Isla Bryson was convicted last month of raping two women – one in Clydebank in 2016 and one in Glasgow in 2019 – while still a man known as Adam Graham.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Leaked emails show airport staff were guided to ease passenger waits during school holidays
Airport managers have asked Border Force officers to “deprioritise” customs work such as searching for guns and drugs in order to stop passport queues frustrating travellers.
Leaked emails show that staff at Manchester airport were told this month that customs work should be carried out only if “there is no likelihood of an excessive queue time”.
Any staff who are contingency trained should be prioritised to the PCP [Primary Control Point] when required to prevent excessive queues.
Customs work is deprioritised and will only be carried out when you are satisfied there is no likelihood of an excessive queue time or in the event of a cat A target,” he wrote.
Continue reading...PM criticised for boasting about trade benefits of new deal while denying same gains to rest of UK
Rishi Sunak has eulogised Northern Ireland’s “unique” and privileged position in having easy trade access to both the UK and EU markets – prompting critics to note that this was the case for the entire country before Brexit.
In comments that could potentially antagonise hardline Conservative Brexiters – who suspect Sunak could secretly welcome a shuffle towards closer EU single market access – the prime minister used an event in Northern Ireland to talk up what he called “the prize that is on offer” with his post-Brexit protocol.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak lauded for making ‘adult relationship’ possible between UK and EU after post-Brexit dispute
Continental media have welcomed the deal settling the EU’s bitter post-Brexit dispute with the UK over Northern Ireland, hoping it may herald a new “adult relationship” that had been unthinkable while the “untrustworthy” Boris Johnson was in Downing Street.
In France, where the president, Emmanuel Macron, hailed “an important decision” that would “preserve the Good Friday agreement and protect our European internal market”, Le Monde called the Windsor framework a significant breakthrough.
Continue reading...PM hints that Westminster is optimistic about return of power-sharing after unveiling Stormont brake
Rishi Sunak has said the true test for his new protocol deal will be the restoration of the Northern Ireland assembly, saying citizens “need and deserve” to return to functioning government.
In a hint the government in Westminster is optimistic about the return of power-sharing, Sunak said the new Stormont brake – which would allow the assembly a say over EU law applied in Northern Ireland – would be a key step towards restoring the “democratic deficit”.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: the key takeaways from Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement of the Windsor agreement
Good morning. Where once there was protocol, now there is protocol amended by framework. I’m talking, of course, about the announcement yesterday that the UK and the EU have agreed a deal to end the interminable dispute over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland.
The news was finally announced by Rishi Sunak and EU president Ursula von der Leyen in a highly choreographed, and conspicuously cheery, appearance at Windsor Guildhall – previously better known as the wedding venue for Charles and Camilla, and Elton John and David Furnish.
Palestinian territories | Hundreds of Israeli settlers have gone on a violent rampage in the northern West Bank, setting alight dozens of cars and homes after two of their number were killed by a Palestinian gunman. One man was reported killed in what appeared to be the worst incident of settler violence in the area in decades. Read Bethan McKernan’s dispatch from Huwara, West Bank.
UK news | A missing couple that disappeared with their newborn baby in January are in police custody after being arrested in Brighton. Police said that an urgent search was now underway for Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s child.
US media | Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire owner of Fox News, acknowledged under oath that several Fox News hosts endorsed Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen, court documents reveal. Murdoch made the admission during a deposition in a $1.6bn lawsuit brought by a voting machine company that accuses Fox News of defamation.
Fertility law | Children born via sperm or egg donation would not need to wait until adulthood to find out more about their biological parents, under proposed updates to the law in the UK. The information would only be shared with the consent of the donor.
Politics | Betty Boothroyd, a former Labour MP and the first female speaker of the House of Commons, has died at the age of 93.The current speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, said Boothroyd “broke that glass ceiling with panache”. See her life in pictures and obituary.
Continue reading...Pair arrested on suspicion of child neglect amid urgent operation to find infant born at time of disappearance in January
A couple who disappeared with their baby have been arrested on suspicion of child neglect as their infant remains missing, police have said.
Constance Marten and her partner, Mark Gordon, were located by Sussex police at Stanmer Villas in Brighton on Monday night after a member of the public reported seeing them shortly before 9.30pm.
Continue reading...Review shows only 10 of FTSE 350 companies still have all-male executive teams
The proportion of women in board roles in Britain’s biggest listed companies has risen above 40% for the first time, according to analysis that suggests only 10 of the UK’s 350 largest listed companies still have all-male executive teams.
The number of women on boards in the blue-chip FTSE 100 companies and the mid-sized FTSE 250 companies rose by 3% in 2022, according to the government-backed FTSE women leaders review, published on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Existing UK fertility law should be updated to regulate modern treatments, says HFEA
Children born via sperm or egg donation would not need to wait until adulthood to find out more about their biological parents, under proposed changes to the law in the UK.
At present, donor-conceived children cannot obtain information about their biological parents until they are 18. But the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said the law should be updated so this information can be made available after the birth of a child, should the donor choose.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Eurovision host will issue licences only for concerts and festivals that agree to help reduce emissions by 50%
The Eurovision host Liverpool has become the first city in the UK to commit to the Paris agreement for major live events.
The city will issue licences for only those concerts and festivals that agree to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to help meet climate goals, including using a proportion of renewable energy to power the festival and reducing the number of cars visitors take to events.
Continue reading...Most Tory MPs welcome breakthrough as hardline Brexiters are mulling response
Boris Johnson is dangling the threat of a rebellion over Rishi Sunak after a new post-Brexit deal was announced that will rip up the former prime minister’s protocol on Northern Ireland and ditch his legislation to override it.
Although most Conservative MPs warmly welcomed the breakthrough after two years of negotiations, Johnson stayed away from the House of Commons chamber and is said not to have made up his mind about whether to endorse or oppose the “Windsor framework”.
Continue reading...Prime minister unveils agreement with European Commission president after four months of negotiations
Rishi Sunak has hailed a “new chapter” in the UK’s relationship with the EU as he secured a deal to end the long-running dispute over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol.
The prime minister and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, described a “decisive breakthrough” at a joint news conference in Windsor after four months of intense negotiations.
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