Category Archives: UK news

Hospices ‘on the brink’ financially if assisted dying is legalised

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As House of Lords prepares to debate bill, Hospice UK says sector needs adequate funding for end-of-life care

Hospices are “on the brink” and two in five are making cuts this year despite the importance of end-of-life care if assisted dying becomes legal, the sector has warned before the first House of Lords debate on the legislation.

Hospice UK, which represents the sector, said many were financially struggling and still “in the dark” about how funding for end-of-life care will be improved when assisted dying legislation is passed.

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Archaeologists scramble to evacuate Gaza artefacts threatened by Israeli strike

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Officials hurriedly remove nearly three decades of finds in ‘high-risk operation’

An official in charge of nearly three decades of archaeological finds in Gaza has described how the artefacts were hurriedly evacuated from a Gaza City building threatened by an Israeli strike.

“This was a high-risk operation, carried out in an extremely dangerous context for everyone involved – a real last-minute rescue,” said Olivier Poquillon, director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF), which housed the relics.

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UK should work with Nato on new missile defence system to counter Russia, experts say

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After Russian drones entered Polish airspace, two authors of the UK strategic defence review said Europe would need to build up its defences

Britain should work with Nato allies in developing an integrated air and missile defence system after the incursion of nearly 20 Russian drones into Poland, according to two authors of the UK strategic defence review.

Fiona Hill, a former White House adviser, said that Russia was “testing the limits” of Europe’s defences at a time when the military commitment of the US to Nato was uncertain.

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No 10 says Starmer found Mandelson’s emails to Epstein ‘reprehensible’ – UK politics live

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Despite being repeatedly asked, No 10 declines to say the PM was ‘misled’ by Mandelson

Stephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, is responding to the UQ about Peter Mandelson.

He starts by making the point that it is the anniversary of the “despicable” 9/11 terrorism attacks.

Keir Starmer must sack Peter Mandelson without further delay - and come clean about what he knew when, and whether he sanctioned blocking the publication of damaging material.

UK government documents shouldn’t be hidden from the public just because they are damaging to the Labour party - and by backing Peter Mandelson to the hilt, the prime minister’s own reputation is now on the line.

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Blackpool hospital neglect contributed to suicide of man who waited 22 hours for help, coroner rules

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Jamie Pearson killed himself in toilet at Blackpool Victoria hospital after being admitted over painkiller overdose

The death of a 27-year-old man who killed himself in a hospital toilet after waiting 22 hours to be seen by the mental health team was “contributed to by neglect”, a coroner has ruled.

Jamie Pearson was admitted to Blackpool Victoria hospital’s A&E department after taking an overdose of high-strength painkillers on 17 August 2024.

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Man held after suspected arson attack on office of Labour MP Sharon Hodgson

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Police investigate after images show roof of building destroyed in Washington, Tyne and Wear

A man in his 20s has been arrested by police after a suspected arson attack wrecked the constituency office of the Labour MP Sharon Hodgson.

There is little left of the first floor office in the Concord area of Washington, Tyne and Wear, after a fire that took place when it was unoccupied in the early hours of the morning.

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Nigel Farage urged to clarify whether he saved tax on Essex constituency home

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Labour and Lib Dems say Reform leader has questions to answer on who paid for £885,000 property owned by his partner

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have called for Nigel Farage to clarify whether he saved tax on a house in his constituency, after a BBC investigation questioned whether his partner did, as Farage has said, buy the home with her own money.

The Guardian first reported in May that the house in Clacton, which Farage initially said he had bought himself, is in fact wholly owned by Laure Ferrari, his long-term partner.

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Starmer and Cooper lead from the back as junior ministers take the Mandy flak | John Crace

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PM and foreign secretary were nowhere in sight as hapless Stephen Doughty faced the Commons over Peter Mandelson

If only there had been some kind of clue. The tiniest of hints that Peter Mandelson might not have been a suitable candidate to act as the UK ambassador in Washington.

Like being forced to resign from the cabinet over a failure to disclose a loan from Geoffrey Robinson. Like being forced to resign from the cabinet a second time over allegations of trying to procure a passport for the Hinduja brothers. Like his financial arrangements with the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Like his friendship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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More than half of UK births now involve medical intervention, audit finds

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Caesareans drive rise in assisted deliveries as experts warn of complex pregnancies linked to age, obesity and other conditions

More than half of women having a baby in Britain now do so with the help of medical intervention, an audit of NHS maternity care has revealed.

Of the 592,594 births that took place in 2023, 50.6% involved either a caesarean section or the use of instruments such as forceps or a ventouse suction cup.

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US drugmaker Merck scraps £1bn London research centre and cuts 125 science jobs

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New blow to UK’s key life science sector as industry body says country is losing ground on investment and research

The US drugmaker Merck has scrapped a £1bn London research centre and is laying off 125 scientists in the capital this year, in a big blow to the UK’s important life science sector.

Keir Starmer’s government has described life sciences as “one of the crown jewels of the UK economy” and the previous Conservative government had vowed to turn the country into a “global science and technology superpower” by 2030.

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Meeting with Keir Starmer was ‘tough’, says Israeli president

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Isaac Herzog says ‘when allies meet they can argue’ after some Labour MPs condemn Downing Street meeting

The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, had a “tough” set of exchanges over humanitarian aid in Gaza at a Downing Street meeting, amid street protests demanding Herzog’s arrest as a war criminal.

Herzog, speaking to the Chatham House thinktank immediately after the meeting, said he had offered the British government a fact-finding mission to look at the levels of aid entering Gaza. He denied there was any famine and blamed the high civilian death toll on Hamas placing missiles in living rooms.

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Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell set for two-horse race to be Labour deputy

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Education secretary and Manchester MP look destined for face-off as three other candidates struggle for MP nominations

Labour’s deputy leadership contest is set to be a race between the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, and the ousted cabinet minister Lucy Powell, as three other candidates in the race struggled to make nominations.

Phillipson comfortably cleared the hurdle of 80 nominations on Wednesday evening with backing from 116 MPs, but Powell was not yet at the threshold with 77 nominations.

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Starmer says he has confidence in Peter Mandelson amid calls to sack him over Epstein ties – UK politics live

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PM was grilled by Kemi Badenoch on suitability of Mandelson for job as US ambassador

Helena Horton is a Guardian environment reporter.

Emma Reynolds, the new environment secretary, had a difficult job this morning: meeting a group of farmers after Labour caused fury in the rural community by introducing a new inheritance tax.

The Treasury reserve, designed to be used for “genuinely unforeseen, unaffordable and unavoidable pressures” has recently been used to fund higher public sector pay and compensation payouts.

In a letter to ministers, the chancellor said Treasury would only consider providing reserve funds to departments that have already maximised their savings …

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LNER urges customers to be vigilant after passenger details accessed in cyber-attack

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Data breach at third-party supplier involves contact details and some information about previous journeys

The train operator LNER has urged customers to be wary of unsolicited communications after revealing some passengers’ contact details and journey records have been accessed in a cyber-attack.

The data breach took place at a third-party supplier, and LNER said no bank or payment details or password information had been accessed.

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Starmer’s meeting with Israeli president could set relations back further

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Two leaders have competing visions for Israel’s security and Palestinian self-rule with little chance of finding common ground

A meeting in London between Keir Starmer and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, could not come at a more difficult time for either leader, and far from easing British-Israeli relations, the encounter risks setting them back yet further.

Once the meeting on Wednesday was in the diary, there was a faint hope within Downing Street that the two men would at least listen to each other about their competing visions for Israel’s future, including a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict, a vision Herzog once shared.

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Jaguar Land Rover says cyber-attack has affected ‘some data’

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Carmaker has informed relevant regulators and ‘will contact anyone as appropriate’ as investigation progresses

The cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover has affected data held by the carmaker, it has said, as its factories in the UK and abroad face prolonged closure.

JLR, Britain’s biggest carmaker, said on Wednesday that in its investigations into the hack, which first emerged last week, it had now discovered data had been breached.

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Four dead, including two children, attempting to cross Channel to UK in last 24 hours

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Number of attempts to cross Channel has been particularly high for several days, say French authorities

Four people including two children have died in two separate incidents while trying to cross the Channel to the UK in the last 24 hours, while three others are missing in a third incident.

On Tuesday night off the coast of Sangatte, France, three people lost their lives while travelling on a dinghy with 38 people onboard. Three others are missing after an incident in Neufchâtel-Hardelot, France, on a boat with 115 people onboard.

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Doctors trial £100 blood test that could transform how NHS detects Alzheimer’s

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More than 1,000 patients to take part in trial to see if the approach leads to faster and more reliable diagnoses

Doctors have launched a clinical trial of a £100 blood test for Alzheimer’s disease in the hope of transforming diagnosis of the devastating condition in the NHS.

More than 1,000 patients with suspected dementia are being recruited from memory clinics across the UK to see whether the test leads to faster and more reliable diagnoses and better care for those found to have the disease.

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Don’t log non-crime hate incidents, says head of police watchdog

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Andy Cooke says the cases take up little time for forces in England and Wales but create intense controversy

Police should no longer record or investigate non-crime hate incidents, the chief inspector of constabulary has said.

Sir Andy Cooke said handling the incidents took up a minuscule amount of time but drew vehement criticism.

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Starmer condemns Israel’s airstrike on Qatar as No 10 denies prior knowledge of attack

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‘Immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and a huge surge in aid into Gaza’ only route to peace, says PM

Keir Starmer has condemned Israel’s strike on Qatar before a meeting with the Israeli president in London on Wednesday.

The UK prime minister said the military strike, which targeted Hamas leaders stationed in Doha, was a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and risked “further escalation across the region”.

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