SNP MP for Glasgow South says he is victim of ‘sophisticated and targeted spear phishing’ attack
An SNP MP whose emails were hacked has spoken out because he fears they were stolen by a group linked to Russia and will be published.
Stewart McDonald’s emails were compromised last month after he clicked on a message from a member of his staff on his private MP’s account.
Continue reading...Giant teddy bear Bordesley is put in charge of Birmingham city council’s £3bn budget in Stan’s Cafe’s fun new production All Our Money
“It came from a place of … what is the worst idea you could possibly have for a theatre show?” says director James Yarker, as he flicks through a heavily annotated 90-page copy of Birmingham city council’s three-year financial plan.
His latest production, All Our Money, is a 50-minute exploration of the complexities of council budgets, told with the help of 6,000 gold blocks and a football mascot.
Continue reading...Ukraine president to meet King Charles and address parliament, as Sunak reveals training for Ukrainian jet pilots
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, will make his first visit to the UK since the Russian invasion, with Rishi Sunak promising additional military support.
The UK prime minister announced plans to train Ukrainian pilots, paving the way for them to fly sophisticated Nato-standard jets, a request from Zelenskiy.
Continue reading...PC Jorden Brown is alleged to have committed offences between November 2018 and February 2019
A serving Metropolitan police officer has been charged with rape and three counts of actual bodily harm.
PC Jorden Brown, attached to the central east command unit, is alleged to have committed the offences between November 2018 and February 2019.
Continue reading...Controversial MP appointed as Greg Hands’ deputy; Michelle Donelan becomes minister for science, innovation and technology
This is from TalkTV’s Kate McCann.
“Next hour or so …” We’ll see. Reshuffles often take longer than expected, because all it takes is one minister to say no, or ask for time to think, and then the whole process gets clogged up. There is already some evidence that this one is not going to be quite as quick as originally expected. (See 8.30am.)
Continue reading...Johnson’s administration made promises over Northern Ireland deal that it knew were unworkable, former PM tells MPs
John Major has launched a scathing attack on Boris Johnson’s handling of Brexit, saying his administration agreed to the Northern Ireland protocol despite knowing it was unworkable.
“That must be the first agreement in history that was signed by people who decided it was useless in the first place,” Major told a Westminster committee on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Carrick, 48, admitted 85 serious offences during 17-year campaign of terror and attacks against women
David Carrick, who believed his position as a Metropolitan police officer made him “untouchable” as he waged a 17-year campaign of terror and attacks against women, has been jailed for life.
The 48-year-old must serve a minimum term of 32 years minus the time he has spent in custody before he can even be considered for release.
Continue reading...David Nixon disobeyed judge’s order not to mention climate crisis as motivation during trial over road-blocking protest
An environmental activist has been jailed for eight weeks after disobeying a judge’s instruction not to mention the climate crisis as his motivation during his trial for taking part in a road-blocking protest.
David Nixon, 36, a care worker from Barnsley, was sentenced at Inner London crown court on Tuesday after admitting contempt of court the day before by using his closing address to begin telling a jury about his reasons for protesting.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. You can read our full report on the sentencing here:
Here’s more on those comments Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb made earlier to Carrick (see 11.46am). She said:
These convictions represent a spectacular downfall for a man charged with upholding the law and empowered to do so even to the extent of being authorised to bear a firearm in the execution of his duty.
Behind a public appearance of propriety and trustworthiness you took monstrous advantage of women.
Continue reading...More than 70 rescue specialists and sniffer dogs to help with efforts after thousands killed in earthquake-hit region
UK aid will be sent to Turkey and Syria despite “very considerable strain” on the development budget, the cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell has said, after earthquakes killed thousands in the region.
Mitchell, who as a backbench MP opposed cuts to the aid budget, said there were specific funds allocated for major humanitarian disasters.
Continue reading...Diver says view is his ‘gut instinct’ as missing woman’s partner says daughters ‘miss their mummy desperately’
An expert diver who is aiding the search for Nicola Bulley has said he “doesn’t think she is in the water”, as specially trained divers continue to scour the River Wyre.
Bulley, 45, from Inskip in Lancashire, vanished on the morning of 27 January while taking her dog, Willow, for a walk close to the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre.
Continue reading...Researchers say couples need not get along to benefit, and social isolation may increase type 2 diabetes risk
People who cohabit with a partner have lower blood sugar levels, even if they do not get along with them, according to a study that warns social isolation may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The researchers believe that living with someone is an important source of social support for adults in mid to later life, according to the study published in the British Medical Journal’s diabetes journal. They found the effects were the same regardless of whether the relationship was harmonious or acrimonious.
Continue reading...Party wants to shift MoD procurement to ‘urgent operational footing’ with stockpiles depleted by gifts of military aid to Ukraine
Labour will seek to shift defence procurement to an “urgent operational footing” to help buy fresh arms for Ukraine and replenish stockpiles depleted by previous gifts of military aid if it wins the next election.
The opposition party believes it has taken too long for the Ministry of Defence to buy fresh munitions, citing a near year-long wait to agree a contract to replace the 4,000-plus Nlaw anti-tank bazookas sent to Kyiv before and in the early stages of the war.
Continue reading...Sources say prime minister also wants to split Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Rishi Sunak is planning a mini-reshuffle to replace Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative party chair as he tries to reassert his grip over his divided party, according to reports.
The prime minister is also believed to be considering a shake-up of Whitehall by splitting the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy into two or three new departments to better reflect his priorities.
Continue reading...GMB’s Rachel Harrison says staff will not be ‘fobbed off’ by PM ‘kicking the can’ into next year’s pay round
A health union leader has described Rishi Sunak as deluded for suggesting NHS staff should abandon their campaign to secure a bigger pay rise this year.
The GMB’s national secretary, Rachel Harrison, made the remark in response to Downing Street’s insistence that it would not talk about improving the £1,400 pay award for frontline personnel for 2022/23 even though it has triggered the wave of NHS strikes.
Continue reading...Mountain rescuers say man who was climbing with two friends was ‘very, very unfortunate’
A 23-year-old climber who died after falling 180 metres from a mountain ridge in Wales as he climbed with two friends was “extremely unfortunate”, mountain rescuers have said.
The man, from Yorkshire, was ascending Y Gribin in Snowdonia or Eryri national park in north Wales at 5pm on Saturday when a handhold he was using to pull himself up broke, causing him to fall down the mountainside.
Continue reading...Agreement on food and animal health checks ‘close to being done’, but no progress on trickier issues
EU and UK negotiators have made a breakthrough in reducing checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as part of efforts to resolve the long-running dispute over the Northern Irish protocol.
A senior EU official confirmed to the Guardian that an agreement on food and animal health checks was “close to being done” as part of a deal that would create red and green lanes at Northern Irish ports to differentiate between goods staying in the region and those moving south to the EU’s single market.
Continue reading...Industrial action expected to be biggest in history of health service as minister insists pay will not be renegotiated for this year
A health minister has insisted there can be no re-examination of NHS pay for this year as the health service in England faces what is expected to be the biggest strike in its history, with no signs of a government plan to end the impasse.
The industrial action on Monday will be the first time that both NHS nurses and ambulance staff in England have stopped work simultaneously, amid an ongoing dispute over pay and staffing.
Continue reading...Ally of Robert Buckland says Raab used ‘heavy-handed tactics’ in discussions over British bill of rights
Robert Buckland has confirmed that he and Dominic Raab had “a disagreement” when they were both in cabinet, after it was reported Raab tried to get Buckland sacked as Welsh secretary last year amid a fallout over policy.
An unnamed ally of Buckland told the Times that while the former minister did not view Raab’s actions as bullying, Raab’s approach after Buckland publicly criticised plans for a British bill of rights was “very odd, very punchy”.
Continue reading...Recharge, which is also planning a factory in Victoria, revives goal to build £3.8bn ‘gigafactory’ in north England
An emerging Australian company yet to construct a major project will be responsible for delivering on UK hopes to electrify its automotive industry after outbidding rivals to take over collapsed battery maker Britishvolt.
In a whirlwind fortnight, Recharge Industries put together an aggressive package that also revives plans to build a £3.8bn (A$6.7bn) “gigafactory” in the north of England to supply the next generation of UK-built electric vehicles, free from Chinese materials.
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