Category Archives: UK news

UK’s forced marriage unit underfunded and too Muslim-focused, report to say

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Colin Bloom’s report expected to be most sweeping review of government’s relationship with religion in more than a generation

UK ministers’ efforts to stop forced marriages are failing because the unit set up to tackle them is undervalued, under-resourced and overly focused on Muslim families, according to a report from Michael Gove’s levelling up department.

The 165-page report by Colin Bloom, the government’s faith adviser, will highlight a range of areas in which ministers are ineffective because they are too wary of tackling problems that arise within religious communities. It is expected to be the most sweeping review of the government’s relationship with religion in more than a generation

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Prince Andrew held investments in shell company set up to keep holdings secret

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Prince was among at least five members of royal family who used Bank of England Nominees – set up in 1970s to prevent disclosure of queen’s investments

Prince Andrew held his shareholdings through a government-backed shell company that was created to conceal royal investments from public scrutiny.

The prince was among at least five members of the royal family who used the shell company Bank of England Nominees, which was set up in the 1970s to prevent the “embarrassing” public disclosure of Queen Elizabeth II’s investments.

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Freddie Mercury’s collection of ‘splendid things’ up for auction

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Items belonging to Queen singer on sale include costumes, handwritten lyrics and a moustache comb

For more than 30 years, Freddie Mercury’s London home has been untouched, a shrine to the legendary superstar of the rock band Queen who died in 1991 at the age of 45.

Now its contents – from Mercury’s dazzling stage costumes and handwritten lyrics to paintings and beautiful objects collected on his travels – are to go on show in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong ahead of being sold at auction.

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More than 500,000 people in UK visited ‘warm rooms’ during the winter

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Exclusive: First audit of spaces reveals people visited to due to loneliness as well as to keep warm

More than half a million people visited community “warm rooms” to escape freezing homes and escalating poverty during the winter, according to the first audit of the impact of these potent symbols of the UK’s cost of living crisis.

Warm space projects sprang up in their thousands across the UK in the autumn, as charities, libraries and faith groups responded to soaring energy poverty by opening venues to provide cash strapped people with warmth, free food and a cup of tea.

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Amazon workers in Coventry to request union recognition after membership doubles

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It would be first time a UK union wins formal negotiation rights and comes after GMB-organised strikes at warehouse

Amazon workers at the delivery firm’s Coventry depot are demanding formal union recognition, after membership more than doubled during strike action.

If granted, it would be the first time a union in the UK has won the right to negotiate with the American tech firm.

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UK government funding anti-LGBTQ+ organisation in Uganda, says report

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The Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, which is openly homophobic, is a direct recipient of UK aid money

The UK government is helping to fund the work of a virulently homophobic religious organisation in Uganda, whose leaders have backed a proposed law that would make identifying as gay a criminal offence, a report has found.

Analysing official data given to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), the report by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change (IJSC) found a “staggering” number of connections between anti-LGBTQ+ organisations in Uganda and international aid donors, including the UK.

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If China invaded Taiwan it would destroy world trade, says James Cleverly

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UK foreign secretary warns a war across Taiwan strait and likely destruction of semiconductor industry would have global effects

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would destroy world trade, and distance would offer no protection to the inevitable catastrophic blow to the global economy, the UK’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, warned in a set piece speech on Britain’s relations with Beijing.

In remarks that differ from French president Emmanuel Macron’s attempts to distance Europe from any potential US involvement in a future conflict over Taiwan, and which firmly support continued if guarded engagement with Beijing, Cleverly said “no country could shield itself from the repercussions of a war in Taiwan”.

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UK finds itself at back of the queue in Sudan evacuation

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Britain criticised for prioritising embassy staff as Germany and France celebrate evacuating hundreds of citizens

By the time Britain’s first civilian evacuation flight had taken off from a rough airfield north of Khartoum on Tuesday afternoon, other European nations were highlighting their successes in evacuating hundreds of their citizens from Sudan.

Britain’s military may have been the first to use the Wadi Seidna base on Sunday afternoon, with permission of Sudan’s embattled government, to evacuate two dozen diplomatic staff, but the UK then passed on control of the airport to Germany.

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Labour accuses Tories of turning country into ‘open sewer’ in Commons water debate – UK politics live

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MPs debate Labour motion that would set aside parliamentary time to pass Labour’s water quality (sewage discharge) bill

Rishi Sunak is seeking to capitalise on his improved relations with the EU with hopes of an agreement to allow British passport holders to use e-gates when travelling in the bloc, Lisa O’Carroll reports.

On small boats, Starmer told This Morning that he wanted to stop the boats. Labour would focus on two policies in particular, he said.

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UK to start evacuating British nationals from Sudan

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RAF transport planes fly into country, as UK government takes advantage of ceasefire

The British government is taking advantage of a 72-hour ceasefire agreed by the warring factions in Sudan to evacuate UK nationals from the country, following intense criticism that it had missed a window of opportunity to evacuate more than British diplomats and their families on Sunday.

RAF transport planes have been flying into the Wadi Seidna airfield, north of Khartoum, from where UK nationals are due to be flown to Cyprus, which is being used as a staging post by the British military.

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Farne Islands to remain closed after three new cases of bird flu detected

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National Trust rangers brace for second year of mass deaths on islands off Northumberland coast

A group of islands that make up one of the UK’s most important bird sanctuaries are to remain closed after new cases of avian flu were detected.

The disease devastated the seabird population of the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, last year and National Trust rangers expect thousands more deaths this year.

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Duke of Westminster’s property firm pays £50m dividend despite profits drop

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Boss of Grosvenor, which owns swathes of Mayfair and Belgravia, warns of ‘more pain’ for commercial property market

The Duke of Westminster’s property company, which owns swathes of London’s exclusive Mayfair and Belgravia districts, has paid out a £50m dividend despite falling profits.

The boss of Grosvenor, the duke’s £11.5bn property empire, warned of a period of stagflation and that UK interest rates and inflation could stay high for longer than expected, resulting in “more pain” for the commercial property market.

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UK secretly deported 100 Nepali guards who protected staff in Kabul

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Exclusive: People who risked their lives and were evacuated to Britain were forcibly removed to Nepal days later

More than 100 Nepali guards who risked their lives to protect British embassy staff in Afghanistan before the Taliban seized back control were secretly returned to Nepal against their wishes shortly after being airlifted to safety in the UK, the Guardian can reveal.

Hundreds of Nepali nationals and a smaller number of Indian nationals who protected key institutions in Kabul were brought to the UK on an RAF flight during the chaotic evacuation of the Afghan capital by western countries in August 2021, as victorious Taliban forces closed in.

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Barbie doll with Down’s syndrome launched by Mattel

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Firm partnered with US charity and medical experts to create part of ‘most diverse and inclusive doll line’

Barbie is launching its first doll with Down’s syndrome in an effort to help more children find a toy that represents them.

Mattel bosses said they wanted to bring out the doll to “enable all children to see themselves in Barbie”. They partnered with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) in the US to bring the product to market.

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Man who murdered two-year old Lola James jailed for at least 28 years

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Kyle Bevan given life sentence for murder of stepdaughter, with girl’s mother Sinead James given six-year term

The stepfather and mother of a two-year-old girl who died after receiving more than 100 injuries in a six-and-a-half-hour attack at the family home have been jailed over her killing.

Kyle Bevan, 31, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Lola James, who died from the sort of injuries usually seen in car crash victims or people who have fallen from a significant height. He was told he would serve at least 28 years before he was considered for release.

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Sunak eyes deal to allow UK passport holders to use e-gates at EU airports

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PM may discuss idea with European Commission chief in June, reports say, after diplomats raised it informally

Rishi Sunak is seeking to capitalise on his improved relations with the EU with hopes of an agreement to allow British passport holders to use e-gates when travelling in the bloc.

Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that British diplomats had raised the issue informally. A potential discussion was foreseen on the sidelines of a meeting in Japan the prime minister and the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, will attend in June.

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Tory MP criticised for Kazakhstan-funded £5k trip to observe elections

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Human rights groups raise concerns after UK trade envoy Daniel Kawczynski praised the country’s ‘functioning democracy’

The Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski is facing criticism after the Kazakh government funded a £5,100 trip for him to observe elections and quoted him praising the country’s “functioning democracy”.

Kawczynski, a trade envoy for the prime minster, Rishi Sunak, travelled to watch parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan in March amid concerns among human rights groups about the treatment of Zhanbolat Mamai, the leader of the unregistered Democratic party. Mamai was this month banned from political activism and journalism for six years.

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Major tech firms face hefty fines under new digital consumer bill

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Global companies like Google, Apple and Amazon could have to pay penalties of up to 10% of their global turnover as government gives competition watchdog more power

Major tech firms face the threat of multibillion-pound fines for breaching consumer protection rules under new legislation that will tackle issues including fake online reviews and subscriptions that are difficult to cancel.

The digital markets, competition and consumers bill will empower the UK’s competition watchdog to tackle the “excessive dominance” that a small number of tech firms hold over consumers and businesses.

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One in five child abuse images found online last year were category A – report

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Internet Watch Foundation says amount of material showing most extreme form of sexual abuse has doubled since 2020

The most extreme form of child sexual abuse material accounted for a fifth of such content found online last year, according to a report.

Category A abuse represented 20% of illegal images discovered online last year by the Internet Watch Foundation, a UK-based body that monitors distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). It found more than 51,000 instances of such content, which can include the most severe imagery including rape, sadism and bestiality.

The NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331.

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Use of antibiotics in farming ‘endangering human immune system’

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Study suggests antimicrobial used to promote livestock growth breeds bacteria more resistant to our natural defences

The blanket use of antibiotics in farming has led to the emergence of bacteria that are more resistant to the human immune system, scientists have warned.

The research suggests that the antimicrobial colistin, which was used for decades as a growth promoter on pig and chicken farms in China, resulted in the emergence of E coli strains that are more likely to evade our immune system’s first line of defence.

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