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.
Continue reading...Teachers in north of England to strike on Tuesday followed by members in other regions over course of three days
Tens of thousands of teachers will strike this week resulting in the closure of some schools as members of the National Education Union (NEU) take part in three days of industrial action.
With little sign of a solution to the dispute on the horizon, teachers in the north of England will strike on Tuesday, followed by members in the Midlands and eastern regions on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Joshua Sutcliffe denies regulator’s charge of prioritising his convictions over pupil’s interests
A maths teacher “failed to separate the teacher from the preacher” when he allegedly misgendered a transgender pupil repeatedly and inappropriately shared his religious beliefs in the classroom, a misconduct panel heard.
Joshua Sutcliffe, 32, was accused by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) of “conduct that negatively affected pupils” on multiple occasions during his time at schools in Oxford and London. He denies the charges of professional misconduct.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen say ‘Windsor framework’ has been reached after four months of negotiations. This blog is now closed
Q: Why do you say you will back the PM’s deal when you have not seen the detail? And would you like to see Northern Ireland within the scope of the European court of justice, or outside it?
Starmer says he knows Northern Ireland well and knows the detail. Any deal will be an improvement on the status quo. That is why he is saying he would back it. He says the deal will not come as a surprise.
Continue reading...Trade and governance will be at centre of new post-Brexit pact, but what about other areas of disagreement?
Named the “new Windsor framework”, the revised Northern Ireland protocol has been described as a “decisive breakthrough” by Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
What does it mean and what are the big breakthroughs?
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak accused of ‘dragging the king into a hugely controversial political issue’
The king will host the EU chief, Ursula von der Leyen, after the signing of the final Northern Ireland protocol agreement with Rishi Sunak, prompting a furious reaction from the Democratic Unionist party and Tory Brexiters, who accused the prime minister of dragging the monarch into politics.
The former DUP first minister Arlene Foster said she “cannot quite believe that No 10 would ask HM the king to become involved in the finalising of a deal as controversial as this one. It’s crass and will go down very badly in NI. We must remember this is not the king’s decision but the government, who it appears is tone deaf.”
Continue reading...First female speaker of the House of Commons was ‘one of a kind’, says Sir Lindsay Hoyle
Betty Boothroyd, the first female speaker of the House of Commons, has died, aged 93.
Lady Boothroyd, a former Labour MP, was speaker from 1992 until her retirement in 2000, and was the first person to be elected to the role after the Commons debates started being permanently televised in 1989. She was later made a life peer in the House of Lords.
Continue reading...Dispatchers tell investigation it is common to worry: ‘How many people are we going to kill today?’
Ambulance call handlers suffer anxiety about how many people will die before they can get help to them each day, researchers looking into the welfare of NHS staff have found.
Officials from the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) in England asked staff working in urgent and emergency care, including in A&E, NHS 111 call handling centres and ambulance services, for their experiences as part of wider research into NHS care.
Continue reading...