Inspectorate issues summons after water supply infected 140 people with diarrhoea-type disease in Brixham last year
South West Water is being taken to court over a parasite that infected the water supply in parts of Devon last summer and left dozens sick.
More than 140 people were confirmed to have the diarrhoea-type disease, which also causes stomach pains and vomiting, typically lasting for about two weeks. Four people were hospitalised at the time.
Continue reading...Expert says self-testing kits are clinically useless and can be a distraction from evidence-based treatment
Expensive, over-the-counter hormone tests for menopause are clinically useless and risk undermining women’s healthcare, senior doctors have warned.
The testing kits, offered by private clinics and available to buy for self-testing, claim to offer tailored insights through measuring hormone levels. But they have been described by experts as misleading and medically unnecessary.
Continue reading...New home secretary is expected to unveil plans to use military sites as Labour seeks to harden immigration policy
Shabana Mahmood is expected to unveil plans to move asylum seekers from hotels into military barracks as Labour seeks to harden its immigration policy amid rising numbers of crossings in the channel.
The new home secretary is reportedly set to announce the use of Ministry of Defence sites to house people after a wave of protests outside migrant accommodation over the summer.
Continue reading...Investigators say it had not been possible to visually inspect section of cable that separated before incident
A cable linking two carriages snapped shortly before Wednesday’s funicular crash in Lisbon that killed 16 people, accident inspectors have said in a report.
An operator tried to apply emergency brakes but failed to prevent the derailment, investigators added.
Continue reading...Police say offences include assault and support for a proscribed group as 1,500 defied ban in Parliament Square
About 300 people have been arrested at the largest demonstration yet opposing the proscription of Palestine Action.
Defend Our Juries, who organised the demonstrations, said there were 1,500 sign-holders in Parliament Square on Saturday at a fresh protest in London against the ban. At the previous major demonstration last month, 532 people were arrested for taking part. Participants gathered in Parliament Square by 1pm, many holding signs that read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Continue reading...Police say offences include assault and support for a proscribed group as 1,500 defied ban in Parliament Square
About 300 people have been arrested at the largest demonstration yet opposing the proscription of Palestine Action.
Defend Our Juries, who organised the demonstrations, said there were 1,500 sign-holders in Parliament Square on Saturday at a fresh protest in London against the ban. At the previous major demonstration last month, 532 people were arrested for taking part. Participants gathered in Parliament Square by 1pm, many holding signs that read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Continue reading...Some believe fight is looming over sweeping reforms after employment rights minister Justin Madders sacked and union allies sidelined
Keir Starmer has sought to tighten his grip on his government with a wave of junior ministerial changes that has sidelined allies of the unions, raising questions over the future of Labour’s workers’ rights package.
The reshuffle has been used by Downing Street to signal a tougher stance on immigration in an apparent bid to take on Reform UK, with Shabana Mahmood – a self-described social conservative rising star – now in charge of the Home Office, supported by Sarah Jones who returns to her former policing brief.
Continue reading...Some believe fight is looming over sweeping reforms after employment rights minister Justin Madders sacked and union allies sidelined
Keir Starmer has sought to tighten his grip on his government with a wave of junior ministerial changes that has sidelined allies of the unions, raising questions over the future of Labour’s workers’ rights package.
The reshuffle has been used by Downing Street to signal a tougher stance on immigration in an apparent bid to take on Reform UK, with Shabana Mahmood – a self-described social conservative rising star – now in charge of the Home Office, supported by Sarah Jones who returns to her former policing brief.
Continue reading...Aseem Malhotra claimed ‘eminent oncologist’ said jab was ‘significant factor in the cancer of members of royal family’
A controversial doctor given top billing at the Reform party conference has used his main-stage speech to air a claim the Covid vaccine caused cancer in the royal family.
The speech by Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist who was appointed as a senior adviser to the US health secretary and vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy, drew sharp intakes of breath in the Birmingham auditorium where he was handed a prime speaking slot.
Continue reading...Relatives pay tribute to Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, who died when the Elevador da Glória derailed
The families of a British couple killed in Lisbon after a funicular streetcar derailed have paid tribute to them and have said they are “heartbroken”.
Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, died alongside 14 other people after the Elevador da Glória hurtled down a hill and careered into a building on Wednesday night.
Continue reading...Relatives pay tribute to Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, who died when the Elevador da Glória derailed
The families of a British couple killed in Lisbon after a funicular streetcar derailed have paid tribute to them and have said they are “heartbroken”.
Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, died alongside 14 other people after the Elevador da Glória hurtled down a hill and careered into a building on Wednesday night.
Continue reading...Reform UK leader says he should not have claimed he was buyer of property that was really bought by his partner
Nigel Farage has admitted he misspoke when he claimed to have bought a house in his constituency of Clacton, saying the property is in fact solely owned by his long-term partner.
The Guardian revealed in May that the detached property in an upmarket part of Clacton-on-Sea was actually solely bought by Laure Ferrari, and when approached by the newspaper the Reform UK leader insisted his name did not appear because of “security reasons”.
Continue reading...Reform UK leader says he should not have claimed he was buyer of property that was really bought by his partner
Nigel Farage has admitted he misspoke when he claimed to have bought a house in his constituency of Clacton, saying the property is in fact solely owned by his long-term partner.
The Guardian revealed in May that the detached property in an upmarket part of Clacton-on-Sea was actually solely bought by Laure Ferrari, and when approached by the newspaper the Reform UK leader insisted his name did not appear because of “security reasons”.
Continue reading...Michele Bourda’s husband says police and coastguard were ‘criminally slow’ in responding to her disappearance in August
A body found on a barren Greek island has been identified as that of Michele Bourda, the British tourist who vanished from a beach more than a month ago.
Greece’s coastguard confirmed that the body of the 59-year-old, whose disappearance sparked a big rescue operation, had been discovered by a passing yacht on the islet of Fidonisi.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Companies considering use of ‘kill switches’ to disable stolen devices after 967% increase in theft incidents
Mobile phone retailers are locking their doors during trading hours and considering using “kill switches” to disable stolen devices, as incidents of theft increase more than ninefold in some high streets due to organised crime.
VodafoneThree, which operates the largest retail network with 650 stores across the UK, has experienced a 967% increase in theft incidents in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2024.
Continue reading...Devices will vibrate and make a siren sound for 10 seconds at 3pm, with message confirming alert is a test
Millions of mobile phones will vibrate and make a siren sound across the UK on Sunday afternoon during a test of a nationwide emergency alert system.
Handset users will also receive a message on their screens reminding them the 10-second alert, which will happen at 3pm, is a test. There are about 87m mobile phones in the UK.
Continue reading...Rosemary Duckett, 80, and her husband, Anthony, 88, say situation is ‘bureaucracy gone mad’
A couple who the prime minister thanked for housing Ukrainian refugees have been told by their local council they may have to evict their current guest due to planning rules which the couple describe as “bureaucracy gone mad”.
Rosemary Duckett, 80, a retired magistrate and former chair of her local YMCA, and her husband, Anthony, 88, have been providing accommodation in a room above their garage to Ukrainian refugees since 2022.
Continue reading...Alex Freudmann says ministers need to increase proportion of food eaten in UK that is grown or reared in Britain
Marks & Spencer’s head of food has called on the government to set a legally binding “concrete target” to increase the proportion of food produced at home, as he warned that Britain was becoming “less and less self-sufficient”.
Alex Freudmann, the managing director of the upmarket grocer’s food division, which works with 10,000 British farms, said: “If ministers are committed to domestic food supply, then they need to prove it, and that’s why we’re backing our farmers’ calls for a clear and concrete target to increase the proportion of food eaten in Britain that’s grown or reared in Britain.”
Continue reading...The satellite will turn deep red as the Earth passes between the sun and the moon at about 7.30pm on Sunday
A rare total lunar eclipse “blood moon” will be visible from the UK on Sunday night for the first time since 2022.
The moon is expected to turn a deep, dark red as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, casting its shadow across the lunar surface.
Continue reading...Independent tribunal told government did little to hold Israel to account and aimed to shield itself from scrutiny
Britain is not just complicit in Israel’s breaches of humanitarian law in Gaza but a participant that has repeatedly ignored its legal obligation to prevent a genocide, witnesses have told the independent Gaza tribunal.
The two-day tribunal in London, which is independent of government and parliament, is seeking to amass evidence of Britain’s failure to distance itself from what the tribunal organisers regard as Israeli war crimes amounting to genocide.
RAF pilots flying from the UK Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus systematically shared intelligence in real time with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but not with the international criminal court.
No 10 failed to provide the support requested by lawyers acting for James Henderson, the British World Central Kitchen aid worker killed by the IDF on 1 April 2024, leaving them reliant on an IDF internal investigation, with a coroners’ inquiry still as long as two years away.
Britain provided no support to the chief prosecutor at the international criminal court, Karim Khan, after the US government imposed sanctions that led a British bank to close his account, “so emboldening those who seek to dismantle international accountability”.
The UK trade department continued to allow the import of products from Israel-occupied territories after the international court of justice in July 2024 ruled in an advisory opinion that the occupation was unlawful.
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