Network Rail advises users of some routes to avoid travel unless necessary until at least 9 January
Rail passengers have been told to avoid some services for two weeks and that trains will be “significantly disrupted” across most of the country into the new year.
The warning from Network Rail came as some services juddered back to life on Tuesday after the Christmas shutdown and several days of strikes by RMT union members.
Continue reading...Doctors, Coronation Street and EastEnders among credits of actor whose career included working with RSC and the National Theatre
Stephen Greif, who appeared in Blake’s 7 and The Crown, has died aged 78, his representatives said.
The actor had an extensive career on stage and screen and appeared in other series including Doctors, Coronation Street, Tales of the Unexpected and EastEnders.
Continue reading...Man, 30, arrested on suspicion of murder and woman, 19, held on suspicion of conspiracy to murder
Two people have been arrested in connection with the “cold-blooded shooting” of Elle Edwards in Wallasey Village, Merseyside police said.
A 30-year-old man from Tranmere has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
Continue reading...Foreign affairs committee chair says holding of men allegedly involved in protests part of ‘industrialised taking of hostages’
All British people still in Iran should leave immediately because of the “industrialised” level of people being taken state hostage, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee has said.
Alicia Kearns made her call after the Iranian government said it had arrested seven “British linked” suspects including some dual nationals allegedly involved in the country’s anti-government protests, which began 100 days ago.
Continue reading...Growing numbers of students are experiencing hidden homelessness or accepting poor accommodation
Student housing is reaching a “crisis point” not seen since the 1970s, when students slept in sports halls and their cars, and is set to worsen in the new year, a charity has warned.
Since the start of the academic year, students at universities across the UK have complained of fierce competition for rooms in flatshares for the 2022 and 2023 academic years.
Continue reading...Former PM says Rishi Sunak can turn things round, but another senior Tory MP says it’s ‘almost impossible’
The Conservative party can still win the next general election if it shows the public it is on their side, Theresa May has said.
The former prime minister said Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt could rebuild the party’s reputation for “sound money and sound public finances” within the next two years, after the damage done by Liz Truss’s mini-budget.
Continue reading...Labour says plan to ditch national targets equates to ‘scrapping standards altogether’ , after review by Patricia Hewitt
The government is preparing to ditch NHS national targets in an attempt to “boost efficiency”, as part of recommendations from a review led by a former Labour health secretary.
Patricia Hewitt led the government-commissioned review into the NHS in England, looking at how the new integrated care systems (ICSs) could operate efficiently. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced the assessment during the autumn budget.
Continue reading...Delays and cancellations linked to 20 years of privatisation, rising costs and labour shortages worsened by pandemic, say experts
Rail passengers have been delayed or disrupted on more than half of all train services departing from 15 of Great Britain’s busiest stations in the last year, Guardian analysis shows, exposing what has been described as a “broken” railway system that cannot easily be fixed.
Experts said the figures – which show rail services in the north and Midlands as the hardest hit – demonstrated the impact of two decades of privatisation, which had increased costs and public subsidies, combined with labour shortages exacerbated by the pandemic.
Continue reading...Kathy McGinness, who lived adjacent to flats that collapsed, died in hospital on Christmas Day
A woman injured in an explosion at a block of flats in Jersey earlier this month died on Christmas Day, taking the death toll to 10.
Kathleen (Kathy) McGinness, 73, who lived at Haut du Mont adjacent to the building that collapsed, died at Jersey general hospital.
Continue reading...Railways closed because of RMT strike while 1,000 Border Force staff in PCS union continue action
Here is a reminder of the upcoming strikes which have been announced by up until January.
Shoppers hoping for a Boxing Day bargain could face traffic jams as rail strikes bring train services to a halt, with the AA saying it expects 15.2m cars on UK roads on Boxing Day, with shoppers and football fans among those likely to travel.
Continue reading...According to ONS data, there are now nearly 300,000 people aged 50 or over in insecure employment
Zero-hours contracts among the over-50s have reached their highest level since records began, according to new analysis of official government statistics.
There are nearly 300,000 people aged 50 and older with zero-hours contracts, the highest number for this age group since records began in 2013 and almost double the number 10 years ago, from 149,000 in October to December 2013 to 296,000 in July to September 2022.
Continue reading...As figures show there have been 438 convictions since 2010, party says it wants to outlaw trail hunting ‘smokescreen’
More than 430 convictions for hunting have been secured since 2010, figures reveal amid calls to strengthen the law before this year’s Boxing Day parades.
Labour, which introduced legislation to tackle fox hunting in 2004, has vowed to toughen up the Hunting Act to close a “loophole”.
Continue reading...No services on railways for second consecutive day as RMT union members strike over pay
Thousands of people face Boxing Day travel chaos across Britain as a rail strike means no services will be running.
Many have been forced to cancel or make alternative plans as the industrial action continues.
Continue reading...The slowdown is expected to intensify with price declines between 5% and 12%
The housing market will cool sharply next year after a bumpy 2022, industry experts are predicting, as the UK contends with recession and higher mortgage rates.
As the cost of living crisis has intensified amid soaring inflation and as interest rates have increased, house prices have already started falling month-on-month. The average house price dropped 2.3% in November from October – the most since the start of the financial crash in 2008 – according to Halifax.
Continue reading...An estimated £3.8bn will be spent on 26 December, down almost 4% on last year
Retailers are preparing for a quieter Boxing Day this year despite freedom from pandemic restrictions as the cost of living crisis weighs on shoppers’ budgets.
Spending is expected to hit almost £3.8bn on 26 December, according to research by GlobalData for Vouchercodes.
Continue reading...UK Foreign Office is seeking further information about detainees, who include several dual nationals
Seven people with links to Britain have been arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards over anti-government protests that have snowballed across the country in recent months, according to reports.
The people arrested, some of whom are dual nationals, were detained while trying to leave Iran, according to Reuters, citing a statement published by state media.
Continue reading...Monarch pays tribute to the volunteers and charity workers helping those in financial difficulty
King Charles has highlighted the cost of living crisis and the “great anxiety and hardship” of many struggling to “pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm” in his first Christmas broadcast.
In the message, with the nation in the grip of economic woes and against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the king dedicated a major part of his broadcast to those helping to ease the plight of others.
Continue reading...Monarch reflects on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in first Christmas Day broadcast
I am standing here in this exquisite Chapel of St George at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father.
I am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family.
Continue reading...Half the Hareth family obtained visas, but three sons faced years of danger and uncertainty, until they were recognised as refugees
A refugee family have celebrated their first festive season safely together in two and a half years after the Home Office abandoned threats to deport three of them because they arrived in the UK on a small boat.
The Hareth family – mother, Ferdowz, and father, Hussein, both 55, Hamzah, 27, Hassan, 25, Hazem, 24, and Azzam, 14, fled war in Yemen, but had very different journeys to the UK and contrasting experiences of dealing with the Home Office even though their circumstances were identical.
Continue reading...Royal Gibraltar police ask British counterparts to investigate alleged data breach in interests of ‘transparency’
UK police have been called in to lead an investigation into a data breach in a public inquiry concerning alleged corruption at the top of Gibraltar’s government.
The development is the latest twist in the inquiry, which is to hear explosive allegations by the British overseas territory’s former police chief, Ian McGrail.
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