Labour’s Andy McDonald says gangs ‘clearly featuring’ in a series of incidents and police are underfunded
Five MPs on Teesside have called on the government to provide more help to local police and fire services after a week in which nine people have died in two incidents.
The MPs said the communities they represented should get the “strongest possible backing from the government”.
Continue reading...Rescue teams trying to locate nearly 1,400 missing people, mostly tourists, after floods killed at least 353
Rescue teams in Nepal are searching for at least 33 British nationals who are among those missing after flash floods ravaged its border with Tibet, killing at least 353 people.
Nearly 1,400 people are missing, most of them tourists, authorities have said, after a glacier collapse triggered floods that roared down valleys and razed entire villages.
Continue reading...Lawyers claim Eman el-Shazly, from Birmingham, was detained in effort to silence her sister, a critic of Sisi regime
The UK Foreign Office has been asked to intervene to secure the release of a British-Egyptian woman who it is claimed has been arrested in Cairo because of her sister’s political activism.
Eman el-Shazly, a 45-year-old based in Birmingham, was arrested on 16 August while visiting Egypt. Her lawyers say she has been detained in an attempt to silence her sister Mona, a relentless and harsh critic of the Egyptian government on her UK-based YouTube channel.
Continue reading...Streeting says role is chance to show strength and challenge stereotype that ‘persists in dark corners of internet’
Wes Streeting has described receiving a mass of homophobic abuse since he was made defence secretary last month, while also saying his appointment had been welcomed by some in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as a sign of change.
Until 2000, gay men and lesbian women were banned from serving in the UK military, with about 200-plus personnel thrown out of the forces each year due to their sexuality – an estimate, as proper records were not kept.
Continue reading...US labels group ‘global terrorist’ as Palestine Action challenge against proscription in UK nears supreme court hearing
The US has issued sanctions against the UK-based direct action organisation Palestine Action, describing it as a “transnational terror group”.
The US Department of the Treasury labelled Palestine Action a specially designated global terrorist on Wednesday, which allows the US to freeze the assets of foreign individuals and entities.
Continue reading...Murder inquiry launched after blaze in Grangetown area, amid investigation into collision in which seven died
A murder investigation has been launched after two people were killed in a house fire in Middlesbrough, with police not ruling out links to organised crime or the crash on the A66 on Saturday that killed seven people including two police officers.
A child was one of those killed in the blaze in the early hours of Wednesday and a woman was in a critical condition in hospital. Three other people sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Two men aged 23 and 31 have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Continue reading...Neil Gilson completes 230-mile challenge after a ‘tough’ 22-hour crossing of Lac Léman
He staggered rather than sprang out of the lake but it wasn’t surprising.
Neil Gilson, a former international athlete, could be forgiven for feeling a little wobbly, having become the first person to swim the 10 largest lakes in Switzerland, a total of about 230 miles (370km).
Continue reading...Exclusive: Nearly 100 Labour MPs support commission on changing the system used for Westminster election
Andy Burnham will face an immediate test of his backing for electoral reform in his first week in parliament as prime minister, with almost 100 Labour MPs supporting a bid for a new national commission.
Burnham, a longtime advocate of electoral reform, will be asked to support the new commission into ditching first past the post in his first 100 days as prime minister.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Nearly 100 Labour MPs support commission on changing the system used for Westminster election
Andy Burnham will face an immediate test of his backing for electoral reform in his first week in parliament as prime minister, with almost 100 Labour MPs supporting a bid for a new national commission.
Burnham, a longtime advocate of electoral reform, will be asked to support the new commission into ditching first past the post in his first 100 days as prime minister.
Continue reading...Government resilience campaign aims to ensure people can cope in a national disaster, in order to free resources for most vulnerable
UK citizens will be told to stock up on tinned food and take steps to ensure they are prepared for national emergencies as part of a new government campaign to improve the nation’s resilience.
The new campaign from the Cabinet Office will set out ways people can prepare for extreme weather events and potential attacks from hostile states, including stocking up on bottled water, sources told the Guardian.
Continue reading...Drivers concerned that bus operator’s offer to retrofit cabs on 730 buses will not be complete by next summer
London bus drivers have resumed strike action over having to work in high temperatures, amid fears that proposed improvements to air conditioning will not be complete by next summer.
About 1,500 members of the Unite union working across north London and Essex are taking part in the four-day strike from Tuesday to Friday, after industrial action earlier this month. Further stoppages are planned for the coming weeks.
Continue reading...Drivers concerned that bus operator’s offer to retrofit cabs on 730 buses will not be complete by next summer
London bus drivers have resumed strike action over having to work in high temperatures, amid fears that proposed improvements to air conditioning will not be complete by next summer.
About 1,500 members of the Unite union working across north London and Essex are taking part in the four-day strike from Tuesday to Friday, after industrial action earlier this month. Further stoppages are planned for the coming weeks.
Continue reading...Anthony Seldon’s book alleges Badenoch asked fellow Tory ministers ‘if anyone was interested in changing the captain’
Kemi Badenoch plotted with fellow Conservative cabinet ministers to remove Rishi Sunak as prime minister months before the general election, it has been claimed.
Anthony Seldon, who has written political biographies of every prime minister since John Major, has alleged in a new book that Badenoch, who was business secretary at the time, phoned several other cabinet ministers to ask “if anyone was interested in changing the captain”.
Continue reading...Anthony Seldon’s book alleges Badenoch asked fellow Tory ministers ‘if anyone was interested in changing the captain’
Kemi Badenoch plotted with fellow Conservative cabinet ministers to remove Rishi Sunak as prime minister months before the general election, it has been claimed.
Anthony Seldon, who has written political biographies of every prime minister since John Major, has alleged in a new book that Badenoch, who was business secretary at the time, phoned several other cabinet ministers to ask “if anyone was interested in changing the captain”.
Continue reading...PM known to be keen to attend UN general assembly after meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine
UK officials are making preparations for a potential meeting between Andy Burnham and Donald Trump after the prime minister said he hoped to attend next month’s UN general assembly in New York.
Burnham is known to be particularly keen to attend the annual gathering after meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday, when he pledged to help drum up more international support for Ukraine.
Continue reading...PM known to be keen to attend UN general assembly after meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine
UK officials are making preparations for a potential meeting between Andy Burnham and Donald Trump after the prime minister said he hoped to attend next month’s UN general assembly in New York.
Burnham is known to be particularly keen to attend the annual gathering after meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday, when he pledged to help drum up more international support for Ukraine.
Continue reading...Eight costumes spanning Queen frontman’s career will feature in a free trail developed with his former fiancee
Eight famous costumes worn by Freddie Mercury, including the outfit featured on the cover of Queen’s debut album and the catsuit from the video for Bohemian Rhapsody, are to go on display at the V&A in London this autumn to mark what would have been the singer’s 80th birthday.
Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things, a free trail developed with Mercury’s former fiancee and close friend Mary Austin, will run from 24 October 2026 to 17 January 2027. Austin is lending seven of the looks, which span Mercury’s career from the 1970s to his final years.
Continue reading...NHS has target of eliminating the cancer by 2040, but up to 4 million eligible women are not up to date with screening
Millions of women in England who have missed cervical screening appointments will be offered free home testing kits on the NHS.
The move comes amid concerns that only two-thirds of women attend in-person cervical screening appointments when asked to do so, leaving as many as 4 million women not up to date.
Continue reading...Spokesperson for Duke of Sussex says he remains an ‘active and avid supporter’ of African Parks’ mission
The Duke of Sussex has stepped down from the board of a major African wildlife charity that had been at the centre of a human rights controversy.
Prince Harry’s spokesperson confirmed he was no longer a trustee of African Parks, which admitted last year that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers in the Republic of the Congo.
Continue reading...After higher prices for winter kick in, energy debt unpaid for more than 30 days likely to rise, says Energy UK
Households in Great Britain could owe their energy suppliers as much as £7bn by the end of the year after higher gas and electricity prices forecast for the winter kick in, an industry group is warning.
Domestic energy debt and arrears climbed by about £500m over the past year to a record £6bn at the end of June as the Middle East conflict continued to stoke rising gas market prices.
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