Retailer says higher fuel and factory costs may hit supply chains and lead to ‘significant increase in prices’
The boss of Next has said clothing prices could rise by 4% to 10% if conflict in the Middle East extends into the autumn and factories are hit by higher fuel and fabric costs.
Simon Wolfson said the clothing and home retailer had so far seen little disruption to its supply chain.
Continue reading...Police and animal rights activists say the practice is frequently used as a ‘smokescreen’ for illegal foxhunting
The UK government has said it will ban trail hunting, the rural sport that police and animal rights activists have long accused of being a “smokescreen” for illegal foxhunting.
“We pledged to ban trail hunting in our manifesto and that is exactly what we intend to do,” said Sue Hayman, the animal welfare minister. “The nature of trail hunting makes it difficult to ensure wild and domestic animals are not put at risk of being killed or injured – that is clearly unacceptable.”
Continue reading...Change is on offer across the political spectrum, but no one knows whether apathy or tactical voting will prevail
Hope, change, progressive change, change with fairness at its heart – from a harbour north of Edinburgh to a hipster arts venue in Glasgow’s Barras Market, Scotland’s political parties spent the first official day of the Holyrood election campaign reaching for the phrase that best encapsulates what people will get if they vote for them on 7 May.
Only one of the main parties did not hold an event to set out their stall on Thursday: possibly Reform UK was too busy firefighting after another of their Scottish parliament candidates quit, bringing to four the number who have stepped down or been suspended since they stood with party leader Nigel Farage under a storm of turquoise confetti last week.
Continue reading...Shaine March killed Alana Odysseos in 2025, having been released on licence after killing a teenager in 2000
A man who murdered his pregnant girlfriend after being released from prison on licence must spend the rest of his life in jail, the court of appeal has ruled after finding that the original 42-year sentence was “too lenient”.
Alana Odysseos, 32, was in the early stages of pregnancy with her third child when Shaine March, now 48, killed her at her home in Walthamstow, east London, in July last year. She died at the scene from 23 slash and stab wounds.
Continue reading...Father of Grace O’Malley-Kumar calls decision to take sample from his daughter after her death ‘disgusting’
The father of a university student killed while trying to protect her friend from Valdo Calocane in Nottingham told an inquiry it is “disgusting” the stabbing victims were tested for drugs and alcohol but their killer was not.
Sanjoy Kumar, Grace O’Malley-Kumar’s father, said he could not understand why the diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic had not been tested for drugs while in custody after the attacks.
Continue reading...Legislation subject to MPs’ approval but will be backdated due to urgency of threat to UK democracy, says minister
Keir Starmer is set to embark on a fundamental overhaul of the political finance system, starting with an emergency ban on cryptocurrency donations and £100,000 cap on donations from Britons living abroad in a blow to Reform UK.
In a hugely significant move, the government said it would bring in the annual cap as well as a moratorium on crypto donations from Wednesday as part of its new elections legislation.
Requiring third-party campaigners to declare donations all year round, not just election periods, and allowing funding only from permissible donors.
More stringent checks on the source of funds from political donors, bringing it more into line with know-your-customer checks in the financial services industry.
Preventing donations from shell companies by ensuring funding is from post-tax profits rather than revenue.
Requiring foreign consultant lobbyists to join the official register, from which they are currently exempt because they do not charge VAT.
Banning foreign-funded political adverts outright.
Continue reading...British Medical Association blame government for longest proposed walkout so far, with NHS leaders warning it could cost £300m
Resident doctors in England will strike for six days after Easter after rejecting what they said was the final offer by the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to end the long-running pay and jobs dispute.
The British Medical Association blamed the government for its decision to undertake its longest stoppage so far, from 7am on Tuesday 7 April to 6.59 on Monday 13 April.
Continue reading...Members call for reparatory justice as landmark resolution aims for ‘political recognition at the highest level’
The United Nations has voted to describe the transatlantic chattel slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” and called for reparations as “a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs”.
The landmark resolution passed on Wednesday was backed by the African Union (AU) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom). It had been proposed by Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama, who said: “Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of millions who suffered the indignity of slavery.”
Continue reading...Reform’s ability to fundraise is hobbled in a move that draws attention to donations from an overseas billionaire
Reform UK are no doubt the biggest losers from the government’s emergency measures to overhaul political donations.
Labour MPs are absolutely delighted that No 10 is at last bringing in changes that will hobble Reform’s ability to raise money from its Thailand-based mega-donor, Christopher Harborne, at the same time as making the electoral system fairer in the eyes of the public.
Continue reading...Cabinet Office thought to have a number of exchanges between the friends, which are expected to be released within weeks
The Cabinet Office is understood to hold a number of text and email exchanges between Peter Mandelson and Morgan McSweeney, despite the theft of the former chief of staff’s phone in October last year.
The whereabouts of McSweeney’s messages with Mandelson has been under intense scrutiny since it was reported his work device was stolen last year shortly after Mandelson was sacked as US ambassador.
Continue reading...Industry fears strait of Hormuz closure could disrupt shipping of crucial parts for UK and German North Sea projects
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A string of large offshore wind projects in Europe are facing potential delays as the Iran war threatens to disrupt shipping of crucial parts manufactured in the Gulf.
Industry sources are concerned that components ordered from suppliers in the United Arab Emirates could become trapped if shipping remains effectively blocked through the strait of Hormuz.
Continue reading...UK urged to tackle transnational repression, as dissidents say Beijing has targeted them with tax bills and other threats
“I didn’t feel safe, even though I’m not based in Hong Kong any more,” said Christopher Mung Siu-tat after getting tax bills from Hong Kong authorities. “The regime can reach me by their long arms wherever I am.”
Siu-tat, the executive director at the Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor, a UK-based NGO, fled Beijing’s sweeping national security laws years ago. The letters are the latest example of a series of transnational repression (TNR) tactics the 54-year-old has faced in recent years.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: The first woman to hold the position of archbishop of Canterbury arrives at a time of transition with hopes that she can restore the church’s reputation
Good morning. At a ceremony later today, Sarah Mullally will be installed as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury. The first woman to take on the role in its near 1,500-year history, she becomes de facto head of the Anglican communion at a difficult and painful moment for the Church of England.
Mullally takes over an institution grappling with safeguarding failures, internal division and questions about its place in modern British public life. So what exactly is the job she is stepping into – and how much power does it still carry?
Middle East | The US is poised to deploy airborne troops to the Middle East as strikes intensified across the region on Tuesday and Donald Trump claimed the US was in “very good” talks with Iran to end the war.
UK politics | Rachel Reeves has ruled out universal support to deal with any future rise in energy bills, saying any government help would be targeted, and criticised the support offered by Liz Truss’s government as unaffordable and irresponsible.
Health | The meningitis B vaccination programme will be expanded to include year 11 pupils at schools affected by the outbreak in Kent, health officials have said.
Meta | A New Mexico jury has ordered Meta to pay $375m in civil penalties after it found the company misled consumers about the safety of its platforms and enabled harm, including child sexual exploitation, against its users.
Environment | Ofcom to investigate climate change denial complaints for the first time since 2017.
Continue reading...Wes Streeting set to hail result as proof of progress, but Britons remain frustrated with long waits for GP hospital care
Public satisfaction with the NHS has risen for the first time since 2019, but people remain deeply frustrated with stubbornly long waits to receive GP, A&E or hospital care.
The proportion of voters in Britain satisfied with the way the NHS runs has increased from the record low of 21% seen last year to 26%. At the same time dissatisfaction with the health service fell 8% – the biggest drop since 1998 – although it remains high at 51%.
Only 22% are satisfied with A&E and dentistry.
GP services and hospital care score better, but only 36% and 37% are satisfied with them.
Just 50% are satisfied with the quality of care the NHS provides and just 16% think it will improve over the next five years.
Satisfaction with social care is just 14%.
Continue reading...Wes Streeting set to hail result as proof of progress, but Britons remain frustrated with long waits for GP hospital care
Public satisfaction with the NHS has risen for the first time since 2019, but people remain deeply frustrated with stubbornly long waits to receive GP, A&E or hospital care.
The proportion of voters in Britain satisfied with the way the NHS runs has increased from the record low of 21% seen last year to 26%. At the same time dissatisfaction with the health service fell 8% – the biggest drop since 1998 – although it remains high at 51%.
Only 22% are satisfied with A&E and dentistry.
GP services and hospital care score better, but only 36% and 37% are satisfied with them.
Just 50% are satisfied with the quality of care the NHS provides and just 16% think it will improve over the next five years.
Satisfaction with social care is just 14%.
Continue reading...Nathan Newby set to receive George Medal for stopping a potential atrocity with an act of kindness
A hospital patient who managed to talk a man out of detonating a bomb in a maternity wing said the would-be attacker “asked for a cuddle” before standing down.
Nathan Newby, who stopped an atrocity through an act of kindness, spoke publicly for the first time about his encounter with Mohammad Farooq before receiving the George Medal for bravery.
Continue reading...PM’s most costly quarter for travel was in last quarter of 2025, with the most expensive trip to Cop30 in Brazil
Keir Starmer’s government is spending an increasing amount on foreign trips, with almost 40 visits abroad adding up to more than £4m since he took office, the latest transparency figures have showed.
The prime minister had his most costly quarter for foreign travel in the last three months of 2025, with eight trips adding up to £1.2m.
Continue reading...Suella Braverman presses the FA to scrap diversity and inclusion policies, which she claims are ‘racist’
Reform UK has been accused of seeking to insert “toxic politics” into football after the party pressed the Football Association in England to scrap diversity and inclusion policies.
Suella Braverman wrote to the FA on Tuesday to ask for a meeting to discuss the governing body’s diversity policies, which Reform’s equalities spokesperson described as “utter woke nonsense”.
Continue reading...Chancellor says she has the data available to run targeted scheme, unlike the Tory programme used when the Ukraine war started
The live feed from the Lib Dem local elections campaign launch did not last long, and it did not include footage of Ed Davey taking questions from reporters. But this is what the Lib Dems are saying about their five key campaign issues.
-Cut the cost of living: A plan to halve energy bills within a decade, saving households an average of £870 a year
-Fix the NHS and care: Guarantee the right to see a GP within seven days (or 24 hours for urgent cases) and ending 12-hour A&E waits.
-Rescue high streets: Give an emergency cut to VAT for hospitality businesses, to bring prices down and boost struggling high streets.
-Clean up rivers: Ban water companies from dumping raw sewage into local rivers and coastal areas.
-Restore community policing: Ensure visible, effective local policing to reduce crime.
Comedy duo will take the stage together in the West End for the first time in 17 years in Cinderella alongside Julian Clary
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are to return to the stage together for the first time in 17 years to play the Ugly Sisters in the London Palladium pantomime.
“It won’t be pretty,” the popular duo predicted in an announcement on Tuesday. “We have wished to play the Ugly Sisters for so many years, it feels this is the fulfilment of a dream – a dream our hearts made.”
Continue reading...