Bank slashes predicted 2023 European wholesale price by 30% as mild weather reduces demand
HSBC has slashed its forecasts for future wholesale gas prices in response to mild weather in Europe – raising hopes of a sharp decline in household energy bills.
The bank cut its 2023 forecasts for the price of gas traded in Europe by about 30% and its forecast for 2024 by 20%.
Continue reading...Former French international will face another trial after no verdicts reached on one charge of rape and one of attempted rape
The Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of raping four women and sexually assaulting another during lockdown parties at his Cheshire mansion.
The former French international slumped with his head in his hands as he was unanimously cleared of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault after a five-month trial at Chester crown court.
Continue reading...Views range from sympathy for the Sussexes in light of treatment by royals and tabloids, to regarding them as being ‘as entitled as the others’
Prince Harry’s tell-all autobiography has become the UK’s fastest-selling nonfiction book ever. The memoir has been controversial, with Harry making claims that Prince William physically attacked him and accusing his father of putting his own interests first.
The Guardian asked readers – some of whom had already begun reading the book – for their views on the memoir and the publicity around it. Many said their views on the royal family had been changed, while others said it strengthened existing positions. Other readers also made the point that the book was more balanced than had been presented by parts of the media.
Continue reading...Harry May, 21, threw object because he believed monarch’s visit to ‘poor area’ was in ‘bad taste’, court hears
A 21-year-old man has admitted throwing an egg towards King Charles during a walkabout in Luton because he thought the monarch’s visit to a “poor area” was in “bad taste”.
Harry May pleaded guilty at Westminster magistrates court in London on Friday to a public order offence relating to the incident on 6 December.
Continue reading...EU sources say progress in protocol dispute is slow despite growing momentum
The UK government is to further delay calling an election in Northern Ireland to give Brexit talks a chance.
Senior EU sources said “slow progress” was being made in talks between the UK and Brussels, dampening hopes of a breakthrough by the end of January on the protracted dispute over the Northern Ireland protocol.
Continue reading...Warnings of ‘great cost’ to individuals, workplaces and the economy as people struggle to access diagnosis and treatment
ADHD awareness hassoared among women in the UK in the past year, but waiting times and the dearth of clinical awareness are leaving people awaiting diagnosis in a perilous position, leading experts have warned.
Dr Max Davie, a consultant paediatrician and co-founder of ADHD UK, said that people talking openly about their diagnoses – such as the Loose Women presenter Nadia Sawalha – had led to more people seeking referrals for the condition.
Continue reading...Postal service has been unable to send letters and parcels overseas since Wednesday due to hacking
Royal Mail has been hit by a ransomware attack by a criminal group, which has threatened to publish the stolen information online.
The postal service has received a ransom note purporting to be from LockBit, a hacker group widely thought to have close links to Russia.
Continue reading...A second woman was taken to hospital with dog bites, but her condition is not life-threatening
A woman in her 20s has been killed after reportedly being attacked by a dog in Surrey.
Officers were called to Gravelly Hill in Caterham at 2.45pm on Thursday to reports of a dog attacking members of the public.
Continue reading...Tech investor Christopher Harborne’s gift to former PM’s personal office is one of biggest ever recorded to individual UK politician
Boris Johnson has received a donation of £1m from a Thai-based British businessman who had previously given millions of pounds to Nigel Farage’s Brexit party, the newly released register of MPs’ interests has shown.
Christopher Harborne, a tech industry investor who had previously donated to the Conservatives but gave the Brexit party £6m before the 2019 general election, handed the £1m donation to Johnson’s personal office, set up after he left No 10.
Continue reading...British-Iranian, who was sentenced to death for allegedly spying for MI6, gave reports on Iran’s nuclear programme, he says in TV interview
Alireza Akbari, the British-Iranian dual national sentenced to death for allegedly spying for MI6, gave his British handlers reports on Iran’s nuclear programme and efforts to evade western economic sanctions, according to an edited TV confession aired by news agencies close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
In the video, which was aired on Thursday and appeared to be heavily edited, Akbari was also asked about the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh who was shot dead in in Tehran in 2020.
Continue reading...Industrial action to take place in February and March in dispute over pay, conditions and pensions
More than 70,000 staff at 150 universities across the UK will strike for 18 days between February and March in disputes over pay, conditions and pensions, it has been announced.
The University and College Union (UCU) said the precise dates of the action will be confirmed next week.
Continue reading...The U-turn may help to end wave of strikes, though funding it could require cuts to key services
Steve Barclay has privately conceded he will have to increase his pay offer to NHS staff, in a U-turn that may help to end the growing wave of strikes.
However, the Treasury has made clear he will have to find any new cash from within the existing health budget, raising the prospect of cuts to key services.
Continue reading...‘Obsessive’ David Richards lay in wait for Alex Alam to leave her home after their relationship broke down
A former manager of the Dreamboys stripper group has been jailed for 27 years for attempted murder after attacking his wife with an axe.
David Richards, 42, attacked Alex Alam, 32, outside her home after their relationship broke down, fracturing her skull and cutting her face and scalp.
Continue reading...Minister speaks of ‘progress’ on security checks, but Foreign Office clarifies no green light yet for contractors
A group of 47 British Council contractors forced to live in hiding since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan have cleared the penultimate hurdle for being accepted on to a scheme designed to relocate them in the UK.
The group was said to have passed security checks and been invited to provide biometrics at a visa centre, after which they would have to have a final set of security checks.
Continue reading...Ratcliffe-on-Soar to be kept viable until late 2024 after ministers make request prompted by energy crisis
A Nottinghamshire coal-burning power plant will stay open for two years beyond its planned closure date after a call from ministers prompted by the UK’s energy crisis.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar had initially been pencilled in to shut in 2022, but last year said it would have an initial extension until 31 March 2023.
Continue reading...Report shows 3.2m people disconnected last year as they ran out of credit
Ministers are being urged to stop the forced installation of prepayment meters after revelations that 3.2 million people – the equivalent of one person every 10 seconds – were left with cold and dark homes last year as they ran out of credit.
As energy prices surged this winter, suppliers have stepped up the use of court warrants to force their way into homes to install prepayment meters, with some magistrates approving hundreds of applications at a time. For homes with smart meters, the change can be made remotely without even needing a warrant.
Rhiannon, a single parent with a baby who suffers from depression, fell behind on her payments after she separated with her partner. Her landlord allowed her supplier access to fit a prepayment meter. She has resorted to warming baby milk at her GP’s surgery and staying warm in her dad’s car.
Rona uses a wheelchair and lives with her daughter who has special educational needs. She is reliant on family to go to the Post Office to top up and was left without heating, lighting or means to make food over Christmas.
Alice, a woman with a lung condition who was moved on to a prepayment meter due to debt and couldn’t afford to top up. Her supplier told her she could not be helped again because she had been helped before, but being cut off prevents her charging her breathing machine.
Andy, a diabetic who was moved on to a prepayment meter and left without power for a week despite needing to keep his insulin in the fridge.
Continue reading...Beck rose to fame with the Yardbirds before fronting the Jeff Beck Group and making forays into the jazz-fusion sound he pioneered
Jeff Beck, the celebrated guitarist who played with the Yardbirds and led the Jeff Beck Group, has died aged 78, his representative has confirmed.
Beck died on Tuesday after “suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis”, the representative confirmed. “His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss,” they added.
Continue reading...Guy Black, deputy chair of Telegraph newspapers, says draft legislation sets too low a bar on what constitutes spying
The UK’s proposed national security bill could have a “chilling effect” on investigative journalism because it sets too low a bar on what constitutes spying, the deputy chair of the Telegraph newspapers has warned.
Guy Black told the House of Lords that he was concerned the draft legislation could “potentially criminalise” reporters and whistleblowers because it says simply that a crime is committed if it “may materially assist a foreign intelligence service”.
Continue reading...Riverdance star has undergone surgery and is in care of doctors, according to Instagram account
Michael Flatley, best known for his Riverdance show, has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of cancer.
A post on the Irish dancer and director’s Instagram account said: “Michael Flatley has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. He has undergone surgery and is in the care of an excellent team of doctors.”
Continue reading...Officials from 14 health unions want to hold direct talks with ministers to agree pay rises for NHS staff
The system for setting NHS staff pay is under threat after health unions refused to submit evidence to the two bodies that advise ministers on how big annual increases should be.
The role and credibility of both the NHS pay review body (NHSPRB) and the review body on doctors’ and dentists’ remuneration (DDRB) have been brought into question by the move.
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