Category Archives: UK news

Safety fears force Ngozi Fulani’s charity to pause work after palace racism incident

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Sistah Space says many domestic abuse services temporarily halted after founder spoke of encounter with Susan Hussey

A charity led by a black domestic abuse campaigner who was asked where she “really came from” by the late queen’s senior lady-in-waiting has had to pause its operations because of safety fears.

Sistah Space said it was “forced to temporarily cease” working after its founder, Ngozi Fulani, spoke out about her treatment by Susan Hussey at a reception at Buckingham Palace. The charity supports women of African and Caribbean heritage who have been affected by domestic and sexual abuse.

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Huge decline of working class people in the arts reflects fall in wider society

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Study shows the proportion of musicians, writers and artists with working-class origins has shrunk by half since the 1970s

The proportion of working-class actors, musicians and writers has shrunk by half since the 1970s, new research shows.

Analysis of Office for National Statistics data found that 16.4% of creative workers born between 1953 and 1962 had a working-class background, but that had fallen to just 7.9% for those born four decades later.

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Lord Young, former Conservative minister and businessman, dies aged 90

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Minister exalted by Margaret Thatcher also advised David Cameron and ran businesses including Cable & Wireless

Lord Young of Graffham, a cabinet minister under Margaret Thatcher and a successful businessman, has died aged 90.

A Conservative party spokesperson confirmed the death of the peer, who became secretary of state for employment in 1985 and was appointed secretary of state for trade and industry after the 1987 election.

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Two PCs sacked for sharing offensive messages

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Four former officers also told they would have been dismissed for racist and misogynist WhatsApp content

Two serving police officers have been sacked, and four former officers have been told they would have been sacked, for sharing racist, homophobic and misogynist messages in a WhatsApp group.

A disciplinary panel made dismissals orders against PC Gary Bailey from the Metropolitan police and PC Matthew Forster from the Civil Nuclear constabulary (CNC).

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Home Office adviser Nimco Ali appears to quit by criticising Suella Braverman

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Adviser on violence against women says on live radio she is on a ‘completely different planet’ to home secretary

A government adviser on violence against women appears to have effectively resigned from her role on live radio after saying she is on a “completely different planet” to the home secretary, Suella Braverman.

Nimco Ali, a social activist who was appointed to the independent role by the then home secretary, Priti Patel, in 2020, used an interview to criticise Braverman’s stance on the issue and announce her intention to relinquish her role.

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Officers unlikely to stand in for striking ambulance drivers, police chiefs say

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Combination of overstretched forces and few licensed drivers means requests expected to be turned down

Police say they will not replace striking ambulance drivers as health trusts scramble to limit the effects of a wave of industrial action.

The trusts, which are responsible for running ambulances, have approached individual police forces to see if officers might ferry patients to and from hospital.

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Nurses’ union leader Pat Cullen: ‘I follow through on what I believe in’

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The RCN boss poised to lead the first NHS-wide strike reflects on her long-established readiness to tackle perceived injustices

Pat Cullen tells a story that is very revealing about the character of the woman who is about to lead Britain’s nurses into their first-ever NHS-wide strike – herself.

Almost 40 years ago, back in 1983, Cullen was an 18-year-old trainee nurse at Holywell psychiatric hospital in Antrim, Northern Ireland. She was appalled that under its “token economy system” staff punished patients whose behaviour proved difficult by taking away their personal possessions – sweets, cigarettes, washbags or blankets.

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Government to weaken water pollution goals in ‘attack on nature’

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Exclusive: Despite demands from water campaigners, there will be no overall target for river health

Water pollution goals are to be weakened by the government next week, the Guardian can reveal, as Environment Act targets will give farmers three extra years to reduce their waste dumping into waterways.

River campaigners have said the news is proof the government has not dropped its “attack on nature”.

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Lizard Downs in Cornwall protected for public use after 140 years

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Open Spaces Society secures re-registration of 116 hectares of ‘splendid’ moorland’ for common use

More than 100 hectares of some of the most stunning landscape in west Cornwall has finally been recognised as common land, protecting it for the public 140 years after it was threatened with enclosure.

Lizard Downs was authorised for enclosure – the act of taking ownership of common land – in 1880 but the proposed fencing off never happened.

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Jeremy Hunt fails to quash claims Treasury vetoed pay offer that may have averted rail strikes – UK politics live

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Chancellor did not contest claim when asked whether his department blocked a pay rise of around 10% for rail workers

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has refused to quash claims that the Treasury vetoed a pay offer that may have led to a resolution of the rail strike.

Last month the Daily Telegraph claimed that the Department for Transport wanted to offer rail workers a rise worth between 8% and 9% over two year, but that it was prevented from doing so by the Treasury.

There is unanimity across the government in that it wants high inflation to be temporary, and I think there is understanding that that is essential for the very people who are feeling most angry about their situation.

We have to be really careful not to agree to pay demands that have the opposite of the intended effect because they lock in high inflation.

So if we make the wrong choices now, we won’t have that 3.7% of inflation in January or February of 2024 and this will change from being a one-off problem, to being a permanent problem, which will be the worst possible thing for people working in public services. That is why it’s generally a very difficult issue.

I would urge everyone to boycott Netflix and make sure that we actually focus on the things that matter.

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Chester zoo hails birth of rare Malayan tapir as ‘important moment’

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Female calf named Nessa will help efforts to protect species, of which fewer than 2,500 remain in the wild

An endangered Malayan tapir has been born at a UK zoo, in what the zoo said was an “important moment” for conservation.

The female calf, which zookeepers have named Nessa, was born weighing 9kg on Wednesday at Chester zoo, one of only two places in the country to keep tapirs, a species related to the horse and the rhinoceros.

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Who will replace Matt Lucas as The Great British Bake Off co-host?

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Show’s makers to sift through cream of UK comics from Tom Allen to Ellie Taylor to find new co-host

Who will seize the whimsical baguette, so cheerfully passed on by Matt Lucas this week as he announced he would be stepping down as the co-presenter of The Great British Bake Off?

What other comedic genius would have the acumen to take on spring rolls and pistachio ice-cream? The compassion to wipe away Iain Watters’ tears over his sloppy baked alaska “bingate” disaster in season five or the beginner-level intuition required to stay away from maracas and sombreros during Bake Off’s much-criticised “Mexican week”?

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Harry and Meghan hit back at criticism over sharing of personal clips in Netflix show

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Duke and Duchess accuse press of creating false narrative that privacy was a key reason behind their step back from duties

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have hit back at attacks over their sharing of personal video clips and photographs in their Netflix documentary.

A spokeswoman for Harry and Meghan said the narrative that privacy was a key reason behind the couple stepping back from royal duties and quitting the UK was a false one.

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Search resumes for three fishers off Jersey

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Fishing boat believed to be resting on seabed after collision with Condor Ferries freight vessel

The search for three fishers whose boat sank in the Channel after a collision with a freight vessel has resumed off the coast of Jersey.

Lifeboats and a search aircraft were launched at first light to continue to scour the area to the west and north-west of the island.

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UK to develop next-generation fighter jets with Italy and Japan

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Rishi Sunak says defence deal for Tempest means ‘outpacing those who seek to do us harm’

Britain will work to develop next-generation fighter jets with Italy and Japan, Rishi Sunak has announced.

The prime minister said the defence partnership will ensure the UK and allies are “outpacing and outmanoeuvring those who seek to do us harm”.

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Tory MP plans legislation to strip Harry and Meghan of royal titles

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Bob Seely says he was considering proposing private member’s bill even before recent controversy over Netflix documentary

A Conservative MP has said he is planning to bring forward legislation in an attempt to strip the Duke and Duchess of Sussex of their royal titles. Bob Seely told the PA news agency he could propose the short private member’s bill early next year in an attempt to amend the 1917 Titles Deprivation Act.

If passed, it would see MPs vote on a resolution that could give the privy council the power to downgrade Harry and Meghan’s royal status.

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UK will sanction human rights abusers rather than ‘commentate’, says Cleverly

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Foreign secretary criticised UK’s lack of robust approach at taking action against perpetrators around the world

British diplomats have too often acted as “commentators” rather than using leverage against human rights abusers, according to the foreign secretary, who said the culture of his department would shift so that dictators would “pay the price”.

The UK is set to announce a raft of sanctions against individuals in 11 countries, including Iran, Russia, Mali and Nicaragua, targeting those responsible for acts of torture, sexual violence and the repression of protests.

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Watchdog criticises UK ministers’ ‘antagonism’ towards human rights

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Council of Europe report finds government’s attitude is weakening protections for the public

The UK government has “an increasingly antagonistic attitude” towards human rights that is weakening instead of strengthening protections for the public, a European inquiry has found.

Inflammatory language used by MPs and officials to describe lawyers could put their safety at risk, according to the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatović.

Provisions in the PCSC Act that de facto criminalise Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities leading a nomadic lifestyle must be rescinded.

There is “a high level of anxiety among stakeholders” about human rights protection in the UK, in view of the significant impact of recent and proposed legislation.

The UK’s policies towards refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are eroding their rights. Proposals criticised in the report include newly introduced inadmissibility rules for asylum claims, the possibility of removing persons to Rwanda, and the criminalisation of asylum seekers arriving irregularly.

The emergence of a harsh political and public discourse against trans people in the UK has a negative impact on their rights.

The UK government should consider withdrawing the legacy bill, which offers a conditional amnesty to people accused of killings and other Troubles-related crimes.

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Jeremy Hunt to outline plans for shake-up of City regulation

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Chancellor expected to target senior managers’ regime and ringfencing rules in 30-point package

Jeremy Hunt is due to unveil a 30-point package of City policy changes on Friday that will involve rowing back on regulations in order to boost competition and growth.

The chancellor’s announcement, referred to as the “Edinburgh reforms”, will outline how the government intends to “review, repeal and replace” a host of rules that were introduced to protect savers and the taxpayer after the 2008 financial crisis, but which ministers now believe risk hindering the success of London’s banks and insurers compared with their overseas peers.

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Harry Dunn’s mother calls killer’s failure to appear in court ‘despicable’

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Charlotte Charles pleased to have kept promise to son, but says US government still has questions to answer

The mother of the British teenager Harry Dunn has said her promise to win him justice has been fulfilled after his killer was sentenced, but said it was “despicable” that she had failed to appear in court.

Although Anne Sacoolas, a US citizen who was driving on the wrong side of the road when her car struck the young motorcyclist in 2019, avoided jail, she received an eight-month suspended sentence and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

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