Autumn statement 2022 live: OBR says living standards to fall 7% as Hunt confirms millions to pay more taxes

Fiscal watchdog’s figures show eight years of growth wiped out; chancellor announces higher taxes and some cost of living support

In the Commons Rishi Sunak is making a statement about the G20 summit. These statements are normally routine, and just summarise what was said or decided at the meeting. They don’t normally include fresh announcements.

Sunak started by talking about the missile incident in Poland. He said Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles on the day that he “confronted the Russian foreign minister across the G20 summit table”. He said the blame for the missile landing in Poland lay with Russia. Ukraine could not be blamed for defending itself, he said.

During the bombardment of Ukraine on Tuesday an explosion took place in eastern Poland. The investigation into this incident is ongoing and it has our full support.

As we’ve heard the Polish and American presidents say, it is possible the explosion was caused by Ukrainian munition which was deployed in self-defence.

In just a few moments the chancellor will build on these international foundations when he sets out the autumn statement, putting our economy back on to a positive trajectory and restoring our fiscal sustainability.

Continue reading...

Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement promises ‘big bang’ deregulation

Chancellor hopes to emulate Thatcher’s chancellor Nigel Lawson with bonfire of red tape, but move had its critics

Jeremy Hunt doled out the bad news in an autumn statement laden with tax rises and spending cuts, but he sought to buoy the fairly muted Tory benches behind him with a few nods to Thatcherism.

It was not the “iron lady” herself he channelled, but rather her second chancellor, Nigel Lawson, and his famed “big bang” deregulation drive that unshackled the financial markets and let business boom in the City.

Continue reading...

Benjamin Mendy’s lawyer says ‘morally dubious’ actions do not make him rapist

Although barrister ‘would not want’ her daughter to attend the footballer’s parties, accusers were making ‘real-life choices’

Benjamin Mendy’s barrister said she wouldn’t want her daughter to go to a party if the Manchester City footballer was there, but insisted that did not mean he was a rapist or a Jimmy Savile-style groomer.

Eleanor Laws KC told the jury in Mendy’s rape trial that the 28-year-old regularly had unprotected sex at parties in his Cheshire mansion with “women he didn’t know from Adam”. But it was “not criminal” to have sex with multiple women without a condom, she stressed.

Continue reading...

Festive rush for Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot as 70,000 queue online for ad toys

Merchandise linked to supermarket’s latest Christmas campaign sells out online hours after going on sale

More than 70,000 shoppers have queued online and hundreds lined up outside UK stores to get their hands on Aldi’s toys and merchandise based around its Kevin the Carrot adverts.

By 10am, several versions of the soft toys had already sold out online amid high demand for merchandise linked to the hero of the discount grocery store’s festive campaign.

Continue reading...

Police settle claims over alleged assaults on Bristol protesters

Exclusive: protesters say they were assaulted by officers at peaceful ‘kill the bill’ demonstration in March 2021

A police force has paid damages to protesters who allege they were assaulted by officers when they broke up a peaceful “kill the bill” demonstration in Bristol.

One of the protesters alleges that an officer struck him in the face with a shield, leaving him scarred, and a second claims she struggled to breathe when she was crushed beneath two police shields. They say they witnessed another protester being dragged along the ground by his long hair.

Continue reading...

Labour lambasts autumn statement but Tory dissent is muted

Shadow chancellor attacks ‘crisis made in Downing Street’ but there are few signs of anger on Tory benches

Jeremy Hunt has seemingly escaped public pushback from fellow Conservative MPs over his tax-raising autumn statement, but he was lambasted by Labour for trying to blame global factors for a crisis sparked by Liz Truss’s mini-budget.

While there had been mutterings of dissent in advance at the idea of Hunt trashing Truss’s embrace of tax cuts, in the lengthy Commons debate after his statement there were only a few fairly muted quibbles.

Continue reading...

International troops quit Mali as violence and Moscow’s influence grow

Germany latest to end peacekeeping mission as operations prove unable to stop Islamic extremist insurgency

Thousands of international troops are withdrawing from Mali amid surging violence, growing Russian influence and an acute humanitarian crisis.

On Wednesday Germany became the latest country to end its participation in the UN peacekeeping mission in the unstable west African country. Earlier this week, British officials said that 300 British soldiers sent in 2020 to join the United Nations force would be returning earlier than planned.

Continue reading...

Myanmar frees former UK ambassador amid mass prisoner release

State media says foreign nationals and 712 ‘political prisoners’ among 5,774 to be freed in so-called amnesty

Almost 6,000 people will be released from prison in Myanmar, including the Australian academic Prof Sean Turnell, Britain’s former ambassador Vicky Bowman and the Japanese film-maker Toru Kubota, junta-controlled media has said.

On Thursday, Myanmar’s state-run MRTV said that the foreign nationals, as well as a Burmese-American citizen, had been released and deported in a so-called amnesty timed to coincide with Myanmar National Day.

Continue reading...

Aldi’s 29p mince pie a close second to Waitrose’s winner in blind taste test

Waitrose’s No 1 Brown Butter pies wowed with their ‘buttery aroma’, while Aldi’s, at half the price, scored just one point less

Tucking into a mince pie is usually the first sign Christmas is on the way and with budgets under pressure this year getting your fix doesn’t have to break the bank, with a 29p pie from Aldi coming a close second to Waitrose’s brown butter pastry in a taste test.

The upmarket supermarket’s No 1 Brown Butter Mince Pies came top in a “rigorous” blind taste test conducted by Which?. They wowed the panel of baking experts with their “buttery aroma” and “citrussy aftertaste” to achieve the top score of 74%, earning the consumer group’s coveted “best buy” badge of approval.

Continue reading...

Plan to cut NHS England elective care backlog at serious risk, watchdog says

National Audit Office says efforts to reduce record waiting lists under threat amid rising inflation and workforce shortages

Millions of patients could face years of long waits for treatment on the NHS, as a watchdog warned that the plan to reduce extensive waits for elective and cancer care services by 2025 is at serious risk.

NHS England published a three-year plan in February aimed at tackling the backlog in services, after the Covid-19 pandemic saw already long waiting lists grow to record levels. The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for funding the recovery plan.

Continue reading...

UK has second highest maternal death rate in eight-country European study

Women in UK three times more likely to die around the time of pregnancy than those in Norway

Mothers in the UK are three times more likely to die around the time of pregnancy compared with those in Norway, according to an international analysis of data.

Although maternal mortality is at historic lows in high-income countries, it remains an important indicator of quality of care, health system performance and, more specifically, maternal care. The comparison of maternal mortality rates in eight European countries was published in the BMJ.

Continue reading...

Millions of UK households to pay more for energy from April

Jeremy Hunt expected to use autumn statement to announce rise in household energy price cap to as much as £3,100

Millions of UK households will pay more for their energy from next April under plans to cut the generosity of the government’s gas and electricity support scheme expected to be announced by Jeremy Hunt on Thursday.

The chancellor is likely to use his autumn statement to say the need to save money and reduce state borrowing will require the household energy price cap to rise from £2,500 to an expected £3,000 to £3,100.

Continue reading...

British government blocks takeover of Welsh semiconductor producer

BEIS has ‘national security’ concerns over China-owned Nexperia which took control of Newport Wafer Fab

The British government has blocked the takeover of the UK’s largest producer of semiconductors by a Chinese-owned manufacturer, citing “a risk to national security”.

The business department’s decision on Wednesday comes more than a year after semiconductor company Nexperia first announced that it had taken control of Newport Wafer Fab in south Wales in July 2021, in a £63m deal.

Continue reading...

Rural areas will be asked to house more asylum seekers, minister suggests

Robert Jenrick says accommodation being sought in ‘much broader range of local authorities’

Rural areas will be asked to accept more people seeking asylum, a minister has suggested, as the government faced criticism from Conservative MPs for placing migrants in their constituencies.

Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said small towns and the countryside may be asked to house more people crossing the Channel in small boats “as long as numbers are so high”.

Continue reading...

Fashion firm Joules falls into administration putting 1,600 jobs at risk

Shops will stay open while administrators assess options for the company

The fashion firm Joules has formally fallen into administration, putting 1,600 jobs and the future of the retailer’s 132 shops at risk.

The company said on Monday it had filed a notice to appoint administrators after failing to secure emergency funding. It has now hired administrators from Interpath Advisory, who said shops would stay open while they “assess options for the business”.

Continue reading...

Lonely Planet selects Manchester as top travel destination for 2023

Publishers praised UK city’s arts scene and gastronomic diversity as it makes the list of 30 best places to go

Lonely Planet has chosen Manchester as one of its must-visit destinations for 2023, the only UK destination to make the guidebook’s annual Best in Travel list.

The city is described as “one of the best – if not the best – cities in the UK, with something for everyone” in a roll of honour that includes Sydney, Lima, Montevideo, Marseille and Dresden.

Continue reading...

Energy firms accused of profiteering with ‘horrendous rates’ for care homes

Exclusive: Care England calls for Ofgem investigation into suppliers’ practices in letter seen by the Guardian

Energy suppliers have been accused of profiteering by charging “horrendous and financially crippling rates” to care homes facing huge bills this winter.

The chief executive of Care England, the largest body representing independent providers of adult care, has accused gas suppliers of being “unduly onerous” in their practices.

Continue reading...

English councils warn of ‘existential crisis’ caused by funding shortfall

Local Government Association says any attempt to patch up budgets by raising council tax is doomed to fail

Local authorities have warned they face an “existential crisis” caused by massive funding shortfalls and any attempt by ministers to patch up budgets by allowing increased council tax is doomed to failure.

The multibillion “black hole” in England’s municipal finances – which has pushed a number of councils to the brink of bankruptcy – could not be fixed by local ratepayers alone, who would face unrealistic council tax increases of up to 20%, the Local Government Association (LGA) said.

Continue reading...

UK vulnerable to major animal disease outbreaks, report finds

Inadequate management and underinvestment in main Animal and Plant Health Agency facility has left country at risk, MPs warn

The UK’s main animal disease facility has been left to deteriorate to an “alarming extent” leaving the country vulnerable to major outbreaks on the scale of the devastating 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis, MPs have warned.

An inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee found that the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in Weybridge was “continually vulnerable to a major breakdown” because the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had “comprehensively failed” in its management of the site.

Continue reading...

Neurodiverse women sought for jobs at GCHQ and BAE Systems

Organisations want to recruit more women with autism, dyslexia and ADHD to work in cybersecurity roles

The British spy agency GCHQ and weapons manufacturer BAE Systems have issued an appeal to attract more neurodiverse women to work for them in cybersecurity jobs.

The employers are actively seeking women with autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for cybersecurity roles to address gaps in their workforces.

Continue reading...