Town halls and finance firms say they support LGBT rights but send money to World Cup host where homosexuality is illegal
The rainbow flag flew above the Bourne Corn Exchange as South Kesteven council embraced LGBT history month.
A year after voting against such a gesture the Lincolnshire local authority declared itself pleased “to celebrate and recognise the […] rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people”, hoisting the flag outside its headquarters in 2019.
Continue reading...Labour said Jack McKenna was leaving of his own accord and with ‘clean record’
A former senior aide to Angela Rayner is believed to have been given a significant payout by Labour after the party acknowledged there had been “misleading and unauthorised leaks” about him to the media.
Labour said Jack McKenna, the former communications chief to the party’s deputy leader, was leaving of his own accord and with a “clean record” and that Keir Starmer wishes him well for the future.
Continue reading...Prosecutors say David Smith, 58, from Paisley, became disillusioned with west and contacted Russian military
A security guard who worked for the British embassy in Berlin has pleaded guilty to passing secret material to a Russian military attache in a rare espionage prosecution.
David Smith, 58, faces up to 14 years in jail after admitting to passing on information about the staff and layout of the British embassy – and other secret material between May 2020 and August the following year.
Continue reading...Deputy ambassador summoned after Met police warns of credible threats to journalists reporting on Iran protests
The Foreign Office has summoned the Iranian deputy ambassador over allegations that two London-based journalists have faced death threats from Tehran-backed agents over the reporting of the country’s protests.
The news channel Iran International took precautionary steps to protect its reporters after being informed by the Metropolitan police earlier this week that it believes there were credible threats to the journalists’ lives. The two reporters have not been named nor the precise threats detailed.
Continue reading...Three UK countries ‘way above where we should be for this time of year’ says Met Office forecaster
Britain’s armed forces have gone on parade on the warmest Armistice Day on record, according to the Met Office, with the country on track for what could be an unprecedented 11th month of above average temperatures.
Unseasonably high temperatures led to “exceptionally mild” conditions across the UK, the forecaster said, with the record-breaking 19.5C recorded in Myerscough in Lancashire more than a degree warmer than the previous record of 17.8C at Kensington Palace in London.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Some civil servants may have still been traumatised by his previous stint there, sources say
Senior civil servants at the Ministry of Justice were offered “respite or a route out” of the department when Dominic Raab was reappointed last month, amid concerns that some were still traumatised by his behaviour during a previous stint there.
Several sources told the Guardian that about 15 members of staff from the justice secretary’s private office were taken into a room where departmental officials acknowledged they may be anxious about his behaviour and gave them the option of moving roles.
Continue reading...Authority lent total of £655m over four years to owner of 53 solar parks across Britain
One of the country’s largest solar farm owners has entered administration amid the fallout from a scandal that forced an Essex council leader to resign.
Administrators at Interpath Advisory have been appointed to Toucan Energy Holdings, which owns a portfolio of 53 solar parks with a combined capacity of 513 megawatts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Continue reading...One backer of ex-PM says ‘that wasn’t what was going on’, as Jeremy Hunt also appears to dispute version of events
Kwasi Kwarteng’s claims that he tried to get Liz Truss to slow down her financial plans have been challenged by her allies.
In his first interview since he was sacked as chancellor by Truss, Kwarteng said he had told the then prime minister to be more cautious with their £45bn programme of tax cuts.
Continue reading...Latest updates: chancellor says ‘we’ve learned that you can’t fund spending or borrowing without showing how you are going to pay for it’
Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, has released polling suggesting that half of Londoners are either “financially struggling” (18%) or “just about managing” financially (32%).
According to the polling, 49% of Londoners are also using less water, energy or fuel.
This shocking new polling highlights the realities of the worst cost of living crisis in generations.
With spiralling inflation and soaring interest rates meaning many Londoners are struggling to make ends meet – a situation made worse by the government’s failed mini-budget – the chancellor has a duty to take decisive action on Thursday to support vulnerable Londoners.
In total, the NHS paid more than £3bn to agencies who provide doctors and nurses on short notice. The figure represents a 20% rise on last year, when the health service spent £2.4bn. Trusts spent a further £6bn on bank staff, when NHS staff are paid to do temporary shifts, taking the total spent on additional staff to around £9.2bn.
One in three NHS trusts paid an agency more than £1,000 for a single shift last year, while one in every six trusts paid more than £2,000, results from freedom of information requests reveal.
Taxpayers are picking up the bill for the Conservatives’ failure to train enough doctors and nurses over the past 12 years. This is infuriating amounts of money paid to agencies, when patients are waiting longer than ever for treatment.
Labour will tackle this problem at its root. We will train the doctors and nurses the NHS needs, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status.
Continue reading...Concerns grow that people relying on communal heating may not receive state discount promised
Thousands of people living in homes with centrally supplied electricity are still waiting to hear if and when the UK government will pay them the £400 promised under the energy bills support scheme.
While those living in conventional homes with standard electricity meters are due to receive their second monthly payment of £66, concern is growing among some of the several hundred thousand households that receive their electricity via a communal supply that they will not see any of the money they have been promised.
Continue reading...Suspect tried to convince the courts he was an orphan from Ireland who had never been to US
A man who has been fighting extradition to the US has been confirmed to be Nicholas Rossi, who faces rape charges, a Scottish sheriff has said.
The 35-year-old has spent the last 11 months trying to convince the Scottish courts that he is Arthur Knight, an orphan from Ireland who has never been to the US.
Continue reading...Church of England is ‘still discriminating against women’ 30 years after allowing them to become priests
Thirty years after the Church of England took the historic step of allowing women to become priests, equality campaigners say female clergy still face “institutionalised discrimination”.
Fewer than one in three paid clergy are female, according to 2020 data – the most recent published – although the same source showed more women (55%) than men had begun training for the priesthood.
Continue reading...Wiltshire council criticised for unveiling plaque littered with mistakes
Swindon borough council has been criticised for botching a tribute to key workers during the Covid pandemic with a plaque littered with mistakes.
Images of the plaque have been widely shared on social media, showing random capitalisation, punctuation errors and spelling mistakes.
Continue reading...Amid higher costs and worker shortages, British Chambers of Commerce says Brexit is another factor
When the minor ups and downs caused by the extra bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral are stripped out of the latest GDP figures, it is clear the long decline of Britain’s industrial base has accelerated.
Protected by the government through the coronavirus pandemic, this year, factory owners say ministers have abandoned them to cope with a long recession without so much as a glance in their direction.
Continue reading...Airport vows passengers will not face daily cap during biggest festive getaway in three years
Heathrow airport has said it is prepared for the biggest Christmas getaway in three years and promised that passengers will not have to face a return of the daily cap that was introduced as summer holiday travel descended into chaos.
Europe’s busiest airport, which said last month that on the busiest travel days over the festive period travellers may have to fly outside peak times to manage the festive rush, said it was working on contingency plans for potential strike action over the period.
Continue reading...Remembrance services to be held across country as foreign secretary hits out at ‘Russian aggressor’
People across the UK will fall silent on Friday to mark Armistice Day – as the foreign secretary condemned Russia for bringing back war to Europe.
Poignant services will be held nationwide for the anniversary of the end of the first world war, and a two-minute silence will be observed at 11am to remember those who have died in military conflicts.
Continue reading...Dollar slides and stocks rally in New York on hopes that the Federal Reserve will slow its interest rate rises
The cost of living crisis is driving UK food banks to “breaking point” with almost 1.3m emergency parcels given to people over just six months.
The Trussell Trust charity has said families face record-breaking levels of need, with one in five individuals referred to its network now coming from working households.
Continue reading...Sharp rise in people leaving labour market in past three years could be related to home working since Covid
Back and neck injuries caused by working from home during the Covid pandemic has been identified by the UK’s official number crunchers as a possible factor contributing to a sharp rise in people leaving the labour market over the past three years.
The Office for National Statistics said there had been a marked increase in disabilities often associated by medical experts with excessive screen use, after the increase in the number of people home working while offices were shut during the pandemic.
Continue reading...Firm reports £63m profit in year to August and prepares for strong Christmas sales at travel hubs
WH Smith will pay a dividend for the first time in three years as it expects a strong Christmas after a return to foreign holidays helped the books-to-stationery retailer return to the black.
The company reported a £63m profit in the year to August, after a loss of £116m a year earlier, as sales soared 58% to £1.4bn.
Continue reading...Aslef union says drivers at 12 companies will take action over pay
Train drivers are to stage another 24-hour strike later this month, disrupting rail services across Britain and dampening hopes of an imminent end to the dispute.
Aslef said drivers at 12 companies would take action on Saturday 26 November, as the union presses for a pay offer.
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