E.ON reports up to 15% drop as Grant Shapps writes to firms customers cutting back on energy use should not face direct debit rise
Britons have cut their gas and electricity use by more than 10% since October in the first evidence of the impact of the energy crisis on household habits, according to two of Britain’s biggest suppliers.
E.ON, Britain’s second-largest supplier, and the owner of Utility Warehouse have reported “double-digit” declines in recent weeks.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Mark McDonald believes Russell murders case will turn out to be a serious miscarriage of justice
“He rings me every day, we talk every day,” says Mark McDonald, the barrister who for the past two decades has represented Michael Stone, the man convicted of one of the most notorious crimes in British history: the murders by hammer of Dr Lin Russell and her daughter Megan, and the attempted murder of her eldest child, Josie, the sole survivor.
Sat at a table in a sparsely decorated office in his chambers off London’s Chancery Lane, McDonald reaches past a pile of papers for a phone to check his call records.
Continue reading...Head of West Midlands police warns of rising crime in poorest areas as forces are stretched beyond capacity
A child experiencing a mental health crisis had to live in a police station for two days due to a lack of psychiatric places, a chief constable has revealed, as he condemned austerity for hitting the poorest areas hardest.
Sir David Thompson, who leads West Midlands police, said his force – which is still missing officers and funding after cuts – was being asked to do too much, and warned of rising crime as desperation increases in the poorest areas.
Dismissed attacks from government and rightwing media that claim the police are too woke.
Condemned those trying to drag policing into the “culture wars”.
Revealed fears that the poorest areas would be hit hardest again by the cost of living crisis, fuelling a “real risk” of rising crime.
Said that bias explained some of the reasons that black people experienced more use of force and coercive powers than other groups.
Called for a radical rethink on tackling the problems blighting society, as public services work in “silos”.
Warned that police were being expected to do too much, including in the field of mental health.
Continue reading...Man and woman in their 70s found dead at property in Dore, say South Yorkshire police
Police have launched a double murder inquiry after the bodies of a man and a woman, both aged in their 70s, were discovered at a property in Sheffield.
A 51-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the deaths at the address in Terrey Road, Dore.
Continue reading...Analysis by the Observer raises questions over whether policing is fit for purpose and will put more pressure on the home secretary
• Read more: ‘In Gloucester, young boys are carrying weapons’
Half the English police forces inspected since last year are failing to meet required standards at investigating crime, according to analysis by the Observer that raises questions over whether policing is fit for purpose.
The findings will pile renewed pressure on the home secretary, Suella Braverman, who has told police leaders she “expects” them to cut crimes including murder by 20%, without detailing how, as part of her “back to basics approach”.
Continue reading...Yusuf Ahmed died after a tonsil infection spread to his lungs and caused multiple organ failure
A hospital trust in South Yorkshire has opened an investigation after the family of a five-year-old said he died after being turned away by doctors because there were no available beds.
Yusuf Ahmed died on Monday after a tonsil infection had spread to his lungs and caused multiple organ failure. The boy had been taken to Rotherham general hospital by his uncle Zaheer Ahmed on 14 November with complaints of a sore throat. He had been prescribed antibiotics the previous day by his GP, but his condition had not improved.
Continue reading...Long-time presenter will share her thoughts on the Queen’s funeral in BBC festive schedule highlight
The turntables will be turned on Kirsty Young this Christmas Day, the BBC has revealed, when the former Desert Island Discs presenter is to be asked to choose eight of her favourite pieces of music as a castaway on the famous show.
Young, who has marooned almost 500 other guests on the fictional island in her time, revealed this weekend that she found it strange to be at the other end of the famous Radio 4 format: “It was a slightly discombobulating and thoroughly enjoyable experience,” she said, adding: “Although making anyone narrow down their favourite discs to just eight is frankly unreasonable. It’ll never catch on.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: Linda Francois, whose son Jaden Francois-Esprit was bullied in Wembley, says culture must change
The mother of a firefighter whose death triggered a review into the culture at the London fire brigade, has welcomed the findings of a damning report.
However, Linda Francois, whose son Jaden Francois-Esprit killed himself in August 2020, said that much remained to be done and making real changes in the workplace for people like her son was what really mattered.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or by email at jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
Continue reading...Richard Drax reported to have visited Caribbean island for meeting on next steps, including plans for former sugar plantation
The government of Barbados is considering plans to make a wealthy Conservative MP the first individual to pay reparations for his ancestor’s pivotal role in slavery.
The Observer understands that Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, recently travelled to the Caribbean island for a private meeting with the country’s prime minister, Mia Mottley. A report is now before Mottley’s cabinet laying out the next steps, which include legal action in the event that no agreement is reached with Drax.
Continue reading...Tory MP becomes latest member of party to get behind push to drop moratorium imposed in 2014
The president of the Cop26 climate summit Alok Sharma has become the latest Conservative party MP to support lifting the ban on new onshore windfarms.
Sharma has joined his former boss Boris Johnson, who nominated him for a peerage, in backing an amendment to government legislation in an attempt to drop the moratorium on onshore wind.
Continue reading...Former prime minister says US and Europe will pay biggest share of loss and damage fund, but China must too
China must pay into a new fund for poor countries stricken by climate-driven disaster on the basis of its high greenhouse gas emissions and large economy, the former UK prime minister Gordon Brown has said.
“America and Europe will have to provide most, but China will have to contribute more too,” he told the Guardian.
Continue reading...One of the largest creatures to have walked the Earth is to become the Natural History Museum’s new star attraction
It will be one of the largest exhibits to grace a British museum. In spring, the Natural History Museum in London will display the skeleton of a titanosaur, a creature so vast it will have to be shoehorned into the 9-metre-high Waterhouse gallery.
One of the most massive creatures ever to have walked on Earth, Patagotitan mayorum was a 57-tonne behemoth that would have shaken the ground as it stomped over homelands which now form modern Patagonia. Its skeleton is 37 metres long, and 5 metres in height – significantly larger than the museum’s most famous dinosaur, Dippy the diplodocus, which used to loom over its main gallery.
Continue reading...Thousands expected to demonstrate on Sunday to urge UK government to help those fleeing Taliban
Thousands of people are expected to take to London’s streets on Sunday calling on the UK government to create a safe asylum route for Afghan women and girls at risk.
Sunday’s march for freedom for Afghan women and girls in London, organised by the campaign group Action for Afghanistan, comes weeks after MPs appealed to the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, for a renewed focus on women and girls at risk after Britain’s 20-year campaign in the country.
Continue reading...Artist’s choice of footwear for Order of Merit luncheon highlights shoe brand’s enduring popularity
It is a question that must have plagued those attending King Charles’s first luncheon for the Order of Merit on Thursday – what to wear while eating partridge pie with the new monarch.
For the 85-year-old artist David Hockney it was simple – his signature checked Savile Row suit, a knitted checkerboard tie … and a pair of yellow garden Crocs. As a fan of the great outdoors, the king was delighted. “Your yellow galoshes!” he remarked. “Beautifully chosen.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: Andy Marsh, head of the College of Policing, calls for new code of practice to mend bond of trust with women
One of the most senior figures in policing in England and Wales is calling for a new gold standard for gender-based violence investigations, saying women have been “systematically failed” by the criminal justice system. Andy Marsh, the chief executive of the College of Policing, said he wanted a new code of practice for the policing of violence against women and girls – the first since the police code of ethics was introduced eight years ago – saying the bond of trust between women and the police “must be mended”.
The move comes after a damning official report into misogyny in policing – ordered after the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021 by a serving Metropolitan police officer – found defective vetting and failures by police leaders had allowed potentially thousands of “predatory” officers into police ranks.
Continue reading...People urged to travel only if necessary as train drivers with Aslef at 11 rail operators take industrial action over pay
Passengers across Britain face another day of cancelled or disrupted rail services on Saturday as drivers for 11 train companies go on strike.
Train operators urged people to travel only if necessary and to check before setting out, with no trains or only a handful of services running on affected routes.
Continue reading...Ban linked to World Cup hosts’ human rights record taken as message ‘Qatari business not welcome in London’, source tells FT
Qatar is reviewing its investments in London after the city’s transport authority banned the country’s adverts on buses, taxis and underground trains, it was reported.
The move by Transport for London (TfL) is understood to be linked to concerns about the World Cup hosts’ human rights record, stance on homosexuality and treatment of migrant workers.
Continue reading...Author Nazir Afzal labelled the service ‘institutionally misogynist and racist’ and hoped the review would be a ‘turning point’
Incidents of misogyny, racism and bullying have been exposed by an independent report on the culture at the UK’s largest firefighting and rescue organisation.
Female firefighters have been groped, beaten and had their helmets filled with urine, a review of the London fire brigade has found.
Continue reading...Veteran Streeter and junior minister Davison, who was thought of as a rising star, say they will step down
Two more Conservative MPs have said they will not stand at the next election, as the party gears up to select its parliamentary candidates.
The veteran Sir Gary Streeter and Dehenna Davison, who was thought of as a rising star, were the latest Tories to decide it was time to leave the Commons, with recent opinion polls predicting the Conservatives could lose more than 200 seats.
Continue reading...Dehenna Davison, seen as one of the rising stars of the Conservative party, has announced she is standing down at the next election
Downing Street has confirmed that the inquiry into bullying allegations about Dominic Raab, the justice secretary and deputy prime minister, is being expanded to cover claims relating to his period as Brexit secretary, my colleague Pippa Crerar reports.
The inquiry was originally set up to consider two complaints, relating to his time as justice secretary and foreign secretary. But at the Downing Street lobby briefing a No 10 spokesperson said:
I can confirm that the prime minister has now asked the investigator to add a further formal complaint relating to conduct at the Department for Exiting the European Union and to establish the facts in line with the existing terms of reference.
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