MCR Hotels to lead new equity investors in members’ club chain after four years on New York stock exchange
The members’ club chain Soho House has agreed a $2.7bn (£2bn) deal to take it private after a tricky four years listed on the New York stock exchange.
New York-based MCR Hotels will lead new equity investors in the chain of clubs as part of a deal that will involve it ditching its stock market listing.
Continue reading...Backbenchers say party leadership is criticising Labour government for policies introduced by Conservatives
Conservative MPs have expressed frustration at their party’s “piss-poor” messaging over hotels housing people seeking asylum.
Leaked WhatsApp messages show members are concerned that the party’s leadership is attacking Keir Starmer’s government for policies introduced by the Conservatives.
Continue reading...Stamp had charisma and star power like no other. Fierce and beautiful in his youth, his screen presence evolved into something more elegant and enduring as the swinging 60s faded from view
“A stranger arrives, makes love to everyone and then leaves,” said Pier Paolo Pasolini to Terence Stamp, outlining the plot of his 1968 classic Theorem. “That’s your part.” Stamp exclaimed: “I can play that.” It was the role that the man was born to play and would play, with subtle variations, throughout his career.
From his first appearance as the eerily beautiful sailor in 1962’s Billy Budd through to his last manifestation as “the silver-haired gentleman” in Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, Stamp remained a brilliantly, mesmerisingly unknowable presence. He was the seductive dark prince of British cinema, an actor who carried an air of elegant mystery. “As a boy I always believed I could make myself invisible,” he once said. He showed up and made magic, but he never stuck around for as long as we wanted.
Continue reading...Campaign group that won supreme court case brings challenge over transgender guidance in schools and prisons
A campaign group that won a legal victory on the definition of gender is taking action against the Scottish government over policies it says are “inconsistent” with the ruling.
For Women Scotland’s legal battle with Scottish ministers over the definition of a woman ended in the UK’s supreme court, which ruled in April that the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 referred to a biological woman and biological sex.
Continue reading...North Yorkshire police also confirm discovery of a body in a river in search for missing 12-year-old boy
An 11-year-old girl has died after an incident in the water at a beauty spot in Cornwall, while police searching for a missing 12-year-old boy in North Yorkshire have found a body in a river.
Emergency services were called to Wacker Quay on the Lynher River near Torpoint, Cornwall, at about 6pm on Saturday after being alerted about a person in the water, police said.
Continue reading...Former home secretary praises Keir Starmer’s success on world stage and says PM can win over sceptical UK public
Keir Starmer and his ministers must not “panic” about the threat of Nigel Farage, the former home secretary Jack Straw has said, adding that the prime minister had impressed on the world stage and should show more of that side of himself at home.
In an interview with the Guardian, he praised Starmer’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state after an ultimatum to Israel – but defended the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, saying he would also have proscribed the direct action group Palestine Action.
Continue reading...Lady Mary Crawley’s wedding dress and the Granthams’ family car, a 1925 Sunbeam Saloon, are among the lots
Downton Abbey fans will be able to secure a souvenir from the period drama as costumes worn by the characters, furniture used to adorn the stately home, and even the family car used in the popular ITV series and subsequent films are to be sold at auction for charity.
A dress worn by the late Dame Maggie Smith, who starred as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, is one of the star lots.
Continue reading...PM has positioned himself as someone who can get along with US president while stressing Europe’s red lines
Asked behind the scenes at June’s G7 summit if he could explain why Donald Trump seemed to like him so much, Keir Starmer admitted he did not really know. Whatever the reason, when it comes to Ukraine, the UK prime minister is once again hoping to exploit this somewhat curious relationship.
As soon as it was announced that a string of European leaders planned to join Volodymyr Zelenskyy to back the Ukrainian president in crucial talks with Trump at the White House on Monday, it was obvious Starmer would be joining them.
Continue reading...Move comes after claims earlier this month that two stars of the TV dance show used cocaine
The BBC has asked the police to investigate Strictly Come Dancing amid fresh allegations, according to reports, after claims two of its stars used cocaine.
The Sun on Sunday reported that the corporation has alerted the Metropolitan police to new allegations about the dance competition show, the details of which it does not specify.
Continue reading...Counter-demonstration offers welcome to refugees as anti-migrant protesters gather outside Cladhan hotel
Anti-racism campaigners held a counter-demonstration against people protesting against “uncontrolled illegal immigration” outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Scotland.
Stand Up to Racism Scotland, Falkirk Trades Union Council and local people said they organised the gathering in Falkirk on Saturday to show that refugees are welcome in the town.
Organisers described it as a “safely stewarded community event with music, speeches from the local community, the trade union movement, local campaigns, faith groups and others”.
Demonstrators held placards with messages such as “stop the far right”, “refugees welcome” and “migrants make our NHS”.
Continue reading...Pilot at London trust aims to reduce paperwork and free up doctors, as UK brings AI to public services
An artificial intelligence tool designed to speed up the discharge of patients is being trialled at a hospital trust in London.
The platform completes documents needed to send fit patients home, potentially saving hours of delays and freeing up beds.
Continue reading...Protesters holding placards outside City Hall detained on suspicion of displaying item in support of proscribed group
Police arrested 13 people at a protest in Norfolk on Saturday on suspicion of showing support for the proscribed group Palestine Action.
A group assembled outside City Hall in St Peters Street, Norwich, holding placards referencing the organisation, Norfolk police said. The force said they were arrested on suspicion of displaying an item in support of a proscribed organisation, contrary to section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Continue reading...Afzal Khan had said visit to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus was in personal capacity but resigned after furore
Cyprus has welcomed the resignation of the UK’s trade envoy to Turkey, Afzal Khan, saying it sends “a resounding message” amid widespread criticism of the Labour MP’s recent visit to the island’s breakaway Turkish-occupied north.
Khan had defended his trip on 8 August in a letter to the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, claiming it was conducted “in a personal capacity during the parliamentary recess”.
Continue reading...Conservationists flag dangers of human interaction after ‘Reggie’ filmed playing with family
The public has been warned to keep away from an injured dolphin that was filmed dancing and playing with swimmers off the coast of Dorset earlier this month.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO), a government-backed agency responsible for England’s seas, said it was “increasingly concerned about a lone dolphin spotted in Lyme Bay, Dorset, following multiple potential marine wildlife disturbance offences observed online and shared on social media”.
Continue reading...Groundbreaking footage shows ‘surprisingly invasive’ process and may help to improve infertility treatments
A human embryo being implanted into a uterus has been pictured in real time and in 3D footage for the first time by a team of scientists.
It shows images of an embryo implanting into a synthetic uterus, demonstrating how the process occurs naturally.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Contenders teed up for future contest, which MP says seems ‘to pre-empt results of investigation’
Moves to find a successor to Diane Abbott in the parliamentary seat she has represented since 1987 are under way, prompting concern that her fate has been decided before an investigation into her latest suspension has concluded.
Figures on Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) have spoken to potential contenders, teeing them up for a future contest in her constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and giving them informal advice on how to prepare, according to a party source.
Continue reading...Addressing reception marking 80th anniversary of VJ Day, prime minister says he spoke to Zelenskyy about allies’ values as Trump prepares to meet Putin
Asylum seekers locked in detention centres as part of Labour’s “one in, one out” deal have said they had not heard of the scheme before arriving in the UK on small boats and were terrified of being returned to their home countries.
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said the plan to send one small boat arrival back to France in exchange for accepting another to live in the UK would deter the thousands from crossing the Channel.
We did not understand what was happening to us when the Home Office moved us from Manston [the former military base in Kent] where we were processed, straight to this place which is like a jail.
When we asked why they were bringing some who arrived on the same boat as me here but letting others go free, they did not answer us. They just said it was because we crossed the Channel illegally.
I am very frightened here. There are people who have committed crimes in the UK locked up with us. We have done nothing wrong apart from trying to find a safe place.
Green party (Matt Youde) – 24%
Welsh Labour (Khuram Chowdhry) – 22.7%
Plaid Cymru (Neil Roberts) – 18.7%
Reform UK (Joseph Martin) – 14.5%
Propel (Vincent Yewlett) – 9.6%
Independent (Ahmed Samater) – 4.6%
Welsh Conservative party (James Hamblin) – 4.1%
Welsh Liberal Democrats (Irfan Latif) – 1.8%
Continue reading...Grocery chain employees will verify the incident and the reward will be adding to the shopper’s loyalty card
The grocery chain Iceland is offering customers who shop a thief a £1 reward on their loyalty card.
The frozen food specialist said that anyone who spots a suspected shoplifter in its stores should inform the nearest Iceland employee who will verify the incident before adding the reward to the individual’s loyalty card for immediate use.
Continue reading...Jobs expected to go if competition watchdog approves takeover by Associated British Foods
The owner of Kingsmill has agreed to buy its rival Hovis in a deal worth an estimated £75m that could create the UK’s biggest bread brand if the competition regulator approves it, but also put jobs at risk.
The deal comes after decades of decline in the popularity of the packaged sliced loaf, with Hovis, owned by the private equity company Endless, and its rival Kingsmill – part of Associated British Foods (ABF) – struggling to get out of the red for some years.
Continue reading...EHRC calls for clearer guidance for officers to avoid a ‘chilling effect’ on freedom of expression
The UK’s official human rights watchdog has written to ministers and police expressing concern at a potentially “heavy-handed” approach to protests about Gaza and urging clearer guidance for officers in enforcing the law.
In the letter to Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, and Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan police, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the perception that peaceful protest could attract disproportionate police attention “undermines confidence in our human rights protections”.
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