Protesters take to luxury beds and sofas in London store to call for action on ‘sky-rocketing’ energy bills
Just Stop Oil activists tucked themselves into a Harrods display bed as part of a national day of action on fuel poverty in the UK on Saturday.
Footage of the “warm up” demonstrations also showed security guards confronting protesters lying on sofas inside the shop in Knightsbridge, London.
Continue reading...Michael Lockwood, director general of IOPC since 2018, leaves post with immediate effect
The head of the police watchdog, Michael Lockwood, resigned amid an investigation into a historical allegation, the home secretary has said.
In a statement, Suella Braverman said: “I have accepted Michael Lockwood’s resignation as director general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Continue reading...Officials say they have met with George Osborne, and are keen to see the masterpieces back in Athens
Senior Greek officials have been in “preliminary” talks with the British Museum in what could amount to a tectonic shift in resolving the world’s longest-running cultural dispute: the repatriation of the 5th-century BC Parthenon marbles to Athens.
Revelations about the negotiations were first reported on Saturday by Ta Nea, which said that officials including the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had met George Osborne, the chair of the British Museum, in a five-star London hotel as recently as Monday.
Continue reading...Critics including Ukraine say cap of $60 per barrel is still above market value and will not hurt Russia’s war coffers
G7 countries and Australia have agreed to cap the price of Russian seaborne oil, with the aim of reducing Moscow’s income and limiting its ability to finance its war in Ukraine.
But critics, including Ukraine, say the cap of $60 a barrel is still higher than the current market price for Russian crude oil and is unlikely to affect the Kremlin’s war coffers.
Continue reading...Stencil image, which shows figure in nightgown and gas mask holding a fire extinguisher, was removed in Hostomel on Friday
Eight people have been detained over the theft of a mural painted by the elusive British street artist Banksy from a wall on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said.
The stencil image of a person in a nightgown and gas mask holding a fire extinguisher, next to the charred remains of a window in the town of Hostomel, went missing on Friday, they said.
Continue reading...The Guns N’ Roses singer made the announcement on Twitter after the incident at in Adelaide, Australia
Axl Rose has promised to stop throwing his microphone into the audience after a fan was reportedly hurt during a recent show in Australia.
The Guns N’ Roses singer, who celebrated his 60th birthday this year, has routinely ended their shows by offering attenders towards the front a chance to catch his mic.
Continue reading...Scientists who have replaced plastic packaging with seaweed among those to be given prize by Prince of Wales
Scientists who have replaced plastic packaging with seaweed are among those who have been given a £1m prize by the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot fund.
The prize is aimed at rewarding innovative solutions to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies, and is named after former US president John F Kennedy’s Moonshot challenge in the 1960s, which united millions of people around the goal of putting a person on the moon within a decade.
Continue reading...Over 10% of early years providers say they will close if energy bill relief scheme not extended, survey reveals
Seven in 10 nurseries and preschools in England will have no option but to increase their fees without additional financial support from the government towards rising energy costs, according to a survey.
The sector is warning the energy crisis could be “a nail in the coffin” for many settings, with more than one in 10 saying they will be forced to close permanently without an extension to the government’s energy bill relief scheme.
Continue reading...Four women at some of the biggest unions are on the frontline of the fight for better pay and conditions
Christina McAnea is the general secretary of Unison, the UK’s biggest union. Brought up on Glasgow’s Drumchapel estate, McAnea left school at 16 to join the civil service, before going to university at the age of 22 and earning a degree in English and history.
A longtime union official, the no-nonsense McAnea has couched Unison’s demands for better pay and conditions for NHS workers, who include paramedics and ambulance staff, as a battle for the future of the health service.
Continue reading...As she steps down, outgoing TUC general secretary says female workers’ jobs are undervalued
This winter’s wave of strike action will be powered by “a generation of women who are saying enough is enough” because the critical jobs they do are undervalued, the outgoing TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, has said.
As she steps down after a decade as the TUC’s first female figurehead, O’Grady said on Friday that thousands of women who worked on the frontline during the pandemic were now saying to ministers, “don’t take us for granted”.
Continue reading...Lawyers for group including Prince Harry, Doreen Lawrence and Elton John filed claims two months ago
The Daily Mail has sought to delay the publication of potentially damaging court allegations about its journalism made by Prince Harry, Doreen Lawrence, Elton John and others.
Lawyers acting for the group of high-profile individuals claim they have “compelling and highly distressing evidence” they have been the “victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy” by Associated Newspapers over many years.
The hiring of private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside people’s cars and homes.
The commissioning of individuals to surreptitiously listen in to, and record, people’s live, private telephone calls while they were taking place.
The payment of police officials, with allegedly corrupt links to private investigators, for sensitive inside information.
The impersonation of individuals to obtain medical information from private hospitals, clinics, and treatment centres by deception.
The accessing of bank accounts, credit histories and financial transactions through illicit means and manipulation.
Continue reading...Thousands of prisoners still serving indefinite sentences in England and Wales, even for low-level crime
Dominic Raab is being urged to show mercy to prisoners in England and Wales who remain jailed under a sentencing scheme abolished 10 years ago.
The imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence was a form of indeterminate sentence in which offenders were given a minimum jail tariff but no maximum for a range of crimes. Nearly 3,000 legacy prisoners remain in jail under the scheme.
Continue reading...Jonathan, Seychelles giant tortoise given to Saint Helena in 1882, is also oldest known living land animal
If there is a party animal at large this weekend, Jonathan is it: the Seychelles giant tortoise is about to celebrate his 190th birthday with a three-day bash.
Living on Saint Helena since 1882, when he arrived as a gift to the governor of the small south Atlantic island, he is no stranger to fame, having scooped awards from the Guinness World Records for being the oldest known living land animal and the oldest chelonian – an order comprising tortoises, turtles and terrapins – ever recorded.
Continue reading...Exclusive: More than 200 people have approached Indonesian embassy since July to report difficulties faced
More than 200 Indonesian fruit pickers have sought diplomatic help since July after facing difficulties working in Britain this season, the nation’s embassy has revealed.
The Guardian has spoken to a pair of workers sent to a farm in Scotland that supplies berries to M&S, Waitrose, Tesco and Lidl. They claim pickers were sent back to the caravan if they could not work fast enough and left with large debts to repay.
Continue reading...Boys, aged 15 and 16, will appear in court over fatal stabbings of Charlie Bartolo and Kearne Solanke
Two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, have been charged with the murders of 16-year-olds Charlie Bartolo and Kearne Solanke in south-east London, the Metropolitan police have said.
Kearne was stabbed in Titmuss Avenue, Thamesmead, and Charlie was found in Sewell Road, Abbey Wood, on Saturday.
Continue reading...Party also questions whether troops would ‘bail out failing services rather than provide emergency back-up’
Labour has complained that the British army is being used to “bail out failing services” in the UK, at a time when the threat from Russia remains acute and British forces are being withdrawn from Estonia.
John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, has written to the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to warn that troops “may be diverted from essential defence tasks” to plug staffing gaps caused by strikes in Border Force, the NHS and elsewhere.
Continue reading...Ministers urged to act as study shows average block of cheese or loaf of bread makes farmers less than a penny
UK farmers are receiving negligible profits for many items as food prices rise and supermarkets boast record takings.
An average block of cheese or loaf of bread produces less than a penny for farmers, and fruit producers do not fare much better, making just 3p from each kilo of apples.
Continue reading...Ex-minister claimed I’m a Celebrity appearance would raise profile of his dyslexia campaign but he only fleetingly mentioned it
A charity has called on Matt Hancock to renew his efforts to raise awareness about dyslexia after apparently only fleetingly addressing the issue on I’m a Celebrity.
The former health secretary defended his decision to take a break from Westminster and sign up for the ITV reality show in the Australian jungle by claiming he wanted to use it as a platform to raise the profile of his dyslexia campaign.
Continue reading...Increasing numbers of children cannot afford lunch and are coming to school without adequate clothes
More than half of school leaders in England are seeing more pupils who cannot afford a meal at lunchtime yet are not eligible for free school meals, according to a survey.
Research by the Sutton Trust, an educational charity, found clear signs that the cost of living crisis was increasingly affecting young people’s education, with a growing number of pupils arriving at school tired, cold and hungry.
Continue reading...Next ethics adviser, when appointed by Rishi Sunak, will probably face calls to open at least two complex cases
Forty potential breaches of the ministerial code have never been referred for investigation by the ethics adviser, according to new data.
It comes as a parliamentary committee warned historic breaches of the code may never be investigated or resolved, including the conduct of the home secretary or Islamophobia claims against a former chief whip.
Meetings by Nadhim Zahawi and Kwasi Kwarteng with the Libyan politician Fathi Bashagha, organised by the lobbyist Mark Fullbrook who became Truss’s chief of staff.
Michael Gove’s acceptance of £120,000 in donations from property developers while serving as housing secretary.
Multiple meetings held by Anne-Marie Trevelyan with a Chinese state-owned nuclear power company with no record of what was discussed.
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