Technology’s use in crown courts will spare victims trauma of testifying in live trial setting
The use of pre-recorded evidence of victims and witnesses to crimes has been introduced at crown courts in England and Wales.
The Ministry of Justice said that from Monday the technology would be available at a final 20 crown courts in Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, East Anglia, Essex, London and the south-east, marking the end of a national rollout.
Continue reading...Soaring energy prices after invasion of Ukraine have added almost £10 to cost of charging family-sized car, says RAC
The price of charging an electric car using a public rapid charger has jumped by almost £10 since May because of soaring energy costs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The increased price of wholesale gas and electricity has pushed up the price to charge an average family-size car by 42% to above £32, according to analysis by the RAC. That was £9.60 more than in May, and £13.59 more than a year earlier.
Continue reading...Two men are still in a critical condition after the incident, in connection with which a second man has been detained
A man has been arrested at Heathrow while attempting to flee the country after four men were hit by a car in west London, leaving two critically injured.
The pedestrians were hit by a car in Kingsley Road in Hounslow just before 2.43am on Sunday. The men, all in their early 20s, were taken to hospital, where two remain in a critical condition. Two others have been treated for non-life-changing injuries.
Continue reading...Greater Manchester mayor predicts regaining lost ‘red wall’ seats in Q&A with Guardian editor-in-chief
Andy Burnham has said Labour is on the brink of government, predicting the party will win back all of the “red wall” seats it lost in 2019.
The Greater Manchester mayor also doubled down on calls for Labour to reinstate the 20p tax rate after planned cuts by Liz Truss, saying the money should be directed to public sector pay, and reiterated calls for nationalisation of the railways, calling it a “no-brainer”.
Continue reading...Police say two males, aged 15 and 16, also charged with possession of bladed article after death of Khayri McLean
Two teenagers have been charged with murder after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death outside a school in Huddersfield.
The boys, aged 15 and 16, have been charged with murder and possession of a bladed article after Khayri McLean was killed on Wednesday afternoon. Khayri died in hospital after an attack near the entrance to North Huddersfield Trust school in Woodhouse Hill, to the north-east of the town.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Workers say they have been charged to guarantee a job – which may be illegal – and have not yet had an interview
Indonesians dreaming of working in Britain are understood to have paid deposits of up to £2,500 to a Jakarta agency to “guarantee” jobs on UK farms that have not yet materialised.
Labour experts say a deposit is considered a work-finding fee, which is illegal in the UK and Indonesia.
Continue reading...Intan says he paid more than a month’s wages from his old job to guarantee his place, but remains unemployed
The Instagram advert boasted “Job vacancies United Kingdom” above an image of plump lettuces and the promise of wages more than double most desk jobs in Indonesia.
When Intan (not his real name) saw it on his phone in Jakarta this summer, he couldn’t resist. He was no farmer but, with a wife and children to support, the economics were unarguable.
Continue reading...PM expected to expand shortage occupation list to help businesses fill jobs amid recession warnings
Liz Truss is expected to loosen immigration rules in an attempt to stimulate economic growth amid warnings of a recession.
The prime minister is set to expand the government’s shortage occupation list in order to help businesses fill vacancies by recruiting overseas workers with less bureaucracy.
Continue reading...The Labour leader said electoral reform was not a priority and refused to make it one of the party’s election manifesto pledges
Keir Starmer has ruled out including any support for a change in the voting system in Labour’s election manifesto, as senior figures from across the party joined calls to back proportional representation (PR).
Labour’s annual conference, under way in Liverpool, is expected to back a motion calling for the party to drop its historical support for the first past the post system amid concerns that it has locked Labour out of power.
Continue reading...Labour pledges a revolution in green energy to ‘boost jobs and slash emissions’
Keir Starmer will pledge to deliver a new era of economic growth and permanently lower energy bills by turning the UK into an independent green “superpower” before 2030, through a massive expansion of wind and solar energy.
Announcing details of the plan exclusively to the Observer, the Labour leader says he will double the amount of onshore wind, triple solar and more than quadruple offshore wind power, “re-industrialising” the country to create a zero carbon, self-sufficient electricity system, by the end of this decade.
Continue reading...Money spent on the green transition or skills would reap a dividend. But this cash is just going to the rich
The billions of pounds of extra borrowing signalled by Kwasi Kwarteng in his not-so-mini budget can be justified as long as the money isn’t flushed down the toilet.
Funds for renewable energy projects or to boost skills training would generate a return over the next decade.
Continue reading...Tax cuts for the rich have not gone down well in Ladywood, the city constituency due to host the Conservatives’ annual gathering
Only the most bullish Conservative party strategist would have dared forecast the centre of Britain’s second-biggest city turning Tory anytime soon.
Yet as the real-life implications of the government’s mini-budget continued to crystallise on Saturday, anyone even contemplating a Conservative victory in central Birmingham should now be judged beyond delusional.
Continue reading...Royal drama, which will star Imelda Staunton as the Queen and Jonathan Pryce as Philip, will be streamed from 9 November
The fifth series of Netflix’s royal drama The Crown will launch on 9 November, it has been announced.
The date was shared during Netflix’s Tudum global fan event, which showcased upcoming series and films from the streamer – including a sneak peek at the third series of Bridgerton and a first look at Shonda Rhimes’ Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, a prequel centred on Queen Charlotte’s rise to prominence and power.
Continue reading...Home secretary directs police chiefs to focus on ‘common-sense’ policing over diversity and inclusion initiatives
Suella Braverman has ordered police chiefs to spend less time on “symbolic gestures” and more time on policing.
In an open letter to police leaders in England and Wales, in which she set out her policing agenda, the new home secretary said diversity and inclusion initiatives “should not take precedence” over tackling crime.
Continue reading...Up to £5m allocated to help young people escape drug gangs, with money also going to helpline
Up to £5m has been allocated by the Home Office to support victims of county lines exploitation over the next three years.
Hundreds of victims will be helped to escape drug gangs following the expansion of support services in London, the West Midlands, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
Continue reading...Labour leader attacks ‘casino economics’ in wake of £45bn package of tax cuts announced by chancellor
Sir Keir Starmer has accused the government of “gambling the mortgages and finances” of the British people with its “casino economics”.
Speaking before his party’s conference in Liverpool, the Labour leader tweeted: “Tory casino economics is gambling the mortgages and finances of every family in the country. Labour will secure growth for working people, that benefits all communities. My government will deliver a fairer, greener future.”
Continue reading...Bee bus stops first appeared in the Dutch city of Utrecht. Now the UK is planning for more than 1,000 and there is growing interest across Europe and in Canada and Australia
Butterflies and bees are getting their own transport network as “bee bus stops” start to pop up around UK cities and across Europe. Humble bus shelter roofs are being turned into riots of colour, with the number of miniature gardens – full of pollinator-friendly flora such as wild strawberries, poppies and pansies – set to increase by 50% in the UK by the end of this year.
Leicester is leading the charge with 30 bee bus stops installed since 2021. Derby has 18, and there are others in Southhampton, Newcastle, Sunderland, Derby, Oxford, Cardiff and Glasgow. Brighton council installed one last year after a petition was signed by almost 50,000 people.
Continue reading...Police watchdog has been called in to investigate death of John Winton McNab, 86, found near Invermoriston
The police watchdog has been called in to investigate the death of an elderly man whose body was found in a crashed car two days after he was reported missing.
John Winton McNab, 86, was the driver of a grey Mercedes B discovered in the Highlands at about 1.20pm on Sunday 18 September.
Continue reading...Latest Guardian University Guide shows leading trio are in league of their own for undergraduate courses
Oxbridge is being replaced at the apex of UK universities by “Stoxbridge” after St Andrews overtook Oxford and Cambridge at the top of the latest Guardian University Guide.
It is the first time the Fife university has been ranked highest in the Guardian’s annual guide to undergraduate courses, pushing Oxford into second and Cambridge into third.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Walker is to be involved in the inquiry into whether Boris Johnson misled MPs
The veteran Tory MP Charles Walker is expected to be handed a spot on the committee investigating Boris Johnson over claims he misled MPs over Partygate.
A well-respected, long-serving backbencher, who was vice-chair of the 1922 Committee for about a decade, Walker was quietly nominated by the Liz Truss government as the House of Commons went into conference recess.
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