Category Archives: UK news

Santander mortgage cap jumps by as much as 24% as bank eases lending rules

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Some higher-earning couples with smaller deposits could borrow extra £130,000 as a result of overnight changes

Some couples applying for a Santander mortgage will see the maximum they can borrow increase by £130,000 overnight after the bank loosened its lending rules.

Santander is the latest in a line of lenders to allow some borrowers to access bigger mortgages after intervention by the City regulator and new guidelines from the Bank of England designed to help more people on to the housing ladder.

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Harry and Meghan sign new multi-year film and TV deal with Netflix

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Agreement defies media reports that contract for Duke and Duchess of Sussex would not be renewed

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have signed a fresh multi-year film and television deal with Netflix, contradicting reports this year that the streaming company would not renew its contract with them.

Harry and Meghan, who struck a five-year deal in 2020 reportedly worth $100m (£78m) after stepping back from their duties as senior royals, have collaborated with Netflix on a number of projects, most recently the duchess’s lifestyle series With Love, Meghan.

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EasyJet suspends pilot after claims he wandered naked around luxury hotel

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Pilot reportedly removed all his clothes and walked into reception area of Cape Verde hotel after drinking session

An easyJet flight captain has been suspended pending an investigation after claims that he wandered naked around a luxury hotel at the end of an all-night drinking session.

The pilot, who has not been named, was seen without any clothes in the reception of a five-star hotel on the Atlantic resort island of Cape Verde early last Tuesday.

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Anyone showing support for Palestine Action ‘will feel full force of the law’, justice minister says – UK politics live

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Government defends decision to proscribe protest group after mass arrests at a demonstration in Westminster over the weekend

Richard Adams is the Guardian’s education editor

Students in England are expected to receive A-level grades that are closer to normal for the first time since the Covid pandemic triggered school closures and exam cancellations.

If the student, for instance, needed three As [and] gets AAB, as long as the B is not in something that’s absolutely crucial for the course, I think there’s a very strong possibility the student would find they’d be getting a place.

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UK weather: heat health warnings issued across England

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Health agency says hot weather could have significant impact as temperatures soar to mid-30s celsius

Amber heat health warnings have been issued across swaths of England as temperatures rise. Parts of the UK are forecast to be hotter than Bali this week, with thermometer readings likely to hit the mid-30s celsius on Tuesday.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued heat health warnings for all of England. The East Midlands, West Midlands, east of England, London and the south-east have been upgraded to amber from 9am on Tuesday to 6pm on Wednesday.

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Freddo bar creator would be ‘rolling in his grave’ at its price today, daughter says

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Harry Melbourne’s froggy treat that cost 10p in its 1990s heyday sells for about 30p or even up to £1 now

The creator of the Freddo chocolate bar would be rolling in his grave if he could see the prices being charged for a treat that cost 10p back in its 1990s heyday, his daughter has said.

Leonie Wadin said she once waited impatiently for her father, Harry Melbourne, to come home with boxes of Freddos, but has now vowed never to buy another one.

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Pioneering Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter dies at 92

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Leicester-born producer was editor of BBC children’s show for more than 20 years and introduced Blue Peter badge

Biddy Baxter, the pioneering television producer who transformed Blue Peter into a national institution, has died at 92, according to the BBC.

As editor of the children’s programme between 1965 and 1988, she introduced viewer engagement segments including the national appeals and the famous Blue Peter badge, encouraging children to send letters, pictures and programme ideas.
The show’s former presenter Peter Duncan remembered her as “a true force of nature”.

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UK ministers urged to do more to protect new drivers in road safety overhaul

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Motoring groups welcome plan to ban over-70s who fail eye tests but call for young drivers to face passenger restrictions

Motoring groups have welcomed government plans to overhaul road safety laws that could result in over-70s being banned if they fail eyesight tests but have implored ministers to go further with measures they believe could protect younger drivers and their passengers.

Ministers are considering cutting the drink-drive limit in England and Wales and introducing mandatory eye tests for older drivers, the Times reported on Monday. The proposals also reportedly include tougher penalties for uninsured driving and failing to wear a seatbelt – but not measures to stop inexperienced drivers being responsible for the safety of groups of their friends.

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UK toy sales rise as nostalgic adults turn to Pokémon and Lego

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Increase of 8% this year in line with ‘strong rebound’ in global market, data shows

UK toy sales have bounced back as adults increasingly muscle in on the market, snapping up everything from Pokémon trading cards and Lego sets to collectibles and action figures based on movie and TV franchises.

After falling almost 4% in 2024, UK toy sales have risen 8% so far this year, in line with the “strong rebound” enjoyed by the global market, data shows.

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UK firms’ hiring intentions remain at record low amid rising employment costs

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Economic uncertainty also a factor as bosses ‘stuck in limbo’ and drop in recruitment hits young people hardest

Hiring intentions among Britain’s businesses remain at a record low as they grapple with rising employment costs and worry about the economic outlook, with young people hit hardest by the drop in recruitment.

Three separate surveys issued on Monday painted a gloomy picture on hiring activity, pay and business confidence, with claims that bosses were “stuck in limbo” and waiting for greater clarity in the autumn budget.

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Average private rent in Great Britain falls for first time in five years

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Lower mortgage rates have helped cool rental sector after years of above-inflation increases in rent, data shows

Average private rents in Great Britain have fallen for the first time in five years as lower mortgage rates helped take some of the heat out of the rental sector, data shows.

Years of above-inflation increases in rents have put the squeeze on many households but the estate agent Hamptons said the average rent on a newly let property fell by 0.2% year on year in July. It was the first annual decline since August 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic – although this national figure masks wide regional variations.

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UK road safety push could see mandatory eye tests for older drivers

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Ministers also considering lowering drink-drive limit among measures to reduce road deaths and injuries

Older drivers could face mandatory eye tests and the drink-drive limit could be cut as the government tries to reduce the number of road deaths.

In a major overhaul of the UK’s road safety laws, ministers are also reportedly considering tougher penalties for uninsured drivers and failing to wear a seatbelt.

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Man charged with murder of father and son after London business site stabbing

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Hassan Cevik, 31, charged with murders of Terry McMillan, 58, and Brendan McMillan, 27, in Southwark

A man has been charged with the murder of a father and son after a stabbing at a business premises in central London.

Terry McMillan, 58, and Brendan McMillan, 27, from Chislehurst, Bromley, died after reports of stabbings inside a commercial property in Long Lane, Southwark, at about 1pm on 28 July.

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More countries added to UK’s ‘deport first’ scheme for foreign criminals

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Former justice secretaries criticise expansion of policy that they say allows perpetrators to go unpunished

Foreign criminals from 15 more countries face deportation before they have a chance to appeal in an expansion of the UK government’s “deport first, appeal later” scheme.

Ministers are extending the scheme, which applies in England and Wales and was restarted in 2023, to cover 23 countries including India, Bulgaria, Australia and Canada.

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Europe’s leaders raise pressure on Trump to involve Ukraine in Putin talks

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Move comes as Germany warns White House against any deal hatched ‘over heads of Europeans and Ukrainians’

Europe’s leaders have raised the pressure on Donald Trump to involve Ukraine in a planned summit with Vladimir Putin, as Germany warned the White House against any deal hatched “over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians”.

Speaking before a bilateral meeting expected to take place between the US and Russian leaders on Friday in Alaska, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said he hoped and assumed that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would also be involved.

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UK’s chief rabbi criticises Labour’s Palestine pledge at march for hostages

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Sir Ephraim Mirvis joins relatives of hostages in calling for their release before any recognition of a Palestinian state

The chief rabbi has criticised Labour’s pledge to recognise a Palestinian state at a “national march for the hostages” in central London organised by a number of Jewish groups.

Family members of Israeli hostages taken on 7 October also joined the march on Downing Street to urge the release of those being held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

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Prince Harry considers founding new charity after Sentebale dispute

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Duke of Sussex ‘absolutely committed’ to supporting children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana

Prince Harry is considering establishing a new charity after a dispute that led to him leaving Sentebale, a spokesperson has said.

It comes after the Duke of Sussex was criticised by the Charity Commission for allowing a row with the chair of Sentebale, which he co-founded in 2006, to “play out publicly”.

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Elon Musk’s Tesla applies to supply electricity to households in Great Britain

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US carmaker makes move for licence that would allow it to provide energy to domestic and business premises

Elon Musk’s Tesla is gearing up to launch a household electricity supplier in Great Britain in the coming months.

The US electric car manufacturer run by the world’s richest man has formally applied to the energy regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, for an electricity supply licence, according to a notice published on the watchdog’s website.

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UK family killed in car crash on holiday in southern Portugal

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Four members of family from Thetford, Norfolk, died after car collided with another vehicle in Alentejo region

A UK family have been killed in a car accident while holidaying in southern Portugal, local authorities have confirmed.

Domingos Serrano, 55, his wife, Maria, 51, and their 20-year-old twin sons, Afonso and Domingos, died when their car collided with another vehicle on Saturday on the IP2 motorway near Castro Verde, in the Alentejo region.

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Revealed: oligarchs spied on UK lawyers who ran Serious Fraud Office cases

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The Guardian has obtained surveillance images taken by hired spies whose goal is said to have been identifying sources and gaining ‘leverage’

Oligarchs whose business empire was under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office spied on lawyers who ran some of the UK’s most sensitive criminal cases.

The Guardian has obtained surveillance images of former SFO prosecutors taken by hired spies. Their goal is said to have been gathering information on the agency’s activities, identifying its sources and gaining “leverage”.

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