Category Archives: UK news

One dead and three injured after suspected shootings on Skye and in Wester Ross

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Police arrest 39-year-old man after series of incidents being treated as linked in west Scotland

A man has died on Skye and three others were injured after a series of incidents, some involving a firearm, on Skye and in Wester Ross in west Scotland.

Police Scotland said they had arrested a 39-year-old man who was one of the casualties after receiving reports on Wednesday morning that a woman, 32, had been seriously injured at a property in the Tarskavaig area of southern Skye.

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Brexit stage left: British band tells of farcical barriers encountered on EU tour

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Groups such as Walt Disco are struggling to make ends meet – or giving up – because of new obstacles, a musicians’ charity says

Night after night, the Beatles honed their harmonies in the clubs of Hamburg.

But now, British bands trying to fine-tune their sound by playing in Europe are struggling to make ends meet – or giving up entirely – because of the barriers created by Brexit, a charity for musicians has said.

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Liz Truss summons Chinese ambassador over aggression towards Taiwan

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Beijing blames its actions on US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan

Taiwan has become the latest focal point in the fraught relationship between London and Beijing, with the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, summoning China’s ambassador to explain his government’s recent actions over the self-ruled democracy.

“I instructed officials to summon the Chinese ambassador to explain his country’s actions. We have seen increasingly aggressive behaviour and rhetoric from Beijing in recent months, which threaten peace and stability in the region,” Truss said in a statement.

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Environment Agency pension fund criticised for owning stakes in UK water firms

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Campaigner Feargal Sharkey says profiteering from firms that dump raw sewage into rivers an ‘obscenity’

The Environment Agency’s pension fund owns stakes in a string of British water firms – despite the watchdog calling for industry bosses to be jailed over shocking pollution levels, the Guardian can reveal.

An analysis of the Environment Agency Pension Fund’s investments shows it holds shares or bonds worth £28m in six of the largest water companies.

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National Trust tells of bats in distress and water features drying up in heat

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Charity says extreme conditions a ‘watershed moment’ and it is planning for long-term hot weather

The National Trust has reported significant effects across its estate from the recent extreme heat including bats in distress, heather struggling to flower and historic water features drying up.

At Wallington in Northumberland, bats were found disoriented and dehydrated in the daylight during the hottest days this summer, while in Cambridgeshire, a waterwheel that powers a flour mill has had to stop turning due to low river levels.

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Calls to ban gamebird release to avoid ‘catastrophic’ avian flu outbreak

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RSPB warns of risk to UK wild bird population this winter from 1 October release of captive-bred birds

Conservationists have called for ministers to ban the release of millions of gamebirds to prevent the UK’s wild birds being wiped out by a “catastrophic” avian flu epidemic this winter.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said there was a significant risk that pheasants, partridge and ducks released for shooting from 1 October could spread avian influenza into wild bird populations, wreaking havoc in farmland and garden birds.

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Student loan interest rates cut again as inflation and cost of living soar

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DfE says maximum rate will be fixed at 6.3% from September having previously reduced it to 7.3%

Ministers have intervened to cut student loan interest rates for the second time this summer as inflation and the cost of living continue to soar.

The Department for Education announced on Wednesday that the maximum rate will now be fixed at 6.3% from September. It was already due to be capped at 7.3%, after an intervention by ministers in June to bring it down from the 12% it would have reached by September, based on earlier inflation figures plus 3%.

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Half of people with possible signs of cancer wait six months to contact a GP

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Survey by Cancer Research UK shows poorer people less likely to see their family GP, reducing survival chances

Half of people with possible cancer symptoms in the UK do not contact a GP for at least six months, potentially reducing their chances of survival, research has found.

Poorer people are less likely than the better-off to see their family doctor once they have eventually sought medical help, a survey by Cancer Research UK found.

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UK energy bills ‘to top £4,200’ amid warning of ‘serious hardship on a massive scale’ – business live

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Joseph Rowntree Foundation, consumer champion Martin Lewis and CBI chief urge PM to act urgently to help people with soaring energy bills

More on the new forecast for UK energy bills from Cornwall Insight, which spells more misery for millions of families across the UK.

The consultancy’s principal consultant, Dr Craig Lowrey, said:

It is essential that the government use our predictions to spur on a review of the support package being offered to consumers.

If the £400 was not enough to make a dent in the impact of our previous forecast, it most certainly is not enough now.

The government must make introducing more support over the first two quarters of 2023 a number one priority. In the longer term, a social tariff or other support mechanism to target support at the most vulnerable in society are options that we at Cornwall Insight have proposed previously. Right now, the current price cap is not working for consumers, suppliers, or the economy.

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Gay rights campaigner welcomes Isle of Man police apology

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Police chief’s apology for way laws against homosexuality were enforced described as ‘long overdue’

A campaigner who came to symbolise the battle for gay rights on the Isle of Man has welcomed a “long overdue” apology from a police chief for the way the island’s laws against homosexuality were enforced.

In a five page letter to the Isle of Pride group, Gary Roberts, the chief constable of Isle of Man constabulary, makes an apology for his service’s “institutionalised approach, which caused harm to some people”.

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Ryan Giggs ‘kicked his naked girlfriend out of Dubai hotel room’

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Kate Greville told police Manchester United star ‘flipped’ when she saw him message another woman

Ryan Giggs kicked his naked girlfriend out of a hotel room in Dubai when she accused him of messaging another woman, his assault trial has heard.

The former Manchester United footballer was on holiday in Dubai visiting Kate Greville when the alleged incident occurred, a jury at Manchester crown court was told.

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Liz Truss doubles down on tax cuts over support for energy bills

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Foreign secretary had previously said she did not want to give ‘handouts’ to people struggling with the cost of living

Liz Truss has doubled down on her refusal to offer significant help to people with soaring energy bills this winter, despite a forecast that these could exceed £4,200 annually from January, and rise further during 2023.

Truss, the runaway favourite to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister next month, has already said she does not want to give “handouts” to people struggling with bills, preferring to prioritise tax cuts.

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Truss and Sunak accused of ‘living in parallel universe’ on bills crisis – UK politics live

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Latest updates: Lib Dem leader says Tory leadership hopefuls have no plan to help millions of families struggling with price rises

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a leading poverty charity, says, in the light of the latest forecast about how energy bills will rise (see 10.54am), the government needs to at least double the help already provided to help people through the cost of living crisis. This is from Peter Matejic, its chief analyst.

The latest projections of annual energy bills exceeding £4,200 from January is the latest in a series of terrifying warnings over the past week, from the Bank of England and others. Families on low incomes cannot afford these eye watering sums and as a nation we can’t afford to ignore an impending disaster.

Both candidates to be prime minister must now recognise the extraordinarily fast-changing situation and act to protect the hardest hit from the coming emergency.

Unite said the 4% increase for staff in middle pay bands announced by the government last month is a “massive pay cut” because of soaring inflation.

The union will now consult with its 100,000 health members across the NHS in both England and Wales on whether they accept the “imposed deal” or want to challenge it through industrial action, which could mean strikes this winter.

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School pupils’ pass rates fall in Scotland for Highers and National 5s

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Decline coincides with end of teacher-led grading after cancellation of exams in 2020 and 2021

Pass rates for Scottish pupils have fallen significantly after schools returned to using exams to grade performance for the first time since 2019.

This year’s results showed the overall pass rate for Highers, heavily used for students aiming for university, fell from 89.3% in 2020 to 78.9%. The pass rate for National 5s, awarded largely to 16-year-olds, fell from a peak of 89% in 2020 to 80.8%.

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Ed Davey calls for halt to energy price cap increase to avoid ‘catastrophe’

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Exclusive: Lib Dem leader says new PM should let government pay £36bn cost in new ‘energy furlough scheme’

Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak should cancel the £1,400 energy price cap increase in October in a new “energy furlough scheme” and government should absorb the £36bn cost of the hike, the leader of the Liberal Democrats has said.

Ed Davey said neither candidate appeared to have any policies that grasped the magnitude of what could happen this autumn. “We are facing a catastrophe this winter, a drop in living standards unlike anything we have seen in my lifetime,” he said.

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Mother dies in her sleep in front of children and husband on flight to UK

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Helen Rhodes was a ‘devoted wife and mother’ and ‘the glue that held her family together’, a friend said

A mother of two died in front of her children and husband after becoming unresponsive on a flight from Hong Kong to the UK.

Helen Rhodes, who was flying back to the UK with her family after more than 15 years abroad, was found unresponsive hours into the flight on 5 August, her friend Jayne Jeje wrote in a Go Fund Me which has since raised more than £13,000.

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Rio Ferdinand unaware of monkey gesture by Wolves fan, court hears

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Jamie Arnold charged with abusive behaviour at Manchester United match last year

The former footballer Rio Ferdinand was unaware of being targeted by racist abuse, including a monkey gesture, by a “fixated” football fan during a Premier League match, a court has heard.

Jamie Arnold is accused of causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress to Ferdinand by using “threatening, abusive or insulting” words or behaviour at the Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United match at Molineux on 23 May last year.

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British pensioner and her dog found dead at home in St Lucia

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Diana Theodore, 72, is believed to have been murdered after police responded to an initial report of a burglary at her home

A British pensioner has been found dead, tied up and under her bed in her home in St Lucia in what police believe to have been a murder.

The body of Diana Theodore, 72, was found on Saturday morning in a pool of blood alongside the body of her pet dog. Police in Choiseul, St Lucia, have opened a murder investigation after she was found with an injury to her head.

Theodore, a mother of one, left the UK for the island more than 30 years ago and has been described as a ‘community activist’. In a statement, the Saint Lucia National Trust said: “Today we heard the very sad news of the untimely loss of our long-term member and former councillor and friend of many of our members.”

The trust called Theodore a “passionate and vocal advocate for Saint Lucia’s natural and cultural heritage”, adding that she was “a long-term member of the trust who also served on council and regularly contributed her ideas, concerns and advice in areas of conservation and community interest”.

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Cost of living crisis will add strain to ‘creaking’ NHS, experts warn

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Staffing crisis drives nurses to strike ballot amid warnings of cancelled operations and surge in admissions

The cost of living crisis will add further strain to an already imperilled NHS this autumn, experts have warned, amid concerns the healthcare crisis could deepen if urgent action is not taken.

Healthcare professionals say the NHS is at risk of a surge in hospital admissions, operations being cancelled en masse, and increasing difficulties over discharging patients if such pressures, potentially combined with a further wave of Covid and a bad flu season, are not tackled.

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