Category Archives: UK news

Head of carer’s allowance inquiry blames DWP ‘resistance’ for failure to fix crisis

Posted on by

Liz Sayce tells MPs some civil servants tried to minimise extent of problems and deflect blame

The head of an official inquiry into carer’s allowance has criticised “forces of resistance” inside the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that undermined ministerial attempts to fix longstanding problems with the much-criticised benefit.

Liz Sayce, whose review of carer’s allowance was published in November, said rather than owning the problems, some at the DWP had tried to “minimise” the extent of the department’s failures and sought to deflect blame for the crisis.

Continue reading...

South West Water admits criminal offence over Devon parasite outbreak

Posted on by

Firm admits supplying water unfit for human consumption after nearly 150 people fell ill

A major utility company has admitted supplying water unfit for human consumption after a parasite outbreak in Devon made almost 150 people sick.

South West Water (SWW) pleaded guilty to the criminal offence relating to the cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Brixham, Devon, which affected 2,500 homes.

Continue reading...

Britain not ruling out future strikes on Iran missile sites, officials indicate

Posted on by

‘We just don’t know what will happen,’ western officials say, as UK bases prepare for arrival of US heavy bombers

Britain has not ruled out participating in future strikes against Iranian ballistic missile launch sites, officials have indicated.

US heavy bombers are expected to reach UK bases at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands and Fairford in Gloucestershire in the next few days, from where they are expected to attack Iran’s underground “missile cities”.

Continue reading...

Most Reform members believe non-white UK citizens born abroad should be forced or encouraged to leave, poll finds

Posted on by

Nigel Farage’s recent efforts to woo centre-ground voters may cause tension in party’s right flank, says Hope Not Hate

More than half of Reform UK members believe non-white British citizens born abroad should be deported or encouraged to leave, according to the first publicly available poll of those in Nigel Farage’s party.

The findings come as the Reform leader attempts to court centre-ground voters while facing pressure from his right flank, including a hardline new party launched by Rupert Lowe, who left Reform after falling out with Farage.

Continue reading...

UK parliament to debate whether all suicides linked to domestic abuse to be investigated as homicide

Posted on by

Lib Dems table amendment to crime and policing bill, saying system ‘simply not doing enough to protect women’

Parliament is to debate whether all suicides in cases involving victims of domestic abuse should be investigated as homicide.

The Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to the crime and policing bill saying that if “there is reasonable suspicion that a death by suicide has been preceded by a history of domestic abuse committed against the person by another person, the relevant police force must investigate that suicide as if it were a potential homicide”.

Continue reading...

Trump rebukes Starmer again for not letting US attack Iran from UK bases

Posted on by

US president criticises prime minister for third time 24 hours, describing him as ‘not Churchill’ over initial refusal

Donald Trump has launched a deeply personal attack on Keir Starmer over his refusal to let the US launch initial strikes on Iran from British bases, telling reporters: “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”

In his latest extraordinary salvo, the US president said he was not happy with the UK even though the prime minister eventually agreed the US could use Diego Garcia for strikes on Iranian missile facilities.

Continue reading...

Half-truths and no truths: Trump’s latest claims on the UK factchecked

Posted on by

From the Chagos Islands to ‘windmills’ and sharia law, the US president’s comments do not bear much scrutiny

Donald Trump has been opining about the UK again, saying on Tuesday that Keir Starmer was “not Winston Churchill” and repeating his complaint about the deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Here are some recent things the US president has said about British issues, and how they compare with reality.

Continue reading...

Nottingham killer sought arrest at MI5 HQ before 2023 attack, inquiry told

Posted on by

Valdo Calocane approached security at Thames House in 2021 but did not meet threshold for further assessment, public inquiry told

A man who killed three people during a 2023 knife attack in Nottingham had attempted to hand himself into MI5 for arrest two years earlier, an inquiry has heard.

Valdo Calocane, 34, fatally stabbed Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, during a stabbing spree in the city on 13 June 2023.

Continue reading...

Weight-loss drugs could prevent fatal complications from heart attacks, UK study finds

Posted on by

Latest research based on animal model trials shows GLP-1 drugs may prevent problem of ‘no-reflow’ in recovery

Weight-loss drugs could help people who have had a heart attack avoid suffering potentially fatal complications afterwards, research has found.

Drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy reduce the risk of the tissue damage that affects up to half of the 100,000 people a year in the UK who suffer a heart attack, according to the study.

Continue reading...

Mahmood’s move to make asylum temporary ‘may undermine refugee convention’

Posted on by

Law Society says home secretary’s review of refugee status after 30 months is in tension with UK’s legal obligations

Shabana Mahmood’s decision to tell every person applying for asylum from Monday that their status is temporary could undermine the refugee convention, the Law Society has said.

The body representing solicitors in England and Wales said the home secretary’s move to review every refugee’s status after 30 months was “in tension” with the UK’s legal obligations.

Continue reading...

Starmer vows to avoid ‘mistakes of Iraq’ that have haunted Labour for decades

Posted on by

Prime minister does not believe US has a plan beyond ‘shock and awe’ stage, as some MPs dread what lies ahead

• US-Israel war on Iran – live updates

• What we know so far on day three of the Iran war

• A visual guide to strikes on Iran and Tehran’s response

Tony Blair’s support for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 has long loomed like a spectre over the Labour party.

It was present in 2013 when Ed Miliband as opposition leader voted to block UK military action against the Syrian regime.

Continue reading...

Maritime insurers cancel war risk cover in Gulf as Iran conflict disrupts shipping

Posted on by

Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed and vessels rerouted, sending some freight costs surging

Leading maritime insurers have cancelled war risk cover for vessels operating in the Gulf as the escalating Iran conflict disrupted shipping and sent some freight costs surging.

At least 150 vessels including oil and liquefied natural gas tankers have dropped anchor in the strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, and at least three tankers were damaged and one seafarer killed over the weekend.

Continue reading...

UK firms in Middle East face heightened threat from Iran hackers, agency warns

Posted on by

National Cyber Security Centre urges increased vigilance over risk of indirect attack by hacktivists amid conflict

UK businesses with a presence in the Middle East have been urged to step up vigilance against cyber threats from Iran after US-Israeli attacks.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said there was “almost certainly” a heightened risk of an indirect cyber threat for organisations that had offices, or supply chains, in the Middle East.

Continue reading...

RAF airbase in Cyprus hit, two more drones shot down as Cooper defends decision to allow US to use UK bases for Iran strikes – UK politics live

Posted on by

Foreign secretary confirms strike on Akrotiri base but says it ‘simply not true’ the UK is being dragged into an Iraq-style conflict

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge went on Sky News to criticise Keir Starmer and his handling of the conflict.

“I’ve been very clear for weeks that if we were in government and the US had asked for our permission, we would have given them permission…but what they got with the prime minister as we saw last summer with the other bombing of nuclear facilities is the worst of both worlds: sitting on the fence, not showing strong leadership, very unclear.

Continue reading...

UK house prices rise in February as chancellor avoids ‘negative speculation’

Posted on by

Rachel Reeves’ upcoming spring forecast has not led to slowdown, as property tax rumours did in November

House prices in the UK increased in February as Rachel Reeves avoided a repeat of the pre-budget “negative speculation” that depressed the market, as she prepares to present the spring forecast on Tuesday.

The average price of a home rose to £273,176 last month, up by 0.3% from the month before, Nationwide said. It matched January’s monthly increase, and was above analysts’ forecasts of a 0.2% gain. The annual growth rate remained steady at 1%, the country’s biggest building society said.

Continue reading...

Hezbollah said to have launched drone that struck UK RAF airbase in Cyprus

Posted on by

Two more drones intercepted on Monday, authorities say, in what appears to be sustained targeting of base

A one-way attack drone – said to have been launched by Lebanon’s Hezbollah – struck the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus at about midnight on Sunday, prompting a partial evacuation of the military facility.

Two more drones were successfully intercepted on Monday morning, the Cypriot authorities said, as part of what appears to be a sustained targeting of the base on the third day of the war in the Middle East.

Continue reading...

Labour council accuses minister of ‘moral bankruptcy’ over social care dispute

Posted on by

Hartlepool leaders ‘furious and appalled’ after meeting with Steve Reed about growing cost of social care

The housing, communities and local government secretary has been accused by a Labour council of showing “arrogance, indifference and moral bankruptcy” towards children in social care.

In an unusually forthright attack, Labour leaders of Hartlepool council said they were “furious and appalled” at Steve Reed after a meeting with him last week. A cross-party delegation had asked the secretary of state for £3m to help alleviate the growing cost of social care.

Continue reading...

‘Simply not true’ UK is being dragged into Iraq-style conflict, says foreign secretary

Posted on by

Yvette Cooper says plans under consideration to evacuate about 300,000 Britons from Middle East amid Iran war

It is “simply not true” that the UK is being dragged into another Iraq-style conflict in the Middle East, Yvette Cooper has said, after an RAF base in Cyprus was struck by an Iranian drone.

The attack was part of a barrage of strikes by Tehran around the Middle East after a US-Israeli attack on Saturday that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The UK foreign secretary confirmed ministers were considering possible plans to evacuate about 300,000 Britons from the region.

Continue reading...

Most senior council officers in England say building work hit by delays

Posted on by

Funding uncertainty is main concern, despite Labour’s pledge to revitalise construction, survey shows

Almost two-thirds of senior council officers have said they are seeing construction projects delayed, despite the key role of local authorities in creating the wave of new housing and infrastructure promised by Labour.

Before Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast on Tuesday, a survey of senior council officers showed that 40% do not think the local authority they work for is well placed to follow through on its construction plans.

Continue reading...

Rolls-Royce boss ‘open’ to Germany joining UK’s fighter jet project

Posted on by

Tufan Erginbilgiç says decision is for the government but German participation remains a possibility

The boss of Rolls-Royce has said he would welcome Germany helping to build Britain’s next-generation fighter jet, arguing it would bring in more business for the project.

The aircraft, designed to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon, is a joint effort between the UK, Italy and Japan. Rolls-Royce is building the engine for the jet, which has attracted fresh attention as plans for a rival Franco-German warplane edge towards collapse.

Continue reading...