Category Archives: UK news

Why Sunak may have to change his brand to Rishi the risk taker

Posted on by

Analysis: Poor strategy in Tory leadership race has allowed former chancellor to be painted as timid, fear supporters

Monday’s debate was supposed to be a turning point for Rishi Sunak, a moment billed as his chance to change his fortunes after polling suggested he was trailing Liz Truss in the Tory leadership contest.

Her awkwardness, her less fluent grasp of detail could be shown up in the head-to-head – similarly to how poorly she performed in the last two debates. “The more they see of her, the more they like him,” was the refrain from Sunak supporters.

Continue reading...

British tourist, 21, killed by helicopter blade in Greece

Posted on by

Three arrested after Jack Fenton hit by rear rotor while reportedly trying to take a selfie at heliport in Athens

Three people have been arrested after the death of a 21-year-old British man killed by a spinning rotor blade when he disembarked in Athens from a helicopter chartered by his family from Mykonos.

Greek authorities said the aircraft’s pilot and two ground engineers were detained after the incident.

Continue reading...

British wine wholesaler to leave UK over post-Brexit paperwork

Posted on by

Daniel Lambert, who supplies M&S, Waitrose and 300 independent retailers, to set up in France after £150,000 hole in revenue

A British wine wholesaler who last year criticised Brexit as the biggest threat to his business in 30 years has decided to leave the UK after post-Brexit paperwork made a £150,000 hole in revenue.

Daniel Lambert, who supplies Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and 300 independent retailers, is moving to Montpellier in France later this week with his wife and two teenage children.

Continue reading...

‘His legacy will endure’: tributes paid to David Trimble

Posted on by

Death of Northern Ireland’s inaugural first minister inspires rare solidarity as role in ending the Troubles is hailed

David Trimble has accomplished in death a feat that eluded him in life: he has united Northern Ireland unionists, with one leader after another lining up to laud him.

The region’s inaugural first minister inspired a rare solidarity across the fractured ranks of unionism on Tuesday when even his bitterest foes paid tribute to his role in ending the Troubles.

Continue reading...

UK e-commerce firm THG ends investment deal with Japan’s SoftBank

Posted on by

Company, which owns sites such as Lookfantastic and Zavvi, blames ‘global macroeconomic conditions’

The online shopping group THG has ended an agreement under which the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank had agreed to invest in it, blaming “global macroeconomic conditions”.

The company formerly known as The Hut Group, which owns a range of internet health and beauty retailers, secured $730m (£610m) of new investment from a division of SoftBank to help fund expansion of its technology platform a few months before it listed in London.

Continue reading...

Women offenders still being jailed despite pledge to cut prisoner numbers, say MPs

Posted on by

Justice committee says little progress made on developing alternatives to custodial sentences as female prison population predicted to rise by a third

Ministers have made little progress developing alternatives to custodial sentences for women, MPs have concluded, amid official predictions that the female prison population may rise by a third in the next three years.

The Conservative-led justice select committee said “there is yet to be any clear evidence” that women are being diverted away from jail despite promises to develop other methods of punishment and rehabilitation.

Continue reading...

Amazon UK to charge £1 more a month for Prime service from September

Posted on by

Monthly subscription to increase by 12.5% to £8.99 in latest sign of rising delivery costs

Amazon is to increase the price of its monthly Prime subscription service by 12.5% – or £1 – to £8.99 from September in the latest sign that delivery costs are rising.

The company said the cost of an annual Prime package, which includes unlimited deliveries for online shopping, access to its video and music streaming services and its Amazon Fresh grocery deliveries, would rise by more – 20%, or £16 – to £95, although this remains a discount on the monthly option.

Continue reading...

UK doctors ‘less likely’ to resuscitate the most seriously ill patients since Covid

Posted on by

Pandemic may have changed decision-making, according to research published in Journal of Medical Ethics

Doctors are less likely to resuscitate the most seriously ill patients in the wake of the pandemic, a survey suggests.

Covid-19 may have changed doctors’ decision-making regarding end of life, making them more willing not to resuscitate very sick or frail patients and raising the threshold for referral to intensive care, according to the results of the research published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

Continue reading...

Truss and Sunak trade blows in acrimonious first TV debate

Posted on by

Leadership candidates ignored calls from fellow Conservatives not to ‘tarnish the brand’ as they wrangled over tax cuts, inflation and relations with China

The battle to become the UK’s next prime minister descended into fierce clashes on Monday night as Rishi Sunak launched repeated attacks on the economic policies of the favourite Liz Truss in their first head-to-head TV debate.

The two Conservative leadership hopefuls traded blows over tax cuts, China and inflation, with the former chancellor Sunak accusing the foreign secretary of seeking “a short-term sugar rush” by cutting national insurance.

Continue reading...

Liz Truss pledges crackdown on unions but is accused of ‘Tory fantasy’

Posted on by

Labour dismisses Conservative leadership hopeful’s plan for minimum service levels as unworkable

Liz Truss has promised a further crackdown on trade unions, widening restrictions to a significant new number of industries, but her proposals were immediately criticised as the “biggest attack on civil rights” since the 19th century.

Truss said she would legislate for minimum service levels on critical national infrastructure in the first 30 days of government under her leadership. The pledge would go further than the Tories’ 2019 policy, which promised a minimum service should operate during transport strikes.

Continue reading...

Sunak ruse aims to outmanoeuvre Truss over China

Posted on by

Analysis: claims by ex-chancellor about Foreign Office weakness towards Beijing look like an attempt to head off a similar attack on him

Rishi Sunak’s pre-emptive strike attacking Liz Truss over alleged Foreign Office pusillanimity towards China looks to have been a daring attempt to fend off an imminent assault from his Tory leadership rival.

But it locks the contestants into a potentially uncontrollable dogfight as they seek to prove their credentials as the truer enemy of authoritarianism.

Continue reading...

Tory leadership: Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak clash in heated BBC debate – as it happened

Posted on by

Latest updates: final two candidates exchange blows over plans for cost of living, levelling up and China

Starmer says Labour’s approach to levelling up will be based on a practical plan, unlike the government’s.

And he says he was impressed by the approach of Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, whom he met in Berlin recently. Starmer suggests Britain could learn from the way new battery factories are located in poor regions in Germany.

There will be no magic money tree economics with us.

Continue reading...

UK factory growth slows to weakest in 18 months as business optimism falls

Posted on by

Supply bottlenecks, cost pressures and softer demand hit British industry

Growth in UK factories’ order books and output has slowed to its weakest in 18 months as cost pressures, supply bottlenecks and softer demand hit British industry.

The latest update on manufacturing from the CBI found business optimism fell for a third quarter running amid signs that the strong expansion of the past year has come to an end.

Continue reading...

UK to host Eurovision song contest in 2023 on behalf of Ukraine

Posted on by

BBC says programme will have ‘glorious Ukraine at its heart’, with cities invited to bid to host event

The Eurovision song contest will be hosted in the UK next year after Ukraine’s public broadcaster dropped its objections and agreed to work with the BBC on the event.

Ukraine won this year’s Eurovision with the song Stefania by Kalush Orchestra, earning the right to host the 2023 edition. However, organisers concluded this could not be done safely while the country was at war with Russia – angering the Ukrainian government, which said it had submitted a workable safety plan.

Continue reading...

English pottery a hit in Asia thanks to Squid Game

Posted on by

Denby’s star is on the rise since its Halo teacup featured in Netflix’s South Korean blockbuster

A 200-year-old English pottery has seen its brand enhanced in South Korea thanks to the lockdown hit Squid Game.

Denby Pottery, named after the Derbyshire village where it was set up by Joseph Bourne in 1809, has been steadily increasing its business in Asia. It is now on sale with a reported £50m valuation, and seeking new investors to expand ever further.

Continue reading...

Archie Battersbee: judges deny appeal over decision to stop life support

Posted on by

Parents have been fighting for son with ‘catastrophic’ brain injury to continue receiving treatment

The parents of a 12-year-old boy who suffered a “catastrophic” brain injury have been refused permission to appeal against a decision to end his life support treatment.

Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, from Southend in Essex, have been fighting for their son Archie to continue receiving treatment for as long as his heart is beating. But on Monday the court of appeal ruled there were no grounds for them to challenge the decision by a high court judge 10 days ago that continuing Archie’s treatment was “futile”.

Continue reading...

Aldi gives second pay rise in year amid high demand for UK workers

Posted on by

Supermarket chain’s move comes as employers face fierce competition for staff after Covid and Brexit

Aldi has raised pay for shop workers for the second time in a year in the latest sign of the intense competition for workers in the UK.

From September, the grocery discounter is to put up hourly pay by 40p to a minimum of £10.50 outside the M25 and to £11.95 in London, an increase of at least 3.5%.

Continue reading...

Fears island of Ireland faces ‘new carve-up’ by mining companies

Posted on by

Campaigners warn of damage as concessions now cover over a quarter of land on both sides of border

Environmentalists on the island of Ireland say they fear a “new carve-up of the island” over coming decades, with mining concessions now covering more than a quarter of all land on both sides of the border.

More than 25% of the total land area of Northern Ireland is covered by mining concessions, according to government statistics, while the figure for the Irish republic has in the past couple of years been even higher at 27%. The prospecting licences covering these areas grant mining companies permission to survey and assess sites, as well as carry out exploratory work that includes digging tunnels, pits, taking rock samples and carrying out chemical analyses.

Continue reading...

KPMG partner banned from accounting after misleading regulator over Carillion

Posted on by

Peter Meehan, who led audit of failed outsourcer, will also have to pay fine of £250,000

The KPMG partner who led the audit of failed outsourcer Carillion has been banned from the accounting profession for a decade for providing false and misleading information to regulators.

Peter Meehan will also have to pay a fine of £250,000 after a Financial Reporting Council (FRC) tribunal found that he and other KPMG managers had misled the regulator using forged documents.

Continue reading...

Beijing urges British politicians not to ‘hype the China threat’

Posted on by

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson asks for restraint after Rishi Sunak labels country UK’s ‘biggest long-term threat’

Beijing has urged British politicians to exercise restraint in their comments on China, saying “hyping the China threat” would not help solve the UK’s own problems.

Asked about Rishi Sunak’s comments, where he labelled China as Britain’s biggest long-term threat and pledged to close all UK-based Confucius Institutes, Zhao Lijian, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, declined to offer specific comments, saying the election of the next Tory leader is the UK’s internal affair.

Continue reading...