Category Archives: UK news

Angela Rayner hits out at ‘sexism and misogyny’ in politics

Posted on by

Mail on Sunday accusation of ‘Basic Instinct ploy’ criticised by cabinet ministers and MPs across Commons

Angela Rayner has hit out at “sexism and misogyny” in politics, as a storm of criticism erupted after a newspaper reported that she crosses and uncrosses her legs during prime minister’s questions to distract Boris Johnson.

Cabinet ministers including Johnson himself, and MPs from across the House of Commons condemned the Mail on Sunday report, which the chair of the House of Commons women and equalities committee, Caroline Nokes, a Conservative, called a “dirty little story”.

Continue reading...

British Antarctic Territory to hold its first same-sex wedding

Posted on by

Eric Bourne and Stephen Carpenter, who work on RRS Sir David Attenborough, hope to tie the knot on Monday

Two polar research ship crew members are to become the first same-sex couple to get married in the British Antarctic Territory.

Eric Bourne and Stephen Carpenter hope to tie the knot on Monday, although it may be pushed back because of the weather.

Continue reading...

British man held for five years in Yemen without charge is freed

Posted on by

Luke Symons was captured by Houthi rebels and accused of being a spy but was never put on trial

A British man who was held captive in Yemen without charge or trial for five years has been released from jail.

In 2017, Luke Symons, 30, was detained by Houthi rebels at a security checkpoint on suspicion of espionage.

Continue reading...

Gold box stolen in 2003 Waddesdon Manor heist is returned home

Posted on by

18th-century bonbonniere was identified after coming up for auction last year and will now go on display

It was an audacious and highly professional heist. At 2am on a June night in 2003, five men wearing balaclavas and blue boilersuits smashed their way through a window at Waddesdon Manor, the extravagant French-style chateau built in Buckinghamshire by the Rothschild banking dynasty.

Despite high security, they grabbed more than 100 gold boxes and other precious objects worth several million pounds – and four minutes later they were gone. Almost all disappeared without trace.

Continue reading...

Huge wildfire sweeps across Canford Heath nature reserve in Dorset

Posted on by

Police appeal for witnesses as fire crews describe blaze as the largest in the area for years

Families have been evacuated from their homes after a wildfire swept across heathland in Dorset, destroying about 17 hectares (42 acres) of wildlife-rich habitat.

Canford Heath in Poole is a 340-hectare nature reserve and site of special scientific interest that is home to rare species including smooth snakes, sand lizards and Dartford warblers, as well as adders, dragonflies and nightjars.

Continue reading...

Partygate: Keir Starmer says Labour will keep pressing Boris Johnson

Posted on by

Labour leader says cannot ‘pass over’ the fact prime minister and other officials broke the law

Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s determination to keep pressing the prime minister over parties in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns, saying even Conservative MPs were “sick of defending the indefensible”.

Challenged about whether he had focused too much on Partygate, the Labour leader insisted his party could not just “pass over” the fact that Johnson had been issued with a fixed-penalty notice (FPN), along with Rishi Sunak and scores of officials.

Continue reading...

Man held under Mental Health Act after 10 injured in knife attack near Coventry

Posted on by

Suspect from Bedworth detained after attack on at least 10 people on Saturday

A 33-year-old man who was arrested after at least 10 people were injured in a knife attack has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

It comes after disturbances in Bedworth town centre, north of Coventry, on Saturday morning, in which three people suffered stab wounds, Warwickshire police said.

Continue reading...

Only 29% of UK Covid hospital patients recover within a year

Posted on by

Of the 750,000 hospitalised, many still report fatigue, muscle pain, insomnia and breathlessness, with women worst affected

Fewer than one in three people who have been hospitalised with Covid-19 have fully recovered a year after they succumbed to infection.

That is the shock finding of a survey into the impact of long Covid in the UK. The team of scientists and doctors at Leicester University also found that women had poorer recovery rates than men after hospitalisation, while obesity was also likely to hinder a person’s prospects of health improvements.

Continue reading...

Pigs can pass deadly superbugs to people, study reveals

Posted on by

Research into C difficile found antibiotic resistance is growing as a result of overuse on farm stock

Scientists have uncovered evidence that dangerous versions of superbugs can spread from pigs to humans. The discovery underlines fears that intensive use of antibiotics on farms is leading to the spread of microbes resistant to them.

The discovery of the link has been made by Semeh Bejaoui and Dorte Frees of Copenhagen University and Soren Persson at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institute and focuses on the superbug Clostridioides difficile, which is considered one of the world’s major antibiotic resistance threats.

Continue reading...

Could Anglesey’s tidal energy project drive a new energy revolution?

Posted on by

Experts say Wales has huge potential for generating renewable marine power, yet, so far, ambitious schemes have been ignored

On the stunning and craggy coastline of Holy Island in north Wales, work has started on a construction project to generate energy from one of the world’s greatest untapped energy resources: tidal power.

The Morlais project, on the small island off the west of Anglesey has benefited from £31m in what is likely to be the last large grant for Wales from the European Union’s regional funding programme. It will install turbines at what will be one of the largest tidal stream energy sites in the world, covering 13 square miles of the seabed.

Continue reading...

Councils in England are failing to use new powers to block shoddy housing schemes

Posted on by

Research by UCL finds cash-strapped local authorities in the south-west, Midlands and north less likely to challenge developers

Housebuilders are churning out substandard housing schemes with poor living conditions despite councils having the power to block them, according to new research.

The National Planning Policy Framework was amended in July to allow councils to refuse “development that is not well designed”. A study by University College London found that the Planning Inspectorate, which hears housebuilders’ appeals, is now three times as likely to back councils who reject developments on design grounds. But it also found that the vast majority of those blocked were in the south-east, suggesting that elsewhere councils were not using the new powers.

Continue reading...

Lords rally to protect independence of UK’s Electoral Commission

Posted on by

Boris Johnson’s government faces new defeat over what critics say is democratic meddling

Boris Johnson is facing another damaging parliamentary defeat on Monday over controversial plans that would give ministers new powers to determine the remit of the independent watchdog that oversees UK elections.

A cross-party group of peers is this weekend rallying behind an amendment to the elections bill that would strike out key clauses which, they believe, would seriously undermine the Electoral Commission’s independence and open the way for political interference in the conduct of elections.

Continue reading...

At least one child has died from mystery strain of severe hepatitis, WHO confirms

Posted on by

Strain reported in 12 countries causing at least 169 cases in young children, most of them in the UK

At least one child has died from a mystery strain of severe hepatitis which has now been reported in 12 countries, the World Health Organization has confirmed.

The UN body said on Saturday that it is aware of 169 rare cases of acute hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver, in young children. Of these, 17 became so sick they needed liver transplants.

Continue reading...

Homes For Ukraine whistleblower says UK refugee scheme is ‘designed to fail’

Posted on by

Worker claims confused staff are ‘making up response’ to applications and visas are withheld to keep numbers down

A whistleblower working on Britain’s Homes for Ukraine scheme has revealed that he and his colleagues “don’t know what we’re doing”, and claims the scheme has been “designed to fail” in order to limit numbers entering the UK.

Amid criticism over the numbers of Ukrainians so far allowed to come to the UK, the insider revealed that confusion, poor morale and lack of guidance meant staff contracted to the scheme frequently resorted to “making up” their response to cases.

Continue reading...

‘Condescending’: Jacob Rees-Mogg leaves notes for WFH civil servants

Posted on by

Cabinet minister accused of ‘crass’ behaviour in his campaign to get staff back in the office

Jacob Rees-Mogg has been called “condescending” after leaving notes deemed to be passive-aggressive on civil servants’ desks in an effort to stop them working from home.

As part of his campaign to push workers back into offices, the cabinet minister has toured Whitehall buildings and published a league table of government departments based on how many staff are present.

Continue reading...

Local elections: ‘It’s Partygate versus low council taxes’

Posted on by

The Tories have held Wandsworth for more than four decades, but Boris Johnson’s lockdown woes and the cost of living crisis threaten to tip the balance towards Labour

In many ways, the London borough of Wandsworth is a paradigm of the modern capital. On one hand, it is a place where a teenager recently fainted from hunger in a food bank queue. And on the other, it is home to the “sky pool”, a spectacular transparent swimming pool suspended 10 storeys above ground in Nine Elms, and reserved exclusively for the development’s richest residents.

The borough is also known for its comparatively low council tax – which, its Conservative-run council boasts, is the lowest average council tax in the country. Wandsworth also claims to be the only local authority in London that is cutting its share of council tax bills.

Continue reading...

Scilly residents face paying hundreds to visit the bank as last branch closes

Posted on by

Lloyds is to close the Isles’ last branch meaning the nearest bank will be 44 miles and a ferry ride away

For many, the ferry ride between Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly marks the beginning of a relaxing weekend away. For residents of the islands wanting to visit their nearest bank, it’s about to become an expensive necessity.

Lloyds, which ran the Isles’ last remaining branch, is about to close the site on the island of St Mary’s because of a persistent fall in customer numbers.

Continue reading...

Women and children beg for help in video from besieged Mariupol steel factory

Posted on by

Food and water running out in Azovstal stronghold as Ukraine says mass graves seen on satellite near city could hold 9,000 civilian dead

A video has emerged from inside the besieged Azovstal steel factory in Mariupol showing women and children who say they are “running out of strength” and need to be urgently evacuated to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

The film was recorded on Thursday. The women say 15 children are living in tunnels beneath the plant, ranging in ages from babies to teenagers. They are trapped together with their families and other civilians, including factory workers.

Continue reading...

Three stabbed and several injured in Warwickshire attack

Posted on by

Man, 33, held after what police describe as ‘nasty incident’ in town of Bedworth on Saturday morning

Three people have been stabbed and several others injured by a lone attacker in the Warwickshire town of Bedworth.

A 33-year-old man has been arrested, while a man in his 20s is in a stable condition in hospital after the attack on Saturday morning, Warwickshire police said.

Continue reading...

Javid orders inquiry into NHS gender identity services for under-18s – reports

Posted on by

The health secretary is planning an overhaul of services offered to young people who question their gender identity, the Times reports

An inquiry into the impact on under-18s of NHS treatment for gender dysphoria is to be launched by the UK government, according to reports.

The health secretary, Sajid Javid, is said to be concerned that vulnerable children are being given gender hormone treatment before alternatives have been explored, according to the Times, and is planning an overhaul of services.

Continue reading...