Category Archives: UK news

Sunak asks PM for investigation into his own financial affairs

Posted on by

Entry on the list of ministers’ interests does not mention his wife’s £690m stake in Infosys – which has UK government contracts

Rishi Sunak has written to the prime minister to ask for an investigation into his own affairs after days of criticism over his wife’s “non dom” tax status and lack of transparency over their financial affairs.

The chancellor wrote to Boris Johnson asking him for a referral to Lord Geidt, the independent adviser, requesting a review of all his declarations since becoming a minister in 2018.

Continue reading...

From non-dom to green card: questions still facing Rishi Sunak

Posted on by

The chancellor remains under pressure after controversy over the tax affairs of his wife

The “non-dom” status: why will Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, not give it up?

Murty has agreed to pay UK tax on her worldwide earnings in future and for the last tax year, but she will continue to be a non-domiciled citizen. This potentially still confers inheritance tax advantages on her overseas wealth. Some critics are also still calling for her to pay UK tax on her worldwide earnings on a backdated basis.

Continue reading...

A wink and a walk: Boris Johnson’s warm welcome on secret Kyiv visit

Posted on by

The PM flew to Poland and then travelled by Ukrainian rail for his meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Boris Johnson embarked on his trip to Kyiv in utmost secrecy. He arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday without the world’s media realising he was there until footage of him strolling the streets with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy emerged.

Only after he had returned to the UK did a Downing Street spokesperson confirm he had flown to Poland and then travelled by train via Ukrainian railways.

Continue reading...

Johnson’s LGBT adviser ‘dismayed’ at failure to ban trans conversion practices

Posted on by

Nick Herbert calls for royal commission to detoxify trans debate but criticises ‘shouty protests’

The prime minister’s LGBT adviser has said he is “dismayed” by the decision not to include transgender people in a ban on conversion practices, while describing the cancellation of the government’s equality conference as an “act of self-harm by the LGBT lobby”.

Nick Herbert also called for a royal commission to detoxify and take the politics out of the trans debate.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak’s hopes of becoming prime minister are over, say top Tories

Posted on by

Senior party figures think the furore over the chancellor’s US green card and his wife’s tax affairs have put an end to his chances

Senior Conservatives have written off Rishi Sunak as a potential prime minister – and now believe Boris Johnson will have to remove him as chancellor in his next reshuffle – following the furore over his US green card and his wife’s tax affairs.

One former Tory minister told the Observer that the fear among Conservative MPs with small majorities was that the party was now in a “death spiral” with its two leading figures – the PM and chancellor – both having lost respect among voters.

Continue reading...

Manchester City under pressure over Kremlin-backed sponsor

Posted on by

Premier League champions’ global partner Marathonbet is one of around 20 firms cleared to operate in Russia

Manchester City football club faces scrutiny over its official global betting partner Marathonbet, which is approved by the Kremlin for its gambling operations in Russia.

Marathonbet, which was established in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 1997, is one of around 20 firms approved in Russia for betting, according to Kremlin federal tax office documents seen by the Observer.

Continue reading...

Royal family shares poem in tribute to the late Prince Philip by poet laureate

Posted on by

The Patriarchs – An Elegy shared via royal social media accounts on first anniversary of Duke of Edinburgh’s death

The royal family have shared a poem in tribute to the late Prince Philip on the first anniversary of his death.

The elegy was written by the poet laureate Simon Armitage and shared via official royal social media accounts on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Thousands of ventilators pulled as electrical faults put UK patients’ lives at risk

Posted on by

Electrical problem triggers global safety alert on 2,000 Philips machines

Two thousand ventilators being used in UK hospitals are at risk of suddenly shutting down due to electrical faults that have led to a global safety alert.

Hospitals have been ordered to source replacement ventilators after Philips Respironics said its breathing support devices could suddenly stop working, in some cases without activating a warning alarm.

Continue reading...

Boy, 14, missing in Malaysia diving trip believed to have died

Posted on by

Adrian Chesters, a Briton who was rescued on Saturday, says his son Nathen died while they were adrift

The 14-year-old son of a British man is believed to have died following reports that he went missing on a diving trip in Malaysia.

Adrian Chesters, 46, reportedly told the Malaysian coastguard his son Nathen, who has Dutch nationality, had died while they were adrift. Following a dive off the coast of Mersing, in the southern state of Johor, on Wednesday, the group surfaced but were unable to find their boat.

Continue reading...

Extinction Rebellion stages mass protest in central London

Posted on by

Activists call for end to fossil fuel investment at sit-down demonstration in Regent Street and Oxford Circus

Supporters of the environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion have taken part in a mass sit-down protest in the heart of London’s shopping district.

Several thousand demonstrators with multicoloured flags bearing the group’s “extinction” symbol gathered near Marble Arch on Saturday morning as samba bands warmed up.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson meets Volodymyr Zelenskiy in unannounced visit to Kyiv

Posted on by

Two leaders will ‘discuss UK’s long-term support to Ukraine’ and Johnson will set out new aid package, says No 10

Boris Johnson is meeting the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy during an unannounced visit to Kyiv, Ukrainian officials have said.

A picture posted on Twitter by the embassy of Ukraine to the UK showed the two leaders sitting across a table in the capital, with their respective flags in the background.

Continue reading...

UK holidaymakers face cancelled flights and ferry delays in Easter travel chaos

Posted on by

High rates of staff absences due to Covid and fallout from P&O Ferries scandal contribute to disruption over busy spring break

Holidaymakers looking to get away for Easter are facing major disruption to travel, as airlines cancel more than 100 flights a day because of staff shortages and ferry operators struggle to meet demand following the suspension of P&O Ferries services.

The rise in passenger numbers over the spring break has coincided with high rates of staff absences due to the latest wave of Covid infections.

Continue reading...

Strong winds in north Wales were a tornado, experts confirm

Posted on by

Tornado with speeds of up to 114mph swept up sheep and caused extensive damage to farm in Pennal

Strong winds that caused “at least £100,000” of damage to a farm in north Wales have been confirmed as a tornado by experts.

The extreme weather struck Gogarth Hall Farm in Pennal on Wednesday, uprooting trees and lifting a ewe and lambs into the air.

Continue reading...

Labour accuses Sunak family of avoiding tens of millions in taxes

Posted on by

Chancellor obfuscated while imposing steep tax rises on ordinary Britons, says shadow minister

Rishi Sunak and his family potentially avoided paying tens of millions of pounds in taxes through his wife’s “non-dom” status while the chancellor imposed tax rises on the public, Labour has said.

The chancellor’s wife, Akshata Murty, gave in to mounting pressure on Friday, announcing she would pay UK taxes as Sunak’s position began to appear increasingly tenuous.

Continue reading...

British-born man dies after being caught in New South Wales floods

Posted on by

Tony Ikin, a dog breeder, had been travelling to Royal Easter Show when his car was submerged at Cobbity

A UK-born man has died after being caught in flood water on the outskirts of Sydney.

The body of the 68-year-old was found in his van on Friday morning at Cobbity about 43 miles south-west of Sydney’s central business district, New South Wales police said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Five key questions Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty have yet to answer

Posted on by

Analysis: While the chancellor says his wife paid all UK taxes due, pressure is building over what he hasn’t said about their finances

Rishi Sunak is under huge pressure over his financial affairs and those of his wife, Akshata Murty, the daughter of an Indian billionaire who made his money in IT. These are the key unanswered questions:

Continue reading...

As Britain learns to live with Covid, it faces a new pandemic of disruption

Posted on by

Staff shortages, delays and rising prices are playing havoc with the healthcare, education, farming, hospitality and travel sectors

Although the UK no longer faces the threat of lockdowns or intensive care units being imminently overrun, coronavirus is still disrupting much of society and the economy.

As Britain learns to live with Covid, the virus is still playing havoc with our daily lives, and these difficulties have been compounded by post-Brexit chaos in some in sectors.

Continue reading...

‘It’s a media war’: the UK’s top anti-oil campaigner fights on aged 80

Posted on by

In 50 years, Canvey Island’s George Whatley has won five victories against oil and gas firms trying to expand operations

George Whatley is probably Britain’s most successful anti-oil campaigner, but you won’t find him at Extinction Rebellion’s latest wave of protests or the Just Stop Oil campaign which has blocked fossil fuel infrastructure recently.

At 80 years old and after a recent spell in hospital, he will be taking it easy at his bungalow on Canvey Island, Essex. But if anyone can claim a place in the annals of successful environmental protests, it is this former Bank of England security guard.

Continue reading...

Queen pulls out of Maundy church service

Posted on by

Monarch to be represented by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall

The Queen has pulled out of the Royal Maundy church service and will be represented by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, at the annual event for the first time.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will fulfil the ancient tradition of handing out Maundy money to community figures on Thursday at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Continue reading...