German prosecutor says investigators are sure Christian Brückner killed three-year-old and have ‘new facts’
Fresh evidence has been found against the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a German prosecutor has revealed.
Hans Christian Wolters said in an interview on Portuguese television that investigators believed they had found “some facts, some new evidence, not forensic evidence.”
Continue reading...Angela Rayner says Tory candidates at the local elections ‘are trying to hide from their own government’s record’. This live blog is closed – please follow this one for updates on the war in Ukraine
Savanta ComRes has published some new polling on voting intention in Scottish parliaement elections. Here are the figures for the constituency section.
And here are the figures for the list section.
Continue reading...Davina McCall documentary highlights benefits and postcode lottery of previously rejected utrogestan
A sought-after hormone replacement therapy is being reassessed for use in Scotland after TV presenter and menopause campaigner Davina McCall revealed a postcode lottery in its prescription across the UK.
Amid an ongoing supply crisis of HRT products, McCall spoke to specialists about the benefits of utrogestan, a “body identical” micronised progesterone, which is derived from plants, in her Channel 4 documentary Sex, Mind and Menopause, broadcast on Monday.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Global Warming Policy Foundation has led the backlash against UK government’s net zero policy
An influential thinktank that has led the backlash against the government’s net zero policy has received funding from groups with oil and gas interests, according to tax documents seen by the Guardian and OpenDemocracy.
Though the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) has always said it is independent of the fossil fuel industry, the revelations about its funding will raise questions over its campaigning.
Continue reading...Fast fashion retailer blames delivery disruption and wavering pandemic demand for increasing costs
Boohoo has admitted its clothing prices are likely to rise this year after profits almost halved amid weakening consumer demand and rising costs.
The online fashion specialist said pre-tax profits fell 94% to £7.8m in the year to 28 February. Sales rose 14% to almost £2bn but growth was down more than 40% in the previous year, as deliveries overseas were held up by disruption to international shipping and wavering demand during the pandemic.
Continue reading...Tunnelled section of £19bn project through centre of London finally ready for passengers
London’s Elizabeth line is to open on 24 May, it has been announced, with the long-delayed tunnelled central section of the £19bn Crossrail project now ready for passengers.
Transport for London (TfL) said the line would open, subject to final safety approvals, the week prior to the Queen’s jubilee celebrations.
Continue reading...Former Ferrari boss Amedeo Felisa will take over as chief executive of British carmaker
Aston Martin has appointed its third chief executive in three years, with Tobias Moers stepping down after only two years in charge.
Moers will leave the board of the British carmaker with immediate effect but will stay until the end of July to “support the leadership team with a smooth transition”, Aston Martin Lagonda announced.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Survey of Britons on continent shows ‘deep transformations’, shame and disappointment
The first major study since Brexit of UK citizens living in the EU has revealed its profound impact on their lives, with many expressing serious concerns over their loss of free movement and voting rights – and a very different perception of Britain.
The survey, of 1,328 British nationals across the continent, showed that if “the public narrative suggests Brexit is done and dusted, it has brought deep transformations to the lives of British citizens in the EU and EEA”, the study’s co-lead, Michaela Benson, said.
Continue reading...PM is reported to have given speech and poured drinks at leaving do for former spin doctor in November 2020 despite lockdown
Boris Johnson has said he has not been contacted by police about a leaving party held for his former spin doctor Lee Cain in November 2020.
The prime minister said he had not yet received a questionnaire in relation to his alleged attendance at the party for Cain, his former director of communications, even though other people present are reported to have got them. Johnson is said to have given a speech and poured drinks at the event on 13 November, despite it being at the time of a stay-at-home lockdown.
Continue reading...The possible contenders remaining in the race to take the top job in London policing
It is not the done thing for candidates for the Metropolitan police commissionership to publicly discuss their candidacy, and those who apply will face an anxious wait to see if they have made the shortlist.
Continue reading...PM’s interview on Good Morning Britain causes concern about party’s performance in upcoming local elections
Boris Johnson’s fumbled defence of the government’s record on the cost of living has exasperated Conservative MPs and sharpened fears about the party’s performance in Thursday’s local elections.
Asked about a pensioner forced to travel around on buses to stay warm and keep heating bills down, the prime minister’s first response was to boast that he introduced free travel for older people. During the interview on Tuesday, he admitted that the government had failed to do enough to alleviate the pain of soaring costs.
Continue reading...Details of emails released in Good Law Project challenge to awarding of contracts to Abingdon Health for antibody tests
Civil servants described the government’s Covid testing programme as “unlegit” and “no way to do business” in emails revealed in a high court challenge to the awarding of up to £85m in contracts for antibody tests.
The campaigning organisation Good Law Project (GLP) is challenging the health and social care secretary, claiming the contracts with Abingdon Health, a medium-sized UK firm, were unlawful because they were not advertised nor open to competition, and the correct procurement process was bypassed.
Continue reading...Call for penalties to be scrapped in light of Boris Johnson’s defence of breaches, as 23 already struck down
Covid fines should be overturned en masse in light of the prime minister’s defence for attending lockdown-breaching events, a lawyer has argued, as it emerged more than 20 penalties imposed on businesses had been struck down in recent months.
Lucinda Nicholls, who successfully represented 23 firms and is still fighting on behalf of seven more, said serious deficiencies in the evidence presented against her clients – as well as Boris Johnson’s own apparent confusion about how to apply his own rules – called every penalty imposed under Covid legislation into question.
Continue reading...Decision by Lynne Owens not to apply leaves former top officer turned thriller writer Mark Rowley a favourite
A frontrunner to be the next Metropolitan police commissioner has said she will not apply, leaving a former top cop turned thriller-writer as one of the favourites for the role.
Lynne Owens was the previous director general of the National Crime Agency and stood down last year to focus on her treatment for cancer. On Tuesday she wrote on Twitter that she had spent weeks considering whether to apply for the post of Britain’s top officer, but her decision was not health related.
Continue reading...Company beats forecasts thanks to high oil and gas prices but is hit by offloading its stake in Russia’s Rosneft
BP’s profits more than doubled to $6.2bn (£5bn) in the first three months of the year, boosted by soaring oil and gas prices.
It was well ahead of the $4.5bn of expected by analysts and is likely to revive calls for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who argue the money raised could be used to ease the burden for those hardest hit by the cost of living costs.
Continue reading...Sixty-three per cent of people said CEOs should be paid no more than 10 times earnings of lower- or mid-ranking employees
Six in 10 people think company bosses should be prevented from earning more than 10 times the average paid to employees, according to polling shared exclusively with the Guardian.
A poll for the High Pay Centre, a thinktank that campaigns for fairer pay for workers, found that 63% of Britons said chief executives should be paid no more than 10 times the earnings of lower- or mid-ranking employees.
Continue reading...South East Coast service stops providing onsite paramedic at airport to focus on 999 response
An NHS ambulance service is cutting back its presence at Gatwick airport and major sports events so it has more crews available to answer 999 calls, amid unprecedented pressures.
The South East Coast ambulance service (Secamb) has ended a longstanding arrangement under which Gatwick paid it to have an ambulance car and paramedic on site.
Continue reading...Comedian says he does not let Parkinson’s disease dictate who he is, as he speaks of delight at accolade
Sir Billy Connolly said he does not let his Parkinson’s disease dictate who he is as he spoke of his honour at receiving this year’s Bafta fellowship.
The 79-year-old comedian, known as the Big Yin, will be celebrated for a career spanning more than five decades at the awards ceremony on 8 May. The fellowship is the highest Bafta accolade given to recognise outstanding and exceptional contribution in film, games or television.
Continue reading...Presenter will return to broadcaster for first time since 2018 to oversee weekend of programming
The radio and TV presenter Kirsty Young will return to the BBC for the first time since 2018 to lead the broadcaster’s platinum jubilee coverage.
Young, who presented BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs for 12 years, stepped back from the programme in August 2018 because she had a form of fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body.
Continue reading...Prime minister ridiculed over apparent location confusion in since-deleted tweet
Boris Johnson is facing ridicule after he appeared confused about the location of his campaign activity in north-east England.
In a since-deleted tweet, the prime minister called for his followers to vote Conservative in Thursday’s local elections and stated that he was in Teesside where the Conservatives are “delivering a massive programme of investment as part of our plan to level up the whole of the UK”.
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