Category Archives: UK news

Michael Grade confirmed as Ofcom chair despite MPs’ warning

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Former BBC chair will lead watchdog even though report said his knowledge of social media and online safety clearly lacked depth

Michael Grade has been confirmed as chair of the communications watchdog despite MPs warning that he has a “clear lack of depth” of knowledge about social media and online safety.

The former BBC chair will lead Ofcom, which will play a key role in regulating large social media platforms and search engines in the UK, as the body charged with implementing the landmark online safety bill. However, the digital, culture, media and sport committee said on Friday that it was concerned by Lord Grade’s admission this week that he does not use social media but is aware of how it works thanks to his children.

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London-based port operator accused over Abramovich $600m superyacht

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Global Ports Holding facility in Turkey may be breaching UK sanctions by letting vessel dock, say lawyers

A London-headquartered port operator could be breaching sanctions laws by allowing Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to dock his $600m (£460m) superyacht Solaris at a port that it operates in Turkey.

Legal experts said Global Ports Holding, which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2007, was taking “a very big risk” by allowing a superyacht owned by a sanctioned individual to use one of its ports.

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Infosys to ‘urgently’ shut Moscow office as pressure grows on Rishi Sunak

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Chancellor’s wife, Akshata Murthy, has £690m stake in Indian IT firm, which is now moving staff out of Russia

Indian IT services company Infosys, in which the chancellor Rishi Sunak’s wife owns an estimated £690m stake and collects about £11.5m in annual dividends, is “urgently” closing its office in Russia.

Infosys’s decision to shut its Moscow office comes as pressure mounts on Sunak to answer accusations that his family is collecting “blood money” dividends from the firm’s continued operation in Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine.

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Watch the Ukrainian drama Bad Roads at the Royal Court

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The live stream of Natal’ya Vorozhbit’s acclaimed drama has ended but will be available to watch again from 2 April

The Royal Court theatre in London is presenting a day of solidarity with Ukraine that includes a reading on its main stage of Natal’ya Vorozhbit’s play Bad Roads, which explores the brutal effects of war on personal relationships. The reading, at 8pm on 1 April, will be livestreamed on the Guardian website – including in a captioned version – and available again on 2 April to watch for a week.

Bad Roads was first staged at the Royal Court in 2017 in a translation by Sasha Dugdale. Vorozhbit, an acclaimed Ukrainian playwright whose work has also been performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, wove documentary stories of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea and Donbas into its impressionistic scenes. Bad Roads explores daily life under siege, hostage-taking, journalism on the frontline, PTSD and sex at a time of war.

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UK plan to label Houthis as terrorists risks disaster in Yemen, aid bodies warn

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Exclusive: agencies write letter to government after learning home secretary is pushing for designation

Yemen could be afflicted by an even worse humanitarian catastrophe if the UK government goes ahead with a plan to designate the Houthi rebels as a terrorist group, leading aid agencies have warned cabinet ministers in a letter.

The 11 UK agencies are some of those most active in Yemen, and include Save the Children, Care, the International Rescue Committee and Islamic Relief.

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Boris Johnson’s partial U-turn on conversion practices does not go far enough, activists say – UK politics live

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Latest updates: prominent campaigners furious that trans conversion practices are being excluded from legislation

New Home Office figures show 4,700 visas had been issued under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme by yesterday, and 32,200 applications had been submitted. There have also been 24,400 visas granted under the Ukraine family scheme out of 32,800 applications received.

The Peter Tatchell Foundation, a human rights group set up by Tatchell, who is best known for his gay rights campaigning, has issued a more detailed response to the PM’s partial U-turn on conversation practices. It says:

The Peter Tatchell Foundation will never accept a conversion therapy ban that does not protect our trans siblings. We will support their struggle for reinstatement. United we stand.

The government promised a comprehensive ban nearly four years ago and reiterated this commitment in the Queen’s Speech last year. We feel conned and tricked.

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From energy costs to TV bills: what has gone up in price today?

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Britons face a shock as household costs soar – and some unexpected items such as beer also go up

It’s been dubbed “bleak Friday” by some: pre-announced price rises for many household bills are to take effect on 1 April, adding to the misery for consumers who are already paying more for goods and food than this time last year.

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National lottery: Camelot launches high court challenge over losing licence

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Group says Gambling Commission got it ‘badly wrong’ when deciding to hand operation of draw to Allwyn

The national lottery operator Camelot is launching a high court challenge to the Gambling Commission’s decision to hand over the operation of the draw to a rival after 28 years, accusing the regulator of getting the decision “badly wrong”.

In a statement, Camelot’s chief executive, Nigel Railton, said: “We are launching a legal challenge today in our capacity as an applicant for the fourth [national lottery] licence because we firmly believe that the Gambling Commission has got this decision badly wrong.”

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Environmental protesters block oil terminals across UK

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Activists climb on tankers and glue themselves to roads around London, Birmingham and Southampton

Hundreds of environmental protesters have blocked seven oil terminals across the country as part of a campaign to paralyse the UK’s fossil fuel infrastructure.

Early on Friday, supporters of Just Stop Oil began blockades at oil refineries around London, Birmingham and Southampton by climbing on top of tankers and gluing themselves to road surfaces.

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Pizza Express waiting staff win back bigger slice of tips

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Workers took action after share of tips paid on credit and debit cards was cut from 70% to 50% in 2021

Pizza Express waiting staff have won back a bigger slice of their tips after a year-long campaign against a change that handed more to kitchen staff.

The restaurant workers were forced to take action after their share of tips and service charges paid on credit and debit cards was cut from 70% to 50% last year at a time when pay was already under pressure from social-distancing measures that limited the number of diners.

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Hundreds fitted with artificial pancreas in NHS type 1 diabetes trial

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Adults and children wear device that monitors glucose level and adjusts amount of insulin delivered

Hundreds of adults and children with type 1 diabetes in England have been fitted with an artificial pancreas that experts say could become the “holy grail” for managing the disease, in a world-first trial on the NHS.

The groundbreaking device uses an algorithm to determine the amount of insulin that should be administered and reads blood sugar levels to keep them steady. The NHS trial has so far found the technology more effective at managing diabetes than current devices and that it requires far less input from patients.

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UK Foreign Office rushed £4.2bn of aid cuts, official audit finds

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Support slashed despite warnings about impact, with offices told not to discuss plans with local partners, says National Audit Office report

The British government forced through £4.2bn in aid cuts so quickly it had little time to plan the impact they would have, or consult partners, according to an official audit.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said bilateral spending – aid given directly to another government – faced some of the harshest cuts by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) – 53% compared with less than a third of the overall aid budget – because of political and legal commitments to multilateral spending.

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UK politics: Public must be told if Carrie Johnson fined for breaking lockdown rules, says Starmer – live

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Latest updates: the Labour leader suggests it is in the public’s interest if the prime minister’s wife is fined over Partygate

Clive Efford (Lab) is asking the questions now.

Q: You have expressed strong views in the past. Is that a problem?

I described the licence fee as regressive. I didn’t think that was an opinion, I thought that was a statement of fact, actually.

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Food Standards Agency draws up list of food products containing cannabidiol

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Move intended to ensure CBD ‘products are safe and what they say they are’, says FSA’s chief executive

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has created a list of more than 3,500 food products infused with cannabidiol (CBD), bringing them one step closer to being authorised as part of government plans to wrest control over a flourishing industry.

CBD extracts are widely available in UK shops, cafes and online in the form of oils, drops, gels, confectionery, bakery products and drinks. The FSA is responsible for food safety and hygiene in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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Failure to consider long Covid impact will hit UK economy, says expert

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Dr Nathalie MacDermott says condition has substantial impact on people’s ability to work and costs to government and business

The UK will pay an economic price for failing to consider long Covid when lifting restrictions and recommending vaccinations for children, a doctor has warned.

The decision to drop all Covid rules in England was largely based on whether the NHS could handle the number of sick patients, but far more people are expected to develop long-term medical problems after fighting off the virus.

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Women-led UK firms struggle to attract equal investment, study finds

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The Gender Index aims to support growth of female-led companies, which tend to have lower turnovers

Companies led by women disproportionately attract less investment than those led by men, according to a large-scale study of female entrepreneurship in the UK.

The Gender Index, which was launched on Thursday, is a research study of all 4.4m active UK companies and allows users to track the impact of female-led firms on the economy via an online, interactive tool.

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MPs reject government’s ‘unimaginative’ choice for Charity Commission chair

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Committee says it has reservations over selection process and lack of diversity in shortlist

A committee of MPs has rejected the government’s choice for the next chair of the Charity Commission, blaming ministers for a “slapdash and unimaginative choice” in selecting the one-time Conservative parliamentary candidate Orlando Fraser.

While the digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) committee said it had no grounds for concern about Fraser as an individual, it had serious reservations about the selection process, including the lack of diversity in the shortlist.

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People with type 1 diabetes in England to be given skin sensor to monitor blood sugar

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Nice says wearable tech reduces need for finger-prick testing by up to 50%

Hundreds of thousands of people with type 1 diabetes in England are to be offered a hi-tech skin sensor to monitor their blood sugar levels in seconds.

The device, the size of a £2 coin, sits on a patient’s arm and constantly checks their glucose levels. It comes with an app that tells them whethertheir blood sugar levels are at an appropriate level.

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Ukraine refugees trying to get UK visas facing ‘Kafkaesque’ system, MPs told

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Shadow home secretary says tens of thousands of desperate people still stuck in system

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said refugees in Ukraine are facing “Kafkaesque” bureaucracy as they try to navigate Home Office visa requirements.

Cooper had tabled an urgent question over the government’s two visa schemes, with MPs from both sides of the house rounding on the government.

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Britons living overseas for 15 years to get right to vote in UK elections

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Change to law, ending 20-year battle by 100-year-old Harry Shindler, passes critical stage in Lords

British nationals living overseas for more than 15 years are set to get the right to vote in UK general elections, after a proposed change in the law passed a critical stage in the House of Lords.

The move will end a 20-year battle by 100-year-old Harry Shindler who challenged the 15-year limit on voting rights in the high court in 2016 and in the European court of justice in 2018. It will also deliver on a promise made by the Conservative party in successive election manifestos.

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