Category Archives: UK news

Home Office offers asylum seekers choice between war zones they fled and Rwanda

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High number of first 100 people to be sent to Rwanda are from Sudan, despite being small number of those crossing the Channel

The Home Office is offering to fly asylum seekers back to the conflict zones they escaped from if they do not wish to be sent to Rwanda, the Guardian has learned.

Documents issued to the first group of asylum seekers facing removal to the east African country state that the Home Office voluntary returns service can help them go back to their home country.

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Thousands of UK workers begin world’s biggest trial of four-day week

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With work changed for ever by the pandemic, businesses are testing whether pilot represents a recognition that ‘the new frontier for competition is quality of life’

More than 3,300 workers at 70 UK companies, ranging from a local chippy to large financial firms, start working a four-day week from Monday with no loss of pay in the world’s biggest trial of the new working pattern.

The pilot is running for six months and is being organised by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the thinktank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week Campaign, and researchers at Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College.

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Unscrupulous ivory traders can evade new UK ban, charity says

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Sellers could pass off elephant products as derivatives from unprotected mammals, Born Free Foundation says

Ivory peddlers may continue to sell elephant tusks after a new ban by disguising their products as walrus or narwhal derivatives, campaigners have warned.

From Monday, trade in elephant teeth and tusks is illegal in the UK, punishable by fines of up to £250,000 or up to five years in prison under the Ivory Act. Pre-1975 musical instruments and antique items of “outstanding importance” are exempted from the act, as well as ivory from non-elephant species.

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Covid fraud: how bounce back loans paid for cars, watches and even porn

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As details emerge, concerns grow about Treasury’s efforts to recover almost £5bn wrongly claimed

When Keith Hamblett, a fruit and vegetable seller from Tyne and Wear, asked his bank for a government-backed loan in the autumn of 2020, the economy was still in trouble after lockdowns, and coronavirus cases were rising.

The Covid bounce back loan scheme was a welcome relief for many smaller companies, and Hamblett received £28,000.

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Over £1m owed by families in Scotland who cannot pay for school meals

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Exclusive: Report for Aberlour children’s charity reveals scale of school meal debt for first time

More than £1m is owed by families across Scotland who are unable to pay for their children’s school meals, new research has found.

The report for the Aberlour children’s charity, seen exclusively by the Guardian, reveals the scale of school meal debt for the first time, and details an “alarming” rise in hidden hunger among Scotland’s school pupils.

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‘Demoralised’ nurses being ‘driven out’ of profession, RCN survey finds

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Only a quarter of shifts have the planned number of registered nurses on duty, according to Royal College of Nursing report

Only a quarter of nursing shifts have the planned number of registered nurses on duty, a survey of more than 20,000 frontline staff has suggested.

According to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), most nurses warn that staffing levels on their last shift were not sufficient to meet the needs of patients, and that some are now quitting their jobs.

The RCN said the findings shone a light on the impact of the UK’s nursing staff shortage, warning that nurses were being “driven out” of their profession.

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‘Weakness’ of UK position shaped Northern Ireland protocol negotiations, David Frost says

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Former Brexit negotiator criticises Irish government’s focus on ‘all-island’ economy

Boris Johnson’s former Brexit negotiator David Frost has said the “weakness” of the UK’s position shaped the negotiations for the Northern Ireland protocol but blamed a lack of pragmatism in the EU’s approach for the current difficulties.

Frost said the deal he negotiated while in Johnson’s government would have run smoothly only if it had never been fully applied by the EU.

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Queen’s platinum jubilee 2022: Monarch ‘humbled and deeply touched’ by celebrations – live

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‘While I may not have attended every event in person, my heart has been with you all,’ Queen’s statement says

Grant Shapps has said people are “over-interpreting” the boos directed at Boris Johnson when the prime minister attended a service on Friday for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

People are gathering for a Big Jubilee Lunch on Windsor’s Long Walk as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations.

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Platinum jubilee celebrations through Guardian lenses

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Guardian photojournalists share their jubilee experiences – including beach, street and park parties from Glasgow to Cornwall

Driving around Cornwall on Saturday, you’d have thought the Queen’s Jubilee had been cancelled. Bunting was hard to find, fancy dress was nowhere to be seen and, due to the grim weather, only a smattering of people braved the street lunch in Falmouth where free Cornish pasties were being doled out.

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Man rescued from Thames after being shot with Taser by police dies

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IOPC watchdog launches independent inquiry into incident on Chelsea Bridge in west London

A man who shot with a Taser by police in London and had to be rescued from the River Thames has died, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said.

Police were called to Chelsea Bridge Road in west London on Saturday morning after receiving reports that a man was armed with a screwdriver and shouting.

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As the jubilee bunting comes down, what next for the Queen’s reign?

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Analysis: The Queen’s age means a reduction in duties, and succession planning is well under way

As the bunting comes down after the long weekend of platinum jubilee celebrations, many in Buckingham Palace will breathe a sigh of relief that the increasingly frail 96-year-old Queen made it to the extra bank holiday declared in her honour.

But behind the scenes, succession planning is well under way. It was ever thus. There are few other jobs in public life where the incumbent knows who will replace them before they even start, but that has been the Queen’s reality since she gave birth to Prince Charles in 1948.

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Met police did not consult us on children’s data project, say youth violence experts

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Force claimed it approached groups before launch of Project Alpha which scours social media sites

Youth violence experts have said they had no involvement with a police scheme that collects children’s personal data, despite the Met claiming to have consulted them.

Project Alpha, involving more than 30 staff and launched in 2019 with Home Office funding, scours social media sites looking at drill music videos and other content. It has prompted concerns about racial profiling and potential privacy violations.

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Thousands of Britons stuck at airports as easyJet cancels another 80 flights

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More holidaymakers caught up in travel chaos as nearly 200 flights are cancelled and roads clog up

UK holidaymakers have faced yet more travel chaos as easyJet cancelled another 80 flights on Sunday and roads began to clog up with drivers returning from half-term and jubilee weekend breaks.

Tens of thousands of British travellers are estimated to be stranded at airports across Europe after close to 200 flight cancellations over the weekend.

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Prince Charles pays tribute to the Queen’s ‘lifetime of selfless service’

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Prince of Wales praises his mother’s ability to ‘bring us together’ at Platinum Jubilee Party at the Palace

The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge paid tribute to the Queen – and environmental activists across the world – in speeches at a concert at Buckingham Palace.

Speaking on the third day of a four-day celebration to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee at the BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace, Prince Charles began his address “Your Majesty, Mummy”.

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Sleep-deprived medical staff ‘pose same danger on roads as drunk drivers’

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British anaesthetist pleads for doctors and nurses to be allowed naps and limited night shifts, as in other critical workplaces

About half of all hospital doctors and nurses have had accidents or experienced near misses while driving home after a night shift.

The risks they pose to themselves and other road users have been calculated as the same as those posed by drivers who are over the legal alcohol limit, delegates at a European medical conference were told last week.

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Tories may face catastrophic defeat in Wakefield byelection – poll

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Survey puts Labour 20 points ahead in the constituency amid reports Boris Johnson could face no confidence vote

The Conservatives are heading for a potentially catastrophic defeat in the Wakefield byelection amid reports Boris Johnson could face a vote on his future next week, according to a new poll.

A survey by JL Partners and reported in the Sunday Times gives Labour a 20-point lead over the Tories in the Yorkshire constituency.

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Bernardine Evaristo fears publishers may lose interest in black authors

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Diversity in book industry must be sustained, and start at the top, Booker prize-winning author tells Hay festival

The Booker prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo says she fears that publishers’ interest in black authors may be only a “trend or fashion” that could wane unless the business becomes more diverse.

Evaristo, who was the first black woman to win the literary prize for her novel Girl, Woman, Other in 2019, said that the Black Lives Matter movement and the murder of George Floyd in 2020 “really did shake the industry to the core” and had marked a turning point in previously “excluded” authors getting book deals.

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Labour says it is now the true party of patriotism and British values

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‘We’re standing up for UK institutions,’ says shadow minister, pointing to booing of Boris Johnson

Labour has staked a bold claim to be the true party of patriotism and the best of British values, as four days of nationwide celebrations to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee draw to a close on Sunday.

Senior Labour party figures said Boris Johnson – who was booed outside St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday – was no longer seen by the public as a leader who upholds the British standards of integrity, decency and honesty that the country has long been admired for across the world.

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Paddington Bear takes tea – and marmalade – with Queen in jubilee video

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Pre-recorded segment features the Queen acting opposite the CGI bear, voiced by Ben Whishaw

Paddington Bear was the secret special guest for the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations on Saturday night, appearing alongside the monarch in a sweet-natured video segment.

Just as she did at the 2012 London Olympics, when she appeared with Daniel Craig’s James Bond in a pre-recorded video, the Queen proved a good sport as she acted alongside the CGI bear, voiced by Ben Whishaw, who joined her at Buckingham Palace for afternoon tea.

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‘Cheeky’ Queen jokes as she congratulates Australians of the Year

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Monarch recalls ‘little pond’ in Parliament House during newly released video call made in May

The Queen displayed a “cheeky” sense of humour when she met virtually with several Australians of the Year and the country’s governor general as part of her platinum jubilee celebrations.

During the Zoom call with the six Australians, which included the recently retired wheelchair tennis player Dylan Alcott, the 96-year-old monarch remarked on the “splendid” technology which enabled the virtual meeting to take place.

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