Category Archives: UK news

Angela Rayner calls for ethics commission and says Johnson unfit to uphold standards in public life – live

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Latest updates: Labour’s deputy leader says her party would clean up politics and restore standards in public life

Prendergast also encouraged travellers to only take hand luggage on their holidays to beat long queues at the airport.

The national secretary of the GMB union told The Daily Telegraph: “If individuals can check in online and don’t take luggage, that limits the disruption. It’s not a magic bullet however it does scale back the prospect of there being issues.”

This unfortunately was a foreseeable problem, it was one we warned about at the point at which the mass redundancies were made.

We asked the government to look at the aviation industry as a special case and they refused. And now, quite frankly, for Grant Shapps to come out as he has in the last 24 hours is a little bit disingenuous considering these problems have been on the radar for a long time.

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Prince Andrew to miss jubilee service with Covid

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Queen’s son will not attend service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, palace says

The Duke of York has tested positive for Covid and will no longer attend the Queen’s jubilee service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, Buckingham Palace said.

A palace spokesperson said: “After undertaking a routine test the duke has tested positive for Covid and with regret will no longer be attending tomorrow’s service.”

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True blue: royals show jubilee unity with Meghan on same style page

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Queen, Kate, Camilla, Meghan and younger Cambridges wear harmonious shades of blue

Most of the jubilee audience tuned in not for the trooping the colour, but to watch the royal family observe the proceedings. While the bunting and high-stepping horses trumpeted an official message of unity, the optics of the royal family were closely scrutinised for what they tell us of fraught Windsor family dynamics, of the health of the 96-year-old Queen, and of the messaging “the firm” plans to broadcast during their weekend in the spotlight.

Watching the military flypast from a Buckingham Palace balcony, the Queen wore blue and white, two of the three colours of the union flag. At the Royal Windsor horse show last month, she had dressed for comfort in a woollen shawl in place of a coat, but here she was in her customary crisp, no-nonsense, boxy tailoring.

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Dismissal of women’s health problems as ‘benign’ leading to soaring NHS lists

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Exclusive: Gender bias means debilitating gynaecological conditions are played down, says RCOG president

Doctors’ routine dismissal of women’s debilitating health problems as “benign” has contributed to gynaecology waiting lists soaring by 60% to more than half a million patients, a senior health leader has said.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) president, Dr Edward Morris, told the Guardian that waiting lists for conditions such as endometriosis, prolapse and heavy bleeding had increased by a bigger proportion than any other area of medicine in the past two years.

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‘I was there when she was crowned’: royal fans pack Mall for Queen’s jubilee

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Thousands turn out in sunshine to watch trooping the colour parade kick off long weekend of celebrations

It has been 70 years since Brenda Dalton, 81, last caught a glimpse of the Queen. As a schoolgirl in Northolt, west London, she won the school ballot to watch the Queen’s coronation and saw her ride past in a golden carriage.

Standing on the Mall on Thursday morning, the retired factory worker was hoping for a second chance. “That’s why I wanted to come. I was there that day when she was crowned and I think she’s done marvellous,” Dalton said.

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UK holidaymakers told to fly with hand luggage only to reduce airport queues

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GMB union says passengers should consider not checking bags into hold amid shortages of ground and air staff

Holidaymakers facing long queues at UK airports amid shortages of ground and air staff have been told they should travel with only hand luggage to minimise the disruption.

GMB, one of the unions that represents aviation workers, said passengers should consider taking a small bag and not checking anything into the hold, as the country’s travel hubs battle delays and cancellations amid a surge in half-term demand.

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Tory MP sparks Brexiter backlash with call to rejoin EU single market

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Boris Johnson allies seize on Tobias Ellwood’s comments to say Brexit would not be safe with rebel Tories

A Tory MP and arch critic of Boris Johnson has sparked a backlash from Brexiters after suggesting Britain rejoin the EU’s single market to help ease the cost of living crisis.

Tobias Ellwood’s comments were seized upon by allies of the prime minister as evidence that deposing Johnson would threaten the country’s more distant relationship with Brussels.

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QC to examine NUS president election in antisemitism inquiry

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Rebecca Tuck says internal investigation into president-elect Shaima Dallali will take priority

The QC leading an independent investigation into alleged antisemitism within the National Union of Students has announced she will examine the election of the organisation’s incoming president as well as wider concerns.

Rebecca Tuck, who was appointed to head the inquiry after consultations between the NUS and the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), said an internal investigation into Shaima Dallali, the president-elect, under the NUS’s code of conduct would take first priority, with her findings to be announced within weeks.

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Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy charged with further count of rape

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Latest allegation against 27-year-old France international footballer relates to new complainant

The Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been charged with a further count of rape.

The latest allegation, relating to a new complainant, means the 27-year-old stands accused of eight counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of attempted rape, relating to seven young women.

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Ethics watchdog says PM has failed to allay fears he is above the rules

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Jonathan Evans rows in behind Lord Geidt with critical statement on Boris Johnson’s changes to code

A powerful standards watchdog has accused Boris Johnson of failing to allay fears that he and his ministers consider themselves above the rules, as his support continued to ebb away in the wake of the Partygate scandal.

Jonathan Evans, the chair of the committee on standards in public life, criticised a planned overhaul to the way the ministerial code is policed, saying they undermined the role of Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser, Christopher Geidt.

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Sarah Everard vigil: Met to prosecute six over alleged Covid rule breaches

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Those charged allegedly attended outside gathering of more than two when London was under tier 4 restrictions

Six people are being prosecuted by the Metropolitan police for allegedly breaching Covid-19 restrictions during a vigil for Sarah Everard, who was murdered by a Met officer.

According to court documents, those being charged include Dania Al-Obeid, 27, from Stratford, east London; Vivien Hohmann, 20, from Clapham, south London; Ben Wheeler, 21, from Kennington, south London; and Kevin Godin-Prior, 68, from Manchester. Their cases were heard at Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday.

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Welby’s suggestion Duke of York is ‘seeking to make amends’ prompts fury

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Clergy abuse survivors say ‘church hasn’t begun to address its own debts’ after archbishop of Canterbury’s remarks

Survivors of clergy abuse have reacted with fury to the archbishop of Canterbury’s suggestion that the Duke of York was “seeking to make amends” after settling a sexual assault case.

Andrew Graystone, who advocates on behalf of survivors, said: “Victims of clergy abuse have spoken to me about their shock that Justin Welby should speak about forgiveness and reconciliation when the church hasn’t begun to address its own debts.”

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Klarna criticised for chaotic handling of job cuts

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UK employees said they were ‘blindsided’ by the Swedish firm’s announcement

Sacked staff have criticised the buy now pay later firm Klarna for its chaotic handling of job cuts, including in the UK, and questioned the chief executive’s decision to publicise a list of fired staff who are now scrambling for work.

UK employees affected by the cuts told the Guardian they felt “blindsided” by the Swedish firm’s announcement last week, when its co-founder and boss Sebastian Siemiatkowski revealed it would be cutting more than 700 of its 7,000-plus global staff, including some hired just weeks earlier.

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‘Raise the roof’: Scotland and Ukraine fans unite in song at Hampden

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Supporters of both teams sing Ukrainian national anthem before Wednesday night’s World Cup qualifier in Glasgow

Standing on the steps of Hampden in the late afternoon sunlight, Jim Struthers is wearing the same Scotland top he wore in 1998 – the last time his team qualified for the World Cup – but his heart is with Ukraine.

“It’s a very poignant evening,” says the Tartan Army stalwart, who has been supporting the Scottish national team for nearly half a century, and has come together with other fans to perform the Ukrainian national anthem – led by the opera singer Vasyl Savenko – on the steps of the Glasgow stadium as the crowds stream in for Wednesday’s qualifier.

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UK agrees to launch full inquiry into drowning of 27 people in Channel

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Lawyers for bereaved relatives say ‘serious failings’ in rescue operation may have contributed to deaths

The government has agreed to launch a full investigation into the drowning of at least 27 people trying to cross the Channel in a small boat last November.

The decision by the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, to agree to what is known as an article 2 inquiry – an independent investigation – is revealed in correspondence between his lawyers and eight relatives of 11 of the victims.

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Social mobility prospects for young people ‘disappearing’, says research

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Chances of homeownership and higher incomes undermined by pandemic and cost of living crisis

The postwar dream of doing better in life than your parents has faded, with the UK now a country where opportunities for upward social mobility and economic advancement are increasingly limited, research has claimed.

It contrasts with the golden age of social mobility enjoyed by the UK in the early years of the Queen’s reign when an expanding economy allowed a generation to take professional jobs and own their own homes.

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Criminal acts of violence at UK GP surgeries almost double in five years

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Doctors say violence now commonplace as surgeries struggle to cope with ‘unmanageable levels of demand’

Criminal acts of violence at GP surgeries across the UK have almost doubled in five years, new figures reveal, as doctors’ leaders warn of a perfect storm of soaring demand and staff shortages.

Police are now recording an average of three violent incidents at general practices every day. Staff are facing unprecedented assaults, abuse and aggression by patients, with surgeries struggling to cope with “unmanageable levels of demand” after years of failure to recruit or retain sufficient numbers of family doctors.

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GPs tell of ‘appalling’ abuse as violence at UK surgeries worsens

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Doctors say staff ‘afraid and at risk’ of patient violence and aggression as services come under pressure

The number of violent incidents at general practices in the UK recorded by the police has almost doubled in the last five years, according to an investigation by the BMJ.

GP leaders say “appalling” assaults, harassment and other forms of abuse aimed at doctors and their staff have worsened during the pandemic, as surgeries came under growing pressure and sections of the media perpetuated the false notion that services were “closed”.

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Three jabs best for preventing Covid infections, global analysis finds

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Number of doses, not vaccine combinations, key to boosting immunity, according to largest study of its kind

Three doses of the same Covid-19 vaccine or a combination of jabs work equally well in preventing infections, according to the largest study of its kind.

While the effectiveness of individual coronavirus vaccines is well known, the evidence around combinations of jabs has been less clear, especially for particular groups such as older people and those who are immunocompromised.

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Archbishop of Canterbury suggests Prince Andrew wants to ‘make amends’

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Justin Welby made comment about the duke as he asked public to be more ‘open and forgiving’

The archbishop of Canterbury has suggested the Duke of York is “seeking to make amends” as he encouraged society to be more “open and forgiving” in general.

Prince Andrew stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, and earlier this year he paid millions to a woman he claimed never to have met to settle a civil sexual assault case.

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