Category Archives: UK news

Ofwat to be abolished in ‘reset’ of water industry regulation

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Environment secretary backs plan to end sewage spills and financial mismanagement in England and Wales

A new water regulator will replace the powers of Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and the Environment Agency to “reset” a sector tarnished by scandals over sewage spills and financial mismanagement, after a major review of the sector.

The government will adopt the recommendation for England and Wales made in the review it commissioned from Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, which was released on Monday. In England, the powers of Natural England will also be subsumed.

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Norfolk woman hands over 16th-century painting identified as stolen 50 years ago

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Exclusive: Barbara de Dozsa had argued ownership because work by Italian artist Solario had been bought in good faith

A 16th-century Madonna and Child painting that ended up with a woman in Norfolk after it was stolen from a museum in Italy half a century ago is to be returned to its rightful owner.

After years of soul-searching, and persuading by an art lawyer who was acting pro bono, Barbara de Dozsa decided to hand it over to the Civic Museum of Belluno, which last saw the painting in 1973.

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Senior Labour MP urges UK to recognise Palestinian state ahead of UN conference

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Emily Thornberry says recognition is vital step towards peace and without long-term solution war in Gaza will continue

A senior Labour MP has said it is time for the UK to recognise a Palestinian state as some western countries are due to press ahead with their own recognition plans at an international conference this month.

Emily Thornberry, who heads the influential House of Commons foreign affairs select committee, said that without a ceasefire and a long-term political solution Israel’s war on Gaza – which has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians since 7 October 2023 – will continue.

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Four arrested under Terrorism Act during Liverpool pro-Palestine protest

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Merseyside police says material in support of Palestine Action was reportedly seen in possession of protesters

Four people were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences during a pro-Palestine protest in Liverpool city centre on Sunday afternoon, police said.

Merseyside police said material in support of campaign group Palestine Action was reportedly seen in the possession of a small number of protesters at the regular march for Liverpool Friends of Palestine.

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Average UK house asking price registers steepest monthly drop for 20 years

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Rightmove blames the 1.2% fall in new sellers’ prices on the end of stamp duty discounts and more homes coming on to the market

The average price of homes coming up for sale dropped by the largest monthly amount in more than 20 years in July, according to a property website, after the end of temporary cuts to stamp duty, and recent increases in council tax on second homes.

The average price being asked by new sellers fell by 1.2%, or £4,531, in July compared with a month earlier, to £373,709.

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Ministers to revive Blair-era Pensions Commission to tackle savings crisis

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Revived body will examine future of the retirement system as analysis shows pensioner income is set to fall

The government is resurrecting the Pensions Commission, amid fears that a retirement crisis could mean today’s workers will be poorer in retirement than the current crop of pensioners.

The move by ministers to revive the landmark commission, established by Tony Blair’s government in 2002, comes as analysis shows that the income of pensioners is set to fall in the coming decades.

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Children of elderly UK couple jailed by Taliban call for release before they ‘die in custody’

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Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter, 80, have been held for five-and-a-half months without charge

The children of an elderly couple imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan have urged the group to release the pair before they “die in custody”.

They said the UN would be making a statement on Monday calling for the immediate release of Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, who were arrested as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, central Afghanistan, in February.

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Leaked document shows boat slashing failed to stop migrants reaching UK

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Coastguard log raises new concerns over safety and viability of flagship policy to intercept dinghies crossing Channel

New concerns about the safety and viability of the flagship UK-French policy to intercept migrant dinghies at sea have emerged after a coastguard log leaked to the Guardian revealed a recent boat-slashing incident that failed to stop people reaching the UK.

Despite the government’s pledge to stop overcrowded dinghies crossing the Channel, the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats this year has increased by about 50% compared with the same period last year, with more than 21,000 crossing so far in 2025.

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Ministers urged to guarantee NHS jobs for new midwives amid understaffing

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Student midwives working thousands of hours unpaid in NHS fear lack of vacancies despite staff shortages

A student midwife who fears she will be unable to get a job after completing 2,300 hours of unpaid placement work in the NHS is calling for guaranteed posts for newly qualified midwives who otherwise will be forced to abandon the profession before their careers begin.

Aimee Peach, 43, is due to complete her training next summer, but says the promise of a job at the end of her three-year degree course has “collapsed”, despite severe shortages of midwives across the country.

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Suella, Jacob, even Liz? Inside Reform’s unofficial plan to bag a Tory big beast

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Officially, the party says there is no mission to court Conservative defectors, but insiders suggest otherwise, and warn against the dangers of doing so

At last year’s GB News Christmas party, Suella Braverman was the centre of attention. The former home secretary is popular in rightwing media circles, but it wasn’t her straight-talking brand of conservatism that was topic of the evening, rather it was the growing whispers about what some thought was her imminent defection to Reform UK.

“It was like a panto – everyone saying: ‘Oh yes you will’, and her saying: ‘Oh no, I won’t’,” says one Reform party guest. “We all thought she was just biding her time until the right moment.”

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More than 100 arrested across UK at protests related to Palestine Action

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Police in London detain scores of people and confiscate placards under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000

More than 100 people have been arrested across the UK at events related to Palestine Action, in the third week of demonstrations since the group was banned as a terrorist organisation.

Demonstrations were held in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Truro on Saturday as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries.

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UK government faces legal action over not evacuating critically ill children from Gaza

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Exclusive: Law firm representing three children says failure to facilitate medical evacuations is stark contrast to other conflicts

The UK government is facing a legal challenge over its decision not to medically evacuate critically ill children from Gaza in the way they have done for young people caught up in other conflicts.

The legal action, being taken against the Foreign Office and Home Office on behalf of three critically ill children in Gaza, argues that UK ministers have failed to take into account the lack of treatment options for children in the territory before denying medical evacuations.

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Bangladeshis linked to Hasina regime appear to have made UK property transactions in past year

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Call for asset freezes after figures under investigation in Dhaka employed services of UK law firms and consultants

By the time Bangladesh’s student-led revolution finally toppled Sheikh Hasina, her security forces had already spilled the blood of hundreds of protesters.

Now, almost a year after the country’s autocratic leader fled the former British colony into exile, an interim government is struggling to navigate bitter factional politics and economic turmoil.

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UK weather: Met Office warns of danger to life from thunderstorms and floods

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Amber warning for London and south-east England, where heavy rain could cause ‘fast flowing or deep floodwater’

Thunderstorms and flooding could pose a danger to life in parts of the UK this weekend, according to forecasters.

The Met Office issued an amber thunderstorm warning for London and much of south-east England for 4am to 11am on Saturday, when heavy rain could cause “fast flowing or deep floodwater”.

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World Athletics Championships: London’s 2029 bid gets Starmer backing

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  • UK government will give £35m to help push for event

  • Previous successes leave city in strong position for bid

London is in prime position to stage the 2029 World Athletics Championships after finally securing a substantial government funding commitment for the bid.

It is understood the UK government has agreed to give £35m to help bid for the championships, which would be the first to be staged in London since 2017, with the mayor’s office expected to commit about £10m.

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A PR dream or disaster? Jet2’s holiday advert finds new life as joke meme

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In a social media trend, the airline’s joyful advert jingle is being played over cheerless summer holiday footage

You’re the boss of a travel company, it’s early summer and your brand is going viral. Millions of people are watching and sharing social media clips of people on holiday, the soundtrack to which is your company jingle.

It sounds like a PR dream, but is it?

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Angela Rayner tells Labour to ‘step up’ and make case for being in power

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Exclusive: Deputy PM defends action against party rebels and says Send system is priority, in Guardian interview

Angela Rayner has urged Labour colleagues to “step up” and make the case for why the party should be in power as the government attempts to draw a line under a tumultuous first year in office and shift towards a more upbeat approach.

The deputy prime minister urged Labour MPs to focus on the party’s achievements over the last 12 months rather than always thinking about failures, saying they should all be “message carriers” for what had been done well.

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Lammy announces exposure of 18 Russian spies after UK cyber-attacks

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Foreign secretary says two agents were involved in planting spyware on a device used by poisoning victim Yulia Skripal

The UK has exposed 18 Russian spies and their units responsible for cyber-attacks in Britain and hacking one of the victims of the Salisbury poisonings, David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has said.

Announcing individual sanctions, Lammy said Russia had targeted media, telecoms providers, political and democratic institutions and energy infrastructure in the UK in recent years.

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Catalogue of failures led to woman’s murder in Bristol care home, coroner finds

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Managers described as ‘reckless’ over supervision of Melissa Mathieson’s killer, who had history of sexual violence

A “catalogue of failures” resulted in the murder of a vulnerable young woman who was strangled to death in a care home by a fellow resident with a history of sexual violence, a coroner has concluded.

Senior managers at the care home in Bristol where Melissa Mathieson, 18, died were described as “reckless” by the coroner for not effectively supervising her killer, Jason Conroy.

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