Category Archives: UK news

‘Sticking-plaster measures’: Sunak fails to ease pain of surging costs, say firms

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Hospitality, manufacturing and haulage sectors say spring statement falls far short of the help needed

The spring statement did not deliver much to help Lesters, a small but growing packaging company struggling with rising costs.

The Staffordshire-based firm’s energy bills will rise from £7,000 a month to £18,000 when the current contract runs out. Speaking after Rishi Sunak’s spring statement, Lesters’ managing director, Billy Hutchinson, said the chancellor had offered nothing to help on this key issue.

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Jamaica’s PM tells Kate and William his country is ‘moving on’

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Royal couple’s visit met with growing republican sentiment and pressure for reparations over slavery

Jamaica’s prime minister has told the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge that his country is “moving on” and intends to become a republic.

The royals’ arrival in Jamaica on Tuesday coincided with a much-publicised demonstration urging the monarchy to pay reparations for slavery, and calls from politicians for the country to become a republic.

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Boris Johnson accused of ‘buffoonery’ during Sunak remarks on Ukraine

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PM criticised for chuckling and pulling a face while chancellor paid tribute to Ukrainian people

Boris Johnson was accused of “buffoonish” behaviour for chuckling and pulling a face while the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, spoke in the Commons of the terrifying ordeal faced by millions of Ukrainians.

As Sunak began his spring statement, Johnson appeared to relax having just faced half an hour of prime minister’s questions.

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Johnson to defy cabinet fears and push for onshore wind expansion

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PM ‘passionate’ about potential in light of fresh push for self-sufficiency after Russia invasion of Ukraine

Boris Johnson is expected to open the door to more onshore wind at next week’s energy strategy, despite some cabinet ministers lobbying against relaxing planning laws to allow more turbines.

The cabinet is split over whether to aim for more onshore wind projects, which can often get into lengthy planning battles, after officials drew up plans for a target of 30GW by 2030.

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Britain and US agree on steel tariffs as hopes of broader trade deal recede

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Pact ends months of tensions but talks on full free-trade agreement remain far off

The UK has struck a deal with the US to remove tariffs on British steel exports, although trade experts warned a broader trade deal between the two countries remains far off.

The agreement was struck after UK’s international trade minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, met her counterpart, the US commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, on Tuesday evening in Washington.

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UK minister in BVI for urgent talks on sanctioning Russian oligarchs

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Amanda Melling’s visit follows fears UK tax havens may offer loophole for those trying to avoid clampdown

A Foreign Office minister has flown to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to hold urgent discussions on how sanctions against Russian oligarchs with cash stored in the secretive islands can be implemented, amid fears. UK tax havens may provide a loophole for those trying to escape the international clampdown.

Amanda Milling’s visit follows news that a succession of oligarchs appeared to have hidden their assets in trusts based in the BVI in a bid to put them beyond reach of UK sanctions. British sanctions laws apply in the overseas territories, and enforcement officers are supposed to have full access to registers of beneficial ownerships.

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Duke and Duchess of Cambridge accused of benefiting from slavery

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William and Kate arrive in Jamaica to be met by protests calling for reparations from British monarchy

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been accused of benefiting from the “blood, tears and sweat” of slaves as they arrived in Jamaica to be met by a protest calling for reparations from the British monarchy.

William and Kate will celebrate the culture and history of the island, where there have been calls from politicians in recent years to drop the Queen as head of state and become a republic, and for a formal acknowledgment of slavery.

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Rishi Sunak to promise ‘security for working families’ in spring statement

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Chancellor expected to announce fuel duty cut in package of measures to tackle cost of living crisis

Rishi Sunak will promise “security” to cash-strapped families as he announces a fresh package of measures to tackle the cost of living crisis on Wednesday, but will continue to underline the importance of fixing the public finances.

The chancellor has been under intense pressure to take action to help households with the rocketing cost of fuel and other essentials. The financial expert Martin Lewis told MPs on Tuesday that many households are facing a “fiscal punch in the face” when the energy price cap rises next month.

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Michael Grade emerges as favourite to become new Ofcom chair

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Culture secretary Nadine Dorries is expected to decide who will oversee UK media regulator this week

Michael Grade has emerged as the favourite to become the next Ofcom chair, with the culture secretary expected to make a final decision this week on who will oversee the UK’s media regulator.

Appointing the veteran media executive and Tory politician as boss of the organisation would end a chaotic and embarrassing appointment process. The search has taken almost two years as a result of a series of botched attempts to hand the role to former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre.

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UK set to criminalise illicit refugee crossings after ministers avoid Commons rebellion

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Government wins string of votes to restore elements of controversial borders and nationality bill removed by Lords

The UK appears set to criminalise illicit refugee crossings and could ship asylum seekers for processing in other countries after ministers easily saw off a potential rebellion in the Commons over the controversial borders and nationality bill.

Despite a number of Conservative backbenchers expressing concerns about aspects of the bill, the government convincingly won a string of votes to restore elements changed in the House of Lords, including the idea of Australian-style third country processing.

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No 10 condemns abuse levelled at ‘ungrateful’ Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

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Briton held captive in Iran for six years should not face online trolling, says Boris Johnson’s office

Downing Street has condemned critics of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who accused her of being “ungrateful” after she expressed frustration with the UK government for taking six years to secure her release from an Iranian jail.

Days after touching down in Britain, Zaghari-Ratcliffe faced abuse on social media for saying it should not have taken so long for ministers to ensure she returned home safely.

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UK running low on anti-tank weapons, defence secretary tells Russian hoaxers

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Impostors posing as Ukrainian PM post new YouTube clip with Ben Wallace’s response to claim that arms have failed

The UK is running out of anti-tank weapons to send to Ukraine, the defence secretary appeared to tell Russian impostors posing as the Ukrainian prime minister, according to the latest video released by the pair.

Downing Street has said it believes Russian state actors were responsible for the hoax, in which an impersonator was put through for a video call with Ben Wallace about the situation in Ukraine.

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We failed Nazanin, admits former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt as he backs calls for inquiry – UK politics live

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Latest updates: Jeremy Hunt uses Twitter thread to say that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was failed by government

There have been reports in recent days saying that Boris Johnson wants to visit Ukraine and last night, in an interview with Andrew Marr for his new LBC show, Oliver Dowden, the Conservative party co-chair, confirmed them, saying the PM was “desperate” to visit the war zone. Dowden said:

I think the prime minister is desperate to go to Ukraine and has throughout this conflict felt a real - as the British people have done - a real emotional connection with the suffering of the Ukrainian people and a need for the West to unite in standing up to this threat from Russia which has been exposed to Ukraine.

I think it’s both to see what’s going on the ground, because it’s very different talking to somebody on the phone versus actually seeing it in practice - and, by the way, I should say that no decisions have been taken in relation to this - but then secondly, it’s actually to experience what is happening there, to see what is happening. To the people on the ground. I think that is very different to just speaking remotely.

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Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Hunt calls for inquiry into delay over Iran debt payment

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Former defence secretary says investigation could help determine why it took six years to secure release

The former British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has called for an independent investigation into why it took six years to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, saying she was right to question why her release took so long to secure.

Both Hunt and the former foreign minister Alistair Burt have said they would be willing to give evidence about the issues involved in securing her release. Burt has proposed there should be a foreign affairs select committee inquiry into why the payment of a historic debt was delayed.

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Rishi Sunak handed borrowing boost before spring statement

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Figures improve chances of fuel duty or other tax cuts but inflation drives up cost of government debt

Rishi Sunak has been handed a boost from figures showing lower government borrowing than official estimates on the eve of the spring statement.

The figures come despite a sharp rise in debt interest payments last month amid soaring inflation.

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Sabita Thanwani: man, 22, charged with murder over death of London student

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Maher Maaroufe will appear in court in London on Tuesday over death of 19-year-old in student accommodation

A 22-year-old man has been charged with the murder of teenager Sabita Thanwani, who was found dead at student accommodation in London.

Maher Maaroufe, 22, of no fixed address, has been charged with 19-year-old Thanwani’s murder as well as assaulting an emergency worker, the Metropolitan police said.

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Syria using maze of shell companies to avoid sanctions on Assad regime’s elite

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Exclusive: documents seen by the Guardian prove Assad minister’s boast that evading financial sanctions has ‘become a Syrian craft’

The Syrian regime is setting up shell companies in a systematic attempt to avoid sanctions, according to official documents obtained by the Guardian.

The documents, not publicly available, detail at least three companies established in Syria on the same day with the explicit purpose of operating as a shell to buy shares and manage other companies.

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Historic England puts aerial photos of nation’s past online

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Images of thousands of sites dating from 1919 to the present day made available to view

Ever wondered what your road or area looked like 50 or 100 years ago? Historic England is launching an aerial photography tool that allows users to explore images of England over the past century.

The bird’s eye views range from second world war defences and nuclear power stations to the remains of neolithic monuments, Roman farmsteads and medieval villages.

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Covid wiped slate clean of ‘crap restaurants’, says Gordon Ramsay

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Celebrity chef says lockdowns have been ‘devastating’ for industry but upside is ‘crap is gone’

The celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has said it is good that the Covid-19 pandemic wiped the slate clean of “crap” restaurants.

In an interview with the former shadow chancellor Ed Balls in Radio Times, Ramsay argues that while the past two years have been “devastating” for the restaurant industry, the upside is “the crap’s gone”.

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Boris Johnson ‘desperate’ to visit Ukraine, says Tory party chair

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Oliver Dowden says PM has a ‘real emotional connection’ with the Ukrainian people but No 10 sources say a trip is unlikely

Boris Johnson is “desperate” to go to Ukraine and has a “real emotional connection” with the Ukrainian people, the Tory party chair has claimed.

It was reported at the weekend that Johnson wanted to go to Kyiv but on Monday No 10 sources indicated this is unlikely to happen.

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