Category Archives: UK news

Neil Parish says watching porn in Commons was ‘moment of madness’ as he resigns as MP – as it happened

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The MP for Tiverton and Honiton says he initially found the pornographic website while looking at tractors

The shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has said ministers should not micromanage the books pupils read in classrooms.

Speaking to the NAHT school leaders’ annual conference in Telford, she said there was an “irony” that the government is seeking to take politics out of the classroom but simultaneously telling teachers what books to teach.

I think we need a school curriculum that inspires and supports every young person... I think children should expect to see their lives, their communities, their experiences reflected in that,

I think it is not for secretaries of state to dictate which books should or shouldn’t be taught within a school. I think you all have expertise and professionalism that allows you to deliver that.

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UK faces childcare crisis as staff shortages force nurseries to close

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Early years providers can’t attract qualified workers and the crisis will put prices up, increasing the burden on struggling families

Nurseries across the UK are being forced to close or reduce their services at an alarming rate because they are struggling to recruit and retain staff, the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has warned.

The crisis is only set to deepen as more childcare providers go out of business, increasing demand for places and pushing prices even higher for families struggling with the rising cost of living.

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Wife of Neil Parish says she first heard of porn claims from reporter

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Sue Parish claims she was unaware of Tory MP’s suspension until a journalist asked her for a quote

The wife of the Tory MP under investigation for allegedly watching porn on his phone in the House of Commons only found out when a reporter called her about the story.

Sue Parish, 66, said she first became aware of her husband Neil’s suspension from the Conservative party when a journalist got in touch looking for a comment.

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Ukraine refugees flock to Germany after being put off by UK red tape

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Ease of finding accommodation and work lures 10 times the number who have made it to Britain

When it became clear to Liliia Fomina that the war raging outside her hometown of Zaporizhzhia would continue not just for days, but months or even years, she decided that she wanted to flee to the UK. A sponsor in Windsor was found, and on 18 March the 29-year-old applied for a British visa for herself and her five-year-old son Lev.

The pair sheltered with friends of friends in a village near Chernivtsi, in western Ukraine, and waited: one week, two weeks, three weeks. By the time her visa finally came through, after almost a month of uncertainty, the lawyer had changed her mind.

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Foreign Office investigates reports of captured Briton paraded on Russian TV

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Footage shows injured man, who gives his name as Andrew Hill, being questioned by Russian forces

The Foreign Office is investigating reports that a British national has been detained by Russia after a video emerged showing a man in camouflage clothes being questioned.

In the video, reportedly shown on Russian television, the man appears to give his name as Andrew Hill. He speaks with an English accent, has his arm in a sling, a bandage around his head, and blood can be seen on his hand.

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‘He’s got to go’: anger in Tiverton as local MP Neil Parish faces porn claims

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People in Devon town have little sympathy and say Tory should ‘admit what he’s done’ and resign

A few were prepared to give Neil Parish the benefit of the doubt pending the result of an inquiry. But most people in the Devon market town of Tiverton on Saturday had very little sympathy for their MP.

“He should just admit what he’s done and get out,” said Hannah Tucker, 32, a supermarket worker who was shopping with her husband, Liam. “The Tories are a joke. They get up to all sorts – and most of the time get away with it. They’ve to be stopped.”

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Family of British geologist facing death penalty in Iraq urge UK to intervene

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Retiree Jim Fitton, 66, was detained when airport security found ‘valueless’ pottery shards in luggage

The family of a retired British geologist facing the death penalty in Iraq have called on the UK government to urgently intervene.

Jim Fitton, 66, was detained by authorities in the Middle Eastern country, accused of smuggling, during a geology and archaeology trip.

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Ian Fleming’s lost James Bond screenplay reveals a very different 007

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With no Moneypenny and no M, a previously unpublished script reveals the author’s original ideas for Moonraker

In the action-packed film Moonraker, James Bond escapes from Jaws, the metal-toothed villain, on a hang-glider that ejects from a speedboat just as he drives over the precipice of a waterfall. It is one of numerous outlandish scenes in the film that Ian Fleming never wrote in his original 007 novel. And it could not be more different to the author’s own version of the film, according to a previously unpublished script.

In 1956, a year after the Moonraker novel was published, Fleming wrote his own 150-page film treatment with a plot that is as serious as the 1979 film is lightweight, despite Roger Moore’s charm as the fictional spy.

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Plan for direct UK rule of British Virgin Islands opposed by acting premier

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UK dispatches minister after ex-leader charged with drug offences and inquiry finds serious governance issues

The Foreign Office is risking a political backlash on the British Virgin Islands if it goes ahead with plans recommended by an independent commission of inquiry to impose a form of direct rule on the islands from London after allegations of maladministration and corruption.

Natalio Wheatley, the acting BVI premier elevated to the office after the former premier Andrew Fahie, 51, was arrested on drug running charges in Miami on Thursday, said he opposed the plan for direct rule for two years, with the British appointed governor taking charge and being advised by a council of local politicians.

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Theatres need more plus-sized black actors, says Broadway and West End star

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Marisha Wallace wants to inspire young girls and call out lack of diversity as she takes on role in Oklahoma!

A professional career in theatre was not always on the cards for Marisha Wallace. The Broadway and West End star, who was born and raised on a pig farm in North Carolina, rarely saw people that looked like her on stage.

As she takes on the coveted role of Ado Annie in the revival of Oklahoma! at London’s Young Vic theatre, Wallace is on a singular mission to call out the lack of plus-sized black actors on stage and to inspire young girls just like her.

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Met seeks further bid to challenge high court ruling on Sarah Everard vigil

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Scotland Yard seeking permission from court of appeal to challenge ruling that Met’s decisions in run-up to vigil were ‘not in accordance with the law’

The Metropolitan police is seeking a further attempt to challenge the high court’s ruling that officers breached the rights of organisers of a vigil for Sarah Everard last year.

High court judges earlier this month refused the Met permission to appeal against its ruling in March about the force’s handling of the planned event.

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Hostile foreign states pose ‘real risk’ of influencing MPs groups

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Standards committee report calls for reforms to all-party parliamentary groups to avert ‘next great parliamentary scandal’

Hostile foreign states and others pose a “real risk” of gaining access and wielding influence through all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs), the Commons standards committee has warned.

Calling for reforms to avert what it described as the “next great parliamentary scandal”, the committee also voiced concerns that a dramatic rise in the number of the informal cross-party groups also risks “inappropriate influence and access” because they are so difficult to monitor.

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Four climate activists charged over protests at motorway service stations

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Protesters charged with causing criminal damage of more than £5,000, Surrey Police said

Four climate activists have been charged after protests at two motorway service stations in Surrey.

Nathan McGovern, 22, Amber Alexander, 18, Louis Hawkins, 22, and Rosa Sharkey, 22, have been charged with causing criminal damage of more than £5,000, Surrey police said.

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HSBC faces pressure to split after push from one of its largest shareholders

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Chinese insurer Ping An discusses listing bank’s Asian operations separately in Hong Kong

HSBC is facing pressure to break up after one of its largest shareholders told the UK-headquartered bank to consider spinning off its profitable Asian operations centred on Hong Kong.

Chinese insurer Ping An has discussed listing the Asian operations separately in Hong Kong, Bloomberg first reported. Ping An owns 8.3% of the bank, according to the latest public filings, a stake worth £8.2bn.

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Met officer accused of paralysing black man loses bid for anonymity

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Imran Mahmood was charged with grievous bodily harm after Jordan Walker-Brown was left paralysed from the chest down

A Metropolitan police officer accused of grievous bodily harm after a black man was left paralysed from the chest down has been named after losing a bid to keep his name from the public domain.

Imran Mahmood, 35, was charged with grievous bodily harm on 31 March and had sought anonymity from Westminster magistrates court after expressing concern of Jordan Walker-Brown’s alleged links to criminal gangs, according to the PA news agency, which sought submission of the officer’s name alongside other media organisations.

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Number of UK children suffering from hepatitis rises to 145

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Concerns rise about surge as scientists say lack of exposure to viruses during Covid restrictions could be factor

The number of children in the UK suffering from severe hepatitis has risen to 145 as concerns mount about the mysterious surge in cases.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced an increase of 34 cases but said most children have recovered and no children have died. There has been no increase from the 10 children who have required a liver transplant, reported on Monday.

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UK set to impose direct rule on British Virgin Island as premier faces cocaine charges

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In a further twist, the islands’ premier has been arrested in a Miami sting operation on suspicion of drug trafficking

Britain is poised to impose a form of direct rule over the British Virgin Islands after the Caribbean territory’s premier was arrested in Miami on suspicion of drug running, and a UK-appointed commission of inquiry found rampant failings in governance.

Andrew Fahie appeared in federal court in Miami on Friday, a day after he was arrested by the US Drug Enforcement Agency in an elaborate sting operation that also snared the chief executive of the BVI port authority and her son.

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‘Head coach wants to play’: the US drug sting that led to BVI premier’s arrest

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Andrew Fahie is due in court on drug charges in Miami after arrest following months-long undercover operation

In mid-October, as Sir Gary Hickinbottom’s commission of inquiry into the government of the British Virgin Islands, led by the premier, Andrew Fahie, was taking laborious public oral evidence for a 44th day, a US Drug Enforcement Administration informant was, according to court papers, meeting some self-proclaimed Lebanese Hezbollah operatives on the BVI island of Tortola to discuss how to shift cocaine through the territory en route to Puerto Rico, Miami and New York.

Hickinbottom was taking mind-numbingly dull evidence on how to apply for BVI citizenship, and whether the process was open to manipulation.

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Cost of living crisis forces UK cancer patients to cut back on food and heating

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Macmillan survey suggests hundreds of thousands of people with cancer struggling to make ends meet

Hundreds of thousands of cancer patients are putting their lives at risk by cutting back on meals, heating and other essentials as a result of the cost of living crisis, a charity has said.

Macmillan Cancer Support said it was “hugely concerning” that large numbers of people living with the disease were having to resort to drastic cost-cutting measures to make ends meet.

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Ban permanent exclusions from English primaries, says ex-children’s tsar

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Anne Longfield says ‘exclusions culture’ rewards removal of some vulnerable children from school roll

Primary schools should no longer permanently exclude pupils, and measures of wellbeing should be included alongside exam results in school league tables, according to a report by the former children’s commissioner for England.

The Commission on Young Lives, headed by Anne Longfield, argues that exclusions can be highly damaging to those affected, putting young people at risk of exploitation, serious violence and criminal activity.

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