British army also deploying tanks in joint action with Nato and Joint Expeditionary Force
About 8,000 British army troops will take part in exercises across eastern Europe to combat Russian aggression in one of the largest deployments since the cold war.
Dozens of tanks will be deployed to countries ranging from Finland to North Macedonia this summer under plans that have been enhanced since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Continue reading...Man was attacked by two men and pronounced dead at the scene
A murder investigation has been launched after a man was killed at a shopping centre in Essex on Thursday.
Police were called to reports that a man had been attacked at Lakeside shopping centre, in Thurrock, at 4.30pm.
Continue reading...Victims’ commissioner calls goal of returning prosecution levels to pre-2017 levels ‘a pipe dream’
Sex crimes logged by police in England and Wales have reached a record high amid warnings from the victims’ commissioner that the government’s aim to boost prosecutions to levels last seen five years ago is “a pipe dream”.
Police-recorded sexual offences increased to their highest level over a 12-month period, with 183,587 in the year to December 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Continue reading...MPs question why direct action has not been taken, but PM says independent process is needed
Boris Johnson is under increasing pressure to take immediate disciplinary action against the Conservative MP accused of watching pornography in the House of Commons.
The chief whip issued a statement on Wednesday suggesting the matter should be referred to parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), which deals with sexual harassment and other disciplinary matters. But senior Tories questioned why he had not taken action directly against the MP, whose alleged behaviour was witnessed by two female colleagues in recent months.
Continue reading...Not releasing MI5 advice on granting peerage makes government look like it has something to hide, Labour says
Ministers have been accused of “bending the rules to dodge scrutiny” after Downing Street missed the deadline for publishing the security advice it received about granting Evgeny Lebedev a peerage.
MPs voted last month for the material to be released after reports that MI5 raised security concerns when the Evening Standard owner and son of a KGB officer was nominated by Boris Johnson to join the House of Lords in March 2020.
Continue reading...Senior shadow cabinet ministers invite Israeli politicians to observe Labour’s door-knocking drive in Barnet, north London
Keir Starmer and senior shadow cabinet ministers have launched a charm offensive while hosting officials from Israel’s Labor party, including taking them door-knocking for the local elections in Barnet, north London.
In move designed to underline the contrast with Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Starmer and Rayner have hosted nine officials including the deputy mayor of Tel Aviv, Chen Arieli, the party’s chief executive, Nir Rosen, and senior staffers from the Israeli leader’s office.
Continue reading...Latest updates: Labour leader says Tories ‘know who this is’ and should address it immediately
The Conservative MP Jamie Wallis has been charged with failing to stop after being involved in a car crash last year, PA Media reports. PA says:
Wallis has also been charged with failing to report a road traffic collision, driving without due care and attention and leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position.
The MP for Bridgend and first openly transgender MP was arrested on suspicion of ‘driving whilst unfit’ following the late-night collision when a car hit a lamppost in Llanblethian on 28 November. At the time, Wallis said he was ‘assisting police with their inquiries’.
So I think as a society we’ve got to take this moment to reflect on what are we doing to lower standards of behaviour, whether that’s on the tube, in front of children, in parliament or in public.
The problem doesn’t start in parliament. It actually ends up there, and it starts in wider society, and that’s where we need to start discussing and agreeing some basic moral standards.
I think this is something that does happen in many, if not all workplaces, where a small minority of men – and it is men – who are behaving in an unacceptable way.
I think that’s actually a more worrying symptom of our society and our culture. How have we got to a place in our society where watching pornography on the tube, in public, in front of children, in parliament, in the workplace has become somehow normalised for some people?
Continue reading...Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme was set up three years ago to process official HR complaints
Before this week, 56 MPs – including two shadow cabinet ministers – had reportedly been referred to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), a parliamentary watchdog established more than three years ago.
The profile of the ICGS has been heightened after news that a Conservative MP, who allegedly watched pornography on his phone in the House of Commons, has been reported to it.
Continue reading...Wakefield MP found guilty of sexual assault on 11 April says delay caused by Easter and HR issues
Imran Ahmad Khan has said he has now resigned as Wakefield’s MP and will no longer be a parliamentarian from this Saturday, two and a half weeks after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
Ahmad Khan told the Guardian he had submitted his resignation on Monday and that it was effective from 30 April. That means he will be paid his salary in full for April.
Continue reading...Independent expert panel has recommended Byrne be suspended from chamber for two days
The Labour MP Liam Byrne will be suspended from the Commons for bullying a staff member, after being accused of ostracising the aide and denying them access to his parliamentary account.
An independent panel recommended Byrne be suspended for two days for a breach of bullying and harassment rules after a complaint from David Barker, a former member of his constituency staff, to the independent grievance scheme.
Continue reading...Member of shadow cabinet allegedly told MP she was successful because men wanted to sleep with her
A female Welsh MP has accused a member of the shadow cabinet of lewd sexism by stating she would be successful because men wanted to sleep with her, as the attorney general accused some male MPs of acting “like animals”.
After the latest allegation of misogyny to hit Westminster, Labour promised to launch an investigation if a complaint was made.
Continue reading...Bridgend MP charged with failing to stop and driving without due care and attention over crash last November
A Conservative MP has been charged with failing to stop after a car crash in Wales in November last year.
Jamie Wallis, who has been the MP for Bridgend since 2019, has also been charged with failure to report a traffic collision, driving without due care and attention and leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position.
Continue reading...Rise in energy and ingredient costs suggests consumers will have to pay more for well-known brands
The consumer goods firm Unilever has said “unprecedented cost inflation” lies ahead as Russia’s war on Ukraine has added to a surge in energy and ingredient costs, and said that shoppers will pay even more for well-known brands in the coming months.
The company, which makes goods ranging from Dove soap to Magnum ice-cream and Marmite, said on Thursday it expected its costs to rise by €2.7bn (£2.3bn) in the second half of 2022, after an already steep increase on the €2.1bn expected for the first half.
Continue reading...The 2022 scheme is more limited – and expensive – than the original but is billed as a big step in reopening the backpacker market
The so-called ten pound Pom scheme has been reborn as a tourism campaign to bring British backpackers back to Australia in the wake of the pandemic.
After the second world war, the Australian government lured hundreds of thousands of Britons over the seas with a £10 ticket to boost the population and supply post-war industries with workers.
Continue reading...The chancellor says nothing is off the table but fellow Tory ministers remain dismissive of idea
Rishi Sunak has opened the door to a windfall tax on oil and gas companies despite previously dismissing the policy, as Labour accused the government of burying its head in the sand over spiralling bills.
The chancellor hinted at a possible U-turn on a tax on oil and gas providers, after repeatedly refusing to countenance the idea in the past when suggested by Labour and the Lib Dems.
Continue reading...Fears grow in UK that any proposals could downgrade workers’ rights despite assurances on both sides
Britain’s trade talks with the US are moving ahead with only “minimal” input from workers, small businesses and thinktanks, according to MPs who accused the UK trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, of shielding her department from outside scrutiny.
Conservative and Labour MPs on the trade select committee also said scrutiny of a deal struck with Australia and New Zealand was in danger of being “rushed through” parliament before they could make an assessment of its impact on imports and exports to and from the Commonwealth countries.
Continue reading...Daniel Challis, who has cerebral palsy and is unable to speak, is auditioning people to provide his new voice
Daniel Challis was born and brought up near Walsall, surrounded by family members with distinctive regional accents.
Yet the communication aid he uses to speak with sounds nothing like them, instead vocalising in a robotic version of received pronunciation. The 18-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and is unable to speak, is appealing for people to audition to provide his new voice – providing they have the right accent.
Continue reading...Dan Ozarow felt terrorised by abuse of him and his family after negative campaigning in Hertfordshire
Conservative councillors in Oliver Dowden’s constituency have been disciplined for a “hate” campaign against a Jewish Labour candidate, according to an independent investigation commissioned by Tory HQ.
The report found the behaviour of five Hertsmere Tory councillors “may well have encouraged” antisemitic abuse of Labour’s Dan Ozarow, as well as multiple breaches of the party’s code of conduct.
Continue reading...British telecommunications giant says company will now take back seat as it makes EE its flagship
It’s still good to talk but increasingly BT customers are doing it wherever they like via connected mobile devices, rather than fixed line broadband and old-fashioned telephones.
In recognition of this generational shift, BT quietly announced in a blog post on Wednesday that after more than 30 years and some of the UK’s highest-profile ad campaigns, its flagship consumer brand is to take a back seat to upstart EE in its marketing strategy.
Continue reading...Analysis: The high court found policy that sent untested people into homes was illegal and irrational
This time of year brings bad memories for families of care home residents who died in Covid’s first wave when the virus swept, mostly unchecked, through nursing homes.
Just over two years on, the high court ruling that the government’s hospital discharge policy which sent thousands of people untested into care homes was not only illegal but “irrational”, comes as bitter proof of something they already knew: something went badly wrong.
Continue reading...