UK politics: Public must be told if Carrie Johnson fined for breaking lockdown rules, says Starmer – live

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Admin

Latest updates: the Labour leader suggests it is in the public’s interest if the prime minister’s wife is fined over Partygate

Clive Efford (Lab) is asking the questions now.

Q: You have expressed strong views in the past. Is that a problem?

I described the licence fee as regressive. I didn’t think that was an opinion, I thought that was a statement of fact, actually.

Food Standards Agency draws up list of food products containing cannabidiol

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Admin

Move intended to ensure CBD ‘products are safe and what they say they are’, says FSA’s chief executive

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has created a list of more than 3,500 food products infused with cannabidiol (CBD), bringing them one step closer to being authorised as part of government plans to wrest control over a flourishing industry.

CBD extracts are widely available in UK shops, cafes and online in the form of oils, drops, gels, confectionery, bakery products and drinks. The FSA is responsible for food safety and hygiene in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Failure to consider long Covid impact will hit UK economy, says expert

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Admin

Dr Nathalie MacDermott says condition has substantial impact on people’s ability to work and costs to government and business

The UK will pay an economic price for failing to consider long Covid when lifting restrictions and recommending vaccinations for children, a doctor has warned.

The decision to drop all Covid rules in England was largely based on whether the NHS could handle the number of sick patients, but far more people are expected to develop long-term medical problems after fighting off the virus.

Women-led UK firms struggle to attract equal investment, study finds

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Admin

The Gender Index aims to support growth of female-led companies, which tend to have lower turnovers

Companies led by women disproportionately attract less investment than those led by men, according to a large-scale study of female entrepreneurship in the UK.

The Gender Index, which was launched on Thursday, is a research study of all 4.4m active UK companies and allows users to track the impact of female-led firms on the economy via an online, interactive tool.

MPs reject government’s ‘unimaginative’ choice for Charity Commission chair

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Admin

Committee says it has reservations over selection process and lack of diversity in shortlist

A committee of MPs has rejected the government’s choice for the next chair of the Charity Commission, blaming ministers for a “slapdash and unimaginative choice” in selecting the one-time Conservative parliamentary candidate Orlando Fraser.

While the digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) committee said it had no grounds for concern about Fraser as an individual, it had serious reservations about the selection process, including the lack of diversity in the shortlist.

People with type 1 diabetes in England to be given skin sensor to monitor blood sugar

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Admin

Nice says wearable tech reduces need for finger-prick testing by up to 50%

Hundreds of thousands of people with type 1 diabetes in England are to be offered a hi-tech skin sensor to monitor their blood sugar levels in seconds.

The device, the size of a £2 coin, sits on a patient’s arm and constantly checks their glucose levels. It comes with an app that tells them whethertheir blood sugar levels are at an appropriate level.

Ukraine refugees trying to get UK visas facing ‘Kafkaesque’ system, MPs told

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Admin

Shadow home secretary says tens of thousands of desperate people still stuck in system

Today’s politics news – live updates

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said refugees in Ukraine are facing “Kafkaesque” bureaucracy as they try to navigate Home Office visa requirements.

Cooper had tabled an urgent question over the government’s two visa schemes, with MPs from both sides of the house rounding on the government.

Britons living overseas for 15 years to get right to vote in UK elections

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Admin

Change to law, ending 20-year battle by 100-year-old Harry Shindler, passes critical stage in Lords

British nationals living overseas for more than 15 years are set to get the right to vote in UK general elections, after a proposed change in the law passed a critical stage in the House of Lords.

The move will end a 20-year battle by 100-year-old Harry Shindler who challenged the 15-year limit on voting rights in the high court in 2016 and in the European court of justice in 2018. It will also deliver on a promise made by the Conservative party in successive election manifestos.

Britain hands billions to projects linked to labour abuse and climate damage

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Admin

UK Export Finance used £5.24bn of taxpayer money to fund overseas energy and infrastructure ventures – despite its own review raising concerns

The British government has provided more than £5bn in the past three years to overseas energy and infrastructure projects linked to labour abuses and environmental damage, according to documents and interviews with workers.

The funding – a combination of loans and guarantees – comes from the government’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF), a government department to help UK companies access business contracts overseas.

UK local elections: what is up for grabs, and what might we learn?

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Admin

The elections on 5 May will be a key test for Boris Johnson after ‘partgate’, but they are often difficult to predict. Here is our handy guide to the polls

Much of the UK will go the polls on 5 May for local and regional elections that will be seen as a key test for Boris Johnson after months of negative headlines over allegedly lockdown-breaking parties. Local elections can be hard to decode, so here is what is up for grabs, and what we might learn.

Royal Mail told workers may strike over alleged ‘fire and rehire’ plans

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Admin

Union says company aims to sack nearly 1,000 managers and bring in lower rates of pay

Royal Mail is being warned it could be hit by strikes over plans to cut managers’ jobs.

Unite said the company was aiming to sack nearly 1,000 managers and bring in lower rates of pay in another case of “fire and rehire”, which Royal Mail denies.

UK politics: Boris Johnson grilled by MPs at liaison committee – live

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Admin

Latest updates: the PM is facing questions at the liaison committee, which is comprised of the chairs of the Commons select committees

Betts asks Harrington how many people have actually arrived in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Harrington says it is too early to say, but he says he may be able to tell the committee at the end of the week.

Harrington said that he agreed it took too long to fill in a visa application form. He said at the weekend he spent just under under an hour filling out one out himself, and he was in a more comfortable situation than the refugees who have to fill them out. He said the government was looking at what it can do to make the forms shorter.

The Wanted singer Tom Parker dies from brain cancer aged 33

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Admin

Pop star who was diagnosed with tumour in 2020 had ‘infectious smile and energetic presence’, says his wife

Tom Parker, singer with the Wanted, has died aged 33 from brain cancer.

His wife, Kelsey, said on Instagram: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we confirm Tom passed away peacefully earlier today with all of his family by his side. Our hearts are broken, Tom was the centre of our world and we can’t imagine life without his infectious smile and energetic presence.”

Deliveroo CEO pay rises by 16% to £600,000 – plus £5m in shares

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Admin

Remuneration of takeaway delivery firm boss comes at time its couriers are facing higher costs

Deliveroo chief executive Will Shu was handed a near 16% basic pay rise this year after taking home a £519,200 salary and £5.2m share payout last year.

The takeaway courier boss will receive basic pay of £600,000 this year and is set to receive another near £5m of shares in April next year, part of a £30m package over the next six years according to the group’s annual report published on Wednesday.

Russian oligarchs on UK sanctions list were granted ‘golden visas’

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Admin

Eight unnamed individuals were awarded right to live in Britain under controversial investor visa scheme

Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

Eight Russian oligarchs on the UK sanctions list over their links to Vladimir Putin were granted “golden visas” to live in Britain.

The eight individuals, who Boris Johnson described as having “the blood of the Ukrainian people on their hands”, were granted the right to live in the UK after promising to invest at least £2m under the controversial tier 1 investor visa scheme.

Grenfell inquiry told government had ideological aversion to red tape

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Admin

Brandon Lewis is first government minister to give evidence at inquiry in London

Calls to regulate against the potential incompetence of people who check fire risks in buildings before the Grenfell Tower disaster were dismissed by government ministers because of an “ideological” aversion to increasing red tape, the public inquiry has heard.

Two coroners investigating earlier fire fatalities, the London fire brigade commissioner and the government’s own chief fire adviser were among experts who asked ministers to toughen scrutiny of fire risk assessors, according to testimony heard during cross-examination of Brandon Lewis, the first government minister to give evidence.

Yandex helps websites pushing false news make millions in advertising

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Admin

Yandex-delivered ads found alongside misinformation and propaganda about Ukraine on Russian-language news sites

Russia-Ukraine war – latest updates

A Russian tech giant mostly owned by western investors is helping websites pushing false claims about the war in Ukraine to make thousands of dollars every day through digital advertising.

Yandex is considered Russia’s equivalent to Google, running both a search engine and an extensive digital advertising business. Its deputy CEO, Tigran Khudaverdyan, resigned this month after the European Union imposed sanctions on him.

UK judges withdraw from Hong Kong’s court of final appeal

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Admin

Judges resign saying administration has ‘departed from values of political freedom and freedom of expression’

UK judges have withdrawn from Hong Kong’s court of final appeal, citing concerns that their continued participation would appear to endorse the current administration amid dwindling political liberties and freedom of expression in the Chinese territory.

Lord Reed, the president of the UK supreme court, the country’s highest court, said he and his colleague Lord Hodge had submitted their resignations as judges of the Hong Kong court of final appeal (HKCFA) with immediate effect.

John Menzies accepts takeover bid from Kuwaiti aviation services rival Agility

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Admin

Edinburgh-based firm agrees to £571m offer that will create world’s largest airport services firm

Executives at the British aviation services company John Menzies have accepted a £571m takeover deal from a Kuwaiti rival, after rebuffing three previous offers.

A subsidiary of Agility Public Warehousing had made the bid more than a month ago, which was conditional at the time, although the John Menzies board said it would accept the offer.

Labour and Tory rebels force disclosure of security advice on Lebedev peerage

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Admin

Conservative whips allow MPs to abstain in vote on publication in U-turn after backbenchers threaten to support Labour motion

Boris Johnson has suffered a fresh humiliation after Tory rebels joined with Labour to force the publication of security advice relating to Evgeny Lebedev’s peerage.

Labour launched a bid to reveal information about Johnson’s appointment of his friend to the House of Lords, following the revelation that the intelligence services had concerns about the Russian-born businessman and son of a former KGB officer.

Roundup Newswires

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Category Archives: UK news

UK politics: Public must be told if Carrie Johnson fined for breaking lockdown rules, says Starmer – live

Food Standards Agency draws up list of food products containing cannabidiol

Failure to consider long Covid impact will hit UK economy, says expert

Women-led UK firms struggle to attract equal investment, study finds

MPs reject government’s ‘unimaginative’ choice for Charity Commission chair

People with type 1 diabetes in England to be given skin sensor to monitor blood sugar

Ukraine refugees trying to get UK visas facing ‘Kafkaesque’ system, MPs told

Britons living overseas for 15 years to get right to vote in UK elections

Britain hands billions to projects linked to labour abuse and climate damage

UK local elections: what is up for grabs, and what might we learn?

Royal Mail told workers may strike over alleged ‘fire and rehire’ plans

UK politics: Boris Johnson grilled by MPs at liaison committee – live

The Wanted singer Tom Parker dies from brain cancer aged 33

Deliveroo CEO pay rises by 16% to £600,000 – plus £5m in shares

Russian oligarchs on UK sanctions list were granted ‘golden visas’

Grenfell inquiry told government had ideological aversion to red tape

Yandex helps websites pushing false news make millions in advertising

UK judges withdraw from Hong Kong’s court of final appeal

John Menzies accepts takeover bid from Kuwaiti aviation services rival Agility

Labour and Tory rebels force disclosure of security advice on Lebedev peerage