Kristina O’Connor says detective who was investigating after men tried to steal her phone asked her out
A woman is taking legal action against the Metropolitan police after a detective who told her she was “amazingly hot” while investigating her attack kept his job.
Kristina O’Connor, now 33, said she was sent inappropriate messages by DCI James Mason after he responded to her report of an attempted robbery in October 2011.
Continue reading...Serial killer reportedly wrote letter detailing 1996 murders of mother and daughter in Kent
The serial killer Levi Bellfield has reportedly penned a letter confessing to the murders of mother and daughter Lin and Megan Russell in 1996.
The Sun revealed that lawyers acting for Michael Stone, who has twice been found guilty of the murders of Lin and Megan in Kent, have claimed to have received a statement written by Bellfield detailing the killings.
Continue reading...First in line to throne thanks Duchess of Cornwall for support as royal family paves way for her to take title of queen
The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to his “darling wife” the Duchess of Cornwall for her “steadfast support” after the Queen announced that Camilla will be known as “Queen Consort” when Charles becomes king.
In a statement released on Sunday, Charles heralded the Queen for the way her “devotion to the welfare of all her people inspires still greater admiration with each passing year”.
Continue reading...An exhibition of vivid photographs and a restored documentary give fresh insight into the Antarctic explorer, who died a century ago
One hundred years ago, the leader of the last great expedition of the heroic age of polar exploration died from a heart attack as his ship, Quest, headed for Antarctica. The announcement of the death of Ernest Shackleton on 30 January 1922 was greeted with an outpouring of national grief.
This was the man, after all, who had saved the entire crew of his ship Endurance – which had been crushed and sunk by ice in 1915 – by making a daring trip in a tiny open boat over 750 miles of polar sea to raise the alarm at a whaling station in South Georgia.
Continue reading...PM salutes Elizabeth II’s ‘unwavering dedication’ as she becomes first British monarch to celebrate platinum jubilee
Boris Johnson has paid tribute to the Queen’s “unwavering dedication to this nation” as she became the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee.
The Queen marks a historic 70 years on the throne on Sunday 6 February.
Continue reading...Monarch expresses ‘sincere wish’ in candid message marking 70th anniversary of her accession
The Queen has expressed her “sincere wish” that the Duchess of Cornwall becomes Queen Consort when Charles becomes king.
In a candid message marking the 70th anniversary of her accession, the monarch made clear her desire, unambiguously paving the way for Queen Camilla.
Continue reading...More MPs set to submit resignation demands as No 10 rejigs team
Boris Johnson’s desperate efforts to save his premiership were undermined on Saturday as one of his most loyal backbench supporters said it was now “inevitable” that Tory MPs would remove him from office over the “partygate” scandal.
In an interview with the Observer, Sir Charles Walker, a former vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, implored the prime minister to go of his own accord in the national interest, and likened events in the Tory party to a Greek tragedy.
Continue reading...The prime minister was widely criticised for repeating the slur that is widespread online – but extremists were delighted
A network of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and antisemites has celebrated Boris Johnson’s false claim that Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
Johnson was roundly criticised, including by some Tory MPs, after he made the accusation during an ill-tempered exchange in the Commons last Monday.
Continue reading...Hundreds still dying from Covid each day in the UK as fear of the virus wanes
The Covid booster campaign has stalled, and declining trust in the prime minister is part of the problem, say scientists.
Only 26,875 people in England had a third dose or booster on 1 February, the latest complete figures available, and 6 million people are at least six weeks overdue for their shot.
Continue reading...Culture secretary dismisses resignation calls over ‘partygate’ after another Tory says PM should go
The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, has rejected calls for Boris Johnson to resign in order to restore trust after the “partygate” scandal, claiming that the “vast majority” of the party were behind the prime minister.
It comes after the former schools minister, Nick Gibb, became the latest Conservative MP to publicly call for Johnson to go, citing constituents “furious about the double standards” and the prime minster’s “inaccurate” statements in the Commons.
Continue reading...Police issue ‘desperate’ appeal for information after burglary on Friday in Garretts Green
Police have appealed for help after a burglar stole an urn containing the ashes of a child.
West Midlands police said the urn was taken on Friday after someone broke into a home on Clopton Road in Garrett’s Green, Birmingham.
Continue reading...Andy Haldane says city’s crucible-like atmosphere created ‘combustion’ for economic prosperity
The government’s new levelling-up strategy should help Britain’s left-behind towns and cities emulate Renaissance Florence in cooking up the “secret sauce” of economic success, according to its co-author Andy Haldane.
The hefty report, published on Wednesday, was mocked by some for its frequent historical references – including to 15th-century Florence under the Medici – but Haldane, a former Bank of England chief economist, is deadly serious.
Continue reading...A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Mandalay to Montevideo
Continue reading...Some argue Boris Johnson’s wife is pulling the strings at No 10 but others note that claims contain more than a whiff of sexism
Boris Johnson’s inner circle imploded so spectacularly in recent days that only one close political confidante from the early days of No 10 remains: his wife, Carrie Johnson.
The most powerful prime ministerial spouse in recent memory, the 33-year-old Johnson has a job of her own for a wildlife charity, but multiple sources from Downing Street past and present say her influence on the prime minister’s operation is undeniable.
Continue reading...Marking 70 years on the throne will be a private occasion of mixed feelings for the monarch
Seventy years after becoming monarch far sooner than she could have anticipated, the Queen will mark the anniversary of her accession on Sunday at Sandringham, where her father George VI died aged 56 in 1952.
Though it has long been her custom to mark this milestone at the Norfolk estate, this year has added poignancy. The Duke of Edinburgh, her “strength and stay” during 73 years of marriage, and who broke news to her of the king’s death while they were thousands of miles away at a Kenyan game lodge, is no longer at her side.
Continue reading...As most UK countries start including reinfections in overall total, we look at why this is happening now
With reinfections now included in the daily Covid case numbers for most countries in the UK, we take a look at why the shift matters.
Continue reading...More than a dozen MPs have now called openly for prime minister to resign over lockdown parties scandal
Aaron Bell has become the latest Conservative MP to announce publicly that he has submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson.
More than a dozen MPs have called openly for the prime minister to resign, including the former defence secretary Tobias Ellwood and the backbenchers Peter Aldous and Anthony Mangnall. More are believed to have submitted letters privately.
Continue reading...Format might not have romance of vinyl but its versatility and reliability will never be topped, say supporters
After languishing in his car boot for several years, Jordan Bassett’s CD collection – mostly dating back to his teenage years – will soon be on proud display in his newly converted home office space.
Bassett, a commissioning editor at the NME, has no means of playing the CDs and, in any case, his musical tastes have moved on. But the 100-150 thin, shiny 5in discs have sentimental value – and, who knows, one day they may be part of a revival similar to vinyl among music aficionados.
Continue reading...Canadian Ashley Wadsworth was staying in Chelmsford with Jack Sepple, whom she met on dating app
The stepmother of a 19-year-old woman from Canada allegedly murdered in Essex as she visited the UK for the first time has paid tribute to her “strong, smart and witty” daughter.
Ashley Wadsworth, from Vernon, British Columbia, had reportedly never left Canada before arriving in the UK in November to stay with Jack Sepple in Chelmsford, Essex, whom she had met through an online dating app. She was due to fly home to see her family this week.
Continue reading...Anti-corruption activists criticise government inaction in face of years of Kremlin provocation
Britain’s efforts to halt the flow of Russian “dirty money” into the UK have been called into question in the aftermath of a threat by the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, to hit Kremlin-linked oligarchs with economic sanctions if Ukraine is attacked.
Labour and anti-corruption campaigners this week accused the government of failing to curtail Russian wealth and influence in Britain, despite years of provocative actions from the Kremlin.
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