Jeff Blair, 55, who was attacked while on duty in Shildon, died in hospital after sustaining serious injuries
A man has been charged with the murder of a court bailiff who was attacked while he was at work.
Jeff Blair, 55, died in hospital after he sustained serious injuries while on duty in Shildon, County Durham on Tuesday.
Continue reading...PM has apologised for his handling of Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, but next tranche of files could contain further damaging details
Keir Starmer could suffer further resignations when ministerial WhatsApp messages are published in the next tranche of the Peter Mandelson files, senior government sources have told the Guardian.
With officials bracing for the subsequent releases – expected to include informal communications alongside formal messages like those in the first batch – Starmer apologised again on Thursday over his handling of Mandelson’s appointment, saying: “It was me that made a mistake, and it’s me that makes the apology to the victims of [Jeffrey] Epstein, and I do that.”
Continue reading...Defence secretary connects Middle East conflict to plight of Ukraine, sympathy for which remains relatively high
After a week or so of wearing media coverage about the deterioration of the Anglo-American relationship and the belated decision to deploy Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon to Cyprus, it was time to move the conversation on.
On a visit to the UK’s permanent military headquarters in Northwood, north-west London, the defence secretary, John Healey, asked two senior British military officers if there was “any sign of a link between Russia and Iran” in the sprawling conflict that has suddenly engulfed the Middle East.
Continue reading...Amanda Wixon, 56, sentenced to 13 years for keeping victim imprisoned at home in Gloucestershire since 1990s
A woman imprisoned and forced to work for a mother of 10 for more than a quarter of a century in “Dickensian” conditions has said nothing can give her back her lost years as her abuser was sentenced to 13 years.
The woman, who was held by Amanda Wixon in Tewkesbury, said: “For 25 years I lived in fear, control and abuse. I was treated as though my life, my freedom and my voice did not matter. The trauma and the nightmares are something I still carry with me every day.”
Continue reading...Pilots reportedly adopting Russian tactics as statement in name of new Iranian supreme leader vows continued attacks on US bases
Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” lies behind Iran’s military methods, the UK defence secretary has said, after a night in which drones struck a base used by western forces in Erbil, northern Iraq.
John Healey was speaking after British officers at the UK’s military headquarters in north-west London told him that drone pilots from Iran and Iranian proxies were increasingly adopting tactics “from the Russians”.
Continue reading...Supporter mistakenly travelled to St James Park ground instead of Newcastle namesake (save for an apostrophe)
The two stadiums are 366 miles apart. One holds more than 50,000 people, the other less than 10,000. The buzz as you walk up to the two grounds is a little different.
But nevertheless, one Barcelona fan appeared not to have realised that he was at the wrong ground and tried to get through the turnstiles at Exeter City’s modest stadium (St James Park), rather than Newcastle United’s hulking one (St James’ Park).
Continue reading...After latest concert cancellation, singer also describes Valencia hotel as ‘indescribable hell’ that will require ‘one year to recover’ from
British singer Morrissey has cancelled a concert in Valencia after being left sleep-deprived during the city’s notoriously noisy Las Fallas festival.
A statement on his website said: “Having travelled for two days by road, Morrissey reached the hotel in Valencia late on Wednesday. Any form of sleep or rest throughout the night was impossible due to festival noise/loud techno singing/megaphone announcements.”
Continue reading...Programme which supports schemes in six African countries was previously hailed as vital protection for Britain against future pandemics
A flagship health project in Africa, which UK ministers said would play a vital role in protecting Britain from future pandemic threats, is being axed due to aid cuts, the Guardian can reveal.
The Global Health Workforce Programme (GHWP) which supported development and training for healthcare staff in six African countries, will close at the end of the month, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.
Continue reading...Proposed package comes after regulator finds ‘serious and unacceptable breaches’ in how company operates
Welsh Water is to pay a proposed £44.7m after the industry regulator found “serious and unacceptable” breaches in the supplier’s sewage and network services.
Ofwat said Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water failed to properly operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater network to ensure it could cope with levels of sewage and wastewater, and did not have adequate processes in place or oversight by senior bosses.
Continue reading...TV star announces birth of Ozzy Matilda Osbourne on social media, alongside image of cuddly bat
Jack Osbourne, the only son of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, has honoured his late father by naming his baby daughter after him.
Jack, 40, announced the birth of Ozzy Matilda Osbourne on social media alongside his wife, Aree, who he married in 2023. The newborn Ozzy was pictured lying next to a cuddly bat toy: another reference to his father, who famously bit the head off a real bat during a 1982 concert believing it was made of rubber.
Continue reading...TV star announces birth of Ozzy Matilda Osbourne on social media, alongside image of cuddly bat
Jack Osbourne, the only son of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, has honoured his late father by naming his baby daughter after him.
Jack, 40, announced the birth of Ozzy Matilda Osbourne on social media alongside his wife, Aree, who he married in 2023. The newborn Ozzy was pictured lying next to a cuddly bat toy: another reference to his father, who famously bit the head off a real bat during a 1982 concert believing it was made of rubber.
Continue reading...The fox is said to be ‘settling in well’ after mischievous 3,400 mile journey from Southampton to New York
A sly fox slipped on to a cargo ship and travelled from Southampton to New York, according to officials at Bronx Zoo.
The zoo, which is looking after the animal, said it appears healthy after early examinations.
Continue reading...Payment of 2% at employee-owned partnership follows sales increase to £13.4bn
The owner of John Lewis and Waitrose has paid an annual bonus to workers for the first time in four years after underlying profits rose by 6%.
The retail group’s 69,000 employees – which it calls partners – will share £35m, the equivalent of 2% of salary, after it recorded an increase in sales and profits. The payout amounts to about one extra week of pay.
Continue reading...Business lobby groups say ‘taking the risk’ of employing less experienced workers is being avoided
British companies are struggling to afford to hire young people after a long period of rising costs that have hit profit margins and derailed recruitment plans, business leaders have said.
Rising labour costs including increases to the minimum wage and employer’s national insurance by the government have put young people at the back of the queue when employers consider recruitment, business lobby groups have told MPs.
Continue reading...Ex-peer sacked as US ambassador over Epstein links was offered £75,000, documents released by Cabinet Office show
Peter Mandelson was offered a severance payment of £75,000 after initially asking the Foreign Office to pay him more than £500,000 upon his sacking as US ambassador, newly released documents reveal.
Exchanges in the documents released by the Cabinet Office suggested that officials did “well to get this settlement down this low with minimal fuss”, after Mandelson was forced to resign as ambassador to the US because of newly disclosed details about his long friendship with the disgraced financier Jeffery Epstein.
Continue reading...Police say 16-year-old being questioned and teenage girl taken to hospital with minor injuries
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after a teenage girl was allegedly stabbed at a school in Norwich.
Police were called to the school in Thorpe St Andrew, in the east of the city, at 10.24am after reports that a teenage girl had been stabbed. Emergency services attended the scene, including firefighters and paramedics.
Continue reading...RSPCA say animals could become ‘hidden victims’ of conflict as charities in Gulf city report being overwhelmed
Thousands of pets are being abandoned in Dubai as their owners flee the Middle East because of the Iran war, animal charities have said.
The RSPCA said pets of fleeing UK nationals could become “hidden victims” of the conflict as people who had relocated to the Gulf city scramble for an exit and struggle to bring their animals.
Continue reading...Documents filed at Companies House over 2022 deal could complicate row with UK over how money will be used
Jersey authorities may be investigating whether cash raised by Roman Abramovich’s 2022 sale of Chelsea FC amounts to the proceeds of crime, according to documents filed at Companies House on Wednesday, potentially complicating a row with the UK government over how the money will be used.
Accounts for Fordstam Ltd, the company through which the billionaire Russian oligarch owned Chelsea, show that the proceeds of the sale – currently frozen and gathering interest in a Barclays Bank account – have risen to £2.4bn.
Continue reading...Destroyer leaves Portsmouth a week after deployment was announced following drone attack on RAF base in Cyprus
The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon departed Portsmouth on Tuesday afternoon for the eastern Mediterranean after six days of hasty preparation and a week after its deployment was announced by the prime minister.
The warship is expected to take between five and seven days to arrive off the coast of Cyprus, where it will be able to defend against drone and missile attacks from Iran or its proxies in Lebanon or Iraq.
Continue reading...Academic Shereen Daniels says plan by Mark Rowley to absorb police’s race policies into broader anti-discrimination programme is backward step
The Metropolitan police has been accused of insulting black people and mocking the pain it has caused them after revealing it wants to absorb its anti-racism strategy into a broader anti-discrimination scheme.
The Met said the scheme, also including gender and sexual orientation, will increase its chance of success in better serving groups it has failed in the past.
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