Return of the sleazy party: the Conservatives and the Owen Paterson affair

As No 10 ham-fistedly let the scandal spread, was this about saving an old Brexit ally or protecting the PM himself?

A Conservative MP who entered parliament in 2010 began to receive what he described as a series of “unusually persistent” texts from his Tory whip last week. The member in question had been part of the Conservative intake that followed the parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009.

The arrival of this new group at Westminster – many of them with impressive previous careers outside politics – was supposed to demonstrate, as David Cameron said at the time, that his party was reforming its ways, ridding itself of sleaze.

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Irish police arrest British man on suspicion of threatening to kill MP

Person alleged to have made threat during a phone call to a female Labour politician

A British national has been arrested in Ireland on suspicion of making threats to kill a sitting Labour MP.

A 41-year-old man was detained in the Cork suburb of Douglas on Saturday and brought to the Brideswell Garda station for questioning.

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Woman arrested and fourth person dies after paddleboarding incident in Wales

Dyfed-Powys police say woman held on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter has been released under investigation

Police in Wales have arrested a woman on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter following a paddleboarding incident a week ago that has now claimed a fourth death.

The suspect, who police said was from south Wales, has been released under investigation.

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‘The time for change is now’: demonstrators around the world demand action on climate crisis

Up to 100,000, including Kahnawake Mohawk delegates, brave Glasgow rain as 22 arrested after scientists blockade bridge

People on almost every continent were gathering for marches and rallies on Saturday to mark a Global Day for Climate Justice, halfway through the Glasgow climate change summit.

Activists in the Philippines, eight hours ahead of the UK, had already finished their rally as protesters gathered in Scotland. There were also rallies in South Korea, Indonesia, the Netherlands and France. The Belgian arm of Extinction Rebellion occupied a street in Brussels.

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Eight police officers injured in clashes with protesters in Parliament Square

Anti-establishment Million Mask March group gathered to let off fireworks and demonstrate against the government

Eight police officers have been injured after clashing with hundreds of anti-establishment protesters in Parliament Square on Bonfire Night.

Demonstrators wearing Guy Fawkes-style masks had gathered at nearby Trafalgar Square at the annual Million Mask March with some throwing fireworks at officers.

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Activists from across the globe rally for Fridays for Future at Cop26 – video

Youth climate activists appeared sceptical about how genuine the political will to change is when they spoke at the Fridays for Future protest in Glasgow discussing youth empowerment.

 Campaigners and pressure groups have been underwhelmed by the commitments made by governments during the Cop26 conference's first week, many of which are voluntary or set deadlines decades away

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Brexit: EU warns of ‘serious consequences’ if UK invokes article 16

Maroš Šefčovič says Brussels has seen no concessions from UK side in Northern Ireland protocol dispute

Britain and the EU appear on the brink of a trade war after Brussels accused Boris Johnson of lacking sincerity in negotiations over Northern Ireland’s future and warned of “serious consequences” if Downing Street suspended the post-Brexit deal.

As he emerged from his latest tense meeting with the UK’s Brexit minister, the EU commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said that despite Brussels’ attempts to find a compromise, “we have seen no move at all from the UK side”.

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Bothy culture: a tour of the Highlands’ sustainable sanctuaries

Scotland’s newly reopened mountain bothies are shining examples of sustainable tourism. Our photographer takes us on a guided tour

The Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) charity has reopened its 105 mountain huts, shelters and howffs after more than a year of closure due to Covid. The overwhelming majority of these are in Scotland and they reopened in August for what the MBA described as “responsible use”, pointing out that Covid has not gone away. The bothies are all sorts of shapes and sizes in varied locations – many are extremely remote and operated with the agreement of owners and estates and maintained by MBA volunteers since the late 60s and early 70s.

Above,Allt nam Fang, approaching Meanach Bothy; right, Meanach Bothy, renovated in 1977, is approximately 1,000ft above sea level

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Will the UK trigger article 16 – and what will happen if it does?

How likely is it that Britain will trigger the Northern Ireland protocol clause, and could it lead to a trade war?

Fears are growing that the UK will trigger article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol, potentially rupturing the already strained relations with the EU. If current talks with the EU collapse, it is expected just after Cop26 in seven days’ time.

On Wednesday Ireland’s prime minister heightened concerns that this was now almost a racing certainty after his bluntest warning yet to the UK that such a move would be “reckless”, “irresponsible” and have “far-reaching consequences”.

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Welsh study shows impact of Covid on 10- and 11-year-olds

Children ate less healthily, took less exercise and had more emotional problems, say researchers

Children in the UK ate fewer vegetables, took less exercise and experienced worsening emotional difficulties following the Covid outbreak, according to a research study.

A biennial survey conducted by investigators at Cardiff University found that primary school-age children reported a sharp increase in “elevated or clinically significant emotional difficulties” in early 2021, compared with the same survey conducted in 2019.

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UN Palestine aid agency is ‘close to collapse’ after funding cuts

UK has cut relief grant for Palestinians by more than 50% from £42.5m in 2020 to £20.8m in 2021

Cuts to the budget of the UN’s relief agency for Palestinians – including a halving of the UK grant – means the agency is close to collapse, the head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, has said. The UK has cut its core grant by more than 50% from £42.5m in 2020 to £20.8m in 2021.

Lazzarini, the commissioner general of UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which serves Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza but also in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, said the agency was in an existential crisis due to a $100m (£74m) shortfall this year, but also because of a method of long-term funding that has proved unsustainable.

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Ventilate your home to stop Covid spread, government says

UK-wide campaign will ask people to open their windows for 10 minutes every hour when they are socialising

People are being urged to open their windows for 10 minutes every hour when they are socialising at home in an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19 as winter approaches.

Doctors and scientists are backing a government-funded campaign across all media platforms to encourage people to ventilate their home to help disperse virus particles.

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US judge sets January hearing for Prince Andrew lawyers in Virginia Giuffre case

Lawyers expected to argue for dismissal of Giuffre’s lawsuit accusing Duke of York of sexual abuse when she was under 18

A US federal judge in New York on Thursday scheduled a 4 January hearing where lawyers for Britain’s Prince Andrew are expected to argue for a dismissal of Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit accusing the Duke of York of sexually abusing her when she was under 18.

US district judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan issued the scheduling order one day after saying he expected Giuffre’s civil case to go to trial between September and December 2022, provided it is not settled or dismissed.

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Tories engulfed in sleaze crisis after U-turn and Owen Paterson resignation

Conservative MPs react with fury at ‘own goal’ after PM ditches bid to shield former minister from lobbying claims

Boris Johnson was engulfed in a sleaze crisis following a humiliating government U-turn that saw veteran Tory MP Owen Paterson resign from parliament after Downing Street ditched a bid to shield him from lobbying claims.

Tory MPs reacted with fury after Johnson withdrew his backing from Paterson, less than 24 hours after ordering them to support a controversial amendment tearing up House of Commons anti-sleaze rules to protect him.

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Vandalism of LGBT artwork is hate crime, say Merseyside police

Posters in Liverpool were destroyed after going on display in Homotopia festival’s Queer the City exhibition

Detectives are investigating after two artworks, commissioned in response to a series of homophobic and transphobic attacks in Liverpool, were destroyed. Merseyside police said they are treating the incidents as hate crime.

The artworks were vandalised within days of going on display as part of Homotopia festival’s Queer the City outdoor exhibition.

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MP Claudia Webbe given suspended sentence for harassing woman

Leicester East MP, once a key Labour figure, threatened to ‘use acid’ on friend of her partner, trial heard

The MP Claudia Webbe has been sentenced to 10 weeks in custody suspended for two years after being found guilty of a campaign of harassment, including threatening an acid attack, against a woman.

Webbe was found guilty of harassing Michelle Merritt, a friend of her partner, with threatening phone calls. A trial was told she had called Merritt a slag, threatened to “use acid” and said she would distribute naked pictures of Merritt to her family.

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The British army has serious questions to answer about the alleged killing of Agnes Wanjiru | Gaby Hinsliff

When the Kenyan woman died nine years ago, the army closed ranks – it’s time to find out what happened and why

The last time 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru was seen alive in public, she was leaving a hotel bar with two soldiers.

Her body was found by a hotel worker two months later, stuffed into a nearby septic tank, naked but for her bra. The mother of a five-month-old baby, Agnes was a hairdresser who turned to sex work to support herself and her daughter, and had gone to the hotel expecting it to be full of partying British soldiers. An inquest later concluded that one or more of them must have killed her.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

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MP Owen Paterson resigns from ‘cruel world of politics’

Tory MP was facing suspension after standards watchdog found he had broken lobbying rules

Owen Paterson has announced his resignation as MP for North Shropshire, after Boris Johnson made clear he would no longer seek to prevent the former cabinet minister from being punished by parliament for lobbying.

“I will remain a public servant but outside the cruel world of politics,” the MP for North Shropshire said in a statement.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

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UK is first to approve oral antiviral pill to treat Covid

Pill can be taken twice daily at home and priority will be given to elderly patients and those with health vulnerabilities

The UK medicines regulator has become the first in the world to approve an oral antiviral pill for Covid in a move that paves the way for tens of thousands of vulnerable patients to receive the treatment from this winter.

Nearly half a million doses of molnupiravir, a pill that can be taken twice daily at home, are due for delivery from mid-November and will be given as a priority to elderly Covid patients and those with particular vulnerabilities, such as weakened immune systems. The drug will initially be given to patients through a national study run by the NHS.

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Goldsmith family funded Boris Johnson’s Marbella holiday

Update to register of ministerial interests does not specify how much PM’s break last month was worth

Boris Johnson has admitted receiving a free holiday at a luxurious Spanish villa linked to Zac Goldsmith, the former MP who was given a peerage and job by the prime minister.

The latest update to the register of ministerial interests revealed that Johnson’s near week-long stay in the Marbella property in October was funded by the Goldsmith family.

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