Category Archives: UK news

Sarah Harding, singer with Girls Aloud, dies aged 39 from breast cancer

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Fans and figures from show business pay tribute to pop star who was diagnosed in August 2020 and wrote memoir during her illness

The pop singer and TV personality Sarah Harding, who had 21 UK Top 10 singles as a member of Girls Aloud, has died aged 39 from breast cancer.

Her mother, Marie, announced her death on Instagram, prompting a flood of tributes from fans and figures from show business. Geri Horner, the Spice Girls singer and a judge on the TV talent show that created Girls Aloud, wrote: “Rest in peace, Sarah Harding. You’ll be remembered for the light and joy you brought to the world. X”

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Claudia Lawrence: police find no new clues in lake search

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‘Nothing of obvious significance’ found at gravel pits near York as part of inquiry into disappearance of chef

Police have said “nothing of obvious significance” was found during a search of a lake as part of the investigation into the disappearance of university chef Claudia Lawrence.

Teams of police experts, search dogs, divers and forensic archaeologists spent two weeks scouring the lake and nearby woods as the murder probe continues.

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Social media giants increase global child safety after UK regulations introduced

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TikTok, Twitter and Facebook among companies bringing in new measures worldwide that protect children

TikTok has turned off notifications for children past bedtime, Instagram has disabled targeted adverts for under-18s entirely and YouTube has turned off autoplay for teen users: moves seemingly triggered by Britain introducing a new set of regulations aimed at protecting children online.

On Thursday the UK introduced a new set of regulations aimed at protecting children and at a stroke became a global leader in the field, with the prospect of multimillion-dollar fines for companies that breach its new “age appropriate design code” leading to a cascade of last-minute changes across some of Silicon Valley’s largest players.

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Nadhim Zahawi: vaccine passports necessary to keep large venues in England open – video

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Certification process will be required for nightclubs, mass events and large venues in England by the end of September, the vaccines minister has confirmed, saying that would allow businesses to stay open during the winter months if Covid-19 surges. Zahawi said the government wanted to 'make sure the whole economy remains open' through the autumn amid fears that a return to school could set off a new wave of infections

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Prince Charles’s former aide steps down as charity boss amid conduct inquiry

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Michael Fawcett, who was CEO of Prince’s Foundation, faces claims about honour for a Saudi businessman

A former aide to the Prince of Wales has stepped down temporarily from his role as a charity boss while an investigation into allegations about his conduct takes place.

Michael Fawcett, a former assistant valet to Charles, has stepped down as chief executive of the Prince’s Foundation amid claims about an honour relating to Saudi businessman Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz.

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Grenfell Tower set to be demolished over safety concerns

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Structural experts have ‘unambiguously’ advised that building poses a risk and should be carefully taken down

Ministers are expected to announce this month that Grenfell Tower will be demolished because of safety concerns, more than four years after the fire that killed 72 people.

Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary, has been told that the building poses a risk to the local community including the Kensington Aldridge Academy in west London, a secondary school located near the charred remains.

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Home Office says delays at Heathrow are ‘unacceptable’

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Border staff left dealing with backlog of travellers as reports emerge of people fainting in three-hour queues

Delays at Heathrow airport have been described as “unacceptable” by the Home Office, af reports of passengers fainting in queues of up to three hours.

Border staff were left dealing with a huge backlog of travellers, with witnesses saying they had seen people – including a pregnant woman – passing out while queueing.

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‘A kick in the teeth’: British mothers and pregnant women fear return to workplace

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Companies recalling staff this month have been accused of not offering flexitime and failing to protect employees

Before the pandemic, every morning and night was a cycle of stress and rushing around for single mother Emma Woodburn, getting her two young sons to and from school, childcare before and after work and staying on top of housework.

But when, 18 months ago, the 39-year-old from Lancashire was told by her employer she could work from home, everything changed. “It was like a weight was lifted. It was less rush in the morning. I could put the washing on throughout the day and hang it out on my dinner break. It just felt easier.”

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David Frost: Irish Sea row risks damaging UK-EU relations long term

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Minister says government will not ‘sweep away’ NI Brexit protocol, but renews demands for major changes

The UK will not “sweep away” the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol, despite renewed calls for its abolition by the Democratic Unionist party, the Brexit minister has said.

However, David Frost renewed his demands for fundamental changes on its implementation, warning the row could have a long-term chilling effect on wider EU-UK relations unless it was resolved.

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Coronavirus live news: UK continues debate over jabs for children; Australia records highest daily cases

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Sage expert responds to UK watchdog’s decision not to recommend vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds; 1,756 infections in Australia on Saturday

Vaccine passport restrictions in France could be eased if rates of Covid-19 infections in the country begin to slow, the labour minister, Élisabeth Borne, said on Saturday.

“The health situation is improving. If this is confirmed, we will be able to ease the rules,” Reuters quoted Borne telling France Inter radio, adding that this could be decided “in the coming days”.

In another sporting cancellation, the boxer Oscar De La Hoya has said his comeback fight due for next weekend has been cancelled after he caught Covid.

Wanted you to hear directly from me that despite being fully vaccinated, I have contracted Covid and am not going to be able to fight next weekend. Preparing for this comeback has been everything to me over the last months, & I want to thank everyone for their tremendous support. pic.twitter.com/0wKEnr5Jzv

I am currently in the hospital getting treatment and am confident I will be back in the ring before the year is up. God bless everyone and stay safe.

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Hilary Mantel: I am ashamed to live in nation that elected this government

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Double Booker prize winner tells La Repubblica she may take Irish citizenship to feel European again

Hilary Mantel has said she feels “ashamed” by the UK government’s treatment of migrants and asylum seekers and is intending to become an Irish citizen to “become a European again”.

In a wide-ranging interview with La Repubblica, the twice Booker prize-winning novelist also gave her view on the monarchy, told how endometriosis has “devastated my life”, and how Boris Johnson “should not be in public life”. She also addresses the criticism of JK Rowling and her stance on transgender rights.

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PM’s former aide blames Whitehall for Covid ‘mixed messages’

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Lee Cain says pandemic exposed a communications system ill equipped for the 21st century

Boris Johnson’s former director of communications has blamed a lack of expertise in Whitehall for the government’s struggle to get its message across in the early days of the Covid crisis.

Lee Cain was a key adviser to Johnson, who boasted about shaking hands on a hospital visit, claimed the government could “turn the tide” within 12 weeks, and said it would be “inhuman” to cancel Christmas, days before ordering millions of people to spend the festive season at home.

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Father, 86, dies trying to rescue disabled daughter from canal

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Lawrence Casey went into Bude canal in Cornwall after daughter Jessica lost control of mobility scooter

An 86-year-old man has died while attempting to rescue his disabled daughter from a canal.

Lawrence Casey went into Bude canal in north Cornwall to rescue his daughter Jessica after she suddenly lost control of her mobility scooter and plunged into the water.

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Spencer review – Princess Diana’s disastrous marriage makes a magnificent farce

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Kristen Stewart’s entirely compelling Di has no escape from the dress-up game of monarchy in Pablo Larraín’s unreverential movie

Sandringham, Christmas 1991. Bare trees, frosted fields, dead pheasants on the drive. Inside the grand house the dining table has been laid in readiness, but one of the principal guests – arguably the main course – is running late and lost. She grinds her car to a halt, tosses her perfect hair in frustration. “Where the fuck am I?” asks Diana, Princess of Wales.

And so begins this extraordinary film, which bills itself as “a fable from a true tragedy” and spotlights three days in the dissolution of Charles and Di’s marriage. Working off a sharp script by Steven Knight, Chilean director Pablo Larraín spins the headlines and scandals into a full-blown Gothic nightmare, an opulent ice palace of a movie with shades of Rebecca at the edges and a pleasing bat-squeak of absurdity in its portrayal of the royals. Larraín’s approach to the material is rich and intoxicating and altogether magnificent. I won’t call it majestic. That would do this implicitly republican film a disservice.

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Abba singles race to top of streaming charts in comeback triumph

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Swedish pop group shows cross-generational appeal, amassing 5.5m likes on TikTok since 1 September

Two singles released from Abba’s first album in 40 years have raced to the top of the streaming charts, in a comeback that has generated praise and excitement among fans who remember the original releases and a new younger audience.

The first two singles from Abba’s forthcoming album, to be released on 5 November, were in first and third place on YouTube’s trending rankings in 12 countries on Friday, including the UK. I Still Have Faith In You gained 4.4m views within 24 hours in Britain and Don’t Shut Me Down 1.4m views.

In a further confirmation of the Scandinavian pop band’s cross-generational appeal, Abba have already amassed 991,000 followers and 5.5m likes on TikTok despite only joining the platform on 1 September.

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Stress test: how ‘burnout breaks’ are helping staff recover from pandemic

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Businesses are becoming increasingly aware that exhaustion is a ticking timebomb

This week, staff at Nike’s headquarters in Oregon breathed a prolonged sigh of relief, after learning that they were getting a week off to de-stress and recover from the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In an open message to staff posted on LinkedIn, Nike’s senior manager of global marketing science, Matt Marrazzo, told staff: “In a year (or two) unlike any other, taking time for rest and recovery is key to performing well and staying sane.”

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Security operation for Queen’s death includes social media blackouts

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Secret documents reveal scale of funeral strategy and government anxieties over resources

The UK government’s vast security operation to manage the immediate aftermath of the death of the Queen include official social media blackouts and a ban on retweets.

These plans, codenamed Operation London Bridge, which were first revealed in a Guardian Long Read in 2017 and have now been seen in full by Politico, detail the scale of the arrangements for the funeral and government anxieties about whether the UK has the resources to execute them.

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British-born Islamic State terror suspect pleads guilty to multiple charges

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Alexanda Amon Kotey, one of a gang of four IS militants, admits to hostage taking and conspiracy to murder in US court

A British terrorist accused of beheading western hostages for Islamic State has pleaded guilty to multiple charges in a US federal court.

Alexanda Amon Kotey, 37, was one of the gang of four IS militants nicknamed “the Beatles” by their captives due to their British accents.

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Priti Patel orders review into effects of nitrous oxide

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Possession could be criminalised as home secretary vows to ‘take tough action’ on use of laughing gas

Possession of nitrous oxide, one of the most popular drugs among 16- to 24-year-olds, could be criminalised after the home secretary ordered experts to review its effects.

Priti Patel said she was ready to “take tough action” on the widespread use of laughing gas, which is taken mostly through balloons filled from small metal cylinders often seen littering areas around nightclubs and music festivals.

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