Category Archives: UK news

Sister of murdered UK backpacker ‘died in hospital after leading fight for justice’

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Inquest into death of Laura Daniels hears she travelled to Thailand for trial of Hannah Witheridge’s killers despite serious health problems

The sister of the murdered British backpacker Hannah Witheridge died in hospital after leading the fight for justice for her sibling and travelling to Thailand despite being seriously ill, an inquest heard.

Laura Daniels, a paediatric nurse, died in 2019 aged 30 after years of complications following surgery, five years after her 23-year-old sister was killed.

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German police arrest Briton on suspicion of spying for Russia

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Employee at British embassy in Berlin suspected of passing on documents in exchange for cash

German police have arrested a British man who worked at the British embassy in Berlin on suspicion of spying for Russian intelligence in exchange for cash bribes, according to prosecutors.

Germany’s highest public prosecutor said the man, identified only as David S, was arrested at his Potsdam apartment at 2.20pm on Tuesday, and his home and embassy workplace were searched.

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UK orders extra Covid vaccines for autumn 2022 booster campaign

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Pfizer reportedly asked to supply 35m more doses, with final go-ahead for this year’s programme still awaited

Ministers have started ordering vaccines for a booster campaign in autumn 2022, with Pfizer reportedly being asked to supply the UK with a further 35m doses.

The government has still not give the final go-ahead for the vaccine booster programme expected this autumn, but it is understood to have placed the order with Pfizer despite the company raising its prices.

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Prince Andrew cannot ignore US court case, says accuser’s lawyer

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Virginia Giuffre’s lawyer says it ‘would be very ill-advised for Prince Andrew to ignore judicial process’

Prince Andrew cannot hide behind his wealth and power from allegations he sexually abused a child, a lawyer for his accuser has said, warning the duke that he risks a “default judgment” if he ignores the civil case brought against him in the US.

David Boies, representing Virginia Giuffre, has said he and his client have tried everything they can to resolve the matter after alleging that the Duke of York had sex with her while she was 17 – knowing she had been trafficked by his former friend, the disgraced former financier Jeffrey Epstein.

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Peaceophobia: Muslim men who love their modified motors

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Mistaken for drug dealers? Monitored by police? A new play staged in a Bradford car park weaves stories of everyday racism, faith and petrolheads


“I don’t go out, I don’t really go clubbing, I don’t drink, I don’t do none of that,” says Sohail Hussain, who is explaining how all encompassing his hobby is. “All my money goes on cars – for me it’s an investment.”

Hussain is one of three actors starring in Peaceophobia, a piece from collaborative theatre company Common Wealth and Fuel that interweaves stories about Islam, faith and modified car culture. Set in a car park in Bradford, the three drivers – Casper Ahmed, Mohammad Ali Yunis and Hussain – chat pistons and prayer over the constant hum of engine noise and tension.

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TB or not TB? Why Geronimo the alpaca has divided experts

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Analysis: fate of condemned camelid shines light on one of the UK’s greatest animal health threats

Long-necked, mop-headed and allegedly “a bit grumpy”, Geronimo the alpaca may seem an unlikely cause célèbre.

Yet the future of the eight-year-old camelid has divided experts, stirred some tabloids into indignant fury, and provoked campaigners – known as “alpaca angels” – to march through London.

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Insanity the common verdict on suicides in 18th century England

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Official records contrast with witness evidence of loneliness and physical decline among older people in Georgian society

By the time he reached his 60s Isaac Hendley could look back proudly on his life as a shoemaker in 18th century London. But when he looked forward he could only see the shame of being “passed to his parish” since his “bodily infirmities” meant the end of his independence and self-reliance.

After a year of grappling with his physical deterioration and fears that “he should come to want”, Hendley took his own life in 1797. An inquest recorded the state of his mind according to the testimonies of friends and colleagues.

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Economic recovery from Covid ‘running out of steam’ – OECD

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Data collected from 38 member countries says UK among the major economies now in the slow lane

The world’s major economies have seen their rapid recovery after easing Covid restrictions begin to run out of steam in the past month as a resurgence in the virus depressed consumer spending, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

There are signs that the recovery in the US and Japan is losing momentum, the OECD said, while parts of Europe and China have slowed as consumers remain reluctant to eat out, visit attractions and shop as they did before the pandemic.

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Global food supplies will suffer as temperatures rise – climate crisis report

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Politicians around world continue to respond to report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Food production around the world will suffer as global heating reaches 1.5C, with serious effects on the food supply in the next two decades, scientists have warned, following the biggest scientific report yet on the climate crisis.

Rising temperatures will mean there will be more times of year when temperatures exceed what crops can stand, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its sixth assessment report published on Monday.

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Emergency Brexit powers for lorry queues to be made permanent

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Exclusive: ministers to make traffic provisions indefinite in expectation of further cross-Channel disruption

Emergency powers to handle post-Brexit queues of lorries heading for France are being made permanent, signalling the government expects further cross-Channel disruption.

Operation Brock, a traffic management system designed to cope with queues of up to 13,000 lorries heading for mainland Europe across Kent, was meant to end by October 2021, after being extended once when the Brexit transition period ended in December 2020.

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Why is Virginia Giuffre suing Prince Andrew and what could happen next?

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As the alleged victim of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein files a lawsuit in New York, how will taking the action in the US affect the case?

On Monday, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an alleged victim of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew in federal court in New York. What has prompted her to take action now, and what may happen next?

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Statement of intent: boy raises £640k with 500-night camp out

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Max Woosey, 11, hoped to secure £100 for a Devon hospice but his charity pitch became a marathon

Max Woosey has woken up in his tent in the depths of winter, teeth chattering, his sleeping bag and blankets coated with frost. The 11-year-old was almost tempted indoors one night when his tent blew down in a storm but he repitched and carried on.

This summer there have been some uncomfortably hot, sticky nights, especially after the family labradoodle, Digby, took to snuggling in with Max and licking his face at all hours.

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Israel’s shadow war with Iran

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A spate of attacks on one of the world’s busiest shipping trade routes is part of an escalating tit-for-tat conflict playing out between Iran and Israel, says Martin Chulov, the Guardian’s Middle East correspondent

In the last week of July, an oil tanker managed by an Israeli company was making a routine journey from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates when it was hit by an explosive, believed to be a drone. Two men, a Romanian and a British national, were killed in the attack. The Israeli government immediately blamed Iran who has denied any part in it.

The Guardian’s Middle East correspondent, Martin Chulov, tells Nosheen Iqbal that it is the latest action in what is now a rapidly escalating ‘shadow war’ between Israel and Iran. With both countries under new leadership in recent weeks, there is an added layer of unpredictability to relations that have been tense for some time.

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Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre sues Prince Andrew

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Giuffre accuses Andrew of sexual abuse at Epstein’s mansion when she was under 18

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an alleged victim of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, on Monday filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew in federal court in New York.

She accused the British royal of sexually abusing her at Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan and at other locations in 2001 when she was under the age of 18, according to court records. Prince Andrew has denied having sex with her.

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Think it’s all over? Why the Covid experts are not so sure about that

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Analysis: the end of restrictions in the UK has not led to a surge in cases, but coronavirus remains unpredictable

They are questions lurking in many people’s minds: just how upbeat or pessimistic should we be about the pandemic now? How does the UK compare with other countries? And is the worst of the crisis really over?

Two weeks after “freedom day” in England and with case numbers across the UK remaining lower than some modellers had feared, the worst seems to have eased. Future lockdowns, according to experts, seem unlikely unless new variants emerge.

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Disruption as Tower Bridge stuck open after ‘technical failure’

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Bridge opened on Monday to allow wooden ship through, before its arms got stuck in raised position

A technical fault has left Tower Bridge stuck open, causing major rush-hour traffic problems in the capital with pedestrians and vehicles unable to cross.

The London landmark, one of several bridges over the River Thames that connects central and southern parts of the city, was scheduled to open this afternoon to allow a large wooden tall ship to pass through. But City of London police said the 127-year-old bridge had been closed to traffic and pedestrians after a “technical failure” left it stuck in its raised position.

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Vodafone to reintroduce roaming fees for UK customers in Europe

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Provider joins EE in bringing back charges for people to use their phone in mainland Europe from next year

Vodafone is to reintroduce charges for UK customers who use their phones in Europe, despite Britain’s biggest mobile companies previously saying that they would not bring back roaming costs after Brexit.

Vodafone said new customers and those upgrading will have to pay up to £2 a day to use their monthly allowance of data, calls and text messages in mainland Europe.

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Business chief calls on PM to save north-east from Brexit damage

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James Ramsbotham, CEO of North East England Chamber of Commerce, says letter sent to Boris Johnson remains unanswered

A letter to Boris Johnson sent a fortnight ago by James Ramsbotham called on the prime minister to save the north-east from the “damage being done to our economy” by Brexit and urged him to give it his “most urgent and personal attention”. Two weeks later, it remains unanswered.

Ramsbotham is the chief executive of the North East England Chamber of Commerce and speaks for thousands of businesses caught by the red tape and extra costs of complying with EU rules. In a recent survey, 38% of members said sales to Europe had fallen since January.

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UK allows quarantine-free travel from France – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. You can find all of our coverage of the pandemic here.

This blog is closing now but thanks very much for reading. We’ll be back in a few hours with more rolling coverage of the pandemic from all around the world.

In the meantime you can catch up with all our coverage of the pandemic here.

Tunisia launched a Covid-19 vaccination drive for the over-40s, after receiving more than six million doses from abroad to combat surging infections.

The health ministry said 551,008 people had been given jabs in more than 300 centres across the country, in what was billed as an “open day” for vaccinations, AFP reports.

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Vets say law is clear and Geronimo the alpaca must be put down

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Specialists including Defra bovine tuberculosis expert say positive tests indicate danger to public health

The row over his fate has captured the public’s imagination – with a petition to save him gathering nearly 100,000 signatures and his friendly, furry face splashing newspaper front pages. But vets have cautioned that the law is clear: Geronimo the alpaca must be put down.

The six-year-old animal is facing a death sentence after twice testing positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB), a deadly respiratory disease that has blighted the countryside for decades.

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