Category Archives: UK news

Police step in as ‘free Palestine’ chanters approach pro-Israel rally in London

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Small group of men tried to enter protest area in Kensington waving Palestinian flags

Police officers stepped in after a small group of people chanting “free Palestine” approached a gathering of pro-Israel protesters in London.

The large crowd, which gathered in Kensington High Street on Sunday afternoon, waved Israeli flags and banners and chanted loudly, while speeches were made. Footage circulating on social media appeared to show the English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, among the attenders.

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It’s cold and wet, but Scarborough is a beacon of normality for families

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The weather couldn’t dampen spirits as the Yorkshire resort’s hoteliers and guests celebrated the return of domestic travel

The sky was overcast, a chill wind blew in from the sea, and everyone was wearing coats. But for four-year-old Caitlin and two-year-old Jim, there was little to complain about – they were on a beach and they were building sandcastles.

For their parents, Lindsay and Jim Roger, a week’s holiday in the North Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough was a blessed relief. Lindsay is a nurse who has been working on Covid wards, while Jim works in construction. As key workers with young children, lockdown has been difficult but they were “really pleased” to be able to travel again. “It’s just nice to get out and nice to see the sea,” Jim said. “It makes such a change from the house and the garden.”

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Bob Dylan at 80 – a little Minnesota town celebrates its famous son

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Hibbing, the birthplace of the musician, is paying tribute with a year of special events

Bob Dylan’s debut 1962 single began: “I got mixed-up confusion; man, it’s a-killin’ me”. It hasn’t yet – he turns 80 on Monday, and the pre-eminent custodian of American roots music, with its storytelling and protest traditions, is set to be celebrated by a public avalanche of events, programmes and tributes.

The occasion will be marked in his birthplace of Hibbing, Minnesota – where, inspired by the sounds of country and blues music drifting up from the south on AM radio, he wrote in his high-school yearbook that his ambition was to join Little Richard. St Louis county, in which Hibbing sits, has issued a proclamation declaring a “Year of Dylan Celebration”.

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Far-right attack inevitable, warns informant who identified London nail bomber

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Undercover agent who identified 1999 attacker says police are failing to keep pace with online spread of extreme ideology

An undercover informant who identified the man behind Britain’s deadliest far-right attack has warned that a similar atrocity is inevitable due to the spread of extreme ideology online.

The mole, codenamed “Arthur”, told his handler, who then informed the police, that David Copeland was behind a series of attacks that killed three and injured more than 100 over a bombing campaign lasting less than two weeks in 1999.

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How Britons are cutting stress in half: throw an axe in it

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Forget bowling nights and bar-hopping – the thud of metal in wood is the new way of letting off steam

On a blustery Thursday evening, the sound of deep thuds and high shrieks can be heard along the canal in east London’s Hackney Wick. They emanate from axe-throwing venue Skeeters, named after the famous native American axe and knife thrower. It might sound unnerving, but head inside and the fairy lights – plus colleagues enjoying a work social – soon put you at ease.

“It’s been a stressful year at work so it seemed like a good work social,” says Gemma Sutton, a 27-year-old product designer who tonight tried axe throwing for the first time. “It was fun. Most things you do as work socials involve going to a bar – it was nice to do something a bit different.”

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GPs stricken by long Covid ‘shocked and betrayed’ at being forced from jobs

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Unions demand fair compensation for dozens of doctors now unable to work because of debilitating symptoms

Family doctors are being forced out of their jobs after developing long Covid, prompting demands for the government to compensate NHS staff with the debilitating condition who cannot work.

GPs struggling with the condition have told the Observer they felt “shocked and betrayed” when their colleagues removed them from their posts because of prolonged sick leave.

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BBC interview did not harm Diana, claims Martin Bashir

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Journalist defends 1995 Panorama special saying he and Diana stayed friends after the broadcast

Martin Bashir has said he “never wanted to harm” Diana, Princess of Wales with the Panorama interview, adding: “I don’t believe we did.”

The journalist’s reputation is in tatters following Lord Dyson’s report that he used “deceitful behaviour” to land his world exclusive 1995 interview.

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Pfizer and AstraZeneca ‘highly effective’ against India Covid variant

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A Public Health England study has revealed the vaccines can be up to 88% effective after a second dose

Both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs are highly effective at protecting people from the strain of the Covid-19 virus first found in India, a study by Public Health England (PHE) has found.

The analysis, carried out between 5 April and 16 May, found the Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the India variant two weeks after a second dose, compared with 93% effectiveness against the Kent strain. For its part, the AstraZeneca jab was 60% effective, compared with 66% against the Kent variant over the same period.

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AstraZeneca chief hits back at ‘armchair generals’ after criticism

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Pascal Soriot defends firm and says its booster jab has performed well against new Covid variants in trials

The chief executive of AstraZeneca has defended the company against “armchair generals” and said its vaccine has a future.

Pascal Soriot disclosed the UK had priority access to the jab in a deal with Oxford University in return for investment and that it was only slightly less effective against the India variant than the strain identified in Kent.

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One year on, how George Floyd’s murder has changed the world

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The killing of Floyd by a white officer reflected a common history of violence against Black people that united protesters in a renewed global movement

George Floyd’s murder felt like everything was the same and nothing was the same, said Miski Noor, an activist in Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed by a white police officer a year ago on 25 May.

“How many times have we seen Black death go viral?” asked Noor, the co-founder of Black Visions, which advocates for abolition, an approach to public safety that does not involve the police.

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Gaza damage and Glasgow raids: human rights this fortnight in pictures

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A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Myanmar to Peru

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US journalist Barrett Brown arrested in the UK on incitement offences

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He had been in Britain since November and intended to claim asylum on the basis that he had been persecuted in the US for his journalism

The American journalist Barrett Brown has been arrested and detained in the UK for allegedly overstaying his visa and for alleged public order and incitement offences relating to his role in holding a protest banner which said: “Kill Cops.”

Police arrested Brown on Monday at a canal boat moored in east London, where he had been living for several months with a British woman. He was interviewed and released on bail the following day, but immediately detained by immigration authorities.

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Research findings that are probably wrong cited far more than robust ones, study finds

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Academics suspect papers with grabby conclusions are waved through more easily by reviewers

Scientific research findings that are probably wrong gain far more attention than robust results, according to academics who suspect that the bar for publication may be lower for papers with grabbier conclusions.

Studies in top science, psychology and economics journals that fail to hold up when others repeat them are cited, on average, more than 100 times as often in follow-up papers than work that stands the test of time.

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Fears of ‘feeding frenzy’ against BBC after Diana interview backlash

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Ex-chair of BBC Trust warns criticism could lead to ‘destroying something it would be impossible to recreate’

A former chair of the BBC Trust has warned against the “feeding frenzy” engulfing the corporation as ministers said they would look at how it is governed in the wake of damning findings about its 1995 interview with Diana, Princess of Wales.

As the broadcaster faced further searching questions over its handling of the crisis, Sir Michael Lyons, who chaired its then governing body from 2007 until 2011, said there was a danger of destroying something that “would be impossible to recreate”.

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Infected blood scandal: Hancock pledges payouts if advised by inquiry

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Health secretary agrees government has ‘moral responsibility’ to address what happened in 1970s and 80s

Matt Hancock has said compensation will be paid to people people infected by contaminated blood products and their relatives if is recommended by the public inquiry into the scandal.

Appearing at the inquiry on Friday, the health secretary agreed the government had a “moral responsibility” to address what had happened.

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Signs of rise in Covid infections in England amid variant warnings

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Boris Johnson still plans to end restrictions in June despite experts’ fears over spread of India and Kent variants

Covid infection levels are showing early signs of an increase in England, data has revealed, as experts continue to warn the variant of concern first detected in India could grow exponentially in the UK.

On Friday Boris Johnson told broadcasters in Portsmouth he has seen nothing to suggest it will be necessary to “deviate from the roadmap”, indicating that the planned lifting of all coronavirus restrictions in England on 21 June may yet go ahead.

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Spain to drop Covid restrictions on British visitors from 24 May

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Spanish PM says negative test not needed even as Boris Johnson warns against travel to amber list countries

Spain will allow British holidaymakers into the country without the need to provide a negative Covid test from 24 May.

In a move aimed at restarting the country’s battered tourist industry, the Spanish government has announced that visitors from the UK will be free to enter Spain “without restrictions and without health requirements”. The same applies to visitors from Japan. All arrivals are still required to fill out a health form.

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Prince William as personal as the public has ever seen in Diana remarks

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Analysis: usually guarded Duke of Cambridge reveals pent-up fury as he comments on BBC’s handling of Panorama interview

He delivered it to camera in a calm and measured tone. But the Duke of Cambridge’s actual words had devastating impact and betrayed a fury pent up for a quarter of a century.

He spoke of “deceit” of “lurid and false” claims, of cover-ups, woeful incompetence and his “indescribable sadness” over Lord Dyson’s findings on the BBC’s handling of the now infamous Panorama interview.

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Richest nations agree to end support for coal production overseas

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G7 countries reaffirm commitment to limit global heating to 1.5C after nearly two days of wrangling

The world’s richest nations have agreed to end their financial support for coal development overseas, in a major step towards phasing out the dirtiest fossil fuel.

After nearly two days of wrangling at a meeting of the G7 environment and energy ministers, hosted virtually by the UK on Thursday and Friday, all reaffirmed their commitment to limiting global heating to 1.5C, and committed to phasing out coal and fully decarbonising their energy sectors in the 2030s.

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Spain’s Valencia region presses to be added to UK travel green list

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Region including Benidorm and Alicante has a much lower Covid infection rate than Spain as a whole

The president of the Valencia region is to meet Britain’s ambassador to Spain next week to press for the region to be added to the UK’s green list of acceptable travel destinations.

Valencia, which includes the resorts of Benidorm and Alicante on the Costa Blanca, claims to be the safest place in Europe, with a Covid infection rate of 29 cases per 100,000 inhabitants compared with Spain’s overall rate of 140 per 100,000.

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