Two army veterans acquitted of Joe McCann’s murder after judge ruled some evidence inadmissible
Two former British army paratroopers accused of murdering an Official IRA commander during the Troubles have been acquitted after their trial in Northern Ireland collapsed.
The two veterans, known as soldiers A and C, had been accused of murdering Joe McCann on 15 April 1972, in a closely watched trial with political ramifications.
Continue reading...PC Benjamin Monk also alleged to have used Taser weapon on former Aston Villa player for six times longer than guideline limit
A police officer murdered the former Aston Villa striker Dalian Atkinson, first shooting him with a Taser stun gun for 33 seconds, then kicking him in the head as though striking a football, causing his head to snap back violently, a jury heard on Tuesday.
PC Benjamin Monk denies murder and manslaughter following the incident on 15 August 2016 in Telford, Shropshire, which began at the home of Atkinson’s father.
Continue reading...French minister raises electricity supply as point of leverage in dispute over access to UK waters
The French government could cut off the electricity supply to Jersey in an escalating row over post-Brexit fishing rights, a French minister has suggested.
Responding to questions in the national assembly, Annick Girardin, the minister for maritime affairs, said she was “revolted” by the UK government’s behaviour over its waters and France was ready to retaliate.
Continue reading...Analysis: the vaccine strategy and staggered easing of restrictions have worked well. The next step is crucial
The handling of the coronavirus crisis in the UK has provided few moments to celebrate, but the day we reach zero deaths from the disease will clearly be one to toast. That day may not be far off. On Tuesday, the UK reported four Covid deaths within 28 days of a positive test. On Monday it was only one. Months of painful lockdown, in the face of more transmissible variants, and the rapid rollout of effective vaccines, have proven their worth. We have good reason to feel optimistic for the months ahead.
No one will have forgotten the brutal winter. In January alone, the UK reported nearly 32,000 Covid deaths, an appalling tally directly linked to locking down too late. In April, the death toll fell to 753. This month, scientists advising the government expect deaths to fall further. It is worth remembering that it’s been more than nine months since the UK last reported zero Covid deaths. We may see more in May, though people will continue to die of Covid, and the numbers might well rise again when restrictions are lifted on indoor mixing.
Continue reading...In a letter to the PM campaigners say forced marriage law fails to protect young people
A legal loophole that allows 16- and 17-year-olds in England and Wales to marry with parental consent is being exploited and used to coerce young people into child marriage, campaigners have warned.
More than 20 organisations have signed a letter to the prime minister insisting current forced marriage law does not go far enough in protecting young people.
Continue reading...Concerned British doctors of Asian heritage says India’s Covid crisis needs a strong global response
The streets of Delhi are known for their noise, crowds, and bustle, but Meenal Vis, a UK doctor, says that when her family there listen out of their windows there is “pin-drop silence”.
“It is almost like living in a horror film. People are not sure what will come next,” she said. “The kind of feeling described is a country in a war.”
Continue reading...Mayor will say city could look at bidding for 2036 or 2040 Games as post-Covid morale boost for nation
Sadiq Khan is pledging to look at bringing the Olympics back to London within 20 years if he is re-elected as mayor on Thursday.
In a speech at an amateur boxing club in Earlsfield, south-west London, on Tuesday, Khan will set out the prospect of another London Olympics as a post-Covid morale boost that he argues would extend beyond the capital.
Continue reading...Traffic light system to be used cautiously despite European plan to let in Covid-vaccinated tourists from June
Britons’ summer holiday plans were given a major boost on Monday, as the EU confirmed vaccinated travellers will be able to fly to Europe from June, though it’s understood the UK could give the green light to travel to fewer than 10 countries.
The changing quarantine requirements for popular holiday destinations looks set to make 2021 the year of the last-minute booking.
Continue reading...Lack of research into area means children are being sent away from A&E and parents told they are overanxious
On Christmas Day, Gail Jackson’s 16-year-old daughter said she was in so much pain she thought she would die. Liliana had been briefly admitted to hospital with Covid in September. Her symptoms never went away and, as time went on, new ones had emerged.
“For months she had a relentless, agonising headache, nausea, tinnitus, fatigue and insomnia, but the worst thing was the agonising nerve pain,” said Jackson. “I couldn’t even touch her without her screaming in pain.”
Continue reading...Country Milk’s trade with the EU has nosedived with the dairy industry particularly badly affected by new customs rules
A small error in the paperwork – a box ticked by mistake – and the tanker of butter oil was held at French customs for five days, with veterinary authorities at the border threatening to destroy it. The debacle nearly cost the tanker’s exporter, dairy company County Milk, a six-figure sum. After fraught negotiations, the cargo was eventually repatriated.
“You don’t need too many of those to be destroyed and you are in dire straits,” says Phil Langslow, trading director at County Milk, the UK’s largest privately owned dairy ingredients business.
Continue reading...Some blame new residents and second-home owners not keen on sight and sounds of ‘local’ vessels
The spot could hardly be more idyllic. A Cornish creek fringed by apple trees where boats bob at high tide and dogs and children frolic in the mud at low.
But there is trouble in the parish of Feock after a string of acts of vandalism aimed at those bobbing boats led to a wave of anger, fear and suspicion.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Watchmen and V for Vendetta writer lands six-figure deal for fantasy quintet Long London and short story collection
Two years after announcing that he had retired from comics, Alan Moore, the illustrious author of Watchmen and V for Vendetta, has signed a six-figure deal for a “groundbreaking” five-volume fantasy series as well as a “momentous” collection of short stories.
Bloomsbury, home to the Harry Potter novels, acquired what it described as two “major” projects from the 67-year-old. The first, Illuminations, is a short story collection which will be published in autumn 2022 and which moves from the four horsemen of the apocalypse to the “Boltzmann brains” fashioning the universe. Bloomsbury said it was “dazzlingly original and brimming with energy”, promising a series of “beguiling and elegantly crafted tales that reveal the full power of imagination and magic”.
Continue reading...Bergman, 24, had been in Israel to train as a rabbi before dying at Mount Meron
A British man who died in a crowd crush at a Jewish festival in Israel has been named as Moshe Bergman.
The 24-year-old from Salford, Manchester, had been in the country to train to be a rabbi in Jerusalem. He had been living in the city for two years and had married 18 months ago.
Continue reading...Leader of Scottish Conservatives says PM should ‘of course’ quit if he has not been honest about payments for Downing Street refurb
One of the UK’s most senior Conservatives has broken ranks and called for Boris Johnson to resign if he breached ministerial rules over the refurbishment of a Downing Street flat, amid new claims that undeclared donations have been sought to fund the prime minister’s lavish lifestyle.
Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said on Sunday that Johnson should “of course” quit if he is found to have breached the code by failing to be honest about cash payments from a Conservative donor sought to redecorate his official residence.
Continue reading...Ciaran Martin criticises post-Brexit attempts to ‘redesign’ UK based on old notion of English sovereignty
The United Kingdom’s unity faces being destabilised by “flag-waving unionism” from English nationalist politicians, one of the most senior officials to emerge from Northern Ireland’s traditionally Catholic community has warned.
Ciaran Martin, who created the framework for Scotland’s 2014 independence poll as the Cabinet Office’s constitution director, said the “complex identities” of Northern Ireland faced being undermined by post-Brexit attempts to “redesign” the British state based on “a narrow 17th-century notion of English sovereignty”.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary says it is ‘difficult to argue against’ suggestion the dual national is being held state hostage
Iran’s treatment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe amounts to torture, the British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has said, as the Foreign Office downplayed an Iranian state TV report saying Britain would pay a £400m debt to secure her release.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said the family had “heard nothing” about a deal to secure her release, as hopes were raised by the suggestion that the long-running dispute had been resolved.
Continue reading...As it marks its hundredth year, figures from the region talk of identity and allegiance – and the humour running under it all
The centenary of the founding of Northern Ireland is to be marked on Monday – albeit overshadowed by political turmoil and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Eight figures from Northern Ireland reflect on a contested centenary and the nuances of identity.
Continue reading...Dominic Raab urged people to keep their resolve in tackling coronavirus, saying there is only a little bit more time until all legal restrictions on social interactions are removed. Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the foreign secretary said a careful approach to easing Covid restrictions was still necessary, despite people desperately wanting to hug family members
The Guardian’s picture editors select photo highlights from around the world
Continue reading...Foreign secretary says he has ‘no idea’ if claim is true and he will not comment on ‘tittle-tattle’
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has said he does not know if a Conservative donor was asked to pay for Boris Johnson’s childcare costs, amid new allegations of undeclared donations and loans to fund the prime minister’s lifestyle.
Following reports that Johnson sought payments from a donor to help pay for his one-year-old son’s care, Raab told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “I have no idea, you don’t have conversations like that with the PM. I can’t comment on every little bit of gossip that’s in the newspapers. The last thing you asked me about, I think, is an example of tittle-tattle.”
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