Category Archives: UK news

UK immigration officials ‘have had no information’ about hotel quarantine

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Border staff not briefed about even basics of Covid protection system starting on Monday, says union

Immigration officials expected to enforce a mandatory quarantine intended to protect the UK from new coronavirus variants have not been briefed on even the basics about how the system will work, little more than 48 hours before it begins, the Guardian has been told.

The Immigration Services Union (ISU), which represents many of the Home Office’s immigration officers, said that before the start on Monday of the new policy, staff had not been told if they would be expected to check for arrivals who had not properly declared their status, or when and how those obliged to quarantine would be taken to hotels.

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‘I did what I thought was right’: a Myanmar protester voices her fears for the future

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Almost two weeks after the military coup, one demonstrator explains why she is still out on the streets

In previous years on Union Day – the Myanmar public holiday marking the agreement between ethnic leaders on 12 February 1947 to forge a unified country – Khin* had worn her traditional htamein, a snug maxiskirt. But since it would prevent her from running away if the police opened fire, this year she opted for loose trousers, large sunglasses, a baseball cap and face mask.

For the seventh consecutive morning she found a full-scale rebellion playing out on the streets of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon. A couple of thousand railway workers marched near her home as Khin, in her early 30s, reflected on a phone call she had just received from her father, a high-ranking official in the army, which seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government on 1 February.

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Wales is first UK nation to offer Covid jab to top four priority groups

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Everyone in top four categories has been offered first vaccine dose, says first minister

Wales has become the first UK nation to have offered a Covid jab to everyone in the top four priority groups, the first minister, Mark Drakeford has announced.

Last month, Drakeford was forced to defend Wales’s vaccination programme after criticism of delays from opposition parties and doctors. But at a press conference on Friday, he said that 66 days after people in Wales first began getting the jab, the key target had been achieved.

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Nigerians can bring claims against Shell in UK, supreme court rules

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Ogale and Bille villagers say Shell oil operations have caused severe pollution including to their drinking water

Two Nigerian communities can bring their legal claims for a cleanup and for compensation against the oil company Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary in an English court, supreme court judges have said.

In what lawyers said was a “watershed moment” for the accountability of multinational companies, on Friday the court overturned a decision by the court of appeal, and ruled that the cases against Shell could proceed.

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British-Iranian anthropologist who fled Iran accused of sexual abuse

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Women say Kameel Ahmady, who recently told of his escape from Iran, harassed and sexually assaulted them

A number of women have accused a prominent British-Iranian anthropologist who recently fled Iran of being a sexual predator who should not be allowed to continue working with women or with the vulnerable groups that are a focus of his research.

Kameel Ahmady, known for work on child marriage, female genital mutilation and LGBT communities in Iran, denies the allegations of sexual assault and harassment, which have led to his suspension from Iran’s Sociology Association.

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Priti Patel hits out at ‘dreadful’ Black Lives Matter protests

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UK home secretary says she disagreed with last year’s protests as well as taking the knee

The home secretary, Priti Patel, has described the Black Lives Matter protests that swept the UK last year as “dreadful” and said she did not agree with the gesture of taking the knee.

The protests, in which demonstrations took place in more than 260 towns and cities in June and July, were the largest anti-racism protests in Britain for decades.

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KPMG’s Bill Michael resigns after telling staff to ‘stop moaning’

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Firm’s UK chair apologises for comments in virtual meeting about Covid crisis

KPMG’s UK chair, Bill Michael, has resigned after telling staff to “stop moaning” during a virtual meeting about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, where he also called unconscious bias “crap”.

Related: KPMG UK chair tells staff to 'stop moaning' about Covid work conditions

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Dramatic discovery links Stonehenge to its original site – in Wales

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Find backs theory that bluestones first stood at Waun Mawn before being dragged 140 miles to Wiltshire

An ancient myth about Stonehenge, first recorded 900 years ago, tells of the wizard Merlin leading men to Ireland to capture a magical stone circle called the Giants’ Dance and rebuilding it in England as a memorial to the dead.

Geoffrey of Monmouth’s account had been dismissed, partly because he was wrong on other historical facts, although the bluestones of the monument came from a region of Wales that was considered Irish territory in his day.

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US lawmakers urge UK to help end complicity in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen

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Question mark over far Biden administration will go to push allies to end arms sales

Senior US lawmakers have called on the UK to live up to its “moral responsibility” and help end both countries “complicity” in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, in a sign of the pressure the UK will face in Washington to join the Biden administration and end weapons sales to the kingdom.

Related: Biden announces end to US support for Saudi-led offensive in Yemen

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Gove and Šefčovič reiterate commitment to NI protocol after crisis talks

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Joint statement between UK and EU agrees to ‘spare no effort’ in implementing solutions

Michael Gove and the European commission’s vice-president have reiterated their “full commitment” to the Northern Ireland protocol following crisis talks in London.

A joint statement said Gove and Maroš Šefčovič had a “frank but constructive discussion” on Thursday evening, in which they agreed to “spare no effort” in implementing solutions.

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Firefighters struggle to contain large blaze on Dartmoor

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No people or livestock are yet believed to have been harmed, but remote location has made tackling fire difficult

A large fire has broken out on Dartmoor near Tavy Cleave in Devon, a few miles north east of Tavistock.

Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service has deployed five pumps and other units to the area, but has struggled to tackle the fire because its location is difficult to access.

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Meghan wins privacy case against Mail on Sunday

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Judge gives summary judgment in favour of royal over extracts of letter to estranged father, Thomas Markle

The Duchess of Sussex has won her high court privacy case against the Mail on Sunday, hailing her victory as a “comprehensive win” over the newspaper’s “illegal and dehumanising practices”.

After a two-year legal battle, a judge granted summary judgment in Meghan’s favour over the newspaper’s publication of extracts of a “personal and private” handwritten letter to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.

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‘Unconscious bias is utter crap’: KPMG staff share shock at UK chair’s Zoom comments

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Accounting firm investigates as more details emerge of meeting where Bill Michael told staff to stop moaning

New details have emerged of controversial comments by the UK chair of KPMG, who has stepped aside while the accounting firm investigates what he said to staff during a virtual meeting.

A video of the Zoom meeting was published on Thursday in which Bill Michael describes the concept of unconscious bias as being “complete and utter crap for years”.

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Brexit cost will be four times greater for UK than EU, Brussels forecasts

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Departure to cost EU 0.5% of GDP but UK 2.25% by end 2022, according to first official estimate since deal was agreed

The economic blow dealt by Brexit will be four times greater in the UK than the EU, according to the latest forecasts by Brussels.

A month into the new relationship, the European commission said the UK’s exit on the terms agreed by Boris Johnson’s government would generate a loss in gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 2022 of about 2.25% in the UK compared with continued membership. In contrast, the hit for the EU is estimated to be about 0.5% over the same period.

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UK weather: temperature hits lowest level in decade after ‘extreme freeze’

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Mercury drops to -21.4C in Scotland, the coldest temperature recorded in UK since December 2010

Temperatures plunged to below -21C in Scotland overnight, the lowest level in the UK in more than a decade, following an “extreme freeze”.

The mercury dropped to -21.4C (-6.5F) in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, the coldest temperature recorded in the UK since 2 December 2010, when -21.3C (-6.3F) was recorded in Altnaharra in the Highlands.

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‘It’s impossible to pay’: the UK residents trapped overseas by quarantine rules

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With flights cancelled and travellers having to pay for hotel costs, three people talk about their difficulties returning to Britain

With many flights cancelled, and travellers facing hotel quarantine costs of £1,750 to return from high-risk countries that come into effect on Monday, some British residents have become stuck overseas. Three people have spoken about the difficulties they face in returning to the UK, and the costs they may incur.

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UK Covid live: No 10 says MPs won’t vote on 10-year sentences for travel ban cheats because law already in place

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Latest updates: PM says people will have to ‘get used to the idea of vaccinating, and then re-vaccinating in the autumn’

The latest edition of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast is out. Jessica Elgot and John Crace look at why the latest coronavirus travel restrictions might not work the way the government expects, as well as Robert Jenrick’s latest announcement on cladding funds. Plus, Helen Davidson and Jon Henley on how the world sees the UK’s Covid response.

Related: Hotel quarantine – too little too late? Politics Weekly podcast

As HuffPost’s Paul Waugh reports, at the lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesman had difficulty justifying some of the work done by the three taxpayer-funded photographers now working from Downing Street.

Asked why the taxpayer should fund ‘vanity’ photographers who took these pix of the PM’s dog playing in the snow, No.10 spokesperson suggests Dilyn works for govt: “These photographers document the work of the government, as well as the work inside Number 10.” pic.twitter.com/UgdDF2Tdrp

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Man who posed as girl online jailed for abusing 51 children

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David Wilson, of King’s Lynn, admitted 96 offences, and officials say he targeted thousands of children

A serial child sexual abuser has been jailed for 25 years at Ipswich crown court after being convicted of offences against dozens of children, and investigators fear he targeted thousands.

David Wilson, 36, from King’s Lynn in Norfolk, posed online as a young girl, targeting young boys so they would send sexual images of themselves. Victims ranged in age from four to 14.

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Hotel quarantine – too little too late? Politics Weekly podcast

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Jessica Elgot and John Crace look at why the latest coronavirus travel restrictions might not work the way the government expects. Plus, Helen Davidson and Jon Henley on how the world sees the UK’s Covid response

In response to the myriad of new Covid-19 variants entering the UK, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, announced in the Commons on Tuesday that travellers arriving from coronavirus hotspots who refuse to adhere to the new restrictions could face £10,000 fines and jail sentences of up to 10 years. The move might seem extreme, but given how long we have known about variants cropping up since the new year, many are asking, is it too little too late?

The housing minister, Robert Jenrick, has announced billions of pounds in extra support to address the cladding crisis exposed after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. Will it be enough to help hundreds of thousands of people feel safe again in their own homes?

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Climate action could save ‘millions of lives’ through clean air, diet and exercise

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Meeting Paris goals would bring health benefits aside from tackling global heating, research says

Thousands of lives lost to air pollution, inactivity and unhealthy diets could be saved each year if the UK takes the action needed to tackle climate change, researchers have said.

Across the world, millions of lives could be saved if countries raise ambitions on cutting emissions to limit global heating to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels, as they have committed to in the global Paris climate accord.

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