Category Archives: UK news

Keir Starmer hopes to exploit curious relationship with Trump in Ukraine talks

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PM has positioned himself as someone who can get along with US president while stressing Europe’s red lines

Asked behind the scenes at June’s G7 summit if he could explain why Donald Trump seemed to like him so much, Keir Starmer admitted he did not really know. Whatever the reason, when it comes to Ukraine, the UK prime minister is once again hoping to exploit this somewhat curious relationship.

As soon as it was announced that a string of European leaders planned to join Volodymyr Zelenskyy to back the Ukrainian president in crucial talks with Trump at the White House on Monday, it was obvious Starmer would be joining them.

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BBC asks police to investigate new Strictly allegations, reports say

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Move comes after claims earlier this month that two stars of the TV dance show used cocaine

The BBC has asked the police to investigate Strictly Come Dancing amid fresh allegations, according to reports, after claims two of its stars used cocaine.

The Sun on Sunday reported that the corporation has alerted the Metropolitan police to new allegations about the dance competition show, the details of which it does not specify.

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Anti-racism and anti-immigration protesters in Falkirk face off outside asylum hotel

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Counter-demonstration offers welcome to refugees as anti-migrant protesters gather outside Cladhan hotel

Anti-racism campaigners held a counter-demonstration against people protesting against “uncontrolled illegal immigration” outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Scotland.

Stand Up to Racism Scotland, Falkirk Trades Union Council and local people said they organised the gathering in Falkirk on Saturday to show that refugees are welcome in the town.

Organisers described it as a “safely stewarded community event with music, speeches from the local community, the trade union movement, local campaigns, faith groups and others”.

Demonstrators held placards with messages such as “stop the far right”, “refugees welcome” and “migrants make our NHS”.

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AI tool that speeds up patient discharges trialled by NHS

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Pilot at London trust aims to reduce paperwork and free up doctors, as UK brings AI to public services

An artificial intelligence tool designed to speed up the discharge of patients is being trialled at a hospital trust in London.

The platform completes documents needed to send fit patients home, potentially saving hours of delays and freeing up beds.

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Police arrest 13 people at Palestine Action protest in Norwich

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Protesters holding placards outside City Hall detained on suspicion of displaying item in support of proscribed group

Police arrested 13 people at a protest in Norfolk on Saturday on suspicion of showing support for the proscribed group Palestine Action.

A group assembled outside City Hall in St Peters Street, Norwich, holding placards referencing the organisation, Norfolk police said. The force said they were arrested on suspicion of displaying an item in support of a proscribed organisation, contrary to section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

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Cyprus welcomes resignation of UK trade envoy after visit to occupied north

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Afzal Khan had said visit to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus was in personal capacity but resigned after furore

Cyprus has welcomed the resignation of the UK’s trade envoy to Turkey, Afzal Khan, saying it sends “a resounding message” amid widespread criticism of the Labour MP’s recent visit to the island’s breakaway Turkish-occupied north.

Khan had defended his trip on 8 August in a letter to the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, claiming it was conducted “in a personal capacity during the parliamentary recess”.

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Public warned to keep away from injured dolphin filmed with Dorset swimmers

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Conservationists flag dangers of human interaction after ‘Reggie’ filmed playing with family

The public has been warned to keep away from an injured dolphin that was filmed dancing and playing with swimmers off the coast of Dorset earlier this month.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO), a government-backed agency responsible for England’s seas, said it was “increasingly concerned about a lone dolphin spotted in Lyme Bay, Dorset, following multiple potential marine wildlife disturbance offences observed online and shared on social media”.

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Scientists capture first footage of human embryo implanting in a uterus

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Groundbreaking footage shows ‘surprisingly invasive’ process and may help to improve infertility treatments

A human embryo being implanted into a uterus has been pictured in real time and in 3D footage for the first time by a team of scientists.

It shows images of an embryo implanting into a synthetic uterus, demonstrating how the process occurs naturally.

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Labour’s attempt to find successor to Diane Abbott ‘under way’

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Exclusive: Contenders teed up for future contest, which MP says seems ‘to pre-empt results of investigation’

Moves to find a successor to Diane Abbott in the parliamentary seat she has represented since 1987 are under way, prompting concern that her fate has been decided before an investigation into her latest suspension has concluded.

Figures on Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) have spoken to potential contenders, teeing them up for a future contest in her constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and giving them informal advice on how to prepare, according to a party source.

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Ukraine is fighting for the same values as allies did in second world war, says Keir Starmer – UK politics live

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Addressing reception marking 80th anniversary of VJ Day, prime minister says he spoke to Zelenskyy about allies’ values as Trump prepares to meet Putin

Asylum seekers locked in detention centres as part of Labour’s “one in, one out” deal have said they had not heard of the scheme before arriving in the UK on small boats and were terrified of being returned to their home countries.

The prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said the plan to send one small boat arrival back to France in exchange for accepting another to live in the UK would deter the thousands from crossing the Channel.

We did not understand what was happening to us when the Home Office moved us from Manston [the former military base in Kent] where we were processed, straight to this place which is like a jail.

When we asked why they were bringing some who arrived on the same boat as me here but letting others go free, they did not answer us. They just said it was because we crossed the Channel illegally.

I am very frightened here. There are people who have committed crimes in the UK locked up with us. We have done nothing wrong apart from trying to find a safe place.

Green party (Matt Youde) – 24%

Welsh Labour (Khuram Chowdhry) – 22.7%

Plaid Cymru (Neil Roberts) – 18.7%

Reform UK (Joseph Martin) – 14.5%

Propel (Vincent Yewlett) – 9.6%

Independent (Ahmed Samater) – 4.6%

Welsh Conservative party (James Hamblin) – 4.1%

Welsh Liberal Democrats (Irfan Latif) – 1.8%

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Iceland says it will pay customers £1 if they report a shoplifter

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Grocery chain employees will verify the incident and the reward will be adding to the shopper’s loyalty card

The grocery chain Iceland is offering customers who shop a thief a £1 reward on their loyalty card.

The frozen food specialist said that anyone who spots a suspected shoplifter in its stores should inform the nearest Iceland employee who will verify the incident before adding the reward to the individual’s loyalty card for immediate use.

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Kingsmill owner to buy Hovis in £75m deal to create UK’s biggest bread brand

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Jobs expected to go if competition watchdog approves takeover by Associated British Foods

The owner of Kingsmill has agreed to buy its rival Hovis in a deal worth an estimated £75m that could create the UK’s biggest bread brand if the competition regulator approves it, but also put jobs at risk.

The deal comes after decades of decline in the popularity of the packaged sliced loaf, with Hovis, owned by the private equity company Endless, and its rival Kingsmill – part of Associated British Foods (ABF) – struggling to get out of the red for some years.

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UK rights watchdog warns against ‘heavy-handed’ policing of Gaza protests

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EHRC calls for clearer guidance for officers to avoid a ‘chilling effect’ on freedom of expression

The UK’s official human rights watchdog has written to ministers and police expressing concern at a potentially “heavy-handed” approach to protests about Gaza and urging clearer guidance for officers in enforcing the law.

In the letter to Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, and Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan police, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the perception that peaceful protest could attract disproportionate police attention “undermines confidence in our human rights protections”.

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Suspended Labour councillor found not guilty of encouraging violent disorder

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Ricky Jones was filmed speaking at anti-racism rally after last summer’s far-right riots that followed Southport murders

A suspended Labour councillor who called at an anti-racism rally for far-right activists’ throats to be cut has been found not guilty of encouraging violent disorder.

Ricky Jones, 58, used the phrase “disgusting Nazi fascists” in a speech about last summer’s far-right protests after the Southport murders, his trial at Snaresbrook crown court heard.

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Online fashion retailer Shein’s UK sales leap by a third to more than £2bn

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Profits rise 56% to £38.2m in 2024 as company overtakes British rival Boohoo and closes in on Asos

Shein, the online fast-fashion retailer founded in China, increased sales in the UK by about a third to more than £2bn last year, overtaking the British rival Boohoo and closing in on Asos.

The company, which had been considering a £50bn float on the London Stock Exchange but is expected to list in Hong Kong, said profits rose 56% to £38.2m last year on which it paid £9.6m corporation tax, according to accounts filed at Companies House this week.

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Abortion drug could help reduce risk of breast cancer, group of medics says

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Stigma around mifepristone is stopping studies, experts in reproductive health claim in Lancet opinion piece

A drug used in medical abortions could help prevent women at high risk of breast cancer from developing the disease, according to an international group of doctors and scientists.

However, “stigma” around mifepristone is stopping pharmaceutical companies from investigating its potential as a new treatment doctors could offer to reduce the risk of breast cancer, they say.

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Teenage boy arrested after death of 13-year-old girl in West Yorkshire

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Sixteen-year-old from Huddersfield held on suspicion of murder and rape

A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of rape and murder after the death of a 13-year-old girl in West Yorkshire, police have said.

Officers were called to a flat on Sheepridge Road in Huddersfield on Monday night to reports that a girl was unresponsive. West Yorkshire police said the victim died in hospital and her death was being treated as “unexplained” after a postmortem examination.

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Girl left unwatched by agency worker at psychiatric unit was unlawfully killed, inquest finds

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Jury finds failings of worker before Ruth Szymankiewicz, 14, took own life amount to gross negligence manslaughter

A vulnerable 14-year-old girl was unlawfully killed when an agency support worker failed to keep her under observation at a secure psychiatric unit, an inquest jury has concluded.

The worker, who used a false identity, left Ruth Szymankiewicz alone even though she had complex mental health issues and was judged to need constant watching because she was a suicide risk.

In the UK, the youth suicide prevention charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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John Boyne says LGBTQ+ fiction prize backlash brought him ‘close to the edge’

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Gender-critical novelist urges writers to re-enter prize they boycotted and may ask judges not to shortlist his novella

The gender-critical Irish novelist John Boyne has said he has been brought “very close to the edge” by the backlash to his inclusion on the longlist for a literary prize for LGBTQ+ authors.

Ten authors and two judges withdrew from the Polari prize and more than 800 writers and publishing industry workers signed a petition calling on Polari to remove Boyne’s novella Earth from its longlist.

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Keir Starmer to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street – UK politics live

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UK prime minister will be joined by Ukrainian president as he says Britain stands ready to ‘increase pressure’ on Russia if necessary

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said it is a “day of celebration” for young people ahead of A-level results on Thursday.

Speaking to Times Radio, she said:

I’ll just start by saying that this is a really exciting day for young people. They’ve worked really hard. They’ve had brilliant support from their teachers and parents. It’s a day for celebration for our young people and there are lots of great routes out there.

University is one of them, but for young people who are considering other routes there are apprenticeships and plenty of other opportunities available too, and lots of advice available if you haven’t quite got what you needed, through Ucas and clearing, and also through the National Career Service.

I think it’s a matter of personal choice.

I do think it’s a good thing that more young people are studying subjects like maths. There are often great roots into careers. The same is, of course, true of subjects like languages, and that was my personal passion.

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