Category Archives: UK news

Gerry Adams’ BBC libel win risks more benign view of Troubles taking hold

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Concerns raised that hefty award to politician over Spotlight episode could lead to less hard-hitting journalism

For more than half a century, Spotlight has roved a beam over Northern Ireland, illuminating dark and overlooked topics. But now the flagship BBC documentary series is itself in the glare of scrutiny.

Gerry Adams’ victory in a libel case on Friday dealt a heavy blow to Spotlight and the BBC and raises questions over the programme and the impact of the case on journalism in the UK and Ireland.

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Thom Yorke calls Netanyahu an ‘extremist’ in statement on Gaza

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Radiohead frontman makes lengthy statement after he had been criticised over perceived silence on the war, and for previously performing in Israel

After he was criticised for his silence on the subject, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has made a statement regarding the war in Gaza, saying Benjamin Netanyahu and his Israeli administration are “extremists” who “need to be stopped”.

He also criticised Hamas, saying the organisation “chooses too to hide behind the suffering of its people”.

I think Netanyahu and his crew of extremists are totally out of control and need to be stopped, and that the international community should put all the pressure it can on them to cease. Their excuse of self-defence has long since worn thin and has been replaced by a transparent desire to take control of Gaza and the West Bank permanently.

I believe this ultra-nationalist administration has hidden itself behind a terrified & grieving people and used them to deflect any criticism, using that fear and grief to further their ultra-nationalist agenda with terrible consequences, as we see now with the horrific blockade of aid to Gaza …

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Mother of jailed British-Egyptian activist hospitalised after 242 days on hunger strike

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Laila Soueif continues protest against detention of Alaa Abd el-Fattah in Cairo

The mother of the imprisoned British-Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been admitted to hospital after spending more than 240 days on hunger strike.

Laila Soueif’s family said she had been admitted to St Thomas’ hospital in London on Thursday night with dangerously low blood sugar levels, but continues to refuse medical intervention that would provide her with calories.

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Gerry Adams awarded €100,000 damages in libel victory over BBC

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Former Sinn Féin leader sued broadcaster over allegation in documentary that he sanctioned murder of MI5 informant

Gerry Adams has won a defamation action against the BBC over a documentary that carried a claim he sanctioned the murder of an MI5 informant in 2006.

A jury at Dublin’s high court on Friday found that the BBC had not acted in good faith or in a fair and reasonable way and awarded the former Sinn Féin leader €100,000 (£84,000) in damages

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‘The ultimate liberty’: how Nigel Farage became a cryptocurrency convert

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Reform leader aims to make London a ‘crypto powerhouse’ and has previously hailed an ‘economic insurgency’

As Liz Truss prepared to make a U-turn on her mini-budget in October 2022, Nigel Farage discussed the economic instability on his GB News show. But he was not broadcasting from the channel’s studios in Paddington. Instead, Farage was speaking from a bitcoin conference in Amsterdam.

“With inflation forecast to perhaps get up to 20%, with increasing distrust of fiat currencies, people are looking for alternatives … Are you ready for bitcoin?” he said in his opening remarks.

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Vet complaint process in UK often ‘stacked against pet owners’

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Consumer group Which? says owners are put off complaining and system for doing so is not fit for purpose

Britain’s pet owners often face an uphill struggle when they are unhappy with their vet because the industry’s complaints system is not fit for purpose, according to a leading consumer body.

The findings from Which? that the complaints process “is often stacked against pet owners” come as the UK competition watchdog is investigating the veterinary sector amid concerns that above-inflation price hikes and other issues mean consumers are not getting a fair deal.

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Reform UK to accept donations via bitcoin, Nigel Farage says

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Party leader says he wants UK to be a ‘crypto powerhouse’ during speech at Las Vegas conference

Reform UK will accept donations through bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Nigel Farage has announced.

During an appearance at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, where he was introduced as a “UK presidential candidate”, Farage said: “As of now, provided you are an eligible UK donor … we are the first political party in Britain that can accept donations in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”

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Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter says she believes online pornography played role in rape case

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Caroline Darian tells Hay festival that pornography websites are ‘part of the system’ of misogyny and violence

There is “no way” that Gisèle Pelicot would have been raped more than 200 times without the existence of pornography websites, her daughter has said.

Speaking at the Hay festival in Powys on Thursday, Caroline Darian said there were “so many social problems like online porn” that can lead to instances of abuse.

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UK must consider food and climate part of national security, say top ex-military figures

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Former army and navy leaders urge government to think beyond military capability in advance of key defence review

Former military leaders are urging the UK government to widen its definition of national security to include climate, food and energy measures in advance of a planned multibillion-pound boost in defence spending.

Earlier this year Keir Starmer announced the biggest increase in defence spending in the UK since the end of the cold war, with the budget rising to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 – three years earlier than planned – and an ambition to reach 3%.

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Keir Starmer says Nigel Farage is ‘Liz Truss all over again’ – UK politics live

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Prime minister says ‘you cannot trust Farage with your future and your jobs’ as he gives speech in north-west England

When “something sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is too good to be true”, water minister Emma Hardy has said, reports the PA news agency.

Asked about the “threat” which Reform UK poses to Labour, Hardy told GB News:

I think it’s really important that any political party is held to account for the promises that they’ve made and we know – gosh, don’t we just know – what happened when [former prime minister] Liz Truss made her £45bn of unfunded tax cuts: the economy tanked, mortgages went up, rents went up, bills went up.

When something sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is too good to be true. If [Farage] wants to be taken seriously as a political party, then he needs to come up with some serious policies and he needs to be held to account.

Now, had I come on your programme and said, ‘do you know what? I’m just announcing £80bn of tax promises’, the first thing you’d have said to me is ‘I don’t believe you’.

The government must urgently summon the US ambassador to clarify what this court ruling means for Starmer’s recent deal with Donald Trump.

The levels of chaos from Trump’s economic policy is putting Liz Truss to shame.

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Pro-Palestine group targets Jewish-owned business in London

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Palestine Action says it carried out early hours attack in which windows were smashed and claims company has links to Israeli arms firm

A Jewish-owned business in north London has been daubed in red paint and its shop window smashed by pro-Palestinian campaigners in an incident police are treating as racially aggravated.

Three men were caught on CCTV in the early hours of Thursday attacking an investment group in Stamford Hill, an area with a large community of orthodox Jews.

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Drought declared in north-west England amid declining reservoir levels

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Hosepipe ban could follow, says Environment Agency, after England had driest February-April period on record

A drought has been declared in north-west England as reservoir levels dwindle.

Hosepipe bans could follow, the Environment Agency said, though this is a matter for water companies, which have been directed to follow their drought plans.

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Asda unlikely to see growth before year end at earliest, says supermarket boss

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Sales at UK’s third largest supermarket fell 3.1% in four months to April, as rival Aldi announces big expansion

Asda is unlikely to see growth before the end of this year at the earliest, the supermarket’s chair, Allan Leighton, has said, as sales continue to fall despite price cuts and more stock on its shelves.

Meanwhile, Aldi, which is closing the market share gap with Asda, put further pressure on its rival by announcing significant expansion plans across the UK.

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British woman in France wins back pre-Brexit right to vote in EU elections

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Court decision in favour of Alice Bouilliez reignites push for bilateral treaty on electoral enfranchisement

A French court has ordered electoral officials to restore a British woman’s pre-Brexit right to vote in European elections, triggering calls for a renewed push for a bilateral treaty on electoral enfranchisement in each other’s countries.

Alice Bouilliez, a former British civil servant who has lived in France for 38 years, said she was “extremely surprised” but delighted that the court in Auch in south-west France had ordered that the authorities put her name back on the electoral register for the EU elections.

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Former ambassador calls on UK to advise citizens against travel to Egypt

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John Casson says Cairo ‘fobbing us off’ by refusing to release British-Egyptian national Alaa Abd el-Fattah

The former British ambassador to Egypt, John Casson, has urged the UK to advise its citizens against travelling to Egypt, in response to Cairo’s refusal to release dual British Egyptian national Alaa Abd el-Fattah.

A UN panel found on Wednesday that Fattah had been held arbitrarily in jail since 2019, but Egypt was refusing to give the UK consular access – let alone release him. His mother has been refusing food in protest at his detention.

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Trump says he warned Israel against attack on Iran as nuclear deal ‘very close’

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US president claims he told Tel Aviv he thought agreement on Tehran’s nuclear programme could come within weeks

Donald Trump has claimed he warned Israel against attacking Iran because he believed he was very close to a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme in which US inspectors will be given unparalleled access to sites to ensure the country is not planning to build a nuclear bomb.

At a White House press conference on Wednesday, the US president confirmed he held talks last week with Israel and told them it was “not appropriate” to attack Tehran because he believed he could reach a deal within weeks.

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Prosecuting man for burning Qur’an ‘reintroducing blasphemy law’, UK court told

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Hamit Coskun, 50, held burning text outside Turkish consulate London, Westminster magistrates court heard

Prosecuting a man for burning the Qur’an is “tantamount to reintroducing a blasphemy law” in Great Britain, a trial has heard.

Hamit Coskun, 50, shouted “fuck Islam”, “Islam is religion of terrorism” and “Qur’an is burning” as he held aloft the burning Islamic text outside the Turkish consulate in London on 13 February, Westminster magistrates court heard.

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Police were ‘consulted’ over early prison release scheme, says Ministry of Justice

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Mark Rowley, Met commissioner, had said plans for England and Wales were made ‘without any analysis of the impact on policing’

The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has hit back at the UK’s most senior police officer in a row over the impact of allowing thousands of criminals to serve their sentences in the community instead of being sent to jail.

The Ministry of Justice insisted on Wednesday that officials “consulted with police” including the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, over proposed changes to sentencing policies introduced to ease prison overcrowding.

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Influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate face rape and human trafficking charges in UK

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Prosecutors confirm 21 charges, with brothers due to be extradited to the UK after conclusion of Romanian proceedings

UK prosecutors have confirmed they have authorised 21 charges against influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking.

Andrew Tate, 38, faces 10 charges including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain; charges connected to three alleged victims.

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Kings of Leon cancel UK and European shows after singer’s ‘freak accident’

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Caleb Followill says shattered heel needed ‘significant emergency surgery’, which would stop him performing

The Kings of Leon frontman, Caleb Followill, has announced that the band have cancelled their UK and European shows this summer after he injured his foot in a “freak accident”.

The singer, who is part of the US rock group with his brothers Nathan and Jared Followill and cousin Matthew Followill, was scheduled to perform at Blackweir Fields, Cardiff and Lancashire’s Lytham festival over the next two months.

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