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Continue reading...Category Archives: UK news
Microplastics revealed in the placentas of unborn babies
Health impact is unknown but scientists say particles may cause long-term damage to foetuses
Microplastic particles have been revealed in the placentas of unborn babies for the first time, which the researchers said was “a matter of great concern”.
The health impact of microplastics in the body is as yet unknown. But the scientists said they could carry chemicals that could cause long-term damage or upset the foetus’s developing immune system. The particles are likely to have been consumed or breathed in by the mothers.
Continue reading...Brexit deadlock: EU members asked by Brussels to think again on fishing offer
France and Denmark thought to be most cautious about budging from current demands on fish caught in British waters
EU member states with the largest fishing fleets are being asked by Ursula von der Leyen’s senior team to rethink their “final offer” after Downing Street made a significant move to break the Brexit deadlock.
France and Denmark are understood to be the most cautious about making a counter-proposal, budging from their current demand that their vessels lose only 25% by value of the fish they catch in British waters.
Continue reading...Von der Leyen takes control of Brexit talks in attempt to strike deal
European commission president said to be in constant contact with Boris Johnson as fishing remains key issue
Ursula von der Leyen took personal control of Brexit negotiations in an attempt to strike a deal before Christmas as talks went to the wire over tens of millions of pounds worth of fish.
The European commission president is understood to be in constant contact through a series of unscheduled phone calls with Boris Johnson and the EU capitals as she battles to find a compromise.
Continue reading...UK reports another 691 Covid deaths – as it happened
Anthony Fauci ‘extremely confident’ in vaccine; BioNTech’s CEO says tests being run on mutant strain. This blog is now closed. Follow our new blog below
We are closing this live blog now, but you can stay up to date with the latest on our new global blog, which you can find below.
Related: Coronavirus live news: US cases increase 14% in one week, France to reopen UK border
Tesco has introduced buying limits on items including toilet roll, eggs, rice, soap and handwash. Customers at the supermarket are now limited to one item per person of toilet roll, and up to three products of eggs, rice, soap and handwash.
It is understood the extra limits are pre-emptive measures to help smooth demand in the coming weeks, rather than a reaction to shortages or a change in buying behaviour. They are on top of a three-item limit on essential items such as flour, dried pasta and anti-bacterial wipes which has been in place for several months.
Related: Tesco limits purchases of toilet roll, eggs, rice, soap and handwash
Continue reading...Grace Millane murderer raped another British tourist months earlier
Killer, whose name can now be reported as Jesse Kempson, also terrorised his girlfriend for months
The man who murdered British backpacker Grace Millane in New Zealand raped another British tourist just months earlier, it can be revealed, after the convicted killer lost his appeal for his name to be suppressed.
On Tuesday, New Zealand’s supreme court removed an order keeping hidden the name of Millane’s killer, Jesse Kempson.
Continue reading...Patrick Vallance: Covid measures will need to be increased, not relaxed – video
The UK government’s chief scientific adviser has suggested that coronavirus restrictions across the country could be tightened in the coming weeks. This follows a surge in cases of a new variant of the virus that is thought to be up to 70% more transmissible than the old strain. ‘I think it is likely that this will grow in numbers of the variant across the country and I think it’s likely, therefore, that measures will need to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced,’ Sir Patrick Vallance told a Downing Street press conference.
Continue reading...No 10 fishing offer to EU raises hopes of Brexit deal before Christmas
UK negotiators reduce demand for EU catch reduction, potentially unlocking sticking point in talks
Downing Street has made a major counter-offer on fishing access for EU fleets in British waters to break the Brexit trade talks deadlock, raising hopes of a deal before Christmas.
After a difficult period of negotiations, with both sides seemingly entrenched, the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, is understood to have tabled a proposal that could unlock the troubled talks.
Continue reading...New Covid variant in UK: spreading Christmas fear?
B117 is more transmissible than original virus, but there is no evidence it makes people sicker
If a new virus sounds scary, a new mutating virus sounds scarier still. In Kent in September, scientists now believe, somebody with Covid was the unlucky first person to pass on a variant form of the coronavirus that is maybe as much as 70% more transmissible than the version we have been used to.
The exponential recent rise in cases now blamed on that incident and the UK government response have sparked alarm around the world, with other countries banning flights into the UK for at least 48 hours while everyone figures out what is going on.
Continue reading...Global food industry on course to drive rapid habitat loss – research
World faces huge wildlife losses by 2050 unless what and how food is produced changes
The global food system is on course to drive rapid and widespread ecological damage with almost 90% of land animals likely to lose some of their habitat by 2050, research has found.
A study published in the journal Nature Sustainability shows that unless the food industry is rapidly transformed, changing what people eat and how it is produced, the world faces widespread biodiversity loss in the coming decades.
Continue reading...Hong Kong activist Nathan Law applies for asylum in Britain
Exclusive: Law said he chose UK in hope of ‘sounding an alarm’ over threats to democracy in Europe from China
Opinion: I left for London so I could tell Britain truth about China
The Hong Kong activist Nathan Law has applied for asylum in the UK, six months after fleeing his home on the eve of the national security law coming into force.
Law revealed in an opinion article for the Guardian on Monday that he had submitted a refugee claim to the UK government. He said he had chosen Britain in the hope he could “sound an alarm” over threats to democracy in Europe from the Chinese Communist party.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson to hold crisis meeting as India joins countries banning flights from UK
India joins France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Bulgaria in flight bans over new strain; US aid bill should have votes to pass
- European states ban travel from UK as new Covid strain takes hold
- What do we know about the fast-spreading Covid variant in UK?
- Hard lockdown ‘needed to prevent Sydney Christmas Covid surge’
- Moderna vaccine shipments begin as US reels under Covid surge
- See all our coverage
That’s all from me, Caroline Davies. Thank you for your time. Handing over now to my colleague Aamna Mohdin.
The chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, Ken Marsh, has said there is “no way” officers will be knocking on the doors of “normal” households in London to check coronavirus restrictions were being followed now the city is in Tier 4.
“We won’t be knocking on people’s doors at all, unless there is a large group and noise, ie a party or something like that.
Continue reading...‘The coughing would not stop’: MP talks of ‘unbearable pain’ of Covid
Labour shadow minister Yasmin Qureshi talks about the shock of being hospitalised and her slow recovery since
A shadow minister who became the first female MP to be hospitalised by Covid-19 has described the “unbearable pain” caused by coughing fits and pneumonia as the disease took hold.
Yasmin Qureshi, the Labour MP for Bolton South East and a shadow minister for international development, said she was left “anxious and concerned” after being rushed by ambulance to her local hospital in October.
Continue reading...France travel ban will not have major impact food imports in short term, says Grant Shapps – video
France’s 48-hour ban on freight hauliers from Britain came as a surprise, the UK transport secretary has admitted, amid expected chaos at British ports. But Grant Shapps said the disruption would not cause food and medicine shortages in the short term because other freight routes remain available
Continue reading...Covid tier 4: what are the new rules for London and south-east England?
People in tier 4 areas must stay at home over Christmas and not meet up with other households
Boris Johnson has announced new tier 4 restrictions for London, the south-east and east of England, amid a surge in Covid-19 cases and alarm about a new strain of coronavirus spreading rapidly in the region.
Continue reading...France’s ban on UK transport came as surprise, says Grant Shapps
Transport secretary says UK aims to resolve issue ‘as soon as possible’ amid fears over new Covid strain
France’s 48-hour ban on freight hauliers from Britain was “surprising”, the UK transport secretary has said, amid expected chaos at British ports.
Although Grant Shapps said the disruption was not a “specific problem” in regards to food and medicine shortages in the short term, the government’s aim was to “get this resolved as soon as possible”.
Continue reading...Firm with mystery investors wins £200m of PPE contracts via ‘high-priority lane’
Exclusive: It’s unclear how PPE Medpro’s bids were processed through channel for firms referred by MPs and senior officials
A company with mystery investors and links to the Isle of Man was awarded government contracts worth £200m to supply the UK with personal protective equipment (PPE) after it was placed in a “high-priority lane” for well-connected firms, the Guardian can reveal.
PPE Medpro has not revealed the identities of the financiers and businessmen behind the venture, and it remains unclear how its offer to supply PPE came to be processed through a channel created for companies referred by politicians and senior officials.
Continue reading...‘McMafia’ banker’s wife will have £22m seized unless she reveals source of wealth
Supreme court upholds order against Zamira Hajiyeva, who spent £1m a year at Harrods
A woman who spent £1m a year at Harrods will be forced to give up her £15m home unless she reveals the source of her fortune following the UK’s first McMafia-style “dirty money” investigation.
Zamira Hajiyeva, the wife of a former boss of the Azerbaijani state bank jailed for fraud, has lost her final appeal against a court order forcing her to reveal how she came by so much money.
Continue reading...UK faces Brexit limbo after talks deadline missed
Britain risks weeks without trade transition plans from 1 January after missing EU parliament Sunday deadline
Negotiators of a Brexit trade deal inched towards a compromise on fishing rights on Sunday but missed a major deadline, raising the prospect of weeks without arrangements from 1 January even in the event of agreement.
The teams led by the chief UK negotiator, David Frost, and his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, were expected to continue talks on Monday despite the European parliament’s notice that it would not vote on a deal if not secured by midnight on Sunday.
Continue reading...Frosty mornings but no white Christmas for UK, forecasters say
Met Office predicts a ‘seasonal feel’ to the weather after a rainy start to the week
Those dreaming of a white Christmas will be left further disappointed this year after the Met Office forecast no more than frosty conditions for the UK.
Temperatures across most of the country will stay in mid-single figures on Thursday and Friday, and no snow was expected to settle.
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