Category Archives: UK news

Home Office faces legal challenge over asylum seeker payments during Covid

Posted on by

Those in emergency accommodation struggling to meet basic needs as government fails to pay agreed increase in support

The Home Office is still failing to provide thousands of asylum seekers in emergency hotel accommodation with basic cash support and essentials more than a month after being instructed by the high court to fulfil their legal requirements to do so.

In October, law firm Duncan Lewis challenged the government’s failure to provide adequate asylum support in the high court. The judge, Sir Duncan Ouseley, said asylum seekers in emergency accommodation should have been receiving financial support during the pandemic, and ordered the department to increase weekly cash assistance from £5 to £8 to cover essentials, such as soap, medicine, bus fares and phone credit.

Continue reading...

Tier system necessary to prevent another England lockdown, says Gove – video

Posted on by

Michael Gove insisted the government's 'tough but fair' new tier system was necessary to prevent another England lockdown before the rollout of Covid vaccines. 'It's really important we don't lose that discipline we have now,' the Cabinet Office minister said.

Gove also told Sky News that customers would not need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to go to pubs, restaurants, theatres or sports events

Continue reading...

Fijian British army veterans lose court battle to remain in UK

Posted on by

Judge tells eight who served in Iraq and Afghanistan that courts not concerned with misadministration

Eight Fijian-born soldiers who served with the British army in Iraq and Afghanistan have failed in a legal effort to overturn what they say were bureaucratic errors that have left them living illegally in the country they once served.

The group were refused leave for a judicial review of their cases by Mr Justice Garnham, who concluded the veterans had made their claim too late and that the courts were concerned with “illegality not misadministration” or an “unfocused idea of fairness”.

Continue reading...

Kylie Moore-Gilbert thanks supporters after Iran prison release: ‘My freedom is your victory’

Posted on by

British-Australian academic was held on espionage charges for more than 800 days

Freed academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has paid tribute to her family, friends and colleagues who campaigned for her release while she was held in Iranian prisons for more than two years.

After 804 days in prison on espionage charges widely dismissed as baseless, Moore-Gilbert was released last week in a complex and dramatic prisoner swap for three convicted Iranian bombers in prison in Thailand.

Continue reading...

Europeans urged to quickly set out roadmap on Iran nuclear deal

Posted on by

Diplomats call on UK, France and Germany to map out task facing incoming Biden administration

France, Germany and the UK must move quickly to set out a roadmap for Iran and the incoming Biden administration in the US to come back into compliance with the nuclear deal, some of Europe’s leading diplomats have said.

They warn that unless the three countries, known as the E3, coordinate a joint public statement setting out what both sides must do to end the impasse, there is a real risk that Joe Biden will come to power facing only escalating tensions with Iran.

Continue reading...

Helena Bonham Carter says The Crown should stress to viewers it’s a drama

Posted on by

Actor who plays Princess Margaret adds her voice to calls for Netflix to add a disclaimer

Helena Bonham Carter has said The Crown has a “moral responsibility” to tell viewers that it is a drama, rather than historical fact, in the wake of calls for a “health warning” for people watching the series.

The actor, who played Princess Margaret in series three and four of the Netflix hit drama, told an official podcast for the show that there was an important distinction between “our version”, and the “real version”.

Continue reading...

Labour will abstain from vote on Covid tiers, says Keir Starmer – video

Posted on by

Keir Starmer has said Labour will abstain from the the Covid tier vote as the government scrambled to contain a Tory rebellion by unveiling a multimillion-pound fund for pubs.

Starmer has decided to break with the government in a vote on Covid restrictions for the first time, but will not vote against the restrictions adding that this would 'not be in the interest of the country'.

Tuesday’s Commons vote on the tiers system is due to replace lockdown rules from Wednesday and put 99% of the country into tiers 2 and 3. The vote is still expected to pass

Continue reading...

PC Andrew Harper’s killer should have had life sentence, court told

Posted on by

Appeal judges hear sentencing for Henry Long, 19, and two accomplices unduly lenient

The leader of the group of teenagers who killed PC Andrew Harper should have been given a life sentence rather than the 16 years he received, while his accomplices should also have their jail terms increased from 13 years each, a court has heard.

The attorney general argued that the sentences handed to Henry Long, 19, and the 18-year-olds Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were all unduly lenient, during a court of appeal hearing on Monday.

Continue reading...

Ministers reject call for public inquiry into Pat Finucane murder

Posted on by

Announcement comes despite intense pressure for fresh investigation into 1989 death of Belfast solicitor

The British government has decided not to order a public inquiry into the 1989 murder of the Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, one of the most notorious killings of the Troubles, despite intense legal and political pressure.

Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, made the announcement on Monday in a devastating setback to a decades-long campaign for a fresh investigation into an attack found to have involved state collusion.

Continue reading...

EU will not fall into Brexit ‘negotiating trap’, UK told

Posted on by

Irish foreign minister also calls for avoidance of blame game as ‘truth of Brexit’ becomes clear

Senior Irish and French and ministers have warned that the EU is not going to fall into a Brexit “negotiating trap” being laid by the UK as both sides entered into what the British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has described as “the last week or so” of substantive talks.

Simon Coveney, who has had a leading role in the first phase of negotiations over the Irish border, said at the same time both sides must avoid engaging in a blame game as the “truth of Brexit” and its subsequent challenges become clear.

Continue reading...

Rita Ora apologises for breaking England lockdown with party in restaurant

Posted on by

Singer admits ‘inexcusable error of judgment’ after Met police called to birthday party

The singer Rita Ora has apologised for breaching lockdown rules by holding a “small” gathering with friends for her 30th birthday.

Ora admitted a “serious and inexcusable error of judgment” after celebrating with friends at a restaurant in Notting Hill, west London, on Saturday night.

Continue reading...

Pubs in Wales to close by 6pm under new Covid restrictions

Posted on by

First minister says virus spreading ‘incredibly quickly’ and firebreak gains being eroded

Pubs, bars and restaurants in Wales will be banned from selling alcohol and forced to shut early, as the Welsh first minister said Covid was spreading “incredibly quickly” across the country and that the gains made during its “firebreak” lockdown were being eroded.

Mark Drakeford said that unless strict new rules were brought in now, there could be as many as 1,700 preventable deaths this winter.

Continue reading...

Protecting others and record of vaccines main reasons to get Covid jab, poll shows

Posted on by

Survey suggests almost one in two British people expect life to return to normal in a year

Preventing others from catching coronavirus and immunisation’s proven success against disease are the main reasons people see for taking the new vaccine, research has shown.

In a survey of 1,049 Britons, the top two reasons for having it – each cited by 77% – were to protect others from the virus and because vaccines have a long track record of working.

Continue reading...

Silent victims: the hidden Romanian women exploited in the UK sex trade

Posted on by

Sex traffickers can make profits of over £1m a year per brothel – and Covid lockdowns have only made it easier for them to operate

Three weeks ago, police entered a brothel in south-east England after receiving intelligence about criminal activity there. Inside, they found eight Romanian women wearing face shields and masks, and laminated Covid-19 health and safety sheets on the wall. An industrial-size bottle of hand sanitiser stood by the front door.

“On the surface, this did not look like a place where criminality and sexual exploitation was taking place,” says Cristina Huddleston, a trafficking victim support specialist who joined the raid that evening.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Moderna to seek US and EU approval for vaccine; Italy records 672 new Covid-related deaths

Posted on by

Moderna reports a 100% success rate in preventing severe cases; Italy reports 672 new Covid-related deaths, a rise on Sunday’s figure

Turkey’s daily Covid-19 death toll hit a record high for an eighth consecutive day on Monday, with 188 fatalities in the last 24 hours.

The number of new coronavirus cases, including asymptomatic ones, over the past 24 hours also reached a record high of 31,219.

The state of Sao Paulo, home to Brazil’s biggest city, has imposed stricter social distancing measures as it wrestles to contain a fresh rise in Covid-19 cases.

Opening hours and capacities for bars, restaurants and shopping malls will be restricted in Brazil’s most populous state which has been the centre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak.

Continue reading...

Huawei: UK bans new 5G network equipment from September

Posted on by

Digital secretary says he is setting ‘clear path for complete removal of high risk vendors’ from 5G networks

Telecoms providers must stop installing Huawei equipment in the UK’s 5G networks from next September, the government has said.

The digital secretary, Oliver Dowden, set out a roadmap to remove high-risk vendors ahead of the telecommunications (security) bill coming before parliament.

Continue reading...

Covid infections in England down by nearly a third since second lockdown

Posted on by

R number now stands below 1 after 30% drop in cases across country over almost a fortnight

Coronavirus infections in England have fallen by nearly a third since the country entered its second lockdown, swab tests on 105,000 volunteers have shown.

There was a 30% drop in cases across the country over almost a fortnight this month, with 96 people infected per 10,000 between 13-24 November, down from 132 per 10,000 between 26 October and 2 November.

Continue reading...

Police apologise after officers wrongly bust online church service

Posted on by

Nine officers broke up legal Milton Keynes event after misunderstanding Covid rules

Police have apologised after a pastor was accused of breaking coronavirus regulations while holding a religious service online.

The Rev Daniel Mateola said he was “treated like a criminal” when officers arrived at Kingdom Faith Ministries International church in Milton Keynes earlier this month.

Continue reading...

Nearly a third of English hospital trusts exceed first peak of Covid patients

Posted on by

Scientists warn that scrapping or relaxing tier system too quickly could imperil NHS

Nearly a third of England’s hospital trusts have exceeded their first wave peak of Covid patients undergoing treatment, as scientists warned that relaxing or scrapping the three-tier system too quickly could further hamper the NHS.

Hospital trusts in south Somerset and Devon last week treated more than twice as many Covid patients as they did at the peak of the first wave in spring, Guardian analysis shows. But, reflecting the fact that tier decisions are based on a range of data, both areas will go into tier 2 from Thursday.

Continue reading...