Differing interpretations of public access rights are at heart of Brockwell case pitting campaign group against festival fans
Public parks have been a cherished part of British life since the 19th century; for the Victorians they represented a “commitment to cultivate public good within the public realm”.
But differing interpretations of this vision for municipal green space are at the heart of a debate over a very 21st-century issue: music festivals.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Staff in Britain now average 1.8 days a week of remote working, above global average of 1.3 days
UK workers continue to work from home more than nearly any of their global counterparts more than five years after the pandemic first disrupted traditional office life, a study has found.
UK employees now average 1.8 days a week of remote working, above the international average of 1.3 days, according to the Global Survey of Working Arrangements (G-SWA), a worldwide poll of more than 16,000 full-time, university-educated workers across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa that began in July 2021.
Continue reading...Irish-language rap trio perform at London festival after member charged for allegedly displaying Hezbollah flag
• Kneecap review – rap trio remain unbowed by terror charge
Thousands of fans showed up to support Kneecap at a festival they headlined on Friday night, days after one of its members was charged with a terror offence.
The Irish-language act performed at the Wide Awake festival in Brockwell Park, south London, two days after band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London in November.
Continue reading...Irish-language rap trio perform at London festival after member charged for allegedly displaying Hezbollah flag
• Kneecap review – rap trio remain unbowed by terror charge
Thousands of fans showed up to support Kneecap at a festival they headlined on Friday night, days after one of its members was charged with a terror offence.
The Irish-language act performed at the Wide Awake festival in Brockwell Park, south London, two days after band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London in November.
Continue reading...MPs had previously backed Conservative amendment to ask developers to provide hollow bricks for endangered birds
Providing every new home with at least one “swift brick” to help endangered cavity-nesting birds has been rejected by Labour at the committee stage of its increasingly controversial planning bill.
The amendment to the bill to ask every developer to provide a £35 hollow brick for swifts, house martins, sparrows and starlings, which was tabled by Labour MP Barry Gardiner, has been rejected by the Labour-dominated committee.
Continue reading...Trump administration’s effort to ban foreign enrolment could force students to disrupt their studies and careers
British and international students at Harvard report “growing anxiety” over their fate, as the Trump administration’s latest attack on the university could force them to disrupt their studies and careers.
On Thursday, the administration said it would revoke Harvard University’s eligibility to enrol international students, which was later temporarily frozen by a US federal judge on Friday.
Continue reading...Bertrice Pompe and Bernadette Dugasse won a brief victory in bid to stop transfer of Chagos Islands to Mauritius
Two women who brought an 11th-hour legal challenge to try to stop the UK transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius have accused the government of betrayal.
British Chagossians Bertrice Pompe, 54, and Bernadette Dugasse, 68, who were both born on the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia, vowed to keep fighting to try to realise their dream of returning to their place of birth.
Continue reading...Supporters gather in north London to celebrate end to football club’s 17-year wait for trophy
For the first time in nearly two decades, a trophy arrived in north London without any red ribbons attached. The streets were a sea of white as thousands of fans descended on the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to celebrate the team’s Europa League triumph.
It was a blissful atmosphere as supporters gathered to toast an end to the club’s 17-year wait for silverware, each one uttering the same seven-letter word: “Finally.”
Frank Hunter had been to Bilbao, not bothering to book a hotel and instead making use of the Basque city’s park benches for sleep as he and his friends endured what he called “the most excruciating experience” of his life. But he said it was all worth it.
“Words can’t describe what it means to see all the boys all together, celebrating – it’s the best day,” said Frank. “To have days like this with your family is unreal. Here’s to many more.”
Exclusive: Flagship policy put back until at least autumn amid fears cost of removing two-child benefit cap will outweigh political benefit
Labour’s flagship child poverty strategy has been delayed until at least the autumn, the Guardian has learned, even though tens of thousands more children will fall into poverty as a result.
The decision to push back the strategy comes amid Treasury concerns about the cost implications of ending the two-child limit on universal credit and questions inside No 10 over the political benefits of scrapping it.
Continue reading...Two men linked to Sheikh Hasina prevented from selling properties, including apartments in Grosvenor Square
The UK’s serious and organised crime agency has frozen almost £90m of luxury London property belonging to two men linked to the deposed ruler of Bangladesh.
In a development that comes after mounting pressure on the UK to assist Bangladesh in tracing assets linked to the former regime, the National Crime Agency (NCA) obtained nine freezing orders, official records show.
Continue reading...Israeli leader’s antisemitism claim labelled defamatory as he is warned against pursuing a war without end
Benjamin Netanyahu was accused of slander and pursuing a war without end after he claimed the leaders of France, Canada and the UK were stoking antisemitism and siding with Hamas by demanding he end the two-month blockade of food and aid into Gaza.
In what has become an extraordinary standoff with some of Israel’s closest allies, Netanyahu appeared to deliberately raise the stakes on Thursday night by accusing his western critics of abandoning Israel in a war for its very existence.
Continue reading...Motoring organisations warn of heavy traffic, and delays and cancellations will hit two rail routes out of London
The bank holiday getaway is likely to be a tricky one, with transport analysts predicting congested roads and the year’s busiest day so far for departing airports, while long-distance rail passengers dodge the start of more engineering work.
Motoring organisations forecast traffic to be at its worst on Friday, with many drivers surveyed apparently taking an extra day off before the long weekend and half-term break for most schools in England and Wales.
Continue reading...G7 finance ministers and central bank governors pledge to address ‘economic imbalances’, without naming China
Top finance officials from the world’s seven wealthiest democracies have set aside stark differences on US tariffs and agreed to counter global “economic imbalances”, a swipe at China’s trade practices.
Ahead of the meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors there had been doubt about whether there would be a final communique, given divisions over US tariffs and Washington’s reluctance to refer to Russia’s war on Ukraine as illegal.
Continue reading...Northern Irish group say charge is ‘political policing’ to stop them speaking out about ‘genocide in Gaza’
The Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap have claimed a campaign is being mounted to prevent their performance at Glastonbury this summer, at a surprise gig staged a day after one of its members was charged with a terror offence.
The group told the crowd at the 100 Club in central London on Thursday night that they were being used as a “scapegoat” because they “spoke about the genocide [in Gaza]” at Coachella in April.
Continue reading...Research also shows deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent high streets
The number of vape shops on high streets across England has increased by almost 1,200% over the past decade, while deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent ones, according to research.
In 2014, only 33.8% of 317 local authorities in England had a vape shop, rising to 97.2% in 2024. Similarly, in 2014 less than 1% of local authorities in England had 10 or more vape shops, rising to 28% in 2024.
Continue reading...Committee says Karen Kneller’s position no longer tenable in damning report on miscarriage of justice watchdog
The miscarriage of justice watchdog for England, Wales and Northern Ireland has continually failed to learn from its mistakes and its chief executive should follow the organisation’s chair out the door, MPs have said.
In a damning report on the leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the House of Commons justice committee said Karen Kneller had provided it with unpersuasive evidence and her position was no longer tenable.
Continue reading...Popular stop on M5 tops Which? survey with Tebay second, while Bridgwater is judged the worst with one-star rating
There are less than 80 miles between them, but the gulf in quality is massive, according to a Which? survey that ranked Gloucester services top of the stops, and Bridgwater bottom.
For many people motorway service stations are a place to take a break, grab a snack and use the toilet, but the rankings from the consumer recommendation group, which surveyed users of nearly 100 service stations across Great Britain, highlight the best and worst.
Continue reading...Shabana Mahmood is making a statement to MPs now about the findings of the sentencing review
The Conservatives are taking the credit for the near-50% fall in net migration. They say it is the changes to visa rules that they introduced that brought the numbers down.
This is from Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary.
Net migration has halved - dropped by 430,000 - in 2024 compared to 2023
This is thanks to measures put in place by the last Conservative Government
This drop is because of the visa rule changes that I put in place.
Labour will try to claim credit for these figures but they criticised me at the time, and have failed to fully implement the changes.
Continue reading...Government due to give green light to deal handing sovereignty of islands to Mauritius
The UK government is due to conclude its deal to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands after an eleventh-hour high court injunction was lifted.
Ministers are preparing to finalise the agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after they were blocked from doing so for several hours by a court ruling in the early hours of Thursday.
Continue reading...Chinese owner owed almost £1bn as government weighs up how best to attract buyer for Scunthorpe works
Ministers are reportedly considering legislation to relieve British Steel of debts that have risen to nearly £1bn, as the government considers how best to prepare the Scunthorpe steelworks for sale.
The government took control of the business last month after it said its Chinese owner, Jingye Steel, planned to close the plant within days. The move required emergency legislation that was passed in a historic recall of parliament.
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