More than 20% of weekend availability lost in England since 2022, forcing some to turn to A&E, says national association
People who need to obtain medication at the weekend are having to undertake long trips because more pharmacies are cutting their opening hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
One in six pharmacies in England have reduced their hours at weekends since 2022, with some shutting altogether, as a result of “unsustainable” pressures on their budgets.
Continue reading...PM has apologised for his handling of Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, but next tranche of files could contain further damaging details
Keir Starmer could suffer further resignations when ministerial WhatsApp messages are published in the next tranche of the Peter Mandelson files, senior government sources have told the Guardian.
With officials bracing for the subsequent releases – expected to include informal communications alongside formal messages like those in the first batch – Starmer apologised again on Thursday over his handling of Mandelson’s appointment, saying: “It was me that made a mistake, and it’s me that makes the apology to the victims of [Jeffrey] Epstein, and I do that.”
Continue reading...Defence secretary connects Middle East conflict to plight of Ukraine, sympathy for which remains relatively high
After a week or so of wearing media coverage about the deterioration of the Anglo-American relationship and the belated decision to deploy Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon to Cyprus, it was time to move the conversation on.
On a visit to the UK’s permanent military headquarters in Northwood, north-west London, the defence secretary, John Healey, asked two senior British military officers if there was “any sign of a link between Russia and Iran” in the sprawling conflict that has suddenly engulfed the Middle East.
Continue reading...Pilots reportedly adopting Russian tactics as statement in name of new Iranian supreme leader vows continued attacks on US bases
Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” lies behind Iran’s military methods, the UK defence secretary has said, after a night in which drones struck a base used by western forces in Erbil, northern Iraq.
John Healey was speaking after British officers at the UK’s military headquarters in north-west London told him that drone pilots from Iran and Iranian proxies were increasingly adopting tactics “from the Russians”.
Continue reading...Programme which supports schemes in six African countries was previously hailed as vital protection for Britain against future pandemics
A flagship health project in Africa, which UK ministers said would play a vital role in protecting Britain from future pandemic threats, is being axed due to aid cuts, the Guardian can reveal.
The Global Health Workforce Programme (GHWP) which supported development and training for healthcare staff in six African countries, will close at the end of the month, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.
Continue reading...Communities secretary tells MPs that government has to act against record levels of hate crimes
A new definition of anti-Muslim hate will not restrict freedom of speech, the communities secretary has pledged, as he said that “clear expectations” will still be set for new arrivals and existing communities in Britain to learn English.
MPs were told by Steve Reed that the government had a duty to act against record levels of hate crime against Muslims, but that “you can’t tackle a problem if you can’t describe it”.
Continue reading...Kemi may be all in favour, but at least economic realpolitik is forcing her to take a slightly different tack
There have been any number of opportunities for people to decide they wanted no part of America’s war with Iran. The first was after the US had launched its first wave of strikes. To be fair, this was the moment Keir Starmer and most of the UK reckoned enough was enough and that our involvement would be limited to defensive strikes only.
You couldn’t really fault the logic. Did the UK really want to be part of a war that was illegal in most versions of international law and for which the Americans had no clear vision of how it might end? Other than Donald Trump gets bored and lets everyone else clear up his mess. Like a baby. Nor was the UK’s track record of wars in the 21st century any source of pride. Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya had all been in chaos. Iran was shaping up the same way. So Starmer decided to sit this one out. Applying the doctor’s principle of “first, do no harm”.
Continue reading...Social media company tells MPs of continual fight against state-backed efforts, with Russia being most prolific
Elon Musk’s X said it had suspended 800m accounts over a 12-month period as it fights the “massive” scale of attempts to manipulate the platform.
The social media company told MPs it was continually fighting state-backed attempts to hijack the agenda on its network, with Russia the most prolific state actor, followed by Iran and China.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Campaigners urge Keir Starmer to back ‘Philomena’s Law’ to protect payments for up to 13,000 survivors living in Britain
Survivors of Ireland’s mother and baby homes have started to have benefits cut in Britain because they accepted compensation from the Irish government.
The cuts to the means-tested benefits of survivors in Britain come as campaigners including the actors Siobhán McSweeney and Steve Coogan called on Keir Starmer to back a bill known as Philomena’s Law, which would ringfence survivors’ benefits.
Continue reading...B-1 Lancers arrive at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire after Starmer allows US to use UK as a base for ‘defensive’ action
Four US bombers have landed at an RAF base in Britain to carry out “specific defensive operations” to stop Iran firing missiles into the Middle East, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The B-1 Lancers, which are 45 metres (146ft) long and capable of carrying 24 cruise missiles, arrived at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, one on Friday evening and three on Saturday morning, after Keir Starmer had granted permission for “defensive” US action against Iranian missile sites from UK bases.
Continue reading...Defence minister urges ‘serious politics’ after Tory leader criticises prime minister’s stance at spring conference
Labour has accused Kemi Badenoch of scoring “cheap political points” after the Conservative party leader said Keir Starmer was “too scared” to join strikes on Iran.
Al Carns, the defence minister, said “serious politics” was required in response to Badenoch’s speech at the party’s spring conference where she criticised the prime minister’s stance on the US-Israel strikes on Iran a week ago.
Continue reading...Call for urgent meeting comes after woman was assaulted by man who had been given her key card by hotel staff
More than 20 MPs have demanded an urgent meeting with the CEO of Travelodge after a woman was sexually assaulted by a man who had been given her room number and a key card by hotel staff.
The MPs said the case of Kyran Smith, 29, who was jailed for seven-and-a-half years last month, raised “deeply concerning” questions. He attacked the woman after a party in December 2022.
Continue reading...Hampshire business seems to have benefited from ‘phoenixism’, which costs the taxpayer about £800m a year
A UK recruitment business has been acquired out of administration for a third time in four years as part of a succession of deals that left some of the former management team in place and millions of pounds owed to the public purse.
The chain of insolvencies appears to contain more examples of phoenixism – a process when companies are liquidated and directors are able to rise from the ashes with a new entity, free of debts.
Continue reading...Deputy prime minister says while jets currently only shooting down missiles, there is legal basis for them to do more
Hello and welcome to the UK politics blog.
Royal Air Force jets could legally strike Iranian missile sites being used to attack British interests in the Middle East, David Lammy has said this morning.
It is entirely legal to protect our people and protect our staff, and therefore all operational capability is available to us in those circumstances.
It is my understanding that that would be legal.
The UK is sending four additional Typhoon jets to Qatar, as well as Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities being sent to Cyprus, Keir Starmer said in a press conference yesterday. He said the US has been allowed to use British airfields to carry out defensive missions and that HMS Dragon is heading for the Mediterranean.
Kemi Badenoch has said the UK should take offensive action against Iran after UK bases were attacked. “We need to do what we can to stop the ability for these attacks to take place,” the Tory leader told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Shabana Mahmood put herself on a collision course with Labour MPs after announcing a set of changes to the immigration system that one backbencher said mimicked Donald Trump and another claimed would lead to a Windrush-style scandal. The home secretary announced her plans on Thursday, including an end to permanent refugee status and the removal of government support from asylum seekers who are deemed not to need it or who break the law.
A small number of asylum seekers whose claims are rejected will be offered an “increased incentive payment” of £10,000 per person and up to £40,000 per family to leave Britain under a pilot scheme, Mahmood said. The home secretary said the government would seek to echo reforms introduced in Denmark, where she said there had been “great success” in using incentives.
The husband of a Labour MP and two other men have been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of spying for China. David Taylor, who is married to the Scottish Labour MP Joani Reid, is accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Nigel Farage has described May’s Senedd elections as a “referendum” on Keir Starmer, as Reform UK gears up to battle Plaid Cymru for the chance to end a century of Labour dominance in Wales. Launching Reform’s election manifesto in Newport on Thursday alongside the party’s newly appointed Welsh leader, Dan Thomas, Farage said: “It’s a Welsh election, but I’m afraid, whether you like it or not, it doubles up as a referendum on Keir Starmer’s premiership.”
Continue reading...Justice secretary calls for inquiry into disclosure of cabinet splits at national security council over use of British bases
David Lammy has said it is an “absolute travesty” that details were leaked from a top secret national security meeting on the US-Israel attacks on Iran and has called for an investigation.
Cabinet splits at a national security council meeting, which is protected by the Official Secrets Act, over allowing the US to use British bases for the strikes against Iran were reported over the weekend.
Continue reading...After the Greens’ byelection win, PM’s failure to make a progressive offer has angered Labour’s soft-left majority
But for the Iran crisis, Labour’s first major policy announcement since the party’s calamitous defeat in the Gorton and Denton byelection would have been arguably the biggest political story of the week.
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, pressed ahead with what is intended to be the party’s full-throated answer to the competition it faces from Reform UK as she declared an end to permanent refugee status and the removal of state support from some asylum seekers.
Continue reading...At least eight councils receive legal threats alleging flyers criticising wood burners are in breach of advertising codes
Lobbyists for the UK wood-burning stove industry have threatened councils with legal action over public information campaigns warning of the harms of air pollution.
At least eight councils have received legal threats, according to research by the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The Stove Industry Association (SIA), which represents the UK’s expanding industry around the burning of wood in domestic settings, wrote to the councils, all London boroughs, in late 2023 complaining that flyers stating wood burners were “careless, not cosy” were in breach of UK advertising codes.
Continue reading...Prime minister’s initial refusal to help US could constrain Britain’s ability to protect its nationals in the Gulf and reassure allies
Britain knew that the US was considering attacking Iran from the moment Donald Trump told protesters that “help is coming” in the middle of January. It was obvious to the world that the White House was serious when the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was sent to the Arabian Sea in late January.
But as Trump gradually built up his “massive armada”, reinforcing it with a second carrier strike group in mid-February, UK deployments were constrained and limited even though there was a recognition that it was likely allies and bases with British soldiers would be attacked in an Iranian retaliation.
Continue reading...Joani Reid asks for privacy after it was revealed her husband David Taylor was one of the three men arrested
Starmer begins PMQs by telling the Commons that his thoughts are with Sarah Everard “on this very painful anniversary” of her death.
He says the government is working hard to prevent boys and men from becoming abusers.
Continue reading...Liz Sayce tells MPs some civil servants tried to minimise extent of problems and deflect blame
The head of an official inquiry into carer’s allowance has criticised “forces of resistance” inside the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that undermined ministerial attempts to fix longstanding problems with the much-criticised benefit.
Liz Sayce, whose review of carer’s allowance was published in November, said rather than owning the problems, some at the DWP had tried to “minimise” the extent of the department’s failures and sought to deflect blame for the crisis.
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