Category Archives: Society

Wes Streeting describes ‘unbelievable volume’ of homophobic abuse since becoming defence secretary

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Streeting says role is chance to show strength and challenge stereotype that ‘persists in dark corners of internet’

Wes Streeting has described receiving a mass of homophobic abuse since he was made defence secretary last month, while also saying his appointment had been welcomed by some in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as a sign of change.

Until 2000, gay men and lesbian women were banned from serving in the UK military, with about 200-plus personnel thrown out of the forces each year due to their sexuality – an estimate, as proper records were not kept.

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Mpox is back – and in new countries. How can this outbreak be contained?

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The public health emergencies in 2022 and 2024 saw the virus reported in 145 countries, but in the new cases children appear particularly affected

A fresh outbreak of mpox in Guinea Bissau – the country’s first – means the virus formerly known as monkey pox is back in the headlines. So what has changed?

Since 2022, there have been almost 190,000 lab-confirmed cases of mpox reported worldwide in 145 countries. Before then, outbreaks of mpox tended to be relatively small and in a handful of African countries, where the viral infection was known to be endemic.

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UK to warn citizens to stock up on food amid threat from climate crisis and hostile states

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Government resilience campaign aims to ensure people can cope in a national disaster, in order to free resources for most vulnerable

UK citizens will be told to stock up on tinned food and take steps to ensure they are prepared for national emergencies as part of a new government campaign to improve the nation’s resilience.

The new campaign from the Cabinet Office will set out ways people can prepare for extreme weather events and potential attacks from hostile states, including stocking up on bottled water, sources told the Guardian.

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NHS England to offer women ‘gamechanging’ free home testing kits for cervical cancer

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NHS has target of eliminating the cancer by 2040, but up to 4 million eligible women are not up to date with screening

Millions of women in England who have missed cervical screening appointments will be offered free home testing kits on the NHS.

The move comes amid concerns that only two-thirds of women attend in-person cervical screening appointments when asked to do so, leaving as many as 4 million women not up to date.

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Survivors of violent crime criticise MoJ for not explaining offender restriction zones

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Campaigners accuse ministers of trying to grab headlines with announcement before a working system is ready

Survivors of violent crime and families of victims have criticised the UK government for announcing “world first” plans to introduce restriction zones for serious offenders freed from prison within a few weeks without spelling out how they would work.

Key campaigners who have championed the idea of the zones, designed to “lock” offenders into specific areas, accused the government of seeking to grab headlines rather than providing the detail that would reassure survivors and families.

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Burnham expected to give mayors new powers over local planning decisions

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Move would allow mayors to greenlight large-scale developments and have more say on national housing funding

Andy Burnham is expected to give mayors new powers to take control of local planning decisions and greenlight large-scale developments in proposals to be presented next week.

The move would allow mayors to “call in” the decisions and direct councils to take them forward or refuse them.

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Thousands of sex offenders in England and Wales could get libido-suppressing drugs

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Exclusive: Voluntary use of sex drive-suppressing medication to expand to 20 prisons and expert says it could be rolled out widely by late 2028

Drugs that help control the libidos of people who have committed sexual offences could be rolled out for thousands of male prisoners in England and Wales from December 2028, an expert has said.

Prof Belinda Winder, who has evaluated the use of sex drive-suppressing medication in prisons, said about one in four sex offenders – equating to 3,750 current prisoners – would be considered for the treatment.

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Abusers coercing or duping women to post explicit OnlyFans content, UK court cases reveal

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Separate criminal convictions come as domestic violence charities warn of tech-facilitated abuse and coercion

Two men have been convicted this week in separate criminal cases that revealed they had posted explicit content on OnlyFans without the full consent of the women whose images were uploaded.

In the first case, Alexander Tang, 37, took and uploaded 47 intimate images and four videos of a woman to OnlyFans without her consent, and was paid money for the material he posted to the website.

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Abusers coercing or duping women to post explicit OnlyFans content, UK court cases reveal

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Separate criminal convictions come as domestic violence charities warn of tech-facilitated abuse and coercion

Two men have been convicted this week in separate criminal cases that revealed they had posted explicit content on OnlyFans without the full consent of the women whose images were uploaded.

In the first case, Alexander Tang, 37, took and uploaded 47 intimate images and four videos of a woman to OnlyFans without her consent, and was paid money for the material he posted to the website.

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Home Office could be blocked from deporting trafficking victims to Albania

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Many males are returned even if they have been trafficked but Home Office must now consider new legal guidance

The Home Office could be blocked from deporting many young male trafficking victims to Albania after a major court ruling.

Thousands of Albanian males have been identified as potential trafficking victims in the UK in recent years. Many are sent back to their country even if they are potential or confirmed victims of trafficking, as the Home Office contends they will be safe there.

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‘Biased’ Channel 4 programme on ADHD misrepresented my views, says expert

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Prof Katya Rubia withdraws support for The Great ADHD Myth? as other leading figures voice criticisms

A contributor to a controversial Channel 4 documentary on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has withdrawn her support for the programme, saying it was biased and could lead to an increased suicide risk by encouraging parents to take their children off medication.

Katya Rubia, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, also said The Great ADHD Myth? misrepresented her views.

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Young vapers ‘at risk of breathing problems and becoming smokers’

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Review by paediatricians links child vaping with poor respiratory health such as coughing, wheezing and asthma

Young people who start vaping risk developing breathing problems and going on to smoke cigarettes, children’s doctors have warned.

Child vaping is consistently linked with poor respiratory health, such as coughing, wheezing, bronchitis symptoms and asthma exacerbations, while vapes have been shown to act as a gateway to smoking cigarettes, according to one of the most comprehensive reviews of the available evidence so far undertaken by the Royal College of Child and Paediatrics Health.

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Can Andy Burnham rewire the ‘Treasury brain’ to boost growth?

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PM wants to reduce department’s stranglehold on public purse and bring long-term thinking to economic policy

Andy Burnham is far from the first prime minister to dream of taming the power of the mighty Treasury.

Boris Johnson all but forced the resignation of Sajid Javid by handpicking his team; Margaret Thatcher favoured her economic adviser Alan Walters over Nigel Lawson, prompting the latter’s furious resignation; and Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s power struggle was the stuff of Whitehall legend.

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Burnham pledges to get thousands of rough sleepers off streets for Christmas – UK politics live

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PM promises to mount ‘Covid-style campaign’ to get homeless people off streets in winter

New Scottish government policy on datacentres marks a “real departure”, the minister in charge has said.

Changes announced earlier this week mean the government has to be notified about applications to build datacentres above a 50 megawatt capacity, PA reported.

Roughly half the savings come from having to build much less grid, fewer pylons and less cables carving up the countryside. The rest of the savings come from lower wholesale prices, lower balancing costs and subsidies.

Basically, we’d pay a lot less money to switch wind farms off when it’s too windy, or for back up when it’s not windy enough.

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UK relies on heat-stressed countries for fruit and veg it could grow itself – report

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Food Foundation sounds alarm over supply risks and price shocks as about 40% of Britain’s food is imported

The UK is vulnerable to food price shocks because of its dependence on imports of fruit and vegetable from countries even more exposed to the climate crisis, researchers say.

Much of Britain has sweltered under a record five heatwaves this year and endured drought and wildfires, with the hot, dry conditions damaging crops and reducing yields of domestic produce.

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OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Teens with stronger safeguards

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Teen version is intended for children aged 13 to 17 and includes content protections on self-harm and sexual chats

OpenAI is launching a version of ChatGPT designed for teenagers – the first generation to grow up with artificial intelligence – who are already using it for schoolwork, questions about daily life and even companionship.

The San Francisco-based company says ChatGPT for Teens, which launches on Tuesday, is tailored for children aged 13 to 17 with stronger protections including content restrictions around things such as suicide, self-harm and romantic or sexual chats. It also provides homework and study support designed to help students learn rather than spit out answers and school essays.

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Public in England and Wales wrongly think most killers are minority ethnic

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Research from King’s College London finds that Reform voters’ perceptions were furthest from the truth

The public overestimate how many minority ethnic people are killers, as well as how many foreign national offenders there are, a new study has found.

The research from King’s College London tested knowledge and perceptions of crime at a time when radical right parties are trying to link offending to ethnicity and nationality to gain votes.

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Loosening of planning rules in England to allow more new homes near stations

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Angela Rayner to launch guidance for ‘default yes’ on developments near transport hubs, including on green belt sites

Thousands more homes could be built within 10 minutes of transport hubs, including on green belt sites, under a loosening of planning policy announced by Angela Rayner on Monday.

The housing secretary will set out changes to national planning guidance for England that will include an order for councils to have a “default yes” approach to housing developments that are within a reasonable walking distance of well-connected train and tram stations.

Stronger support in principle for development, meaning a more explicit presumption in favour of building in sustainable locations.

Pubs will get protection from being turned into housing or offices with developers having to prove there is no reasonable prospect of keeping a pub as a going concern, including evidence that it was marketed for sale for at least a year.

A requirement for at least 40% of homes to be accessible on bigger developments and stronger protections for community facilities.

Stronger support for growth and infrastructure including support for AI growth zones and datacentres.

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French court blocks Macron’s social media ban for under-15s

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Constitutional council says curbs infringe freedom of expression and privacy as president vows to rework legislation

France’s top court has blocked a ban on social media access for under-15s, ruling that it infringed freedom of expression and privacy.

The decision is a blow to President Emmanuel Macron as momentum builds around the world for Australian-style restrictions on children’s use of social media.

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Canadian plasma clinics pause collections after deaths of two donors

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Grifols, which runs private chain of clinics, to temporarily stop taking donations after new government investigation

A chain of private plasma donation clinics in Canada has said it is pausing collections after the deaths of two donors and a new government investigation into potential unsafe practices.

Grifols, a Spanish healthcare company which runs 17 clinics in Canada and is the country’s only private clinic for plasma donation, said it informed Health Canada of its decision to temporarily pause collections on Wednesday.

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