Category Archives: Greater Manchester

Poorly regulated clinics in England are putting children with ADHD at risk, warn doctors

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Private providers accused of prescribing powerful stimulants without examining young patients properly

Children with ADHD are being put at risk by poorly regulated private clinics that prescribe powerful stimulants without key physical examinations, doctors have warned.

A surge in remote-only assessments has led to what one clinician described as “widespread and unsafe practice”, where children are being diagnosed and medicated via video link. The clinical warnings have now forced health authorities in Greater Manchester to overhaul prescribing rules, mandating face-to-face checks to protect the safety of children.

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Green party wins Gorton and Denton byelection, pushing Labour to third place in blow to Keir Starmer

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Hannah Spencer elected as party’s first MP in northern England, as Labour sees a 25.3% drop in vote compared to 2024

The Green party has pulled off a landmark victory in the Gorton and Denton byelection in a significant blow to Keir Starmer.

Hannah Spencer, a local plumber and Green party councillor, was elected as the party’s first MP in northern England after overturning Labour’s 13,000-vote majority.

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Green party wins Gorton and Denton byelection, pushing Labour to third place in blow to Keir Starmer

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Hannah Spencer elected as party’s first MP in northern England, as Labour sees a 25.3% drop in vote compared to 2024

The Green party has pulled off a landmark victory in the Gorton and Denton byelection in a significant blow to Keir Starmer.

Hannah Spencer, a local plumber and Green party councillor, was elected as the party’s first MP in northern England after overturning Labour’s 13,000-vote majority.

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Foreign Office denies minister’s claim the Chagos Islands deal has been paused – UK politics live

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Minister told MPs the deal had been been paused, but that was immediately denied by the Foreign Office

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published figures showing that local authorities in England dealt with 1.26m flytipping incidents in 2024/25 – 9% increase on the previous year.

And there was an 11% increase in incidents involving a “tipper lorry load” amount of rubbish. There were 52,000 of these, up from 47,000 in 2023/24. Defra said these alone cost councils £19.3m.

These figures show the equivalent of 142 monster landfills a day took place, confirming what communities across the country know all too well – our beautiful countryside is being used by criminal gangs as their personal landfill.

For far too long, waste gangs have pocketed millions in illegal earning, poisoning our environment and our health without consequence. The Liberal Democrats are demanding an end to this environmental vandalism.

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Manchester-London 7am ‘ghost train’ to carry passengers after outcry over regulator’s decision

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Avanti service was to have been axed from mid-December but would have still run because of needs out of Euston

The express Manchester-London 7am Avanti service will take passengers after all, after the rail regulator conceded defeat in the face of public outcry over a ruling that would have left it running as an empty “ghost train” each day.

The 7am train, the only service linking the cities in under two hours, was set to be axed from the passenger table from mid-December – but would, as the Guardian reported on Saturday, have kept running empty from Piccadilly each day so it could run morning trains back out of Euston.

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Wife of synagogue terrorist says he showed no signs of extremism

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Exclusive: Wife of Jihad al-Shamie says he was ‘intimidating, aggressive and controlling’ but did not seem radicalised

The Manchester synagogue terrorist was “intimidating, aggressive and controlling” but showed no sign of extremism before carrying out his lethal antisemitic attack, one of his wives has said.

The woman, who married Jihad al-Shamie in an Islamic ceremony in 2021, said the 35-year-old was “glued to his phone” watching Arabic news channels but did not appear to be on the path to terror.

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Rabbi who confronted Manchester synagogue attacker vows community will not be defeated

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Daniel Walker helped worshippers hold doors shut as Jihad al-Shamie tried to force his way inside

A rabbi who looked into the face of Jihad al-Shamie as he mounted a deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue has vowed not to allow the “evil” and “hatred” he saw to triumph.

Rabbi Daniel Walker helped others to hold the doors of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue shut as Shamie “body-charged” them during Thursday’s attack, throwing “heavy plant pots” and “doing everything he could to get in”.

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Manchester synagogue victims named as home secretary criticises pro-Palestine marches – latest

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Two men were killed when an attacker used a car to ram into the grounds of a synagogue, then stabbed worshippers

The home secretary has urged pro-Palestine protesters not to carry out demonstrations in the wake of the terror attack in Greater Manchester.

Speaking on GB News, Mahmood said:

As far as I am concerned, I would have wanted to see people in this country step back from protesting for at least a few days, just to give the Jewish community here a chance to process what has happened and to begin the grieving process as well.

I am very disappointed that some of the organisers haven’t heeded the call to step back.

In terms of the attacker, this individual was not known to the security services.

He has obviously been shot dead at the scene, but the police investigations will now continue at pace.

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Manchester synagogue attack: what do we know so far?

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Attack at Heaton Park synagogue that killed two people has been declared a terrorist incident

At 9.31am on Thursday a member of the public rang the police saying they had witnessed “a car being driven towards members of the public, and one man had been stabbed” outside Heaton Park shul, a synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, where people had gathered to observe Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish faith.

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London homes 500 metres from station ‘command £42,700 premium over those 1,500 metres away’

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Nationwide survey in London, Manchester and Glasgow shows pandemic trends may be reversing as more people return to office

People buying homes in London 500 metres from a tube or railway station pay £42,700 more than buyers of similar properties 1,500 metres away from transport hubs, according to new data.

The figures indicate that despite the reshaping of the housing market sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and dramatic changes to working patterns, the traditional estate agent mantra of “good transport links” continues to wield its power over buyers.

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Doctor who left patient during operation to have sex with nurse allowed to practise

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Medical tribunal rules ‘very low risk’ of Suhail Anjum, who had been dismissed by hospital in Greater Manchester, repeating behaviour

A doctor who left a patient midway through an operation to have sex with a nurse is at “very low risk” of repeating his serious misconduct, a medical tribunal has ruled.

Dr Suhail Anjum, 44, and the unnamed nurse were caught in a “compromising position” by a colleague who walked in on the pair at Tameside hospital. The consultant anaesthetist had asked another nursing colleague to monitor the male patient, who was under general anaesthetic, so he could go to the bathroom.

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Senior Labour figures tell Keir Starmer to stop making mistakes

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Prime minister faces criticism from Emily Thornberry, who highlights risk of ‘handing country to Farage’

Keir Starmer has been warned by senior Labour figures to stop making mistakes, before a battle over the party’s deputy leadership and amid fears the government could row back on workers’ rights.

As candidates began to jostle to replace Angela Rayner, the prime minister faced public criticism from Emily Thornberry, a potential contender, who said further mistakes from Starmer could lead to having to “hand our country to [Nigel] Farage”.

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‘We’re taking it seriously’: how police in Manchester cut burglaries by third

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Officers in Operation Castle attend every reported break-in and no longer treat such crimes as ‘low level’

When Sean Edwards found his car and his neighbours’ houses had been broken into in Longsight, Greater Manchester, in 2022, he was not expecting much from the police based on previous experiences.

“I expected them to dust for prints and take statements, then give us a crime reference number and nothing else happen,” he said.

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Three-year-old girl killed in collision in Manchester city centre

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Greater Manchester police say girl died from her injuries after incident on Mosley Street involving tram and van

A three-year-old girl has been killed in a collision between a tram and a van in Manchester.

Greater Manchester police officers attended the scene on Mosley Street, near to St Peter’s Square, after the collision on Saturday morning.

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Burnley MP Oliver Ryan suspended by Labour over messages on WhatsApp group

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Ryan is second MP to face sanctions after emergence of details of Trigger Me Timbers group

The Labour MP Oliver Ryan has been suspended by the party over his membership and comments on a WhatsApp group that featured offensive messages, including alleged racism and sexism.

The party took action against the Burnley MP after the emergence of details about the Trigger Me Timbers group, mainly involving a group of councillors and party activists in Greater Manchester.

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Judge rejects attempt to overturn inquest verdict on Stockport scout’s death

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Scout leaders had launched judicial review over verdict of unlawful killing of Ben Leonard, 16, who fell from cliff on expedition

A high court judge has rejected an attempt by a scout leader and an assistant to overturn the findings of an inquest jury that concluded they were responsible for the unlawful killing of a 16-year-old boy who fell from a cliff during an expedition.

Ben Leonard from Stockport, Greater Manchester, became separated from his group during a hike in north Wales and fell about 60m (200ft) from a ledge, suffering a fatal head injury.

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Musk accused of ‘politicising’ rape of young girls in UK to attack Starmer

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Ex-health worker who exposed paedophile ring says billionaire’s triggering of row ignores plight of survivors

Elon Musk has “politicised” the rape of young girls in the UK in an attempt to attack Keir Starmer, a former health worker who exposed a major paedophile ring has told the Guardian.

Sara Rowbotham, who gathered evidence that led to the imprisonment of nine men in Rochdale, said the tech billionaire had launched a “political swipe” at the prime minister that overlooked the plight of abuse survivors.

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Ice warning and travel alerts in UK as temperatures drop after flooding

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Disruption expected as rain turns to snow, after major flooding incident declared in Greater Manchester

An ice warning is in force for much of the UK as temperatures have dropped, after a major incident was declared due to flooding.

The yellow Met Office warning indicates there could be some difficult travel conditions across Scotland, Northern Ireland and north Wales, and stretching down to the Midlands, until 10am on Thursday.

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Man on the run after being recalled to UK prison indefinitely makes plea to minister

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Matthew Booth, from Bolton, is facing further time in jail after claims he has restarted a relationship with an ex

A Bolton man who is on the run after being recalled to prison indefinitely has made a direct plea to the justice secretary to intervene in his case.

Matthew Booth, 33, is wanted by police on recall to prison for a crime he committed when he was 15 and for which he has served a sentence.

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