Met Office issues amber weather warnings with up to 25cm of snow forecast to fall on higher areas
The Met Office has issued two rare amber weather warnings, with heavy snow and ice forecast to hit the UK on Thursday.
One warning is in place from 8am-3pm covering large parts of north Wales and Shropshire. The second runs from noon-6pm and covers the Peak District and southern Pennines.
Continue reading...PM hails ‘fantastic cause for optimism’ as he seeks to put his stamp on success of Stormont reconvening
Rishi Sunak has said there is “fantastic cause for optimism” after arriving in Northern Ireland to meet the leaders of a new power-sharing executive that ended two years of political deadlock.
The prime minister arrived in Belfast on Sunday evening in advance of a meeting on Monday with Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill, who has made history by becoming the first nationalist first minister at Stormont.
Continue reading...Countdown for republicans to potential Irish unification ticks louder as new first minister pledges to ‘serve everyone equally’ at Stormont
The chamber’s ornate ceiling remained blue, red and gold, and Portland stone still held up the Stormont edifice, but the beaming Sinn Féin faces declared this was a historic moment for Irish nationalism.
Michelle O’Neill became Northern Ireland’s first nationalist first minister in a day of symbolism and pomp that restored devolved government and etched an epitaph on the tomb of what was once a unionist state.
Continue reading...She’s pledged to be first minister ‘for all’ and her ability to navigate political tensions will shape her Stormont tenure
When Michelle O’Neill is sworn in as Northern Ireland’s first minister, it will be a moment of personal triumph steeped in irony.
As a teenage mother, she was treated as if she had the “plague”, and wept, yet went on to ascend the ranks of Sinn Féin and is now poised to make history as the first nationalist to lead Northern Ireland – a state that, in theory, she wishes to eradicate.
Continue reading...A senior Labour frontbencher confirmed the party has ditched its commitment on green spending
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, says reports that the government is giving up on plans for a returns agreement with Turkey are “very concerning”.
This decision by the Home Office is very concerning.
As Home Secretary I worked up proposals to list Turkey as a safe country : a member of the Council of Europe, a NATO ally and a Candidate country for EU accession.
The government should re-think this decision.
The Times said that ministers’ hopes for a returns deal, along the same lines as the current agreement with Albania, has collapsed after an internal review said Turkey was “a state that does not meet the criteria of being ‘generally safe’”.
Rishi Sunak and other leading Tories have hailed the Albania deal as a key success in the prime minister’s bid to stop small boats crossings in the Channel. But it now appears a similar agreement with Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is unlikely to happen.
Notably, the assessment also raises concerns over Turkey’s compliance with adverse rulings from the European court of human rights (ECHR), which the Home Office assessment said “raised questions about adherence to the rule of law”.
This is significant given Sunak’s plans not to comply with interim injunctions from the same court.
Continue reading...Michelle O’Neill has taken the top job but Irish unity is unlikely to be ‘within touching distance’
The elevation of Michelle O’Neill as Northern Ireland’s first minister is a historic moment that breathes new life into the republican slogan “tiocfaidh ár lá” – “our day will come”.
The Sinn Féin deputy leader, a working-class republican, has taken charge of a state that was designed in 1921 to enshrine a unionist majority in perpetuity, and that the IRA vowed to destroy.
Continue reading...Irish foreign minister says he does ‘not anticipate any particular difficulties in respect of the EU side’
Back at the home affairs committee James Daly (Con) asks why so few police investigations end up in people being charged.
James Cleverly, the home secretary, says the Crown Prosecution Service is independent. He wants to make sure investigations are as professional as possible.
Continue reading...‘UK internal market’ to be created to ease unionist fears over de facto border in the Irish Sea
• UK politics live – latest updates
New rules to smooth post-Brexit trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland have been unveiled by the government as part of a deal with the Democratic Unionist party that will restore the Stormont executive and install a Sinn Féin first minister.
A command paper titled Safeguarding the Union was published on Wednesday to allay DUP fears about Northern Ireland’s place in the UK and to end a two-year boycott of power sharing that has destabilised the country.
Continue reading...The DUP has endorsed a deal with the UK government to restore power sharing in NI, paving an end to two years of political deadlock
This is from Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland and first minister designate in the power sharing executive.
I welcome the public declaration by DUP Leader Jeffrey Donaldson that power-sharing will now be restored.
The parties will come together later today. We have much to do to confront the challenges facing our public services, workers and families which require urgent action.
In today’s newsletter: how the DUP finally brought two-year boycott of Stormont assembly to an end
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Good morning. It took 726 days, and a fraught five hour meeting that ended at one o’clock this morning – but at last, it looks like power-sharing is back on in Northern Ireland.
At a press conference after a meeting at a remote venue in County Down a few hours ago, Democratic Unionist party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said that his party would finally end its boycott of the Stormont assembly. He told journalists: “The result was clear, the DUP has been decisive, I have been mandated to move forward.” That means that the Northern Ireland executive is likely to return before an 8 February deadline for forming an administration. Barring any drama in the next week, Sinn Féin will hold the symbolic first minister position for the first time – and something like normal business will resume.
Middle East | Joe Biden’s defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has vowed the US will take “all necessary actions” to defend its troops after Iran-backed militants killed three and wounded dozens more in a drone attack in Jordan. Qatar’s prime minister said on Monday he hoped any US retaliation would not undercut progress toward a new Israel-Hamas hostage release deal in weekend talks.
Local government | Households across England are facing an inflation-busting £2bn council tax raid this spring despite Rishi Sunak’s promise of pre-election giveaways. After an announcement last week of an extra £600m in local government funding in England, council bosses have been told that the government expects the maximum 4.99% increase in council tax – about £100 extra on a typical band D bill. Read an analysis of the state of council budgets.
Conservatives | Kemi Badenoch is a member of a Conservative WhatsApp group called “Evil Plotters” despite telling party rebels to get behind Rishi Sunak, the Guardian can reveal. The business secretary has criticised party colleagues for “stirring” up suggestions that she could replace the prime minister – but is part of a group rallying round her longer-term ambitions.
Health | Alzheimer’s can be spread from human to human through rare medical accidents, research suggests, although experts stress there is no evidence the disease can be passed between people through everyday activities or routine care.
UK news | The actor and rightwing activist Laurence Fox has lost a high court libel battle with two men he baselessly called paedophiles after they said he was a racist. A judge dismissed Fox’s own claim that the allegations of racism were defamatory and said that damages would be discussed at a later date.
Continue reading...Disruption expected on Monday as cancellations and delays issued for rail, sea and air with heavy rain and high winds forecast
Train services in Scotland are expected to be suspended until around noon after “a wild night”, Network Rail says.
The railway has recovered quickly this morning following Storm Isha with trees and debris cleared across routes in England and Wales, and route proving trains reporting lines clear.
Passenger and freight services have restarted and a good service is expected in most areas. Passengers should still check before they head out for the latest travel news on trains operators’ websites.
Between 3.30pm on Sunday, 21st January and 2am on Monday, 22nd January, officers dealt with over 1,300 calls from the public, approximately 600 of these related to the storm.
“There is also a continued risk of significant debris on the road network as wind speeds remain high throughout Monday.
Continue reading...Forecasters warn of life-threatening gusts in coastal areas as weather causes travel disruption across country
A tornado warning has been issued across parts of Britain as Storm Isha takes hold, with potentially life-threatening gusts and travel disruption expected into Monday.
A “tornado watch” zone was issued for Northern Ireland as well as parts of Scotland and northern England by the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (Torro) on Sunday afternoon. That means a “strong tornado” is possible in those regions.
Continue reading...Damage to buildings and flying debris expected as country set to be battered by wind and rain
Storm Isha is set to batter “everybody” in the UK with wind and rain during a “rare” weather cycle, forecasters say.
Winds of up to 80mph will swoop in later on Sunday, potentially causing power cuts and loss of mobile phone signal, while roads and bridges are likely to be shut and transport services could face delays and cancellations in some areas.
Continue reading...Dental union says region will be ‘disproportionately’ affected by EU amalgam phase-out as health service is weakest in UK
Concerns have been raised about the future availability of silver dental fillings in Northern Ireland due to an imminent phasing out of the amalgam across the EU.
The plan to phase out amalgam by 1 January next year will apply in Northern Ireland as a result of Brexit trading arrangements and will also affect dental care in other parts of the UK, dentist representatives said.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Britain is falling behind the bloc on almost every area of green regulation, analysis reveals
Vital legal protections for the environment and human health are being destroyed in post-Brexit departures from European legislation, a detailed analysis by the Guardian reveals.
The UK is falling behind the EU on almost every area of environmental regulation, as the bloc strengthens its legislation while the UK weakens it. In some cases, ministers are removing EU-derived environmental protections from the statute book entirely.
Water in the UK will be dirtier than in the EU.
There will be more pesticides in Britain’s soil.
Companies will be allowed to produce products containing chemicals that the EU has restricted for being dangerous.
EU-derived air pollution laws that will be removed under the retained EU law bill.
Dozens of chemicals banned in the EU are still available for use in the UK.
Thirty-six pesticides banned in the EU have not been outlawed in the UK.
The UK is falling behind on reducing carbon emissions as the EU implements carbon pricing.
The EU is compensating those who are struggling to afford the costs of the green transition, while the UK is not.
The EU is implementing stricter regulations on battery recycling, while the UK is not.
Deforestation is being removed from the EU supply chain, while the UK’s proposed scheme is more lax and does not come in until a year later.
Continue reading...Campaigners say keeping higher EU standards post-Brexit will have little impact as existing rules are already being flouted
Northern Ireland’s environment is unlikely to benefit from higher EU standards because the country already flouts the existing rules, leaving it in a “grossly degraded” state, experts have said.
The region may escape a post-Brexit erosion of UK environmental law but still suffer grave environmental damage because of governance failures, they warned.
Continue reading...Met Office warns of travel disruption in Scotland as arctic winds and snow showers move inland from northern coasts
The cold snap will continue across most of Britain throughout Sunday and into early next week, with warnings of potential travel disruption in Scotland.
The Met Office has put in place yellow weather warnings of snow and ice for much of the north of Scotland throughout Sunday and Monday.
Continue reading...Protesters also call for UK to stop arms sales to Israel and end to Israeli occupation of Palestine
Hundreds of protesters in London have staged a sit-in on Westminster Bridge, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in the first big demonstration of the year.
Elsewhere on Saturday, there were protests in Belfast and Dublin.
Continue reading...Then PM thought move ‘would be excellent’ but Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam was sceptical
Newly released state papers show that the former prime minister Tony Blair backed proposals for Wimbledon FC to move to Belfast but his Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam was more sceptical.
Previously confidential state papers include a note from 1997 described as “following up earlier informal discussions about the possibility of an English Premier League football club relocating to Belfast”.
Continue reading...Newly released 1999 briefing by Irish civil servant reveals lack of trust during tense peace negotiations
David Trimble was “extraordinarily rude” to Tony Blair during tense negotiations about the implementation of the Good Friday agreement, accusing the then prime minister of laying a “crude trap” for unionists, one Irish official wrote of the encounter in 1999.
The meeting between Blair and Trimble, the leader of the Ulster Unionist party, took place in Belfast as the British prime minister and Ireland’s taoiseach Bertie Ahern met all the Northern Ireland parties to discuss the steps that needed to be taken to implement the peace accord.
Continue reading...