Category Archives: Northern Ireland

Blair was keen to relocate Wimbledon FC to Belfast in late 1990s, papers show

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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”.

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David Trimble was ‘extraordinarily rude’ to Tony Blair at Good Friday talks

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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.

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Sunak rebuked by UK’s statistics watchdog for making misleading claim about government debt – as it happened

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The prime minister has been facing questions on his government’s performance from senior MPs on the Commons liaison committee

Social care leaders felt “blindsided” by recently announced changes to visa rules banning care workers from bringing their families to the UK and have “grave concerns” it could drive people from the sector, the Commons health committee heard this morning. PA Media has filed this from the hearing.

The head of Care England, which represents social care providers across the country, criticised a lack of consultation with the sector, saying it left them “particularly concerned, annoyed and irritated”.

Prof Martin Green, its chief executive, told the committee the system is currently already “creaking at the edges” due to a lack of funding, and spoke of the “chronic workforce shortage” it faces.

Today’s guidance does not go far enough. During the many months we have been waiting for its publication, it has become increasingly clear that non-statutory guidance will provide insufficient protection and clarity, and that a change in the law of the land is required.

That is why I am today asking the government to back my private member’s bill which would change the law in this area to ensure children are fully protected.

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DUP talks about post-Brexit trading have ended, Northern Ireland secretary says

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Chris Heaton-Harris says it is time to restore devolved government, in comments that appeared to surprise DUP leader

Talks with the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) over post-Brexit trading arrangements have ended and it is time to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland secretary has said.

The announcement by Chris Heaton-Harris on Tuesday appeared to surprise and discomfit the DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who said the party still had concerns and that talks would continue.

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DUP rules out imminent deal to restore Northern Ireland power sharing

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Spokesperson says party is ‘condition-led, not calendar-led’ after speculation about a deal before Christmas

The Democratic Unionist party (DUP) has quashed speculation about a deal to break Northern Ireland’s political deadlock and restore power sharing before Christmas.

Party sources on Monday signalled that talks with the UK government over post-Brexit trading arrangements needed more time and would continue in the new year.

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UK weather: Met Office issues yellow alerts for rain and wind

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Dozens of flood warnings in place as Britain and Ireland hit by fifth named storm since September

The Met Office has issued yellow alerts for rain and wind across large swathes of the UK and the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, with dozens of flood warnings in place as the countries are battered by the fifth named storm since September.

As Storm Elin hits the UK and the Republic of Ireland, there are yellow alerts for wind covering Wales, the Midlands and parts of Northern Ireland and the north-west and south-west of England. Yellow alerts for rain are in place in the north-west of England and parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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Scotland ‘let down on every front’ by Hunt’s statement, says SNP government

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Questions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland about funding for devolved governments

The Scottish government has accused the chancellor of “letting Scotland down on every count” after he unveiled a modest £545m increase in Treasury funding, and extra funds for Wales and Northern Ireland.

Jeremy Hunt announced an overall boost of £1bn for the UK’s three devolved governments, with Wales in line to receive an extra £305m and Northern Ireland £185m over the next two financial years, alongside £545m for Scotland.

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Storm Debi: warnings of heavy rain and strong winds across Ireland and NI

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Forecasters issue yellow warnings for entire island and stronger warning of ‘severe and damaging gusts’ for 18 Irish counties

Weather warnings have been issued for the entire island of Ireland as forecasters said Storm Debi would bring a new spell of heavy rain and strong winds. Parts of the island are still recovering from

floods during intense spells of rain in the preceding storms, Babet and Ciarán.

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Storm Ciarán: ‘danger to life’ warnings for England and rail disruption across Scottish border

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Large waves and winds of up to 85mph forecast for England’s south coast with rain warnings in place and trains slowed or cancelled

Storm Ciarán is forecast to bring a fresh bout of strong winds and heavy rain to the UK – with “danger to life” amber weather warnings issued for Thursday.

Two amber warnings, the second-highest level of alert, are in place for parts of the south coast of England on Thursday, with further yellow rain warnings, the lowest level, meaning some disruption could be on the way.

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Storm Babet: second severe flood alert in Scotland after two people die

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Red ‘danger to life’ warning covers Angus and southern Aberdeenshire, as person confirmed killed by falling tree

The Met Office has issued a second “danger to life” red warning for rain covering the region in eastern Scotland already suffering unprecedented flooding.

The weather agency said the very rare red warning of severe flooding and disruption covered Angus and southern Aberdeenshire and was in place for the whole of Saturday. It came as a second person was confirmed to have been killed after a falling tree hit a van near Forfar on Thursday evening.

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Storm Babet: body of woman recovered from river as town evacuated

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Police Scotland say 57-year-old’s body recovered from River Esk after reports of someone being swept away

The body of a 57-year-old woman has been recovered from a river in Angus, Police Scotland have said, as hundreds of people were ordered to evacuate their homes in a town in the east of the country because of fears that the River Esk will burst its banks during Storm Babet.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 1.45pm on Thursday October 19, officers attended a report of a person having been swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk.

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DUP making ‘progress’ in post-Brexit trade talks, says Donaldson

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Party leader tells conference DUP will not revive power-sharing in Northern Ireland unless concerns are addressed

The Democratic Unionist party (DUP) is making “progress” in talks with the UK government over post-Brexit trading arrangements but the party will not revive power-sharing in Northern Ireland unless its fundamental concerns are addressed, Jeffrey Donaldson has said.

The DUP leader told the party’s conference in Belfast on Saturday he wished to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland but would “not be afraid to say no” to any deal he deemed inadequate.

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Holiday pay ruling ‘entitles many UK workers to thousands in unfairly deducted wages’

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Unison says decision affects other types of employee payments and is ‘victory for underpaid workers’

Many UK workers could be entitled to thousands of pounds “unfairly” deducted from their pay after a supreme court decision, according to unions.

The judgment relates to a long-running row about holiday pay but Unison, which participated in the case, said the ruling affected all other types of payment to employees and called it a “victory for underpaid workers”.

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Rishi Sunak refuses to endorse Suella Braverman’s claim multiculturalism has failed – UK politics live

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The PM instead praised the UK’s ‘fantastic multicultural democracy’, saying the nation has done an ‘incredible job of integrating people’

The former SNP minister Fergus Ewing has claimed his party no longer stands up for Scotland as he was suspended for a week after a disciplinary vote by fellow MSPs.

The sanction, which was backed by 48 votes to nine with four abstentions, came about after Ewing voted against the SNP-Green government in a no-confidence motion against the Scottish Green minister Lorna Slater.

The SNP I joined would never have asked me, or indeed any other elected politician, to choose between loyalty to party and loyalty to constituents …

It was never an ordinary political party because it was one which put Scotland first.

Fergus is a long standing MSP, he has been a minister, he understands the procedures here and what the outcome is of voting in the way that he did.

No, you are and you’re her direct line boss. So why didn’t you deal with that situation, as her boss?

The way it works for MPs is slightly different, in the sense that they themselves are elected by their constituents and we have a separate process for them stopping the job that they’re in. It is not my ability to do that, actually. Ultimately people elect their MPs regardless of who the prime minister is.

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Animal welfare groups criticise American XL bullies ban, saying they’re ‘deeply concerned’ about lack of evidence – UK politics live

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PM says breed, responsible for series of attacks, will be banned once it has been properly defined

Here is the full text of what Rishi Sunak said in his video statement about banning American XL bully dogs. (See 11.50am.)

The American XL bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.

I share the nation’s horror at the recent videos we’ve all seen. Yesterday we saw another suspected XL bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.

It’s clear the American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities.

I’ve ordered urgent work to define and ban this breed so we can end these violent attacks and keep people safe.

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Rishi Sunak says he told China actions to undermine British democracy are ‘completely unacceptable’

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Prime minister says he told Li Qiang, the Chinese prime minister, at G20 that Chinese interference with the work of parliament will ‘never be tolerated’

Simon Clarke, who was the levelling up secretary during the Liz Truss premiership, has defended the government’s decision not to explicitly label China as a threat. In posts on X, or Twitter as many of us still call it, he said:

There are legitimate reasons why it is difficult for ministers to say China is a threat – that’s the nature of international relations. What matters more than words is that our policy choices change to reflect the undoubted danger of China’s actions.

Here I think the Government’s record stands up pretty well. You have the soft power of our new Pacific trade bloc membership in the CPTPP (which notably does not include China) and you have the hard power of the new AUKUS alliance - itself a response to Chinese aggression.

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Poster appears in Northern Ireland listing police officers’ personal details

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Police investigating poster put up in bus shelter in County Derry, which follows data breach last month

Police in Northern Ireland have said a poster featuring the personal details of three serving officers was placed on a bus shelter in County Derry.

An investigation has been launched into the incident in Dungiven on Thursday. It follows a data breach last month in which the details of about 10,000 officers and staff were mistakenly released online.

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Files reveal terms ministers were warned not to use in Northern Ireland

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Advice was part of briefing for Peter Mandelson when he became Labour’s Northern Ireland secretary in 1999

It was sound advice for anyone visiting Northern Ireland in 1999 and remains so today: do not refer to Protestants as “Prods”, or to Catholics as “Fenians” or “Taigs”, and whatever you do don’t refer to your visit as “being out here”.

The tips were part of a briefing paper for Peter Mandelson after he became the Labour government’s Northern Ireland secretary, according to files declassified on Thursday.

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Man charged with terrorism offences after Northern Ireland police data breach

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Fifty-year-old charged with two counts of possessing documents for use in terrorism or likely to be useful to terrorists

A 50-year-old man has been charged with possessing documents or records likely to be useful to terrorists and possession of articles for use in terrorism, in relation to the major Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) data breach.

He is due to appear at Coleraine magistrates court on Monday, the PSNI said.

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A-level results 2023: students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive grades – live

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School leavers in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man will also receive their results today

The number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has fallen this year, Ucas figures show.

Press Association reports:

Firstly, I want to say a huge congratulations to the hundreds of thousands of students up and down the country who are celebrating their results and next steps today.

I am delighted to see more than 200,000 UK 18-year-olds have secured their first choice, which is testament to their hard work and commitment to progress to higher education in a year that has seen many complex factors at play, such as geopolitics, the economy and job market, and cost of living.

Labour recognises the enormous effort that all of our young people have put into their studies over the past year.

Young people have achieved these results despite the challenges they’ve faced: with a Labour government behind them, offering them pathways to good prospects, there will be no limit on what they can achieve.

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