New Year’s Eve revellers told to prepare for near-freezing conditions as parts of UK recover from Storm Gerrit
Gusts of up to 75mph (120km/h) are expected to batter the coasts of southern England and Wales this weekend as other parts of the UK continue to recover from the ravages of Storm Gerrit.
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for high winds in the south-east, south-west, East Anglia and Wales from 11am on Saturday until 3am on Sunday, New Year’s Eve.
Continue reading...Thousands of homes without power and rail travel in chaos after strong winds, heavy snow and rain
A major incident has been declared in Greater Manchester, where a “localised tornado” has swept through the Tameside area, damaging about 100 properties and leaving thousands of homes without power.
Storm Gerrit, the latest named storm to reach the UK, has also caused heavy snow, high winds and rain in parts of Scotland, where fallen trees, branches and other debris have brought down power lines.
Continue reading...Ploughs and tractors deployed to rescue cars and jackknifed lorry from A9 and surrounding roads
A major incident has been declared in parts of Scotland where drivers are stranded in blizzard conditions after the arrival of Storm Gerrit.
Six ploughs and three tractors have been deployed in an attempt to rescue cars and a jackknifed lorry from the A9 and surrounding roads in the Scottish Highlands.
Continue reading...Lee Parkin intervened in vain in 20-minute attack as he walked his dog near his home in Doncaster
Lee Parkin had been the proud owner of his terrier-spaniel cross Izzy for nearly 10 years when he stepped out for what would be his last walk with his beloved pet.
He was walking Izzy near his home in Doncaster when an XL bully pounced on her, mounting a 20-minute attack and ultimately killing the dog in front of Parkin, who desperately intervened in vain.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Orders should be done within a year of sentence as experts blame ‘chronic understaffing’ in probation service
More than 5,500 unpaid work orders that form part of community sentences have not been completed more than two years after being handed down, with experts blaming “chronic understaffing” in the probation service.
Ordinarily the orders, which can be for between 40 and 300 hours, should be completed within 12 months of sentence. Figures show there are more than 15,100 unpaid work orders not completed in that time in England and Wales,
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Teams work to establish cause of incident as businesswoman and scientist Danielle Evans is named
The woman who was killed in an explosion and fierce fire at an industrial estate in south Wales has been named as the 40-year-old businesswoman and scientist Danielle Evans.
Her family paid tribute to a “whirlwind of a woman”. They said: “She leaves a gaping hole in her family and friends’ hearts, which will never be replaced. She was an intelligent, caring and beautiful soul. She started her own successful laboratory business, Celtic Food Labs. Poured her heart and soul into it, but the most important things to her were her husband, family, dogs and friends.”
Continue reading...The prime minister faced PMQs for the final time before the Christmas recess
Rishi Sunak is about to take PMQs. It will be the last of 2023.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Continue reading...Callum Griffiths, 19, Jesse Owen, 18, and Morgan Smith, 18, declared dead at scene while two others suffer life-threatening injuries
Three teenagers who died after a road traffic collision in a small village in south Wales have been named by police.
Callum Griffiths, 19, from Porth, and Jesse Owen, 18, and Morgan Smith, 18, both from Tonypandy, were killed in a collision between a bus and an Audi A1 on Ely Valley Road, in Coedely, in the borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, at about 7pm on Monday.
Continue reading...Damian Green says government must ‘stick to guns’ but chair of European Research Group calls for bill to be pulled and rewritten
Sunak says the PM had to balance competing interests during Covid.
Only he could do that, because only he saw all the competing arguments made by different cabinet ministers.
Your phone, you said, doesn’t retain, and nor do you have access to, text messages at all relating to the period of the crisis.
In addition, you said although on occasion you use WhatsApp to communicate around meetings and logistics and so on, you generally were only party to WhatsApp groups that were set up to deal with individual circumstances such as arrangements for calls, meetings and so on and so forth. You don’t now have access to any of the WhatsApps that you did send during the time of the crisis, do you?
I’ve changed my phone multiple times over the past few years and, as that has happened, the messages have not come across.
As you said, I’m not a prolific user of WhatsApp in the first instance – primarily communication with my private office and obviously anything that was of significance through those conversations or exchanges would have been recorded officially by my civil servants as one would expect.
Continue reading...Health board launches investigation after family forced to hold second funeral service after hospital in Cwmbran, south Wales, told them of its mistake
An investigation has been launched after a family cremated the wrong body due to a mix-up at a hospital in Wales.
An NHS board has apologised over the incident in which relatives held a funeral service after being given the body of a different person, who is not believed to have any surviving family members.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Inspection in England and Wales criticises pace of change since child abuse scandals in Rotherham and Rochdale came to light
Police are still blaming child victims of sexual grooming gangs for the attacks they suffer, an official report has found.
The inquiry by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) comes more than a decade after scandals in Rotherham and Rochdale came to light, revealing failings by the authorities that left gangs of men free to attack vulnerable young girls.
Continue reading...Yellow warning in place for ice across north of England and snow warnings for parts of Scotland, Wales and Peak District
Drivers have been warned they face “very treacherous” icy conditions in parts of the UK on Monday after another night of sub-zero temperatures.
A yellow weather warning for ice by the Met Office is in place across much of the north of England until noon on Monday, with further warnings for snow covering eastern Scotland, high ground in Wales and the Peak District until the same time.
Continue reading...‘Shocking’ poll in England and Wales shows nearly one in five reluctant to hire women they think may go on to have children
A significant minority of human resources executives believe men are better suited to senior management than women, according to the results of a “shocking” poll.
Nearly one in seven HR decision-makers rate men as better for top jobs and nearly one in five admitted they were reluctant to hire women they thought might go on to start families, the survey of personnel managers in England and Wales for the charity Young Women’s Trust (YWT) found.
Continue reading...Government push to clear asylum backlog is not giving people granted refugee status enough time to find new home, say councils
Tens of thousands of refugees are at risk of sleeping rough this Christmas after a Home Office drive to hit Rishi Sunak’s asylum case target, the umbrella body for local councils has said.
The Local Government Association said councils across England and Wales were facing a “perfect storm” as the government worked to clear 92,327 asylum cases by the end of the year.
Continue reading...After the death of four teens, many are asking if restrictions such as on night driving or carrying passengers could save young lives
The number of passersby who paused at the police cordon blocking the narrow, winding country road in north Wales where four teenagers died was striking.
They wanted, primarily, to express their sorrow and send messages of comfort to the relatives and friends of Jevon Hirst, 16, Harvey Owen, Wilf Fitchett, both 17, and 18-year-old Hugo Morris. But many felt compelled also to share their family or community’s stories of losing young people in road accidents. Some were in tears as the described an agony that never goes away – and many asked if more needed to be done to reduce such tragedies.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson and Hugo Morris were last seen on Sunday morning in silver Ford Fiesta
Police searching for four missing teenagers who disappeared on a camping trip in north Wales have found the car they were travelling in.
Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson and Hugo Morris are thought to have been travelling in the Harlech and Porthmadog areas of Gwynedd, North Wales police said.
Continue reading...Two others injured in Pwllheli attack, involving dog that was destroyed and whose breed not yet established
Two people have been airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after a dog attack in Pwllheli, north Wales.
Officers attended an address in the Rhoshirwaun area just before 11.30am on Friday, and two other people suffered minor injuries, North Wales police said.
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