UK weather: Storm Henk hits parts of south as Met Office issues warning

Damage to buildings and floods likely as first named storm of 2024 sweeps across southern Britain

Commuters faced misery on roads and rail networks and people were told to prepare for flooding as the first named storm of 2024 – Henk – swept across parts of southern Britain, bringing winds of up to 80mph (128km/h).

About 2,000 homes in Cornwall experienced power cuts and trees were brought down by the wind. People were asked to stay away from coastal areas hit by the storm and in some areas police advised people not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

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‘Widely wet’ start to new year expected with flood warnings across UK

Met Office issues yellow warnings, as heavy rain expected in Wales and strong winds across England

A “widely wet” start to the new year is expected for many areas, with heavy rainfall predicted for parts of the UK and dozens of flood warnings in place.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain and wind for large parts of England and Wales on Tuesday. The heaviest rain is more likely across parts of Wales, the Midlands towards eastern England and Yorkshire while gusts could reach 60mph in coastal areas or 40 to 50mph elsewhere, the forecaster said.

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Meet the Outlaw escaping from prisons in protest against indefinite detention

Joe Outlaw is one of 2,921 inmates still on IPP sentences, which were abolished in 2012

It should be impossible to escape from a high-security prison, doubly so for prisoners held on the segregation unit, who are allowed only to exercise in a caged yard.

But on 21 June, the summer solstice and the hottest day of the year at that point, Joe Outlaw managed to break through the cage and get on to the roof of HMP Frankland, a Durham prison dubbed “Monster mansion” due to many of its inmates being convicted murderers, terrorists and sex offenders.

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Judicial review hearing granted over XL bully ban

From Sunday it is illegal to rehome, sell or transfer ownership of the dogs in England and Wales

A judicial review hearing has been granted for campaigners seeking to overturn the UK government’s ban on XL bully dogs, with owners of the animals now subject to tight restrictions as the legislation comes into force.

From Sunday, it is illegal to rehome, sell or transfer ownership of XL bully dogs in England and Wales, and they must be muzzled and kept on a leash when in public, with animal rescue centres fearing they could be forced to euthanise hundreds of dogs.

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All Eurostar trains into and out of London cancelled due to flooding

Southeastern trains on same route also affected, while windy conditions expected to sweep UK

Thousands of travellers faced disruption to their new year plans after all Eurostar trains in and out of London were cancelled on Saturday after “unprecedented” flooding in a tunnel on the line.

There were no high-speed services running between London St Pancras international and Ebbsfleet international in Kent on Saturday, and Southeastern trains on the same route were also suspended. A total of 41 Eurostar trains were cancelled.

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UK weather: high winds to batter coasts of Wales and southern England

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.

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Tornado damages homes in Greater Manchester as Storm Gerrit batters Britain

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.

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UK weather: major incident declared in Scotland due to Storm Gerrit

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.

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‘It just grabbed her’: Izzy, a beloved terrier-spaniel cross, killed by XL bully

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.

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Over 5,500 unpaid work orders not completed after two years in England and Wales

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,

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

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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Family pays tribute to woman who died in south Wales explosion and fire

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.”

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Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clash over homelessness and the UK economy at PMQs – as it happened

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.

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Police name three teenagers killed in traffic collision in south Wales

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.

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One Nation Tory MPs vow to drop support for Rwanda bill if there are amendments as ERG calls for it to be rewritten – as it happened

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.

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NHS apologises for sending wrong body for family cremation

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.

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

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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Police still victim blaming in grooming gang cases, watchdog finds

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.

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UK weather: drivers warned of roads becoming ‘ice rinks’ as snow refreezes

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.

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One in seven HR heads believe men are better suited to top jobs

‘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.

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