Foreign secretary says FCDO support for Scottish ministers could be withdrawn after Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talks
David Cameron has threatened to withdraw Foreign Office support for Scottish ministers after Humza Yousaf met the Turkish president without UK officials.
The foreign secretary wrote to the Scottish National party government saying it was a breach of protocol for Yousaf to have discussed Gaza and other matters with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Cop28 summit.
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...People say they are disheartened by the court’s ruling but hopes remain that the case can continue
The court of session ruling upholding the UK government’s veto on Scotland’s gender recognition reforms contributed to a “sense of exhaustion” in the trans community, said Jennie Kermode, a writer, film-maker and adviser for Trans Media Watch, based near Glasgow.
“People are still hopeful that this case can proceed further but there is a sense of exhaustion that there is always this waiting, which is the case for all trans people whether it’s gender recognition or waiting lists which are so long even to get psychological help.”
Continue reading...Home secretary to announce big hike in salary requirement for migrants to the UK as Rishi Sunak tries to cut net migration figures
Hunt says the government wants to speed up the time it takes to get a connection to the national grid by 90%.
Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor of the Economist, is interviewing Hunt. She says he has mentioned the 110 policies, but she wants to know what the growth strategy is.
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...Countries at loggerheads over access to fishing grounds in north Atlantic since Brexit referendum in 2016
Irish fisheries leaders have warned of fresh conflicts with Scotland over fishing rights around the north Atlantic islet of Rockall as evidence emerged about the roots of the long-running sovereignty dispute.
Scotland and Ireland have been at loggerheads over access to fishing grounds within 12 nautical miles of Rockall since the Brexit referendum in 2016, which signalled an end to the UK’s membership of the common fisheries policy.
Continue reading...Drivers urged not to make unnecessary journeys as cars stuck in traffic and some roads impassable
Cumbria police have declared a major incident and warned against unnecessary journeys after heavy snowfall on the county’s roads, as freezing conditions hit the UK.
Police said a “multi-agency response” is under way, with reports of cars stuck in traffic and some roads in the South Lakes area impassable due to the snow.
Continue reading...Police named man as James Smith, while a woman, 43, and a man, 54, were also taken to hospital
An 84-year-old man who died after an explosion at his neighbour’s house in Edinburgh has been named locally as James Smith, Police Scotland said.
Police officers were called to the Baberton area at 10.25pm on Friday after “multiple reports” about the blast.
Continue reading...Ramblers criticise appointment of Robbie Douglas-Miller to Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
No 10 has appointed a wealthy Scottish landowner accused by ramblers of restricting public access to his estate as a new environment minister by making him a peer.
The government made the surprise announcement on Friday afternoon that the king was giving the title of baron to Robbie Douglas-Miller, allowing him to enter the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as a minister.
Continue reading...Beijing’s strained relations with the west are less easily mollified by loans of cuddly endangered bears
As the UK’s only giant pandas leave Edinburgh zoo , returning to their native country after a 12-year sojourn away from China, the era of panda diplomacy also looks to be coming to an end.
Tian Tian and Yang Guang will board the panda express back to Sichuan less than a month after three giant pandas left the Smithsonian national zoo in Washington DC, ending the zoo’s five-decade panda programme.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here
Hancock is now deploying the defence previewed in the Observer on Sunday. (See 9.58am.)
He says from the middle of January the DHSC was “trying to effectively raise the alarm”. He says:
We were trying to wake up Whitehall to the scale of the problem and this wasn’t a problem that couldn’t be addressed only from the health department. Non-pharmaceutical interventions cannot be put in place by a health department. A health department can’t shut schools. It should have been grasped and led from the centre of government earlier. And you’ve seen evidence that repeatedly the department and I tried to make this happen.
And we were on occasions blocked, and at other times our concerns were not taken as seriously as they should have been until the very end of February.
Continue reading...Net migration to the UK in 2023 is estimated at 672,000, and the PM says a more ‘sustainable’ level is needed. This live blog is closed
When Nigel Farage was leading the Brexit party, it was considerably influential for a party with no MPs, winning the European elections in 2019 and helping to push the Conservative party into a harder position on Brexit. After the 2019 election it was renamed Reform UK, Richard Tice took over as leader and it became much more marginal. But in an interview on the Today programme this morning Tice claimed that the government’s failure to bring down immigration was presenting it with an opportunity. He told the programme:
The British people voted to control immigration, and the government have betrayed the people’s promises. And that’s why so many thousands of people, former Tory members, are joining us. Our polling numbers – we got record polling last week, four different polls where we’re in double figures. This week, we’ve had Tory donors joining us. Frankly, I fully expect Tory MPs who are furious and angry with the government to be calling me next week.
[Cleverly] has made the point that he says that it was not aimed at a particular place. Knowing James well, he’s not the sort of person, in my opinion, who would have made that kind of remark in that kind of context.
But he has accepted that this was certainly unparliamentary language and he has rightly apologised.
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...Record smashed at auction of one of 40 bottles of oldest-ever Macallan vintage, described as ‘rich, rich dram’
The record for the world’s most expensive bottle of whisky has been broken after a bottle of Macallan 1926 went for £2.1m at a Sotheby’s auction in London.
The sale set a new record for any bottle of spirit or wine sold at auction, the auction house told the AFP news agency.
Continue reading...SNP’s Michael Matheson, health secretary of Scotland, apologises after initially charging bill to Holyrood
Michael Matheson, Scotland’s embattled health secretary, has apologised “unreservedly” after admitting he failed to properly disclose that his sons had largely run up an £11,000 iPad bill which he had initially charged in full to taxpayers.
In a personal statement to MSPs on Thursday, Matheson said he had referred himself for possible investigation by parliament for breaching its code of conduct, as he fought against mounting calls to resign from opposition leaders.
Continue reading...Downing Street says legislation will make clear ‘Rwanda is safe’ and will address court’s concerns after policy ruled unlawful. This live blog is closed
At his Institute for Government Q&A Sir Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Metropolitan police, refused to say what he felt about Lee Anderson, the Conservative party deputy chair, declaring yesterday that ministers should just ignore the supreme court judgment saying the Rwanda police was unlawful. Asked to respond, Rowley just said:
Politicians hold me to account, I don’t hold them to account.
Starmer travelled north of the border just hours after a revolt within his party over a ceasefire in Gaza resulted in the resignation of eight of his frontbenchers.
The Labour leader highlighted what he described as the “failure” of the UK government to negotiate a trade deal with India, a key exporter for Scotch whisky.
Continue reading...Since 2020 more than 7,500 children in UK have waited more than a year for initial asylum decision – and 57 for more than five years
Thousands of lone child asylum seekers have been left in limbo by the Home Office without a decision on their protection claims, with dozens waiting more than five years, official data has revealed.
Home Office data shows that over the past three years more than 7,500 children who travelled alone to the UK waited more than a year for an initial decision on whether or not to accept their asylum claim.
Continue reading...The El-Naklas left Gaza on Friday but other British citizens are struggling to get out
The parents-in-law of Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, have arrived safely in Scotland after fleeing the conflict in Gaza, while dozens of other British citizens struggle to leave.
Yousaf shared a family photo of his wife, Nadia, and her parents, Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, surrounded by their relatives.
Continue reading...Police called to farm in Scotland after ‘scary’ visit by by animal rights protesters
Police have been called to a farm in Scotland where “Britain’s loneliest sheep” was due to be taken following her rescue from the foot of a cliff, after animal rights activists were accused of intimidating staff.
The volunteer group Animal Rising took part in a peaceful protest outside Dalscone Farm Fun over the expected arrival of Fiona, who was rescued by a group of farmers on Saturday after two years stuck at the foot of a cliff.
Continue reading...Peers express fears that Jagtar Singh Johal will not receive ‘due process’ in India amid torture claims
Assurances by a UK minister that a British man imprisoned in India will receive a fair trial fly in the face of evidence that he has been tortured and arbitrarily detained, three lawyers who held senior public roles have warned.
To coincide with the sixth anniversary of Jagtar Singh Johal’s detention, Ken MacDonald KC, Elish Angiolini KC and Jim Wallace KC have written to the UK Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad asking him to retract his recent comments saying that the British citizen would receive “due process” in India.
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