Vincent Reynouard discovered living double life in Scottish village where he worked as a tutor, reports say
A Holocaust denier who was arrested in a Scottish fishing village will be extradited back to France after spending two years on the run from the authorities.
Vincent Reynouard lost his extradition battle after his arrest in November 2022. He had been discovered living a double life in Anstruther, Fife, where he worked as a private tutor, according to reports.
Continue reading...Rightmove says average advertised price outside London is up 9.2% on a year ago despite fall in some regions
Average private rents in Great Britain have climbed to new record highs, though in some regions there has been a small fall in the amount new tenants are being asked to pay, data shows.
The typical advertised private rent outside London for new properties coming on to the market rose to a record £1,280 a calendar month in the final quarter of 2023, according to the property website Rightmove. That is £2 higher than the £1,278 figure recorded in the third quarter – a sign that rental growth is slowing.
Continue reading...Former Scotland first minister used expletives in private messages about former UK PM’s handling of pandemic
At the Covid inquiry hearing in Edinburgh Liz Lloyd, Nicola Sturgeon’s former chief of staff, was asked about her wanting a row with the UK government. (See 11.35am.)
Asked if she was looking for a spat, Lloyd replied:
I was looking for a spat with a purpose.
It had been shown in the past that they would sometimes change their mind if they felt that pressure and I wanted them to change their mind.
Sturgeon said his address was “fucking excruciating” and that the UK communications were “awful”. Sturgeon also told Lloyd: “His utter incompetence in every sense is now offending me on behalf of politicians everywhere.”
Lloyd said she was “offended” on behalf of special advisers everywhere. Sturgeon replied: “He is a fucking clown.”
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...Programme’s lexicographer says audiences are consumed by correct pronunciation of the word ‘scone’
As the in-house lexicographer on Channel 4’s enduringly popular Countdown programme, Susie Dent has been arbitrating on word-related disputes for more than 30 years.
Now, Britain’s most famous word expert has revealed the question she is asked most frequently about the sometimes idiosyncratic English language: the correct pronunciation of the word “scone”.
Continue reading...Woman charged with driving offence after witnesses said black car drove into crowd and minor injuries were reported
A 70-year-old woman has been charged with a driving offence after a car collided with pro-Palestine protesters in Edinburgh.
There were reports of minor injuries but no one needed medical attention.
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...Stephen Bradshaw, former Post Office investigator, tells Horizon IT inquiry this was ‘probably not’ appropriate
Back at the Post Office inquiry Julian Blake says Stephen Bradshaw, the Post Office investigator, seems to show a “lack of reflection” on his role in miscarriage of justice events in a witness statement he supplied.
Bradshaw says he has reflected on what he said in his statement, because some of what he said was “completely wrong”. But he says he was told what he should say by lawyers.
Stephen Bradshaw, who was an investigation manager for the Post Office, said a statement signed by him declaring the Post Office’s “absolute confidence” in the Horizon IT system was written by lawyers.
A statement signed by Bradshaw in November 2012 said: “The Post Office continues to have absolute confidence in the robustness and integrity of its Horizon system.”
The average response time in December for ambulances in England dealing with the most urgent incidents, defined as calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries, was 8min 44sec, PA says. This is up from 8min 32sec in November and is above the target standard response time of seven minutes.
Ambulances took an average of 45min 57sec last month to respond to emergency calls such as heart attacks, strokes and sepsis, PA says. This is up from 38min 30sec in November, while the target is 18min.
Response times for urgent calls, such as late stages of labour, non-severe burns and diabetes, averaged 2hr 37min 5sec in December, up from 2hr 16min 47secin November, PA says.
Some 13% of ambulance handovers in England last week, or 12,225 patients, were delayed by more than an hour, PA says. This was up from 12% a week earlier, but is below this winter’s current peak of 15%, recorded in the week to 10 December.
Nearly one in three patients arriving by ambulance at hospitals in England last week waited more than 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E teams, PA says. Some 28,189 delays of half an hour or longer were recorded across all hospital trusts in the week to 7 January. This was 31% of the 91,234 arrivals by ambulance, where the handover time was known. The figure is up from 29% in the previous week, but is not the highest so far this winter, which was 34% in the week ending 10 December, PA says.
Continue reading...SNP leader to replicate new restrictions in England and Wales that have resulted in apparent influx to Scotland of breed
Unlicensed XL bully dogs will be banned in Scotland, Humza Yousaf has said, as the Scottish government moves to replicate the new restrictions in England and Wales that have resulted in an apparent influx to the country of the breed.
Speaking at first minister’s questions on Thursday, the SNP leader told MSPs: “What has become clear, I’m afraid, in the last few weeks is we have seen a flow of XL bully dogs coming to Scotland.”
Continue reading...Majority of flood warnings in south of England and Midlands, with some snow flurries overnight
More than 100 flood warnings remain in place after last week’s Storm Henk deluge as large parts of the UK endured a cold, frosty morning.
The Environment Agency (EA) said there were 126 flood warnings in England where flooding is expected, including a flood warning on the River Thames south-west of London in Wraysbury.
Continue reading...Police treating deaths of Neil and Alison McLaughlin as ‘unexplained’ but say no information suggests anyone else involved
A man and woman found dead at a property in Greenock have been named by police.
The deaths of Neil and Alison McLaughlin are being treated as “unexplained”, however detectives said they have no information to suggest anyone else is involved.
Continue reading...Downing Street refuses to endorse home secretary as he says his aim is to reduce number of people crossing Channel on small boats to ‘zero’. This live blog is closed
At the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning the PM’s spokesperson claimed the government had “gone further” than promised in tackling the asylum application backlog. In response to comments from Labour and others saying the legacy backlog has not been fully cleared, the spokesperson said:
We committed to clearing the backlog. That is what the government has done.
We are being very transparent about what that entails.
I said that this government would clear the backlog of asylum decisions by the end of 2023.
That’s exactly what we’ve done.
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.
Continue reading...Scottish singer says six-month hiatus from live shows after struggling during his performance at Glastonbury helped him ‘cope better with my Tourette’s and anxiety issues’
Lewis Capaldi has said he is “going to continue taking some time to carry on looking after myself” after his six-month hiatus from touring yielded an improvement in his health.
The Scottish singer-songwriter announced in June he would be taking a break from touring “for the foreseeable future” after he struggled with his voice during a Glastonbury set, during which the crowd stepped in to sing the lyrics to his final songs.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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...Antonia Hay has had multiple surgeries following infection her father believes came from food bought in Buckinghamshire
A 17-year-old student has been in intensive care for two weeks after she caught a strain of E coli.
Antonia Hay, who has had to undergo multiple surgeries, is believed to have caught the bacterial infection from food at a Christmas market in November.
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.
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