Woman says alleged assault at comedian’s London home was one of most painful experiences of her life
A woman has said she “couldn’t speak or breathe” when Russell Brand raped her at his London townhouse after picking her out from a crowd after one of his gigs, a court has heard.
She said the comedian looked “horrified” after the alleged attack so she assumed he would apologise but instead he told her: “Clear up the mess you’ve made.”
Continue reading...American warship sank in 1944 with approximately 1,400 tonnes of munitions onboard
A sunken US wartime ship in the Thames estuary holding enough unexploded bombs to devastate a Kent coastal town and send a tidal wave through London has been made slightly safer, ministers have announced.
Engineers have removed the masts of the SS Richard Montgomery – a second world war cargo ship that sank in 1944 with approximately 1,400 tonnes of munitions onboard – without triggering the kind of feared explosion that has kept the wreck under constant guard for decades.
Continue reading...Woman claims comedian ‘pranced around like an ostrich’ before forcing himself on her in hotel room attack
Russell Brand transformed into a “monster” when he allegedly made a woman take half-naked photographs of him before raping her in a hotel room at a Labour party conference, a court has heard.
The 51-year-old comedian has denied attacking the woman, who broke down in tears in the witness box at Southwark crown court as she told how she could not fight him off.
Continue reading...Exclusive: David and Anne Moffat to meet permanent secretary after coroner found Treasury ‘materially contributed’ to employee taking her own life
The parents of a woman who killed herself after facing disciplinary proceedings at the Treasury will call for anyone found to have contributed to their daughter’s death to be held to account.
A coroner found in August that the Treasury had “materially contributed” to Chloe Moffat’s death after the 26-year-old personal assistant was called into a surprise disciplinary meeting about anonymous complaints alleging she had disclosed sensitive information at work, which she denied.
Continue reading...Connor Bell died of his injuries after his friend Jack Beechy, 18, pulled the trigger, mistaking it for the safety catch
A 17-year-old boy died after he was accidentally shot in the head with an air rifle by his friend at a house party, an inquest has been told.
Connor Bell had been drinking at a friend’s house in Basingstoke, Hampshire, on 8 November last year when Jack Beechy fired the fatal shot by mistaking the trigger for the safety catch, the inquest heard.
Continue reading...Vivien Lichtenstein urges party leader to quit over ‘Zionism is racism’ policy – but could face no-confidence motion herself
The leader of the Jewish Greens has called for Zack Polanski to step down as pressure increases on the Green leader to acknowledge anger within the party over a new policy that equates Zionism with racism and calls for the state of Israel to be abolished.
The comments by Vivien Lichtenstein come after Caroline Lucas, the Greens’ former leader and first MP, criticised Polanski for a lack of leadership in missing the debate and vote at the weekend that resulted in the policy being passed.
Continue reading...Inquest hears details of how three women spent their final days but why they ended their lives may never be known
Jane Adetoro and her younger sisters, Christina and Rebecca Walters, were “the closest sisters and the best friends”, according to their family. Devoted to their father, Joseph, whom they messaged every day, the adult siblings lived quiet lives in the flat they shared in west London and would do everything together.
When they died in May this year, it was no different. Early in the morning of 13 May, the sisters’ bodies were recovered from the sea in Brighton, hours after a taxi had dropped the three women at the beachfront.
Continue reading...Overhaul of special education in England could unravel, thinktank finds, because of ‘use it before you lose it’ dynamic
Labour’s flagship changes to special education in England are at risk of unravelling because parents are rushing to secure support for their children before the system changes, new analysis has found.
The Institute for Government (IfG) thinktank says the government’s plans to largely replace education, health and care plans (EHCPs) in England with more widespread support in mainstream schools may be too optimistic and take longer to complete than its 2030 timeline.
Continue reading...Labour could pay price for disappearance of parks and playgrounds around Euston station
When HS2 construction began around London’s Euston station in 2017 and people living nearby watched parks and playgrounds give way to diggers and rubble, they were promised that the lost green space would be replaced. “They have to give it all back,” said Dorothea Hackman. “But they are destroying it – so there’s nothing to give back.”
As the dust from the political party conference season begins to settle, disappearing green spaces and housing developments have become central issues in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection. On Thursday, Labour and the Green party will contest the seismic seat vacated by the former prime minster Keir Starmer.
Continue reading...Man, most likely in Iran, was in contact with men arrested on the eve of Yom Kippur, police say
Two Iranian men have been charged in relation to an alleged terror plot targeting Manchester’s Jewish community.
Police say another man, most likely in Iran, was in contact with them as part of a plot to get a bomb to attack Jewish targets.
Continue reading...Met calls move ‘milestone’ moment that paves way for ‘very best possible evidence for charging decisions’
Police investigating the Grenfell Tower fire have asked prosecutors to consider charges including manslaughter and fraud against a range of companies and individuals.
The Metropolitan police announced they had given prosecutors evidence relating to 20 companies and organisations and 54 individuals ahead of charging decisions, in what the force described as a “milestone moment”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Policy initiative for England will help more young people on to property ladder, prime minister tells Guardian
A new help-to-buy scheme aimed at giving first-time buyers who cannot rely on the “bank of mum and dad” is to be introduced in a big policy announcement by Andy Burnham.
The programme, called “Your first home”, is intended to help buyers in England who have a regular income but have been unable to save for a large deposit or don’t have financial support from their family.
Continue reading...Far-right activist who was filmed appearing to slash boat with blade is refused bail as he denies charges
The far-right agitator Daniel Thomas has denied causing criminal damage after he was filmed appearing to slash a boat in the Channel with a blade, while an emergency responder was onboard.
Thomas, 37, appeared at Basingstoke magistrates court on Friday morning. He also pleaded not guilty to not disclosing to police the pin number of his phone, under section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
Continue reading...Patient groups decry ‘scandalous’ delays as four integrated care boards take step due to soaring demand for diagnoses
NHS bodies are forcing people with suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism to wait at least two years before they can be assessed as they struggle to meet surging demand for diagnoses of neurodiversity.
Four NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) covering large regions of England have adopted the approach because they cannot afford the cost of the number of assessments that people are seeking.
Continue reading...Officers left feeling ‘hamstrung’, says Mark Rowley after offender allowed to return to flat overlooking playground
Pressure to cut the number of prisoners on remand has led to “dangerous and prolific offenders” being granted bail, the country’s most senior police officer said after a paedophile was allowed to return to his flat that overlooked a children’s playground.
Zafer Dogan was jailed on Thursday for two years and four months after he was convicted of taking thousands of pictures of women and girls before using AI technology to turn them into nude images for his sexual gratification.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Levy that allows almost 16,000 houses to be built on Norfolk Broads will not cover cost of mitigating environmental damage, critics say
A new levy on developers to allow almost 16,000 homes to be built in the environmentally protected Norfolk Broads has been cut by tens of thousands of pounds per house, the Guardian can reveal.
Ministers say the government’s environmental delivery plans (EDPs) were created to unblock housing growth across the country and are a “win-win” for development and nature.
Continue reading...Changes could save £33bn and result in average of four extra years of good health for people, report says
The NHS in England could prevent 20,000 deaths and save £33bn a year by cutting red tape and boosting productivity, a report says.
Research by the Health Foundation found the health service has been held back for decades by excessive regulation, short-term planning and insufficient capability to deliver major change.
Continue reading...Funding boost for facilities and fixed dates for trials designed to encourage more survivors to come forward
Specialist courtrooms prioritising cases of rape and other serious sex offences are to be introduced across England and Wales, with campaigners welcoming the move as potentially transformative.
The changes, designed to encourage more survivors to come forward, will include the provision of private entrances and waiting rooms, and facilities equipped for recording evidence in advance and observing sentencing remotely.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Analysis ‘lays bare’ something midwives already know from their day-to-day work
About 20,000 disclosures of domestic abuse are estimated to be made to maternity services in England every year, analysis has found.
The figures are likely to be an underestimate of the true scale of disclosures, according to experts, highlighting the role maternity professionals play in identifying abuse.
Continue reading...Latest data to defy economic gloom shows 0.5% rise boosted by purchases of sports items, aircon units and fans during heatwaves
Retail sales across Great Britain unexpectedly rose last month, the latest economic indicator to defy gloomy forecasts as the chancellor, John Healey, prepares to present next month’s budget.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the volume of goods sold rose 0.5% month on month in August, defying analyst expectations of a 0.2% fall.
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