Ricky Jones was filmed speaking at anti-racism rally after last summer’s far-right riots that followed Southport murders
A suspended Labour councillor who called at an anti-racism rally for far-right activists’ throats to be cut has been found not guilty of encouraging violent disorder.
Ricky Jones, 58, used the phrase “disgusting Nazi fascists” in a speech about last summer’s far-right protests after the Southport murders, his trial at Snaresbrook crown court heard.
Continue reading...Jury finds failings of worker before Ruth Szymankiewicz, 14, took own life amount to gross negligence manslaughter
A vulnerable 14-year-old girl was unlawfully killed when an agency support worker failed to keep her under observation at a secure psychiatric unit, an inquest jury has concluded.
The worker, who used a false identity, left Ruth Szymankiewicz alone even though she had complex mental health issues and was judged to need constant watching because she was a suicide risk.
In the UK, the youth suicide prevention charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...Defend Our Juries believes London protest in September could lead to ban being lifted, after 532 arrests on Saturday
The next mass protest in support of the banned group Palestine Action will aim to be twice the size of the last, organisers have said, as they increase pressure on the government to lift its proscription.
Last Saturday’s protest in Parliament Square was predicated on 500 people signing up but the next one, announced on Wednesday for 6 September in London, is conditional on 1,000 people agreeing to take part.
Continue reading...NHS figures show rise in violence against nurses to 4,054 incidents last year, with long waits for care often a factor
Attacks on A&E nurses have almost doubled over the last six years, with incidents often involving patients frustrated at waiting so long for care.
Nurses have been punched, spat at, pinned up against a wall, had a gun pointed at them and been threatened with having acid thrown at them, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
Continue reading...Health agency says hot weather could have significant impact as temperatures soar to mid-30s celsius
Amber heat health warnings have been issued across swaths of England as temperatures rise. Parts of the UK are forecast to be hotter than Bali this week, with thermometer readings likely to hit the mid-30s celsius on Tuesday.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued heat health warnings for all of England. The East Midlands, West Midlands, east of England, London and the south-east have been upgraded to amber from 9am on Tuesday to 6pm on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Lower mortgage rates have helped cool rental sector after years of above-inflation increases in rent, data shows
Average private rents in Great Britain have fallen for the first time in five years as lower mortgage rates helped take some of the heat out of the rental sector, data shows.
Years of above-inflation increases in rents have put the squeeze on many households but the estate agent Hamptons said the average rent on a newly let property fell by 0.2% year on year in July. It was the first annual decline since August 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic – although this national figure masks wide regional variations.
Continue reading...Ministers also considering lowering drink-drive limit among measures to reduce road deaths and injuries
Older drivers could face mandatory eye tests and the drink-drive limit could be cut as the government tries to reduce the number of road deaths.
In a major overhaul of the UK’s road safety laws, ministers are also reportedly considering tougher penalties for uninsured drivers and failing to wear a seatbelt.
Continue reading...US carmaker makes move for licence that would allow it to provide energy to domestic and business premises
Elon Musk’s Tesla is gearing up to launch a household electricity supplier in Great Britain in the coming months.
The US electric car manufacturer run by the world’s richest man has formally applied to the energy regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, for an electricity supply licence, according to a notice published on the watchdog’s website.
Continue reading...South Yorkshire police will no longer lead investigation into alleged crimes of former officers after move caused outcry
Lawyers representing victims of sexual abuse in Rotherham have welcomed a climbdown that means South Yorkshire police will no longer lead an investigation into alleged crimes of former officers.
The force came under fire last month after it emerged that it was to lead an investigation into the actions of its own officers, to be overseen by the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Continue reading...Women’s safety campaigners welcome plan to switch from exclusion zones that ‘have made victims feel trapped’
Restriction zones aimed at “locking” violent offenders – rather than their victims – into specific areas when they are released from prison are to be introduced by the government in England and Wales.
At the moment, exclusion zones are often used to keep an offender away from their victim’s home but many campaigners for women’s safety have long called for this to be flipped.
Increased tagging for domestic perpetrators.
Requiring judges to flag domestic abuse at sentencing so prisons, probation and police can better identify and manage abusers.
Expanding specialist domestic abuse courts.
Bolstering transparency for victims at sentencing – including the provision of free copies of judges’ sentencing remarks for victims of rape and other sexual offences.
Continue reading...Restrictions in place on Friday in areas including Norwich and officers will monitor at least 12 other towns and cities
Police are braced for potential disorder in towns across England this weekend amid the far right’s promotion of a range of protests against asylum seekers, with anti-racism activists planning counter-protests.
Restrictions will be in place on Friday at locations including Norwich while officers will police at least 12 other towns and cities that evening.
Continue reading...People detained after arriving in small boat expected to be returned within three weeks, says Home Office
Migrants who arrived in the UK on a small boat have been detained for the first time under Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” deal and are expected to be returned within three weeks, the Home Office has said.
Detentions began on Wednesday lunchtime, with those identified in the Channel boat being held in immigration removal centres pending their removal.
Continue reading...Release of 20 lynx over several years into Kielder Forest area would create population of about 50 animals
Releasing just 20 lynx in Northumberland would be enough to create a healthy wild population, research has found, and most people in the area would support the practice.
Northumberland Wildlife Trust has been working to see if the wild cats, which became extinct in Britain about 1,300 years ago as a result of hunting and habitat loss, could be returned to the area.
Continue reading...All flights temporarily grounded as three people are treated at the scene, one with minor injuries
Birmingham airport has temporarily closed its runway and grounded all flights after a light aircraft made an emergency landing.
Three people from the aircraft were treated at the scene, one of whom suffered minor injuries in the incident, which occurred at about 1.40pm on Wednesday, West Midlands police said. West Midlands ambulance service also attended the scene.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer says £88m package will help tackle trend of young people becoming ‘disconnected from their communities’
Youth clubs and after-school activities in England will receive a funding injection of £88m as ministers try to get more children away from smartphones and computer screens.
The package, which Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday, is intended to give pupils access to sport, outdoor activities, art, music, debating and volunteering.
Continue reading...Emergency measures bailed out jails at last minute as No 10 refused to cut prisoner numbers until ‘cliff edge’ reached, former watchdog reports
The criminal justice system was within days of collapse on three occasions before being bailed out by “last-minute emergency measures”, an independent review by a former prisons watchdog has found.
Dame Anne Owers said the prison system, under pressure from overcrowding, was “in crisis” between autumn 2023 and the summer of 2024, but No 10 under Rishi Sunak refused to cut the numbers in jail until “the next predictable cliff edge”.
Continue reading...Rodent said to be 22in (56cm) long from nose to tail found in Normanby, where rat problem is said to be worsening
Cuts to council pest control services are being blamed for a town’s rodent problem, which includes the discovery of a supersize rat said to be 22in (56cm) from nose to tail.
The giant rat, about the length of the carry-on luggage people might be wheeling on to a flight – or, if not on holiday, a desktop monitor – was found inside a person’s home in Normanby, Teesside.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Data reveals ‘invisible crisis’ with millions yet to have first specialist appointment or diagnostic test
Almost half of the 6 million people needing treatment from the NHS in England have had no further care at all since joining a hospital waiting list, new data reveals.
Previously unseen NHS England figures show that 2.99 million of the 6.23 million patients (48%) awaiting care have not had either their first appointment with a specialist or a diagnostic test since being referred by a GP.
Continue reading...Jon Ruben charged with three counts of wilful ill treatment of a child after illnesses at camp in Stathern
A 76-year-old man has been charged after a number of children became unwell at a summer camp in Leicestershire.
Jon Ruben, of Ruddington, Nottingham, has been charged with three counts of wilful ill treatment of a child. The charges relate to three children at the rural camp in the village of Stathern, Leicestershire police said on Friday.
Continue reading...Yellow weather warning for wind in Scotland, Northern Ireland, north Wales and north of England from 6am
Storm Floris is forecast to bring unseasonably strong winds to the UK on Monday, the Met Office has said.
The strongest winds are expected during the afternoon and night across Scotland, with gusts of up to 85mph possible on exposed coasts and hills.
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