Brooklyn Forrester-Hayes threatened co-worker after reporting ‘finger-sized holes’ in his sandwiches
A garage apprentice who threatened a colleague he thought had pranked him by poking “finger-sized holes through his sandwiches” has lost an unfair dismissal claim.
Brooklyn Forrester-Hayes accused a fellow apprentice of “tampering with his lunch” as well as “smashing his crisps”, an employment tribunal was told.
Continue reading...William Mitchell artwork saved but Blackheath community centre in which it was housed will be torn down
A rare piece of postwar art that was under threat of being demolished along with the south London building it was housed in has been saved.
The work, a mural by William Mitchell, was created for a community centre in Blackheath that is to be torn down to make way for social housing. The mural will now be preserved by Heritage of London Trust (Holt).
Continue reading...Grace Davidson gives birth to baby Amy Isabel after receiving her sister’s womb in 2023
Surgeons are hailing an “astonishing” medical breakthrough as a woman became the first in the UK to give birth after a womb transplant.
Grace Davidson, 36, who was a teenager when diagnosed with a rare condition that meant she did not have a uterus, said she and her husband, Angus, 37, had been given “the greatest gift we could ever have asked for”.
Continue reading...Her introduction to politics began as the child of the chair of Birmingham Labour party and as justice secretary she’s made tough decisions from day one
Shabana Mahmood’s potential as a future cabinet minister was first noticed by the former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson in the 90s over tea and samosas at her family’s end-of-terrace Birmingham home.
Watson, a seasoned fixer, had become a close friend of her father, Mahmood Ahmed, the chair of Birmingham Labour party. When political problems arose, Watson and fellow Labour party organisers would be guided through to comfy sofas in the family sitting room.
Continue reading...Her introduction to politics began as the child of the chair of Birmingham Labour party and as justice secretary she’s made tough decisions from day one
Shabana Mahmood’s potential as a future cabinet minister was first noticed by the former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson in the 90s over tea and samosas at her family’s end-of-terrace Birmingham home.
Watson, a seasoned fixer, had become a close friend of her father, Mahmood Ahmed, the chair of Birmingham Labour party. When political problems arose, Watson and fellow Labour party organisers would be guided through to comfy sofas in the family sitting room.
Continue reading...Survey says queues outside emergency departments are leading to ‘car park care’ and fatalities
Paramedics across England are watching patients die in the back of ambulances because of delays outside emergency departments, according to a survey by Unison.
The gridlock of patients in some of the country’s hospitals has led to queues of up to 20 ambulances outside casualty departments in certain areas. In a number of cases, crews have been forced to wait more than 12 hours before handing over patients.
Continue reading...Police called to Golden Beach Holiday Park in Ingoldmells in early hours of Saturday
Two people have died after a caravan fire at a holiday park, police have said.
Lincolnshire police said they were called to Golden Beach Holiday Park in Ingoldmells at 3.53am on Saturday.
Continue reading...Labour accuses Nigel Farage’s party of ‘mass rebrand’ after research into nominations of former Conservatives
More than 60 of Reform UK’s council candidates standing in this year’s elections are defectors from the Conservative party, according to research from the Labour party.
Reform has also selected an ex-Conservative for its candidate in the upcoming Runcorn and Helsby byelection, while the party’s mayoral candidate for Greater Lincolnshire is the former Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, who lost her parliamentary seat in West Yorkshire last July.
Continue reading...Ladies Day visitors happy to make financial sacrifices to wear spectacular outfits at annual Liverpool event
The tradition of fascinators and hats during Ladies Day is usually more about showcasing excellent style than being practical. But this year, spectators at Aintree had good need for their headwear, as the sun shone at the racecourse for the first time in almost a decade.
A crowd of 45,000 people had been predicted, and as temperatures reached 19C on Friday, the Met Office said it was just short of being the warmest Aintree festival this century.
Continue reading...Temperature could hit 24C in central England on Friday with ‘very high to extreme’ risk of wildfires across Britain
The UK could experience its warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures higher than European holiday hotspots.
The Met Office said much of the country would be dry and sunny on Friday, and some of central England could hit 24C (75F) as weather “nearer to what we’d expect in July” continued.
Continue reading...Lead signatory of letter to Church Times says it is ‘moral and Christian imperative’ to ensure dignified retirement
Church of England vicars are demanding an increase in pensions amid claims that many face an impoverished old age, with some forced to rely on food banks or move in with adult children.
Almost 2,000 C of E clergy have joined an action group on Facebook in the past few weeks and 700 signed a letter to the Church Times calling for “urgent and decisive action”.
Continue reading...Richard Hermer has responded to Robert Jenrick’s calls for a senior judge to be sacked over sentencing guidelines row
Political attacks on judges are “dangerous” and “a huge threat to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary”, the attorney general has said in a direct rebuke to the shadow justice secretary.
Richard Hermer said politics was entering a “dangerous moment” where politicians were “attacking judges on a personal basis” on the floor of the House of Commons.
Continue reading...Nine-hectare site home to 57 species including rhino, zebras and ostriches in UK’s biggest such development
“Although we are trying to replicate Uganda and Kenya we are actually in Cheshire so the weather is slightly different,” admits Chester zoo boss, Jamie Christon, on a fresh and very grey Monday morning.
But ignore the chilliness and screw your eyes and you could well be transported to a sweeping African savannah where, one day, there will be giraffes, zebras, antelopes and ostriches roaming majestically side by side.
Continue reading...Friends and fans of Heklina denounce Met’s investigation of unsolved death in her London flat
Nearly two years after the American drag artist Heklina was found dead in London, her friends and fans gathered outside Scotland Yard’s headquarters to protest against the force’s handling of the case.
Heklina, whose real name was Steven Grygelko, was found at a flat in Soho, central London, on 3 April 2023, by a friend and fellow drag performer, Peaches Christ, real name Joshua Grannell.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Most only take a week’s leave, and paternity pay for back-office staff in Met is nearly three times higher
Police officers have described being ostracised for taking paternity leave, as it is revealed that back-office staff in the Metropolitan police are entitled to proportionately nearly three times as much paternity pay as frontline fathers.
A freedom of information request has revealed that most serving police officers in England and Wales only take one week of paternity leave, with some describing being on “blue lights” duty and carrying Tasers a week after the birth of their babies.
Continue reading...Four-year-old girl, young man and woman killed by blaze at former stationmaster’s house in Rushton
A 54-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a fire at a historic former stationmaster’s house killed three people, including a four-year-old girl, police have said.
Emergency services were called at about 10.30pm on Friday to reports of a large blaze at a property in Beswick Close in Rushton, near Kettering.
Continue reading...Ministry of Justice drafts instruction for judges in England and Wales to ignore guidelines on age, sex and ethnicity
Ministers are planning to introduce a last-minute rule change this week to overturn sentencing guidelines that could have led to criminals getting different sentences depending on their age, sex and ethnicity.
Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, is planning to bring a bill to the Commons this week to overrule the guidelines, which are due to come into force in England and Wales on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Watchdog accepted Taiwo Owatemi’s claim for landlord’s surcharge to let her keep dog in London flat
Ministers will ask the Commons authorities to consider changing rules that allowed a Labour whip to claim £900 in expenses to rent a pet-friendly flat in London.
The government will lobby the independent expenses regulator to look at allowance rules after Taiwo Owatemi claimed for a pet surcharge demanded by her landlord to allow her to keep her dog in the property.
Continue reading...Sex Education actor criticises IOPC for refusing to consider race in investigation of officers who pepper-sprayed him
The Hairspray and Sex Education actor Reece Richards has condemned the police watchdog for refusing to consider race in its investigation of Met officers who arrested and pepper-sprayed him.
The 34-year-old was walking home in west London last September after performing in Hairspray when a car crashed into a lamp-post nearby. Two white men fled the scene. When Metropolitan police officers arrived seconds later, Richards pointed out the suspects’ directions. He said that, instead of pursuing them, an officer began shouting at him to get the ground and pointed a pepper spray at him.
Continue reading...Emergency services called on Friday night to blaze at 19th-century former railway station in Rushton
Three people have died after a fire at a Grade II-listed former railway station in a village in Northamptonshire.
Police, fire and ambulance services were called at about 10.30pm on Friday to reports of a large blaze at a property in Beswick Close in Rushton, near Kettering.
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