NHS England to review seven specialist services after staff share misgivings privately
Adult transgender clinics in England are facing a Cass-style inquiry into how they treat patients after whistleblowers raised concerns about the care they provide.
NHS England has announced that it is setting up a review of how the seven specialist services operate and deliver care after past and present staff shared misgivings privately during a previous investigation.
Continue reading...West Yorkshire police arrest 25-year-old on suspicion of murdering woman, 27, who was shopping with baby
A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman as she pushed her baby in a pram in Bradford city centre.
West Yorkshire police said officers had detained him after a four-day manhunt across the north of England.
Continue reading...Emergency services dealing with incidents in Littlehampton and ‘severe flooding’ at a holiday park
The River Arun has overflowed in West Sussex with rescue operations under way in the seaside town of Littlehampton and warnings of severe flood waters as a result of Storm Kathleen.
“Our crews are supporting rescue operations in Littlehampton near Ferry Road and Rope Walk where the River Arun has burst its banks, leading to severe flooding,” West Sussex fire and rescue service said on X.
Continue reading...Nicholas Metson, who paid a friend £50 to help dump Holly Bramley’s remains, to serve at least 19 years
A man who cut his wife’s body into more than 200 pieces and then paid a friend £50 to help him dump her remains in a river has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 19 years.
Nicholas Metson stabbed Holly Bramley, 26, at least four times in March 2023 before dismembering her body and storing her remains for a week in the kitchen larder at the flat they shared in Stamp End, Lincoln.
Continue reading...Gusts of more than 70mph recorded on Irish Sea coast, as temperatures rose above 30C in mainland Europe
Storm Kathleen brought strong winds to Ireland and the UK at the weekend, causing travel and power disruption. The storm, named by Met Éireann, developed in the Atlantic on Thursday, deepening explosively as it pushed northwards to the west of Ireland.
Peak wind gusts of 40-60mph (65-95km/h) were recorded quite widely across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and western parts of England and Wales on Saturday, with some Irish Sea coastal regions experiencing gusts above 70mph. A gust of 72mph was recorded at Drumalbin, Lanarkshire.
Continue reading...Money spent on tobacco products in England ‘could instead be spent in shops, on entertainment or other services’, author adds
Almost £11bn a year could be spent in England’s communities from money saved on tobacco products if people quit smoking, according to a study.
Published in the journal Tobacco Control and written by academics at the University of Sheffield, the study looked at how much people spent on cigarettes and other tobacco a year, and analysed how this money could be spent in cities and towns instead.
Continue reading...Liver scanning and portable testing units to be rolled out in communities where people may be at a higher risk
Thousands of people who are unknowingly living with hepatitis C in England could be identified and treated due to an expanded NHS testing initiative.
The initiative includes new liver scanning and portable testing units to be rolled out in communities where people may be at a higher risk of contracting the infection.
Continue reading...Insurers have made huge hidden payments for buildings cover over many years, experts say
Landlords of developments in England and Wales where residents face hefty service charges face calls to disclose millions of pounds in “secret commissions” raked in over the years for arranging buildings insurance.
Experts say these hidden commissions, paid to landlords including City investment funds that hold freeholds and managing agents, have been worth tens of millions of pounds a year. The arrangements were made without residents being told and resulted in higher service charges.
Continue reading...Relatives of Kelly Faiers say police failed to properly inform them that a body had been found
The family of a woman found dead at a sex offender’s home have criticised the police’s “bodged” investigation after his body is believed to have been found this week in a caravan close to where he vanished six months ago.
Relatives of Kelly Faiers said they were upset at how the news about the possible discovery of Richard Scatchard’s body was broken, claiming they did not have time to alert others close to Faiers before the police went public.
Continue reading...Greater Manchester police say they are working to identify victim after body part found in Kersal Wetlands
Police have launched a murder investigation after human remains were found at a nature reserve in Greater Manchester.
A body part believed to be a torso was found by passersby in Kersal Wetlands in the Salford area on Thursday evening. Greater Manchester police (GMP) confirmed on Friday afternoon the body was in a state that meant it was “not possible for the victim to have survived”.
Continue reading...Boys and young men need guidance – not punishment – to avoid ‘manosphere’, teacher tells NEU
Teachers should promote positive masculinity in schools in England and Wales in order to support boys who might otherwise feel demonised and end up turning to “the manosphere” for hope, a union conference has been told.
Charlotte Keogh, a secondary school English teacher from Worcestershire, said boys and young men needed support and guidance as they grappled with ideas about masculinity, rather than being punished and silenced.
Continue reading...Avanti West Coast services among those affected by Aslef industrial action, which continues on Saturday and Monday
Rail passengers across England will face significant disruption on Friday as train drivers at five operating companies carry out industrial action.
The 24-hour strike will be the first of three days of rolling strike action being taken by the train drivers’ union Aslef, with services on Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway all affected.
Continue reading...Move comes after Guardian revealed names of powerful men among club’s exclusive membership
The men-only Garrick Club has edged closer to admitting female members, after an emergency committee meeting acknowledged that there was nothing in the club rules to prevent them from joining.
The late-night vote on Thursday means that women could finally become members of the club within months, 193 years after the Garrick was founded and following decades of controversy over its discriminatory rules, sources said.
Continue reading...Long waiting lists and insufficient resources part of system that is ‘failing’ children, according to NEU members in England and Wales
One in three teachers say they have no behaviour support team for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), while one in four have no educational psychologist or speech and language therapist to help them, according to a union survey.
The online poll, which attracted responses from 8,000 members of the National Education Union (NEU), indicated that seven in eight teachers feel resources are insufficient to meet growing demand, with three-quarters calling for more learning support assistants in classrooms.
Continue reading...Gillian Keegan asks Bridget Phillipson to clarify after party refuses to commit to sticking to plan if it wins power
Labour is under pressure to clarify whether it would keep the government’s free hours childcare system, after the party refused to commit to the plan beyond the next election.
A shadow cabinet minister said on Monday that Labour “will not reduce” the number of free childcare hours parents were entitled to in England if it entered government.
Continue reading...Government adviser says teachers feel ill-equipped to talk about controversial topics but avoiding debate risks fuelling anger
Schools in England are closing down legitimate debate about the Israel-Gaza conflict because teachers feel ill-equipped and are concerned about political impartiality, the government’s independent adviser on social cohesion has said.
Dame Sara Khan said that if schools continued to shut down debate they risked “fuelling further anger, hate and polarisation”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Millions more GP appointments potentially created as a result of closures
Almost 1,000 pharmacies in England have closed since 2017, potentially leading to millions of extra GP appointments, the Guardian can exclusively reveal.
There are more than 11,000 pharmacies in England. Guardian analysis of the official register of these chemists has found that parts of the country have lost more than one in five pharmacies in the last six years, with poorer areas experiencing proportionally more closures.
Continue reading...Taskforce will aim to improve care for people living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
The NHS in England is to launch a major review of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services amid concerns about a rise in diagnoses.
ADHD is a condition that affects people’s behaviour. People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating and could act on impulse, according to the NHS.
Continue reading...A group of men at the club who hope the male-only rule will change have nominated a set of possible new members
Seven women with leading positions in the British establishment have been nominated as prospective female members of the Garrick in the event that the club agrees to change its rules so that women are able to join.
The classicist Mary Beard, the former home secretary Amber Rudd, Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman and the new Labour peer Ayesha Hazarika are among the first names to have been put forward to the club as possible future members.
Continue reading...Met Office says unsettled conditions could disrupt travel and pose danger to life in parts of Northern Ireland and southern England
Heavy rain and strong winds could disrupt travel and pose a risk to life in the run-up to the Easter weekend, forecasters have said.
The Met Office issued yellow warnings across parts of Northern Ireland and the south of England.
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