Category Archives: England

Girl at YOI Wetherby was twice stripped by male officers, watchdog says

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Inspector says he was ‘deeply shocked’ by incidents with no female officer present at young offender institution

An “incredibly vulnerable” girl held in a young offender institution was pinned down and stripped by an all-male group of officers on at least two occasions, a watchdog has discovered.

Charities have called for all female offenders to be removed from YOI Wetherby in West Yorkshire after the damning disclosure by the chief inspector of prisons.

In the UK, the youth suicide 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

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Drug that could slow womb cancer to be rolled out by NHS in England

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Dostarlimab or Jemperli, an immunotherapy used alongside chemotherapy, could extend life expectancy

A drug that could improve the quality of life of hundreds of women with womb cancer will be rolled out on the NHS across England from Tuesday.

Dostarlimab, also known as Jemperli, is an immunotherapy that works by attracting specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells to help the immune system attack them.

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George Galloway targets Angela Rayner’s seat after he is sworn in as MP

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Workers party leader says there are many places where it can win or ‘make sure that Keir Starmer doesn’t’

George Galloway has said he will target more seats in the next general election including the deputy Labour leader’s after his swearing-in at Westminster following last week’s Rochdale byelection victory.

Speaking outside parliament, Galloway singled out Angela Rayner’s constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne, where she is defending a majority of 4,263, as an example of where his Workers Party of Britain, or a candidate backed by it, could cause havoc for her chances of re-election.

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Call for Covid memorial wall in London to become permanent monument

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People bereaved by Covid want government recognition and protection for South Bank place of remembrance

Volunteers at the Covid memorial wall are urging ministers to make the monument permanent as Britain marks its first national day of reflection after the pandemic.

The wall runs between Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge on South Bank in London and is looked after by a group of volunteers, who rely on public donations to maintain it.

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‘Profiteering off children’: care firms in England accused of squeezing cash from councils

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A local authority leader claims private equity groups are exploiting vulnerable youngsters in care homes in the pursuit of profit

Care companies are insisting on unnecessary and expensive support packages for vulnerable children to boost their profits, a council leader has claimed.

Barry Lewis, the Tory leader of Derbyshire county council, said that former family-run businesses acquired by private equity groups were trying to get “as much cash as possible” out of local authorities.

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UK weather: Met Office issues yellow warning for snow in west of England

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Alert says there could be ‘tricky driving conditions in a few places’ after unexpectedly cold overnight temperatures

An unexpected cold snap has prompted the Met Office to issue a yellow weather warning after snow fell across parts of the west of England.

The warning covered an area from south of Bristol to north of Worcester, and extends to Hereford to the west and Swindon to the east.

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More than 100 evacuated and nearly a dozen injured after fire in South Kensington

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Eleven people treated for smoke inhalation after fire breaks out in residential building in London

Eleven people have been taken to hospital after a fire broke out at a converted terraced house in the upmarket London neighbourhood of South Kensington.

Fifteen fire engines and about 100 firefighters were called to the fire at a terraced house converted into apartments on Emperor’s Gate, in the south-west of London, close to the Natural History Museum.

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Fines for unauthorised absence from school in England to rise by 33%

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Daily registers will also be shared online with DfE as part of government drive to improve attendance

Taking an unauthorised family holiday is about to get more expensive, with the government announcing that fines for children in England missing school are to rise by 33%.

The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, is to overhaul the way local authorities fine parents for unauthorised school absences by bringing penalties “under a national framework to help tackle inconsistencies”.

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Ethiopian government tries to stop UK auction of looted Maqdala shield

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Proposed sale of Abyssinian artefact taken during 1868 battle triggers appeal for restitution of ‘wrongfully acquired’ item

The Ethiopian government has called the auction of a looted colonial-era shield “inappropriate and immoral” as it attempts to stop its sale this week and prevent it from disappearing into a private collection.

The Anderson & Garland auction house, in Newcastle upon Tyne, was contacted by the Ethiopian National Heritage national restitution committee about the 19th-century Abyssinian shield, which it said should be removed from the auction set to take place on Thursday.

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Labour would lift block on onshore windfarms, says Ed Miliband

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Tory government has ‘ducked’ difficult decisions, leading to higher bills, says shadow energy secretary

Labour has claimed a “culture of inertia and stasis” has blocked renewable energy projects under the Conservatives and says the party will overturn a de facto onshore wind ban “at the stroke of a pen” if it wins the general election.

The shadow energy secretary, Ed Miliband, told energy industry executives at a conference in London on Tuesday that Labour would immediately rip up a decade-long effective block on large onshore wind developments in England if elected.

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MPs to get free vote on decriminalising abortion in England and Wales

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Amendment by Labour MP Diana Johnson would end prosecutions for terminations after 24 weeks

MPs are expected to get a free vote on decriminalising abortion when a Labour backbencher lays an amendment that would end the prosecution of women who terminate pregnancies after the 24-week limit.

Diana Johnson is expected to lay an amendment to the Criminal Justice Act next month that would stop the possibility of women being jailed for going ahead with abortions after the time limit.

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‘It’s been scary’: relief in Plymouth as German bomb is floated out to sea

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Residents tell of concerns and community spirit after discovery and removal of 500kg second world war explosive

Usually as the weekend approaches, the streets, shops and pubs around Devonport, the largest naval dockyard in western Europe, hum with life.

But an eerie hush fell over the area on Friday after more than 10,000 people were evacuated from homes and workplaces so a second-world-war bomb dropped on Plymouth by the Luftwaffe could be extracted from a back garden.

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Three children found at house in Bristol died of knife injuries, police say

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Children formally identified as Fares Bash, seven; Joury Bash, three; and Mohammed Bash, nine months

Three children, including a baby, who were allegedly murdered at a house in Bristol all died of knife injuries, police have said.

Avon and Somerset police said the siblings had formally been identified as Mohammed Bash, aged nine months, Joury Bash, three, and Fares Bash, seven.

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Seeing same GP ‘improves patient health and cuts workload of doctors’

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Study analysing data from 10m consultations in England also says practice can free up millions of appointments

Seeing the same GP improves patients’ health, reduces doctors’ workloads and could free up millions of appointments, according to the largest study of its kind.

Primary care is under enormous strain, with patients struggling to book consultations, GPs quitting or retiring early, and financial pressures causing some practices to close. Four-week waits hit a record high in 2023, with 17.6m appointments taking place at least 28 days after being booked in England last year.

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Teachers in England could face ban for failing to report evidence of sexual abuse of children

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Home secretary’s mandatory reporting legislation plan already covered by statutory duties, say school leaders

Teachers in England face being banned if they fail to report evidence of children being subjected to sexual abuse under plans for new legislation announced by the home secretary, James Cleverly.

The new law would make it a legal requirement for healthcare professionals, teachers and others who work with children and young people to identify and pass on cases of possible sexual abuse.

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‘Martha’s rule’ granting urgent second opinion to be adopted in 100 English hospitals

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Initiative before national rollout will allow review of care for patients whose condition is deteriorating

Patients whose health is failing will be granted the right to obtain an urgent second opinion about their care, as “Martha’s rule” is initially adopted in 100 English hospitals from April at the start of a national rollout.

The initiative will allow patients and their loved ones to get a review of their condition and treatment directly from doctors and nurses not involved in the medical team treating them.

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Body found in hunt for Clapham chemical assault suspect

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Police had been searching Thames for Abdul Ezedi after attack on a mother and her two daughters in south London

A body has been found in connection with the hunt for a suspect who severely injured a “vulnerable” mother and her two young daughters in a chemical assault, Scotland Yard have said.

Abdul Ezedi has been sought by police since the attack on 31 January in Clapham, south London, with officers appealing to the public to call 999 if they saw him.

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Tories may face Blackpool byelection as Scott Benton loses suspension appeal

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MP for Blackpool South, who offered to lobby for gambling industry, loses appeal against 35-day Commons suspension

Rishi Sunak may face another difficult byelection after an MP lost his appeal against a 35-day suspension from parliament for lobbying ministers on behalf of the gambling industry.

Scott Benton, the MP for Blackpool South, formerly a Conservative, had asked for a reconsideration of the standards committee verdict that he had committed an “extremely serious breach of the rules”.

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Boy, 16, who died after stabbing in Bristol named as Darrien Williams

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Police say formal identification is still to take place but family are being supported after teenager was attacked in Rawnsley Park

A boy who was stabbed to death by two masked attackers in Bristol has been named by police as 16-year-old Darrien Williams.

A murder investigation was launched after the teenager was attacked in Rawnsley Park in the St Philip’s area of the city by two people who fled the scene on bicycles, it had previously been reported.

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Family of man found dead on Bibby Stockholm calls for independent inquiry

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‘Closed quasi-detention conditions’ mean death of Leonard Farruku should be examined, lawyers say

The family of Leonard Farruku is calling for an independent inquiry into his death on the Bibby Stockholm barge, the Guardian has learned.

The Albanian asylum seeker, 27, was found dead on the barge, moored in Portland, Dorset, on 12 December last year, after a suspected suicide.

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