Category Archives: England

Bobby Moore’s ex-wife urges return of lost shirt from 1966 World Cup final

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Tina Moore unsure how red England shirt left her possession but it is now in hands of mystery private buyer

It is the most famous moment in English football. Bobby Moore, the England captain, hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates, holding the World Cup trophy aloft in 1966.

While the moment was captured on camera and preserved for posterity, the red England shirt the centre-half was wearing, with the number six on the back, has been lost – and Moore’s ex-wife is urging its current owner to return it.

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Swimmers poised for biggest mass trespass so far at Kinder reservoir

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Sunday’s event in Peak District will mark anniversary of Kinder Scout protest, seen as crucial in establishing right to roam in UK

Up to 1,000 swimmers are expected to head to Kinder reservoir in Derbyshire on Sunday in the biggest trespass of the water to date. The turnout will mark the anniversary of a mass trespass that helped establish the principle of the right to roam in the UK.

The swim trespass of Kinder reservoir, situated below Kinder Scout where the 1932 protest took place, has become an annual event and is growing rapidly with the boom in wild swimming.

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English wine centre in Kent hopes for planning approval within days

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Kentish Wine Vault aims to transform industry and produce English rival to prosecco

A landmark centre for English wine designed by Norman Foster, which supporters say will produce an affordable rival to prosecco, could be given planning approval within days.

Gary Smith, the chief executive of MDCV UK, the winemaker behind the £30m Kentish Wine Vault project, said he was hopeful about his plans to transform the country’s wine sector by producing 5m bottles of English wine a year at the new location, after months of doubt.

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Private landlords in England get £1.6bn a year welfare for ‘non-decent’ homes

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Sadiq Khan describes figures from City Hall analysis as a scandal, with London the worst affected region

Private landlords in England are earning £1.6bn a year in housing benefit in return for providing “non-decent” homes, in what Sadiq Khan has described as a scandal.

The capital is the worst affected region, with £500m in welfare money going on privately rented homes that are in a state of disrepair, cold, damp, lacking modern facilities or do not meet health and safety standards, according to City Hall analysis.

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‘Buckling’ NHS fails to treat 250,000 children with mental health problems

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Exclusive: child mental health crisis deepens with one-third of all referrals denied help

A quarter of a million children in the UK with mental health problems have been denied help by the NHS as it struggles to manage surging case loads against a backdrop of a crisis in child mental health.

Some NHS trusts are failing to offer treatment to 60% of those referred by GPs, the research based on freedom of information request responses has found.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. You can contact the mental health charity Mind by calling 0300 123 3393 or visiting mind.org.uk. YoungMinds is at youngminds.org.uk.

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Essex pub that displayed golly dolls seized by police is vandalised

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White Hart Inn in Grays, which has been the subject of a reported hate crime, daubed with graffiti and has windows damaged

An Essex pub where police confiscated golly dolls has been vandalised with graffiti and damage to five windows occurring early on Sunday morning, police have said.

The incident occurred at about 12.40am at White Hart Inn in Grays. Essex police said they have deployed extra patrols in the area.

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Local election voters may punish Tories as NHS strikes drag on

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Chair says party could lose 1,000 English seats on 4 May, despite voters finding Rishi Sunak more palatable than his predecessors

Even by the standards of political expectations management, Greg Hands’ message in his Sunday morning interviews was stark: the Conservative party, which he chairs, should expect to lose more than 1,000 councillors in next month’s local elections.

When party bigwigs make such predictions they usually do so against a context of significant wins the last time the seats were contested. But in May 2019, Theresa May was weeks away from announcing her departure, and the Tories lost more than 1,300 seats.

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Some ‘nicotine-free’ vapes high in addictive substances, tests reveal

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Concerns raised after some brands sold in shops in England and Wales found to exceed legal limits

Some high street vapes claiming to be nicotine-free actually contain the same level of addictive substances as full-strength e-cigarettes, tests shows.

Data shared with the Guardian by Inter Scientific – which offers analytical testing of products to check whether they are following regulations – examined dozens of vape brands sold in shops across England and Wales.

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Is vaping safe or not? All you need to know about e-cigarettes

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Why is the government promoting vapes for smokers in England while discouraging them for youth?

E-cigarettes are being promoted in England as part of the government’s efforts to help people quit smoking tobacco at the same time as it cracks down on youth vaping. We take a look at why there are two very different campaigns on the devices.

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NHS crisis deepens as nursing union plans ‘mega strike’ in England

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Doctors could join coordinated strike as Royal College of Nurses announce national ballot on mass action

England’s biggest nursing union is to ballot its members on whether to join a “make or break” mega-strike that would lead to mass action by nurses in every hospital trust in the country, the Observer can reveal.

The move by the Royal College of Nursing to “up the ante” by holding a single national vote – rather than conducting ballots in each individual trust as it did last October – would, if passed, mean twice as many trusts being hit by industrial action by nurses as have been so far.

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Rishi Sunak scraps plans for new smart motorways in England

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Fourteen smart motorways removed from government road-building plans over cost and safety fears

The building of new smart motorways is being cancelled as Rishi Sunak acknowledged concerns about safety and cost.

Fourteen planned smart motorways – including 11 that are already paused and three earmarked for construction – will be removed from government road-building plans, given financial pressures and in recognition of the lack of public trust.

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Nurses will strike again in England after voting to reject government pay deal

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RCN members refuse offer recommended by union leaders by 54% to 46% in ballot

Nurses are to launch fresh strike action across England later this month after rejecting the government’s pay offer, sparking fears stoppages could go on until Christmas.

In a major blow to ministers, union leaders and health service bosses, members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) voted narrowly, by 54% to 46%, on a turnout of 61%, to reject the government’s offer of a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for last year.

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Senior UK civil servants could strike after ‘unconscionable’ pay offer

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Government’s limiting of average pay rise to between 4.5% and 5% prompts fresh strike dates and possible FDA ballot

The UK’s most senior civil servants could take their first strike action in more than a decade after ministers imposed an average pay rise of between 4.5% and 5%, in a move described as “unconscionable” by union leaders.

The Cabinet Office published pay remit guidance limiting awards to an average of 4.5%, plus an additional 0.5% for the lowest pay bands.

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Junior doctors’ union asks Acas to help end strikes deadlock

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Conciliation service urged to look for ways to end logjam with government over demand for 35% pay rise

The junior doctors’ union has asked the conciliation service Acas to look into ways of breaking the deadlock in their dispute with the government over their claim for a 35% pay rise.

Tens of thousands of junior doctors in England are on the second day of a four-day strike in pursuit of their campaign to achieve “full pay restoration” after a significant loss of earnings since 2008-09. It is expected that up to 350,000 appointments and operations could be cancelled as a result.

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Women in England and Wales ‘feel pressured to opt for medical abortions’

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Underfunded services resulting in more women choosing cheaper at-home abortion pill, study finds

Overstretched and underfunded abortion services in England and Wales are leaving women feeling pressured into opting for the cheaper at-home pill rather than a surgical procedure, according to research.

The proportion of medical abortions – using pills – rose from 47% in 2011 to 87% in 2021, while very few abortions are now administered surgically, finds research from the London School of Economics.

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York and Shetland sites join UK bids for Unesco world heritage status

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The list of hopefuls also includes sites in Birkenhead, Northern Ireland and the Cayman Islands

The historic city centre of York and ancient settlements in the Shetlands are among seven sites backed by the UK government to win Unesco world heritage status, it has been announced.

York, which boasts the Minster and enjoys a rich history bequeathed by its Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman inhabitants, and three ancient settlements known as the “zenith of iron age Shetland” join five other sites announced on the “tentative list” to bid for the status.

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Give teachers in England a deal similar to nurses to avoid strikes, says union

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Dr Patrick Roach of NASUWT calls on education secretary Gillian Keegan to reopen pay talks

Ministers could avoid teachers’ strikes in England this summer if they make an improved pay offer as good as that made to NHS nurses, the leader of one teaching union has proposed.

Dr Patrick Roach, the general secretary of the NASUWT union, called on the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, to reopen talks to allow pay negotiations to continue, saying strikes were “not inevitable” if a better deal could be reached.

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Government treating teachers in England with contempt over pay offer, says union

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NASUWT general secretary said ministers ‘not serious about compromising’ in last month’s talks


Ministers are treating teachers in England with contempt if they refuse to renegotiate their “miserable” pay offer, according to a teaching union leader who fears the government wants to “walk away” after only six days of talks.

Patrick Roach, the general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said the government insisted on using forecasts of very low inflation next year to justify its pay offer and was “not serious about compromising” during negotiations last month.

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Newcastle’s Side Gallery to close after funding cuts and energy bills rise

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Photography space that inspired Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall launches fundraising campaign with aim of reopening in 2024

A small and much-loved photography gallery that has punched well above its size for more than 45 years will close this weekend because of funding cuts and cost-of-living pressures.

The Side Gallery, near the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, was opened in 1977 by a collective championing positive images of working-class life.

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Man found guilty of murdering pregnant wife at Arthur’s Seat

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Kashif Anwar, 29, pushed Fawziyah Javed, 31, off Edinburgh hill, leading to death of wife and unborn child

A man has been found guilty of murdering his pregnant wife by pushing her off the edge of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.

Kashif Anwar, 29, was found guilty by a jury at the high court in Edinburgh of murdering Fawziyah Javed, 31, in September 2021 by pushing her from the hill, causing her multiple blunt-force injuries and ultimately her death, and that of her unborn child.

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