News- UK

Downing Street seeks data expert to set up 'skunkworks' in No 10 Advert for head of analytical unit is latest sign of Dominic Cummings’ Whitehall shakeup Downing Street is seeking applications for a £135,000 a year data expert to set up a “skunkworks” in No 10, in the latest evidence of Dominic Cummings’ Whitehall shakeup.Cummings’ preoccupation with big data is well-known, and he has recently urged ministers’ special advisers to swot up on superforecasting, a way of predicting the future using statistical analysis. Continue reading... Go to Source

Pressure mounts on Priti Patel over case of 11-year-old at risk of FGM Open letter by former judges, leading politicians and campaigners urges home secretary to grant asylum to Sudanese girlBarristers, former judges, politicians and campaigners are among 300 people who have signed an open letter to the home secretary, Priti Patel, urging her to grant asylum to an 11-year-old girl at high risk of female genital mutilation if taken abroad.Helena Kennedy QC, former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal, campaigner Leyla Hussein and more than 30 MPs have added their names to the letter published by the the Good Law Project alongside a petition launched today. Continue reading... Go to Source

UK air pollution still down despite return to normal traffic – study Exclusive: reduced congestion most likely reason for lower nitrogen dioxide, scientists say Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAir pollution has remained at lower levels in UK towns and cities despite a return to near-normal traffic levels after the easing of coronavirus restrictions, according to research.Analysis of data from more than 100 urban roadside locations shows nitrogen dioxide pollution levels were 30% below normal at the end of June, despite HGV traffic being back at 95% of normal levels, vans at 90% and cars at 75%. Continue reading... Go to Source

Parts of England could run out of water within 20 years, warn MPs Water firms not addressing problem of leaks, causing loss of 3bn litres a day, report finds There is a serious risk that parts of England will run out of water within 20 years, MPs have warned.The public accounts committee said the bodies responsible for water in the UK had “taken their eye off the ball” and the scale of leakage – more than 3bn litres a day – was “wholly unacceptable”. Continue reading... Go to Source

Firm with links to Gove and Cummings given Covid-19 contract without open tender Research company owned by associates of senior Tory and PM’s adviser gets £840,000 jobCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Cabinet Office has awarded an £840,000 contract to research public opinion about government policies to a company owned by two long-term associates of Michael Gove and Dominic Cummings, without putting the work out for tender.Public First, a small policy and research company in London, is run by James Frayne, whose work alongside Cummings – the prime minister’s senior adviser – dates back to a Eurosceptic campaign 20 years ago, and Rachel Wolf, a former adviser to Gove who co-wrote the Conservative party’s 2019 e...

Chocolate and sweet sales face further curbs in No 10 obesity drive Supermarkets in England may be stopped from displaying unhealthy food at end of aislesSupermarkets in England could be stopped from placing chocolate and sweets as impulse purchases at the end of aisles as part of a government drive to improve the health of the nation in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it has emerged.Measures to try to nudge the public into healthier food-buying habits are among policies being considered in what has been billed a “war against obesity” being drawn up by Downing Street. Continue reading... Go to Source

Cost of rolling out universal credit rises by £1.4bn, say auditors NAO says benefit may not be able to meet aim of getting more people into workThere is still no evidence that universal credit benefit is meeting its central aim of getting more people into work – while the costs of implementing it have risen by £1.4bn and it remains beset by delays, according to the government spending watchdog.In a critical report, the National Audit Office said that although more claimants were being paid on time, the controversial five week wait for a first universal credit payment continued to exacerbate many claimants’ debt problems and push them into hardship. Continue reading... Go to Source

Police in England and Wales face inquiry into possible racial bias Exclusive: IOPC to look for any pattern of discrimination in use of force and stop and searchCases that highlight claims of police racial profiling in EnglandPolice across England and Wales face an inquiry to establish whether they racially discriminate against ethnic minorities in their use of force and stop and search, the Guardian has learned.The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) says it will use its formal powers to investigate cases and then look if any pattern of racial discrimination exists. It has vowed it can “drive real change in policing practice”. Continue reading... Go to Source

UK coronavirus live: beauty salons, outdoor theatres, gyms and pools to reopen in England Dowden says beauty salons can reopen on Monday; theatres can put on outdoor shows from this weekend; repaying crisis debt will take ‘decades’ and higher taxes likely, says IFSFull story: gyms and pools to reopen in EnglandIFS: Sunak’s jobs policies badly timed and poorly targetedAsymptomatic testing for thousands of workers in EnglandGlobal coronavirus - latest updates 6.57pm BSTIndoor gyms, swimming pools and leisure centres will open on July 25 with new guidance on spacing out and cleaning equipment, limiting the number of people in facilities and smaller class sizes. Outdoor pools can reopen from 11 July, while certain team sports such as cricket will also be able to return fro...

Trump’s taxes may be released to grand jury, supreme court rules – live Justices issue 7-2 decision returns may be given to New York juryCourt send congressional subpoenas case back to lower courtsBerman reportedly says Barr pressured him to resign1.3m workers filed new unemployment claims last weekSign up to our First Thing newsletter 6.56pm BSTThe secretary of defence, Mark Esper, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Mark Milley, are testifying to the House Armed Services Committee, on the subject of the military role in civilian law enforcement, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, during which Donald Trump had threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy active duty troops to US cities.Esper repeated his early resistance to using the act:“As a for...

Boots and John Lewis to cut 5,300 jobs and close stores Chemist shuts 48 opticians and department store group shuts eight of its 50 storesBoots and John Lewis have announced plans to cut 5,300 jobs and close stores on another bleak day for the UK high street.Boots is cutting 4,000 jobs – or 7% of its workforce – by closing 48 opticians outlets and reducing staff at its head office in Nottingham as well as some management and customer service roles in stores. Continue reading... Go to Source

Judges quash decision not to prosecute diplomat over alleged trafficking CPS to ‘look again’ at case involving woman working for UAE family in London A woman who says it seems the Crown Prosecution Service did not consider her “trafficked enough” after being brought into the UK by a diplomat from the United Arab Emirates is celebrating after a high court ruling quashed a decision not to prosecute him.The woman worked for Abdulla Salem Mohammed Sultan Aljaberi, a former assistant military attache at the UAE embassy in London, after accepting a job with his family when he was posted to the UK. Continue reading... Go to Source

Boots to cut 4,000 jobs as John Lewis to shut eight stores, putting 1,300 jobs at risk - business live Grim day in UK retail as Boots announces plans to cut 4,000 jobs and John Lewis Partnership shuts eight storesLatest: Boots Opticians stores to close amid jobs cutsJohn Lewis won’t reopen eight storesMPs: It’s terrible newsBirmingham, Watford, Croydon, Newbury, Swindon and Tamworth to permanently closeTravel hubs at Heathrow and St Pancras won’t reopen either 12.54pm BSTYou can read the details of the Boots job cuts here: Walgreens Boots Alliance Reports Fiscal 2020 Third Quarter ResultsJohn Lewis’s announcement is here: EIGHT JOHN LEWIS SHOPS NOT TO REOPEN AS THE PARTNERSHIP PROGRESSES WITH MAJOR BUSINESS STRATEGY REVIEW 12.54pm BSTTUC policy adviser Alex Colli...

Three police officers in UK accused of racist remarks on WhatsApp Cambridgeshire force investigates alleged comments relating to actor Kayode EwumiA police officer has been suspended and two others placed on restricted duties after allegedly racist remarks were exchanged on a WhatsApp group under an image of the British actor and writer Kayode Ewumi.In the exchange on the social media app one of the officers posted a meme of Ewumi, 26, which went viral in 2017 . The image shows Ewumi as his character Reece Simpson, aka Roll Safe, in the BBC Three comedy #HoodDocumentary, where he taps his finger to the side of his head having just thought of something. Continue reading... Go to Source

UK coronavirus live: repaying crisis debt will take 'decades' and higher taxes likely, says IFS IFS analysis of chancellor’s plans says ‘reckoning’ will have to come to repair battered public financesMass unemployment feared despite Rishi Sunak’s ‘plan for jobs’Global coronavirus live: latest updates 12.49pm BSTScots can meet people from other households indoors from tomorrow for the first time in over three months, as the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, confirmed that the country was now ready to enter phase 3 of her government’s route map to re-opening.Announcing a raft of new guidance, she also said that non-cohabiting couples were now allowed to meet outdoors, indoors and overnight without physical distancing. 12.39pm BSTNo new coronavirus ...

BBC to end free TV licences for most over-75s Licence will be means tested from next month, corporation announcesThe BBC is to end free TV licences for most over-75s after a two month-delay because of coronavirus, it has been announced.The licence will be means tested from next month, the corporation announced. Continue reading... Go to Source

CO2 in Earth's atmosphere nearing levels of 15m years ago Last time CO2 was at similar level temperatures were 3C to 4C hotter and sea levels were 20 metres higherThe amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere is approaching a level not seen in 15m years and perhaps never previously experienced by a hominoid, according to the authors of a study.At pre-lockdown rates of increase, within five years atmospheric CO2 will pass 427 parts per million, which was the probable peak of the mid-Pliocene warming period 3.3m years ago, when temperatures were 3C to 4C hotter and sea levels were 20 metres higher than today. Continue reading... Go to Source

Hillingdon hospital boss blames staff for A&E closure after Covid-19 outbreak Exclusive: Sarah Tedford issues letter saying outbreak was because some staff were not wearing masks, as 70 workers self-isolateCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe chief executive of the hospital that serves Boris Johnson’s constituency, which has shut its A&E unit after an outbreak of coronavirus, has blamed staff for flouting the rules by not wearing masks at work.Hillingdon hospital in north-west London stopped letting patients attend its emergency department or accepting any new emergency admissions on Tuesday after 70 of its staff had to self-isolate. Continue reading... Go to Source

Liz Truss warns Boris Johnson over Brexit border plans International trade secretary tells PM and chancellor plans risk smuggling and damage to UK reputationAn extraordinary cabinet row has erupted over Brexit with Liz Truss warning that Boris Johnson’s border plans risk smuggling, damage to the UK’s international reputation and could face a legal challenge from the World Trade Organization.The international trade secretary wrote to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and Michael Gove on Wednesday warning of four “key areas of concern” over their plans for the border next January. Continue reading... Go to Source

Mass unemployment feared despite Rishi Sunak's 'plan for jobs' Economic experts, unions and Labour sound warning after summer statementRishi Sunak has been warned he will need to act far more decisively to prevent mass unemployment this autumn after unveiling a £30bn mini budget designed to tempt nervous consumers out their Covid-19 hibernation.The chancellor announced a short-term cut in VAT for hospitality and tourism and an August “eat out to help out” discount scheme as the government sought to send out a message to the public that it was safe to leave their homes and enjoy themselves. Continue reading... Go to Source

Rishi Sunak unveils stamp duty holiday and hospitality VAT cut Chancellor also announces £9bn reward for firms bringing back furloughed workersSummer statement: chancellor’s key points at a glanceAnalysis: Sunak tries to kickstart UK’s economyStamp duty: what is it and what has the chancellor changed? Rishi Sunak promised to leave “no one without hope” as he unveiled an unprecedented level of employment support to assist in the economic recovery from coronavirus.In his summer statement on Wednesday, the chancellor pledged £9bn to protect furloughed jobs, kickstart opportunities for young people, slash VAT for the hospitality and tourism sectors, and scrap stamp duty until next year. Continue reading... Go to Source

Spreading rock dust on fields could remove vast amounts of CO2 from air It may be best near-term way to remove CO2, say scientists, but cutting fossil fuel use remains criticalSpreading rock dust on farmland could suck billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air every year, according to the first detailed global analysis of the technique.The chemical reactions that degrade the rock particles lock the greenhouse gas into carbonates within months, and some scientists say this approach may be the best near-term way of removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Continue reading... Go to Source

Grenfell Tower fire engineer did not look at cladding plans Exova expert was sent design report but did not open it because ‘he was not specifically asked to’, inquiry hearsThe fire engineer on Grenfell Tower did not look at plans showing the building might be wrapped in aluminium cladding panels before advising that the works would not increase the risk of fire spreading across the building.Appearing at the public inquiry into the disaster that killed 72 people, Terry Ashton, a senior associate at fire engineer Exova, was asked whether he created a “false sense of security” in the design team after he admitted he had not looked at plans emailed to him about overcladding the building. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trust in UK healthcare system 'seriously broken', inquiry finds Findings of patient safety review should act as a ‘wake up call’ that a change in culture is neededWomen should switch GP if their doctor is not sympathetic, according to the chair of a highly critical patient safety inquiry, who said that a series of medical scandals had left trust in the healthcare system “seriously broken”.Baroness Julia Cumberlege, who led the review covering three separate medical scandals, said she hoped the findings would act as a “wake up call” that a radical change in culture in the NHS was needed. Continue reading... Go to Source

Met police apologise to Bianca Williams over stop and search Commissioner says incident involving British athlete has been referred to watchdogThe Metropolitan police have apologised to Bianca Williams, the British athlete who was stopped and handcuffed by police alongside her partner while her baby son was in the car, the force’s chief has told MPs.Williams and her partner, Ricardo dos Santos, who are both trained by the former Olympic champion Linford Christie, were stopped while driving back to their home in Maida Vale, west London, on Saturday. Continue reading... Go to Source

UK coronavirus live: Rishi Sunak makes summer statement on economic recovery Follow live updates on the latest on the coronavirus crisis in the UK and the chancellor’s summer statement How Sunak could kickstart UK’s post-lockdown economyUK’s Covid-19 economic crisis in five key charts‘We mess with this virus at our peril’: Sturgeon urges cautionSunak poses for pre-budget photo with £180 ‘smart mug’Global coronavirus updates – live 12.45pm BSTThe Treasury have tweeted the government’s progress against the Covid-19 slump so far.....Our £160bn plan has:Supported over 11 million people through job retention & self-employment schemesprovided billions of pounds for the most vulnerablesupported over a million businesses to p...

Met police apologise for handcuffing athlete Bianca Williams Commissioner says incident involving British athlete has been referred to watchdogThe Metropolitan police have apologised to Bianca Williams, the British athlete who was stopped and handcuffed by police alongside her partner and baby son, the force’s chief has told MPs.Williams and her partner, Ricardo dos Santos, who are both trained by the former Olympic champion Linford Christie, were stopped while driving back to their home in Maida Vale, west London, on Saturday. Continue reading... Go to Source

Dominic Cummings to tour sensitive MoD sites amid defence review PM’s adviser will visit SAS and Porton Down, and has been to MI5 and MI6, leaked email saysDominic Cummings is to visit the SAS and four other of the Ministry of Defence’s most sensitive sites, a leaked email has revealed, at a time when the armed forces are battling to avoid swingeing cuts in an upcoming review.MoD sources confirmed a personal tour had been organised for the prime minister’s chief adviser, which will also take in the specialist military research laboratories at Porton Down, Wiltshire. Continue reading... Go to Source

Rowling, Rushdie and Atwood warn against ‘intolerance’ in open letter Harper’s letter asserts way to ‘defeat bad ideas is by exposure, argument, and persuasion’, but critics accuse authors of censorious mentalityJK Rowling, Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood are among the signatories to a controversial open letter warning that the spread of “censoriousness” is leading to “an intolerance of opposing views” and “a vogue for public shaming and ostracism”.Rowling, whose beliefs on transgender rights have recently seen scores of Harry Potter fans distance themselves from her, said she was “proud to sign this letter in defence of a foundational principle of a liberal society: open debate and freedom of thought and speech”. Cont...

Denial of women's concerns contributed to medical scandals, says inquiry Review into vaginal mesh and other products reveals much patient harm was ‘avoidable’An arrogant culture in which serious medical complications were dismissed as “women’s problems” contributed to a string of healthcare scandals over several decades, an inquiry ordered by the government has found.The review of vaginal mesh, hormonal pregnancy tests and an anti-epilepsy medicine that harmed unborn babies paints a damning picture of a medical establishment that failed to acknowledge problems even in the face of mounting safety concerns, leading to avoidable harm to patients. Continue reading... Go to Source