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Landlords in Kent, London and Devon named as housing ombudsman criticises ‘poor performance’The social landlords in England with the worst records of maladministration have been named by the housing ombudsman, who said failures were “deeply concerning” and that poor performance was “still at unacceptably high levels”.Richard Blakeway, the ombudsman for England’s 4.4m social homes, concluded there was maladministration in 90% of the complaints cases brought to it by tenants of Golding Homes, which provides housing for more than 21,000 people across Kent, including in the case of a resident who complained for seven years about problems including damp and cold. Continue reading...

Chief minister Andrew Barr says inquiry could examine ‘issues raised by the actions of authorities involved in the Lehrmann trial’

Mohammed Abouagela Masud accused by US of having set timer for bomb that destroyed the Boeing 747, killing 270 people in 1988A former Libyan intelligence operative accused of preparing the bomb that brought down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 was taken into US custody after being abducted from his home by a notorious warlord and then detained by armed militia for two weeks, the Guardian has been told.Mohammed Abouagela Masud appeared briefly in court in Washington DC on Monday, accused of having set the timer for the bomb that destroyed the Boeing 747, killing 270 people in the most deadly terrorist attack to have taken place on British soil. Continue reading...

Royal College of Nursing leader criticises ‘belligerence’ in meeting with Steve Barclay at which ministers refused to discuss pay

Treasury officials tell select committee they set out impacts of £45bn plan for former chancellorKwasi Kwarteng disregarded warnings that his £45bn mini-budget could trigger a backlash on the financial markets, Treasury officials told MPs today.The department’s permanent secretary, James Bowler, said he was “absolutely confident Treasury officials set out the right advice” to the then chancellor. Continue reading...

Six people were killed on Monday night, including two uniformed police officers allegedly ambushed on a remote property

Tactical police shoot dead three suspects at Wieambilla property after the ‘ruthless, targeted execution’ of two officers from Tara and a member of the public

British editor of the UK Sunday Times, which is also owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, will take the position in early 2023Emma Tucker, the British editor of the UK Sunday Times, was named on Monday as the new editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, and will become the first woman to lead the 133-year-old business title.The move, announced by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, will happen in February next year when Tucker, who will also run Dow Jones Newswires, will succeed Matt Murray, who will depart after a four year tenure. Continue reading...

Royal College of Nursing says Steve Barclay refused to discuss pay at meeting on Monday; Welsh nurses to strike after last-minute talks fail. This blog is now closedPat Cullen, the Royal College of Nursing’s general secretary, told ITV this morning that there was no point talking to Steve Barclay, the health secretary, if he was not prepared to discuss pay. She saidWhat I’m saying … to the health secretary this morning, is if you don’t want to speak to me directly about nurses’ pay, we have engaged with the conciliation service Acas, they can do that through Acas, but our door is absolutely wide open and it appears at the minute that theirs is totally shut …Fundamentally, I need to get to a table and talk to them about pay. This isn’t just me, it’s the 320,000 nurses that voted for strike action … They voted through an independent ballot that we carried out and surely to goodness you couldn’t look at one of those people this morning in the eye and say: ‘You’re not worth an extra brown penny’. In my mind they absolutely are.I think it’s a very challenging international picture. About a third of the world’s economies are predicted to be in recession, either this year or next.We’re no different in this country and truthfully, it is likely to get worse before it gets better, which makes it even more difficult when we have big public sector strikes going on at the moment. Continue reading...

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Exclusive: Government-commissioned paper pinpoints budget squeeze as key reason for service’s loss of capacityA “decade of neglect” by successive Conservative administrations has weakened the NHS to the point that it will not be able to tackle the 7 million-strong backlog of care, a government-commissioned report has concluded.The paper by the King’s Fund health thinktank says years of denying funding to the health service and failing to address its growing workforce crisis has left it with too few staff, too little equipment and too many outdated buildings to perform the amount of surgery needed. Continue reading...

West Midlands police say a fourth boy remains in critical condition in hospital after incident on SundayThree boys, aged eight, 10 and 11, have died after falling through thin ice at a lake near Solihull in the West Midlands.A fourth boy, aged six, was in a critical condition in hospital after the incident on Sunday afternoon. All four children were in cardiac arrest when they were pulled from the lake at Babbs Mill Park, a nature reserve in Kingshurst. Continue reading...

Travel disrupted as large parts of UK hit by ice, fog and snow, with airports forced to close and rail and roads affected

Ross McCullam, 30, killed Megan Newborough, 23, then dumped her body in a country lane in LeicestershireA lab technician has been convicted of murdering a colleague at his parents’ home in Leicestershire before dumping her body in a country lane.Ross McCullam, who had admitted manslaughter, claimed he could not be guilty of murdering 23-year-old Megan Newborough, because he acted after a loss of control inadvertently triggered by his victim. Continue reading...

More than 60% of RMT members at Network Rail vote against improved deal in electronic referendum

‘Shambles’ entirely predictable, says Labour on first full day of new winter timetableAlmost a third of TransPennine Express train services have been cancelled on a “dreadful” first full day of a winter timetable that is supposed to improve connectivity on key rail routes.The timetable should have meant hundreds of extra trains added to Britain’s beleaguered rail network, including the resumption of three services an hour to and from Manchester to London on Avanti West Coast. Continue reading...

Dina Boluarte says she will submit bill to move elections forward by two years as thousands take to streets after ousting of predecessor Pedro CastilloPeru’s new president, Dina Boluarte, has announced plans to move forward with general elections amid deadly protests over the ousting of her predecessor Pedro Castillo after he attempted to dissolve congress.In a televised address early on Monday, Boluarte said she would submit a bill to bring general elections forward two years, to April 2024. But her proposal is unlikely to placate surging protests as Castillo supporters call for early Peru’s widely loathed congress to be closed and early elections. Continue reading...

Exclusive: NHS trusts increasing fuel stocks and putting staff on standby to postpone operations, FoI revealsEnglish hospitals have increased emergency fuel supplies and put staff on standby to postpone operations and switch off X-ray scanners amid heightened concerns over energy provision this winter.NHS hospital trusts across England have put their power plans under the microscope as they look to protect patients from potential outages for lifesaving equipment. Continue reading...

Ioane Koroiveibau’s case gives hopes to hundreds of other Commonwealth nationals who served in UK forcesA Fijian British army veteran who suffered from deafness after serving in Afghanistan has been allowed to return to the UK, in a case that gives hope to hundreds of other Commonwealth former soldiers living abroad.Ioane Koroiveibau, 36, gave up on Britain in 2015 when his immigration paperwork was lost after his discharge on medical grounds, his hearing loss caused by repeated exposure to gunfire on a dangerous tour in Helmand. Continue reading...

The former Britpop star has denied sending ‘abusive and sexually orientated’ messages to Davies, who performs as the Anchoress and worked on Draper’s debut solo albumPaul Draper, former frontman of the Britpop band Mansun, has been accused of stalking the musician Catherine Anne Davies, AKA the Anchoress, including sending “abusive and sexually orientated” messages to the musician and her partner.After Draper’s musical career had effectively ended following the demise of Mansun in 2003, Davies invited him to sing on her debut album, 2016’s Confessions of a Romance Novelist, and then helped him launch a solo career, co-writing songs for his 2017 album, Spooky Action, which charted at No 19. Continue reading...

Kremlin says traditional event will not take place in further sign leader is becoming more remote

Johan Lundgren gets rise of about 273% from 2021, when he received no bonus because of Covid pandemicThe boss of easyJet was paid almost £3m in 2022, in the year when the airline made a £208m loss and cancelled thousands of flights because of staffing and other problems.The easyJet chief executive, Johan Lundgren, received a £1.2m annual bonus and £925,000 in shares on top of his £833,000 fixed salary and benefits. Continue reading...

Majidreza Rahnavard accused of fatally stabbing security force members early in protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in custodyIran has publicly hanged a man accused of killing two members of the security forces in its second use of capital punishment against anti-government protesters.Majidreza Rahnavard’s family were woken early on Monday morning to be informed that he had been executed and that his body had been buried in a lot in the local cemetery. Continue reading...

Duke of Sussex makes the claims in new trailer for Harry and Meghan Netflix docuseriesAn intriguing claim involving the Prince of Wales by his brother features in the latest trailer for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix documentary.In a 90-second teaser released on Monday, Harry says: “They were happy to lie to protect my brother,” before adding: “They were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.” Continue reading...

Moon Jae-in gave up hunting dogs claiming government refused to cover food and veterinary billsA pair of dogs gifted four years ago by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, have ended up at a zoo in South Korea after a dispute over who should pay for the animals’ care.Kim had given the two white Pungsan hunting dogs – a breed indigenous to North Korea – to the then South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, as a gift after their summit talks in Pyongyang in 2018. Continue reading...

Great Britain’s electricity system operator says it has no concerns over blackouts despite snow and ice

Freezing temperatures linked to weak polar vortex in the stratosphere, with cold weather expected to remain through the weekThe current cold spell in Europe will persist this week as high pressure continues to stagnate over western Russia. The cold weather is linked to a weak, split polar vortex in the stratosphere, which allowed high pressure to build across Greenland last week. This in turn led to Arctic air flooding south across the UK on northerly winds. The polar vortex is due to strengthen, eventually helping to end the cold spell with low pressure to the west of the UK becoming dominant.Much of western and central Europe, including the UK, will stay consistently around 5C below typical values for this time of year, with many places struggling to rise above freezing even during the daytime. Change is on the horizon, however, as low pressure systems begin to encroach into Europe towards the weekend. Latest forecasts show temperatures in western Europe returning to average by the start of next week, though in central and northern Europe extreme cold will persist a little longer. In contrast, Spain, which has experienced a record-breaking warm and dry autumn, will finally have some recognisably wintry temperatures. Continue reading...

The teenager was using his phone to film the animals when he dropped it into their bamboo forest compound

This is an extract from our First Edition newsletter. To sign up, click hereAfter ministers rebuffed an offer by nursing unions to suspend strikes in return for new pay negotiations, and with Cobra meetings due on Monday to work through controversial contingency plans involving the military, there is little reason to expect a reprieve from planned strikes.Industrial action already under way in December among bus, rail and postal workers will intensify and broaden this week to others in the public sector including ambulance drivers, baggage handlers, and driving examiners. The result will be some of the most significant disruption to the British economy in recent memory. Continue reading...

Biden faces a renewed push, domestically and internationally, to drop charges against Assange, who is languishing in a UK jailThe Biden administration has been saying all the right things lately about respecting a free and vigorous press, after four years of relentless media-bashing and legal assaults under Donald Trump.The attorney general, Merrick Garland, has even put in place expanded protections for journalists this fall, saying that “a free and independent press is vital to the functioning of our democracy”. Continue reading...

Police believe Wallace died of hypothermia after walking through rugged bushland at 1am

Industry argues capping gas at $12 a gigajoule risks future investment but experts say price is top end of range forecast before invasion of Ukraine

Sole remnant of 19th-century hospital building in Stratford renovated as part of grassroots heritage programmeStonemasons have been giving young people the chance to work with them in restoring a historical art deco arch in east London, instilling local pride in one of the capital’s most deprived boroughs.The arch in Stratford is all that survives of Queen Mary’s hospital for the East End, opened in the 19th century for the local population who worked in factories and workshops, where accidents were common. It was described by one contemporary as “a lighthouse in a neighbourhood without illumination” until it was badly damaged during the second world war and, ultimately, demolished in 1983. Continue reading...

Plan would mean new developments must have sufficient provision of free or subsidised childcare up to age 11A cross-party group of MPs is seeking to change the law so childcare is treated as an infrastructure issue like schools, GPs and public transport, placing a duty on major housebuilders to ensure new developments have sufficient provision to match an expanding population.The plan, led by the Labour MP Stella Creasy, comes as an amendment to the levelling up and regeneration bill, which returns to the Commons on Tuesday for the final part of its committee stage. Continue reading...

Smith says he is sorry ‘to the women I upset’ as he checks into mental health facility

Clubs lobby group has warned of action against other MPs after clubs unveil campaign against Helen Dalton

League promises a week-long ‘festival of football’ after three-year deal with NSW governmentThe A-Leagues have sparked anger among fans after selling the rights to host its grand finals to the New South Wales government, with Sydney to host the men’s and women’s showpiece events for the next three years in a reported eight-figure deal.In a departure from tradition for Australian football, the title deciders could potentially be played away from the highest-placed team’s home ground. Continue reading...

Reason party leader says she is in an unwinnable position against Democratic Labour’s candidate

Complex reportedly struck by Himars rockets may have been a stronghold of Wagner mercenary group that fights for KremlinUkraine has attacked a barracks in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol with some Ukrainian sources claiming scores of Russian casualties.According to witnesses 10 explosions were heard, although some of those may have been from Russian anti-aircraft systems. Ukrainian officials claimed scores of Russian dead and injured while Russia conceded a handful of casualties. Continue reading...

Government-imposed caps on the wholesale price of coal and gas will only help consumers if fossil fuel suppliers play ball

Yellow weather warnings in place with snow and ice across country as residents of Cornwall advised not to travelFurther travel disruption is expected this week with temperatures forecast to stay well below freezing overnight, and up to 10cm of snow forecast in the south-east of England.Met Office yellow warnings were in place from Sunday until Monday morning for northern and south-western Scotland, Northern Ireland, north-eastern England, the Midlands and south-west as well as London and the south-east. Continue reading...

Army’s role risks being politicised as personnel called on to cover for Border Force and ambulance workersA winter of discontent is upon us and it falls to the military to bail the government out. Six hundred soldiers are getting a week’s training to be ready to cover for striking Border Force staff at ports and airports over the Christmas period. A few hundred more are expected to be called on to help cover during the 21 December ambulance workers strike.Of course, the military exists to act in last resort: their help was necessary and vital during the Covid crisis or where there is flooding or another civil emergency. Sometimes it is only the armed forces that have the personnel and knowhow to assist in a crisis. However, this winter, it is hard to escape the feeling that soldiers are at risk of being politicised for little gain to themselves. Continue reading...

Labour and former army head warn repeated use of armed forces may lead to burnout and soldiers quittingPlans for military staff to cover for striking workers are to be discussed at a Cobra meeting, amid warnings that over-stretched troops are being used repeatedly to bail out ministers unable to solve disputes.With about 1,000 personnel due to miss Christmas breaks as they fill in for ambulance crews and border staff, military sources and retired senior officers warned about the potential impact on morale for troops whose real-terms pay has also declined. Continue reading...

For the first time the gap between men and women’s pay in the 2021-22 financial year was the same as the year before

Nine people feared killed after blast destroys block of flats in the capital, St HelierNine people are feared to have been killed and a criminal investigation could be launched after a suspected gas explosion destroyed a block of flats in the centre of Jersey’s capital, St Helier.After a desperate day of searching among the debris, the island’s chief of police, Robin Smith, confirmed that five people had died but said a further four remained missing, with the mission no longer in rescue mode. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary to announce ‘pragmatic’ partnerships with countries likely to be more influential over next 30 yearsThe UK will target a group of about two dozen middle-level countries for long-term diplomatic partnerships in what marks a downgrade of a commitment to human rights as a prerequisite for close relations with the UK.The new policy being outlined in a speech by the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, is an attempt to set realistic ambitions and criteria for Britain’s future relations post-Brexit. It is an implicit admission that the phrase “global Britain”, coined by Boris Johnson, may have set expectations that British diplomatic resources and status cannot match. Continue reading...

Russian barracks hit in strategically important city and German chancellor Olaf Scholz says Vladimir Putin is determined to conquer parts of UkraineA neo-Nazi paramilitary group linked to the Kremlin has asked its members to submit intelligence on border and military activity in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, raising concerns over whether far-right Russian groups are planning an attack on Nato countries.The official Telegram channel for “Task Force Rusich” – currently fighting in Ukraine on behalf of the Kremlin and linked to the notorious Wagner Group – last week requested members to forward details relating to border posts and military movements in the three Baltic states, which were formerly part of the Soviet Union.I’m not really seeing anything coming from the Russian side that gives me confidence that Vladimir Putin is entering these talks in good faith. The wider rhetoric is still very confrontational.Any negotiations need to be real, they need to be meaningful, they can’t just be a fig leaf for Russian rearmament and further recruitment of soldiers.” Continue reading...

Chair of the museum, George Osborne, says it no longer wants to be a ‘destination for climate protest’The future for the British Museum could be very different indeed. That was the message from the organisation’s chair George Osborne in his annual speech to Trustees last month, in which he announced a “complete reimagination” of the museum, under a billion-pound masterplan that will be revealed next year.Among the hints of potential loans of its exhibits, leading to further speculation over the Parthenon marbles, was one explicit promise on energy. “Our goal is to be a net zero carbon museum,” said Osborne, “no longer a destination for climate protest but instead an example of climate solution”. Continue reading...

Hughes toured the US with Gloria Steinem and founded the first shelter for battered women in New York CityThe pioneering Black feminist Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a community activist who co-founded Ms magazine with Gloria Steinem and appeared with her in one of the most iconic photos of the second-wave feminist movement, has died. She was 84.Hughes died on 1 December in Tampa, Florida, at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, according to funeral director Maurice Sconiers. Her daughter, Delethia Ridley Malmsten, said the cause was old age. Continue reading...

Mohammed Abouagela Masud accused of setting timer for bomb that destroyed Boeing 747, killing 270 peopleA Libyan accused of preparing the bomb that killed 270 people when an explosion ripped through Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 is now in US custody, officials have confirmed.Scottish prosecutors, who have been closely involved in the investigation, said the families of those who were killed “have been told” that Mohammed Abouagela Masud had been extradited to the United States. Continue reading...