Exclusive: Home secretary’s ‘racist’ immigration plans condemned by former Tory campaignerSuella Braverman should consider her position for putting forward “cruel and heartless” immigration policies that discriminate against war refugees of colour, a former Home Office adviser has said.Nimco Ali, a one-time Conservative campaigner who in December left her job as an adviser on violence against women, said the home secretary was “the wrong person not just for the Conservative party but for the country”. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now) and Andrew Sparrow (earlier) on (#69R3N)
Opposition amendment to stop the government barring small boat arrivals claiming asylum defeated by 312 votes to 249Junior hospital doctors in England started a 72-hour strike this morning. My colleagues Denis Campbell and Aubrey Allegretti have the story.This morning Prof Philip Banfield, the chair of the BMA’s council, claimed that, paradoxically, hospitals could be safer than normal, because elective operations won’t be taking place and because more senior doctors, consultants, would be covering for the doctors on strike. He told the Today programme:What is going to happen over this next three days is that we are going to see senior doctors – I don’t like the words junior and senior, this is just a level of experience and training – so we’re seeing consultants and specialist doctors cover.They will stop, or should stop, their elective work and actually the NHS is maintaining a great deal of elective work. So we should see that the service is safe. In fact, actually, we should see it is even safer than normal.Because the care is going to be given by consultants, consultants seeing patients, doing things that they normally wouldn’t do. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#69RZJ)
Kate Forbes and Ash Regan describe author, who opposed Nicola Sturgeon’s gender recognition reforms, as ‘brave’ in TV debateTwo of the candidates seeking to be the next leader of the Scottish National party have described author JK Rowling as a “national treasure” despite her branding their predecessor Nicola Sturgeon a “destroyer of women’s rights”.Kate Forbes and Ash Regan who are vying with Humza Yousaf to become the next first minster, both described Rowling as “brave” when asked on a Sky News leadership debate on Monday evening about the Harry Potter author, who has made regular, often highly personal, interventions in opposition to Sturgeon’s gender recognition reforms. Continue reading...
Chancellor will pledge in budget to create 12 investment zones in eight areas ‘to drive business investment’Tech hubs clustered around universities in England will benefit from almost £1bn in extra funding as part of a range of measures in the budget on Wednesday to boost business investment in the regions.The chancellor will make the pledge to create 12 investment zones in eight areas “to drive business investment and level up” the country, each backed with £80m of government funding. Continue reading...
Corporation’s reinstatement of Match of the Day presenter described as a ‘capitulation’The BBC’s leadership was facing renewed pressure on Monday after the corporation U-turned to bring Gary Lineker back to Match of the Day, cancelling the presenter’s suspension without requiring him to make any significant concessions.Three days after Lineker was taken off air for criticising the language used by ministers when discussing the government’s asylum policy, Tim Davie, the director general of the BBC, announced an independent review of the corporation’s social media guidelines. Continue reading...
Disgraced pop star was released in February after serving half of an eight-year sentence for sexually abusing three girlsThe paedophile former pop star Gary Glitter has been recalled to prison after a breach of his licence conditions, the Probation Service has said.Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was released in early February from HMP The Verne, a low-security category C jail in Dorset, after serving eight years of a 16-year sentence for sexually abusing three schoolgirls. Continue reading...
PM responds to news he will pay tens of thousands for local electricity grid upgrade to meet power demandsRishi Sunak has rejected suggestions he is detached from the everyday concerns of the public after it emerged his new heated swimming pool uses so much energy that the local electricity network had to be upgraded to meet its power demands.The Guardian revealed that, while many Britons are trying to limit their energy use in the face of increased electricity bills, extra equipment had been installed in North Yorkshire to provide more capacity from the National Grid to Sunak’s constituency home. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor on (#69RR2)
David Simmonds says rules were complied with after his local party association received thousandsA Tory MP is facing questions over issues he raised in the House of Commons about a constituent’s business interests after his local Conservative association received thousands in donations.Labour has said David Simmonds should justify the comments after it was revealed he received a £1,500 ticket to a Tory fundraiser from a local businessman whose hotel supplies firm he had asked a parliamentary question about. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor on (#69RR3)
In The Abuse of Power, former PM will look at how public institutions close ranks ‘to serve themselves’Theresa May is to release a book about a series of political scandals, titled The Abuse of Power, which promises to reveal the way institutions close ranks in order to avoid dishonour.The former prime minister has never released a memoir but the book – due to be published in autumn 2023 – promises to reveal the story behind famous scandals including the Hillsborough and Grenfell tragedies, the Daniel Morgan police corruption case and parliamentary dramas. Continue reading...
Monarch delivers his first Commonwealth Day message from great pulpit in Westminster AbbeyKing Charles has hailed the “extraordinary potential” of the Commonwealth and spoken of the “imperative to act” on its ideals to improve the lives of its 2.6 billion people, in his first Commonwealth Day message as monarch.Delivered from the great pulpit at Westminster Abbey, Charles recalled his mother’s “particular pride” in Commonwealth Day, and said: “The Commonwealth has been a constant in my own life, and yet its diversity continues to amaze and inspire me.”Commonwealth Day was an occasion of particular pride for my beloved mother, the late queen – a treasured opportunity to celebrate our Commonwealth family, to whose service she dedicated her long and remarkable life.In succeeding Her Majesty as head of the Commonwealth, I draw great strength from her example, together with all that I have learned from the extraordinary people I have met throughout the Commonwealth over so many years. Continue reading...
Country Garden’s 2022 forecast is another blow for country’s embattled sectorChina’s top property developer expects to record a loss in 2022 – its first since the company went public in 2007 – in another blow for the country’s embattled property sector.In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday, Country Garden said that the losses for 2022 would amount to between 5.5bn yuan and 7.5bn yuan (£663.6m-£904.9m). In 2021 Country Garden’s profits reached 26.8bn yuan. Continue reading...
Experiences told to sentencing hearing for Eleanor Williams on nine counts of perverting course of justiceThree men who were falsely accused of rape by the same woman said they tried to kill themselves as a result of her lies and one was twice sectioned in a psychiatric unit, a court has heard.Eleanor Williams, 22, from Barrow-in-Furness, was convicted in January of nine counts of perverting the course of justice. Continue reading...
Parker review shows progress – but a handful of top companies still fail to bring end to all-white boardroomsNearly all the UK’s 100 largest listed companies now have at least one minority ethnic director on their boards, according to the latest update from the government-backed Parker review, which was set up to improve diversity in Britain’s boardrooms.The voluntary survey of FTSE 100 companies showed that 96% of companies in the index had at least one director from an ethnic minority background on their board by the end of 2022. Continue reading...
Director dedicates award to all political prisoners after film about Russian opposition leader wins best feature documentaryRussian liberals on Monday celebrated the Oscar win of Navalny, a documentary about the poisoning and imprisonment of “hero” Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.The film, which won best feature documentary at the Academy Awards in LA on Sunday, follows an investigation by Navalny’s team together with the Bellingcat group as they unmask FSB agents who were sent to poison Navalny in 2020. The Kremlin has always denied involvement. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#69R7K)
Concerns that Scotland lagging behind rest of UK as anti-abortion protests continue outside clinicsPro-choice campaigners are urging all Scottish National party leadership candidates to commit to accelerating the imposition of protest-free buffer zones around abortion clinics as healthcare professionals describe the “remorseless” impact of anti-choice activity on their working lives.Amid growing concern that Scotland is trailing behind the rest of the UK, after safe access zones passed their final parliamentary hurdle in the Commons last week, there was a protest and counter-protest outside the Sandyford clinic in Glasgow at the weekend. The clinic offers a range of services including abortion, support for sexual assault victims and transgender healthcare. Continue reading...
Iwao Hakamada, 87, was convicted of four murders in 1968 but granted ‘temporary release’ in 2014 after new evidence emergedA court in Japan has granted a retrial to a man – thought to be the world’s longest-serving death row inmate – who was sentenced to hang for the murders of a family of four almost six decades ago.The Tokyo high court ruled on Monday that Iwao Hakamada, 87, should be tried again for the crimes in a decision campaigners said was a “step towards justice”. Continue reading...
by By Jordi Otix, Manu Mitru, Laura Luque and David M on (#69R0N)
Far from the romanticised notion of Old Havana, this project documents the city’s housing situation as a microcosm of the country’s collapse. Many buildings have collapsed or been declared uninhabitable, forcing people to live in shelters or squat in unsafe conditions while new hotels are built around themCubans face a precarious present and an uncertain future. While the government focuses on the recovery of the tourism sector, people’s living conditions are driving the largest migratory exodus in the country’s history.Inflation, the economic blockade and mismanagement mean many are unable to meet their basic needs. Continue reading...
German language war epic triumphs in the category for non-English language films• Follow the action live from this year’s ceremony!All Quiet on the Western Front has won the Oscar for best international feature film at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.The German-language first world war film is an adaptation of Erich Remarque’s landmark 1928 novel; an earlier Hollywood adaptation, directed by Lewis Milestone, won the best picture Oscar in 1930. This version, directed by Edward Berger, stars Felix Kammerer as initially eager soldier Paul Bäumer who is traumatised by life in the trenches. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot, Josh Halliday and Aubrey Allegretti on (#69QMF)
Executives race to resolve Match of the Day presenter standoff as senior Tories stop short of backing Richard Sharp on impartialityBBC executives are scrambling to repair relations with Gary Lineker and stave off a staff mutiny at the corporation, with hopes that the presenter could be back in post by next weekend.The row left the BBC’s chair, Richard Sharp, fighting for his future on Sunday night as Jeremy Hunt stopped short of backing him to guard the corporation’s impartiality in the wake of the row. Continue reading...
Tweet, now deleted, was in response to Rachel Shabi’s comments on Holocaust educationThe Board of Deputies of British Jews has apologised to the journalist Rachel Shabi after a message on its official Twitter account described her as an “asshole”.The tweet from the organisation’s account on Saturday was in response to Shabi’s comments on Holocaust education. Continue reading...
by Nadeem Badshah (now) and Caroline Davies (earlier) on (#69Q60)
Both sides claim hundreds of enemy troops killed in past 24 hours. Follow all the latest developmentsThe Turkish defence minister, Hulusi Akar, said on Sunday that he believed the deal allowing Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea will be extended from its 18 March deadline.The initiative, brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the UN and Turkey last July, was intended to prevent a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blockaded by Russia’s invasion to be exported safely from three ports.Zakharova’s statement is noteworthy and supports several of ISW’s longstanding assessments about deteriorating Kremlin regime and information space control dynamics. The statement supports several assessments: that there is Kremlin infighting between key members of Putin’s inner circle; that Putin has largely ceded the Russian information space over time to a variety of quasi-independent actors; and that Putin is apparently unable to take decisive action to regain control over the Russian information space.It is unclear why Zakharova – a seasoned senior spokesperson – would have openly acknowledged these problems in a public setting. Zakharova may have directly discussed these problems for the first time to temper Russian nationalist milbloggers’ expectations regarding the current capabilities of the Kremlin to cohere around a unified narrative – or possibly even a unified policy. Continue reading...
Rescue organisations say passengers on boat attempting crossing from Libya to Italy are feared deadSeveral dozen people are missing and feared dead in the central Mediterranean after the boat in which they were travelling from Libya capsized in bad weather, two rescue organisations have said.The Mediterranea Saving Humans NGO tweeted that according to several sources, the vessel, travelling in the direction of Italy, capsized this morning about 110 miles (180km) north-west of Benghazi. Continue reading...
Corporation’s sports coverage severely disrupted as presenters and pundits pull out in solidarity with LinekerMatch of the Day viewing figures were unaffected by the absence of Gary Lineker on Saturday night.The shortened 20-minute version of the show had no commentary, presenters, or pundits after staff walked out in solidarity with its host Gary Lineker. Even the show’s theme music was dropped, as the BBC dealt with the fallout after suspending its highest-paid star. Continue reading...
Exclusive: report describes culture of low fees and exploitation as research finds median hourly rate of £2.60 an hourArtists working in the public sector are struggling to stay afloat amid a culture of low fees, unpaid labour and systemic exploitation, research shows.A survey of people engaged by everything from flagship galleries to smaller projects found an overall median hourly rate of £2.60 an hour, dramatically below the UK minimum wage of £9.50. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#69QHR)
Tower Hamlets council’s failure to stop overcrowding has sparked allegations of ‘negligence’ by residents’ associationResidents repeatedly warned a council landlord about a dangerously overcrowded flat but the problem was not solved before a fatal fire left one man dead, the Guardian has learned.At least 18 men, mostly students and delivery couriers from Bangladesh, were squeezed into bunk beds in a two-bedroom flat in the Maddocks House council block in Tower Hamlets, east London. Some residents slept in the kitchen, a source said, and the tenants together paid the flat’s private leaseholder owner about £8,000 a month. Continue reading...
ITUC removes Luca Visentini from role in wake of disclosure he took money from main suspect in Qatargate bribery scandalAn Italian union leader has been sacked from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) after he disclosed taking money from the main suspect in the Qatargate bribery scandal that has shaken the European parliament.Luca Visentini was removed from his position as ITUC general secretary on Saturday, following the results of an investigation into allegations against him. “The meeting decided that Luca Visentini no longer had the confidence of the general council as ITUC general secretary,” the trade union body said in a statement. Continue reading...
Joint action comes after 100 asylum seekers removed from Greenwich hotel against their will last monthTwo-thirds of London’s councils have signed a letter to the home secretary calling for a major shake-up of the government’s hotels policy for asylum seekers.The unprecedented joint action follows the removal of 100 asylum seekers from a hotel in Greenwich against their will last month, a move that has generated concern across the capital’s councils. About 40 asylum seekers refused to move from the Greenwich hotel to one in Dunstable in Bedfordshire and are still there. Both hotels have been targeted by far-right protests. Continue reading...
Exclusive: BBC asked department to remove footage from tweet of video explainer of legislationHome Office officials altered a Twitter post about the illegal migration bill to remove an image of the newsreader Huw Edwards after complaints from the BBC.The tweet, which contains a video explainer for the divisive legislation, was posted on Tuesday by the Home Office from its official account and initially the accompanying image seen on Twitter feeds was of Edwards, the veteran broadcaster. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Arvato, which fitted the meters in England and Wales, made 122,536 requests and had only 11 rejectedThe debt collection agency that force-fitted prepayment meters for vulnerable British Gas customers made a third of all warrant of entry applications in England and Wales last year, the Guardian can reveal.Arvato Financial Solutions, a company used by the energy supplier to pursue debts, made 122,536 applications to gain entry into homes last year – and had just 11 rejected. Continue reading...
Protest leaders say zoo’s move from Clifton to out-of-town spot is being done to make moneySeven-year-old friends Lilah and Inti – dressed as a lion and leopard respectively – were among the most vocal of the protesters. They marched through the streets of Clifton in Bristol shoulder to shoulder, chanting “Leave our zoo alone! Hands off our zoo!”. They paused only to discuss what their favourite animals had been – and decided on the butterflies. “They were so pretty and would land on you,” said Lilah.The pair were among hundreds of people, young and old, who took part in a demonstration on Sunday calling for the reversal of a decision to close Bristol Zoo Gardens. Continue reading...
by Harriet Sherwood Arts and culture correspondent on (#69QFT)
Events planned UK and Ireland, including a British Library exhibition, to mark 400 years since complete works first publishedFour hundred years ago, a small band of William Shakespeare’s loyal friends and fellow thespians embarked on the complicated challenge of bringing his complete works together in one bound volume. Whether it was an act of love and respect or a money-making venture is unknown.But without the First Folio, published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death, half his plays would be lost. Now in this quarter-centenary year, institutional and private owners of First Folios will make their copies available to be viewed by the public across the UK and Ireland. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor on (#69QCX)
Robert Buckland voices concerns that illegal migration bill would in effect reverse ban introduced under Cameron governmentFormer ministers are expected to pile more pressure on the government to rethink plans to allow the detention of families with children as part of the illegal migration bill.The former justice secretary Robert Buckland said he was uncomfortable with the plan to reduce small boat crossings that would in effect reverse a ban on child detention implemented under David Cameron. Continue reading...
Forty schools took in record £29m in 2020-21 from satellites, including in developing countriesEnglish private schools are rushing to open lucrative satellite academies abroad, including in some of the world’s poorest countries, to funnel back millions of pounds in profits to pay for their charitable obligations.Cambodia, Bangladesh and Vietnam are among the latest targets for English private schools aiming to expand overseas, in many cases in partnership with property developers looking to build luxury developments or even entire cities. Continue reading...
It may speed up peace talks between Riyadh and the Houthi movement, but it risks locking out other groupsThe new detente between Saudi Arabia and Iran is likely to have major implications for the civil war in Yemen, possibly speeding up peace talks between Riyadh and the Houthi movement, but it also risks locking out other groups, including the main separatist faction, women and western governments.Saudi Arabia has been holding private direct talks in Oman with the Houthi movement since October but the main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), has warned it will not feel bound by any deal if it extends to issues of the administration, security or distribution of resources in the south of the country. Continue reading...
Former Foreign Office chief Moazzam Malik said he had seen bad behaviour over 25 years as a civil servantUnfair behaviour from ministers is damaging government policymaking, meaning civil servants may feel afraid to give frank advice, a former senior adviser to Dominic Raab has said.Raab is under investigation over eight separate complaints across three ministerial departments. The inquiry into his behaviour by the independent investigator Adam Tolley KC is likely to be complete within the next month. The probe will only “establish the specific facts” surrounding the claims, on which Rishi Sunak will then rule. Continue reading...
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