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Article about prince’s legal claim against Home Office contained ‘defamatory’ words, says judgeAn article in the Mail on Sunday which alleged Prince Harry was trying to keep his legal claim against the Home Office secret contained some words that were defamatory in meaning, a high court judge has ruled in the first stage of the prince’s libel claim.The Duke of Sussex launched the claim against Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) days after the Mail on Sunday (MoS) published an article about his legal challenge to the Home Office decision not to allow him to personally pay for police protection for himself and his family while in the UK. Continue reading...

Luhansk head says Russian forces still trying to advance after capturing most of neighbouring region

The 67-year-old died following shooting in Nara in western Japan, and a suspect has been detained

Ashley Alder will join UK watchdog, which is mired in internal strife, in January 2023The Financial Conduct Authority has appointed Ashley Alder, the head of Hong Kong’s securities watchdog, as its new chairman.Alder, who has run Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission since 2011, joins the UK’s financial watchdog at a time of internal strife amid strikes by staff over pay and conditions. Continue reading...

Announcement follows Guardian Australia report on calls to end practice, victim’s $800 bill

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Senior Conservatives push for full contest involving party members

CMA review found ‘on the whole the fuel duty cut appears to have been implemented’The UK’s competition watchdog has raised concerns over the margins made by refineries amid sky-high fuel prices on forecourts across the country.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it has “found cause for concern in the growing gap between the price of crude oil when it enters refineries, and the wholesale price when it leaves refineries as petrol or diesel”. Continue reading...

Single copy of 1962 hit made with longtime collaborator T Bone Burnett auctioned at Christie’sA one-off rerecording of Bob Dylan’s hit song Blowin’ in the Wind has sold for almost £1.5m at auction.The release is the first studio recording of the song since Dylan wrote it in 1962. It was sold by Christie’s in London on Thursday. Continue reading...

Attack on former PM has sent shockwaves through country with one of world’s lowest rates of gun violence

Trade unions are also calling on the government to reinstate Covid leave payment amid Omicron wave

‘Everyone should know that, by and large, we haven’t started anything yet in earnest,’ Russian president tells Kremlin parliamentary leaders

University hospital in Geelong confirms baby’s death on Monday night as Covid outbreaks worsen emergency room pressures

David Roditi, who coached Briton at a Texas university, says he could not be prouder of Wimbledon semi-finalistThe coach who has been credited with helping to turn Cameron Norrie’s life around after an accident has said he could not be prouder of the professional tennis player he is now.Norrie, who will play Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men’s singles semi-final on Friday, has previously said a turning point of his career was when he was involved in a moped crash in his second year of university, which became a “wake-up call” he needed to take his tennis career seriously. Continue reading...

NHS bosses warn Boris Johnson’s flagship pledge is hamstrung by delays and lack of fundingImplementation of Boris Johnson’s flagship pledge to build 40 new hospitals is “moving at a glacial pace” and is hamstrung by delays and a lack of funding, NHS bosses have warned.Some of the construction schemes have already fallen as much as four years behind schedule, while others have been hit by massive cost increases because of difficulties in obtaining sign-off on certain points. Continue reading...

Friday’s hearing at the commission comes amid a long-running dispute related to new Korean-built train fleet

PM signals government will limit use of Section 501 visa cancellations for longterm residents in appearance with Jacinda Ardern

Outgoing leader says all major fiscal decisions will be left to his replacement

Prime minister dramatically announces his intention to step down, but signals he hopes to stay in post for months to come

Experts warn that RCMP document detailing covert surveillance of Canadians’ mobile devices highlights lax government oversightAn admission from Canada’s national police force that it routinely uses powerful spyware to surveil citizens has prompted concern from experts, who warn the country is “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to regulating and reining in use of the technology.During a parliamentary session in late June, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police submitted a document outlining how a special investigative team covertly infiltrates the mobile devices of Canadians. The tools, which have been used on at least 10 investigations between 2018 and 2020, give the police access to text messages, email, photos, videos, audio files, calendar entries and financial records. The software can also remotely turn on the camera and microphone of a suspect’s phone or laptop. Continue reading...

Report by MPs calls for academies that illegally turn away looked-after children to be punished by OfstedA report by MPs has identified “a host of indefensible system failings” behind the educational disadvantage affecting children in care, and called for academies that illegally turn them away to be punished by Ofsted.The report by the education select committee accused the government of failing to act as a “pushy parent” by placing looked-after children in the best schools available, resulting in children in care “receiving educational experiences that we certainly would not deem acceptable for our own children”. Continue reading...

Statements were drafted, alliances were sought, and the PM announced he would quit as days of pressure came to a head

20-year-old Somaiya Begum was last seen at her home nearly two weeks agoA man has been rearrested on suspicion of murder after a body was found in the search for a missing 20-year-old woman in Bradford.Somaiya Begum was last seen on the afternoon of 26 June at her home on Binnie Street in Barkerend. Continue reading...

Analysis: Suella Braverman is lone frontbencher to voice leadership plan as Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid and others hang back

Outgoing PM confirms no big changes of direction, including about taxation, during race to succeed him

NHS England says Treasury must cover cost as health service faces first real-terms cut in funding ‘since possibly the mid-1950s’The NHS will have to cut investment in cancer care if ministers award frontline staff a pay rise above 3% but refuse to provide extra money to cover it, health service bosses have warned.The NHS England chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, and Julian Kelly, its chief financial officer, made clear their belief that soaring inflation means the service’s 1.3 million staff deserve a pay award of more than the 3% the government has already given the organisation funding to cover. Continue reading...

Dominic Raab condemns decision to free mother of child who died in 2007 after months of abuseThe mother of Baby P, who died after months of abuse in 2007, has been freed from jail.Tracey Connelly was jailed at the Old Bailey in 2009 for causing or allowing the death of her 17-month-old son Peter at their home in Tottenham, north London, on 3 August 2007. Continue reading...

Gove and Raab have ruled themselves out, but many others from different wings of Tory party are mulling their chancesBoris Johnson’s resignation has triggered fevered speculation about who might take over in Downing Street, with early momentum among MPs swinging towards Rishi Sunak, and Ben Wallace emerging as a favourite among Conservative party members.As a huge number of candidates weigh up whether to make a challenge, current and former cabinet ministers known to be drumming up support include Liz Truss, Suella Braverman, Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt and Nadhim Zahawi. Continue reading...

Mary-Sophie Harvey says a ‘four-to-six hour window where I can’t recall a single thing’ left her with a concussion and rib sprainA Canadian swimmer has said she was drugged at a recent world championship event in Budapest, leaving her with a concussion and rib sprain.Mary-Sophie Harvey said on her Instagram account that she was drugged on the final night while celebrating in the Hungarian capital and that there was a “four-to-six-hour window where I can’t recall a single thing”. Continue reading...

Unlikely north-east setting for Salvador Dalí’s Christ of St John of the Cross and El Greco paintingTwo towering examples of Spanish religious art, separated by 350 years but with as many parallels as contrasts, have been brought together in the unlikely setting of a “left behind” post-industrial market town in north-east England.The Spanish Gallery in Bishop Auckland is fast becoming something of a “Prado of the north”, some say, and while that might be a slight exaggeration there is certainly art on display there the likes of which cannot be seen anywhere else but the Madrid gallery. Continue reading...

But most in the know say the soon-to-be former PM is unlikely to fall on hard times

Readers react to the prime minister’s resignation as Tory leader and give their view on what will happen next

Analysis: after Johnson’s resignation, how does he compare with his four predecessors as PM?Was Boris Johnson the worst prime minister of recent times? He squandered one of the strongest political positions held by an occupant of No 10 in record time. The authority gained after winning an 80-seat majority in December 2019 dissipated at extraordinary speed as he dealt with a series of scandals with a ham-fisted mixture of denial, disorganisation and even outright lying.The high point was the election victory, secured on the back of the “get Brexit done” pledge. After securing an exit from the European Union, Johnson struggled with the coronavirus pandemic, was late imposing the first lockdown in March 2020 and was forced to cancel at the last minute a plan to loosen restrictions the following Christmas. Continue reading...

Imbalance between supply and demand continues to drive up prices despite cost of living crisisHouse prices in the UK rose at the fastest annual rate in 18 years last month as demand – especially for larger homes – continued to outstrip the number of properties on the market.Halifax, one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders and part of Lloyds Banking Group, said the market “defied any expectations of a slowdown”, with prices rising year on year in June by 13%, the highest since late 2004. Prices rose 1.8% compared with May, which was the biggest monthly rise since early 2007. Continue reading...

Analysis: who runs the UK immediately after Boris Johnson officially resigns and the next steps in choosing a prime minister

Kremlin gloats as oligarch Oleg Deripaska welcomes end of ‘stupid clown’ but Zelenskiy pays tribute to ‘true friend’

Former PM says it is ‘unwise, and may be unsustainable’ for Johnson to stay in office for up to three months

New era of tensions requires sturdier barriers than current wooden livestock fences, parliament decidesFinland’s parliament has passed legislation to build stronger fences on its border with Russia, as the country seeks to join Nato after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.Finland reversed decades of military non-alignment by seeking membership of the military alliance in May, formally starting the process to join this week. Continue reading...

Yvette Cooper requests more details about Boris Johnson’s meeting with Alexander Lebedev in Italy in 2018Yvette Cooper has used an urgent question in the Commons to ask if Alexander Lebedev sought to arrange a private phone call between Boris Johnson and the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, during a weekend party in April 2018.A day after Johnson admitted for the first time that he had met Lebedev, a former KGB agent, the shadow home secretary told the Commons there were further questions raised by the trip to the party at an Italian palazzo owned by Lebedev’s son. Continue reading...

Families who lost loved ones welcome PM’s exit but worry his handling of pandemic will be overlookedFamilies bereaved by Covid insisted Boris Johnson must still face justice at the public inquiry into the pandemic as they voiced concern that his resignation would see him make a fortune from writing and speeches while they remained scarred by grief.Johnson’s departure was greeted by relief by people who lost loved ones to the virus over the last two and half years, but the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, which represents more than 4,000 affected families, said: “Johnson will always be the man that wanted to ‘let the bodies pile high’ while our loved ones desperately fought for their lives and that partied whilst we had to say goodbye to our loved ones over a screen.” Continue reading...

Changes come after Labor criticised Porter for not declaring who contributed to fund he used to pay for ABC defamation case

New roles for Greg Clark, James Cleverly and Kit Malthouse as PM stays in No 10 until successor chosen

Johnson succumbs to pressure to quit as party leader but pledges to stay on as prime minister until successor is chosen

Trial of 59 defendants over fatal collapse of Morandi Bridge in 2018 will continue in SeptemberA trial of 59 defendants accused of manslaughter and undermining transport safety after dozens of people were killed when Genoa’s Morandi Bridge collapsed almost four years ago has been postponed until September after the first hearing on Thursday lasted less than two hours.Judge Paolo Lepri said the first hearing had ended “resoundingly prematurely” and that the second one was scheduled for 12 September, during which judges would decide on requests made by the civil claimants. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary’s retreat from Indonesia summit and potential showdown with Russia may concern allies

Authorities arrest suspected gang leader who allegedly lured women with false job offers then forced them into prostitutionInvestigators in Ukraine said they had foiled a criminal gang who forced women into sex work abroad after luring them with false adverts for legitimate employment.Authorities in Kyiv arrested the suspected leader of the gang after months of surveillance resulted in them stopping a woman as she was about to cross the border. They were then able to confirm the suspect’s involvement. Continue reading...

Following days of speculation China’s foreign ministry confirmed the meeting after Wong signalled she was open to a direct conversation

Michelle Donelan, Brandon Lewis, Damian Hinds, George Freeman, Helen Whately, Guy Opperman, Chris Philp and James Cartlidge hand in notices

From suggesting ministers are replaced with agency staff to Nish Kumar saying what he really thinks, nothing energies Twitter more