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Natalie McGarry sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling funds from pro-independence groupsA former Scottish National party MP who embezzled almost £25,000 from two pro-independence groups has been jailed for two years.Natalie McGarry, who represented Glasgow East between 2015 and 2017, was convicted of two charges of embezzlement – totalling £24,635 – in May after a trial at Glasgow sheriff court. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer ‘doing an amazing job’ but voters still confused about what party stands for, says former PM

Airport orders airlines to axe flights on Thursday ‘because it could not handle them’Airline passengers have complained of “total chaos” at Heathrow after the airport made a last-minute order to cancel flights because it could not handle them.Thousands of travellers were disrupted by a rare “schedule intervention” on Thursday morning, which led to the scrapping of 30 flights during the morning peak. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary calls on other Nato countries to increase defence spending and support Taiwan over China threats• Keep up to date – UK politics liveLiz Truss has defended plans to cut the British army by nearly 10,000 troops as she called on other Nato countries to “step up” their defence spending.Speaking as western leaders gathered in Madrid to discuss the alliance’s most significant transformation for a generation, the UK foreign secretary suggested there was no end in sight to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Health minister Mark Butler says focus will be on future needs, not looking back at rights and wrongs of former government

Companies say price hikes are necessary to offset costs of attracting and retaining workers, but charity contends some fee increases are ‘not reasonable’

Environment secretary George Eustice wants to amend Habitats Directive, which protects Natura 2000 sitesEnvironment secretary George Eustice wants to tear up a key piece of European law that environmentalists say protects cherished habitats in the UK.Eustice told MPs the Habitats Directive was in a list of laws he wanted to amend in the forthcoming Brexit freedoms bill designed to cut red tape, saying it was bureaucratic and fundamentally flawed on multiple levels. Continue reading...

Evidence of bruising could lead court to find she had been killed instead of having left home, prosecution tells Chris Dawson trial

If confirmed, last week’s attack would be the eighth this year – involving $1bn in stolen funds – that could be confidently attributed to North KoreaNorth Korean hackers are thought to be behind last week’s theft of as much as $100m in cryptocurrency from a US company, as the regime steps up attempts to secure funding for its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.The assets were stolen on 23 June from Horizon Bridge, a service operated by the Harmony blockchain that allows assets to be transferred to other blockchains, three digital investigative firms have concluded. Continue reading...

Commons foreign affairs committee criticises ministers’ complacency and ‘unwillingness to bring forward legislation’The government’s failure to tackle Russian kleptocrats laundering “dirty money” through the UK has led millions of pounds used to finance Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to flow through London, a powerful committee of MPs has warned.The commons foreign affairs committee said ministers’ complacency over “morally bankrupt billionaires using the UK as a safe deposit box” had led to “assets laundered through the UK … financing President Putin’s war in Ukraine”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Met police, in need of special measures for first time since founding in 1829, is not the only force where intervention is deemed necessaryA record six police forces are currently judged as failing so badly that they need special help, the Guardian can reveal, as a furious political row erupted over the placing of Scotland Yard into special measures.Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary confirmed on Tuesday that the Metropolitan police had been placed into special measures as it waits for a new commissioner to reverse plunging public confidence. Continue reading...

Victoria Atkins says Ellie Reeves should retract statement that government had ‘let off rapists and let survivors down’A Home Office minister has privately written to the House of Commons Speaker to complain about the language used by a Labour frontbencher, suggesting she should be made to correct her remarks on rape convictions.Victoria Atkins suggested in her letter to Sir Lindsay Hoyle that her Labour counterpart would deter victims by saying the government “let off rapists and let survivors down”. Continue reading...

Experts say Australian census data linking income level and health outcomes is unsurprising and focus is now on how to change it

Annastacia Palaszczuk taking ‘personal responsibility’ for recommendations from Peter Coaldrake’s damning review

Barilaro texted his replacement as trade minister to ask about $500,000-a-year trade role before it was advertised

Twenty years ago today, Hong Kong was returned to China, ending over a century of British rule

Beijing’s efforts to build up nuclear forces, hacking operations and increasingly close ties to Moscow are ‘serious challenges’, says Nato secretary generalChina is not an adversary but it does represent serious challenges, Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said on Wednesday, as the alliance agreed for the first time to include threats posed by Beijing into a blueprint guiding its future strategy.While Russia’s war against Ukraine has dominated discussions at the Nato summit, China earned a place among the western alliance’s most worrying security concerns. Continue reading...

Annual pop culture and tech conference is branching outside the US for the first time since it launched in Texas in 1987

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereMore on the attack in Mykolaiv, in Ukraine’s south, near the Black Sea:Reuters is also reporting that further east, in Lysychansk in the Luhansk region, a key battleground in Russia’s assault on the industrial heartland of Donbas, the governor reported increased military action. Continue reading...

British Medical Association votes to lobby UK government on the issue after an emergency debate on the overturning of Roe v WadeAmericans who cannot access abortions should be offered free services in the UK, British doctors have said.In an emergency debate in response to the US supreme court’s decision to overturn the Roe v Wade ruling, the British Medical Association (BMA) agreed to lobby the UK government on the issue. Continue reading...

Charity Commission to investigate concerns family personally profited from charity set up in veteran’s nameWatchdogs have launched a formal investigation into concerns that the family of NHS fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore personally profited from the charity set up in his name.The Charity Commission began a series of discussions with the foundation amid concerns about the way it was governed earlier this year but has now escalated this into a full inquiry after fresh evidence emerged of potentially serous misconduct. Continue reading...

President says Moscow would respond ‘symmetrically’ to any deployments, and foreign ministry accuses Nato of trying to destabilise Russian societyVladimir Putin has issued fresh warnings that Russia would respond in kind if Nato set up military infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they joined the US-led alliance.Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying he could not rule out that tensions would emerge in Moscow’s relations with Helsinki and Stockholm over their joining Nato. Continue reading...

Was it a protest by staff or marketing for a change of programming? Listeners to Kiss Radio 104.9 FM had plenty of time to wonderEarly on Wednesday morning, someone at a pop and soft rock station in Vancouver, Canada, began playing the song Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine.Then they played it again. Continue reading...

Ten British players step out in second round after day in which record six Britons won matchesA piece of history has been made at Wimbledon as 10 British players stepped out in the second round for the first time since 1984.Harriet Dart, 25, defeated Spain’s Rebeka Masarova in straight sets as the crowd roared and her mother watched on, while British men’s No 1, Cameron Norrie, 26, was also triumphant on Wednesday, beating Spain’s Jaume Munar and reaching the third round. Continue reading...

Analysis: deal between Biden and Erdoğan is sealed in Madrid after Nordic countries vow to control support for Kurdish terrorism

144 Ukrainian soldiers have been released, including 95 who defended the Azovstal steelworks in MariupolUkraine has announced the largest exchange of prisoners of war since Russia invaded, securing the release of 144 of its soldiers, including 95 who defended the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.“This is the largest exchange since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion,” said Ukrainian military intelligence in a Telegram message on Wednesday. “Of the 144 freed, 95 are Azovstal defenders.” Continue reading...

Abdeslam was only survivor of 10-man terrorist unit that struck in city, killing 130 people, in 2015Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the 10-man unit that struck Paris in coordinated terror attacks in 2015, has been found guilty of murder.Abdeslam, 32, a Brussels-born French citizen, was found guilty of taking part in the series of bombings and shootings across the French capital which killed 130 people and injured more than 490. Continue reading...

Family of 12-year-old challenged ruling Archie is brain-stem dead and treatment can be stoppedThe parents of Archie Battersbee have won an appeal against ending the 12-year-old’s life support treatment.A high court judge ruled that Archie, who sustained brain damage about three months ago, was dead after a hospital trust asked it to decide what was in his best interest. Continue reading...

Elections seen by many as proxy ballot on whether prime minister should face second no-confidence voteOne of the most important but understated elections in Westminster will take place within weeks, with the date still shrouded in secrecy but candidates already plotting their campaigns.With positions on the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, which sets rules for the parliamentary party, up for grabs, this is how the contest works and how it could influence whether Boris Johnson will face another no-confidence vote. Continue reading...

Some who backed PM only last week now set sights on ‘clean sweep’ of backbench committee that could allow leadership voteBoris Johnson is facing a fresh threat from Conservative rebels planning a takeover of the powerful backbench committee that could force the prime minister from office.Opponents of Johnson, including some who were loyal to him as recently as last week, have set their sights on a “clean sweep” of the 1922 Committee amid a hardening of the mood against the prime minister. Continue reading...

An eight-hectare set built in the 1960s for one of Sergio Leone’s films is up for sale for €2.8mRising up from the rugged arid landscape, the swinging doors of the 19th-century saloon open on to a wide, dusty street dotted with stables and hitching posts for horses.It’s a storied piece of the wild west and it’s for sale – in Spain. Continue reading...

Heinz pauses supplies of key products including ketchup and baked beans, leaving shelves emptyTesco is facing shortages of Heinz baked beans, ketchup and salad cream after a fallout with the US brand over price increases.Heinz has paused supplies of a range of key products over the row, which has already left shelves empty in some stores and items out of stock on Tesco’s website. Continue reading...

Ban and ‘polluter pays’ levy on gambling firms could still happen, government sources sayMinisters’ plans for reforming Britain’s gambling laws were in disarray on Wednesday as a rift emerged at the top of the Conservative party over whether to ban football shirt sponsorship and impose a levy to fund addiction services.Multiple sources said the process of putting the finishing touches to a white paper on gambling reform had driven a wedge between departments and senior MPs, with the publication deadline just weeks away. Continue reading...

Move follows ice-cream brand’s decision to stop selling in Palestinian territories as it was ‘inconsistent’ with its valuesUnilever has sold off its Ben & Jerry’s business in Israel in an attempt to extricate itself from a row over sales of the ice-cream in settlements in the West Bank.Ben & Jerry’s independent board announced last summer that the brand would no longer sell its products in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying to do so was “inconsistent with our values”. Continue reading...

Politicians and activists need to push support for early referendum well above 50% to bolster caseScottish National party and yes campaign activists are planning a summer of action after Nicola Sturgeon announced plans to hold a second independence referendum in October next year.SNP sources said the coming months will revolve around “galvanising the grassroots”, with local officials tasked with putting together plans to ramp up the yes campaign’s visibility and to reach undecided voters. Continue reading...

Witness accounts and expert analysis discredit Moscow’s claim fire spread from arms cache to empty mall

G7 leaders condemn invasion and pledge support for Kyiv amid reports of 130 missile strikes in four days

Population growth overestimated in some areas and underestimated in others, data from 2021 census suggestsGreen belt land may have been torn up for housing unnecessarily, campaigners believe, after the 2021 census suggested population growth in many areas has been overestimated – in some cases by tens of thousands of people.But the census also revealed other estimates were far too low – by up to 16% – meaning local politicians now face pressure to allocate more land for homes than previously anticipated. Continue reading...

Forces and aircraft carrier will be based in UK but ready to defend Baltic country, says defence secretaryBritain will commit an extra 1,000 troops and one of its two new aircraft carriers to the defence of Nato’s eastern flank, the defence secretary has announced at the military alliance’s summit.The forces will be earmarked for the defence of Estonia, where Britain already has about 1,700 personnel deployed, but they will be based in the UK, ready to fly out to defend the Baltic country if deemed necessary. Continue reading...

This live blog is closed.

New rules limiting ability of foreigners to enter occupied territory are postponed before US president’s Middle East visitIsrael has delayed the implementation of strict rules limiting the ability of foreigners to enter and stay in the occupied West Bank, in what is believed to be a gesture to Joe Biden before the US president’s visit to the Middle East next month.A statement from the high court on Wednesday said the new rules would be shelved until early September, as a decision had not yet been made regarding objections to the proposed policy. Continue reading...

President Nayib Bukele vowed to step up its ‘war on gangs’ even as 2% of the country’s population is jailedEl Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has vowed to escalate his controversial “war on gangs” after three police officers were killed in what appeared to be the first major reaction to a security crackdown that critics have called one of the most dramatic in recent Latin American history.Bukele’s government claims more than 43,000 Salvadorians have been thrown in jail since it imposed a “state of exception” in late March – leaving almost 2% of the country’s entire adult population behind bars. Continue reading...

National Grid could cut off pipelines to Netherlands and Belgium amid Russia-Ukraine war pressures

Study author suggests public health information should appear prominently in search resultsInternet searches for abortion medication hit an all-time high in the days after a leaked draft opinion showed the US supreme court was on the verge of overturning Roe v Wade – a decision the court finalized last week.Increased Google search volume – 162% more than would have been expected – was especially pronounced in states hostile to abortion, according to a study published in the JAMA Internal Medicine – a trend the authors said showed how important engaging online is as states quickly move to restrict or ban abortion. Continue reading...

Royal source says heir to throne ‘operates on advice’, after claims sheikh gave him millions in bag and suitcaseThe Prince of Wales will no longer accept large cash donations for his charities, a senior royal source has said, after Charles faced criticism over claims he received €3m from a billionaire Qatari sheikh reportedly stuffed in a small suitcase and Fortnum & Mason carrier bag.The Sunday Times reported that Charles personally accepted the donations which were passed to the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF) from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, who was the prime minister of Qatar between 2007 and 2013. Continue reading...

Walmart, CVS and Rite Aid – as well as Amazon – have all set caps on the number of morning-after pills people can purchasePharmacy companies such as Walmart, CVS and Rite Aid are reportedly putting a cap on the number of morning-after birth control pills each consumer can buy in the US, in the wake of the supreme court’s decision overturning Roe v Wade.Meanwhile, online shopping giant Amazon has placed a temporary purchase limit of three units a week on emergency contraception pills, the company said. Continue reading...

Gambling Commission made wrong decision to name Allwyn as ‘preferred applicant’ for next 10-year licence, claims CamelotCamelot’s legal fight to avoid losing its licence to operate the national lottery has failed but the Canadian-owned company will press ahead with a damages claim that could cost the government £600m.The company launched a high court challenge in April, claiming the Gambling Commission had got its decision “badly wrong” by naming the rival firm Allwyn as its “preferred applicant” for the next 10-year licence to operate the national lottery. Continue reading...