by Peter Walker, Aubrey Allegretti and Pippa Crerar on (#64XJQ)
More than 40 Tories fail to back Liz Truss’s government amid allegations MPs were manhandledA crunch Commons vote on the future of fracking has descended into mayhem after more than 40 Conservative MPs failed to back Liz Truss’s government, with MPs alleging ministers physically pulled some wavering Tories into the voting lobbies.Shortly after the vote, there were reports that the chief whip, Wendy Morton, and her deputy, Craig Whittaker, had lost their jobs. However, Downing Street later cleared up the rumours by saying the pair “remain in post”. Continue reading...
Video posted by Rebecca Clark shows her point of view as she tries to gingerly walk past bison during hike in Caprock Canyons parkA woman in Texas who recorded a cellphone video of herself surviving getting gored by a bison has admonished fellow hikers about the perils of too closely encountering such an immense animal.Rebecca Clark was on a solo hike in Caprock Canyons park, home of Texas’s state bison herd, when she came across a group of the massive bovines grazing a few feet away from the trail. Continue reading...
by Harriet Sherwood Arts and culture correspondent on (#64XGA)
Purchase of 1953 painting beloved by football fans made possible by gift from charitable foundationA painting by LS Lowry beloved by football fans and art enthusiasts has been bought by the Lowry arts centre in Salford, saving it from disappearing into a private collection.The arts centre paid £7.8m including fees for Going to the Match, painted in 1953, at an auction on Wednesday evening. The purchase was made possible by a gift from the Law Family charitable foundation, which was set up by the hedge fund manager and Conservative party donor Andrew Law and his wife, Zoë. The painting had been estimated to fetch £5m-£8m. Continue reading...
Newborn twin allegedly murdered by nurse died just over a day after birth, trial hearsThe death of a baby allegedly murdered by the nurse Lucy Letby came as a “big surprise” and was “completely out of the blue”, her trial has heard.The newborn twin died at the Countess of Chester hospital following a sudden collapse just more than 24 hours after his premature birth. Continue reading...
Authorities alerted by villagers in Mzimba area, 250km north of capital, to site believed less than a month oldAuthorities in Malawi have discovered a mass grave in the north of the country containing the remains of 25 people suspected to be migrants from Ethiopia.“The grave was discovered late on Tuesday but we cordoned it off and started exhuming today. So far, we have discovered 25 bodies,” said a police spokesperson, Peter Kalaya. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#64WXP)
Damning report finds ‘shocking and uncomfortable’ failings at major NHS trust caused ‘significant harm’ to familiesDozens of babies and mothers died or were injured during childbirth because of repeated failings in maternity care at a major NHS trust, a damning report has found.Dr Bill Kirkup, who led the investigation, said his findings into substandard care at the East Kent trust between 2009 and 2020 were “shocking and uncomfortable” and had a catastrophic impact on families.Squabbling between midwives, obstetricians, paediatricians and other groups of staff which involved “factionalism, lack of mutual trust and … bullying”.Junior obstetricians and midwives often got the blame for errors committed by more senior colleagues.Midwives not part of the midwifery team’s “A-team” were given the highest-risk mothers to care for – “a downright dangerous practice”.Mothers were given too little pain relief, ignored when they sought to raise concerns and spoken to with a lack of compassion, with one who had lost her baby told “it’s God’s will; God only takes the babies that he wants to take”.Missed eight opportunities during 2009-20 to acknowledge the extent of problems and solve them.Saw the trust as a “victim” of external factors that were causing its poor maternity care, such as lack of staff and its coastal location, and did not see that the real causes were internal and involved “failures in team-working, professionalism, compassion and listening”.Compounded families’ suffering by not being open and honest. Continue reading...
Kevin Michael Brophy says his back tattoo was superimposed on to a male model who seemingly performs oral sex on the cover of Gangsta Bitch Music Vol 1A “man of faith” is suing Cardi B for superimposing his back tattoo on to a male model who seemingly performs oral sex on the rapper on the cover of her debut mixtape.Kevin Michael Brophy is suing the Grammy-winning musician in a copyright-infringement lawsuit in federal court in southern California, seeking $5m in damages. Belcalis Almánzar, the rapper’s real name, was in court and is expected to testify during the trial. Continue reading...
John Lee pledges to enact anti-subversion law while emphasising need to alleviate brain drainHong Kong’s new leader has pledged to enact an anti-subversion law, tighten up cybersecurity and crack down on false information and crowdfunding activities, after China’s Xi Jinping issued calls to reinforce national security.In his first policy address since becoming the city’s chief executive in July, John Lee also emphasised the need to “proactively trawl the world for talents” to help alleviate a brain drain, acknowledging that the local workforce had shrunk by about 140,000 in the last two years, after a national security law came to force. Continue reading...
Recent Tory leaders had also attempted to underline their fighting credentials as they reached the end of the lineLiz Truss channelled Peter Mandelson at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, when she repeatedly insisted she was “a fighter not a quitter”.Mandelson, a key figure in the creation of New Labour alongside Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, used the phrase in Hartlepool on the night of the 2001 general election result when he was returned as an MP after his second resignation from cabinet – this time after being accused of helping an Indian billionaire get a British passport. Continue reading...
Former Wimbledon champion trains at Huntercombe prison where he is serving time for hiding assets, German tabloid reportsBoris Becker is reported to have lost weight and won friends in the UK prison where he is serving a sentence related to his 2017 bankruptcy, according to a German newspaper.The former Wimbledon champion was transferred from Wandsworth prison to Huntercombe prison near Nuffield, Oxfordshire, in May. In April he was jailed for two and a half years for concealing £2.5m of assets to avoid paying money he owed after his bankruptcy. Continue reading...
Mark Fullbrook’s stake in CT Group while holding Downing Street role creates potential conflict of interestLiz Truss’s chief of staff still owns a stake in Sir Lynton Crosby’s lobbying company despite his Downing Street role, meaning he could benefit financially from the firm’s work for corporate clients.Mark Fullbrook, who is in charge of the prime minister’s political operation, co-founded the British arm of the lobbying business CT Group with Crosby. Its clients have included the tobacco company Philip Morris, the Saudi Arabian government, and the mining firm Glencore. Continue reading...
Mallikarjun Kharge, a Gandhi loyalist, aims to lead fightback against Narendra Modi’s BJPIndia’s Congress party has appointed its first president in 24 years not from the Gandhi dynasty, in an effort to reverse its apparent decline and take on the seemingly invincible Narendra Modi.Mallikarjun Kharge, 80, a loyalist in the court of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty which rules the party, defeated the rival candidate Shashi Tharoor by almost 7,000 votes in a poll of 9,000 party delegates. Continue reading...
Elnaz Rekabi says she did not intend to compete without headscarf amid fears among public over how regime will reactThe Iranian competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi has received a hero’s welcome on her return to Tehran after competing in South Korea without wearing a headscarf as required of female athletes from the Islamic Republic.Video shared online showed large crowds at Imam Khomeini international airport terminal outside Tehran despite the 4am arrival time for Rekabi’s flight. People clapped and chanted the 33-year-old’s name and handed her flowers inside the terminal. Continue reading...
Home Office criticised after inspectors discover workers without criminal record checks had access to master keysUnaccompanied children seeking asylum have been living in hotels alongside adults whose backgrounds have not been checked, a damning report has revealed.An independent inspection has severely criticised the Home Office after staff in two hotels were found not to have been checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), as is required by government rules. Staff had access to master keys while young refugees stayed in the building.The Home Office’s practices and procedures did not represent a child-centred approach.A lack of consistent and effective oversight of contractors.A lack of planning on how to end the use of hotels for unaccompanied child asylum seekers. Continue reading...
Chief executive says territory will ‘trawl world for talent’ after lockdowns and political unrest cause brain drainHong Kong has unveiled a HK$30bn ($3.8bn) co-investment fund to attract overseas businesses back to the city after an exodus of talent prompted by strict lockdowns and a tumultuous political climate.A raft of measures to address the brain drain were announced by Hong Kong’s chief executive, John Lee, in his first policy address on Wednesday – although his plans have largely failed to reassure investors. Continue reading...
International Centre of Justice for Palestinians says diplomatic move in Israel in breach of international obligationsA legal group that supports the rights of Palestinians has written to Liz Truss to tell her that it plans to launch a judicial review in an attempt to block any UK government movement of the British embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has commissioned a legal opinion in support of its argument that such a move would be in breach of the government’s international obligations. Continue reading...
by Robyn Vinter North of England correspondent on (#64WXN)
Transport secretary says scrapping of transport bill means plan will not go ahead in 2024A plan to create a public sector body to oversee Britain’s ailing rail network has been delayed.Great British Railways (GBR), which would take over from the infrastructure management company Network Rail and be responsible for handing out rail contracts, will not be going ahead in 2024 due to the scrapping of the transport bill. Continue reading...
In a podcast, Faris said Reitman’s ‘reign of terror’ on the set of My Super Ex-Girlfriend, which included yelling at her and slapping her, left her angry and humiliatedAnna Faris has accused director Ivan Reitman of abusive and bullying behaviour on the set of the 2006 romcom My Super Ex-Girlfriend.On an episode of her podcast Anna Faris Is Unqualified, Faris told guest Lena Dunham that the director “slapped [her] ass” in public, “yelled” at her as part of a “reign of terror”, and left her “angry, hurt and humiliated”. Continue reading...
The production, beginning next February, will be directed by Dominic Cooke for @sohoplace in LondonSophie Okonedo is to star as Medea at the new West End theatre @sohoplace in a production directed by Dominic Cooke next year.Cooke described Euripides’s Medea as “a play defined by the actor who plays it” and said that Okonedo has the “visceral power, intelligence and courage to … go to the extreme places that the part demands”. When he first approached her with the idea, the Oscar-nominated actor had a busy schedule and was unconvinced but agreed to a rehearsed reading, which the director described as electrifying. Continue reading...
Errol Lloyd hopes for emergence of new crop of writers, as Newcastle exhibition opensAn artist who illustrated the first British children’s picture book featuring a Black main character almost 50 years ago says not enough Black children’s writers or illustrators have come to prominence since then.The Jamaican-born illustrator Errol Lloyd was nominated for a Kate Greenaway medal for his illustrations for My Brother Sean, written by the late British-Surinamese author Petronella Breinburg. Continue reading...
Expert who led 2015 Morecambe Bay investigation speaks out ahead of publication of report into NHS trustThe author of a report into the care provided to women and babies at an NHS trust has said things need to be done differently ahead of its publication.Dr Bill Kirkup, who chaired an expert panel into the study on East Kent Hospitals University NHS foundation trust, said he “did not imagine” he would be talking about similar circumstances again following his investigation into Morecambe Bay in 2015. Continue reading...
Online retailer reports disappointing sales growth and £32m pre-tax losses as it agrees £650m banking facilityAsos is to write off more than £100m of stock and cut costs after diving into the red after its annual sales growth almost halted as shoppers hit by the cost of living crisis reined in spending on fashion.The online fashion retailer said it had agreed a £650m banking facility to give it “financial flexibility” and was aiming to rearrange its operations by cutting costs, improving management of stock and “refreshing the culture” of the business. Continue reading...
A survey put the eastbound M62 Hartshead Moor services at the bottom of the pile. Our writer went to find out whyThere are various points of interest on the M62 between Manchester and Leeds. The farmhouse sandwiched between the fast lanes near Huddersfield; the sign marking the highest point of England’s motorway network; the moors where Ian Brady and Myra Hindley buried their victims.To this list we may now add: Britain’s worst service station. Continue reading...
Labour says people are being ‘priced out and shut out of work’ at a time of record employment vacanciesThe number of people who aren’t working because of caring commitments is the highest since May 2020, with the last year marking a sustained increase in stay-at-home parents and carers after three decades of decline, new analysis from the Guardian reveals.The figures are a stark warning that at a time of record employment vacancies and skills shortages, families are being “priced out and shut out of work”, said Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner. Continue reading...
ACT chief justice Lucy McCallum sums up case and directs jurors to ignore significant media interest in trial over alleged rape of Brittany HigginsThe jury has begun deliberating in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, who is accused of raping fellow political staffer and colleague Brittany Higgins in parliament house in the early hours of 23 March 2019.Chief justice Lucy McCallum summed up the case and concluded her directions to the jury on Wednesday afternoon, instructing them on how they should approach their task of weighing up the almost three weeks of evidence heard in the ACT supreme court. Continue reading...
Greenberg confirmed to take over from Kathryn Stone, who came under attack from Tories during Geoffrey Cox and Owen Paterson controversiesDaniel Greenberg has been confirmed as the UK’s new parliamentary standards commissioner and will take over from Kathryn Stone in January.Stone has served in the position since 2018, her term coinciding with a number of high-profile sleaze scandals. Earlier this year, the Commons standards committee published a report that included a number of recommendations for tightening the rules at Westminster, including an outright ban on MPs providing paid parliamentary advice, consultancy or strategy services. Continue reading...
Peter Morgan says he has ‘enormous sympathy’ for royal family, while Netflix reportedly pauses Harry and Meghan documentary over criticismThe creators and cast of The Crown have rejected criticism that the series is “exploitative” of Britain’s royal family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.The upcoming fifth season will cover some of the worst years for the British monarchy, including the bitter divorce between the then Prince Charles, now the King, and his first wife, Princess Diana. Continue reading...
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