Campaigners will ask online fashion retailer if it will pay back an estimated £125m in underpaid wagesBoohoo will be challenged by campaigners over paying “very low” prices to suppliers and a lack of compensation for underpaid workers at UK factories making its clothing.Workers in factories in Leicester that supply Boohoo could be owed as much as £125m in underpaid wages as some of the retailer’s suppliers previously paid workers below the minimum wage, activists from Labour Behind the Label and ShareAction have estimated. Continue reading...
Chair of influential group seeking investment in north of England says ‘we have to keep public finances in order’The chair of an influential group of MPs has echoed comments made by the cabinet minister Michael Gove, who has warned the UK must maintain control of public finances in the face of “tough times ahead” for the country and the global economy.Jake Berry, the chair of the Northern Research Group, a pressure group of Tory MPs calling for increased investment in the north of England, said it was right that “we have to keep public finances in order”. Continue reading...
Man reportedly fell down escalator after getting off flight without helper, but airport says staff shortages ‘not a factor’An investigation has been launched into the death of a disabled plane passenger who reportedly fell after getting off without a helper at Gatwick airport.The Sun cited a source who said the man and his wife required special assistance to disembark and the passenger fell down an escalator after making his own way into the terminal. Continue reading...
Zumbo, who has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges including sexual touching, insisted on driving woman to work so Liberal ‘spies’ wouldn’t see her catch bus
Abemaciclib can improve chances of certain type of cancer not returning after surgery by more than 30%Thousands of women in England with breast cancer are to benefit from a new pill on the NHS which reduces the risk of the disease coming back.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has given the green light to abemaciclib, which cuts the chance of breast cancer returning after a patient has had surgery to remove a tumour. Continue reading...
Russia expected to use security council veto to block resolution to keep open Bab al-Hawa border crossing into Idlib from TurkeyThe last remaining UN humanitarian aid route into Syria looks set to be shut down in a vote at the body’s security council next month, another casualty of the collapse in relations between the west and Russia.On 10 July the council is due to vote on whether to keep open the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Turkey, which helps service rebel-held Idlib. Continue reading...
Labor says decision called into question the legal basis for former government’s ‘absurd attempt to regulate funded class actions out of existence’The federal court has removed a barrier to class actions imposed by the former Coalition government, a decision the new attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has welcomed as a “victory for ordinary Australians” seeking to pursue justice against big corporations or governments.In 2020, the former government imposed a costly regulatory burden on litigation funders – entities that bankroll notoriously expensive class actions – to define them as managed investment schemes.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...
by Samantha Lock (now); Maya Yang, Léonie Chao-Fong on (#60DPZ)
This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war hereChildren born in Ukraine’s Kherson region since 24 February will automatically receive Russian citizenship, according to a statement by an official.Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-imposed military-civilian administration in the occupied Kherson region has told Russian news agency RIA Novosti:Children born after 24 February in the Kherson region will automatically receive citizenship of the Russian Federation. Plus, orphans will also be registered as citizens of the Russian Federation.All of the main bridges over the Siverskyy Donets River, which link the contested town of Sieverodonetsk and Ukrainian-held territory, have now highly likely been destroyed.Ukraine has probably managed to withdraw a large proportion of its combat troops, who were originally holding the town. The situation continues to be extremely difficult for the Ukrainian forces and civilians remaining east of the river. Continue reading...
Zumbo is accused of by five women of 20 charges including sexual touching and indecent assault and pleads not guilty to all chargesA young woman has told a court the office manager of former MP Craig Kelly spent years kissing and sexually touching her – but she was still shocked by one incident that brought her to tears.The woman had been out to a dinner with Francesco “Frank” Zumbo to secure a reference from her boss she had worked with for three years, she told Sydney’s local court on Thursday. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#60EXA)
Number of flights in August will be below pre-pandemic levels to ensure those on sale are ‘deliverable’Gatwick airport will reduce its summer capacity to ward off potential chaos, after dozens of last-minute cancellations wrecked the travel plans of holidaymakers over the platinum jubilee and half-term holiday.London’s second busiest airport will limit the number of daily take-offs and landings to 850 in August – about 50 more than the average in early June, but more than 10% below its pre-pandemic maximum. Continue reading...
Leicester court found gross negligence at Greenfeeds Ltd led to deaths of Nathan Walker and Gavin Rawson in 2016The managers of a food waste plant have been imprisoned and the company fined £2m after two staff members drowned in a tanker of pig feed.Nathan Walker, 19, died after falling into the tanker while cleaning it at Greenfeeds Ltd in Normanton, Leicestershire, a few days before Christmas in 2016. Continue reading...
Internet users will also be given tools to restrict cookie consent boxes under proposed data legislationNuisance call firms face fines of up to £17.5m and internet users will be able to limit the appearance of pop-up cookie consent boxes under a government overhaul of the UK’s data rules.The financial punishment for cold callers will increase from the current maximum of £500,000 and will be brought in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which can issue a fine of up to £17.5m or 4% of a company’s global turnover. Continue reading...
Owner of Telegraph Media Group could face prison for his failure to pay £50m in divorce battleSir Frederick Barclay, whose fortune was estimated as £6bn as recently as May, faces the possibility of being sent to prison at the age of 87 after a high court judge ruled that he must stand trial for the non-payment of part of a £100m divorce settlement.The court heard that the owner of the Telegraph Media Group had considered applying for legal aid to fight a divorce battle with his wife of 34 years. Continue reading...
by Heather Stewart and Richard Partington on (#60EMG)
System to enforce ministerial code under review as ethics adviser resigns over Partygate and steel tariffs rowBoris Johnson is considering scrapping the role of ethics adviser after the resignation of Lord Geidt, who accused him of making a mockery of his position overseeing standards in government.The prime minister’s official spokesperson said Johnson would not immediately start looking for a replacement for Geidt, but would instead review the system of enforcing the ministerial code. Continue reading...
Conservative candidate in Yorkshire byelection, Nadeem Ahmed, says Imran Ahmad Khan was ‘one bad apple’The Conservative candidate in the Wakefield byelection has said voters should still vote for the party despite Imran Ahmad Khan’s conviction for sexually assaulting a boy as “we still trust GPs” after Harold Shipman killed 250 people.Nadeem Ahmed was asked why people should vote Conservative after Khan was sentenced in May to 18 months in jail for molesting a 15-year-old boy. Khan, 48, had plied him with gin at a party in 2008. He was expelled from the party and later resigned from the Commons, triggering the byelection in the West Yorkshire constituency on 23 June. Continue reading...
Investors vote against company’s remuneration policy for third consecutive yearInforma, the FTSE 100 events business, has suffered a bruising shareholder revolt against a £2.7m pay package handed to its chief executive Lord Carter, the former Ofcom boss and aide to Gordon Brown.More than 70% of investors voted against Informa’s remuneration report at the company’s annual meeting in London on Thursday. It is the third consecutive year that shareholders have voted against an aspect of the company’s pay policy. Continue reading...
Moscow accuses those on blacklist to be part of ‘Russophobic agenda’, and more may be added in response to new sanctionsRussia has said on Thursday that it has banned 121 Australian citizens, including top journalists and defence officials, from entering, accusing them of being part of a “Russophobic agenda”.Among the sanctioned individuals were journalists from Australia’s ABC News, Sydney Morning Herald, Sky News and Nine Network, as well as businesspeople and various defence officials. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Political correspondent on (#60EC8)
First minister says wherever people live, party needs to emphasise it’s ‘on your side, working for you, earning every vote’Mark Drakeford stressed he was not about to tell Keir Starmer how to do his job, and that leading Labour in Wales was very different to heading the party nationally. But even with those caveats, a century of election successes tells its own story.Speaking during a visit to Westminster to mark 100 years since Labour won the popular vote in Wales in 1922, something it has done at every general election since, Drakeford said the UK party could profitably extend Welsh Labour’s embrace of a sense of local identity. Continue reading...
Ramarni Crosby thought he was going to a fistfight but was stabbed to death in confrontation with eight teenagers, jury hearsA 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death by a gang armed with a machete, meat cleaver and knives after turning up for what he believed was a fistfight to settle a dispute, a jury has been told.Ramarni Crosby suffered stab wounds including to his chest and head during the confrontation in Gloucester with eight teenagers wearing purple bandanas over their faces, Bristol crown court heard. Continue reading...
Netflix film, which has been called ‘startling’ by source author Joyce Carol Oates, stars Ana de Armas as the tragic actorThe first trailer has launched for Blonde, Netflix’s controversial biopic of Marilyn Monroe.Directed by Andrew Dominik, best known for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the film stars Ana de Armas as the tragic star and is based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer prize. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#60E8R)
Unions accuse transport secretary of threats and intimidation of workers, and government of trying to make political capital out of the strikeThe transport secretary has told rail staff not to “risk striking yourself out of a job” just days before industrial action that will close much of the railway next week.In a speech in which Grant Shapps said he was “appealing directly to workers” instead of unions, he claimed the strikes were “a bid to derail reforms that are critical to the network’s future, and designed to inflict damage at the worst possible time”. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#60E6Q)
Bold experiment uses sport to boost social mobility while bringing organised games to state schoolsSt Paul’s and Winchester are facing a new rivalry at fives – the handball game that for hundreds of years has largely been the preserve of the most rarified public schools.Children at Stoke Newington school in Hackney, east London, are leading a new wave of state school rugby fives players who have started training to take on their privileged counterparts in matches that will reach across one of the UK’s most entrenched social divides. Continue reading...
The Oscar-winning comedian and actor accused the streamer of racial and sexual discrimination over a proposed comedy specialMo’Nique and Netflix reportedly have settled her lawsuit that accused the streaming service of racial and sexual discrimination for allegedly making her a lowball offer for a proposed comedy special.The matter has been “amicably resolved,” Michael Parks, an attorney representing Mo’Nique in the suit, told the Hollywood Reporter. Continue reading...
Landlords’ deal creates company with combined portfolio value of £5bn in heart of West EndThe West End landlords Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties have agreed to merge, creating a property company with a combined portfolio value of £5bn in the heart of London.It will be called Shaftesbury Capital, and own swaths of London’s West End, including Covent Garden, Carnaby Street, Chinatown and Soho. Shaftesbury shareholders will own 53% of the group while Capital & Counties (Capco) investors will own 43%. Continue reading...
Centrica says Equinor will deliver enough gas for next three years to heat 4.5m extra homesThe British Gas owner, Centrica, has signed an agreement with Norway’s state oil company Equinor for additional gas supplies for the UK, helping bolster supply for the next three winters.Many European countries are seeking to secure additional gas from other sources as they try to reduce reliance on Russian fuel imports. Continue reading...
Hollywood actor, 62, goes to court in London after being accused of assaulting three menThe actor Kevin Spacey has appeared in a London magistrates court charged with sexual assault against three men, which his lawyer said he “strenuously denies”.The Hollywood star gave his name as Kevin Spacey Fowler, his date of birth as 26 July 1959, and an address in Waterloo, London. Continue reading...
Secret Barrister points out lack of resources and years-long waits for trial, after Dominic Raab announces pilotThe announcement of three specialist courtrooms to prosecute rape cases has been dismissed as a “gimmick” that does not address the chronic underfunding of the justice system that led to a fall in convictions.Crown courts in Newcastle, Leeds and Snaresbrook, London, will take part in a pilot where staff, police and prosecutors working on serious sex offence cases will receive specialist trauma training. The government also said independent sexual violence advisers would be made available to survivors during the pilot. Continue reading...
by Ben Doherty and Mostafa Rachwani (earlier) on (#60DFH)
Risk of electricity shortages recedes further after Daniel Andrews blames ‘dysfunctional’ market for energy crisis; Penny Wong says Australia ‘has ground to make up’ in Pacific region; jobless rate steady at 3.9%; nation records at least 73 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed