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While the government apologised, the counsel attacked companies for a ‘merry-go-round of buck-passing’

Huw Merriman appears supportive of city’s re-inclusion in NPR plans but says decision remains with TreasuryHopes that a planned northern high-speed railway line may include Bradford after all have been raised after the new rail minister said he was still “working on options” to link in the city.Huw Merriman said he was “committed to local consultation” and “passionate about delivering better services” to Bradford, whose removal from the future high-speed rail map last year provoked uproar in the north. Continue reading...

Editor of Harden restaurant guides says prices of more than £200 a head at top eateries are ‘becoming the norm’The price of a meal at the UK’s best restaurants has more than doubled since Brexit from £100 a head to more than £200, according to two new guide books.Peter Harden, the editor of his eponymous restaurant guides, said: “We’ve gone very quickly from a time five years ago when charging over £100 a head was the outlier, to now, when for the very top restaurants £200 pounds a head is becoming the norm.” Continue reading...

Sharp rise in people leaving labour market in past three years could be related to home working since CovidBack and neck injuries caused by working from home during the Covid pandemic has been identified by the UK’s official number crunchers as a possible factor contributing to a sharp rise in people leaving the labour market over the past three years.The Office for National Statistics said there had been a marked increase in disabilities often associated by medical experts with excessive screen use, after the increase in the number of people home working while offices were shut during the pandemic. Continue reading...

Firm reports £63m profit in year to August and prepares for strong Christmas sales at travel hubsWH Smith will pay a dividend for the first time in three years as it expects a strong Christmas after a return to foreign holidays helped the books-to-stationery retailer return to the black.The company reported a £63m profit in the year to August, after a loss of £116m a year earlier, as sales soared 58% to £1.4bn. Continue reading...

Steven Craig served jail time for 1998 petrol attack and was re-arrested after her death in 2019A man has been jailed for life and told he will serve at least 15 years for the “sadistic” and “monstrous” murder of his partner, who died 21 years after he doused her with petrol and set her on fire.In what is believed to be a legal first, Steven Craig, 58, was convicted of murdering Jacqueline Kirk more than two decades after the attack, having already served almost 19 years in prison for it. Continue reading...

One hundred thousand PCS members across public sector will join nurses in wave of stoppages

Gemma White KC, appointed by BBC to look into concerns about DJ’s conduct, thanks those who have already contacted herThe barrister leading an independent review of concerns regarding Tim Westwood’s conduct during his two decades at the BBC has extended the deadline for evidence.Gemma White KC was appointed by the BBC in August after an internal review of allegations against the DJ found that the corporation may have missed chances to explore concerns raised over the behaviour of the former Radio 1 and Capital Xtra DJ.Anyone with information is being asked to contact the review on GWKCBBCReview@blackstonechambers.com, or by post, marked for the attention of Gemma White KC BBC Review, to Linklaters LLP, One Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8HQ. Respondents can request a meeting with Gemma White and ask for Jahnine Davis to be present. Continue reading...

Chris Heaton-Harris refuses to say if nurses should be paid same as politicians, amid RCN warning NHS services are unsafe

US general’s remarks come as experts say potential winter lull in fighting could offer chance for negotiations• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesAmerica’s top general has estimated that 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Ukraine, and that Kyiv’s armed forces have “probably” suffered a similar level of casualties in the war.Gen Mark Milley also suggested that as many as 40,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed after being caught up in the conflict. Continue reading...

Leave backer Lord Wolfson says UK must let in much-needed overseas workers to plug chronic labour shortagesSimon Wolfson, the chief executive of clothing and homeware retail Next has urged the government to make it easier to allow foreign workers into the UK and said this is “not the Brexit I wanted”.The Conservative peer and Brexit supporter said the government was blocking much-needed workers from entering the UK, even though firms were desperate for labour. Continue reading...

Trussell Trust research shows profile of food bank users changing as cost of living bites• Nurses among rising numbers of workers using food banks, research showsJenny estimates she eats four days a week, if she’s lucky. She’s clearly underweight and worryingly thin but she’s not the priority, she said. “I will go without to let my kids have.”She lives in a house with her children and grandchildren, including a young baby who, at the moment, is always cold. They wrap themselves in quilts to keep warm. “I daren’t put the heating on. I get a little heater out for the bairn. He’s absolutely gorgeous but I am panicking … his little hands are cold. The house is absolutely freezing.” Continue reading...

Criticism of state-wide rollout of extraordinary knife-search powers comes as report says metal detector trial didn’t reduce violence

Critics say everyday UK consumer spending has funnelled billions to controversial World Cup host since 2010Some of the UK’s largest listed companies including water and energy giants have handed almost £500m to Qatari state-owned investors this year, raising concerns that blue-chip company profits are supporting the controversial World Cup host.The dividend payouts are the result of the Gulf nation’s investments in a raft of FTSE 100 firms, including Barclays, Shell and utility firm Severn Trent, which have reported strong profits amid a cost of living crisis and the worst UK drought in centuries. Continue reading...

Call over protecting most vulnerable citizens comes before UN review of Britain’s human rights recordAngola has urged the UK to adopt an emergency poverty strategy to protect its most vulnerable citizens from the cost-of-living crisis.The call – from a country where more than half of its population of 34 million people live on less than $2 (£1.75) a day, on behalf of citizens of one of the world’s richest – was among several concerns raised before a UN review of the UK’s human rights record today. Continue reading...

Anxiety Nation report finds clear links between financial insecurity and poor mental healthPrivate renters are twice as likely as homeowners to suffer symptoms of anxiety, according to research that finds clear evidence of the links between financial insecurity and poor mental health.In a report called Anxiety Nation, researchers from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) thinktank found that people with money problems were significantly more likely to report suffering sleepless nights, feeling depressed, and lacking in energy. Continue reading...

Foreign minister says decisions on recognising the state of Palestine are a ‘matter for government’ despite prior resolution from Labor national conferences

Royal commission also shown key 2015 document confirming Scott Morrison’s request for welfare ‘compliance’ measures

Dawson’s daughter Shanelle tells sentencing hearing ‘the night you removed our mother from our lives was the night you destroyed our sense of safety’

Comprehensive database of Benin bronzes held by museums raises questions about where they belong by charting provenanceCheerfully gnashing their magnificent fangs as they stand side by side, the two bronze leopards look back on a journey that was as adventurous as it was cruelly absurd.Looted by British soldiers on a punitive expedition to the west African kingdom of Benin in 1897, the bronzes were shipped to the UK, where they spent some time guarding the fireplace of army captain George William Neville’s Weybridge home. They were later put in display at Moma in New York and bought by a French art collector – who eventually sold them back to the colonial administration in Lagos in 1952 with a considerable mark-up. Continue reading...

The energy giant would be divided into electricity generation and gas firms in order to hit Australia’s climate targets

Police say 51-year-old was arrested and taken to Kowanyama watch house where he was later found 'unresponsive in his cell’

Isaac Herzog said the views of Itamar Ben-Gvir will cause problems, as Religious Zionists party gets set to join the governing coalitionIsraeli president Isaac Herzog has said “the whole world is worried” about the far-right views of Itamar Ben-Gvir, who appears set to become a minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition government.Herzog’s statement was caught by a microphone that he apparently thought was off as he held consultations with an ultra-Orthodox political party about the next government, expected to be led by former premier Benjamin Netanyahu following the victory of his right-wing alliance in last week’s election. Continue reading...

Source claims PM was given ‘general description’ of alleged incident but gave Williamson a job anywayRishi Sunak is facing scrutiny over whether he knew about Gavin Williamson’s alleged bullying of a senior civil servant whom he told to “cut your throat” before reappointing him to government.Two sources claimed the prime minister had been alerted to Williamson’s “credible and substantiated bad behaviour” while defence secretary when he drew up his cabinet. Continue reading...

Complaint, which prosecutor has yet to accept, raises risk of Sanaa Seif’s detention during Cop27The sister of the jailed hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been informed that a pro-government lawyer has filed a case against her with the Egyptian public prosecutor accusing her of espionage and “spreading false news”.The news comes a day after Sanaa Seif spoke at an event at the Cop27 climate summitbeing held in Egypt, which was widely reported on. The case accuses her of “conspiring with foreign agencies against the Egyptian state, foreign agitation, and incitement against the Egyptian state and its institutions, and deliberately spreading false news.” Continue reading...

Mélanie Joly hints at new Indo-Pacific strategy and asks firms to be clear-eyed in business with ChinaCanada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, has said China has become “increasingly disruptive” on the world stage as she hinted in a speech at a new Indo-Pacific strategy expected to be released this month.Her comments come ahead of several summits that Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is to attend, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia, the G20 in Indonesia, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Thailand. Continue reading...

With Russia still in control of a large swathe of occupied territory, Ukraine may encounter unexpected resistance as it tries to push southRussia’s sheepish yet televised announcement that it will abandon Kherson city and points west of the Dnipro represents, on the face of it, a remarkable victory for Ukraine and a sophisticated military strategy. If the withdrawal does indeed lead to the swift recapture of the city, the Ukrainians will have done so with relatively little loss of life and without what could have been costly urban warfare.

NHS braces for prolonged period of industrial action by health workers over the winter and into next yearNurses have voted to stage strikes across the UK for the first time in their history in pursuit of a better pay deal, in a move that will seriously disrupt NHS care.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced on Wednesday that nurses at many, but not all, hospitals and other places of NHS care would take industrial action before Christmas and could continue striking until next May. Continue reading...

Judicial review begins over definition of ‘woman’ in 2018 law to improve gender balance on public boardsThe Scottish government is facing a judicial review over plans to include transgender women in legislation aimed at improving gender balance on public boards.Aidan O’Neill KC, for the campaign group For Women Scotland, said the court of session’s ruling would have significant implications for the protection of single-sex spaces across the UK, as well as proposals to simplify how transgender people can alter their birth certificate currently being debated by the Scottish parliament. Continue reading...

Loss of only regional capital captured by Moscow since invasion began will come as significant blow to Vladimir Putin

Colleagues come to defence of pair subjected to ‘coordinated attack’ over meeting last monthHungary’s leading judges have launched a defence of two colleagues who say they have faced a “full-scale smear campaign” by state-supporting media after the pair met the US ambassador.The US embassy in Budapest has also spoken out against a “coordinated media attack” on the judges that it said was “an effort to instil fear” in anyone wishing to engage with the US government. Continue reading...

Home secretary believe police definition of ‘serious disruption’ is too narrow; Keir Starmer tells PM Williamson was ‘pathetic bully’This live blog is now closedAs promised, here is more on the death of Sir David Butler, the father of modern election science.Here is our story about his death. Continue reading...

Most senior Chinese Communist party official jailed over Tiananmen pro-democracy movement became one of party’s most vociferous criticsBao Tong, the most senior Chinese Communist party official jailed over the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement, has died, four days after his 90th birthday.

Lewis Moody says men like him who have difficulty controlling their bladder or bowel face indignity in public bathroomsThe World Cup-winning England rugby player Lewis Moody has issued a taboo-breaking demand for sanitary disposal bins to become compulsory in male public bathrooms to cater for men with incontinence.Moody, 44, is one of about 10% of men who have had problems controlling their bladder or bowel, many of whom regularly wear absorbent pads. But unlike women who can normally access special bins for period and incontinence pads, men often have nowhere to dispose of them, worsening an already uncomfortable experience. Continue reading...

The singer, who was a main part of the Tropicália movement, had recently canceled an appearance at a music festival after surgeryGal Costa, the influential Brazilian singer who was one of the principal figures in the Tropicália movement of the 1960s, died on Wednesday, her public relations agency confirmed. She was 77.No cause of death was immediately provided. The singer, who lived in São Paulo, had recently canceled a concert at a local music festival on advice from her doctor, after surgery in September to remove a nodule from her right nasal cavity. She had been expected to return to the stage in São Paulo in December, according to tour dates listed on her website. Continue reading...

Mood on frontline buoyant in face of increasingly ‘panicking’ Russian forces

Swiss-born prince wants control of club named after his ancestors after managers arrested in extortion probeThe grandson of Italy’s last king is seeking to take the throne of a historic Naples football club that was named in honour of the royals, in an effort to “keep it away” from the mafia.Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia wants to buy Savoia, a club established in 1908 in Torre Annunziata, Naples, making it one of the oldest clubs in southern Italy. Continue reading...

At PMQs, Labour leader compares prime minister to a weak boss hiding behind bullies

Regulator says vulnerable households put on prepayment meters can be left without power for days and even weeksOfgem has told energy suppliers in Britain to clean up their act after it received alarming reports of cash-strapped households being left without power for days or even weeks after being pushed on to a prepayment meter.A recent analysis by the price comparison website Uswitch showed the number of people on a prepayment meter was rising for the first time since 2019 with thousands of Britons being switched every month as they struggle to pay higher energy bills. Continue reading...

In teaser for Wednesday’s show, former health secretary squeals as insects and thick liquid fall on him from aboveA preview of I’m a Celebrity shows Matt Hancock crawling through dark tunnels, showered with bugs and wading through sludge.ITV shared the teaser ahead of Wednesday night’s show, which showed the former health secretary squealing as insects and thick liquid are poured on him from above. Continue reading...

Makers of Bollywood film say it is based on real information and events but have not provided any evidencePolice in Kerala are investigating a controversial Bollywood film that portrays the southern Indian state as a hub of Islamic terrorism and forced conversion.The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen, has come under criticism for its fictional depiction of tens of thousands of women from Kerala who it claims were converted to Islam and became terrorists for Islamic State in Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria. Continue reading...

Concerns about conflicts and more young people becoming politicised thought to be behind increasing use of peace symbolBristol’s lord mayor will lay a wreath of red and white poppies during the city’s Remembrance Day ceremony on Sunday in the latest sign of the peace symbol’s increasing mainstream acceptance.White poppy orders from schools are considerably higher this year, say campaigners, who cite increasing concern about global conflict after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and factors including the link to the climate crisis from a new recyclable white and green poppy. Continue reading...

Appointment before next general election could trigger byelection in Stretford and Urmston

Broadcaster’s shares fall, with investors worried that cost of living crisis will crash UK advertisingShares in ITV fell steeply after the broadcaster forecast a lukewarm revenue boost from airing the World Cup, heightening investor fears that the cost of living crisis will crash the UK advertising market.The UK’s largest commercial broadcaster said that total ad revenues, including TV, digital and sponsorship, fell 2% in the nine months to the end of September. In its last financial report the broadcaster said it expected income to be “broadly flat” for the period. Continue reading...

Marks & Spencer says clothing, food and international sales fared well but ‘cost of doing business’ is affecting performanceMarks & Spencer has said it faces a “gathering storm”, with next year likely to be more challenging than this after reporting a near 24% fall in profits.The clothing, food and homewares retailer said sales rose 8.8% to £5.6bn in the six months to 1 October but underlying pre-tax profits sank 23.7% to £205.5m as its Ocado online grocery joint venture fell into the red, it pulled out of Russia and held off passing on cost rises to customers. Continue reading...

King and queen consort had been on walkabout at Micklegate Bar in YorkA man has been detained by police after appearing to throw eggs at King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, during a walkabout at Micklegate Bar in York.More details soon … Continue reading...

Actor presented his statuette to the president in Kyiv, telling him: ‘When you win, bring it back to Malibu’Sean Penn has given an Oscar statuette to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a meeting in Kyiv.In a video posted on Zelenskiy’s Instagram account, Penn, who has been one of the most high profile supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion, takes the Oscar statuette out of a bag and places it on a table in front of Zelenskiy, saying: “I feel terrible. This is for you. It’s just a symbolic silly thing, but if I know this is here with you then I’ll feel better and stronger for the fight.” Continue reading...

Arts Council to scrap annual £12.8m grant if ENO does not comply with government levelling up agendaThe main arts funding body in England has insisted English National Opera, one of the country’s cultural flagships, move outside London in order to qualify for future grants, despite the ENO saying there was no “audience need” to relocate.Arts Council England’s decision to slash to zero its £12.8m annual grant to ENO has caused a major row, with the opera house’s chief executive saying it was an “absolute travesty”. Continue reading...

Comedian says response to news he is to embark on first live tour for 12 years has been ‘proper overwhelming’The comedian Peter Kay has announced he will perform his new standup show in year-long monthly residency at London’s 02 arena.Speaking in a rare radio appearance, Kay thanked fans for their response to Sunday’s announcement of his first live tour for 12 years. “It’s been proper overwhelming,” he told BBC Radio’s 2 Zoe Ball Breakfast Show. Continue reading...

Minister’s resignation puts PM under further pressure over decision to reappoint him to cabinet