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In letter to justice secretary, Dame Vera Baird says ‘criminal justice system is in chaos’ and victims’ interests not a priorityThe victims’ commissioner for England and Wales has announced she is quitting the role as she launched a scathing parting attack on the government’s commitment to those she represents.Dame Vera Baird KC said she would not stay in post beyond her current term of 30 September, accusing the government of downgrading victims’ interests, reducing her access to ministers and failing to provide clarity regarding her reappointment. Continue reading...

€3 charge aims to gives independent booksellers a chance against e-commerce firms that use free delivery loopholeFrance’s crusade to protect independent booksellers against huge online retailers was stepped up on Friday as the government proposed a €3 (£2.66) minimum delivery fee for all online book orders of less than €35.The government’s fixed fee for online deliveries is part of a quest to support independent bookshops against the domination of big tech firms, such as Amazon. Continue reading...

One of the accusers in Benjamin Mendy trial says Grealish was at party at teammate’s house last yearThe England footballer Jack Grealish was at a party at the house of his Manchester City teammate Benjamin Mendy where two young women were allegedly raped, Chester crown court has heard.One of the accusers told the court on Friday that another woman, who alleges she was raped by Mendy’s friend Louis Saha Matturie, claimed she had sex with Grealish on the same night. Continue reading...

Kwasi Kwarteng announces moves that oblige unions to ensure trains run before sustained industrial action

From JK Rowling to Nicola Sturgeon, world laments death of Booker prize-winning author

Freeze on alcohol duty welcomed, but lack of new measures to support struggling businesses disappointsThe chancellor’s freeze on alcohol duty has gone down well with the beer industry, but the wider hospitality sector lamented a lack of announcements on help for hard-pressed pubs, restaurants and bars as they wrestle with the cost of living crisis.In a mini-budget that outlined his growth-above-all approach to Britain’s finances, Kwasi Kwarteng froze duty on beer, cider, wine and spirits for a year, as well as pushing ahead with controversial plans to overhaul how the tax is applied. Continue reading...

There’s confidence in the party that ‘the political wing of the British people’ can beat an unpopular governmentWhen Keir Starmer picked up his pen during the summer recess to begin drafting his conference speech, there was no way of knowing who his opponent would be by the time he would have finished it.His target for the past 12 months had been Boris Johnson. Now that he is gone, it will be the first year the Labour leader feels confident enough to talk realistically about being prime minister within two years. Continue reading...

Khayri McLean was stabbed to death on his way home from school on WednesdayA second teenager has been arrested in connection with the killing of a 15-year-old boy outside a school in Huddersfield.Khayri McLean was stabbed to death on his way home, close to the entrance of North Huddersfield Trust school (NHTS) in Woodhouse Hill at 2.45pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Big releases with usually bankable male stars criticised for formulaic storylines as audience taste evolvesThe opening of a new big-name Bollywood film was once a national event across India, greeted by weeks of fanfare, long queues outside cinemas and halls packed to the rafters with audiences cheering and singing along.But this year, with 77% of releases flopping at the box office, cinema halls have been left eerily quiet and Bollywood’s once unshakeable domination of the Indian film industry has begun to look uncertain. Continue reading...

Chancellor’s mini-budget supply-side reforms are going to be tested to the limits in months aheadA struggling economy. An unpopular Conservative government. A dramatic change of course. Britain has been here before. Just like Reginald Maudling in the early 1960s and Tony Barber in the early 1970s, Kwasi Kwarteng has gone for broke, with a massive package of tax cuts designed to put Britain on a higher growth path.The chancellor will be crossing his fingers that his experiment has a happier ending than those of his predecessors, neither of which ended well. It is one huge gamble on supply-side reforms boosting enterprise, tax cuts paying for themselves, and the financial markets remaining onside. The initial reaction from the City was not entirely reassuring. Continue reading...

Government to consult on long-called-for scheme which is likely to cost almost £1.3bn

Drag performer George Ward appeared on second series of hit show before launching TV careerThe drag performer George Ward, known by their stage name Cherry Valentine, has died at the age of 28.The performer was “an inspiration to many”, the BBC said, after Ward’s family announced their death at the age of 28. Continue reading...

Account holders say they are ‘angry’ personal data including addresses and phone numbers was exposed while some say they are yet to hear from telco

Weary asylum seekers given welcome and assistance in DC after Texas governor DeSantis busses them to vice-president’s residenceThe Cuban man stepped wearily off the bus after the long journey to Washington DC, expecting to see an official or a volunteer with information on the next steps for him and his fellow passengers.Instead, he was greeted by TV news crews. Texas officials had tipped off conservative media – but not anyone who could offer practical assistance – that the latest group of asylum seekers they were unilaterally and controversially dispatching from the US-Mexico border would be dropped off outside US vice-president Kamala Harris’s residence. Continue reading...

Ebrahim Raisi says he has contacted Kurdish woman’s family but laments western double standards on human rightsThe death in custody in Iran of a Kurdish woman that has sparked widespread protests must be “steadfastly” investigated, Iran’s president has said, even as he lamented what he claimed were western “double standards” on human rights.Ebrahim Raisi told a news conference on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York that the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police “must certainly be investigated”. Continue reading...

Polls asking residents to vote for independence and join Russia condemned in west as illegitimate

Assault by Chen Jizhi and his friends on 10 June has sparked a national debate over gender-based violenceThe main perpetrator of an assault against a group of women at a barbecue restaurant in China has been sentenced to 24 years in prison, after the case sparked a national debate over gender-based violence.Chen Jizhi started hitting the women after they rejected his “harassment” in the early hours of 10 June in the city of Tangshan in Hebei province, east of Beijing, the court said in a statement. Continue reading...

Furniture retailer undertakes strategic review on the back of plummeting salesMade.com is seeking a buyer or emergency investment as the embattled online furniture retailer plans to shed a third of staff to stretch its dwindling cash reserves.The company, which in July warned of job cuts as increasingly cash-strapped consumers stopped spending on “big-ticket” items, has withdrawn full-year guidance as sales plummet. Continue reading...

Officer in charge of station at the time of teen’s death tells inquest that ‘in hindsight’ carrying AR-15s could be seen as confrontational

Murder accused claim Bruce Saunders died while ‘messing around’ with machinery but co-workers say he was always cautious

Weather experts predict already soaked river catchments will remain flooded over coming months

Church official says he was upset to hear suspect told police his anger towards church led to attack on former Japanese PMThe Unification Church, whose close ties with Japan’s governing party have emerged after the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, has acknowledged it accepted “excessive” donations from the suspect’s mother, and that it would need to seriously consider if that led to the killing.Abe died after a shooting during an outdoor campaign speech in July. The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, said he shot Abe because of the former prime minister’s links to the Unification Church, also known as the Moonies, which he blamed for bankrupting his family. Yamagami’s mother, a longtime member of the church, reportedly gave it ¥100m (£618,000) in donations two decades ago, plunging their family into poverty. Continue reading...

Airline had started offering a single meal option on shorter Australian flights, prompting ire from travellers with dietary restrictions

Fu Zhenghua, who had led several high-profile investigations into corruption, was accused of accepting bribesFormer Chinese justice minister Fu Zhenghua, who had headed several high-profile investigations into corruption, has been jailed for life for accepting bribes, state media says, as a purge of officials intensified ahead of a key Communist party congress.Fu, 67, was handed a suspended death sentence that will be commuted to life imprisonment after two years, with no possibility of parole, according to state media on Thursday. Continue reading...

Premier says many cheaper rentals will now hit the market, helping thousands of people across the state

Queues seen at Russia’s land borders and flights sell out as Moscow begins drafting citizens into army to fight in UkraineThe partial mobilisation announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin will not generate significant extra combat capability for months, the Institute for the Study of War writes in its latest report. The thinktank’s analysts also believe Putin comments about nuclear weapons did not mean he would use them to defend annexed areas of Ukraine.Putin’s order to mobilize part of Russia’s “trained” reserve, that is, individuals who have completed their mandatory conscript service, will not generate significant usable Russian combat power for months. It may suffice to sustain the current levels of Russian military manpower in 2023 by offsetting Russian casualties, although even that is not yet clear.The Zaporizhzhia power plant has faced almost daily shelling and bombardment, raising fears of a nuclear accident.Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that as a result of the separate meetings with Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba and Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, work has already begun on establishing and shaping the zone. Continue reading...

Deputy Labour leader had to pass on news without interrupting him in front of Commons television cameras, she saysAngela Rayner has disclosed the contents of a mysterious note she was handed in the House of Commons on the day the Queen died.Keir Starmer was giving his response to the government’s energy statement and the cost of living crisis when Nadhim Zahawi, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, whispered into the prime minister’s ear before handing her a folded note on 8 September. A similar note was passed to Rayner, Starmer’s deputy. Continue reading...

Turkey, India and China respond cooly to news of planned referendums in Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia

Commanders who led defence of Azovstal steelworks among those freed in exchange for Putin ally and 55 Russian soldiers

Proposed reforms previously delayed by Boris Johnson reannounced amid accusations Tories are soft on ‘dirty money’Companies House will be given new powers to challenge incorrect or fraudulent claims made by kleptocrats and their agents in an economic crime bill that was previously delayed by Boris Johnson a few weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.The new bill – the second of two that had to be hurriedly reannounced amid accusations the government had gone soft on dirty money – is backed by the new security minister, Tom Tugendhat. Continue reading...

At least six municipalities across island have areas cut off by storm which struck as a category 1 hurricane and has since strengthenedBermuda and the Atlantic provinces of Canada were preparing for a blast from Hurricane Fiona as authorities struggled on Thursday to open roads for people left stranded and without power by the storm in Puerto Rico.The storm was expected to still be at category 4 force when it passes close to Bermuda overnight and still dangerously potent when it reaches Canada, probably late on Friday, as an extratropical cyclone. Continue reading...

Suspect, 16, in custody after stabbing of 15-year-old near North Huddersfield Trust schoolFriends and teachers of a 15-year-old boy who was stabbed to death outside the gates of his school in Huddersfield have spoken of their sadness and devastation.

Key details from the launch of ‘our plan for patients’ by the health and social care secretaryWhat is the new NHS plan?

Government policy faces opposition, with many saying that selection does not improve social mobilityAcademics, education unions and politicians of every hue have attacked government plans for more grammar schools, warning that selection does not improve social mobility and will not solve the challenges facing schools in the next decade.It follows confirmation from the new education secretary, Kit Malthouse, that the prime minister has tasked him to look at areas of England that would like to open new grammar schools, as well as those that want to expand existing grammars. Continue reading...

Council of Europe report highlighted need to enhance equality rights for intersex children in particularEurope’s top human rights watchdog has urged Greece to take action against the “serious forms” of discrimination and intolerance faced by the country’s LGBTIQ+ community, especially children in schools.Equality rights for intersex people often subject to sex “normalising” surgery at a young age must also be enhanced, according to a report released on Thursday by the Council of Europe. Continue reading...

António Guterres also denounces plans to annex parts of Ukraine as a violation of international law

Review to look at whether extremist and outside groups encouraged Hindu and Muslim clashesViolent clashes between groups of mainly Hindu and Muslim young men in Leicester are to be the subject of an independent review, the city’s mayor has said.Sir Peter Soulsby said the review, which should be completed within weeks, will examine whether extremist groups and outside organisations encouraged the disturbances on Saturday and Sunday. Continue reading...

From generous one-off benefit payments to caps on rent increases, state intervention is taking shape across the G7As Liz Truss’s government prepares to unveil a huge package of tax cuts, alongside energy price caps for UK households and businesses worth an estimated £150bn, here is what the rest of the G7 are doing to ease the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

Oxford judge remarks on lack of legal aid reforms as he refuses to extend custody pending trialFour people accused of murder are to be released on bail after a judge refused to extend the time they could be kept in custody pending trial.The trial, for the fatal stabbing of 40-year-old Keith Green in February, could not go ahead as planned on Tuesday because of the indefinite strike by criminal barristers over legal aid fees. Judge Ian Pringle, the recorder of Oxford, was asked to extend the period the accused could be held on remand beyond the six-month limit, which expires at midnight on Thursday, but refused to do so. Continue reading...

Kwasi Kwarteng confirms he is cancelling increase introduced to pay for social care and NHS backlogThe national insurance rise introduced by Boris Johnson’s government will be reversed from 6 November, Kwasi Kwarteng has announced.Ahead of his mini-budget on Friday, the chancellor confirmed that he was cancelling the 1.25-percentage point increase imposed by his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, to pay for social care and dealing with the NHS backlog. Continue reading...

Sale of work about cancer experience estimated to raise up to £700,000 towards artists’ hub in Kent townFor a year during treatment for bladder cancer, in which she thought she would die, Tracey Emin could not paint.Then, in a release of energy and emotion, she created Like a Cloud of Blood, a deeply intimate representation of her experiences. Continue reading...

Agency also invites public to solve colouring-in puzzle as it seeks to engage next generation of agentsBritain’s top spies at GCHQ have released a puzzle book for children while challenging the public to solve one of its brainteasers.In its latest puzzle book – the agency has previously published two for adults – children will be tested on languages, engineering, codebreaking, analysis, maths, coding and cybersecurity. Continue reading...

Church says same-sex marriage means Mpho Tutu van Furth cannot preside over godfather’s serviceThe daughter of the late Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu has been barred by the Church of England from officiating at her godfather’s funeral in a Shropshire church because she is married to a woman.Mpho Tutu van Furth, an ordained priest in the Anglican church, was invited to preside over the funeral of Martin Kenyon, who died last week at the age of 92. The C of E said its actions were “in line with the House of Bishops current guidance on same-sex marriage”. Continue reading...

News of strike affecting Network Rail and 15 train operators comes as Avanti says it is ready to restore more servicesRail services around Britain will be brought to a near standstill for the first two weekends in October after the RMT union announced a further national strike.About 40,000 RMT members employed by Network Rail and 15 train operating companies will strike for another 24 hours on Saturday 8 October. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy urges UN to adopt five-point plan for peace in Ukraine; more than 1,300 people arrested in anti-mobilisation rallies throughout Russia

Liz Truss’s administration becomes only major world power not to raise its spending at UN pledging eventThe British government has been accused of abandoning people in the global south after it failed to commit to boosting its spending on a fund established to fight three of the world’s deadliest diseases: malaria, tuberculosis and Aids.Liz Truss’s new administration became the only major world power not to raise its spending at a UN pledging event for the Global Fund, a highly successful 20-year-old initiative, shocking global health campaigners. The long-planned pledging conference was left $3.76bn (£3.32bn) short of its target of $18bn. Continue reading...

Five UK and two US foreign fighters captured in Ukraine among 10 freed after Saudi Arabia’s intervention

Little-known militia groups have surfaced to declare their willingness to strike peace deals – and reap ceasefire rewardsThe announcement came in a grainy video from the dense jungles of northern Colombia.A dozen masked men with camouflage uniforms and automatic weapons stand in a cluster, a roaring stream washing over their black combat boots. Continue reading...

Thérèse Coffey describes new goal for offering patient an appointment as ‘expectation’ not guarantee

Andy Byford’s announcement comes after TfL boss completed ‘biggest challenge’ during Queen’s funeralThe boss of Transport for London, Andy Byford, has resigned, after just over two years in the job.His departure from the £355,000-a-year role of commissioner was announced on Tuesday morning, days after TfL had managed what Byford called its biggest ever challenge – the logistics around the Queen’s funeral. Continue reading...