Friday, January 24
Storm Éowyn will bring dangerous winds to Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland throughout today with heavy rain at times. After a wet and windy start further south, winds easing and becoming largely dry. Tonight: Destructive winds continuing in Northern Ireland and Scotland, especially in the far north, along with heavy downpours. Generally drier in the south. A colder night with frost in places.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, has been sentenced to 52 years behind bars for murdering 3 little girls and the attempted murder of at least 10 others at a dance class last year in Southport. The judge says it’s highly unlikely Rudakubana will ever be released. Rudakubana pleaded guilty on Monday to the murders of Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, and Bebe King, 6. He also admitted to producing ricin, possessing terrorist material, and possessing a knife.
The Met Office has issued rare red weather warnings, meaning there is a danger to life, as Storm Éowyn batters the UK. The worst disruption is due to hit Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland, with gusts of up to 100mph (161km/h) expected in some coastal areas. Millions of people are being urged to stay at home and widespread travel disruption is expected, with some flights and ferry crossings already cancelled.
Markets are significantly underestimating the chance that the Bank of England will have to step up the pace of cutting interest rates, Goldman Sachs has argued.
Traders anticipate just two interest rate cuts this year with one more cut priced in for 2026, which would leave the benchmark Bank Rate at 4.0 per cent. It currently stands at 4.75 per cent.
Investors are concerned by signs of stubborn inflationary pressures in the UK economy, with many economists predicting that the headline rate will increase to over three per cent in the spring.
Figures out yesterday also showed that private sector pay growth hit 6.0 per cent in the three months to November, well ahead of expectations.
Bank of England: Goldman Sachs expects deep interest rate cuts
Almost every front page of the Friday national newspapers led with pictures of the three young girls who were murdered in Southport last summer as they attended a dance class. The papers’ lead articles react to the 52-year sentencing of the killer Axel Rudakubana, the opportunities missed to stop him from carrying out his horrific crime and the statements from the parents of the victims.
Elsewhere, the UK is bracing for 100mph winds as Storm Eowyn barrels down on the country.
The back pages lead on English football teams, with Manchester United’s 2-1 win in the Europa League the most prominent.
The Sun’s editorial says Rudakubana is “simply a monster, radicalised by terrorist material online, obsessed with violence, genocide and war, hell-bent on mass murder for its own sake, and never safe for release”.
The Times says the case has prompted calls for legal reforms as Rudakubana age at the time of the attack meant he avoided a whole life sentence. The paper says Labour MP Patrick Hurley has asked the attorney general to review the ‘lenient’ sentence. The paper says Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is quoted as saying there is a “strong case” for amending the law to allow whole life orders for under-18s. The PM appears to agree saying “We own it to these innocent young girls and all those affected to deliver the change that they deserve”.
The Daily Telegraph describes the scene outside the court at his sentencing. It says a few of the relatives of the victims had to leave the room as prosecuting barrister Deanna Heer recited the list of wounds inflicted on the girls. She notes it was the first time Rudakubana had been in the same room as the families of his victims, though he adds that he missed many of their victim impact statements because he was removed from the court after repeatedly protesting that he felt ill.
The Daily Mail leads on the 52-year sentence for Axel Rudakubana, 18 – for the murders of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar. Eight other children and two adults were injured. The paper says the sentence is believed to be the longest given to a killer of his age and quotes the judge as saying it’s unlikely he will ever be released.
The Daily Express quotes the parents of the victims calling Rudakubana “pure evil” and saying they have been left with “shattered souls.”
The i says Rudakubana would have killed all 26 children in the class and it was only because of the bravery of the other children and adults present that he was stopped. The paper quotes one 14-year-old survivor saying: “I knew I was running for my life. I needed to try to get everyone to safety… a room full of defenceless children”.
The Guardian says at the sentencing it had emerged that two years before the attack his parents called the police four times in six months asking for help. The paper says that on one occasion he was caught on the bus with a blade but instead of detaining him, officers took him home and told his mother to keep knives out of his reach.
Storm Éowyn, last night’s Manchester United Europa League win and the sentencing of Axel Rudakubana leads social media.
A Chinese court has sentenced Zhou Jiasheng, 52, to death for a knife attack that injured a Japanese mother and her child and claimed the life of a Chinese woman
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has raised its short-term policy rate to “around 0.5%,” marking its highest level in 17 years. This decision follows December’s inflation surge, with core consumer
A statue of Captain James Cook in Sydney has been defaced with red paint and damaged, just days before the Australia Day weekend. Police have launched an investigation into the
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has been elected taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland for the second time, following intense debates in the Dáil (Ireland’s lower house of Parliament). The Dáil
President Donald Trump has called on Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations to reduce oil prices, warning that high costs are prolonging the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Speaking at the World Economic
A rapidly growing wildfire, known as the Hughes Fire, is threatening communities about 45 miles north of Los Angeles. The blaze has already consumed over 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares), forcing
Dollar falls after Trump calls for lower interest rates
Rachel Reeves backtracks on Autumn Budget non-dom tax changes 📃 Rachel Reeves has confirmed she will alter some of the more controversial non-dom reforms announced in the Autumn Budget. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Chancellor committed to tabling an amendment to the Finance Bill removing some of the most contentious elements of its changes to non-dom taxation.
Consumer confidence in the health of the UK economy slumped in January, pointing to further headwinds in the coming months.
A net -34 of respondents to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) latest sentiment monitor said that the economy would get worse over the next three months, down from -27 in December.
This put confidence in the health of the economy at its lowest level since the BRC started collecting data on the topic in March 2024.
The survey comes after a succession of disappointing data releases, which indicate that the economy slowed significantly in the second half of last year.
https://www.cityam.com/uk-economy-consumers-catch-january-blues-as-confidence-slumps/
The government’s tax hikes pose a “major threat” to the health of the labour market, a leading economist has warned, as markets prepare for the latest jobs market figures.
The labour market has been a key source of strength for the UK economy, with continued high employment helping to sustain strong levels of wage growth over the past couple of years.
Many forecasts for 2025 assume that the continued resilience of the labour market will ensure that economic growth accelerates compared to last year.
But economists are worried that measures announced in the government’s maiden Budget will threaten the health of the labour market.
https://www.cityam.com/rachel-reeves-tax-hikes-pose-major-threat-to-uk-labour-market-resilience/
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