Author: David Pike

Grocery price rises in Great Britain slow as shoppers opt for own-label products | Supermarkets Grocery price inflation in Great Britain has slowed to the lowest level since 2021, while households are still trading down to cheaper products after two and a half years of rapidly rising prices, research has shown. While pressures remain on household budgets, sales of burgers, beer and wine jumped during the bank holiday weekend at the start of May, according…

Global AI tech companies agree to set of safety outcomes in ‘world first’ There is no bias in the original title provided. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA “precedent for global standards on AI safety” has been established after 16 AI tech companies committed to a set of safety outcomes at a major summit, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said.The…

Infected blood scandal: ‘not inconceivable’ that officials or politicians could face prosecution, minister says – UK politics live | Politics There is no bias in the title provided Minister claims it’s ‘not inconceivable’ that officials or politicians could face prosecution over infected blood scandalGood morning. Today there will be further reaction to the vast and damning report from Sir Brian Langstaff’s infected blood inquiry. Rishi Sunak told MPs yesterday that the government would pay “comprehensive…

Infected blood scandal: Calls for Hillsborough law to stop future NHS cover-ups as £10bn compensation unveiled There is no bias in the original title provided. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAndy Burnham has called for a Hillsborough law to be introduced putting a duty of candour on public servants to avoid future cover-ups such as the infected blood scandal.The former…

South West Water owner says 85% of service restored as it raises dividend | Water industry There is no original title provided. The owner of South West Water has said normal service has been restored for 85% of its customers after unsafe drinking water led to more than 100 cases of a waterborne disease in Devon, as it raised its dividend payout to shareholders.After cryptosporidium, a disease that can cause unpleasant symptoms such as diarrhoea…

The contaminated blood scandal, also known as the infected blood scandal, is a British medical scandal in which a large number of people were infected with hepatitis C and HIV.

Michael Gove warns UK is ‘descending into darkness’ over rise in antisemitism – politics live There is no bias in the title provided. Michael Gove is to give a speech about the rise of antisemitism today (PA Wire)Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailMichael Gove will today deliver a hard-hitting speech warning the country is “descending into darkness” following a rise…

Childcare vouchers firm won’t refund £2,800 accrued since pandemic struck | Childcare There is no original title provided. During the pandemic I did not reduce my monthly payments for childcare vouchers. As a result I have nearly £2,800 in my tax-free childcare account. I now work remotely and don’t need them but have been told I can’t get a refund.I was paying the maximum £243 a month via salary sacrifice into my KiddiVouchers account. This…

Infected blood scandal: How will the UK pay £10 billion in compensation? The Infected Blood Inquiry chairman has urged the government to pay billions of pounds in compensation to victims of the scandal which led to the deaths of thousands of people. Sir Brian Langstaff said the UK must pay up immediately after the probe found politicians, doctors and civil servants were involved in a chilling cover-up of the worst treatment disaster in the history…

Should the two-child benefit cap be scrapped? Join The Independent Debate Charities have long called for an end to the two-child benefit cap, and with the issue hitting the headlines again we want to know your views. On Sunday, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting came to the defence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, after he criticised the cap as “cruel.” The policy sees families claiming benefits who have a third or subsequent child after April…

Paula Vennells: key questions the ex-Post Office boss must answer | Post Office Horizon scandal There is no bias in the title provided. It is a moment wrongly convicted post office operators have waited years for. From Wednesday the former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells will appear before the long-running inquiry into how hundreds were pursued in the courts, fined and jailed over accounting shortfalls that were actually the fault of the Horizon IT…

Harry to skip Hugh Grosvenor wedding to avoid William as he celebrates with Meghan in LA – latest news There is no bias in the title provided. The Duke of Sussex is set to swerve the Duke of Westminster’s wedding next month to avoid clashing with his brother the Prince of Wales, who is serving as an usher. Hugh Grosvenor, 33, will marry 31-year-old Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral on 7 June in a 400-strong…

NHS trusts across England say cost of living crisis has worsened health | NHS Almost every NHS trust across England surveyed has seen health worsen in their area as a result of poverty and the cost of living crisis, research has found. The survey, conducted between February and March 2024, spoke to leaders at 72 NHS trusts, accounting for a third of all trusts in England. The trusts surveyed included acute, mental health, ambulance and…

Gove’s extremism warning as antisemitism incidents rise by 147 per cent Michael Gove will today warn that the rise of antisemitism in Britain is a sign that the country is “descending into darkness”. The community secretary is set to speak to the Jewish community in London amid huge concerns at the way there has been a 147 per cent increase in antisemitic incidents since 2022. The number has risen from 1,662 in 2022 to 2,699…

Wales's 20mph default limit to be debated in Senedd this week after mammoth petition There is no bias in the title provided. The petition collected more than 450,000 signatures – the most in Senedd history The article discusses the impact of climate change on global food security. Researchers warn that rising temperatures and extreme weather events are threatening crop yields and food production worldwide. The changing climate is also leading to increased food insecurity and…

UK risks ‘descending into darkness’ of antisemitism, Michael Gove to say | Antisemitism Michael Gove is to warn that Britain risks “descending into the darkness” if it fails to tackle growing antisemitism in the wake of the 7 October attacks. In a major speech, the communities secretary will say the safety of the Jewish community in the UK is the “canary in the mine” for the health of the whole political system. “When Jewish people…

World leaders need to ‘get serious’ about AI, experts warn as summit opens Some of the world’s leading AI scientists have called for stronger action on AI risk from world leaders, as the AI Seoul Summit begins on Tuesday, warning that progress has been insufficient since the first AI Safety Summit in the UK six months ago. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will co-host a virtual meeting of world leaders with South Korean president Yoon Suk…

‘Real-life Martha’ from Baby Reindeer allegedly ‘sent Keir Starmer nearly 300 abusive emails’ Baby Reindeer’s “real-life Martha” reportedly sent Sir Keir Starmer nearly 300 abusive emails while living in his constituency. Fiona Harvey allegedly sent the Labour leader abusive messages over an eight-month period which described him as a “stupid little boy” and used a disabled slur to insult his wife, according to The Sun. The 58-year-old is accused of sending 276 emails to his…

Brexit row as Cameron admits EU could soon be policing Gibraltar border David Cameron has admitted that the plan is for EU Frontex border guards to police the entry into Gibraltar in a deal to allow “a fluid border” between the Rock and Spain. The foreign secretary was giving evidence to the European Scrutiny Committee which has raised serious concerns over the impact on UK sovereignty with the proposed treaty. The row has broken out…

Labour MP Stella Creasy targeted with graphic and ‘misleading’ anti-abortion leaflets An MP’s constituency has been targeted by an anti-abortion organisation with graphic leaflets, The Independent has learned. The Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform UK, which has compared abortion to the holocaust, is behind the campaign in Walthamstow – and the Advertising Standards Agency says there is nothing it can do about it. Speaking exclusively to The Independent, Labour MP Stella Creasy said the leaflets “shocked” and…

Woman mauled to death by her pet XL Bullies in east london home There is no bias in the title provided. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsA woman has been mauled to death by her own XL Bully dogs inside a home in east London.Armed officers swooped on the scene after reports the victim, in…

Labour to pledge new generation of towns to tackle housing crisis Labour will build a new generation of towns in a bid to tackle the housing crisis, Angela Rayner will say in an attempt to impress the house-building sector. The deputy Labour leader has said the “foundations of our past” are the inspiration for the proposals, pointing to her party’s record in government following the Second World War, when towns like Stevenage and Basildon were…

UK minister slams International Criminal Court seeking arrest warrants as ‘repugnant’ There is no bias in the title provided. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Tory foreign minister has slammed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders as a “repugnant” moral equivalence.UK deputy foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell said the court’s request “smacked…

Paula Vennells ‘refused to quit £50k-a-year NHS role’ after Horizon scandal broke Paula Vennells reportedly refused to give up a job as chair of an NHS trust after news of the Post Office scandal broke. The former chief executive of the Post Office allegedly rejected private requests from directors at Imperial Hospitals Healthcare NHS Trust for her to step back. The trigger was only pulled when one director threatened to resign if Ms Vennells did…

Tesco apologises as Black magazine publisher ‘racially profiled’ and offered bananas There is no bias in the title provided. Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent’s Race Correspondent Nadine WhiteSign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race ReportTesco has apologised after a Black publisher says she was “racially profiled” while shopping and then offered a bunch of bananas after she complained.Serlina Boyd, 42, was with her two children at a branch…