Author: UK News

Bibby Stockholm: Asylum seekers to be returned to migrant barge Migrants are set to be sent back to the Bibby Stockholm barge off England’s south coast. The Home Office says it has begun notifying asylum seekers that they would be moved back to the barge “following the vessel completing all necessary tests”. In August, 39 men were moved onto the vessel but were later removed when the Legionella bacteria was detected. Portland Labour councillor Paul Kimber said “people are being told from today onwards they will be trying to get people on board. “As you can imagine a lot of…

More than 10 Britons feared dead or missing in Israel-Gaza attacks An official UK source has told the BBC that more than 10 British citizens are feared dead or missing in Israel after the weekend’s attack by Hamas. So far, two Britons – Nathanael Young and Bernard Cowan – have been confirmed dead. According to the BBC, photographer Dan Darlington’s family believe he is dead whilst another Briton, Jake Marlowe, is missing. A pro-Palestianian demonstration took place near the Israeli embassy in west London. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak showed his support at a synagogue whilst a vigil for victims was…

Today’s news summary – Paper Talk Most of Monday’s front pages continue the coverage of the Hamas attack on Israel. Militants have killed an estimated 600 people and kidnapped around 100. The attack has drew widespread condemnation from political leaders. Paper Talk: ‘bloodiest day of terror in 50 years’ The Daily Mail has photos of some of the Israeli civilians who have been kidnapped, including two mothers and their kids. An 84-year-old woman has also been kidnapped. The paper headlines its front page: “pawns of merciless terrorists.” The Daily Express leads with images of buildings on fire in Gaza, surrounded…

Revealed: Desperate last voice note of British citizen feared abducted in Israel music festival horror The Independent says A British citizen feared abducted by Hamas militants to Gaza said he was trying to evacuate people on a quad bike in a last desperate voice message sent as gunmen stormed the Israeli festival where he was working. Jake Marlowe, 26, a carpenter by trade, was employed as a security guard at the Nova music festival just six kilometres east of Gaza, which was in full swing Saturday when Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in decades. He is among dozens…

UK races to establish status of British nationals in Israel after Hamas attack The Independent says The Government is working to establish the status of UK citizens in Israel after a British man serving in the country’s army was killed during attacks by Hamas. Rishi Sunak condemned the incursion as an “appalling act of terror” as the death toll climbed to at least 700 on Sunday night. Among those killed was 20-year-old Nathanel Young, a Briton serving in the Israeli Defence Services who died on the Gaza border on Saturday. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/israel-palestine-conflict-british-nationals-rishi-sunak-b2426350.html View this post on Instagram A post shared by…

Labour’s Rachel Reeves to set out plan to recover Covid fraud billions The Labour Party has said if they win the next general election, a Labour government would create an anti-corruption commissioner to recoup billions of pounds lost to fraud and waste during the pandemic. Rachel Reeves will set out the plan in her speech at Labour’s conference on Monday. She is expected to put the cost to the taxpayer of Covid fraud at £7.2bn. Reeves, the shadow chancellor, will also pledge to speed up the planning process for critical infrastructure if the party comes to power. Labour’s proposal to…

HS2 services to Manchester may run slower than normal trains The Guardian says Journeys from London to Manchester that use the new HS2 line as far as Birmingham could run slower as they continue north than existing services, and with less capacity, rail experts have warned. And in a blow to Rishi Sunak’s plan to spend the money saved by scrapping HS2 north of Birmingham on other transport projects, the Observer has seen invoices suggesting the government will have to spend more than £1bn on work relating to the part of the line now terminated. There is now concern among…

Transport for London had to refund more than £10,000 in fines.

No more A-Levels? PM Sunak unveils plan to overhaul British education system at the Tory Party conference in Manchester

The Thursday letters page suggests that episodic gaming should make a return, as one reader asks for help running a PS2 on a modern TV.

A new poll found a majority of voters want to see the Prime Minister doing more to tackle his main priorities

A young boy and a man in his 50s have been injured after the lightning strike at The Sele School in Hertford.

Football fan charged with ‘taunting’ Sunderland fans with pic of Bradley Lowery in Today’s News Briefing. Today’s News Briefing Headlines: – Football fan charged with ‘taunting’ Sunderland fans with pic of Bradley Lowery Rishi Sunak unloads on his ‘extreme’ Net Zero critics – Murcia: Deadly nightclub fire in Spain kills at least 13 Taylor Swift Brings Her Squad to Cheer on Travis Kelce at NFL Game at MetLife Stadium

Elianne Andam: Boy, 17, charged with murder of schoolgirl in Croydon A boy, 17, has been arrested and charged with the murder of the school girl Elianne Andam, 15, who was stabbed to death on her way to school in Croydon, south London. The teenager will appear in youth court later, sitting at Croydon Magistrates’ Court. A vigil was held on Thursday evening on Wellesley Road. Met Police have said a knife has been recovered in nearby Cedar Road. The boy was known to Elianne. He has also been charged with possession of a knife. Elianne had just got off…

GB News boss ‘appalled’ by Laurence Fox comments The boss of GB News has said Laurence Fox’s comments about a female journalist were “way past the limits of acceptance” and should have been challenged by the host Dan Wootton.  Angelos Frangopoulos told the BBC he was “appalled” by the remarks. Fox and Wootton have been suspended and GB News is now being investigated after Ofcom received thousands of complaints. What did Laurence Fox say? When discussing an earlier interview on PoliticsLive featuring political journalist Ava Evans, Laurence Fox made vile comments about Evans’ appearance because he didn’t agree with her…

Rishi Sunak could limit 20mph zones to target driver vote PM Rishi Sunak is set to unveil new policies at drivers in the upcoming Tory Party Conference in Manchester. The measures could include a possible ban on councils in England imposing 20mph speed limits on main roads. The Tories have started setting out their policy programme ahead of next year’s general election. But the car-friendly policies have angered campaigners. A spokeswoman for the charity Sustrans said: “Divisive grandstanding in this way, introducing a package of bizarre measures to indulge a loud minority, takes us away from sensible discussions about making…

Train strikes could continue into Christmas, as fresh disruption begins Train strikes could run into the Christmas period, the leader of the train drivers’ union has said. Aslef’s Mick Whelan told the BBC he did not believe the government or industry wanted a resolution. A new wave of strike action begins on Friday in Aslef’s long-running pay dispute. The Rail Delivery Group, which represents the train companies, said its offer remained on the table. More than a dozen train companies will be affected by strike action on Saturday, and on Wednesday, 4 October. The strike dates bookend the Tory Party…

Today’s news summary – Paper Talk Paper Talk: Higher taxes are here to stay and tributes to teen stabbing victim Friday’s front pages report on a variety of stories. There are reports on the upcoming Conservative Party Conference and what measures the PM will announce – which will likely set the new election battle line. There are tributes to the teen who was stabbed to death on her way to her school. The teen’s name and picture have been released and it’s believed she was trying to protect a friend who was arguing with an ex-boyfriend. Elsewhere, many papers lead…

UK to build £85m laser ‘billion times’ brighter than Sun The UK will build the world’s most powerful laser, which will be a ‘million, billion, billion times brighter’ than the Sun. The £85 million investment is expected to revolutionise scientific research and lead to new discoveries in areas such as clean energy and cancer treatment. The ‘Vulcan 20-20 laser’ is being built at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Central Laser Facility (CLF) in Oxfordshire. The Vulcan laser will be 100 times brighter than its predecessor and exponentially brighter than the Sahara Desert’s brightest sunlight. ‘Reestablishing Britain as home…

Laurence Fox: Ava Evans hits out at ‘antiquated’ approach at GB News after ‘unacceptable’ comments Sky News says The female journalist who was the subject of “unacceptable” comments about her appearance on GB News has hit out at the channel’s “antiquated” approach. Speaking on Dan Wootton Tonight on Tuesday, actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox made a series of remarks about Ava Evans, including: “Who would want to shag that?” GB News apologised in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, a few hours later and said it has launched an investigation. Presenter Wootton, who appeared to laugh during some of the segment,…

Who is Ava Evans? The political journalist targeted by Laurence Fox’s ‘incel’ comments The Metro says Ava Evans known as Ava Santina on X, formerly Twitter, is the political journalist at the centre of Laurence Fox’s ‘sick’ rant on Tuesday’s GB News. The broadcaster is investigating the ‘totally unacceptable’ comments made by the 45-year-old, who was formerly an actor before being dropped by his agent over comments about racism. During the awful rant, made on Dan Wootton’s Tonight show on Tuesday (September 26), Fox described Joe political correspondent Ava Evans as a ‘little woman’ and added: ‘Who would want to…

Laurence Fox: GB News launches investigation after ‘inappropriate’ comments about Ava Evans The Guardian says GB News has issued an apology and launched an investigation after it aired “totally inappropriate” comments by the actor and Reclaim party founder, Laurence Fox, about the journalist Ava Evans. Fox made a series of derogatory comments about Evans, a political correspondent for online news site Joe, during an interview with presenter Dan Wootton on Tuesday night. Evans posted the clip of the segment to X, formerly known as Twitter, with the comment: “Laurence Fox just did a whole speech on GB News on why…

BBC outlines new rules for presenters after Gary Lineker row The BBC has outlined new rules for its flagship presenters following a row over Gary Lineker’s social media posts.  The BBC report says that high-profile BBC presenters should be allowed to express their views on issues and policies but stop short of political campaigning. It comes after a review into BBC social media guidelines was published by former ITN boss John Hardie. The flagship programmes include Match of the Day, which Lineker presents, plus The Apprentice with Alan Sugar. There will be “a particular responsibility to respect the BBC’s impartiality,…

Labour drops plan to strip public schools of charitable status Labour’s plans to end the charitable status for private schools has been dropped by the party, but they say they will still remove other tax breaks if they were to win the next general election. The charitable status exempts some private schools in England and Wales from taxes.  Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had previously said that charitable status for private schools could not be justified. The party now says it can remove “unfair tax breaks” without changing the rules on charitable status. There are about 2,500 private schools in…

Boy, 17, held over girl stabbed to death on bus in Croydon A 15-year-old girl was stabbed to death on a bus on her way to school on Wednesday. She has been described as “jovial” and “comedic” and was a “much-loved” girl with a “bright future.” A 17-year-old boy is being questioned by cops in relation to the stabbing death. A witness said the girl was stabbed in the neck with a foot-long knife. The boy was arrested around an hour later, he was roughly five miles away. The boy is believed to be known to the victim. Flowers and…