Author: UK News

Ukraine war led my son to join the army, says defence secretary The defence secretary has revealed his son joined the army as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying the conflict is now “personal”. John Healey said his son’s decision to join the British army reservists has allowed him to better understand the real-life impact of decisions he may make in a ministerial capacity. He said: “It weighs heavily on me as defence secretary, knowing that if we face conflict, it will be my decision to send British forces and personnel into situations which put them at risk.…

Angela Rayner opens door to four-day working week in local councils The government has dropped official opposition to the introduction of a four-day working week by a local council: a move which could pave the way for other local authorities to do the same. The previous Conservative government objected to the plan by South Cambridgeshire District Council after it was introduced in 2023. But local government secretary Angela Rayner has criticised the previous administration for “micromanaging” local authorities over the policy. The four-day working week continued past the end of its trial period in March this year as the council…

NHS crisis ‘a million times worse’ than under Tony Blair, former health secretary warns The NHS is “drinking in the last-chance saloon”, Labour’s top health adviser and a former health secretary has warned, saying it must stop asking for more money. Alan Milburn, who was a minister under Tony Blair, said the service needs radical reform rather than more cash, calling for an end to what he said was a “more, more, more culture”. He called for clinics to be paid for keeping people healthy and out of hospital in an attempt to improve both care and efficiency. It comes…

Thousands of farmers to descend on London as Met Police gives green light Thousands of farmers are set to descend on London later this month in protest against the government’s extension of inheritance tax, after the Metropolitan Police gave the march the green light. There has been a growing backlash from the farming community following the decision to extend the duty to cover agricultural properties, with National Farmers’ Union (NFU) chief Tom Bradshaw warning that the government should be prepared for a “militant” response from farmers. The demonstration has been organised alongside a NFU lobbying event, after the union told…

Kate Middleton news: Princess of Wales joins King at major Remembrance event after cancer treatment The Princess of Wales has taken a significant step in her gradual return to public royal duties by attending the Festival of Remembrance. Joined by the Prince of Wales, her presence at the event comes after Prince William spoke candidly spoke of how 2024 has been “brutal” and “probably been the hardest year in my life”. The pair, both wearing poppies, were seen in conversation after taking their seats next to each other at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening. Asked by reporters how…

Man threatened by crossbow suspect ‘who may be behind two previous attacks’ | UK News Police are looking for a suspect who threatened a man with a crossbow and may have been behind two previous attacks. The man was walking along Alfred Street in Bow, east london, between 12pm and 12.30pm on Monday October 21 when he was approached by another man. The other man became verbally aggressive before threatening him with a crossbow. He then left the scene. The victim was ‘shaken’ but not hurt during the incident, said the Metropolitan Police. The force has released a CCTV image…

Princess of Wales joins King for Remembrance event The Princess of Wales has taken a significant step in her gradual return to public royal duties by attending the Festival of Remembrance. Joined by the Prince of Wales and King Charles, her presence at the Royal British Legion event comes after William spoke candidly of how 2024 has been “brutal” and “probably the hardest year in my life”. William and Kate, both wearing poppies, applauded a performance by Sir Tom Jones – who sang I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall with the central band of the Royal Air Force.…

Nine pets killed and 22 road accidents counted in fox cub-hunt season Nine pets were killed and 22 road-traffic accidents were recorded by anti-fox hunting activists in the last three months. Hunts and hounds also caused hundreds of cases of “hunt havoc” and at least 106 foxes were chased, according to a tally of reports by hunt opponents during fox cub hunting season, which ran from 1 August to 31 October. Hunt havoc is when riders or hounds disturb or obstruct the public, such as hounds running loose on roads and disrupting traffic, running onto railway lines, chasing farm animals…

Tesco faces £1bn national insurance hike amid price rise fears Tesco is facing a £1billion increase in national insurance after Rachel Reeves hiked employer contributions by 1.2 percentage points, reports suggest. The bill for Tesco, which employs 300,000 people in the UK and expects operating profits of £2.9billion this year, is based on an analysis by Morgan Stanley, according to the Sunday Times. It comes after the bosses of Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons detailed the rises they are facing, which add up to a combined £1.3billion over the course of this parliament. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is hoping to raise an extra…

Popular cold medications don’t work, say experts, as US considers ban A pharmacy drugs expert says many popular cold and flu remedies should be banned because they are a waste of money. It comes as as the American Food and Drug Administration wants to stop phenylephrine, which is widely used in cough and cold medicines from being sold in the US. The ingredient is in some of the best-selling remedies such as Sudafed, Benadryl, Lemsip and Beechams. Hisham Al-Obaidi, a pharmacy lecturer at the University of Reading and an ambulance service advanced pharmacist practitioner, said phenylephrine hydrochloride had minimal activity when taken orally. “Although it is absorbed into…

NHS is drinking in ‘last chance saloon’, says Labour health advisor The NHS has been warned it is “drinking in the last chance saloon” and must end its culture of asking for more money, by Labour’s top health advisor. In the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced what she called the biggest real-terms increase in day-to-day NHS spending since 2010 – outside the Covid pandemic – providing £22.6 billion for the health service along with another £3.1 billion of capital investment. Alan Milburn, former secretary of state for health who had success slashing waiting times under Tony Blair, will return in…

Met Police refers itself to watchdog over Mohamed Al Fayed allegations Scotland Yard has referred itself to a police watchdog after two women complained about how their cases against Mohamed Al Fayed were handled. According to the Metropolitan Police, the two women raised concerns about the quality of police response and, in the case of the 2013 investigation, how details came to be disclosed publicly. Commander Stephen Clayman, from the Met’s Specialist Crime team, said: “We are actively reviewing 21 allegations reported to the Metropolitan Police prior to Mohamed Al Fayed’s passing, as well as the related police investigations, to…

Severed arm and leg found hidden in bushes near prison | UK News A severed arm and leg have been found hidden in bushes near a prison in Thamesmeade, it has been reported. The human remains were found by a member of the public on Sewell Road and Eastern Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. This is just a short walk away from HMP Isis, which also holds young offenders. The Metropolitan Police confirmed ‘enquiries are ongoing’. They said: ‘Police were called at 12:36hrs on Wednesday, 6 November to reports of suspected human remains/bones at Sewell Road, Thamesmead. ‘A cordon has been…

Man who cleaned London Underground seats reveals how dirty they really are | UK News A man who voluntarily cleaned seats on the London Underground has revealed just how gross they are. Footage shows cleaner Steven James power washing chairs on the Northern line, before cutting to the water which was almost black with dirt. Steven, who goes by ‘Mr Carpet Clean’, said the dirt extracted was ‘vast’ and is a serious long term issue. He said: ‘We do this every day but that dirt was excessive. It is definitely up there with one of the worst we have seen.’…

10 best London deals – from £5 pizza to 50% off shuffleboard night out Looking for 10 things to do in London? Luckily, there’s lots to do in this city for cheap! At least… There is now. Metro has teamed up with Time Out to bring you the best deals across the capital. Every Friday, 10 new deals will drop, available in the Metro newspaper, on Metro.co.uk, and on our socials. You’ll also find them in our weekly London newsletter, The Slice, in your inbox every Wednesday. We’ve got an exclusive menu of the finest Northern Italian delights with rooftop views for £29, freshly…

Full list of TfL messages you can hear on the London Underground | UK News Footage has emerged of maintenance workers at a London Underground station that has left one or two people a little unnerved. Titled ‘Coming to a station near you’, the video post on Reddit shows men in orange high vis casually walking along the platform during an alarm test for if there was an armed attack. TfL has had the warning – which tells people to get out immediately – for years, but the video has caused a ripple of fear. Here’s a handy guide to…

South London Greggs bans customers from wearing headphones in store | UK News A Greggs outlet in south London has said they will refuse to serve customers who are wearing headphones. Staff at the bakery in Croydon, South London, put up a notice to customers who are listening to music or on calls when they order. The notice read: ‘When in queue, remove your headphone/AirPods and come off phones or we may have to refuse service.’ A staff member at the branch told The Sun: ‘The sign is pretty blunt but we have no option. We get more and more…

Map shows location of potentially deadly mpox strain in UK | UK News The second and third cases of the Clade Ib mpox virus have been detected. The two new cases are household contacts of the first case recorded in the UK, who contracted the virus after returning from a holiday in Africa on October 21. They are both receiving specialist care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, said: ‘Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further…

Filmmaker to ‘remake’ hit film 34 years later after admitting he was ‘wrong’ The producer behind hit 1990 film The Krays has said he regrets ‘glamourising’ the East End gangsters in his film 34 years ago and is setting out to revisit the criminals in a new movie. Ray Burdis has now vowed to show the London mobsters, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, as they really were. The Krays – which starred real-life brothers and Spandau Ballet stars Gary and Martin Kemp as the notorious Kray twins – portrayed its titular subjects as ‘special boys’ who were close to their mother.…

Inside the £995,000 London home where Star Wars icon grew up When you move into a house, you might find yourself imagining the people who lived there before you – who they were, what they loved, and how they spent their years inside the four walls of your new home. But there’s one £995,000 home that’s come onto the market in South London that leaves no doubt as to the identity of its previous inhabitant. Any longstanding fan of the legendary Star Wars franchise will know Peter Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin, for which he was nominated for the…

Gang on bikes who snatched phones worth £20,000 jailed | UK News Highlight the bias, if any in the title by underlining the biased words or phrase in the original title Three e-bike riding thieves who snatched £20,000 worth of phones from pedestrians in London have been sentenced. Kie Joyce, 21, and a 16-year-old boy who can’t be named for legal reasons, werejailed for three and a half years and six months respectively, while another 16-year-old boy, who also can’t be named, was handed a supervision order. CCTV footage of the trio swiping phones from people in Greenwich and Bermondsey…

London Underground November 2024 Tube strikes suspended | UK News Londoners can let out a sigh of relief after all the upcoming Tube strikes have been called off by Aslef. It comes after the RMT union had already called off its walk-out which would have impacted Tube travel this week after reaching an agreement over pay. Now the drivers’ union Aslef has also cancelled its industrial action which was set to paralyse the Underground tomorrow and Tuesday. Aslef’s full-time organiser Finn Brennan said it agreed to suspend the planned strike action ‘following fresh talks and an improved offer.’ Claire Mann, TfL’s…

EU leaders tell Trump to stand up to ‘bully’ Putin as Starmer is warned Britain can’t rely on US for defence Sir Keir Starmer and fellow European leaders have urged Donald Trump to stand up to the “bully” Vladimir Putin as they digest the potential consequences of the historic Republican election victory in the US. Volodymyr Zelensky made a desperate appeal at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Budapest for leaders to continue their support for Ukraine in its war with Russia amid fears that Mr Trump will try to force a deal involving concessions. It came as Sir…

Father and son jailed for murder plot after hiring ‘female assassin in hijab disguise’ A father and son who hired a hijab-wearing female assassin to carry out a gun attack have been jailed after their assassination plot was bungled. Mohammed Aslam, 58, and Mohammed Nabil Nazir, 30, from Derby, orchestrated the attack on a rival family in September 2019. The suspected would-be killer, a US woman identified during the trial as Aimee Betro, threatened Sikander Ali with a gun and tried to shoot him at a range of six to seven yards but the pistol jammed, allowing him to flee…

Labour minister struggles to name any benefits of Trump election win A Labour minister struggled to name any benefits of Donald Trump returning to the White House in an awkward Question Time grilling. The Minister for Industry, Sara Jones was asked about the Republican’s historic win repeatedly by host Fiona Bruce when she appeared on the show on Thursday evening (7 November). Discussing trade between the UK and the US, the BBC host stepped in to tell her: “None of that is specific to Trump?” Ms Bruce added: “Can you not think of any benefits?” https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/trump-labour-minister-question-time-fiona-bruce-b2643579.html