Author: News Desk

UK politics live: No 10 rejects new accusations over Taylor Swift ticket and police escort row Downing Street has rejected suggestions that Sir Keir Starmer received free Taylor Swift tickets as a “thank you” after she was given taxpayer-funded police security while performing in London. No 10 would not say whether the prime minister was confident that perceptions of a conflict of interest had been avoided but insisted “operational decisions” were “ultimately” up to Scotland Yard and not the government. Last week it emerged that London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper were involved in talks around the…

Sara Sharif murder trial latest: Schoolgirl’s head ‘covered with homemade hood’ in weeks before death Sara Sharif’s head was covered with “homemade hoods” made of plastic bags and parcel tape in the weeks before her death, a court has heard on the second day of her murder trial. The Old Bailey also heard on Tuesday that fingerprints allegedly belonging to the 10-year-old’s father, Urfan Sharif, were found on one of the bags and a bit of parcel tape. Earlier, jurors were told neighbour Chloe Redwin, who used to live above the family at a previous address in 2020, would hear…

Donald Tusk’s proposal for a “temporary territorial suspension of the right to asylum” has drawn criticism from Brussels. Brussels has informed Warsaw that suspending the right to asylum violates EU law The European Commission reminded Poland that it must uphold its obligations under EU and international law to guarantee access to the asylum process in all cases. Tusk defended the plan, set to be announced on Tuesday, as a necessary response to migration pressures orchestrated by Russia and Belarus since August 2021. While border crossings have risen recently, they remain below the levels seen during the height of the crisis.…

Australia to Protect 52% of its Oceans, More Than Any Other Country Over 10,000 square miles of additional protected area will be added to the Heard and McDonald Islands in Australia’s far southern territorial waters. Coupled with other expansions of existing marine sanctuaries, it puts Australia on course to have 52% of its ocean territory protected, more than any other nation, by the end of the current administration’s term. “This is not just a huge environmental win for Australia, it’s a huge environmental win for the world,” said Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. “This is a unique and extraordinary part of our…

UK inflation expected to fall below two per cent target UK inflation out this week is tipped to fall below the Bank of England’s two per cent target for the first time in more than three years, according to economists. Official data from the Office for National Statistics, due to be released on Wednesday, is expected to show annual consumer price inflation fell to 1.9 per cent in September from 2.2 per cent in August. That would be the first time inflation has fallen below target since April 2021, and will likely add to calls for UK ratesetters to lower…

Wage growth eases again in boost for rate cut hopes Wage growth eased in line with expectations, new figures show, helping to pave the way for further interest rate cuts this year. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), pay growth excluding bonuses eased to 4.9 per cent in the three months to August, down from 5.1 per cent previously. This was in line with expectations and the slowest rate of pay growth since June 2022. Including bonuses, annual wage growth fell to 3.8 per cent, down from 4.0 per cent and slightly ahead of the 3.7 per cent…

Ministers refuse to rule out hike to employer national insurance rate The Chancellor and business secretary have again refused to rule out a hike employers’ National Insurance (NI) contributions in the upcoming Budget when speaking on the sidelines of the government’s investment summit today. Speaking exclusively to City AM on the question of whether Labour would increase employers’ NI, Jonathan Reynolds stressed: “I think the manifesto commitments about the taxes on working people were absolutely clear. “I think our commitments on corporation tax and the business taxation roadmap were absolutely clear.” Labour has come under pressure in recent weeks to…

Reeves hails £63bn boost for Britain at flagship investment summit Ministers have hailed £63bn worth of investment into the UK that was unveiled at the government’s investment summit in the City today. The figure, which includes a number of investment projects announced in recent weeks, covers a range of industries and sectors from clean energy, life sciences, data centres and aviation. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer began the high-powered summit with a speech to CEOs and investors in which he deployed the word ‘growth’ a total of 24 times. “I am determined to do everything in my power to galvanise…

Trending News Inspiration Papers News that Matters Impact on your life Good News Watch: Inquiry into Novichok poisoning of Dawn Sturgess begins Pep Guardiola approached over England job but has four other options Vladimir Putin ordered Novichok attack on my life, Salisbury victim Sergei Skripal tells Dawn Sturgess inquiry Afghan special forces to be brought to Britain as minister finally admits troops were employed by UK Previous Next Previous Next CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism Read More Donald Trump will be mad if you retweet this video that’s going viral right now following Kamala Harris’s decision to go on Fox News…

A cloudy start for many, with drizzle over the hills. Some bright or sunny spells developing at times through the day. The increasing risk of heavy showery rain in the south and west though the evening. Warm in the south. TONIGHT: Outbreaks of heavy and perhaps thundery rain will push north and eastwards across the UK through the evening and overnight. A mild night to come. Source: Met Office