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UK News
Knifepoint robberies have decreased by 20% in hotspot areas across the UK, including London, compared to June 2024, according to Home Office data. This decline coincides with National Knife Crime Awareness week and the bi-annual Operation Sceptre, which has led to 243 arrests and the seizure of 159 knives this year.
Janice Nix, 67, has been convicted of manslaughter for scalding her five-year-old stepdaughter, Andrea Bernard, in a hot bath at their Thornton Heath home in 1978. The case, reopened after testimony from Andrea’s brother in 2022, revealed a history of abuse and trauma. Nix will be sentenced later.
South Western Railway has cancelled several services due to smoke reported on tracks between London Waterloo and Vauxhall, with safety inspections prompting delays on other lines. Commuters face disruptions as temperatures rise to 34°C, marking an unprecedented heat for May.
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The Friday newspaper front pages won’t be an easy read for the prime minister this morning, as they react to his U-turn on his highly controversial welfare cuts.
Many of the papers had gone to print before the watered-down bill was confirmed. They acknowledge that the prime minister offered the more than 120 Labour rebels ‘concessions’ but did not know the details.
Beyond welfare cuts, the rest of the papers are made up of a mix of different headlines from ongoing coverage of the US bombing of Iran to the UK and France agreeing on a migrant returns deal.
Labour rebels win as Starmer backs down over benefit cuts – UK second heatwave this weekend – Pound hits four-year high | What Happened Today
Friday’s headlines are dominated by the embarrassing U-turn from the prime minister over benefit cuts. More than 120 Labour MPs were mounting a rebellion over Starmer’s heavy cuts to welfare, which the government’s assessment said could end up pushing 250,000 people into poverty, including children. The PM’s desire to slash the ballooning welfare bill is a bid to save around £5bn a year. But it had caused massive upset as the most vulnerable were facing losing key benefits, including disabled people.
The government confirmed the climbdown will mean those currently receiving PIP or the health elements of Universal Credit will continue to do so, and instead, the planned cuts will only hit future claimants.
The vote will proceed as planned on Tuesday in the Commons and is expected to pass.
Amber health alerts have been issued for parts of England as temperatures are set to rise above 30C, in the second UK heatwave in June this year – don’t forget your sunscreen!
Elsewhere, the news that the pound briefly hit its highest level against the dollar for almost four years after markets were unnerved by a report that Trump could bring forward the naming of a new head of the US central bank.
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