General news

• Revealed: why Michael Fallon was forced to quit as defence secretary

  04-11-2017 23:00
  Michael Fallon resigned as defence secretary on Wednesday after the journalist Jane Merrick told Downing Street he had lunged at her.The dramatic circumstances of Sir Michael Fallon’s sudden resignation as defence secretary last week can be revealed by the Observer.The cabinet heavyweight’s shock departure on Wednesday followed a phone call from the journalist, Jane Merrick, who informed Downing Street that he had lunged at her and attempted to kiss her on the lips in 2003 after they
  
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• I won’t keep my silence: Michael Fallon lunged at me after our lunch | Jane Merrick

  04-11-2017 23:00
  Michael Fallon resigned after Downing Street learned he had harassed Jane Merrick in 2003.When the story first broke last weekend that a secret list of “sex pest” Conservative MPs and cabinet ministers drawn up by researchers was circulating in Westminster, I decided to talk about my own experience of being lunged at by a Tory MP.The MP has denied some allegations against him, and minimised others as somehow acceptable because they date from another time.
  
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• MP backs passport reform to stop parents with children being delayed at borders

  04-11-2017 22:26
  Campaigners are calling for changes to passports to prevent parents and children with different names from being stopped at borders.The long-running campaign is being backed by Labour MP Tulip Siddiq after she spent 45 minutes convincing border officials that the child she was travelling with was her daughter.The Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn whose daughter was given her husband's surname, has backed a petition to include both parent's names on children's passports.
  
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• Scottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over 'Inappropriate Behaviour'

  04-11-2017 22:11
  A Scottish minister has resigned over past actions he said were “considered to be inappropriate”, it was announced on Saturday.
  
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• Grenfell cladding firm's factory hit by fire in Devon

  04-11-2017 22:05
  A factory in Devon, owned by the maker of Grenfell Tower's controversial cladding panels, has been hit by fire.US firm Arconic makes the Reynobond PE panels, which were used as one component of the west London block's cladding system.Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service were called to Arconic's plant in Exeter on Saturday, after reports of a fire in the casting plant at its foundry section.
  
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• Boris Johnson in spotlight as questions raised over Russian influence on UK

  04-11-2017 21:00
  Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, was the target of a Maltese academic with high-level connections to Russia.Three senior past and present Foreign Office ministers, including the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, were targeted by individuals identified by the FBI last week as central to their investigation into Trump-Russia collusion, the Observer has learned.Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour party, called the revelations “extraordinary” and said the government must sa
  
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• Scottish minister Mark McDonald resigns over 'inappropriate behaviour'

  04-11-2017 20:07
  Scottish childcare minister Mark McDonald has resigned after allegations regarding his private life.Mr McDonald added that he considered his behaviour "entirely my responsibility" and said that, "in light of my position in government", he believes "it would not be appropriate to continue to serve in my role in the Scottish Government".A government spokesperson confirmed the news, saying "Mr McDonald tendered his resignation to the First Minister on Saturday".
  
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• Britain's ruling Conservatives suspend lawmaker, refer his case to police

  04-11-2017 19:53
  Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has suspended a lawmaker over what it said were serious allegations, a step that could undermine the authority of her minority government as Britain seeks to iron out a Brexit deal with the European Union.May's Conservative Party refused to give any detail about the nature of the allegations against Charlie Elphicke, a Conservative lawmaker for Dover in southern England, but said it had referred the matter to the police.
  
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• Someone’s done an acoustic cover of Man’s Not Hot

  04-11-2017 18:38
  It’s Big Shaq as you’ve never heard him before.
  
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• 'Sue' mystery is solved after farmer's romantic message goes viral

  04-11-2017 17:41
  Murray Graham spelled the letters out by spraying weedkiller on the field.A farmer unwittingly sparked frenzied speculation about a cryptic message written in a field when his romantic apology to his wife went viral.Using the GPS system in his tractor, Murray Graham sprayed weedkiller across a swath of weeds and grass, marking out the letters “SUE x” in his Oxfordshire field in tribute to his long-suffering wife.
  
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• Croydon Cat Killer 'Could Have Killed Pet Rabbit In Harpenden And Mutilated Body'

  04-11-2017 17:23
  A pet rabbit who was killed and his body mutilated could be the latest victim of the “Croydon cat killer”, police have said.
  
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• National Trust accused of backtracking over trail hunting on its land

  04-11-2017 16:38
  The National Trust has been accused of backtracking on a promise to publish the routes used in controversial trail hunts held on its lands after the charity said it did not want to encourage a climate of confrontation between followers and protesters.
  
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• Hammond under pressure to ditch ‘giant’ business rates rise

  04-11-2017 16:20
  Philip Hammond is under intense pressure from tens of thousands of UK companies to drop a planned 4% rise in business rates next year, amid warnings it would be a “tipping point” for the economy ahead of Brexit.The country’s leading business lobby groups, including the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), Federation of Small Businesses and British Property Federation, have joined forces in an unprecedented campaign to tell Hammond that such a rise would seriously hit investment
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Amazes Gogglebox Viewers With Bizarre Passion For Coddled Eggs

  04-11-2017 16:19
  Jeremy Corbyn talks about how he makes 'Coddled Eggs.'#Goggleboxpic.twitter.com/RSlQnZQeX7—
  
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• Seven-year-old girl critically injured at house in Wimbledon dies in hospital

  04-11-2017 16:00
  A seven-year-old girl who was critically injured at a house in southwest London on Friday has died in hospital, police have said.A man appeared at Wimbledon magistrates on Saturday morning, in connection with the incident, charged with attempted murder.The Metropolitan Police confirmed later the girl died on Saturday morning.
  
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• Conservatives suspend MP, refer his case to police

  04-11-2017 16:00
  Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has suspended a lawmaker over what it said were serious allegations, a step that could undermine the authority of her minority government as Britain seeks to iron out a Brexit deal with the European Union.May's Conservative Party refused to give any detail about the nature of the allegations against Charlie Elphicke, a Conservative lawmaker for Dover in southern England, but said it had referred the matter to the police.Elphicke, formerly a tax law
  
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• Tatler apologises to actor Daisy Lewis for 'fun in bed' comments

  04-11-2017 15:47
  Daisy Lewis tweeted: ‘Does anyone at Tatler read the news?’ Photograph: Daisy Lewis/PA
  
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• Tatler apologises to actor Daisy Lewis for 'fun in bed' caption

  04-11-2017 15:47
  Tatler magazine has apologised to Daisy Lewis after describing the Downton Abbey actor as “fun … in bed.In the monthly society style magazine’s Little Black Book feature, which profiles “the smartest, sexiest singles on the planet”, they included an image of Lewis in their rankings.Which makes her fun at a party.
  
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• Hull woman held in Egypt for taking painkillers into country

  04-11-2017 15:27
  A British woman detained after flying into Egypt with painkillers for her husband's bad back has been told she could face the death penalty for drug trafficking.Laura Plummer was arrested on 9 October after the authorities found she was carrying prescription drugs tramadol and naproxen in her suitcase.Laura and Omar met four years ago and she flies to Egypt four times a year to visit him.
  
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• Desperately seeking Sue: Mystery message is romantic gesture from grumpy husband

  04-11-2017 15:07
  A cryptic message spotted in a field in Oxfordshire has had curious social media users - and police - searching for a mystery 'Sue'.In a picture tweeted by the National Police Air Service (NPAS), the letters SUE x could be seen etched into the field in Tetsworth, near Thame in Oxfordshire.Police encouraged social media users to spread the message "far and wide" to track down Sue.
  
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• Women Speak Out About The Sexual Harassment They Face Every Day At Work

  04-11-2017 13:42
  The allegations against Harvey Weinstein have triggered a wave of revelations about powerful men in the entertainment industries, politics, media and FTSE companies.
  
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• Actress Daisy Lewis Slams 'Misogynistic' Tatler Article Which Suggested She's 'Fun In Bed'

  04-11-2017 13:33
  British actress Daisy Lewis has slammed high society magazine Tatler after it suggested in an article that the star is fun “in bed”.
  
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• Jo Brand Praised For Taking All-Male 'Have I Got News For You' Panel To Task Over Sexual Harassment Jokes

  04-11-2017 12:57
  Johnathan Randall (@MrJRan) November 4, 2017 Jo Brand has received widespread praise after taking last night’s Have I Got News For You guests to task over why sexual harassment should be taken seriously.
  
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• Fallon quit after No 10 told of sex assault claim

  04-11-2017 11:42
  Downing Street was approached with claims of an alleged sexual assault by Sir Michael Fallon hours before he resigned, Sky News understands.Sir Michael resigned as defence secretary on Wednesday night, admitting that his personal conduct had "fallen below the high standards we require of the armed forces".
  
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• Irish PM says future of $1 billion Apple data centre uncertain

  04-11-2017 11:36
  A planned $1 billion(£0.76 billion) Appledata centre is in doubt after Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the U.S. company's Chief Executive Tim Cook would no longer commit to it, adding that Dublin would do whatever necessary to get it built.Appleannounced plans in February 2015 to build the facility in a rural location in the west of Ireland to take advantage of green energy sources nearby, but the project has faced a two-year delay due to planning objections.In a meeting on Thursday
  
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• Fallon's resignation 'insane, absurd and ridiculous'

  04-11-2017 11:30
  Julia Hartley-Brewer does not consider the touching of her knee by Sir Michael Fallon to be worth his resigning over.
  
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• London Underground Incident Sees Man Charged With Attempted Murder After Passenger Struck By Rush Hour Train

  04-11-2017 09:44
  A 29-year-old has been charged with attempted murder after a man suffered serious injuries when he was hit by a London Tube train.
  
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• 8 things Donald Trump definitely shouldn’t do while in Japan

  04-11-2017 09:00
  Careful with those chopsticks.
  
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• Bonfire night: Perfect weather for Guy Fawkes events - but watch out for 'firework fog'

  04-11-2017 08:45
  Remember, remember the fifth of November - so goes the popular Guy Fawkes rhyme.As millions of Britons head out to firework displays around the country, many bonfire piles may be more than a little damp due to heavy rainfall forecast for the early hours of Saturday morning.For those attending events on Sunday evening, fog brought on by smoke from fireworks and bonfires across the country could be an issue.
  
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• Wetherspoon’s Boss ‘100% Certain’ Brexit Can Mean Cheaper Food - But Can’t Say If His Prices Will Drop

  04-11-2017 08:33
  “I’m 100% sure what I’m saying is true,” Tim Martin tells HuffPost UK, after printing half a million beermats that tell Wetherspoon’s customers Brexit can make their food and drink cheaper, despite repeated warnings that leaving the EU will do the opposite.
  
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• Bronson's bride

  04-11-2017 07:53 via bbc.co.uk
  Paula Williamson's fiancé is a notorious prisoner, but she says they are like "any other couple".
  
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• Tory MP Charlie Elphicke suspended over 'serious allegations'

  04-11-2017 07:20
  Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke has said he does not know the nature of the "serious allegations" his party says have been referred to police.The Dover and Deal MP was suspended late on Friday, Tory chief whip Julian Smith confirmed, but there was no elaboration on the claims at the centre of the action.Mr Elphicke, 46, has been the MP for Dover and Deal since 2010, and was a government whip between 2015 and 2016, standing down from that role after Theresa May replaced David Cameron as Prime Mi
  
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• Conor McGregor admits it was wrong to use homophobic slur

  04-11-2017 06:54
  Conor McGregor sums up his rise to mega stardom and mega money with a quote.In that short time he has become one of the most infamous fighters on the planet - the undisputed star of UFC - (Ultimate Fighting Championship), a boxer for one extraordinary money-spinning fight (against Floyd Mayweather) and with an Instagram following of 21 million and reportedly five times that in the bank - give or take.
  
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• British woman arrested for drug trafficking in Egypt

  04-11-2017 06:10 via bbc.co.uk
  Laura Plummer is arrested after reportedly flying to Cairo with hundreds of painkiller pills.
  
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• UK has conceded on cut-off date for EU nationals, say Brussels sources

  04-11-2017 06:00
  It had been claimed that setting the cut-off date on Brexit day in 2019 would open the UK to a flood of EU27 citizens seeking to enter before Britain left the bloc.Senior EU sources, however, said that after a dramatic decrease in the number of nationals coming to the UK from the rest of the bloc since the referendum, the British negotiating team had quietly accepted Brussels’ argument that there could be no discrimination between member states’ citizens during the remaining time in
  
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• ICC's investigation of Libya war crimes in dock even before male rape cases

  04-11-2017 06:00
  Suspected war crimes in Libya have continued to take place in Libya since the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011.The international criminal court has struggled to ensure its writ runs in Libya ever since the UN security council tasked the ICC with the investigation of war crimes after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
  
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• Tory MP Charlie Elphicke suspended after 'serious allegations'

  04-11-2017 05:48 via bbc.co.uk
  The Dover MP denies any wrongdoing after "serious allegations" are referred to police.
  
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• Roadworks speed limit could be raised

  04-11-2017 05:15
  Roadworks speed limit could be raised
  
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• 'I haven't done anything wrong' says Labour MP

  04-11-2017 05:15
  Clive Lewis denies any inappropriate behaviour and says he does not want to 'hide behind a statement'.
  
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• Little Red Riding Hood tale hampers wolf debate, says academic

  04-11-2017 05:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Myths of the werewolf and the "big, bad wolf" harms talk of reintroducing the animal, says an expert.
  
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• 'Croydon cat killer': Harpenden mutilated rabbit 'linked'

  04-11-2017 04:50 via bbc.co.uk
  The latest killing is thought by a charity to be the work of one killer travelling across the UK.
  
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• Labour MP Clive Lewis denies groping claim

  04-11-2017 04:45 via bbc.co.uk
  The party is investigating a formal complaint against the former shadow defence secretary.
  
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• Red Robbo

  04-11-2017 04:38 via bbc.co.uk
  The Longbridge union convenor, who has died aged 90, remains a controversial figure.
  
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• Man charged after London Tube train hit passenger

  04-11-2017 04:20 via bbc.co.uk
  A 29-year-old man is accused of attempted murder and is due before magistrates later, police say.
  
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• Obituary: Gay rights pioneer Roger Lockyer

  04-11-2017 03:59 via bbc.co.uk
  The respected professor and historian, famed for his role in one of the first UK civil partnerships, has died aged 89.
  
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• Half of Britain's speed cameras are switched off

  04-11-2017 03:22
  Only about half of fixed speed cameras in Britain are actually switched on, police figures show.Data released by 36 out of a total 45 police forces, responding to a Freedom of Information request by the Press Association, show only 1,486 (52%) out of 2,838 cameras are actively catching speeding drivers.Four forces - Cleveland, Durham, North Yorkshire and Northamptonshire - have no fixed speed cameras in use at all.
  
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• UK economy holds steady but outlook remains weak - CBI

  04-11-2017 01:10
  Growth in Britain's private sector held steady in the three months to October after weakening recently, and the inflation hit to consumers and Brexit concerns for companies mean growth will probably stay modest, an industry survey showed.
  
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• Only half of Britain's fixed speed camera are active

  04-11-2017 01:01
  Road safety groups have expressed dismay at the data, with police pointing to budget cuts and fines now going straight to the Treasury.Only about half of the UK’s fixed speed cameras are on and primed to catch traffic offenders, a survey suggests.This means that speeding drivers may have been let off of hundreds of pounds worth of fines each, as police forces seek to cut costs.
  
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• Newspaper headline: MP harassment claims and 'cost of Brexit'

  04-11-2017 00:52 via bbc.co.uk
  Allegations of sexual misconduct in Westminster continue to dominate the front pages of the newspapers.
  
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