General news

• 41 more areas of UK coastline to be protected under government plans

  07-06-2018 23:58
  An area of Britain's coastline nearly eight times the size of Greater London will be safeguarded under government plans for a massive expansion of the UK's 'Blue Belt' of protected marine locations.The scheme will safeguard marine habitats in 41 proposed new marine conservation zones around the country's coastline, from Devon in the South West to Berwick on the Scottish borders.Almost 12,000 square kilometres (kms) (7,457 square miles) of coastal waters are to be protected, with two sites in Nor
  
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• Trump facing growing international backlash against plans to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium

  07-06-2018 23:50
  Trump facing growing international backlash against plans to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium
  
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• Theresa May and G7 urge Trump re-think on US steel tariffs

  07-06-2018 23:44
  Theresa May will briefly leave her government's Brexit turmoil behind to persuade Donald Trump to re-think US steel imports.The prime minister will be joined by her counterparts from France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan as they establish a plan to convince the US President tohalt the punitive tariffs on steel and aluminium exportsto the US.After a day in which the resignation of her Brexit secretary, David Davis, was narrowly averted, the prime minister has arrived in Quebec, Canada, ahead
  
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• Ikea reveals rug that looks like a giant receipt

  07-06-2018 23:35
  The Swedish furniture retailer has revealed its latest design.
  
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• Boris Johnson admits there may be a Brexit 'meltdown'

  07-06-2018 23:29
  Private remarks made by the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, were recorded at a dinner for Tory activists.Boris Johnson has warned of a Brexit “meltdown” and branded the Treasury the “heart of remain” in unguarded comments at a private dinner.The foreign secretary said he believed Brexit will happen and would be “irreversible” but the “risk is that it will not be the one we want”.
  
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• Soros-backed anti-Brexit group targets MPs in push for new referendum

  07-06-2018 23:08
  An anti-Brexit group backed by billionaire financier George Soros said on Thursday it would target lawmakers in an attempt to strengthen its campaign for a new referendum on Britain's departure from the European Union.The group, Best for Britain, which aims to keep Britain in the EU, urged members of parliament to rally behind its demand for a vote on the terms of whatever deal London and Brussels hammer out.The group was scheduled to launch a campaign on Friday to try to persuade 100 members of
  
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• May offers Tory rebels compromise 'breathing space' over Brexit bill

  07-06-2018 23:04
  The government has proposed a 28-day breathing space if parliament rejects Theresa May’s Brexit deal, as it looks for a compromise with Conservative rebels to avoid a string of defeats in the House of Commons.The EU withdrawal bill is returning to the Commons for 12 hours of debate next week — now spread over two days after protests from backbenchers over the prospect of an all-night sitting.The government’s flagship Brexit bill was peppered with 15 amendments by the House of L
  
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• MPs have 'lost confidence' in TSB boss over IT crisis

  07-06-2018 23:00
  The chairman of TSB said on Thursday the bank's chief executive, Paul Pester, had the full support of the board, after Pester came under attack from MPs over his handling of an IT crisis, casting doubt on his position.Parliament's Treasury Committee said earlier on Thursday it had "lost confidence" in Pester and questioned whether he should remain in his post.TSB Chairman Richard Meddings' response suggested Pester would remain at the bank for now, noting Pester's progress in resolving the IT is
  
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• Kensington MP Emma Dent Coad says Queen should move out of Buckingham Palace for public

  07-06-2018 22:56
  Kensington's Labour MP Emma Dent Coad, who is a republican, has said Buckingham Palace should be handed over to the public.The politician continued her campaign against the Royal Family by suggesting that if the taxpayer is funding the refurbishment of the Queen's central London palace "there are other places they could live".The prince and his wife, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, live in Ms Dent Coad's constituency at Kensington Palace.
  
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• Louis Walsh leaves X Factor after 13 years amid shake-up on show

  07-06-2018 22:52
  Louis Walsh will not be returning to the X Factor as a judge to allow the talent show to usher in a "new era".Walsh said: "I've had a fantastic 13 years on The X Factor but the show needs a change and I'm ready to leave.Sharon Osborne will have a smaller role in the show when it returns for its 15th series later this year.
  
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• Geordie Greig: hack who bridged the mean streets and high society

  07-06-2018 22:49
  Geordie Greig’s appointment as editor of the Daily Mail is the latest triumph by a man described by a former boss as “50% courtier, 50% old-school hack”, who has a mastery of the media industry’s behind-the-scenes politics.The Old Etonian broke into newspapers after graduating from the University of Oxford in the mid-1980s, turning down a career in banking to become a Deptford-based reporter on the the Kentish Mercury.At the same time his sister was working as a lady-in-w
  
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• UK government drops plan for 'meaningful vote' on Brexit deal - Labour

  07-06-2018 22:27
  Britain's government has removed a legislative proposal for a "meaningful vote" in parliament on whatever deal it negotiates to leave the European Union, opposition lawmakers said on Thursday.The government has proposed amendments to its Brexit legislation after the unelected upper house of parliament made 15 changes to British Prime Minister Theresa May's original plans, despite ministers' attempts to block them.The government decided not to change an amendment that would force it to try to neg
  
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• New Daily Mail editor announced as Geordie Greig, taking over from Paul Dacre

  07-06-2018 21:30
  Geordie Greig has been named the new editor of the Daily Mail, taking over from Paul Dacre.Mr Greig is currently editor of its sister paper The Mail on Sunday and that role will go to Mr Dacre's deputy, Ted Verity.Mr Dacre announced on Wednesday he was stepping down after 26 years in the job to become chairman and editor in chief of the Mail's publisher Associated Newspapers.
  
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• TSB chairman says embattled CEO has 'full support' of board

  07-06-2018 21:11
  TSB Chairman Richard Meddings said on Thursday that the bank's Chief Executive Paul Pester had the full support of the TSB board, after MPs called on them to urgently consider the CEO's position following a severe IT crisis at the bank."We recognise that we still have areas where we need to improve performance for our customers and we do not underestimate these remaining issues," Meddings wrote to the Treasury Select Committee, responding to a letter sent by its chair Nicky Morgan to him earlier
  
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• May’s Brexit backstop fudge pulls Davis back from the edge

  07-06-2018 20:55
  David Davis stepped back and forth from the brink and back again before many people in Westminster had even digested their breakfast on Thursday, in a tense showdown over the terms of the Brexit backstop to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland.May’s premiership has seen the resignations of four cabinet ministers, but to lose her Brexit secretary might have been the fatal blow.The spectre of the Irish backstop agreement had been hovering for six months, a blueprint Britain signed up to i
  
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• A failure of the Heathrow expansion could cost taxpayers 'billions of pounds'

  07-06-2018 20:54
  Heathrow Airport could sue taxpayers for "billions of pounds" if the third runway expansion goes wrong, Justine Greening has suggested.The former transport secretary, whose Putney constituency lies under the flight path, said a clause in the Department for Transport's agreement with Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) would mean the taxpayer footing the bill "when things go wrong".Quoting the clause in question, she said it sets out that HAL reserves the right "to pursue any and all legal and equitab
  
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• Argentina's treasury minister says IMF deal expected soon

  07-06-2018 20:53
  WASHINGTON/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's government is close to a financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund and news is expected in the coming hours, Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne said on Thursday.Argentina requested IMF assistance on May 8 after its peso currency weakened sharply in an investor exodus from emerging markets.The IMF has said the South American country requested an exceptional access standby agreement that would be worth at least $20 billion (£14.9
  
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• Trump says working with Abe to improve U.S.-Japan trading relationship

  07-06-2018 20:51
  U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday after White House talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the two leaders were working together to improve trading relations and that Abe promised new Japanese investment in the United States."We're working hard to reduce our trade imbalance which is very substantial, remove barriers to U.S. exports and to achieve a fair and mutually beneficial economic partnership," Trump said at a joint news conference with Abe.
  
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• 7 Reasons Geordie Greig Is Nothing Like Paul Dacre

  07-06-2018 20:22
  Geordie Greig is to become the new editor of the Daily Mail, replacing Paul
  
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• New Daily Mail editor to be Geordie Greig

  07-06-2018 20:10
  Geordie Greig (L) with Lord Rothermere, who controls the Daily Mail.Geordie Greig is to be the new editor of the Daily Mail, putting a staunch remainer in charge of one of the most pro-Brexit newspapers in the country.The current Mail on Sunday boss will replace Paul Dacre, who is stepping down in November.
  
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• MPs say they have 'lost confidence' in TSB boss Paul Pester

  07-06-2018 20:04
  The Treasury select committee of MPs has "lost confidence" in TSB chief executive Paul Pester's ability to lead the troubled bank.In a letter to TSB chairman Richard Meddings, they said: "...the committee considers that the TSB Board should give serious consideration as to whether Dr Pester's position as chief executive of TSB is sustainable."The committee has lost confidence in his ability to provide a full and frank assessment of the problems at TSB, and to deal with them in the best interests
  
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• Protesters trying to save Sheffield street trees avoid jail

  07-06-2018 19:28
  Three tree campaigners have avoided jail after being found in contempt of court for demonstrating against tree-felling work in Sheffield.Simon Crump, Benoit Benz Compin, and Fran Grace were taken to court by the city’s council as part of a long-running dispute over the city’s plans to fell up to 17,000 trees.
  
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• Brexit: what is the UK's backstop proposal?

  07-06-2018 19:25
  Theresa May has come up with customs solutions which the EU has rejected as unworkable.Why is a backstop necessary?Both the UK and the EU are determined to avoid a hard border – physical infrastructure, officials, checks – between Northern Ireland and the republic after Brexit.
  
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• Mother accused of manslaughter 'not bothered' as medics battled to save teen's life

  07-06-2018 19:24
  Dawn Cranston, 45, said it was "a blessing" that she would not have to go to work due to the unresponsive state of 18-year-old Jordan Burling to a 999 operator, jurors at Leeds Crown Court were told.Jordan Burling had weighed less than six stone when emergency services found him lying on an inflatable mattress wearing a nappy on 30 June 2016 - prosecuting lawyer Nicholas Lumley QC said.The teenager died as a result of acute bronchopneumonia, which Mr Lumley claimed was due to his immobility and
  
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• Labour shouldn’t run scared over Brexit

  07-06-2018 19:12
  John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn. ‘They are not necessarily now committed to Brexit, but they are determined that, if it is prevented, or obstructed in any way, Labour should not get the blame,’ writes Dick Leonard.Jonathan Freedland asks why Labour will not back membership of the European Economic Area (EEA), even though this would give it “a chance to inflict defeat on an ailing, failing government” (Opinion, 7 June).The answer should be clear to anyone who has car
  
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• Britain’s bus services are in an abject state

  07-06-2018 19:11
  ‘My MP, Amber Rudd, has campaigned vigorously for high-speed trains to Hastings and Rye, and road-widening on the A21, both things which benefit the better-off, but seems to have no interest at all in the need of her own constituents to be able to travel around the place where they live,’ writes Jo Hillier.Bus services in my part of East Sussex are regularly slashed, and the latest cuts by Stagecoach, which received no advance publicity, have left me unable to get to and from the pla
  
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• Mist and mirrors create sunny 'halo' in London art installation

  07-06-2018 19:07
  London may not be known for great weather, but the artists known as Kimchi and Chips are hoping for sun for their latest installation - a suspended halo shape created with mirrors, mist and natural light.In the fountain-lined courtyard of London's Somerset House, "Kimchi and Chips: Halo" is made up of two four-metre (13-ft) high towers and a 15-metre-long track bearing 100 motorised mirrors tracking the sun's movement, and water jets.Seoul-based artists Mimi Son and Elliot Woods say the mirrors
  
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• Premier League boss Richard Scudamore to quit before end of year

  07-06-2018 18:59
  Premier League boss Richard Scudamore is to stand down before the end of the year.The 58-year-old football chief said it had been an "absolute privilege" to lead the organisation for almost 20 years.Under his leadership, the Premier League has enjoyed a period of sustained growth, culminating in its last UK TV deal which brought in £5.14bn.
  
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• Northern Ireland's DUP says British backstop plan a step forward

  07-06-2018 18:35
  The Northern Irish DUP party that supports Britain's minority government welcomed Prime Minister Theresa May's backstop plan for the Irish border on Thursday as a positive step forward."As we exit the EU, we must ensure there is no new border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and our greatest market in Great Britain," DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said in a statement, referring to the Democratic Unionist Party's "red line" that the province must not to be treated differently from the res
  
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• Britain proposes one-year Brexit backstop plan to EU

  07-06-2018 18:35
  British Prime Minister Theresa May unveiled a one-year backstop plan for the Irish border after Brexit on Thursday, finding a compromise that may paper over differences in her government but may also struggle to win over the European Union.After 24 hours of scrambling to keep her Brexit minister, David Davis, on board, May published what the government called the temporary customs arrangement.This would ensure no return to a hard border involving reinstated customs controls on the frontier betwe
  
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• This is just to say… : The parodies of that ‘plums’ poem just keep coming

  07-06-2018 18:26
  The 1962 poem was a meme in waiting and Twitter has returned for more.
  
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• Pfizer wins appeal against UK fine for epilepsy drug price hike

  07-06-2018 18:17
  Pfizer Incand Flynn Pharma won an appeal on Thursday against fines totalling nearly 90 million pounds ($120 million) imposed in 2016 for ramping up the cost of an epilepsy drug.Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had fined the companies for overcharging for phenytoin sodium capsules, following a dramatic price hike in 2012.The Competition Appeal Tribunal said on Thursday there was much in the CMA's decision with which it agreed, but it found that conclusions on abuse of market domi
  
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• Barnier welcomes UK Irish backstop, sets conditions

  07-06-2018 18:05
  EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier welcomed a new British proposal on Thursday for a backstop plan to avoid a hard border in Ireland - but he stuck by key conditions that have led to a stalemate in talks so far.EU officials were reviewing a British technical note on a temporary customs arrangement, but initial reactions were that London's request to keep the whole United Kingdom within the EU customs area for a time after Brexit could work under some condition.
  
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• Britain looking forward to talks with EU on Brexit backstop proposal

  07-06-2018 17:53
  Britain is looking forward to negotiating the details of a backstop plan for the Irish border with the European Union now the government has presented its proposal, a spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday."What's important now is that we now have a published, agreed piece of government policy," she told reporters.Asked whether the government was confident the EU would accept its proposal, she said: "It's important to say the EU put forward their proposal, we were cl
  
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• West Sussex wind farm excavation uncovers 1,000-year-old skeleton

  07-06-2018 17:47
  The remains of a man thought to have been executed 1,000 years ago have been dug up during an excavation on a wind farm in West Sussex.Archaeologists found the adult male - aged between 25 and 35 when he died - with fatal cut marks to his neck as they carried out a dig for Rampion Offshore Wind Farm.Other than a few small bones missing from the hands and feet, the skeleton was recovered completely intact from the ancient route of the South Downs Way - an area known for prehistoric graves.
  
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• Factbox - Britain sets out plan for temporary Brexit backstop arrangements

  07-06-2018 17:37
  Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday set out new plans for a fallback policy to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland if Brexit talks with the European Union do not produce a deal.- The government expects the future arrangement that could see Britain aligned with EU rules until the end of December 2021, a year longer than previously expected.The currently agreed Brexit transition period is due to end on 31 December 2020 – 21 months after Britain formally leaves the EU on 29 Marc
  
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• Don't worry your pretty head over Heathrow, Justine. It's under control

  07-06-2018 17:31
  Justine Greening MP is becoming a thorn in the government’s side over Heathrow’s expansion.The past week has not been kind to Chris Grayling.Chaos on the trains and the Heathrow announcement have reduced the transport secretary to a primal assortment of nervous tics.
  
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• Former Celebrity Publicist Max Clifford Died Of Heart Failure In Prison, Inquest Hears

  07-06-2018 17:22
  Disgraced former celebrity publicist Max Clifford died of heart failure while
  
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• Dramatic bodycam footage shows arrest of Westminster terror suspect Khalid Ali

  07-06-2018 17:11
  Dramatic footage has shown the moment a knife-wielding man accused of plotting a terror attack was taken down by armed police near parliament.Khalid Ali, 28, was arrested at the Parliament Street junction in April last year, four weeks after Khalid Masood killed five people in the Westminster Bridge attack..Video of Ali's arrest was played at the Old Bailey where he is on trial accused of preparing acts of terrorism.
  
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• Qualcomm CEO hopes ZTE deal will clear acquisition of NXP in China

  07-06-2018 17:06
  "I hope it means something good to us, but we are really focused more on our individual application," Mollenkopf toldThe Deal's annual corporate governance conference in New York.Sources familiar with the matter had told Reuters that approval of the Qualcomm/NXP deal would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks and the unwinding of a U.S. government ban on sales by U.S. companies to ZTE.
  
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• Chinese phone maker ZTE saved from brink after deal with U.S

  07-06-2018 17:06
  Under the deal, ZTEwill change its board and management within 30 days, pay a $1 billion fine and put $400 million in escrow."We will closely monitor ZTE's behavior," Ross said in a statement.ZTE ceased major operations in April after a seven-year ban was imposed on the company for breaking a 2017 agreement that was reached after it was caught illegally shipping goods to Iran and North Korea.
  
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• Commerce Secretary: US reaches deal with China's ZTE

  07-06-2018 17:00
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and China have reached a deal that allows the Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE Corp. to stay in business in exchange for paying an additional $1 billion in fines and agreeing to let U.S. regulators monitor its operations.
  
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• Govt now expects NI backstop plan to end before 2022 after David Davis resignation talk

  07-06-2018 16:57
  The government "expects" a Brexit backstop solution to the Irish border issue to end before 2022, after Theresa May acted to ease the concerns of her Leave-supporting ministers.The prime minister appeared to have avoided a full-blown Brexit crisis and an explosive cabinet resignation after a "constructive" discussion with David Davis on Thursday morning.It followed speculation her Brexit secretary was ready to quit the government over the details of the backstop proposal.
  
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• Balkan factory boom as luxury fashion looks closer to home

  07-06-2018 16:56
  Miglena Hristova's factory near the Danube is among a growing number in southeastern Europe positioning themselves to help top brands adjust to faster fashion cycles.As Ciara Lee reports, Bulgaria, Romania and other countries in the Balkan region have established a foothold in the luxury market and fashion houses from Paris and Milan are quietly building a bigger presence as they feed demand for a quicker turnover of styles
  
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• Grenfell Tower: Police investigating fire brigade's 'stay-put' strategy

  07-06-2018 16:47
  Senior fire officials who responded to the Grenfell Tower fire could face charges if their "stay-put" policy breached health and safety laws, police have said.Metropolitan Police confirmed the policy was part of their investigation.Asked if officers could be charged with manslaughter for not telling people to leave until two hours after being called, Detective Superintendent Matt Bonner said: "The London Fire Brigade (LFB) would, as any other organisation involved, have an obligation to conduct
  
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• In rare step, parliament passes motion ordering Vote Leave director to appear

  07-06-2018 16:45
  British lawmakers took the rare step on Thursday of ordering a director of Brexit campaign group Vote Leave to parliament to answer questions about campaign spending and advertising after he refused to comply with earlier requests.Dominic Cummings, former communications director of Vote Leave, has yet to appear before parliament's culture and media committee to discuss digital advertising in the 2016 referendum campaign, despite a summons from the committee.Whistleblowers have alleged that Vote
  
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• Prince William praises Danny Rose for talking about depression

  07-06-2018 16:40
  Prince William has told Danny Rose he should be "really pleased" after the England footballer publicly said he had battled depression.During a visit to England's World Cup training camp, the Duke of Cambridge broke off while chatting to a group of players to address Rose directly.Loads of support from me on that," the duke told Rose at West Riding County Football Association.
  
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• Both sides claim victory as No 10 makes backstop 'concession'

  07-06-2018 16:12
  Both sides of the latest bitter Brexit battle in Theresa May’s cabinet declared victory on Thursday, as the government published a formal proposal for the Northern Ireland backstop, which it “expects” to cease to apply by December 2021.The Brexit secretary, David Davis, had fought hard for an end-date to be included in the plan, which is aimed at convincing Brussels that the UK can avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland – and refused to deny on Wednesday that he cou
  
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• Fire brigade faces police inquiry over Grenfell 'stay put' order

  07-06-2018 15:51
  The inquiry into the fire was told that fire commanders had no ‘obvious safe and alternative strategy’ other than telling residents to stay put.London fire brigade and its senior officers are facing a police investigation over the “stay put” policy that resulted in Grenfell Tower residents being told to remain inside their homes as the tower block blazed, according to Scotland Yard.Detectives are attempting to establish whether the order could have breached health and saf
  
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• More than 60 moped crimes a day reported in London

  07-06-2018 15:39
  More than 60 crimes using mopeds or motorbikes were carried out every day in London on average over the past year - a 50% increase on the previous 12 months.The figures come after a wave of robberies across the capital, with comedian Michael McIntrye held up by hammer-wielding moped robbers on Monday.A 24-year-old woman was left in a critical condition after two men on a moped punched her and stole her phone the same day.
  
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