General news

• Chancellor Philip Hammond: 'Treasury and I are not enemy of Brexit'

  21-06-2018 22:38
  Philip Hammond has angrily denied that he and the Treasury are "the enemy of Brexit", while pouring scorn on claims that a £20bn boost for the NHS will be funded by a "Brexit dividend".In his Mansion House speech in the City of London, the chancellor said the proposed NHS cash injection would only be "partly funded" by reduced contributions to Brussels and that taxes would have to go up.Mr Hammond's defence of his Brexit strategy will be seen as a direct counter-attack against Boris Johnso
  
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• Straight people 'care more about animal rights than gay equality'

  21-06-2018 22:30
  A poll issued by the organisers of London Pride revealed a huge gap between the priorities of LGBT+ people and those of their heterosexual counterparts.Of those straight people who are not trans who were surveyed, only 3% said they were concerned about tolerance for individuals with different gender identities or sexualities, 2% were worried about gender inequality, and 6% were worried about racism.Less than half - 49% - completely agreed that people in the LGBT+ community had the right to live
  
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• Hammond says he's no 'enemy of Brexit', seeks close EU ties

  21-06-2018 22:29
  Britain's Treasury is not trying to undermine Brexit but is instead focused on boosting prosperity by promoting continued close ties with the European Union after the country leaves, Chancellor Philip Hammond said on Thursday.Hammond is widely viewed as the most pro-EU of Prime Minister Theresa May's senior ministers, and earlier this month Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described the finance ministry as "basically the heart of Remain".In a major speech to London's financial services industry,
  
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• May and Johnson under pressure as Heathrow expansion vote looms

  21-06-2018 21:27
  Theresa May is facing a fresh crisis after her international trade minister quit in protest at the proposed expansion of Heathrow days before a crunch vote on the issue.Greg Hands, whose constituency lies under the flightpath, announced he would step down so he could vote against the government’s plans for a third runway in the Commons on Monday.The announcement increased the pressure on the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, another staunch critic of Heathrow expansion, to stand by his pri
  
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• Isle of Wight festival: Anger over huge queues

  21-06-2018 21:09 via bbc.co.uk
  One ticketholder claimed people were "fighting each other" as they waited to get into the event.
  
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• Williamson losing fight with Treasury for rise in defence spending

  21-06-2018 20:58
  Gavin Williamson is is said to have frustrated Theresa May and Philip Hammond with his pushing for increased defence spending.The defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, is unlikely to receive any increase in defence spending in the coming year in spite of waging a relentless political campaign against the Treasury, according to Whitehall sources.Williamson is scheduled to meet chancellor Philip Hammond in the next fortnight in a renewed attempt to secure concessions ahead of a Nato summit in Bruss
  
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• 'Rare' UK6 and 1RAN number plates up for auction

  21-06-2018 20:57 via bbc.co.uk
  This index was released just seven years after number plates were introduced.
  
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• Labour's Thornberry calls for bank holiday if England reach World Cup final

  21-06-2018 20:51
  Emily Thornberry, who controversially mocked the England flag just after the last World Cup, has tried to make amends by proposing a bank holiday if England reach the final this time.Labour's shadow foreign secretary was sacked from a frontbench role by Ed Miliband for a 2014 tweet which appeared to sneer at St George's flags draped on the home of a white van man.Now she says the day after the World Cup final should be a Bank Holiday if England play in it, although she admits she is not a footba
  
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• Ofsted chief says poor white communities lack 'aspiration and drive'

  21-06-2018 20:49 via bbc.co.uk
  Schools in white working-class areas can face multiple problems, says Ofsted's chief inspector.
  
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• Commons leader uneasy after ill and pregnant MPs forced to vote in house

  21-06-2018 20:32
  The leader of the Commons has privately voiced concern that ill and heavily pregnant Labour MPs were made to go through the division lobbies to vote in the debate on the EU withdrawal bill on Wednesday, after she was forced to defend what had happened in the House of Commons.Andrea Leadsom believes making Naz Shah come into the chamber in a wheelchair and demanding that Laura Pidcock, who is eight months pregnant, follow suit should not be repeated and that there should be better communication b
  
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• Call to hold officials to account for Gosport deaths 'cover-up'

  21-06-2018 20:21
  A clinical negligence lawyer said the families could consider taking action in the civil courts.Senior officials who rebuffed families asking why their elderly relatives died at Gosport War Memorial hospital should be held to account and answer for the distress they caused, a patient safety charity has said.A major report into deaths at the Hampshire hospital in the 1990s found on Wednesday that 456 patients had died after being prescribed opioid drugs which they did not need, such as diamorphin
  
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• The story of Rashan Charles and the police

  21-06-2018 19:53 via bbc.co.uk
  How did the 20-year-old's death impact his community?
  
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• First beer, now chicken! Shortage warnings as CO2 stocks fall

  21-06-2018 19:49
  The British Poultry Council (BPC) has called on the government and gas producers for help after beer, fizzy drinks and meat producers all warned of possible shortages caused by a lack of the gas.Poultry slaughterhouses are asking for priority supplies and saying the current shortage could have a "potentially huge effect" on British food production.At least five CO2 producers across northern Europe have shut down plants for maintenance for the spring and summer months.
  
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• 'Goldfinger' murder: Spyhole used by gunman before killing notorious criminal John Palmer

  21-06-2018 19:37
  Pictures have been released of a small hole in a fence believed to have been used by a suspected hitman to spy on John "Goldfinger" Palmer before he killed the notorious criminal.Palmer, 65, was found dead three years ago in the garden of his remote woodland home in South Weald, Essex.Detectives think the gunman watched Palmer until he went to make a bonfire to burn some old documents and then jumped over the fence.
  
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• Police 'feared poison' in Mayfair street death

  21-06-2018 19:31 via bbc.co.uk
  Several police cars and ambulances are on Albemarle Street in central London.
  
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• Community remembers those who died in Grenfell fire

  21-06-2018 19:25
  Community remembers those who died in Grenfell fire
  
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• Campaigners celebrate as government tables bill to tackle upskirting

  21-06-2018 19:23
  Legislation to make upskirting a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in prison has been introduced by the government, after a Tory MP blocked an earlier attempt to tackle the problem.It began its progress to becoming law in the Commons on Thursday afternoon.Sky News understands a second reading for the bill will take place at some point before the summer recess next month.
  
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• Gagging clauses cost House of Commons £2.4m in five years

  21-06-2018 19:20
  The House of Commons has spent more than £2.4m on so-called gagging clauses for staff over the last five years, official figures show.A total of 53 non-disclosure agreements were signed between 2013 and 2017, at a cost of £2,407,176.78, according to data released under the Freedom of Information Act.Concerns have been raised that parliamentary staff who claim to have been bullied have been asked to sign such agreements to prevent their claims from becoming public.
  
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• Gosport hospital deaths: Hampshire police to 'step back'

  21-06-2018 19:16 via bbc.co.uk
  Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney apologised for the force's "part in the distress caused to families".
  
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• Grenfell inquiry hears desperate 999 calls

  21-06-2018 19:15
  A 12-year-old girl was on the phone to emergency services for nearly an hour as she was trapped inside Grenfell Tower with the fire taking hold.Emergency 999 calls were played out on the latest day of the inquiry into the tragedy - including that of Jessica Urbano Ramirez, who left her family's flat on the 20th floor to seek shelter at the top of the tower three storeys above.Jessica made the 30th call to the emergency services that evening, and was on the phone with call handlers for 55 minutes
  
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• Javid admits issue with EU citizens' iPhone app as details of settlement system revealed

  21-06-2018 19:11
  People with iPhones are unable to fully use the app designed to help EU citizens register to stay in Britain after Brexit, the home secretary has admitted.Sajid Javid said officials were working with Apple to rectify the problem, which he said has been caused by the company's technology.Applicants will be able to complete the process in other ways, but the glitch is an unwelcome headache for the Home Office.
  
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• Embezzler claims he will not get fair hearing at UK appeal court

  21-06-2018 19:05
  James Ibori, the former governor of a Nigerian state, was jailed for 13 years in 2012 for stealing nearly £50m from the Nigerian government.An embezzler who has alleged that police corruption rendered his conviction unsafe has claimed an appeal he has launched will not get a fair hearing, a court was told.James Ibori was jailed for 13 years for stealing nearly £50m from the Nigerian government and using it to buy properties in the UK.
  
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• EU is getting ready for no-deal Brexit, says Jean-Claude Juncker

  21-06-2018 19:03
  The EU needs to be realistic about the dangerous state of the Brexit negotiations and is preparing to deploy its trillion-pound budget to cushion the bloc from the prospect of a no-deal scenario, the European commission president has warned.With the two sides still far apart on the “hardest issues”, just days from a crunch leaders’ summit in Brussels, Jean-Claude Juncker told the Irish parliament on Thursday he was stepping up preparations for a breakdown in talks, and even dra
  
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• Gosport hospital deaths: when reputations override lives

  21-06-2018 18:58
  The Gosport review casts a damning light on the inexcusable failings of public bodies, including medical and regulatory organisations and the police (Editorial, 21 June).Across our work on state-related deaths, we see the interests of powerful institutions and individuals prevailing over the access of bereaved people to the truth and accountability about how and why their relatives died.Evidence of systemic failings and human rights abuses is often only brought to light through the determination
  
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• Man being sued for damages denies raping St Andrews student

  21-06-2018 18:55
  Stephen Coxen arrives at Edinburgh sheriff court earlier this month.A man has again denied raping a St Andrews University student who was too drunk to resist, in a rare civil action that follows his acquittal at a criminal trial.Stephen Coxen, 23, from Bury, Lancashire, is being sued by the woman, known as M, for nearly £100,000 in damages for raping her and injuring her tongue.
  
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• Twelve-Year-Old Grenfell Victim Was On 999 Call For 55 Minutes Before She Died

  21-06-2018 18:48
  A 12-year-old victim of the Grenfell Tower fire spent nearly an hour on the
  
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• Police hunt UK football fans who performed Nazi salute

  21-06-2018 18:40
  UK police are working to identify men caught on video giving Nazi salutes in a Russian bar during the World Cup.TheFootball Association has condemned the actionsin the video and now detectives are looking to identify two of those involved.Detective Superintendent Caroline Marsh, UK police investigations lead for the World Cup, said: "The abhorrent behaviour seen in this video is completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated.
  
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• May dismisses report she questioned UK status as 'tier one' military power

  21-06-2018 18:34
  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday a report that she asked her defence minister to justify the United Kingdom's status as a "tier one" military power was incorrect.Stoltenberg said he was confident NATO could overcome differences between U.S. President Donald Trump and other members of the alliance.
  
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• Even 'Duracell bunny' McVey lacks energy to defend universal credit

  21-06-2018 18:30
  Esther McVey said she had checked with ‘Darren from Wales’ and had been informed that universal credit was running perfectly.It is 12 years in the future and neither Iain Duncan Smith nor Esther McVey have been able to find another job after losing their seats in the general election of 2021.A week later than planned – nothing to do with UC ever runs to time – McVey, the work and pensions secretary, came to the Commons to explain why the National Audit Office (NAO) had co
  
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• From London to Tokyo - new cultural centre offers taste of Japan in UK

  21-06-2018 18:26
  LONDON (Reuters) - From bonsai trees to freshly made sushi, a cultural centre in London hopes to offer a taste of all things Japanese.
  
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• Brexit: Three 'simple' requirements for EU citizens to stay in UK

  21-06-2018 18:05 via bbc.co.uk
  EU citizens will have to answer three questions to stay in the UK after Brexit, says Sajid Javid.
  
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• King's College racism row: Students support academic

  21-06-2018 18:02 via bbc.co.uk
  Porters at King's College in Cambridge are accused of "hassling" non-white staff and students.
  
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• Government must 'wake up to universal credit flaws'

  21-06-2018 17:50
  A Somerset man, Nick, protests outside Downing Street over delays to universal credit payments which have left him homeless twice.MPs have told the government to “wake up to reality” after it rejected criticism of universal credit by the public spending watchdog and insisted its faltering welfare reform was a “great British innovation”.Opposition MPs reacted angrily to a ministerial statement made on Thursday morning by the work and pensions secretary, Esther McVey, in re
  
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• Netflix paid no UK corporate tax last year – and got a €200k rebate

  21-06-2018 17:37
  Netflix received a €199,000 (£174,000) tax rebate from the UK government last year and paid no corporation tax, despite making £500m in revenue from British subscribers to the streaming service.It booked a pretax profit of just €1.2m in the UK last year.The company said it made €26.8m in revenue in the UK last year.
  
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• See how the NYPD is getting ready for Pride by revamping a squad car

  21-06-2018 17:33
  The police livery has been recreated in a rainbow of colours.
  
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• Martin Sorrell criticises WPP over its handling of his forced departure

  21-06-2018 17:17
  Sir Martin Sorrell made his comments in an Irish pub in Cannes, France.Sir Martin Sorrell has used his first public appearance since being forced to leave the advertising group WPP to criticise the board of his former company, dismiss suggestions that he paid for a sex worker on company expenses, and complain he was not treated fairly.Earlier this month the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported one strand of the investigation that led to his departure was an allegation he used company money to pay
  
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• Alzheimer's link to herpes virus in brain, say scientists

  21-06-2018 17:00
  Brain scan of a patient with Alzheimer’s disease.The presence of viruses in the brain has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease in research that challenges conventional theories about the onset of dementia.The results, based on tests of brain tissue from nearly 1,000 people, found that two strains of herpes virus were far more abundant in the brains of those with early-stage Alzheimer’s than in healthy controls.
  
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• EU Citizens, This Is How You Can Apply To Stay In The UK After Brexit

  21-06-2018 16:53
  The government has finally announced how it will deal with EU citizens after
  
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• Britain's Fox says now zero chance of stopping Brexit

  21-06-2018 16:36
  A vote in Britain's parliament on Wednesday closed the door for good on any chance of the country staying in the European Union, Trade Minister Liam Fox told a debate in Geneva on Thursday."As many of you will know, we took the decisive step last night in legislation that will now pave the way irrevocably for Britain’s exit from the European Union," he said.Prime Minister Theresa May won a Brexit vote in parliament on Wednesday, keeping her divided government's plans to end more than 40 ye
  
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• Britain's Fox dismisses talk of staying in single market for goods

  21-06-2018 16:36
  British Trade Secretary Liam Fox told Reuters on Thursday that he had heard the theory that Britain could remain in the European single market for goods but he dismissed the idea.“The government’s made it clear that we’re leaving the single market and we’re leaving the customs union," he said.
  
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• London Crime Wave Continues As Man Dies Two Weeks After Violent Attack

  21-06-2018 16:34
  A man has died two weeks after suffering severe facial injuries during a fight
  
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• Watch the Bad Lip Reading of Donald Trump’s summit with Kim Jong Un

  21-06-2018 16:31
  ‘Umm… that’s pretty weird but cool.’
  
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• Nine Policies The Tories Have Stolen From Labour (And The Greens)

  21-06-2018 16:27
  Nobody has a monopoly on good ideas, so the saying goes.
  
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• Windrush child calls for help after immigration scandal

  21-06-2018 16:26
  Winston Robinson journeyed to Britain from the Caribbean as a child of the Windrush generation in the 1960s but found his new life wrecked by a bureaucratic nightmare that left him anxious and despairing.As Britain tightened its regime against illegal immigrants, the former ambulance driver found himself out of a job after 10 years and possibly even facing deportation.In an interview with Reuters Television on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the first arrival of the Windrush in 1948, Robinson
  
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• EasyJet CEO says would be interested in setting up base in Heathrow

  21-06-2018 16:14
  The chief executive of low-cost airline EasyJetsaid on Thursday that he would be interested in setting up a base in Heathrow.No reason why we shouldn't be there and be there with a base," EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren told Reuters on the sidelines of the Paris Air Forum.Lundgren added he felt EasyJet coped well regarding competition from its Irish rival Ryanairat the Southend airport in southern England, and reiterated that EasyJet had no interest in low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle .
  
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• Jeffrey Barry: Brutal murder of Kamil Ahmad was 'avoidable'

  21-06-2018 16:10 via bbc.co.uk
  Jeffrey Barry, a violent schizophrenia patient, killed his neighbour hours after being freed.
  
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• KFC Factory Scrambles To Secure Chicken Supplies Amid Gas Shortage

  21-06-2018 15:58
  A KFC supplier is battling to maintain supplies of fresh chicken as a shortage
  
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• Turkey's ailing financial markets and foreign exposure

  21-06-2018 15:38
  Turkey heads to the polls on Sunday to vote in parliamentary and presidential elections, with President Tayyip Erdogan widely expected to be re-elected to an office that will be given sweeping new executive powers.Once a darling of emerging market investors, Turkey has seen its star fall dramatically in recent years, hit by mounting concerns about a build-up of debts and Erdogan's outsized influence over monetary policy.Turkey's currency has plunged 25 percent in 2018 to record lows, the starkes
  
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• David Attenborough launches wildlife fund for advertisers

  21-06-2018 15:34
  Sir David Attenborough: ’Animals are in 20% per cent of all advertisements we see.Sir David Attenborough has said large corporations should donate to wildlife protection schemes every time they feature animals in their adverts.The veteran wildlife presenter has called on the advertising industry to do more to help the environment as he launched a new voluntary scheme designed to boost the income of animal charities.
  
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• John 'Goldfinger' Palmer death: 'Killer used spyhole'

  21-06-2018 15:07 via bbc.co.uk
  John "Goldfinger" Palmer's family say they are haunted by a killer who stalked him "like an animal".
  
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