General news

• Boy, 17, admits drilling into lecturer's head before killing him

  01-05-2019 23:57
  A 17-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to killing a university lecturer using electric drills, knives and a hammer in a "vicious" attack.Dr Barry Hounsome, 54, died while trying to escape the teenager at his home on Southcroft Road in Gosport, Hampshire, on 29 October.The academic, who researched dementia and Parkinson's disease, suffered "catastrophic" head injuries and 35 stab and slash wounds, Winchester Crown Court heard.
  
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• Corbyn demands green industrial revolution due to climate emergency

  01-05-2019 23:56
  Addressing a rally on Parliament Square, Mr Corbyn said he was pleased Parliament had agreed to take action on climate change and must go further.
  
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• Princess Charlotte pictures released to mark fourth birthday

  01-05-2019 23:54
  The Duchess of Cambridge has once again taken the official pictures of one of her children.
  
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• Princess Charlotte: New photos released to mark 4th birthday

  01-05-2019 23:51
  New photographs of Princess Charlotte have been released to mark her fourth birthday on Thursday.The three images were taken by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, who is a keen photographer, and show her daughter playing outside at Kensington Palace and at Anmer Hall, Kate's home in Norfolk.In one of the pictures, Charlotte is sitting on the lawn in a pretty blue floral dress, and in the other two, she is seen running around and climbing on a gate in a grey knitted cardigan and tweed skirt.
  
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• After protests, Britain's parliament declares climate change 'emergency'

  01-05-2019 23:08
  Britain's parliament declared a symbolic climate change "emergency" on Wednesday, backing a call by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for "rapid and dramatic action" to protect the environment for generations to come.The measure was passed as an opposition motion, using a procedure typically ignored by the ruling party, and has no direct consequences for policy.Eleven days of protests by the Extinction Rebellion activist group caused major disruptions in central London in recent weeks, and
  
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• Holiday let landlords ‘undermine private housing laws’

  01-05-2019 23:00
  Living Rent has highlighted a growing numbers of tenants who are living under such arrangements with few rights.
  
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• Royal baby: Prince Harry trip to Netherlands could hint at due date

  01-05-2019 22:25
  An announcement that Prince Harry will visit the Netherlands next week has ramped up the anticipation around the arrival of the royal baby.The trip, planned for Wednesday and Thursday next week, was revealed by his team at Buckingham Palace as the world eagerly awaits the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's first child.Harry is set to carry out an official engagement in Amsterdam before then travelling on to The Hague to officially launch the one year countdown to the Invictus Games 2020
  
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• Please Enjoy Gavin Williamson's Greatest Moments As Defence Secretary

  01-05-2019 22:20
  While his tenure at the helm of Britain's armed forces risks being marred byan alleged breach of national security, many fondly remember the time they'vehad with Gavin Williamson as defence secretary
  
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• Director stole £2.4m from companies behind Deep Purple’s back catalogue

  01-05-2019 22:16
  Dipak Rao, 71, has been jailed for more than six years after siphoning money into his personal account.
  
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• SNP MP prepared to cast deciding vote against independence as Speaker

  01-05-2019 22:07
  SNP veteran Pete Wishart has published a 10-point manifesto as he pitches to become the new Speaker when John Bercow steps down.
  
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• Man hunted after three women raped may have been wrongly freed from prison

  01-05-2019 21:39
  Joseph McCann, 34, is suspected of snatching his victims off the streets in three separate incidents recently.
  
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• 'I wasn't there for him and three months later he died'

  01-05-2019 21:35
  Derek Martindale received infected blood in the 1980s, as did his brother, who later died from AIDS.
  
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• Joseph McCann: Suspected serial rapist may have been freed from jail early by mistake

  01-05-2019 21:34
  The Ministry of Justice is "urgently investigating" a possible administrative blunder, which may have resulted in suspected serial rapist Joseph McCann being released from prison too early.The 34-year-old is being hunted by police in connection with the abduction and rape of three women in separate incidents in London and Watford.The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that McCann was given an indeterminate sentence in September 2008, for carrying out an aggravated burglary in which an 85-year-old
  
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• Sacked defence secretary denies security council leak on Huawei decision

  01-05-2019 21:32
  Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson has told Sky News he categorically denies leaking information from the National Security Council and says his sacking was a politically motivated decision.Penny Mordaunt, the current international development secretary, will replace Mr Williamson.
  
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• Theresa May Hints At Compromise Brexit Plan With Labour Over Customs Union

  01-05-2019 21:29
  Theresa May has given her strongest hint yet that she is working on acompromise Brexit plan with Labour that covers customs and trade links withthe EU
  
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• Fiona Onasanya: Lying MP faces by-election after constituents back petition

  01-05-2019 21:29
  A petition to recall an Independent MP who was jailed for lying to police has reached the required number of signatures to force a by-election.The petition secured the support of 19,261 people in Fiona Onasanya's Peterborough constituency, meaning 27.64% of eligible voters and above the 10% needed for the new poll."This means that the petition is successful and the Peterborough parliamentary seat is now vacant," said the city's council.
  
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• Burble, burble, babble. After weeks of silence, May finally speaks

  01-05-2019 21:28
  May and Corbyn: least said, soonest mendedPhotograph: PATheresa May hadn’t been able to achieve anything very much by trying to look busy, so doing nothing had to be worth a try. At least that way, she was in with a shout of not actively making things worse. So for the past three weeks the prime minister has been on a self-imposed retreat. No public appearances, not a word spoken. A chance to block out the outside world, realign her chakras and contemplate the meaninglessness of her life.
  
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• Stephen Nicholls: ' I'm the only one left' haemophiliac tells blood inquiry

  01-05-2019 21:26
  A haemophiliac has told the Infected Blood Inquiry he was "the only one left" of a group of teenagers with the disease who vowed to find out why sufferers were dying.Stephen Nicholls, 52, was in his last year at Treloar's, a Hampshire school for children with disabilities when, he said "the first haemophiliacs were starting to die and everyone was really scared".Mr Nicholls said he was one of 89 boys at the school with haemophilia offered treatment onsite and it was only after leaving the school
  
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• Wagamama owner serves up ex-HBOS chief Hornby as new boss

  01-05-2019 21:18
  Andy Hornby, the former HBOS chief executive, is to end a decade-long absence from the London stock market by becoming the next boss of The Restaurant Group (TRG), the owner of Wagamama and Garfunkel's.Sky News can reveal that Mr Hornby, the joint chief operating officer of Ladbrokes' parent company, GVC Holdings, is close to being appointed as Andy McCue's successor.
  
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• Penny Mordaunt becomes first ever female defence secretary

  01-05-2019 21:15
  Penny Mordaunt has been identified by some as an outside candidate for the Tory leadership. Photograph: Toby Melville/ReutersPenny Mordaunt becomes the UK’s first female defence secretary after being tipped for the job two years ago after the sacking of Michael Fallon.It is a post that seems more suited to her background than her previous job as international development secretary.Mordaunt is a Royal Navy reservist, a former minister for the armed forces and the MP for Portsmouth, home of
  
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• Gavin Williamson: The man who told Russia to 'shut up'

  01-05-2019 21:14
  The man known as "Private Pike" has often been mocked during his time as defence secretary as he lurched from one gaffe to the next.Gavin Alexander Williamson was born in 1976 to father Ray, a local government worker and mother Beverly, a job centre worker, who were both Labour voters.Brought up in Scarborough, he attended Raincliffe School, a state comprehensive, and obtained a BSc in social sciences from the University of Bradford before taking up a career in manufacturing.
  
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• Fired UK defence minister Williamson denies Huawei leak

  01-05-2019 21:06
  Fired by British Prime Minister Theresa May as defence secretary on Wednesday, Gavin Williamson denied leaking information about Chinese telecoms company Huawei from her National Security Council.It has been a great privilege to serve as defence secretary and chief whip in your Government.
  
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• Williamson sacked as Defence Secretary despite ‘strenuous’ denial of leak

  01-05-2019 20:53
  There were immediate calls for a police investigation into a possible breach of the Official Secrets Act.
  
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• Penny Mordaunt becomes UK’s first female Defence Secretary

  01-05-2019 20:51
  The 46-year-old retains the job of minister for women and equalities.
  
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• May fires defence secretary over Huawei leak

  01-05-2019 20:49
  British Prime Minister Theresa May fired her defence minister on Wednesday over a leak of discussions in the National Security Council about Chinese telecoms company Huawei, the latest of her allies to be ousted from government.The sudden dismissal of Gavin Williamson, who "strenuously" denied involvement in the leak, was another blow for May, who has been badly damaged by her failure so far to usher Britain smoothly out of the European Union.The firing also underlined how seriously her team tre
  
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• Jailed MP Onasanya ousted by petition of constituents

  01-05-2019 20:47
  The 35-year-old lawyer becomes the first MP ever to be removed by the recall process.
  
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• Timeline of fallout from Huawei leak revelations

  01-05-2019 20:44
  Dominic Grieve, chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, described the leak as 'deeply worrying'.
  
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• From PM’s loyal enforcer to gaffe-prone ‘Private Pike’

  01-05-2019 20:42
  Gavin Williamson rose rapidly through the ranks but faced stormy waters at the Ministry of Defence.
  
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• Fall of May ally and would-be kingmaker Gavin Williamson

  01-05-2019 20:41
  Gavin Williamson saw himself as a Machiavellian figure who had repeatedly protected Theresa May. Photograph: Darrin Zammit Lupi/ReutersGavin Williamson’s sudden sacking as defence secretary by the prime minister who had been his mentor marks a precipitous end to a cabinet career that the 42-year-old thought was merely coming to the end of its first chapter.The defence secretary, fired by Theresa May after leaks from last week’s national security council, had seen himself as a machiav
  
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• Three Highlights From Tommy Robinson's Disastrous 24 Hours On The Campaign Trail

  01-05-2019 20:29
  Since announcing he will stand in the forthcoming European elections, TommyRobinson - real new Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - as been doing what all politicalhopefuls do
  
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• Boy detained for killing academic after hearing voices in his head

  01-05-2019 20:25
  The boy pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility at Winchester crown court. Photograph: Chris Ison/PAA 17-year-old boy has been indefinitely detained in a psychiatric hospital after killing an academic using electric drills, knives and a hammer. The teenager carried out a sustained attack on the lecturer after hearing voices in his head, Winchester crown court heard. Dr Barry Hounsome, 54, died while trying to escape from the attack at his home in Gosport, Hampshire, on 29 Oct
  
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• Gavin Williamson sacked as Defence Secretary following Huawei leak inquiry

  01-05-2019 20:20
  Prime Minister Theresa May said she had 'lost confidence' in the minister's ability to serve.
  
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• Cabinet ministers split over customs union Brexit deal with Labour

  01-05-2019 20:20
  The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is among several cabinet members who strongly oppose a customs union Brexit deal. Photograph: James Veysey/Rex/ShutterstockCabinet ministers are bitterly divided over whether Brexit talks with Labour should broach the possibility of a customs union, with several sceptical that such a deal could even command a majority in parliament or survive hostile backbench amendments. A senior cabinet minister suggested a deal involving a customs union could be backed by a
  
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• Voters go to the polls in Northern Ireland amid powersharing impasse

  01-05-2019 20:14
  A total of 819 local government election candidates are standing across 11 council areas.
  
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• Disgraced MP Fiona Onasanya loses seat after recall petition

  01-05-2019 20:03
  Fiona Onasanya was convicted of perverting the course of justice after lying to avoid a speeding ticket. Photograph: Yui Mok/PAFiona Onasanya, the MP found guilty of lying to avoid a speeding ticket, has become the first parliamentarian to be removed from office after a recall petition, triggering a byelection in her Peterborough seat. Nigel Farage’s Brexit party will field its first parliamentary candidate in the seat, which voted 60-40 to leave the EU. The bellwether constituency usually
  
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• Camilla celebrates achievements of her Battalion during barracks visit

  01-05-2019 19:47
  The Duchess of Cornwall presented medals to the Riflemen.
  
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• Dramatic gull rescue captivates bystanders in Liverpool

  01-05-2019 19:45
  The gull was rushed to a vet for treatment after being freed from netting on the side of a building.
  
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• Text of letter from May to Williamson

  01-05-2019 19:40
  Prime Minister Theresa May fired Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson on Wednesday over the leak of information about Chinese telecoms company Huawei.It is vital for the operation of good government and for the UK's national interest in some of the most sensitive and important areas that the members of the NSC -- from our Armed Forces, our Security and Intelligence Agencies, and the most senior level of Government -- are able to have frank and detailed discussions in full confidence that the advic
  
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• By-Election Triggered As Peterborough Voters Back Bid To Remove Disgraced MP Fiona Onasanya

  01-05-2019 19:40
  The recall petition, which was distributed at ten 'signing places' in theconstituency over six weeks, closed on Wednesday and attracted the signaturesof 19,261 voters
  
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• UK appoints Rory Stewart as international development minister

  01-05-2019 19:38
  LONDON (Reuters) - Rory Stewart was named Britain's cabinet secretary for international development on Wednesday in a reshuffle sparked by the firing of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson over the leak of information about Chinese telecoms company Huawei.
  
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• Elephant on the doorstep: Plymouth’s politicians don’t mention Brexit

  01-05-2019 19:28
  A leaflet for Labour council leader, Tudor Evans, who says he is is trying to steer conversation away from Brexit and on to local issues. Photograph: Neil Hope/SWNSDave, a 72-year-old bus driver living in the Ham area of Plymouth, is no party loyalist. He has voted both Conservative and Labour before and is proud to be a swing voter. “I swing for common sense,” he says. “I’ve voted for both parties when different scenarios have come up at different times.” In this w
  
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• Britain appoints Penny Mordaunt as new defence secretary

  01-05-2019 19:24
  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government said on Wednesday Penny Mordaunt had been named defence secretary to replace Gavin Williamson, who was sacked over the leak of information about Chinese telecoms company Huawei.
  
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• Scientists find cocaine in shrimps in UK rivers

  01-05-2019 19:22
  Researchers from King’s College London, working with the University of Suffolk, tested at 15 sites across Suffolk.
  
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• Penny Mordaunt Announced As Defence Secretary After Gavin Williamson Sacking

  01-05-2019 19:18
  Penny Mordaunt has been appointed defence secretary following the sacking ofGavin Williamson, Downing Street has said
  
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• Labour MSP backed by colleagues in condemnation of party’s complaints process

  01-05-2019 18:53
  Anas Sarwar was barred from giving evidence at a hearing into allegations he suffered racist abuse.
  
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• Mariam Moustafa family criticise CPS over court error

  01-05-2019 18:50
  Mariam Moustafa, 18, died in hospital after being attacked in Nottingham city centre. Photograph: PAAuthorities have not explained why Mariam Moustafa’s family were not informed in advance of a court hearing at which her attackers pleaded guilty to affray, their lawyer has said.The Egyptian student fell into a coma in February 2018 after she was brutally attacked by a group of teenagers in Nottingham and later died of a stroke.Last month, three young women pleaded guilty to affray at a pre
  
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• Powersharing parties must be ready to compromise: Leo Varadkar

  01-05-2019 18:48
  Fresh talks aimed at restoring the coalition at Stormont are to take place next week.
  
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• Asylum seeker to appeal against eviction ruling

  01-05-2019 18:44
  Serco announced plans to issue lock-change notices in Glasgow to tenants refused refugee status last July.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Rejects Claims That He Endorsed Anti-Semitism In Colonialism Textbook

  01-05-2019 18:34
  Jeremy Corbyn has rejected claims that he endorsed anti-semitic remarks in anacademic textbook on colonialism, pointing out the language used was "of itstime"
  
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• May - Deal on second phase of Brexit negotiations still possible by end 2020

  01-05-2019 18:29
  LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday she still believed it was possible to reach a deal on the second phase of Brexit negotiations by the current deadline of Dec. 31 2020.
  
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