General news

• Michael Spicer, founder of European Research Group, dies at 76

  29-05-2019 23:53
  Michael Spicer with Margaret Thatcher in 2006. Photograph: Chris Young/PALord Michael Spicer, founder of the European Research Group, has died in hospital following a long illness. Prominent Tories have led tributes to the former minister and longtime MP for Worcestershire. His widow, Patricia Ann Hunter, paid tribute to an “amazing husband and wonderful father”, saying he had remained involved in politics until his death. A family spokesman said Spicer, 76, had Parkinson’s and
  
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• May backs return of maintenance grants for poorer university students

  29-05-2019 23:53
  Outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May will announce her backing on Thursday for the reintroduction of maintenance grants for university students from disadvantaged backgrounds, a move that will pressure her successor to follow suit.Student maintenance grants were axed by former finance minister George Osborne in 2015 who deemed them too costly for taxpayers, but May will say this decision proved to be a failure.
  
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• Penny Mordaunt drops Conservative leadership hint in attack on 'usual tired routine'

  29-05-2019 23:42
  Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt has hinted she could be the latest Tory MP to enter the race to succeed Theresa May.The Portsmouth North MP called for a "different kind of leadership" to "unlock our nation's potential", as she set out her plan for a "listening" exercise ahead of the election of a new Conservative leader.In an article for the influential ConservativeHome website, Ms Mordaunt wrote: "The public now has to endure a parade of leadership candidates speaking to Westminster, from West
  
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• Bring Back Grants For Less Well-Off Students, May Urges Next PM

  29-05-2019 23:30
  The controversial decision to slash maintenance grants for poorer studentsshould be reversed, Theresa May has said as a major review of tuition fees ispublished
  
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• Hammond warns leadership hopefuls against low tax, deregulation dogma

  29-05-2019 23:28
  British finance minister Philip Hammond will on Thursday warn those hoping to replace Prime Minister Theresa May against basing their leadership pitches on tax cuts and deregulation, a source at the finance ministry said.A large field of candidates from the right-leaning Conservative Party are vying to replace her, and have already begun setting out the policies they will use to woo fellow lawmakers and party members.Hammond, May's chancellor throughout her almost three-year premiership, will us
  
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• Corbyn: Any new Brexit vote will not be 'Leave' or 'Remain' re-run

  29-05-2019 23:11
  Any new Brexit referendum should be about the terms of a deal struck with the European Union and not a repeat of the 2016 choice for Leave or Remain, opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Wednesday.Corbyn, who has said the option of a second referendum should be kept on the table, is under pressure to endorse one without qualification after Labour lost votes to the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats in last week's European Parliament election.
  
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• Boris Johnson would be disaster as prime minister – Sturgeon

  29-05-2019 22:58
  The First Minister slammed his time as foreign secretary and said she had 'no doubt' the European Union would welcome an independent Scotland.
  
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• Kelleher secures second seat as Ireland South count heads into fifth day

  29-05-2019 22:56
  Independents 4 Change candidate Mick Wallace looks set to take the third seat in the coming counts.
  
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• Suspected unexploded bomb turns out to be giant Christmas bauble

  29-05-2019 22:36
  A suspected unexploded bomb, which washed up on the banks of the River Thames, turned out to be a giant Christmas bauble.
  
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• Hammond warns Conservative leadership hopefuls against tax cuts, deregulation

  29-05-2019 22:35
  LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond will on Thursday warn Conservative Party leadership candidates against basing their pitches on tax cuts and deregulation, a source at the finance ministry said.
  
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• Sadiq Khan accuses John Cleese of acting like Basil Fawlty over London claims

  29-05-2019 22:32
  The Mayor Of London has hit back at the Monty Python actor.
  
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• Step inside Scotland's Home of the Year

  29-05-2019 22:23 via bbc.co.uk
  The accolade goes to a dream home built by a couple who were only able to share it for a year.
  
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• Moby cancels UK and Ireland book tour after controversial Natalie Portman comments - NME Live

  29-05-2019 22:21 via nme.com
  Moby cancels UK and Ireland book tour after controversial Natalie Portman comments  NME LiveMoby cancels UK book tour after Natalie Portman row  BBC NewsNatalie Portman steps out after Moby's claims they dated  Daily MailMoby cancels 'all future appearances' amid Natalie Portman controversy  Metro.co.ukMoby cancels public appearances after Natalie Portman row  Sky NewsView full coverage on Google News
  
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• Counts continue as four more MEPs elected in Ireland

  29-05-2019 22:11
  Independent Luke Flanagan, Sinn Fein's Matt Carthy, Fine Gael's Maria Walsh and Fianna Fail's Billy Kelleher have been elected.
  
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• Stolen beer kegs worth almost £1 million seized by police

  29-05-2019 22:07
  Officers said the kegs, which belong to a drinks distributor, have an estimated retail value of 900,000 pounds.
  
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• Dominic Raab: Tory Leadership Hopeful Says He's 'Probably Not' A Feminist

  29-05-2019 21:43
  Dominic Raab said he would "probably not" describe himself as a feminist butinsisted he was committed to equality
  
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• Tory leadership contender Dominic Raab says he’s ‘probably not’ a feminist

  29-05-2019 21:25
  The former Brexit secretary said he was a 'champion of equality and meritocracy'.
  
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• SNP MEP threatened with legal action by Brexit Party chairman over TV claims

  29-05-2019 21:12
  Lawyers for Richard Tice say they will bring High Court proceedings against Alyn Smith if he fails to apologise for comments made on Sky News.
  
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• Fraud trial abandoned because expert witness had no expertise

  29-05-2019 20:45
  The CPS dropped its case against eight men accused of fraudulently trading carbon credits.Photograph: John Giles/PAThe safety of convictions secured in more than 20 fraud trials may have to be examined after an expert witness was found to be inadequately qualified. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has abandoned a case against eight defendants in a carbon credit and diamond sales hearing after defence lawyers cross-examined Andrew Ager. According to the lawyers’ website, at 2 Hare Court
  
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• Corbyn leads tributes after death of veteran Labour activist

  29-05-2019 20:23
  Walter Wolfgang hit the headlines when he was thrown out of the party's conference in 2005.
  
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• Bercow staying on as Speaker 'may not be enough to stop no-deal'

  29-05-2019 20:15
  John Bercow said he would remain Speaker until Brexit is resolved. Photograph: Handout/ReutersJohn Bercow staying on as Speaker may not be enough to help parliament stop the UK leaving the EU without a deal at the end of October, according to one of the leading MPs trying to stop a hard Brexit. Nick Boles, who helped with efforts to legislate against a no-deal Brexit at the end of March, warned it would be extremely difficult for parliament to make such a successful attempt again. MPs have alrea
  
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• Officers assigned to sex abuse investigations linked to notorious bus driver

  29-05-2019 20:07
  Detectives have revealed that five of David Sullivan's alleged victims have come forward in recent weeks.
  
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• Duke of Sussex teases Australian cricket star at royal garden party

  29-05-2019 20:00
  Harry will be at the Oval on Thursday to watch England Captain Eoin Morgan take on South Africa in one of the World Cup's opening matches.
  
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• Suspected bomb turns out to be giant Christmas bauble

  29-05-2019 19:56
  Metropolitan Police officers were called to the glittery ornament found washed up by the Thames, near Wapping, east London.
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon clashes with Tory hopefuls over second independence referendum

  29-05-2019 19:55
  Nicola Sturgeon has hit back at Conservative leadership contenders vowing to block Scottish independence.The Scottish first minister sent the "memo" to Tory MPs hoping to replace Theresa May after her government introduced draft legislation for a second independence referendum.
  
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• Government spends almost £100m on Brexit consultants

  29-05-2019 19:53
  Lorries seen during a trial in Kent in preparation for a possible no-deal Brexit.Photograph: Toby Melville/ReutersNearly £100m of public money has been spent on private consultancy firms recruited by the government to provide Brexit advice including no-deal planning, a leaked Whitehall report obtained by the Guardian reveals.The draft report by the National Audit Office, which scrutinises spending for parliament, details how government departments have paid at least £97m to Brexit co
  
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• Speeding woman pulled over after overtaking chief constable

  29-05-2019 19:52
  Northamptonshire's most senior officer took action against errant driver on Tuesday
  
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• ‘Cheap trick’: Raab, Hancock and Javid’s ‘clean campaign’ scorned by rival Tories

  29-05-2019 19:49
  Dominic Raab, Matt Hancock and Sajid Javid, all in the race to be the next Tory leader. Composite: EPA/Getty ImagesRival Conservative leadership camps have accused three candidates of a “cheap trick” after Dominic Raab, Matt Hancock and Sajid Javid signed a “clean campaign” pledge which others said they had not been shown in advance.The pledge, which promises not to launch personal attacks on other candidates, was launched by Raab with Hancock and Javid’s signatures
  
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• ‘Cheap trick’: Javid, Hancock and Raab’s ‘clean campaign’ scorned by rival Tories

  29-05-2019 19:49
  Sajid Javid and Dominic Raab, both in the race to be the next Tory leader. Photograph: STF/AFP/Getty ImagesRival Conservative leadership camps have accused three candidates of a “cheap trick” after Dominic Raab, Matt Hancock and Sajid Javid signed a “clean campaign” pledge which others said they had not been shown in advance. The pledge, which promises not to launch personal attacks on other candidates, was launched by Raab with Hancock and Javid’s signatures. Rory
  
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• London Bridge attackers used pink knives from Lidl, inquest hears

  29-05-2019 19:42
  The terrorists behind the London Bridge terror attack used 12-inch pink knives bought from a Lidl supermarket, an inquest heard.It is also claimed they could have been planning to target Oxford Street instead, as the Old Bailey was told a mobile phone was later found in their van with directions to the busy shopping district.One of the three terrorists, Rachid Redouane, 30, was captured on CCTV buying the pink weapons using a self-checkout till at the budget supermarket chain.
  
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• Son says Frenchwoman murdered in Ireland craved ‘simplicity of life’

  29-05-2019 19:39
  Sophie Toscan du Plantier was brutally killed outside Schull two days before Christmas in 1996.
  
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• Walter Wolfgang, antiwar activist and Jack Straw heckler, dies aged 95

  29-05-2019 19:37
  Walter Wolfgang is led away from the 2005 Labour party conference after heckling Jack Straw. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/PATributes have been paid to the antiwar activist Walter Wolfgang, who has died aged 95, with many remembering a “committed fighter for peace and justice” and a lifelong socialist who “always spoke truth to power”.Wolfgang, a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, joined the Labour party in 1948 and was a founding member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmamen
  
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• Antiwar activist Walter Wolfgang dies aged 95

  29-05-2019 19:37
  Walter Wolfgang is led away from the 2005 Labour party conference after heckling Jack Straw. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/PATributes have been paid to the antiwar activist Walter Wolfgang, who has died aged 95, with many remembering a “committed fighter for peace and justice” and a lifelong socialist who “always spoke truth to power”. Wolfgang, a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, joined the Labour party in 1948 and was a founding member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmame
  
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• Woman with dementia robbed of two televisions in two days

  29-05-2019 19:34
  A man entered the 88-year-old's house in Motherwell on Monday and stole a TV, bank card and jewellery - then returned on Tuesday and took another TV.
  
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• Heseltine warns Tories: don’t follow ‘poisonous politics of Nigel Farage’

  29-05-2019 19:30
  Michael Heseltine said there was a danger a new prime minister in favour of a hard Brexit could simply run down the clock to a no-deal departure. Photograph: Ken McKay/ITV/Rex/ShutterstockMichael Heseltine has warned the Conservative leadership candidates they will never win a general election by following the “poisonous politics of Nigel Farage”, as he said the prospect of 100,000 Tory members choosing the next prime minister filled him with dread.The former deputy prime minister, w
  
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• Raids on two Northern Irish journalists’ homes had ‘inappropriate’ warrants, court says

  29-05-2019 19:22
  Investigative journalists Barry McCaffrey (left) and Trevor Birney outside Belfast high court. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PAPolice inappropriately obtained search warrants to raid the homes of two Northern Irish investigative journalists, a court has concluded, in a case that has raised concerns about press freedom in Britain. Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey highlighted apparent collusion between the police and suspected murderers in the 1994 Loughinisland massacre, where six Catholic men were
  
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• Man Sets Himself On Fire Close To The White House

  29-05-2019 19:06
  Emergency services have responded to a person engulfed in flames close to theWhite House
  
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• Scottish Labour on ‘life support’ after ‘cataclysmic’ Euro election results

  29-05-2019 19:04
  Former chair of the Scottish Labour Party Jamie Glackin spoke out after the party lost its two MEPs.
  
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• Dominic Raab 'more rightwing on education than Thatcher'

  29-05-2019 19:02
  Asked whether Rabb still endorsed the idea of letting firms run state schools, his spokesman did not rule out the proposal. Photograph: Matt Dunham/APTory leadership hopeful Dominic Raab has been described as more rightwing than Margaret Thatcher over his proposal to let state schools be run by profit-making companies Raab, who is second favourite in the race to be the next prime minister, made the case for privately run state schools in 2013 and again in 2014, saying the government should open
  
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• Changes to the Paris skyline? Non merci

  29-05-2019 19:02
  Paris is known as one of the world's most elegant cities, captivating visitors with the charms of Montmartre, the romance of the Left Bank, graceful architecture and tree-lined boulevards.In the run-up to the Olympic Games in 2024, the mayor has ambitious plans to pull the City of Lights into the modern era: relandscaping the gardens around the Eiffel Tower and constructing the first city-center skyscraper since the 1970s.A Paris court threw out a number of legal challenges brought against the s
  
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• What's behind the Spice Girls' sound problems?

  29-05-2019 18:59 via bbc.co.uk
  Experts explain the issues that could be behind the negative comments about the group's comeback.
  
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• Brexit party in talks to join far-right group in EU parliament

  29-05-2019 18:56
  A spokesman for Nigel Farage confirmed a meeting had taken place.Photograph: Ray Tang/Rex/ShutterstockNigel Farage’s Brexit party has been in talks to join the far-right group in the European parliament and is keeping its options open about its future allies, a spokesman for the party has said. The talks between the Brexit party and Italy’s far-right League were first revealed byMarco Zanni, a League MEP, who said talks were going well and could be wrapped up next week. He told La Re
  
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• Headteachers warned as measles cases spike in London - ITV News

  29-05-2019 18:51 via itv.com
  Headteachers warned as measles cases spike in London  ITV NewsHeadteachers of schools in three London boroughs told to be wary of measles  Daily MailMeasles outbreak in London schools prompts urgent MMR warnings to anti-vaxxer parents  The SunQuincy makes vaccination push after babys measles diagnoses  The Patriot LedgerSuspected cases of mumps in Surrey hit record high  Get SurreyView full coverage on Google News
  
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• UPDATE 1-Irish central bank governor departs with overheating warning

  29-05-2019 18:48
  Ireland's departing central bank chief warned the government on Wednesday that it risks stoking overheating pressures that could do lasting damage to the economy if it does move towards running "significant" budget surpluses.Citing data last week that showed unemployment in Europe's fastest growing economy was far lower than thought at 4.6%, Philip Lane used his final outing before taking over as European Central Bank chief economist to renew his call for greater fiscal prudence.
  
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• London Bridge ringleader dined with bailed IS supporter, inquest told

  29-05-2019 18:41
  Butt and two other extremists launched a van and knife attack on London Bridge and Borough Market which left eight people dead.
  
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• Peterborough byelection: Labour and Tories fear Brexit party surge

  29-05-2019 18:38
  Brexit party supporters take to the streets in PeterboroughPhotograph: Terry Harris/REX/ShutterstockLeading figures from Labour and the Conservatives are poised to descend upon Peterborough amid concerns that the Brexit party is on the verge of victory in next Thursday’s crucial byelection.Nigel Farage’s fledgling organisation, which triumphed at last week’s European elections, is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the Cambridgeshire seat following the recall of the former
  
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• Labour Should Ignore Voters Who 'Hate Blacks, Women And Gays', Says Paul Mason

  29-05-2019 18:36
  Labour should ignore right-wingers who "hate blacks, hate women and hate gays"in order to win a second referendum campaign to stay in the EU, Paul Mason hassaid
  
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• US stocks slide toward first monthly loss of 2019

  29-05-2019 18:34
  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks sped toward their first monthly loss of 2019 as investors continued shifting money into the safety of bonds while fleeing high-risk holdings in the technology and industrial sectors.
  
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• Police release image of suspect after attempted child kidnap in southwest London

  29-05-2019 18:17
  Police have released a CCTV image of a man they suspect tried to kidnap a nine-year-old girl by promising her sweets on her way home from school.
  
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• Air traffic controllers to strike again in pay dispute

  29-05-2019 18:10
  The Prospect union is seeking a 10% increase for staff, who will take industrial action on Wednesday June 12.
  
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