General news

• SNL drops Shane Gillis from cast over racist comments

  16-09-2019 23:55
  Move comes after podcast footage surfaced of comedian making racist, homophobic and misogynistic commentsThe comedian Shane Gillis will not join the cast of Saturday Night Live, the show announced on Monday. Related: Andrew Yang: racist comment by SNL hire 'should be taken in different light'Continue reading...
  
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• RAF serviceman dies after sustaining injury in rugby league match

  16-09-2019 23:31
  • Scott Stevenson hurt in inter-services game against the army
  • ‘This is tragic and heartbreaking news,’ says RFL chiefAn RAF senior aircraftman has died after being injured playing in an inter-services rugby league match against the army.Scott Stevenson was hurt playing in the game at Aldershot last Friday night and news of his death was announced by his family in a Facebook post on Monday evening. Stevenson, 25, who was based at RAF Marham in Norfolk, also played for the
  
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• The new Brexit shift for Liberal Democrats explained

  16-09-2019 23:30
  Party members at conference overwhelmingly support message to offer a "straightforward" policy on Brexit if elected.
  
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• Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool land in Italy intent on defending their crown

  16-09-2019 23:30
  Napoli handed Liverpool a late defeat in last year’s group stage but manager insists a triumphant campaign has only made his squad hungry for moreOne might expect Liverpool to return to the Champions League stage with an air of superiority 108 days after winning the club’s sixth European crown. Not Jürgen Klopp. He sees a team that feels it still has something to prove to the outside world. On that basis the Stadio San Paolo is the perfect spot for the European champions to laun
  
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• Swinson: No-deal Brexit like burning your own house down

  16-09-2019 23:00
  The Liberal Democrat leader will call Boris Johnson's Brexit strategy 'sickening' in her closing speech to the party conference.
  
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• Jo Swinson to close Lib Dem conference with rallying cry over Brexit

  16-09-2019 23:00
  The Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, at the party conference in Bournemouth. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty ImagesJo Swinson is to use her first conference speech as Liberal Democrat leader to argue the “tired old parties” are losing their dominance following failures over Brexit, amid claims that the Lib Dems could take 100 or more seats at an election.Swinson is due to close the gathering in Bournemouth on Tuesday afternoon with a rallying cry to activists ahead of a likely
  
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• England itching to get going but Maro Itoje wary of Tonga’s physical threat

  16-09-2019 23:00
  • Squad are bonding well but looking forward to action
  • Itoje: Sunday’s game in Sapporo cannot be taken lightlyMonday was a national holiday in Japan to honour the elderly. It was fitting, then, that when Billy Vunipola appeared on stage at England’s World Cup welcome ceremony he declared his World Cup wish to be that he and his teammates grow old and grey and still fondly reflect on this tournament. “I wish that whatever we do in the next few weeks will live with us
  
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• Crime and Punishment review – a damning look at our desperate prison system

  16-09-2019 23:00
  Two years in the making, this heavyweight new series starts by meeting prisoners with deeply controversial indeterminate sentences – and the damage done is crystal clear
  When Pandora gave in to temptation and opened the boxful of ills that humanity had until then been spared, she managed to keep just one from escaping. Out flew disease and death and destruction, but hope was saved because, the ancient Greeks knew, it was the one thing without which mortals cannot survive.It is this eternal
  
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• Arthur Masuaku sees red as West Ham hold out for a point at Aston Villa

  16-09-2019 23:00
  West Ham arrived here on a quest for the victory that would have lifted them to third in the table but they ended up relieved to take a point. They did not deserve more. Nor did Aston Villa, and that was frustrating for the hosts, who spent the last portion of the game mostly failing to trouble 10 men after Arthur Masuaku was sent off. Related: Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s actionContinue reading...
  
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• Arsenal’s Daniëlle van de Donk breaks stubborn Manchester United resistance

  16-09-2019 23:00
  Manchester United’s Casey Stoney said she was “gutted” and her team “devastated” after a desperate late Daniëlle van de Donk goal, snatched on the rebound amid relentless Arsenal pressure, denied a stunningly resilient home team the first point of their maiden Women’s Super League campaign. Related: Women’s Super League: talking points from the weekend’s actionContinue reading...
  
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• Pettersen’s path to Solheim captaincy may be blocked by Catriona Matthew

  16-09-2019 22:59
  • Pettersen keen to lead at next Solheim Cup after retirement
  • Matthew ‘wouldn’t say no’ if offered leadership for second timeIf the assumption is that Suzann Pettersen’s next Solheim Cup chapter will come in the form of captaincy, Catriona Matthew may yet have something to say about a supposed formality.Pettersen announced her retirement from competitive golf moments after holing the winning putt for Europe on Sunday. Having played in nine Solheim Cups in a hu
  
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• Elon Musk claims he didn't intend to accuse British diver of pedophilia

  16-09-2019 22:58
  Tesla CEO’s lawyers said ‘pedo guy’ is a common insult used when Musk was a child in South Africa and not meant to ‘accuse a person’ Elon Musk is continuing to try to wriggle his way out of a defamation lawsuit, claiming in a court filing on Monday that a tweet labeling a British diver “pedo guy” was not meant to actually accuse him of pedophilia.The Tesla CEO is being sued over comments made in 2018 about Vernon Unsworth, a diver who helped rescue a tea
  
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• Boris Johnson's No-Show At Luxembourg Press Conference Spawns A Meme For The Ages

  16-09-2019 22:09
  Was it a stitch-up, a gaffe or an outmanoeuvre? Whatever the reality, BorisJohnson's decision to scrap a planned speech alongside his counterpart inLuxembourg has lit up social media
  
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• Sacrificing Ashes for a World Cup win appears worthwhile for England | Vic Marks

  16-09-2019 22:00
  It was not a perfect summer and the Test side requires work but Trevor Bayliss delivered the prize England coveted the mostAfter it was all over there were smiles rather than jubilation at the Oval and a few sighs of relief – from both sides. Australia were content, having retained the Ashes; England could take comfort from what was almost a copybook victory in the final Test, which allowed them to square the series. The England side might have crumpled after the defeat at Old Trafford but
  
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• Government apologises for ‘inadvertent’ arms sales to Saudi Arabia

  16-09-2019 21:09
  A review found two export licences were issued in June and July.
  
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• Economists calculate monetary value of 'thoughts and prayers'

  16-09-2019 21:00
  US study finds Christians are willing to pay for prayers – but atheists will pay to avoid themAll things have a price – and if not, economists will find one. Researchers have calculated the going rate for thoughts and prayers offered in hard times.Rather than settling on one price for all, the study found the value of a compassionate gesture depended overwhelmingly on a person’s beliefs. While Christian participants were willing to part with money to receive thoughts and prayer
  
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• Antony Gormley review – metal master puts a bomb in the RA

  16-09-2019 21:00
  Royal Academy, London
  From its primordial gloop to the iron baby in the courtyard, Gormley’s show chronicles human progress. But is he really the right person to tell the story of us all?Antony Gormley’s retrospective at the Royal Academy ends in a moment of blissful release. After tottering through low, pitch-black metal tunnels and chambers, you emerge into a gallery filled with cool sea air and a briny tang. The floor of the final beaux-arts room is submerged beneath earth and sea
  
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• '75% of the audience get it!' How Count Arthur Strong conquered comedy

  16-09-2019 21:00
  As the dyspeptic old-school entertainer embarks on a tour, his creator Steve Delaney reflects on dedicating his life to one characterComedy has its careerists: thrusting tyros zeroing in on the fame, the TV gigs, the movie roles. But there are other, more circuitous routes to the top. The fictional Count Arthur Strong certainly took one, via the dog days of vaudeville and bit parts in Hammer horrors. His creator Steve Delaney took one too, meandering from drama school to a carpentry career to th
  
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• Dame Judi Dench reopens Ashcroft Playhouse in Croydon

  16-09-2019 20:56
  The actress unveiled a commemorative photo mosaic of Dame Peggy Ashcroft during the ceremony.
  
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• Johnson dependent on Labour MP votes for any Brexit deal

  16-09-2019 20:55
  Boris Johnson meets with the president of the EU commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, in Luxembourg.Photograph: Pool/Getty ImagesBoris Johnson will still need a bloc of Labour MPs to vote for any Brexit agreement struck with the EU, even if his whips have managed to reduce the number of Tory Eurosceptic “Spartans” holding out against a deal down to just eight.The prime minister insisted again on Monday that he wants a deal with Brussels that removes the Northern Ireland backstop. But eve
  
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• Bettel's anger highlights a bleak truth: the EU27 just wants Britain to go

  16-09-2019 20:47
  It was, by any standards, an unusual spectacle: the leader of the European Union’s second-smallest country deciding to empty-chair the British prime minister at what was supposed to have been a joint press conference after their meeting.Ostensibly, logistics were the problem: No 10 was concerned by the small but very noisy protest awaiting Boris Johnson outside; Luxembourg government officials said there was no room big enough to move the event inside.Whatever the reason, the press confere
  
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• Road transport emissions up since 1990 despite efficiency drive

  16-09-2019 20:40
  Transport, including rail and domestic aviation, has overtaken energy as the most polluting sector.Photograph: Rui Vieira/PABritain’s greenhouse gas emissions from road transport have continued to grow since 1990 despite more efficient cars because traffic has increased by almost a third, according to government figures.Cutting emissions on Britain’s roads remains a significant challenge, according to the report from the Office of National Statistics, citing a 6% rise in greenhouse g
  
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• Saudis must push back Aramco's flotation or risk looking desperate | Nils Pratley

  16-09-2019 20:39
  After the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil refineries investors will need time to see how events developFinancial markets are reliably terrible at reading big geopolitical developments, so do not read too much into the initial 20% jump in the oil price after the weekend attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure. The list of unknowns is long. Saudi officials may not know how long it will take to restore full production and it’s not in their interests to offer full clarity a
  
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• Gavin Woodhouse investors to vote on settlement offer

  16-09-2019 20:38
  Creditors will decide if they’ll accept 11p in the pound they invested in care home projectInvestors in an aborted Gavin Woodhouse care home project are to vote on whether the embattled entrepreneur’s former business partner is attempting to “buy them off at a pittance” via a new settlement offer.The October vote will give investors the chance of accepting 11p for every pound they ploughed into a single off-plan development in Yorkshire, where the advertised care home nev
  
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• Diageo workers to go on strike as pay talks break down

  16-09-2019 20:35
  All of the company's operations in Scotland will be affected by the walkout.
  
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• Incredible Sulk morphs from green to yellow as he is bested by Bettel | John Crace

  16-09-2019 20:33
  PM implodes under weight of his own narcissism as Luxembourg leader lets ripExit the Incredible Sulk. It was bad enough getting owned on Twitter by the actor who played the Incredible Hulk – comparing yourself to a comic book hero with anger management issues was always asking for trouble when you’ve got form with the Camberwell police. Classic Dom.But Boris Johnson’s day just got a whole lot worse when he was completely owned by about 50 unthreatening protesters – this w
  
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• Incredible Sulk morphs from green to yellow as he is bested by Bettel

  16-09-2019 20:33
  Xavier ‘the Abomination’ Bettel ‘empty-lecterns’ Boris Johnson. Photograph: Joshua Sammer/Getty ImagesExit the Incredible Sulk. It was bad enough getting owned on Twitter by the actor who played the Incredible Hulk – comparing yourself to a comic book hero with anger management issues was always asking for trouble when you’ve got form with the Camberwell police. Classic Dom.But Boris Johnson’s day just got a whole lot worse when he was completely owned b
  
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• Martin Rowson on David Cameron attacking Boris Johnson – cartoon

  16-09-2019 20:31
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• Two suspects arrested by armed police near court building

  16-09-2019 20:16
  The arrests happened in central Portsmouth.
  
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• Reclining Jacob Rees-Mogg features on poster claiming Tories are lying about NHS

  16-09-2019 20:14
  The billboard is the latest poster from campaign group Led By Donkeys.
  
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• Expand the bandwidth: today at the Liberal Democrat conference

  16-09-2019 20:10
  New(ish) Lib Dem MP Chuka Umunna tells party faithful how to win 100-plus seats. Quote of the day We are not complacent, we are not drunk on our success, we want to continue to expand the bandwidth, draw people into the party.” New(ish) Lib Dem MP Chuka Umunna explaining how the party could potentially win 100-plus seats in a general election. Apology of the day I deeply regret the offensive statements on social media. I want to apologise to anyone that I have offended.” Now-removed
  
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• Kevin McCloud firm's development resembles 'bomb site', say locals

  16-09-2019 20:03
  Grand Designs presenter’s company has yet to deliver on promises while investors are facing up to 97% lossesLocal residents claim a flagship development built by TV property guru Kevin McCloud’s troubled housing empire, which was supposed to have been completed in 2018, resembles a “bomb site”, with unfinished roads and pavements, and homeowners forced to contend with building-site conditions.In its sales brochure, HAB Housing – founded by the Grand Designs presente
  
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• This is what climate change looks like in Australia – in pictures

  16-09-2019 20:00
  As predictions about the climate crisis increasingly become observations, Australians are witnessing first hand the impacts of more frequent and severe weather events. These images supplied by the Climate Council show the devastating effects on the continent’s ecosystems and unique wildlife. Australia’s ecosystems are already under grave stress from land-clearing, over-harvesting and invasive feral animals and plants; climate change is adding to the litany of woes and proving to be t
  
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• 'She's not a spy': friends shocked over academic Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert's jailing in Iran

  16-09-2019 20:00
  Colleagues defend ‘thoughtful and passionate’ Australian-British lecturer, who was sentenced to a decade in prison on suspected espionage chargesFriends and colleagues of Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert – the Australian woman sentenced to a decade in prison in Iran on suspected espionage charges – have praised her as a “thoughtful and passionate academic”, and rejected outright suggestions she was a spy.The British-Australian academic was arrested by the Iranian regime
  
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• UK police charge climate activist over Heathrow protest

  16-09-2019 19:58
  British police said on Monday they had charged a climate-change activist who last week attempted to disrupt Europe's biggest airport, London Heathrow.The 'Heathrow Pause' activists had hoped to bring Heathrow to a standstill on Friday by flying drones but struggled to get them off the ground due to signal jamming, and the airport said it remained fully operational.Roger Hallam, a co-founder of the Extinction Rebellion group which blocked streets in central London this year, was charged with atte
  
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• Troubled jockey Graham Gibbons jailed after fourth drink-driving conviction

  16-09-2019 19:58
  • 37-year-old rider banned from driving for five years
  • ‘It’s an awful shame because he’s a very talented lad’The talented but troubled jockey Graham Gibbons has been jailed, following his fourth conviction for drink driving. The verdict was recorded last week at Harrogate magistrates court and resulted in the 37-year-old being committed to prison for 16 weeks, disqualified from driving for five years and fined a victim surcharge of £149.It is the latest
  
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• Paratroopers faced 'highly offensive' racial harassment at barracks, tribunal finds

  16-09-2019 19:57
  Two former paratroopers were subjected to "highly offensive" racial harassment, an employment judge has ruled.Nkululeko Zulu and Hani Gue, who took the Ministry of Defence to tribunal, alleged that they suffered racial discrimination and harassment, and that reasonable steps to prevent it were not taken by the army.A swastika, a Hitler moustache and the words "f*** off" and "n******" were drawn on photographs of the men, based at Merville Barracks in Colchester, the tribunal heard.
  
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• The Guardian view on a Liberal Democrat revoke: a promise that won’t be redeemed| Editorial

  16-09-2019 19:53
  Jo Swinson’s offer is just to permanently polarise the electorate around Brexit. The Lib Dems still have no distinctive pitch for issues beyond leaving the EUDo gamblers know something that pollsters do not? Ever since the Liberal Democrats’ record European election result and the arrival of their new leader, Jo Swinson, there’s been a spring in their step. Polls show the Lib Dems nipping at Labour’s heels. A victory in the Brecon and Radnorshire byelection and then the d
  
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• The Guardian view on county lines: victims, villains and everything in between | Editorial

  16-09-2019 19:52
  The use of modern slavery laws to target traffickers was a breakthrough. But the problems thrown up by modern drug gangs won’t be solved by criminal justice aloneThe once poorly understood phenomenon of county lines drug dealing is taking firmer shape in terms of public policy and also of awareness. The emerging picture is disturbing even to those familar with the most destructive consequences of illegal drugs. What is going on, as our reporting and interviews with senior police officers r
  
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• Johnson humiliated by Luxembourg PM at 'empty chair' press conference

  16-09-2019 19:52
  Boris Johnson was left humiliated and his claims of progress in the Brexit negotiations in tatters after a chaotic visit to Luxembourg ended in the prime minister being mocked by a fellow European leader for cancelling a press appearance to avoid protesters.Johnson was booed and jeered as he left a working lunch with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, before opting out of plans to speak alongside Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, after being targeted by a lar
  
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• Phillip Lee says record on LGBT rights has been misrepresented

  16-09-2019 19:48
  One of the newest Lib Dem MPs has been under pressure for actions while taking Tory whip. One of the new Liberal Democrat MP recruits, Dr Phillip Lee, who has been dogged by criticism from activists over his record on LGBT rights since he joined the party, claims his views have been misrepresented. LGBT activists in senior party roles quit in protest after the former Tory justice minister was accepted into the Lib Dems earlier this month. His dramatic defection eliminated prime minister Boris Jo
  
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• Middle East drones signal end to era of fast jet air supremacy

  16-09-2019 19:48
  Tiny, cheap, unmanned and hard-to-detect aircraft are transforming conflicts across regionIn the history of modern warfare, “own the skies, win the war” has been a constant maxim. Countries with the best technology and biggest budgets have devoted tens of billions to building modern air forces, confident they will continue to give their militaries primacy in almost any conflict.Tiny, cheap, unmanned aircraft have changed that, especially over the battlefields of the Middle East. In t
  
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• In Video: Pumpkin harvest begins for Halloween

  16-09-2019 19:47
  The team at Howe Bridge Farm near Malton have started picking thousands of the bright orange gourds ripe for carving.
  
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• Most Leave voters didn’t really care about Brexit, says deputy Lib Dem leader

  16-09-2019 19:40
  Sir Ed Davey also said he would want the UK to rejoin the European Union if Brexit does go ahead.
  
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• Canada: arrest of ex-head of intelligence shocks experts and alarms allies

  16-09-2019 19:23
  Police say charges of stealing covert information against Cameron Ortis pose ‘potential risk’ for US, UK, New Zealand and AustraliaCanada and its allies are scrambling to assess the damage inflicted by what experts believe could be the largest security breach in the country’s history after a senior federal intelligence official was arrested on charges of stealing covert information.Following a lengthy investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted police, Cameron Ortis – the
  
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• BBC to switch off Red Button information service in 2020

  16-09-2019 19:23
  A spokesman said the BBC needed to channel resources into ‘even better internet-based services’. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PAThe BBC is to switch off its Red Button teletext service from the start of next year, the broadcaster has confirmed.Ceefax, the BBC’s analogue teletext service, finished in October 2012 with the switchover to digital. It was replaced by BBC Red Button, which allowed viewers to read news and sports content on their TVs.A spokesperson said the service woul
  
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• 'It's finding something new in the old': how fashion can confront the climate crisis

  16-09-2019 19:21
  Sustainable style can help spread an important message, say panelists at London fashion week after a weekend of protestsThe climate crisis was on the agenda again at London fashion week on Monday, with sustainability experts and activists taking part in a symposium at the Finnish Institute focusing on creativity and sustainability. It was in keeping with fashion week so far, which has seen Extinction Rebellion activists stage a “die-in” and swarm the Victoria Beckham show, one of the
  
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• The real failings exposed by David Cameron’s memoir

  16-09-2019 19:13
  ‘Less complacent leaders than Cameron might have prepared a contingency plan for the event of a leave vote. Instead, Cameron hummed off into the sunset, leaving others to deal with the constitutional and political crisis left in his wake.’ Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesDavid Cameron claims that the 2016 Brexit referendum was “necessary” and “inevitable”, but it’s unclear if he means for the Tory party or the country (Five things we learned from
  
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• Fears over Lib Dem revoke pledge

  16-09-2019 19:12
  Liberal Democrat party leader Jo Swinson. ‘The problem is that the new leader, like her predecessor, lacks basic political intelligence,’ says Prof Tom McAlindon. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PAAs a Liberal Democrat supporter, I regret to say that if another election takes place the party is almost certain to limp home as a weak third, relying pathetically on disaffected members of the Tory and Labour parties for any improvement in its representation (Liberal Democrats pledge to scrap
  
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• Rape convictions and a lack of resources

  16-09-2019 19:11
  Lawyer Kim Harrison addresses the problems caused by funding cuts and the ‘digital strip search’. I was disappointed to read that rape convictions are plummeting but sadly not at all surprised ( Report, 13 September). While awareness of the crime has never been higher and the training of police officers is better than it’s ever been, victims are being failed. And that’s down to a couple of different issues. During the course of my work I’ve spoken to many police off
  
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