General news

• Jeremy Corbyn promises ‘truly universal’ health service under Labour government

  15-10-2019 23:30
  The Labour leader has pledged to scrap prescription charges in England and proposes a publicly-owned generic drugs manufacturer.
  
  Read more

• Is Boris Johnson Ready To Spring A Surprise In The Great Brexit Bake-Off?

  15-10-2019 23:15
  Sign up now to get The Waugh Zone, our weekday evening politics briefing, byemail
  
  Read more

• Lib Dems Launch Bid To Force Second Referendum On Brexit Deal

  15-10-2019 23:05
  The Lib Dems have launched a bid to get MPs to back a second referendum on anyBrexit deal by tabling an amendment to the Queen's speech
  
  Read more

• Prince Harry breaks down as he pays tribute to 'inspirational' children at WellChild awards ceremony

  15-10-2019 23:03
  The Duke of Sussex broke down as he paid tribute to "inspirational" children at the WellChild awards ceremony in London.Prince Harry became overwhelmed with emotion as he praised winners, citing how his own journey into fatherhood meant that learning about children with serious illnesses "pulls at my heartstrings".
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Lib Dems in renewed push for second Brexit referendum vote

  15-10-2019 23:00
  Jo Swinson in the House of Commons this week. Photograph: Jessica Taylor/UK parliamentThe Liberal Democrats will try to push MPs to a fresh vote on a second Brexit referendum next week.The party has tabled an amendment to the Queen’s speech requesting that any deal brought back from Brussels by the prime minister is put to another public vote.The Lib Dem leader, Jo Swinson, said: “The Liberal Democrats are the strongest party of remain and have been the leading voice in the People&rs
  
  Read more

• The key players in the UK’s hunt for a Brexit deal

  15-10-2019 22:57
  They will all have a role to play if the country is to leave on October 31 with a Withdrawal Agreement in place.
  
  Read more

• Failure To Tackle Westminster Bullying And Harassment 'A Scandal'

  15-10-2019 22:37
  Westminster's failure to tackle bullying and harassment one year after aseminal report on the issue is a "scandal" that risks eroding public trust, itwas claimed
  
  Read more

• In Pictures: Harry and Meghan meet young fans at WellChild awards

  15-10-2019 22:19
  Sadly it was past Archie's bedtime…
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Emotional Harry hails ‘inspirational’ children at WellChild awards

  15-10-2019 22:18
  The royal couple spent time with all 10 young winners during an hour-long meet and greet before the ceremony started.
  
  Read more

• Labour MPs lukewarm over prospect of snap election this year

  15-10-2019 22:11
  Despite Jeremy Corbyn’s enthusiasm, there is scepticism about going to polls if Brexit is unresolved. Jeremy Corbyn is still prepared to vote for an election this year, despite growing concerns in his party about the practicalities of a pre-Christmas poll and speculation that it could end up being pushed into early 2020. His shadow cabinet discussed Labour’s readiness for a poll in late November or early December at a meeting on Tuesday. Corbyn has repeatedly said he will vote and wh
  
  Read more

• Camilla jokes about men taking female acting parts at star-studded Wilde event

  15-10-2019 21:54
  The Duchess of Cornwall joined the Oscar Wilde Society for an event in London.
  
  Read more

• Rees-Mogg's dim brand of banter entertains no one but himself

  15-10-2019 21:02
  Leader of the house’s unctuous insincerity fails to hide the fact he hasn’t a clue what’s going on. Crack open the English sparkling wine. Boris Johnson has just won his first Commons vote. OK, it was only a statutory instrument to carry over EU air quality legislation to the UK after Brexit – the parliamentary equivalent of a second round victory in the Johnstone’s Paints Trophy – but these days the prime minister has learned he gets what he can get. Much mor
  
  Read more

• Boris Johnson 'on brink of Brexit deal' after border concessions

  15-10-2019 20:53
  Negotiators understood to have agreed in principle to customs border down Irish Sea. Boris Johnson appears to be on the brink of reaching a Brexit deal after making major concessions to EU demands over the Irish border. A draft text of the agreement could now be published on Wednesday if Downing Street gives the final green light, according to senior EU and British sources. It is understood that the negotiating teams have agreed in principle that there will be a customs border down the Irish Sea
  
  Read more

• Shredded Trump documents and spy games: Ronan Farrow's biggest scoops

  15-10-2019 20:47
  Ronan Farrow on The View on Monday. Farrow alleges NBC News ordered him to stop reporting the Harvey Weinstein story. Photograph: Lou Rocco/ABCRonan Farrow’s book Catch and Kill, published on Tuesday, is causing a stir with its extraordinary array of scoops about how powerful figures and institutions across media and politics sought to cover up some of the biggest stories of the MeToo era.Here are some of the book’s top revelations: National Enquirer shredded Trump documentsJust days
  
  Read more

• Armed police drive pregnant woman to hospital in time to give birth

  15-10-2019 20:45
  Metha and Nava Ramanan were stuck in traffic on the A13 in Essex when police came to their aid.
  
  Read more

• Disabled five-year-old Tafida Raqeeb arrives in Italy

  15-10-2019 20:41
  A judge ruled earlier this month that Tafida could be moved from the Royal London Hospital to Genoa.
  
  Read more

• Business Secretary says preparing for Brexit like readying for ‘bad weather’

  15-10-2019 20:22
  Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom admitted not enough businesses were prepared for leaving the EU on October 31.
  
  Read more

• Infected blood inquiry hears evidence from woman who lost two husbands

  15-10-2019 20:20
  The inquiry is taking evidence from people who were infected or affected by the scandal. Photograph: NHS Blood and Transplant/PAA woman who lost two husbands within a decade to the contaminated blood scandal has said the project set up to support victims “was nothing short of rubbish”.The infected blood inquiry heard how Liz Hooper fell in love with and married each husband only to lose them because of contaminated blood. On both occasions Hooper had to sell her house and was left wi
  
  Read more

• UK plans to accelerate decarbonisation of transport sector

  15-10-2019 20:10
  The government says it hopes to unleash a large-scale battery boom by cutting red tape as part of its strategy for emissions-free transport. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PAThe UK government has vowed to accelerate its climate action for transport sector by drafting new plans to end emissions from trains, planes and cars by 2050.Ministers promised to begin the groundwork on the government’s first detailed plan to decarbonise the transport sector immediately, and unveil the plan in full next year
  
  Read more

• Lack of compassion in the Queen’s speech

  15-10-2019 20:09
  “‘My government’ wrote a speech that ought never to have been delivered by the head of a Christian church,’ says Paul Nicolson.Photograph: Toby Melville/APIt is exasperating to see government once again pay lip service to social care, and fail to meaningfully address the deepening crisis (This sham of a Queen’s speech could prove the end for Johnson, Journal, 15 October). Social care services cannot continue to be a victim of political turbulence – hundreds of
  
  Read more

• Bus food ban and the battle against obesity

  15-10-2019 20:08
  ‘Don’t worry about eating on a journey from London to Inverness,’ says Brian Josephson. Photograph: Willie B Thomas/Getty ImagesYour correspondents (Letters, 11 October) complain that the recommendation by Sally Davies, the former chief medical officer, to ban eating on public transport is impracticable and patronising. This is not helped by your article’s focus on one minor but eye-catching recommendation in a detailed report from Davies (Ban eating on buses and trains,
  
  Read more

• 'Rise in homophobic attacks' in Birmingham after LGBT teaching protests

  15-10-2019 20:05
  Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, Anderton Park primary headteacher, said in the hearing Birmingham East had seen a significant rise in homophobic attacks. Photograph: Jacob King/PAThe headteacher at the centre of a row over LGBT equality teachings in schools told a court there had been 333% rise in homophobic attacks in a part of Birmingham, blaming the surge on protests outside her school.Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, who was subjected to almost six hours of cross-examination, made the remarks during the second
  
  Read more

• Jail for car thief who ran over police officer after hijacking patrol vehicle

  15-10-2019 19:58
  Mubashar Hussain drove over Pc Gareth Phillips just after being Tasered as he tried to restart a stolen Range Rover trapped between two police cars.
  
  Read more

• William urges effort to tackle ‘impending global catastrophe’ of climate change

  15-10-2019 19:33
  The Duke of Cambridge referred to 'spectacular' glaciers melting in the northern region of Pakistan.
  
  Read more

• Killers and paedophiles who refuse to help police could stay in jail for longer

  15-10-2019 19:32
  It is hoped the legislation will be brought into force as soon as possible.
  
  Read more

• Exam board AQA to pay out £1.1m over rule breaches and errors

  15-10-2019 19:28
  Watchdog’s reprimand comes after failings such as markers re-marking their own work. The exam board AQA is to pay more than £1.1m in fines and compensation for a string of rule breaches, errors and failings in GCSEs and A-levels that regulators said could seriously undermine public confidence in the qualifications system. Ofqual, which oversees school exams in England, said it had levied its largest ever fine on AQA after 50,000 appeals for exam papers to be reviewed or re-marked, sp
  
  Read more

• Will Boris Johnson have a deal to put to MPs on Saturday?

  15-10-2019 19:27
  After a series of U-turns, there are signs a deal is possible. We look at the potential outcomes. By Wednesday afternoon, it will be clear whether Boris Johnson will have a deal to put to parliament on its “ super Saturday” sitting or not. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, will inform members whether the prime minister has conceded enough on the Irish border for there to be a draft treaty to present to leaders when they hold a summit on Thursday. Are we close to a deal
  
  Read more

• EOn to cut between 500 and 600 jobs in UK

  15-10-2019 19:21
  The energy giant blamed the 'extremely competitive' UK energy market and the impact of the energy price cap as it announced the cuts.
  
  Read more

• Despite political headwinds, Huawei wins 5G customers in Europe

  15-10-2019 19:15
  China's Huawei may be facing closer official scrutiny in Europe amid U.S. allegations that it poses a security threat, but mobile operators in the region are still queuing up to buy its gear for their next-generation 5G networks.Of 65 commercial deals that Huawei has signed, half are with European customers building ultra-fast fifth-generation networks, the global networks market leader said on Tuesday at a client conference in Zurich."This shows European customers' long-term and consistent trus
  
  Read more

• In Pictures: William and Kate begin Pakistan tour

  15-10-2019 19:08
  The royal couple arrived in the Commonwealth country on Monday evening.
  
  Read more

• Extinction Rebellion protests continue in London despite ban

  15-10-2019 19:07 via bbc.co.uk
  The group says it has taken steps towards legal action over the restriction of protests in London.
  
  Read more

• UK family arrested in US for 'inadvertently crossing border'

  15-10-2019 19:05
  Eileen Connor said in a statement the US police ignored protestation of innocence and ignorance of crossing the border. Photograph: Smith Collection/Gado/GettyThe Foreign Office is helping a British family of seven who were arrested in the US and subject to the “scariest experience” of their lives at the hands of the immigration authorities after inadvertently crossing the border from Canada.David and Eileen Connors and their three-month-old son were on a family road trip on 3 Octobe
  
  Read more

• ‘Very funny’ Duchess of Cornwall meets Booker Prize winners

  15-10-2019 19:03
  The joint winners were invited to Clarence House.
  
  Read more

• Nicola Sturgeon to demand powers for 2020 referendum

  15-10-2019 19:03
  SNP leader tells conference she will ask Westminster to transfer powers by end of year. Nicola Sturgeon has urged Scotland to “reclaim its independence”, confirming in an upbeat party conference address that she intends to hold a second independence referendum in 2020 and will demand that the Westminster government transfer the powers to do so by the end of this year. But Scotland’s first minister did not offer a practical alternative route to a referendum should the request fo
  
  Read more

• No 10 says Brexit talks ongoing after reports deal is close

  15-10-2019 18:59
  Downing Street sources downplayed the chances of a breakthrough being imminent.
  
  Read more

• Google devices boss: Alert home visitors about smart speakers

  15-10-2019 18:58
  Rick Osterloh has said smart speaker owners should warn visitors that they have the voice-activated devices in use before they arrive.
  
  Read more

• Royal Mail union votes overwhelmingly in favour of a nationwide strike

  15-10-2019 18:52
  CWU said more than 97% of a ballot of roughly 110,000 British postal workers were in favour of going on strike.Some 76% of its members working in Royal Mail voted in the ballot, the union said https://www.cwu.org/press_release/postal-workers-deliver-record-yes-vote-for-national-strike-action."The prospect of the first national postal strike in a decade now looms large," CWU said in a statement.
  
  Read more

• French beach patrols to double in bid to tackle Channel migrant crisis

  15-10-2019 18:52
  The move has been been brought in to put a stop to the number of small boats travelling to the UK.
  
  Read more

• White House requests ‘urgent meeting’ with family of Harry Dunn

  15-10-2019 18:51
  The family will travel to Washington later today.
  
  Read more

• Harry Dunn: Family invited to meeting at the White House

  15-10-2019 18:50 via bbc.co.uk
  The family are in the US to publicise the case of the suspect given diplomatic immunity.
  
  Read more

• DUP leader backs Baroness O’Loan’s call for return of NI Assembly

  15-10-2019 18:50
  Her call comes just days before abortion is due to be decriminalised in Northern Ireland
  
  Read more

• Nicola Sturgeon declares SNP ‘winning the case for independence’

  15-10-2019 18:47
  The First Minister closed the SNP annual conference in Aberdeen.
  
  Read more

• Significant gaps remain over custom issues – Varadkar

  15-10-2019 18:46
  Ireland's foreign affairs minister told reporters that securing a deal will require 'a big step forward' from the negotiating teams.
  
  Read more

• Brexit: Narrow path to deal at EU summit, says Barnier

  15-10-2019 18:46 via bbc.co.uk
  The EU's negotiator suggests the two sides have until the end of Tuesday to agree a new legal text.
  
  Read more

• An independent Scotland would ‘act as a bridge between Brussels and London’

  15-10-2019 18:46
  SNP MP Stephen Gethins said the UK union had 'no automatic right to existence' as he branded Brexit an 'almighty mess'.
  
  Read more

• Man who was denied gun licence hid illegal weapons in secret ‘panic room’

  15-10-2019 18:39
  Four illegal handguns and more than 40 bladed weapons including throwing stars, knives and machetes were found in Douglas Urquhart's Midlothian home.
  
  Read more

• Man who ran over PC Gareth Phillips with patrol car jailed

  15-10-2019 18:38 via bbc.co.uk
  PC Gareth Phillips was badly hurt when he was struck by "habitual dangerous driver" Mubashar Hussain.
  
  Read more

• 'Barbaric' tests on monkeys lead to calls for closure of German lab

  15-10-2019 18:30
  Shocking footage shows conditions ‘clearly breach’ EU standards on animal welfare, say campaignersAn animal testing laboratory in Germany that subjected monkeys to “barbaric” treatment and kept unwell dogs in squalid conditions is under investigation amid calls for its closure.Undercover footage at the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology (LPT) near Hamburg published by Cruelty Free International and Soko Tierschutz shows technicians with metal prongs grabbing macaqu
  
  Read more

• MPs blast Thomas Cook bosses' rewards for failures, and demand bonus clawbacks – as it happened

  15-10-2019 18:28
  BEIS committee blasts management failures for the collapse of the world’s oldest travel company, and urges bonuses to be clawed backLatest: Leadsom questioned by MPsReeves roasts Thomas Cook’s failuresBosses need to show dignity, and return bonusesFormer chair blames government
  Inquiry underway - highlights start here 5.28pm BST Time for a recap:A tragedy, though, speaks of something that is out of your hands.I don’t think this was out of the hands of the company. On the contra
  
  Read more

• The real voter fraud is this government’s new ID plan | Zubaida Haque

  15-10-2019 18:27
  The Tories have created a ‘crisis’ out of a tiny problem, and their electoral bill will have a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged groupsWhat do you do when a government proposes a policy solution to a “crisis” that doesn’t exist? On Monday, the Queen announced the “electoral integrity bill”, which would require voters to show an approved photo ID before they vote in local and general elections, in order to address concerns about electoral fraud.The
  
  Read more

Follow @GeneralnewsUK on Twitter!