General news

• 'Thatcherism on steroids' - Corbyn says of Johnson's Brexit plans

  04-11-2019 23:36
  Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party wants to hijack Britain's exit from the European Union to deregulate the economy and lower standards, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will say on Tuesday.The Conservatives will "unleash Thatcherism on steroids", Corbyn will say in a campaign speech ahead of the Dec. 12 election, referring to former prime minister Margaret Thatcher who oversaw the privatisation of many state-owned industries.Corbyn, whose party is trailing the Conservatives
  
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• Voters need ‘clear picture’ of leaders’ Brexit plans – Boris Johnson

  04-11-2019 23:30
  The Prime Minister sent a letter to Jeremy Corbyn on Monday night.
  
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• Lib Dems pledge to invest £50bn ‘Remain bonus’ in public services

  04-11-2019 23:30
  Party leader Jo Swinson said every vote for the Lib Dems is a vote to 'stop Brexit'.
  
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• Johnson's Brexit would be Thatcherism on steroids, says Corbyn

  04-11-2019 23:30
  Jeremy Corbyn will give a speech in Essex on Tuesday, saying that he will ‘get Brexit sorted’ in six months. Photograph: Vickie Flores/EPAJeremy Corbyn is to accuse Boris Johnson of seeking to “hijack” Britain’s exit from the EU in order to unleash “Thatcherism on steroids” by slashing workers’ rights and throwing the NHS open to US corporations.With Labour’s stance on Brexit under intense scrutiny, Corbyn will promise an audience in the leav
  
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• Corbyn accuses Tories of Brexit ‘hijack’ to sell out the NHS

  04-11-2019 23:30
  The Labour leader claims Boris Johnson is plotting to unleash 'Thatcherism on steroids' in a betrayal of Vote Leave pledges.
  
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• MPs elect Sir Lindsay Hoyle to replace John Bercow as Commons Speaker

  04-11-2019 22:45
  The Labour politician received 325 votes to Chris Bryant's 213.
  
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• Boris Johnson challenges Jeremy Corbyn to ‘come clean’ on Brexit

  04-11-2019 22:35
  The Prime Minister sent a letter to the Labour leader on Monday night.
  
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• Sir Lindsay Hoyle: from textiles printer to Speaker’s chair

  04-11-2019 22:22
  The Labour MP for Chorley has been elected the 158th Speaker of the House of Commons.
  
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• Baghdadi raid footage released by Pentagon

  04-11-2019 22:15
  The US has released footage of the raid in which US military cornered IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
  
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• MPs make a meal of picking John Bercow's successor

  04-11-2019 21:58
  Candidates promise they were definitely not going to be like the previous Speaker before lengthy voting process. Give the House of Commons a chance to twat about and it is sure to take it. The election of a new Speaker should have been a relatively simple process. A straightforward elimination contest even an averagely dysfunctional organisation could probably have got wrapped up in a couple of hours. Tops. There were no last-minute backroom deals to be made by the candidates – “I&rs
  
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• Activist asks Indian court to order probe into WhatsApp over hacking scandal

  04-11-2019 21:58
  A right-wing social activist in India filed a petition asking the country's top court to order a probe into Facebook Incand WhatsApp over revelations that a piece of spyware had exploited vulnerabilities in the popular messaging app to snoop on hundreds of devices.The petition could present a new legal headache for WhatsApp and its parent Facebook in India, where it has already been hit by backlash over fake news messages and a lawsuit around its adherence to data localisation norms that togethe
  
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• Sir Lindsay Hoyle promises calm after being elected Speaker

  04-11-2019 21:48
  Successor to John Bercow – and 158th occupant of the job - beats Chris Bryant in final round of voting. Sir L indsay Hoyle was elected as the new Speaker of the House of Commons on Monday, succeeding John Bercow who held the role for more than a decade. The 62-year-old Labour MP for Chorley, the only candidate who refused to say how he voted in the 2016 EU referendum, became the 158th Speaker after beating six others in a secret ballot of members. An avuncular Lancastrian, Hoyle has promis
  
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• PM accused of cover-up over report on Russian meddling in UK politics

  04-11-2019 21:48
  Boris Johnson has been accused of presiding over a cover-up over No 10’s refusal to allow the 50-page dossier to be released. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty ImagesBoris Johnson was on Monday night accused of presiding over a cover-up after it emerged that No 10 refused to clear the publication of a potentially incendiary report examining Russian infiltration in British politics, including the Conservative party.Downing Street indicated on Monday that it would not allow a 50-page d
  
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• Sir Lindsay Hoyle: Steel under the cheerful surface

  04-11-2019 21:38 via bbc.co.uk
  Sir Lindsay Hoyle wins the Speaker election - but what kind of Speaker will he be?
  
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• Parliament elects Labour lawmaker Hoyle as Speaker

  04-11-2019 21:35
  Opposition Labour lawmaker Lindsay Hoyle was elected speaker of Britain's House of Commons on Monday and will take on the role of refereeing the next parliamentary instalment of the country's exit from the European Union.Hoyle, who had been deputy speaker since 2010, was elected by lawmakers after four rounds of voting via secret ballot.
  
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• Lindsay Hoyle Elected New Commons Speaker

  04-11-2019 21:21
  Lindsay Hoyle has been elected by MPs as the next Speaker of the House ofCommons
  
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• Ex-Labour MP John Woodcock Gets Government Role In Counter-Extremism

  04-11-2019 20:45
  Former Labour MP and No
  
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• Labour MPs battle it out to replace John Bercow as Commons Speaker

  04-11-2019 20:40
  Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Chris Bryant are the remaining two candidates.
  
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• Shares in UK gambling firms plunge as plans for online curbs emerge

  04-11-2019 20:32
  The online-only casino firm 888 was hardest hit, losing nearly 14% of its value. Photograph: 888.comShares in UK gambling firms lost nearly £1.2bn in value after the Guardian revealed that MPs had recommended stringent curbs on online casino games worth more than £2bn a year to the industry.MPs from the cross-party group on gambling-related harm, who joined the successful campaign to cut stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) to £2, recommended the same limit be applied
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn targets Tory seats as Labour goes into attack mode

  04-11-2019 20:32
  Labour leader visits 10th Tory-held target seat since election called as party refines strategy. Jeremy Corbyn will visit a 10th Tory-held target seat since the general election was called last Tuesday in a deliberate signal that Labour is determined to fight an attacking campaign despite the anxieties of some of its MPs. He will give a speech about Brexit in Harlow, Essex, following visits to a string of other areas including Putney, Milton Keynes and Crawley. He will head north later in the we
  
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• Child victims of a rotten youth justice system

  04-11-2019 20:20
  Frances Crook of the Howard League for Penal Reform, Enver Solomon of Just for Kids Law and the parent of a child accused of a serious offence and stuck in a painfully slow justice system respond to articles in the Guardian’s Children in the Dock series. Well done on your expose of the so-called youth justice system ( Children suffer in ‘chaotic’ justice system, 4 November). Your call for a complete overhaul of the system is welcome, but it needs to be based on a rethink about
  
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• Brexit Party Media Chief Once Attacked 'Slobbering Old Queers' And Campaigned Against Gay Rights

  04-11-2019 20:09
  The Brexit Party's new election spin doctor once campaigned against gay rightsand referred to a "slobbering old queer" in an article criticising moves toequalise the age of consent
  
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• Brexit party to contest more than 600 seats in election, says Farage

  04-11-2019 20:03
  Party leader accuses Tories of ‘conceited arrogance’ in asking it to stand aside. Nigel Farage has committed the Brexit party to standing more than 600 candidates in the general election, dismissing Conservative warnings that this could split the pro-leave vote as “conceited arrogance”. At a lavish campaign launch in central London, at which hundreds of new parliamentary candidates were paraded before the media, the party leader insisted he mainly hoped to take votes &nda
  
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• Wife and lover who shared fantasies of killing wealthy farmer convicted of murder

  04-11-2019 19:39
  Angela Taylor and Paul Cannon shared a "venomous hatred" for William Taylor, St Albans Crown Court heard.
  
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• Helicopter pilot in Clutha crash was not to blame, says fiancee

  04-11-2019 19:37
  Wreckage of the helicopter that crashed into the Clutha Vaults bar and pub being removed in December 2012. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianThe fiancee of the pilot blamed for killing 10 people in the Clutha helicopter crash has criticised the findings of the fatal accident inquiry and claimed the sheriff downplayed evidence showing the manufacturer and aircraft were at fault.Dr Lucy Thomas, who was engaged to marry David Traill, the pilot, said there was clear evidence about the helicopter
  
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• Role of clergy considered under sexual offence laws

  04-11-2019 19:35
  A proposal is under consideration.
  
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• Election stakes are high for Boris Johnson after bold NHS gamble

  04-11-2019 19:35
  Publicity stunt? Boris Johnson visits Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge. Photograph: Pool/ReutersIt was billed as a single-issue election about Brexit. But less than a week after the 12 December poll was announced, it is the state of the NHS that has so far dominated media coverage of the nascent campaign.Back in September, Boris Johnson got an early taste of the risks that await any prime minister using a hospital visit to burnish their credentials as a staunch supporter of the NHS. Dur
  
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• Third of promised police funds to be kept back for recruitment

  04-11-2019 19:30
  The Home Office said the £16.3m would be used for advertising and key investments to support the recruitment drive. Photograph: Edward Simons/AlamyPolice forces will not receive one third of the money the government announced it would provide to fund the first wave of new officers, the Guardian has learned.The Home Office will retain some £16.3m for “recruitment programme costs”, out of £45m announced to fund the first 2,000 officers by April 2020.The decision was c
  
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• Boris Johnson criticised for selective quotes about NHS in letter to voters

  04-11-2019 19:23
  Boris Johnson at Addenbrooke’s hospital, Cambridge. The Tories have put the NHS at the centre of their election campaign. Photograph: Alastair Grant/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesBoris Johnson has been criticised for misleading voters over the Tories’ record on the NHS, after he sent letters to voters in swing seats that selectively quoted a charity.The letter, sent out across marginal seats such as High Peak and Reading West, highlighted comments from various media sources and charities
  
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• Lib Dems will launch legal action if ITV does not include Swinson in debate

  04-11-2019 19:20
  The party has already complained to ITV and has now instructed a legal team.
  
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• Isle of Wight man 'murdered over festering dispute’

  04-11-2019 19:20
  After the attack, Stasiuk called the police and allegedly confessed to murder, the court heard. Photograph: NurPhoto/Sipa USA/PA ImagesTwo trustees of a communal garden on the Isle of Wight became embroiled in a “festering dispute” before one murdered the other by attacking him with a chainsaw and strangling him, a jury has been told.The relationship between publican Gerry White, 73, and chef Jonathan Stasiuk, 60, turned sour after disagreements over money, the dumping of rubbish and
  
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• Fake online influencers a danger to children, say campaigners

  04-11-2019 19:15
  Lil Miquela, a virtual ‘singer’ and ‘model’ created by a US company, who has 1.6 million followers on Instagram. Photograph: PRParents are being warned of a fresh online threat to children from social media influencers who look real and post photos of themselves with other celebrities, but are in fact digital creations of the advertising industry.The rise of deep fakes and “virtual influencers” allows companies to “easily manipulate” young people a
  
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• Hoyle emerges as frontrunner to replace Bercow as Commons Speaker

  04-11-2019 19:14
  Sir Lindsay Hoyle opened a clear lead over Dame Eleanor Laing.
  
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• Abuse compensation Bill expected to be passed before Westminster dissolution

  04-11-2019 19:09
  An abuse survivor said he has been told the Bill will pass all stages in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
  
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• Brexit 'hubs' face EU markets watchdog checks in 2020

  04-11-2019 19:07
  New European Union hubs opened by British-based financial firms to avoid Brexit disruption will be scrutinised next year by the bloc's markets watchdog to check whether they are gaming licensing requirements.This signals how the bloc will keep up pressure on new hubs to meet licence terms, even if Britain secures a divorce settlement with a standstill transition period to the end of 2020 after the deadline for Brexit.More than 300 investment firms, asset managers, banks, insurers and trading pla
  
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• Radical rethink needed on jails and rehabilitation

  04-11-2019 19:02
  Barlinnie prison in Glasgow. ‘For rehabilitation to be effective, people require individualised treatments,’ says David Scott. Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The GuardianIt is a sad indictment that our prisons are no longer even “decent”, they struggle to maintain basic standards much less rehabilitate (Prisoners cannot be rehabilitated in jail says ex-prison boss, 29 October).It is an even more damning indictment that child prisons not only fail to rehabilitate, they fail to
  
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• Harvey Proctor demands police investigate Operation Midland officers

  04-11-2019 19:01
  Harvey Proctor at Newcastle crown court for the sentencing of Carl Beech for perverting the course of justice. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PAThe former Tory MP Harvey Proctor who was falsely accused of being part of a VIP paedophile ring in Westminster is calling for five police officers who worked on Scotland Yard’s inquiry to face a criminal investigation.Proctor spoke out after a damning report last month laid bare a series of failings in the £2.5m Metropolitan police investigation i
  
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• UK campaigners call for citizens' assembly to repair democracy

  04-11-2019 19:00
  Parliament is stuck in the past, the letter says.Photograph: Getty ImagesA citizens’ assembly is needed to reform Britain’s democracy because parliament has failed to deal with the chaos over Brexit, respond to climate change or shore up the economic system, according to 70 campaigners including the environmentalist Jonathon Porritt and the former Labour cabinet minister Hazel Blears.In a letter to the Guardian, they call on the government to set up a special people’s assembly
  
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• A plan to fix Britain’s broken democracy

  04-11-2019 19:00
  Dr Wanda Wyporska, Jonathon Porritt and Neal Lawson and nine others on the creation of a special assembly of citizens to make our democratic system fit for the 21st century. Our democracy is precious. But right now, it’s in a mess. The problems are there for all to see: in the chaos over Brexit, in our inability to respond to the climate crisis, and in an economic system that keeps failing. These are all symptoms of the same disorder: the way we make decisions isn’t working. Our demo
  
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• Christmas advert season arrives on television screens

  04-11-2019 18:59
  Argos and Asda are leading the charge from this weekend with big-budget productions.
  
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• Unrestricted abortion proposed for NI up to 14 weeks

  04-11-2019 18:54
  Ministers are bound to introduce a system governing terminations by next spring.
  
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• TV election debates must include the Lib Dems’ leader

  04-11-2019 18:52
  Jo Swinson, the leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats . Photograph: Peter Nicholls/ReutersThe suggestion that broadcast debates may be limited to the leaders of the Labour and Conservative parties is another blow to our already vulnerable democratic system (TV debates: Lib Dems face fight to share leaders’ stage, 31 October).An open and fair media is a vital part of a healthy democracy. To help us decide about matters that will affect us for generations, be it dealing with the climat
  
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• Agent urged BBC bosses to stop ‘bullying’ Jeremy Vine

  04-11-2019 18:51
  Alex Armitage sent 'a rather colourful email' to reject an initial offer during contract negotiations.
  
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• Businessman asks appeal court to intervene after losing Sheffield United fight

  04-11-2019 18:45
  Kevin McCabe and Prince Abdullah, a member of the Saudi royal family, fought for control of the club at a High Court trial earlier this year.
  
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• PayPal: Political parties should check where donations come from

  04-11-2019 18:39
  Senior executives from the firm gave evidence to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee on disinformation.
  
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• Veterans pay tribute at nation’s Field of Remembrance

  04-11-2019 18:31
  Second World War service personnel were among those paying their respects to fallen comrades.
  
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• ‘I’m going to die’ – teenager’s desperate words as mother rang NHS 111 line

  04-11-2019 18:31
  One ambulance was sent to the wrong address as Shante Turay-Thomas suffered a severe allergic reaction.
  
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• The Rev Liz Smith obituary

  04-11-2019 18:29
  My mother, the Rev Liz Smith, who has died of cancer aged 62, was an ecumenist with experience of ministry in both the Methodist and Anglican churches. In 1996, her first appointment as a Methodist probationer minister was as the curate in a deprived Anglican parish in Grimsby. Later, as chair of the Leeds Methodist district, she developed community projects and lobbied government, particularly about conditions in immigration detention centres. Described as a woman of “warmth and wisdom, c
  
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• Frank Giles obituary

  04-11-2019 18:27
  Editor of the Sunday Times who was at the helm during the fake Hitler diaries scandal of 1983. Frank Giles, who has died aged 100, enjoyed a lengthy and distinguished journalistic career that culminated in the editorship of the Sunday Times. But his short tenure in the chair was dogged by disputes with his proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, and then destroyed by the Hitler diaries fiasco. Giles was only partially to blame for the paper’s publication, in April 1983, of the forged diaries. He would
  
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• Evha Jannath: Schoolgirl, 11, who drowned at Drayton Manor theme park was on ride without teacher, inquest told

  04-11-2019 18:03
  An 11-year-old girl who drowned after falling into 12ft of water at Drayton Manor theme park was allowed aboard the river rapids ride without a teacher, an inquest heard.Evha Jannath was "propelled" from a six-seater vessel on Splash Canyon on May 9 2017, while on an end-of-year school trip with staff and friends from Jameah Girls Academy in Leicester.
  
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