Political news

• Amber Rudd Distances Herself From Anti-Muslim Hindu Extremist Hosted By Tory MP In Parliament

  25-10-2017 23:59
  Home Secretary Amber Rudd has distanced herself from an extreme Hindu nationalist who was hosted in Parliament by a Tory MP.Tapan Ghosh, who has called all Muslims ‘Jihadis’ and defended the genocide of the Rohingya community in Burma, was given star billing at an event in the House of Commons last week.Conservative backbencher Bob Blackman refused on Wednesday to apologise for hosting the ‘Tolerating the Intolerant’ meeting, which was organised by the National Council of
  
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• Harvey Weinstein faces losing CBE amid sexual assault allegations

  25-10-2017 23:58 via bbc.co.uk
  The Honours Forfeiture Committee is actively considering the move, the BBC understands.
  
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• Steve Bell on Tory inconsistencies over Brexit – cartoon

  25-10-2017 23:34
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• The Apprentice’s Latest Fired Candidate Reveals The One Piece Of Information That Could Have Saved Them

  25-10-2017 23:01
  As always, it’s a case of another week, another evictee on ‘The Apprentice’ and on Wednesday (25 October) night, it was finally time for the ladies’ team to lose a candidate. After failing to make as much money as Michaela, Sarah and the boys’, project manager Siobhán Smith failed to defend herself adequately in the boardroom. While Lord Alan Sugar made a pretty good case as he fired her, Siobhán has now revealed that there’s one pretty important
  
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• Criticism of Saudi Arabia ‘not helpful’ for UK weapons sales

  25-10-2017 21:38 via ft.com
  MPs told sales of Typhoon fighters are being hindered by attacks on regime
  
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• Criticism of Saudi Arabia ‘not helpful’ for UK weapon sales

  25-10-2017 21:38 via ft.com
  Defence secretary Fallon tells MPs sales of Typhoon fighter jet hindered by regime censure
  
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• Brexit transition period likely to be limited to 20 months, EU officials say

  25-10-2017 21:15
  Exclusive: Despite Theresa May’s request for two-year transition Brussels sources say exit date likely to be 31 December 2020The European Union is likely to offer Theresa May a transition period after Brexit of just 20 months, according to senior sources in Brussels.In her speech in Florence the prime minister formally requested what she had described as an implementation period of “about two years” to cushion Britain’s exit from the EU in March 2019, during which the UK
  
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• Labour suspends MP over offensive comments claims

  25-10-2017 21:02 via ft.com
  Sheffield Hallam MP made alleged online remarks before he was elected
  
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• David Davis says he ‘expects and intends’ Commons vote on Brexit deal

  25-10-2017 21:02
  Brexit secretary forced to issue statement after PM contradicts his suggestion that MPs might not get vote before UK leaves EU David Davis was forced to issue a statement clarifying his own remarks yesterday, after he appeared to suggest parliament may not get a vote on the final Brexit deal until after Britain has left the European Union.A spokesman for the Brexit secretary said the government “expects and intends” to let parliament have its say before Britain leaves, apparently con
  
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• Enough moaning about Brexit: remainers must say what they’re for | Simon Jenkins

  25-10-2017 20:56
  Leaving is inevitable but doesn’t need to be chaos, whatever Michael Bloomberg says. We need a concerted lobby for a soft BrexitIt was the best of decisions, it was the worst of decisions. It was the season of light, it was the season of darkness … the hope of spring, the winter of despair. Dickens had Brexit about right. It is Britain’s French revolution. No one, absolutely no one, has a clue how it will turn out.London’s new inward investor, the for
  
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• Black feminist campaigner alleges Ukip press officer made offensive comments to her

  25-10-2017 20:40
  Gawain Towler denies telling anti-FGM campaigner Nimco Ali: ‘I am racist but you’re beautiful so I would do you’A senior Ukip staff member repeatedly told a black women’s rights campaigner that, while he was racist, he would still like to have sex with her, it has been alleged.Nimco Ali, the co-founder of the group Daughters of Eve, which campaigns against female genital mutilation (FGM), told the Guardian she was disgusted by the behaviour of Gawain Towler, the party&rsq
  
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• White House Spin Goes Into Overdrive As Trump Describes Republican 'Love Fest'

  25-10-2017 20:35
  Donald Trump has sought to negate the damage done by two Republican senators who yesterday both gave scathing assessments of the state of his Presidency.Dismissing comments made by Jeff Flake and Bob Corker, the President said the pair only spoke out because they have “zero chance of being elected” in next year’s midterm elections and that the Republican party is actually a “love fest” currently.The reason Flake and Corker dropped out of the Senate race is very simp
  
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• Theresa May scraps proposals to cap housing benefits

  25-10-2017 20:28 via ft.com
  Housing industry groups welcome policy shift by government
  
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• Memo to Michael Bloomberg: here’s the simple reason Britain voted for Brexit | Letters

  25-10-2017 20:21
  Phil Harrison says a vote for remain would have been a vote for more of the decline and insecurity that many in the UK have suffered for decades. Plus letters from Anthony Garrett and Chris HughesMichael Bloomberg claims he doesn’t understand “why a country that was doing so well wanted to ruin it” (Brexit is worst ever decision, says Bloomberg, 25 October). It’s true, he doesn’t understand. Lots of people in this country aren’t doing so well, and that’s
  
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• The Guardian view on MPs and Brexit: parliament must have the power | Editorial

  25-10-2017 20:19
  The only thing that David Davis made clear this week is that he is confused and chaotic about the Brexit process over which he is supposed to presideFor a senior minister to be slapped down on his own departmental special subject is unusual. For that senior minister to be slapped down on his own special subject by his own press spokesperson is surely unprecedented. Yet this is what happened to the always supremely self-confident Brexit secretary, David Davis, on Wednesday. It happened, moreover,
  
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• Michael Fallon Wants MPs To Stop Criticising Saudi Arabia So We Can Sell Them Weapons

  25-10-2017 20:19
  Michael Fallon has berated MPs who criticise Saudi Arabia, claiming their comments are making it more difficult to sell fighter jets to the country.The Defence Secretary said instead “we need to do everything possible to encourage” the country to move forward on a deal on Eurofighter Typhoon jets currently being brokered by BAE and the British Government with Riyadh.He added: “We’ve been working extremely hard on the batch two deal. I’ve travelled to Saudi Arabia ba
  
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• Theresa May 'Screwed' The UK On Brexit Talks, Says Britain's Former EU Diplomat

  25-10-2017 20:11
  Theresa May was warned the UK would be “screwed” in the Brexit negotiations if she triggered Article 50 too early - but did it anyway, according to Britain’s former EU ambassador.Sir Ivan Rogers, who quit his role in January, told MPs today the Prime Minister has allowed the EU to “dictate” how the Brexit negotiations are being carried out.May triggered Article 50 in March, but at the first round of negotiations in June the Government instantly conceded to the EU&rs
  
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• Michael Fallon: criticising Saudi Arabia 'not helpful' for UK arms sales

  25-10-2017 19:59
  Defence secretary provokes backlash from human rights groups for emphasising sale of fighter jets to the kingdomMichael Fallon urged MPs to stop criticising Saudi Arabia in the interests of securing a fighter jet deal, provoking sharp criticism from human rights and arms trade campaigners. Related: More than 100 people arrested over London arms fair protestsContinue reading...
  
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• Freedom of thought is a democratic right

  25-10-2017 19:42 via ft.com
  The Tories should reject any assault on academic independence
  
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• UK government insists vote on final deal will come before Brexit

  25-10-2017 19:10 via ft.com
  Chief negotiator David Davis causes stir by earlier suggesting otherwise
  
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• Government insists vote on final deal will come before Brexit

  25-10-2017 19:10 via ft.com
  Chief negotiator David Davis causes stir by earlier suggesting otherwise
  
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• How We're Enabling Independent Travel For The World's 285 Million Blind People

  25-10-2017 19:05
  Travelling independently, especially on public transport and through indoor spaces can be a difficult and sometimes impossible experience for vision impaired people. In the UK, nearly half of blind and vision impaired (VI) people would like to leave their homes more.This lack of mobility plays a huge part in the challenges VI people face: they are much more likely than average to be unemployed, live in poverty (two-thirds of them live at or below the poverty line), and suffer from social isolati
  
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• Davis partially rows back, saying he 'expects and intends' Commons Brexit vote before UK leaves – Politics live

  25-10-2017 18:56
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs and David Davis giving evidence to the Commons Brexit committeeDavid Davis’ evidence to Brexit committee - SummaryPMQs - Snap verdictPMQs - Verdict from the Twitter commentariatAfternoon summary, including highlights from Ivan Rogers’ evidence 5.47pm BSTWhat we are talking about going into the new year are not trade talks. They are talks about the future partners
  
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• Davis now says he 'expects and intends' Commons Brexit vote before UK leaves – as it happened

  25-10-2017 18:56
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs and David Davis giving evidence to the Commons Brexit committeeDavid Davis’ evidence to Brexit committee - SummaryPMQs - Snap verdictPMQs - Verdict from the Twitter commentariatAfternoon summary, including highlights from Ivan Rogers’ evidence 5.47pm BSTWhat we are talking about going into the new year are not trade talks. They are talks about the future partners
  
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• 'Let me be clear' is the new 'strong and stable' as the Maybot glitch returns | John Crace

  25-10-2017 18:51
  The Tory benches had been hoping Theresa May might get through an entire PMQs without exposing her limitationsPractice does not make perfect. You’d have thought that someone might have found a way to programme Theresa May with some half-credible answers by now. But apparently not. For the third week in a row Jeremy Corbyn used prime minister’s questions to pummel Theresa on universal credit, and for the third time she was left mumbling: “Let me be clear.” Her stubbornness
  
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• UK Flights To The US To Be Subject To Stricter Security Checks

  25-10-2017 18:47
  She says both US citizens and foreigners will face the same security.The agency’s comments come as six global long-haul carriers said they will start asking passengers security questions before they board flights at the request of US officials.The stricter passenger screening is designed to avoid an in-cabin ban on laptops, airlines said.Airlines contacted by Reuters said the new measures could include short security interviews with passengers at check-in or the boarding gate, sparking con
  
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• Fresh Calls To Investigate Labour Chair Ian Lavery As Greyhound Racing Claim Emerges

  25-10-2017 18:43
  Labour party chair Ian Lavery could face a fresh investigation into his conduct amid claims he failed to reveal a conflict of interest around owning prize-winning greyhounds. It is alleged the Labour MP owned two racing greyhounds called Blue Artisan and Tudor Prince, but failed to declare them when he took over as chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Greyhounds. MPs must register their financial interests before speaking on an issue in Parliament or face breaching the House
  
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• Half Of Women Have Been Sexually Harassed At Work, In ‘Strikingly Similar’ Poll To Last Year

  25-10-2017 18:37
  Look around your office, train carriage on the way home or local pub this evening, chances are more than half of the women have been the victim of sexual harassment at work.A BBC poll released today shows 53% of women have been sexually harassed at work or their place of study.What with the tide of women coming forward with stories of sexual harassment - both in relation to notorious public figures and on social media using #MeToo - it may seem no surprise that the proportions are this high.In f
  
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• This Is One Way You Can Help To Offset Trump's Climate Change Denial

  25-10-2017 18:33
  Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees with its advertising profit, is on a mission to combat the harm caused by Donald Trump's climate change denial.Today, they announced their partnership with Trump Forest, a reforestation campaign formed to combat the US President's damaging environmental policies.All you have to do is switch your search engine to Ecosia, which works as an extension to your existing browser, and every search will contribute to the planting of trees in Trump Forest. (Eigh
  
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• A Note Of Thanks To Mr Heaton-Harris

  25-10-2017 18:31
  The issue of the way controversial political issues impact on teaching at Universities hit the headlines with the (to say the least) awkward request of Chris Heaton-Harris, Conservative MP for Daventry, to Universities to declare what they are teaching their students about Brexit and to provide a list of those involved in doing so.The media furore that erupted made me think. Unlike my colleagues however, I haven't been thinking about academic freedom, outraged at the inappropriateness (and quest
  
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• What Do I Do Now?

  25-10-2017 18:20
  On October 19th 2017, I handed in my new book, How To Be Human: The Manual, to the publishers at Penguin. The agony of writing a book is not dissimilar to having a baby. Not that I ever pushed out a baby (I am of the Caesarean clan - I do not believe in any pain when modern surgery can do it for me. Though, I did have one contraction once before I screamed 'give me the drugs now!', so I can imagine how bad it gets).While you're pregnant with a book life can be almost blissful because you can shu
  
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• Tackling Hate Is Not About Taking Sides

  25-10-2017 18:20
  I have seen many anti-hate individuals and organisations trip themselves up by trying to fight for the rights of one group or community at the expense of denigrating another. Few things frustrate me more than the view that fighting hate has to be about taking sides or the implication that defending one group automatically assumes the attacking of another.Sadly, I have come across many self-proclaimed fighters of hate who stand on their soap box and preach tolerance but who, when it comes down to
  
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• Empowering Migrant Women

  25-10-2017 18:20
  ''Freedom! that's what I like about living in Britain,'' says Salaam Al Farrah as she flicks some paint onto the canvas at a special migration art workshop for women held at the Library of Birmingham.''Being at this workshop is important for me because I'm meeting people I would not usually meet. It's difficult to meet people and socialise especially as a refugee,'' she explained.Salaam, like many other Syrian refugee women in the UK, fled her hometown of Homs to escape the ongoing conflict and
  
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• Dodgems, Painted Nails, High Heels, Bear Masks And A Nuneaton Bowling Alley

  25-10-2017 18:20
  It hasn't been an easy few days for the UK's police service. The Sun led the way by publishing pictures of Humberside police enjoying themselves on dodgems at the conclusion of a major fair in the city of Hull. The fact that police jumping on dodgems at the end of an event they'd been policing has been a tradition over decades clearly passed the Sun by as it did other media outlets who gleefully pounced on the story.Local Humberside newspapers and indeed the public of Hull rallied to their polic
  
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• Jared O'Mara's Misogyny Can't Be Overlooked

  25-10-2017 18:19
  Like most of Britain, I hadn't heard of Jared O'Mara before he defied all expectations and unseated former Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg at the last election. Mr O'Mara has cerebral palsy, which many thought would make him a champion for diversity and made him an obvious choice for the women's and equalities committee.How naive we were. Mr O'Mara has been the subject of intense scrutiny and scandal since Guido Fawkes revealed that, some fifteen years ago, he'd alle
  
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• Tackling Racial Disparities Through Name-Blind Recruitment

  25-10-2017 18:17
  A couple of weeks ago the Government launched its race disparity audit. It made for important but uncomfortable reading. Admittedly, little of it is new. And, sadly, it offers no policies to tackle racial disparities. The Prime Minister is eloquent when talking about our country's social problems, but so far the solutions she has offered have been inadequate.One area the audit highlights is the significant disparities in the employment of black and minority ethnic (BME) individuals in the public
  
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• This Start-Up Is Turning Your Leftover Coffee Grounds Into Clean Fuel

  25-10-2017 18:11
  You know the drama surrounding disposable coffee cups. You know that buying beans from direct trade suppliers is the way to go. But there’s another sustainable issue surrounding your caffeine fix: what happens to the leftover grounds.
  
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• HMRC Warns It Needs An Extra £450million To Prepare For 'No Deal' Brexit

  25-10-2017 17:54
  A warchest of up to £450million of public cash is needed to prepare the taxman for a ‘no deal’ Brexit, HMRC’s chief warned today.Jon Thompson, the department’s chief executive, told MPs there would also need to be a mass recruitment of up to 5,000 new members of staff to help run the UK’s new customs and tax arrangement with the EU.Giving evidence in Parliament this afternoon, Thompson repeatedly refused to guarantee that a new customs system would be ready fo
  
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• The Impact Weinstein And #MeToo Must Have For Younger Generations

  25-10-2017 17:51
  The fall of Harvey Weinstein after decades of alleged abuse of power and predatory sexual behaviour has brought some positives. His demise has been swift, once the New York Times were finally able to make public what was whispered about for years, and the scandal has forced other powerful men to account for their behaviour, which has for too long gone unchallenged.Weinstein is another extreme example of obvious power imbalance - like the cases of sexual exploitation that have been uncovered in t
  
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• Scottish Labour leader contender targets high earners with tax plan

  25-10-2017 17:50
  Anas Sarwar claims his proposal to raise £700m shows he is more radical than rival candidate backed by Corbyn supportersAnas Sarwar, a Scottish Labour leadership contender, has proposed substantial tax increases raising £700m from all higher earners in Scotland in an effort to outflank his Jeremy Corbyn-supporting rival.Sarwar unveiled his policy programme in Edinburgh on Wednesday with a radical proposal to introduce a 50p top income tax rate for all those earning more than £1
  
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• Domestic Abuse: The Never Ending Jigsaw

  25-10-2017 17:38
  After all these years, I still often look back and wonder why it took me so long to realise that something wasn't right. I clearly remember the triggers and the signs but somehow in that moment it wasn't clear how they fitted together.I look back and I ask myself, 'how could you know which the important events were and how they would fit together?' Years later I'm still piecing together these events like a never ending jigsaw. Events, like jigsaw pieces, scattered in time and place. Really these
  
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• Reducing Inequality? Let's Help People Get On And Do It Themselves

  25-10-2017 17:26
  If the standard explanations of Brexit or the popularity of Jeremy Corbyn's policies are anything to go by, inequality is a big issue now. The corrosive effect of the gap between the rich and poor is being realised, as people across the UK focus on the unequal life chances it creates.At the same time, the Conservative and Labour party leaders are debating the merits of a free market, with both proposing apparently opposing views of the market. Yet deep down both parties know that economic upheav
  
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• Why a Brexit transition deal may not come in time for business

  25-10-2017 17:10 via ft.com
  Companies need certainty long before Britain leaves the EU
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn to take part in Gogglebox charity episode

  25-10-2017 16:17
  Labour leader to watch programmes and offer his opinions as part of Channel 4’s fundraising for Stand Up To CancerJeremy Corbyn will take his place on the sofa for a celebrity edition of Channel 4’s Gogglebox for Stand Up To Cancer next week.
  The special episode will air on 3 November as part of the broadcaster’s efforts to support the fundraising drive. Continue reading...
  
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• Bank of England chief is 'enemy of Brexit', says Jacob Rees-Mogg

  25-10-2017 16:17
  Eurosceptic Tory MP says Mark Carney has been ‘consistently wrong’ about impact of UK leaving EUConservative backbench MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has described the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, as an “enemy of Brexit”.The Eurosceptic MP, whose appearances at the Conservative conference in Manchester last month drew large crowds, said Carney had been “consistently wrong” about the economic impact of the EU referendum. Continue reading...
  
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• Can We Stay Human In The Modern Age?

  25-10-2017 16:13
  Have you ever stopped for a moment and looked around you? Maybe you lost all battery power on your smartphone and lifted your eyes to monitor real life for a nano-second. Yep, everyone else's faces are illuminated by a blue aura glow of a device as they happily (and silently) consume mega-bytes of information whilst being busy/productive/buying stuff/slacking (delete as appropriate).As a children's author, I speak to many attention starved younger readers. It's true that many youngsters spend fa
  
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• Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price Tells Social Care Debate 'Austerity Is The Mother Of Invention'

  25-10-2017 16:04
  Conservative health minister Jackie Doyle-Price has been criticisied for telling a debate on social care “austerity is the mother of invention”.The Thurrock MP recounted a conversation she had with a council leader during an opposition day debate called by Labour shadow social care minister Barbara Keeley, who is concerned about funding gaps in the sector. She told the Commons: “Let’s recognise it has been hard in the past, we’ve made money available in recent
  
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• Legends And Losers - Boxing, Belief And Me

  25-10-2017 16:02
  Standing in front of Joe Louis's gravestone with my dad, we both took a moment. He, because a kid born in to a poor Geordie mining community had come so far and was now stood before an idol's grave in Arlington Cemetery, Washington D.C and me, because I love and respect my dad and know boxing and this moment, meant so much to him.When I was a child, ITV showed fights on a Saturday night; Mike Tyson, seemed fearless in the face of all challengers, like a super-charged Scrappy Doo, using his right
  
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• Fit Fix: Cheryl Teagann On What It Takes To Train To Be UK's Number One Pole Dancer

  25-10-2017 15:49
  As of October 2017 pole dancing is now officially recognised as a sport, so what does it really take to train to be one?Cheryl Teagann, whose live performance won her Miss Pole Dance UK in 2016, tells us the practice is all about strength, flexibility and determination.Teagann has quite the fitness CV - she’s a trained PT, yoga teacher, fitness instructor at Gymbox and flexibility coach. She only started working on a pole two and a half years ago and, after realising he
  
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• PMQs: Theresa May on Labour MP Jared O'Mara comments

  25-10-2017 15:44 via bbc.co.uk
  All MPs should have "due care and attention" on how they refer to others, the prime minister says.
  
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