Political news

• Boris Johnson has been embarrassing Britain for long enough. It’s time for him to go | Jeremy Corbyn

  11-11-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  The foreign secretary has been damaging Britain’s standing in the world for 16 months, and has now put Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s future liberty under threatTheresa May should never have appointed someone as Britain’s top diplomat who had accused Barack Obama of being anti-British because he’s “part-Kenyan”, and notoriously wrote about “flag-waving piccaninnies”.Now, after 16 months of the foreign secretary damaging Britain’s standing in the
  
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• Carl Sargeant: Calls for Carwyn Jones to resign 'premature'

  11-11-2017 21:00 via bbc.co.uk
  People seeking to make "political capital" need to "back off", Plaid Cymru's leader says.
  
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• Boris Johnson met ‘London professor’ linked to FBI’s Russia investigation

  11-11-2017 20:30 via theguardian.com
  Fresh questions as photograph emerges of Joseph Mifsud and foreign secretary at Brexit dinnerBoris Johnson is facing questions about the government’s links to key individuals named by the FBI in its Trump-Russia investigation, following the emergence of a photo of him with Joseph Mifsud, the “London professor” with high-level Kremlin contacts.The foreign secretary is facing accusations of a potential security breach following the emergence of the photo of him with Mifsud, whose
  
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• Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Jailed woman's husband 'to speak to Boris Johnson'

  11-11-2017 20:09 via bbc.co.uk
  The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is to speak to the foreign secretary on Sunday, he tells the BBC.
  
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• Paramedics Battling To Help 'Extremely Unwell' Patient Left Note Slamming Their Parking

  11-11-2017 19:41
  Paramedics treating a critically-ill patient who needed blue-lighting to hospital were astounded to find a note on their ambulance slamming them for blocking someone’s driveway.Emergency service workers from the West Midlands Ambulance Service had rushed to reports of an “extremely ill” man who was vomiting blood on Friday night.But when they returned to their rig, they discovered an angry message slamming their parking.“You may be saving lives but don’t park your v
  
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• Scottish Lib Dems back gender-neutral school uniforms

  11-11-2017 19:02 via bbc.co.uk
  Party members back a motion calling for all schools to have gender-neutral uniforms for students.
  
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• Sussex Police Launch Manhunt After Elderly Woman Killed In Hit-And-Run Crash With Stolen Mercedes

  11-11-2017 18:07
  An elderly woman has been killed after a stolen Mercedes smashed into her car just minutes after the driver refused to stop for police.The 70-year-old Ford Fiesta driver died at the scene of the hit-and-run crash in Horsham, West Sussex, at around 2.30pm yesterday (Friday).Her friend and passenger, also a 70-year-old woman, was taken to hospital with minor injuries following the crash, police said.A manhunt has now been launched to find the driver involved in the fatal smash.According to officer
  
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• Alas poor chancellor: doomed to do little and please no one

  11-11-2017 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Any bid Philip Hammond makes to raise money for the exchequer is shouted down by backbenchers. The next budget will see him scrabbling for small changePhilip Hammond is trapped in a prison cell of his party’s making. On one side, the chancellor is hemmed in by Tory MPs ready to veto almost any tax-raising measure that could give him some room for manoeuvre. On another there are his own and the Treasury’s conservative rules about what to do about the annual spending deficit, which the
  
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• Privatised firms paid shareholders £37bn since 2010 - Labour

  11-11-2017 17:41 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour argues the amount paid in dividends since 2010 could have been better spent on services.
  
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• Priti Patel 'inundated' with support since Israel revelations

  11-11-2017 17:38 via bbc.co.uk
  Priti Patel resigned as UK international development secretary after a row over unauthorised meetings.
  
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• 'Ireland will not be ignored' on post-Brexit border question

  11-11-2017 17:33 via theguardian.com
  Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, tells party conference Dublin remains ‘firm and stubborn’ in opposition to hard borderBritain will not be allowed to dictate the future of the Irish border post-Brexit, Ireland’s foreign minister has warned in a hardening of rhetoric over the UK’s decision to leave the EU.Simon Coveney told his party’s biannual conference on Saturday that Ireland would remain a steadfast opponent to any proposal that would create a hard bor
  
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• Giles Coren's Excruciatingly Cruel Article Reads As Resistance To The Changing Conversation Around Sexual Harassment

  11-11-2017 17:14
  To me, Giles Coren's excruciatingly cruel article about his "fat bastard" four-year-old son reads as cis-male resistance to the changing conversation around harassment.
  No one's paying for journalism anymore, so, like many, Giles Coren needs to supplement his income as a talented food writer by trolling for clicks. And that's what he did when he wrote this. So far, so predictable.
  God, the article's horrible. Eye-wateringly, excruciatingly cruel, and written without the consent of its subject/ta
  
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• Technology, infrastructure, training … why business is listening to Labour

  11-11-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Jeremy Corbyn went down a storm at last week’s CBI conference, despite talk of nationalisation. With the Tories in disarray, business seems ready to listen to the party’s ideas, and even to contemplate a Labour governmentThe reception for Jeremy Corbyn as he left the stage, after telling the packed conference hall of his plan to nationalise vast tracts of the economy and crack down on tax avoidance, spoke volumes. Yet this wasn’t a Glastonbury-style gathering of Labour supporti
  
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• Grazia Removing Lupita Nyong'o's Hair Is Not Just Dumb, It's Dangerous

  11-11-2017 16:48
  It was when an unusual number of Twitter notifications were pinging on my phone that I realised something of interest was definitely trending - but I was still shocked when I saw what the news was.What on earth possessed Grazia magazine to airbrush out Lupita's afro puff, when the Hollywood actress is well-known for embracing her natural hair? And just weeks after the Evening Standard had to apologise for photoshopping out Solange Knowles' braids?Come on! It's 2017, when we're all supposed to be
  
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• Fake Poppy Merchandise Worth £150,000 Seized By Border Force Agents In Run Up To Remembrance Sunday

  11-11-2017 16:46
  Fake poppy merchandise worth around £150,000 was seized by Border Force agents in the run up to Remembrance Sunday.The counterfeit Royal British Legion goods - heading to Manchester from China - included 1,200 scarves, 5,400 badges and 1,200 key rings, some of which were branded with the phrase “Lest We Forget”.Approximately 600 fake ‘four petal’ brooches - the copyright for which is held by Poppyscotland - were also discovered among the consignment, which was inter
  
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• London Tory council to charge tower block residents £4,000 to fit sprinklers

  11-11-2017 16:23 via theguardian.com
  Leaseholders hit out at Wandsworth bills for post-Grenfell fire safety measuresA Tory-run council plans to charge tower block residents up to £4,000 to fit sprinklers aimed at preventing a repeat of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.The move has provoked anger among residents in Wandsworth, south London. Non-payment and legal action are among the options being considered by some of the more than 1,000 leaseholders, who met last week to form a group to oppose the plans. Continue reading...
  
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• Police cuts will be disaster for national security, warns counter-terrorism head

  11-11-2017 15:24 via theguardian.com
  Neil Basu, senior national counter-terrorism coordinator, says funding cuts for local policing will harm intelligence effortsNational security is being endangered by cuts to local policing, which amount to a potential disaster in the fight to stop Islamist and neo-Nazi attacks, according to one of Britain’s leading counter-terrorism police officers.Neil Basu, senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism, told the Guardian that two decades of progress in neighbourhood policing were at
  
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• Priti Patel 'overwhelmed' by support after quitting cabinet

  11-11-2017 15:18 via bbc.co.uk
  The MP's comments came at her first appearance since quitting the cabinet over the Israel meetings row.
  
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• Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes Team Robbed At Gunpoint In Brazil

  11-11-2017 15:02
  Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes teammates have been robbed at gunpoint ahead of the Formula One race in Brazil in an incident the world champion said had left them “shaken”.The sportsman tweeted soon after midday on Saturday that some of his team were “held up at gun point [sic]” after they were leaving the circuit in Sao Paulo on Friday night.He said gun shots were fired and one person had a weapon held to their head in an incident that was, “so upsetting to hear&r
  
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• Armistice Day Sees Britain Fall Silent To Remember Nation's War Dead

  11-11-2017 14:39
  Millions of Britons fell silent for two minutes this morning to remember the nation’s war dead on Armistice Day. Big Ben - which has been silent since August while it undergoes major repairs - chimed at 11am to mark the occasion. Meanwhile, services were held around the UK to observe 99 years since the end of the First World War. Later today, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family will attend the annual Royal Festival of Remembrance, the Press Association reported.&
  
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• ‘Star Trek’ Actor George Takei Accused Of Sexual Assault By Model Scott R. Brunton

  11-11-2017 14:06
  ‘Star Trek’ star George Takei has been accused of sexually assaulting a former model.Scott R. Brunton alleges that the actor, who played Sulu in the classic sci-fi TV series, groped him at his apartment in 1981 when he was a 23-year-old aspiring model and actor.He told The Hollywood Reporter that the incident happened when he turned to the actor for advice and support during a break-up with his then boyfriend.“This happened a long time ago, but I have never forgotten it,’
  
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• Train Passengers Warned To Plan Christmas Journeys Early After Network Rail Announces Hundreds Of Rail Works

  11-11-2017 14:01
  Train passengers have been warned to plan their journeys home for Christmas early this year, with some routes set to be “heavily affected” after Network Rail announced more than 250 sets of festive engineering works. London Paddington station will be closed for four days from Christmas Eve due to the improvement scheme, while Great Western Railway is advising passengers to complete any festive trips by December 23. Routes across London, Essex, Glasgow, Lancashire, Kent and
  
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• Foreign Office attempts to repair Boris Johnson damage with Iran

  11-11-2017 12:37 via theguardian.com
  Measures under review as ‘desperate’ jailed Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe reported to have been kept in solitary confinement The Foreign Office is studying a package of measures to ease relations with Iran before a visit to Tehran by Boris Johnson that has been billed as the foreign secretary’s chance to win the release of the jailed British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Related: Tories can take being hated. But not being laughed at | Gaby HinsliffContinue reading...
  
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• Tony Blair Acknowledges Abuse Happens In Westminster, But Says 'I Was Never Part Of It'

  11-11-2017 12:34
  Tony Blair has told how he recognises some of the descriptions of abuse in Westminster but said “it wasn’t something I got involved in”.The former prime minister insisted a “necessary change” in culture would happen following the sleaze scandal.Blair said he had been a family man during his time in Parliament but appeared to acknowledge he had some awareness about the behaviour of other MPs.He told BuzzFeed News: “It’s a necessary change in culture that&
  
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• This Weak, Divided Government Would Be Laughable If It Wasn't Hurting Real People's Lives

  11-11-2017 12:24
  With Parliament in recess for a few days, this week should have been an opportunity for a weary Theresa May to step back, take stock and get a grip.But outside of her Downing Street bunker a week of soap opera politics unfolded, rapidly shifting from Coronation Street, through EastEnders, before finally terminating in drama worthy of a Hollyoaks late night special with 22,000 tuning in to follow the progress of Priti Patel's flight to redundancy.Each day Theresa May would confront an unfaithful
  
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• I Hated PE At School - Let's Change The Story For Girls

  11-11-2017 12:21
  I hated PE at school - it was difficult, intimidating and not designed to be something I was supposed to enjoy. If you are female the chances are you feel the same.I was at school in the 1980s. Those were the days when the 'sporty' kids (which in my case meant Michael Vaughn, later to become England Cricket Captain) got to choose the teams while the rest of us stood on the side-lines. The boys seemed to play any sport they wanted, the girls were limited to rounders, gymnastics and, if we were lu
  
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• ‘Strictly Come Dancing’: Debbie McGee Admits She ‘Loves’ Dance Partner Giovanni Pernice, But There’s No Romance

  11-11-2017 11:49
  Debbie McGee has admitted that she “loves” her ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ partner Giovanni Pernice, but has shut down rumours of any romance.The 59-year-old scored the first perfect score of this year’s series on last week’s show, thanks to her and Giovanni’s steamy Tango.But despite admitting that there is chemistry between the pair, Debbie says their relationship is purely professional, insisting they are “just good friends”.She told the Daily
  
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• Local Cuts Risk 'Disaster' For National Security, Warns Terror Police Chief

  11-11-2017 11:29
  Cuts to local policing risk a “disaster” for maintaining national security, one of the country’s leading counter-terrorism officers has reportedly warned.Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, said teams tackling Islamist and neo-Nazi extremists become “divorced from the frontline” when bobbies are taken off the beat.Two decades of work in neighbourhood policing, a vital source of intelligence on terrorist plots, is “in dang
  
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• PIP disability benefit: Concerns raised over NI assessments

  11-11-2017 11:09 via bbc.co.uk
  More than 12,000 people have challenged the outcome of their initial PIP assessment.
  
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• ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Professional Brendan Cole Urges Show Bosses To Introduce A Fairer Scoring System

  11-11-2017 11:07
  Brendan Cole has spoken out about the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ scoring system, suggesting it’s in need of a shake up.The professional dancer, who was voted off on week four of this year’s series with his partner Charlotte Hawkins, has urged show bosses to introduce a system that doesn’t favour contestants with a dance background.“It wouldn’t hurt if there was a handicap system, like in golf,” he told The Sun.“It would be good for people who do
  
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• Tony Blair: 'Labour should be 20 points ahead in polls'

  11-11-2017 11:05 via bbc.co.uk
  The former PM suggests Jeremy Corbyn isn't capitalising on the problems facing the current government.
  
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• Borth Wild Animal Kingdom In Wales 'Outraged' Over Council Decision To Destroy Escaped Lynx

  11-11-2017 10:42
  A wildlife park in Wales is “devastated and outraged” over a council decision to destroy a Eurasian lynx that escaped from its facilities and straying into a populated area.The female, which was around twice the size of a domestic cat, had been missing from Borth Wild Animal Kingdom in Ceredigion since October 29.Ceredigion Council reported the death on Saturday which the wildlife park said they in “no way agreed to or participated in”.In a statement on its Facebook page
  
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• ‘Breaking Bad’ Star Bryan Cranston Says Kevin Spacey’s Career Is Over: ‘He’s Not A Very Good Person’

  11-11-2017 10:28
  ‘Breaking Bad’ star Bryan Cranston says Kevin Spacey’s career is over in light of the sexual misconduct allegations the actor is facing.Fifteen accusers have now come forward, claiming they have been the victims of sexual assault or harassment by the ‘House Of Cards’ star.“He’s a phenomenal actor, but he’s not a very good person,” Bryan told the BBC. “His career now I think is over.”Asked about the recent allegations about some of
  
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• ‘Top Gun’ And ‘ER’ Actor Anthony Edwards Accuses Broadway Producer Gary Goddard Of Molesting Him As A Child

  11-11-2017 09:36
  Actor Anthony Edwards has accused the producer and writer Gary Goddard of molesting him as a child.The ‘Top Gun’ and ‘ER’ star, who met Goddard when he was 12, opened up in an emotional essay he shared on the Medium website, titled ‘Yes Mom, There Is Something Wrong’.Edwards, 55, says he was 14 years old when “my mother opened the door for me to answer honestly about the rumors she had heard about Gary Goddard — who was my mentor, teach
  
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• Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Iran's take on Johnson's remarks

  11-11-2017 09:16 via bbc.co.uk
  The British foreign secretary had commented on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is in jail in Iran.
  
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• Brothers On The Run After Failing To Return To Maghaberry Prison After Funeral

  11-11-2017 09:07
  Two prisoners have gone on the run in Northern Ireland after failing to return from compassionate bail.Brothers Charles Valliday, 45, and James Valliday, 51, did not return to Maghaberry prison on Thursday under conditions allowing them to attend a relative’s funeral.Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy of the PSNI said: “Charles and James Valliday, who are awaiting trial for serious offences, were last seen at 10am yesterday in the area of St Jude’s Chapel on the Falls Road w
  
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• Bridging The Gap On Gender: Empowering Girls And Women In Bangladesh

  11-11-2017 09:05
  The World Economic Forum recently published its Global Gender Gap Report 2017 and the data is not encouraging. Over the course of the last year, progress made on gender equity has actually been reversed. Take for example the gaps between economic and political participation of men and women; they remain shockingly high. Only 58% of the economic participation gap has been closed; 2017 is the second consecutive year of reverse progress in this area and represents the lowest value measured by the i
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Calls For Universal Credit To Be Halted 'Before Millions Of People Are Made Worse Off'

  11-11-2017 08:47
  Jeremy Corbyn has called on the Government to halt the roll out of Universal Credit.He was speaking in Consett, County Durham, after meeting local Labour MP Laura Pidcock and Citizens Advice staff who are preparing for the new benefits scheme to start next month in the area.The Labour leader listened to claimants’ problems as he talked through the issue in Geraldine’s Cafe over egg, chips and beans with a steaming coffee.Corbyn said people will have to wait six weeks for payment when
  
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• Three British Actors Explain Why Casting Couch Culture Isn’t Just A Hollywood Problem

  11-11-2017 08:20
  Being told to remove all you clothes in an audition. Having to wear a bikini “to prove you don’t have tattoos”. Being asked to “breast-feed” a doll.These are not stories from Harvey Weinstein’s Hollywood. They’re the experiences of British, female actors, auditioning for parts here in the UK.The Weinstein allegations, which have seen dozens of women come forward with stories of massage requests, indecent exposure and varying degrees of unwanted sexu
  
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• Boris Johnson’s career prospects rest with Iran after gaffe

  11-11-2017 05:00 via ft.com
  Power struggle in Tehran key to determining the treatment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
  
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• Farewell Priti hello Penny, and solving the Northern Ireland conundrum

  11-11-2017 03:23 via ft.com
  Has Theresa May’s government been fatally weakened by the forced departure of Priti Patel?
  
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• EU citizens 'worth £4.42bn to Scotland'

  11-11-2017 03:18 via bbc.co.uk
  Scottish government calculations indicate each EU worker adds over £34,000 to the economy.
  
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• MP to submit 'unwanted attention' letters

  11-11-2017 02:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Kerry McCarthy claims she received "upsetting" correspondence from fellow Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins.
  
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• Brexit complexities

  11-11-2017 02:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Why the process by which the UK will withdraw from the EU is complex and sometimes confusing.
  
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• McDonnell: £37bn paid to shareholders should have been invested

  11-11-2017 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Billions received by shareholders of privatised utilities could have helped reduce prices, says shadow chancellor More than £37bn has been paid to shareholders of privatised rail, telecoms, energy and water companies which could have been invested in public services, according to the shadow chancellor John McDonnell.The figure comes from new research by the Labour party into the tens of billions privatised companies have paid out to shareholders in companies such as Royal Mail, Centrica an
  
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