Political news

• Theresa May faces Tory backlash over putting Brexit date in EU withdrawal bill as debate starts - Politics live

  14-11-2017 23:51
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including MPs debating and voting on the first day of the EU withdrawal bill’s committee stageEU withdrawal bill debate - Summary of opening 10.51pm GMTMPs are now voting on Chris Leslie’s amendment. (See 7.28pm.) 10.50pm GMTThe Labour MP Chris Leslie is now winding up. He says it was revealing that government ministers could not answer Wes Streeting’s question (see 10.35pm), or confirm that that ECJ rul
  
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• Justice For Goose

  14-11-2017 23:17
  Some people scour over photos or scrapbooks to mark significant moments in their lives - which, being a natural hoarder, is also a fond past-time of mine.Often our lives are pinned not just with the faces of those we love, but also the pages we've turned and songs that have stirred our souls.For me, from a very young age - as soon as that VHS cassette was gobbled up, I was Andy DuFrane, hammering my way out of the mundane and escaping into glorious technicolour (thankfully avoiding the tunnel of
  
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• Steve Bell on Theresa May and the date of Brexit – cartoon

  14-11-2017 23:07
  Continue reading...
  
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• Tory rebels vow to resist 'bloodcurdling threats' over Brexit bill

  14-11-2017 22:34
  Dominic Grieve promises to vote against ‘mad’ effort to fix Brexit date, as Theresa May faces battle to get EU withdrawal bill through the House of Commons Dominic Grieve, the ringleader of the Tory rebels, has declared he intends to vote against the government’s efforts to fix the date of Brexit on 29 March 2019 regardless of “bloodcurdling threats” and “arm twisting” from the whips.On the first of eight days of debate on the European Union withdrawal b
  
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• Labour challenges Downing Street on $2bn Saudi Aramco loan guarantee

  14-11-2017 22:13
  McDonnell questions whether LSE hopes of hosting energy group flotation influenced deal
  
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• Labour challenges Downing St on $2bn Saudi Aramco loan guarantee

  14-11-2017 22:13
  McDonnell questions whether LSE hopes of hosting energy group flotation influenced deal
  
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• Scotland-UK Brexit deal closer after 'cordial' talks at No 10

  14-11-2017 21:55
  Nicola Sturgeon optimistic after meeting Theresa May, but warns there is ‘a long way to go’ – with significant concessions needed to win Holyrood supportNicola Sturgeon has expressed greater optimism that the Scottish and UK governments can strike a deal on Brexit after a “cordial” meeting with Theresa May.Speaking outside No 10, the first minister said her private meeting with the prime minister on Tuesday, which was dominated by discussions over the EU withdrawal
  
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• A Brexit no-deal would aid terrorism in the UK and across Europe | Anders Fogh Rasmussen

  14-11-2017 21:41
  If Britain crashes out of the European Union, the exchange of data that protects the safety and security of all of us could stop overnight• Anders Fogh Rasmussen is a former secretary general of NatoThe UK has begun to contemplate the prospect of no Brexit deal by the March 2019 deadline. The economic impact would be significant, but with contingency plans under preparation, there are ways to try to mitigate the worst aspects. However, in the fight against terror, a no-deal scenario &n
  
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• Ken Clarke Applauded By Labour MPs For Anti-Hard Brexit Commons Speech

  14-11-2017 21:40
  Tory veteran Ken Clarke was applauded by Labour MPs after making an impassioned Commons speech on Brexit.During the first meaningful EU Withdrawal Bill debate Clarke, a staunch Remain campaigner, urged the government to stop making “silly amendments” to the legislation “just because they get a good article in the Daily Telegraph”.Brexit secretary David Davis announced last week the bill would be amended to include a concrete exit date for the UK from the EU, in a bid to a
  
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• Brexit secretary aims to reassure the City of London

  14-11-2017 21:05
  David Davis promises financial sector almost everything it asked for
  
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• Exit the EU at midnight European time? Not on Frank Field's watch | John Crace

  14-11-2017 20:50
  The Labour MP is fed up with the EU always getting all the good stuff, like Christmas, an hour before usFinally the nitty-gritty. With just eight days to go line by line through 200 pages of amendments, time was of the essence as the Commons began its committee stage reading of the government’s EU withdrawal bill. So Labour’s Frank Field chose to focus on the big issue. The timing of Britain’s exit from the EU.Field wasn’t at all happy with the fact that the government ha
  
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• As the Tory Brexit fight club slugs it out, do they even care about Ireland? | Rafael Behr

  14-11-2017 20:33
  Ego-wrestling British cabinet ministers seem willing to risk their neighbours’ hard-won peace and prosperity. And the rest of Europe can see thatThere is no definition of good neighbourliness in foreign affairs. Alliances are fixed by treaties. Regional trade is measured in goods and services. But those things cannot describe the texture of relations between countries, the way adjacent nations rub along together.This quality is as important to Brexit as the technical hooks on which negotia
  
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• The Guardian view on Theresa May and Russia: keep pouring the sunshine | Editorial

  14-11-2017 20:29
  The prime minister’s annual speech on foreign affairs might have highlighted Brexit or the disruptive effect of Trump. But it was vital to call out Russia’s propaganda war tooBritain’s prime minister makes a sharp and critical speech about Russian attempts to undermine the UK’s institutions. In one sense, not much new there. This is what British prime ministers do, and have done for decades, before, during and after the cold war. This is the UK’s default setting. So
  
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• Honda UK warns MPs of consequences of leaving EU customs union

  14-11-2017 20:10
  Motor industry says threatened new tariffs could add £1,500 to price of an imported car, and make exports more expensive tooThe devastating impact of a hard Brexit on the UK car industry was laid bare on Tuesday to MPs, who were told every 15 minutes of customs delays would cost some manufacturers up to £850,000 a year.Presenting the industry’s most detailed evidence yet to the business select committee, Honda UK said it relied on 350 trucks a day arriving from Europe to keep i
  
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• Inducing First-Time Mothers Aged 35 And Over Could Reduce Stillbirth And Neonatal Deaths, Study Suggests

  14-11-2017 20:00
  For first-time mothers aged 35 and over, inducing labour early could reduce the risk of stillbirth and neonatal deaths, a new study has suggested.The study of nearly 80,000 UK women, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, showed that inducing these women one to two weeks earlier was linked to the risk of baby death falling from 26 per 10,000 pregnancies to eight per 10,000 pregnancies.“The number of first-time mothers over the age of 35 is rising,” said Hann
  
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• Rebel Tories claim they have the votes to defeat Theresa May over Brexit date

  14-11-2017 19:58
  Pro-EU MPs say tying UK in law to 11pm on March 29 2019 is ‘disastrous’ and ‘barmy’
  
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• Developers Face Compulsory Purchase Order Plan As No.10 Mulls Radical Moves To Boost Housebuilding

  14-11-2017 19:36
  Radical plans to allow councils to compulsorily purchase unused land to tackle Britain’s housing crisis are being considered by Downing Street.The proposals follow frustration that private developers and landowners are sitting on sites that could be used for more affordable homes.The compulsory purchase order (CPO) idea is “in the mix” of wider housing recommendations being mulled over by Theresa May should the Budget fail to win over the public on housing, Whitehall sources ha
  
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• Pig Farm Investigation By Animal Equality Raises Concerns About Red Tractor Certified Farms

  14-11-2017 19:32
  An undercover investigation into British pig farms certified by the food industry’s Red Tractor assured standards scheme has revealed sows in cages so tiny they cannot turn around.Animal rights activists have raised fresh concerns about the welfare of animals in UK farms, despite the government saying repeatedly that Britain has “some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world”.The Red Tractor logo on meat is promoted as being the mark of “quality food you can t
  
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• Nigel Farage 'Loses' Legal Battle With Hope Not Hate But Then Attacks Anti-Racism Group A Second Time

  14-11-2017 19:29
  Nigel Farage has taken a second swipe at a leading anti-racism charity, after it claimed “victory” on Tuesday in a legal battle that began as a Twitter spat with the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox.Hope not Hate (HnH) said it was “delighted” the former Ukip leader had withdrawn claims that it pursued “violent and undemocratic means” after the group used funds from 16,000 supporters to file a libel suit against him.Farage said he was “very surprised”
  
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• Can the Forsdick family and Britain unite after the Brexit saga? | Letters

  14-11-2017 19:25
  This week Brian Forsdick called for an apology from prominent remainers for their part in driving people to vote leave. Here some of those who read his letter, including his own grandchildren, respondWe are pleased to see that our grandad, like many, has finally woken up to the logical impossibility of Brexit (Letters, 13 November). He is right to highlight the failings of our economics and politics of the last 25 years, the consequences of which our generation will have to live with; and h
  
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• Free movement of people raises real concerns | Letters

  14-11-2017 19:24
  Those who voted for Brexit wanted migration to be managed, say Jonathon Porritt and Colin Hines. But Eric Goodyer voted remain to keep his freedom to work, live and retire anywhere in Europe. Plus John Hall says the benefits system must be reorientedWhat those who want to remain in a reformed EU that lessens people’s insecurity must grasp is that Brexit voters don’t want an apology, they want policies to deal with their desire for managed migration. What is still inadequately underst
  
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• Paralysis has gripped Northern Ireland. But politicians are just looking blithely on | Peter Hain

  14-11-2017 19:22
  Power-sharing requires compromise – but the mutual obdurance of Sinn Féin and the DUP is bringing Stormont to its knees. Theresa May needs to step in nowFor those who put years of hard work into establishing peace and inclusive self-government in Northern Ireland, it’s been painful to observe how local obduracy and Westminster’s incompetence have brought power-sharing to a halt for nearly a year. Related: Westminster imposes budget on Northern IrelandContinue reading...
  
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• EU Withdrawal Bill: The Key Battlegrounds

  14-11-2017 19:16
  For the next month or so, MPs are going to be debating, scrutinising and voting on one of the most important pieces of legislation ever put before Parliament.The stakes are high, as Theresa May’s has a working majority of just 13 - although with ‘Labour Leave’ MPs that rises to nearly 25 on Brexit matters.Even with the backing of anti-EU Labour MPs, it is still going to be a nervous few weeks for the Government as it tries to steer its flagship Bill through the Commons.Here&rsq
  
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• Davis promises City of London special post-Brexit travel regime

  14-11-2017 19:03
  Government seeks to reassure bankers and other professionals with free movement
  
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• David Davis promises City of London special post-Brexit travel regime

  14-11-2017 19:03
  Government seeks to reassure financial hub of London’s future role in Europe
  
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• Nigel Farage withdraws 'violent means' claim against Hope Not Hate

  14-11-2017 18:54
  Former Ukip leader retracts assertion made about anti-extremist group last December after crowdfunded libel actionNigel Farage has formally withdrawn his claim that Hope Not Hate pursues “violent and undemocratic means” after it launched a crowdfunded libel case against the former Ukip leader.
  The anti-extremism pressure group said on Tuesday that Farage had filed a statement with the high court in London saying he was “happy to acknowledge that Hope Not Hate does not tolerate
  
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• Headteachers hit out at funding formula for schools

  14-11-2017 18:29
  Letter sent to Hammond says funding cuts are forcing heads to ask parents for money
  
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• Prestigious international grant enables IWF to take reporting solution to world's least developed countries

  14-11-2017 18:25
  Today (November 14, 2017) the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and The Fund to End Violence Against Children will be announcing a substantial financial award that will allow us - as one of the most successful hotlines for reporting online child abuse imagery in the world - to develop a further 30 Reporting Portals.This is big news for us. We already have 17 of these IWF reporting solutions world-wide, 18 if you include Tanzania which we have already established under this fund. And, most signific
  
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• I was born poor in Kensington and Chelsea – and I know nothing’s changed | Seraphima Kennedy

  14-11-2017 18:22
  Council leader Elizabeth Campbell’s criticism of a report on inequality in the Grenfell Tower borough was shocking: she should hang her head in shame• Seraphima Kennedy is a former neighbourhood officer for Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management OrganisationFive months after the Grenfell tragedy, the Conservative-run council still seems unable to get a grip on its response. This week its leader, Elizabeth Campbell, who took over after her predecessor was forced to stand down over hi
  
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• Here's Our First Look At Airbus' Revolutionary Vahana Flying Taxi

  14-11-2017 18:22
  Airbus has given us our first glimpse of its Vahana self-flying taxi.Originally unveiled as the CityAirbus project, it has evolved into the Vahana concept you can see resting in one of Airbus’ R&D hangers in Santa Clara, California.The Vahana is a small, lightweight self-flying aircraft that uses eight electrically-powered engines to propel passengers from A to B.It’ll have a range of around 62-miles and just like taxis today, it’ll be summoned using a smartphone app.Airbus
  
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• The heat is on: inaction on tax havens will make May appear complicit

  14-11-2017 18:09
  As MPs intensify the pressure, the British prime minister ignores demand for transparency at her perilDavid Cameron said it when he was prime minister, and the Labour MP Margaret Hodge has now made the same point. When it comes to cleaning up tax havens, sunlight is the best disinfectant.It was at the G8 summit in 2013 that Cameron first called for transparency. He urged the governments of the UK’s network of offshore centres, which spreads from the Caribbean to the Channel, to make public
  
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• Prog-no-thanks

  14-11-2017 18:09
  The first thing people ask when you tell them you have incurable cancer is, "what's your prognosis?"It used to surprise me, but not anymore. It's become the norm. There are plenty of other questions that could be asked - "how are you feeling?", "can I do anything to help?", even - "do you need a hug?" Anything but, "so, how long until the doctors think you're going to die?"!!I have secondary breast cancer. I know that I'm going to die sooner than I should. What I don't want to know is a rough es
  
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• Welsh leader calls for 'less brutal' politics as tributes paid to Sargeant

  14-11-2017 18:05
  Party leaders join assembly members to remember Labour politician found dead after being sacked over harassment claimsThe Welsh first minister has called on parties to consider how politics could be made “less brutal” following the death of Carl Sargeant, who was found dead four days after being sacked as a minister over harassment allegations.Carwyn Jones is under huge pressure in relation to his handling of the claims and has been accused of presiding over a government in which a &
  
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• David Lammy's Reaction When Labour MP Frank Field Burns Hilary Benn Is Sensational

  14-11-2017 18:03
  The debating chamber of House of Commons can be an unforgiving place. But on Tuesday it was reminiscent of a rap battle in 8 Mile. But, you know, in Marks & Spencer suits.It began in less than promising circumstances as pro-Brexit Labour MP Frank Field attempted to face down dissenters in his own party during a debate on legislation to rubber-stamp the UK’s exit from the EU.To make a point about the need for a deadline to conclude negotiations with Brussels, Field attempted a metaphor
  
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• Brexiters pile pressure on UK chancellor ahead of the Budget

  14-11-2017 17:59
  Hammond’s caution adds to PM tensions as he resists calls for public spending rise
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Asked To Remove Whip From Emma Dent Coad Over 'Unacceptable' Comments

  14-11-2017 17:56
  Jeremy Corbyn is under pressure to remove the party whip from one of his MPs after ‘unacceptable’ comments she made about a Tory candidate were discovered online.Emma Dent Coad apologised for offending London Assembly Member Shaun Bailey, after a six-year-old blog post in which she referred to him as a “token ghetto boy” and a “scumbag” was unearthed by the Guido Fawkes website.But Conservative MPs James Cleverly and Kemi Badenoch have now written to the Labou
  
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• Inventing Needn't Be The Preserve Of Adults - Just Look At What We've Achieved

  14-11-2017 17:55
  Epilepsy is a mysterious beast. A neurological condition that affects nearly 50 million people worldwide, a common symptom is seizures that start in the brain - but many people experience it differently. Anyone can develop epilepsy at any time of life, and yet, the ability to manage the condition, other than with medication, is currently very limited.When Sankha witnessed a man having a seizure while out shopping with his family in Bath, something changed for us both. What was particularly poign
  
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• UK defence secretary under pressure over military police cuts

  14-11-2017 17:53
  Defence Police Federation says cuts could leave military bases at risk of terrorism
  
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• Should Heading Be Allowed In Junior Football?

  14-11-2017 17:51
  Following Alan Shearer's BBC documentary on the long term risks of heading a football, one would be forgiven for thinking no sport is safe and, frankly, why should anyone participate in any sport apart if it is so bad for your long term health? Of course, nobody in healthcare wants to see that, so why with an obesity epidemic are we continually hearing stories of how some sports can damage our health?It is all the fault of medicine. As technology becomes more advanced and knowledge increases our
  
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• Rose West’s Nephew Steven Letts Jailed For Raping And Abducting Girl, 12

  14-11-2017 17:51
  The nephew of serial killer Rose West has been jailed for 18 years after he was convicted of drugging and raping a 12-year-old girl.Steven Letts, 39, abducted and had sex with the child after they met in the street and she asked him for a cigarette.Letts, who was found guilty of kidnapping and rape last week, responded by offering her a joint, then took her home and plied her with cocaine, cannabis and vodka after their encounter in Gloucester city centre on 6 March this year, the trial heard.Th
  
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• Paris battles to cash in from Brexit: 'I think we can gain 10,000 jobs'

  14-11-2017 17:51
  In the first in a series on European cities seeking to profit from the UK’s exit from the EU, we hear how the French capital is tempting firms from LondonAmid the gleaming glass towers of Paris’s La Défense business district, cranes dot the skyline as drills clatter away on the building sites of future skyscrapers and acres of new office space. Marie-Célie Guillaume proudly walks the route of the guided tours she gives to companies drawing up Brexit contingency plans an
  
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• Acid Attack Murder Victim ‘Was Being Abused By His Girlfriend’

  14-11-2017 17:47
  A man who died after an alleged acid attack was being physically abused by the woman accused of his murder, a court heard.Mark van Dongen was left with ″gashes″ around his neck and torso, inflicted by his girlfriend Berlinah Wallace, Bristol Crown Court was told.Wallace denies charges of murder and throwing a corrosive fluid with the intention to burn, maim, disfigure, disable or commit GBH.Prosecutors claim Wallace carried out the attack out of jealousy after van Dongen began seeing
  
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• We Can All Learn Something From Refugees

  14-11-2017 17:41
  I've just got back from spending two weeks volunteering on a refugee camp in Athens. But what if I told those two weeks were the most life affirming and joyous of my entire 45 years?Before I left, a series of well meaning friends and family sat me down with furrowed brows, suggesting that perhaps I wasn't emotionally ready for the harrowing scenes I may encounter. "Be careful with your mobile phone," my 81-year-old mother warned me, the Daily Mail's fearful take on refugee camps having got the b
  
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• No wonder John Redwood backs Brexit. He will make money out of it, after all | Joris Luyendijk

  14-11-2017 17:32
  Who is the real Redwood: the man forever emphasising how well Britain is going to do out of the EU – or telling investors to shift their cash out of the country?When, in a few years, a public inquiry is held into the economic, financial and monetary debacle that is by then Brexit, one of the easier targets will be the Conservative MP and Brexit cheerleader John Redwood. Related: John Redwood criticised over advice to pull money out of UKContinue reading...
  
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• Labour MP apologises for calling Conservative 'token ghetto boy'

  14-11-2017 17:21
  Emma Dent Coad says remarks were taken wrong way after Tory assembly member condemned them as racist and hate-filledThe Labour MP Emma Dent Coad has apologised for referring to a Conservative London assembly member as a “token ghetto boy” in a blogpost written before she was elected, after two Tory MPs called for the whip to be removed. Shaun Bailey, who was then Hammersmith’s Conservative parliamentary candidate, said the MP had written “racist, hate-filled remarks&rdquo
  
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• The Problem With Calorie Counting: Why The CICO Diet Is Not The Healthiest Weight Loss Method

  14-11-2017 16:57
  Another day, another diet plan telling people (read: women) how to lose weight in the quest for the “perfect body”.The latest concept hitting headlines is the CICO plan, which stands for “calories in, calories out”.The plan, which has dominated Reddit threads in recent weeks, is based on the idea that you can eat whatever you want, as long as you exercise off more calories than you have consumed. But according to Aisling Pigott, a spokesperson from the British Dietet
  
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• Duchess Of Cambridge Meets Families Supported By Mental Health Charity At A London Children's Centre

  14-11-2017 16:53
  The Duchess of Cambridge has met with families at a children’s centre that offers mental health support to pregnant women and new mothers.The Duchess had originally planned to visit Hornsey Road Children’s Centre, in London, on 4 September (the day she announced her third pregnancy), but was forced to cancel at the last minute as she was suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum.The visit was rescheduled for Tuesday 14 November and the Duchess enjoyed finally being able to
  
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• Tory MP Philip Davies Says Militant Feminists Are Trying To Bully Him

  14-11-2017 16:47
  Tory MP Philip Davies has claimed ‘militant feminists’ are trying to bully and intimidate him for saying men and women should be treated equally.The outspoken backbencher told a Westminster Hall debate on International Men’s Day that men are also ‘increasingly getting a bad press’ and that attitudes needed to be ‘challenged’.“It is fair to say that I am often pilloried for arguing that men and women should be treated equally,” he said.“
  
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• Jim Davidson Reveals Bruce Forsyth Feud Over 'Generation Game' Hosting Role

  14-11-2017 16:45
  Jim Davidson has revealed he had a secret feud with the late Sir Bruce Forsyth. The comic has claimed the former ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ host refused to speak to him, after Jim succeeded him as the host of ‘The Generation Game’. Speaking on a forthcoming episode of ‘Piers Morgan’s Life Stories’, Jim claimed Bruce left the show when bosses realised they could get him to host the gameshow for a cheaper fee.“One day there was a knock on the
  
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• Aston Martin Warns It Could Have To Stop Making Cars If Brexit Talks Fail

  14-11-2017 16:43
  Aston Martin has warned it could have to halt production of all its cars if Theresa May fails to secure a Brexit deal.The high-end car manufacturer which makes all its vehicles in the UK told the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee on Tuesday that leaving the EU without a trade deal would be “semi-catastrophic”.Every car model in the UK currently is tested by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) to make sure it is valid to be sold.Currently VCA approved
  
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