Political news

• Bradley Lowery Honoured With Posthumous Award At Emotional BBC Sports Personality Of The Year

  17-12-2017 22:00
  Bradley Lowery, the six-year-old whose brave fight against a rare form of cancer captured the nation’s heart, was posthumously honoured at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year event on Sunday night.Sunderland super-fan Bradley, who fought against neuroblastoma from 18 months old, and his family were given the Helen Rollason Award for “outstanding achievement in the face of adversity”.Bradley died in July in his parents’ arms at his home in Blackha
  
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• Two Police Officers Fighting For Life After Being Hit By Maserati In Brent, North London

  17-12-2017 21:05
  A police officer is in a critical condition in hospital after he and a female colleague were struck by a Maserati as they helped deal with an unrelated early-morning incident.Scotland Yard said the female officer sustained a number of fractures and that her condition was serious but stable.The driver of the Maserati – a man aged in his 50s – was arrested at the scene on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen of breath. He remains in custody.Metropolitan Poli
  
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• Ban sale of mini mobile phones, justice secretary says

  17-12-2017 19:50 via bbc.co.uk
  The tiny devices are designed to evade prison body scanners, the justice secretary says.
  
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• UK ministers meet for first talks on EU trade relationship

  17-12-2017 19:21
  Brexit subcommittee to begin preliminary work — nearly 18 months after referendum
  
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• Rebecca Dykes: UK Embassy Worker Found 'Murdered At Side Of Motorway' In Lebanon

  17-12-2017 18:53
  A British embassy worker whose body was found by the side of a motorway in Lebanon was strangled, Lebanese police said.Rebecca Dykes’s family said they have been left “devastated” following her death on Saturday in Beirut.Police are investigating whether the victim, believed to be 30, had been sexually assaulted before she was found dead by the side of a road in the east of the capital.A family spokesman said: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are
  
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• Rebecca Dykes: UK Diplomat Found 'Murdered At Side Of Motorway' In Lebanon

  17-12-2017 18:53
  A British embassy worker in Lebanon has been found murdered at the side of a motorway, reports have said.Police in Beirut are investigating the sudden death Rebecca Dykes, a diplomat at the embassy in the city, who was found on Saturday.Reports said authorities believe Dykes, in her 30s, may have been sexually assaulted before being strangled.Unnamed forensic and security officials have been cited by the Associated Press news agency.A family spokesman said: “We are devastated by the loss o
  
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• Legal threat hangs over UK decision on faster rural broadband

  17-12-2017 18:27
  Offer from BT to improve speeds is opposed by rivals such as Sky and TalkTalk
  
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• A Giant Cheeseboard Event That Ran Out Of Cheese Has Left People Furious

  17-12-2017 18:15
  In what looks like the latest festive wonderland to go wrong, an event in London that promised “unlimited cheese, mulled wine and fun” has left many people furious.For almost £40, visitors were told to expect The Giant Cheeseboard, a pasteurised paradise topped off with waiters dressed as mice.UNLIMITED CHEESE! 😍😍😍 6 Days until this dream is a reality here on the terrace...https://t.co/KitjETMc7n pic.twitter.com/YTcW3F2RW5
  “Basically, think Honey I
  
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• Jo Cox's Widower, Brendan Cox, On The Challenges Of Bringing Up Children Alone

  17-12-2017 17:53
  Brendan Cox has spoken about the difficulty of being a single parent as he praised a campaign designed to tackle loneliness at Christmas.The widower of Jo Cox described how he and his late wife used to speak of their admiration for the way parents raised children solo.The 39-year-old is facing his second Christmas without his wife, mother to their two children Cuillin, six, and Lejla, four.Extremist Thomas Mair, 53, was jailed for life for killing the Labour MP in the days before the Brexit refe
  
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• Year in a Word: Maybot

  17-12-2017 17:17
  A cruel nickname, but given Theresa May’s reputation for ruthlessness sympathy was limited
  
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• Drivers Told To Avoid Travelling On 'Frantic Friday' And Christmas Eve As Millions Expected To Be On UK Roads

  17-12-2017 17:12
  Drivers should avoid travelling on ‘Frantic Friday’ this week as long delays are expected on Britain’s motorways ahead of Christmas.Commuter traffic is expected to clash with the Christmas getaway on December 22, with an estimated 1.25 million motorists expected to be visiting friends and family.The worst hold-ups are expected to occur between 4pm and 8pm.An estimated 11.5 million leisure trips will be made by car between December 17 and Christmas Eve, with leisure journeys pre
  
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• Diane Abbott: Listen to CBI and NHS' on Brexit migration

  17-12-2017 17:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Diane Abbott says Labour would make migration "less bureaucratic" after Brexit.
  
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• Michael Gove Accused Of Plotting To Steal Holiday Days From Workers

  17-12-2017 16:47
  Michael Gove has been accused of plotting to use Brexit to rob workers of their holidays and weaken employment rights.According to The Sunday Times, the environment secretary will use a crunch Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to demand Theresa May pull the UK out of the EU Working Time Directive - which restricts the working week to 48 hours.And the Sun on Sunday, Brexiteer ministers have “widespread” support in the Cabinet to scrap the rule. A source told the paper: “It will put the
  
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• UK ministers go cold on Swansea £1.3bn tidal power lagoon

  17-12-2017 16:08
  Government says ‘eye-wateringly’ expensive project does not offer value for money
  
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• ‘Shared market’ Brexit model proposed by think-tank

  17-12-2017 15:49
  Centre-left IPPR suggests compromise on alignment of British and EU rules
  
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• Nigel Farage's Woes Have Been Mocked In A Brilliant Thread Everyone Can Relate To

  17-12-2017 15:42
  On Friday, Nigel Farage was interviewed in sympathetic fashion by the Daily Mail as he revealed he was “skint” after spending 18 years as a Ukip MEP fighting for Brexit.Under the headline “53, separated and skint”, the interview also described how he cannot leave his “midweek home in Chelsea” for a pint for security reasons amid threats and abuse.Nigel Farage reveals the 'price he has paid for Brexit' https://t.co/80TcrBu1Kj pic.twitter.com
  
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• Sunday Show Round Up: Labour's Brexit Plan Under The Spotlight

  17-12-2017 14:51
  Despite Theresa May’s on-again, off-again, on-again relationship with getting a Brexit deal this past week, it was Labour’s Europe policy placed under the spotlight on this Sunday’s political shows.Just as the Cabinet will soon have to actually decide what Brexit means, Jeremy Corbyn’s somewhat ambiguous approach is getting harder to maintain.On the BBC’s Anderw Marr programme this morning, Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott was pressed on whether the party was
  
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• Irish government to repair relationship with the DUP

  17-12-2017 14:38 via bbc.co.uk
  The Irish government seeks a meeting with DUP to repair relationship
  
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• BMG Research Brexit Poll Shows 51% Of Britons Want To Remain In EU

  17-12-2017 14:22
  More than half of Britons want to stay in the European Union, according to a new poll.The latest BMG Research poll for The Independent put those who back remain at a 10-point lead compared to those who still support Brexit.The poll shows the largest Remain lead in any of BMG’s monthly tracking polls conducted since the Referendum last June, with 51% saying they favoured staying in the EU.After people who said they did not know were pushed for an answer or excluded, the survey found 55.5% i
  
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• Ken Clarke Blasts 'Idiotic' Calls For Tory Brexit Rebels To Be Deselected

  17-12-2017 13:56
  .@NadineDorries says the "real heroes" are the Conservative MPs, who campaigned for Remain but stood on a manifesto to deliver Brexit. "Some of the rebels could perhaps learn a lesson from their Remain colleagues, who know the right thing to do is to deliver Brexit." #bbcsp pic.twitter.com/Y7ibPNmiF9 — BBC Daily Politics and Sunday Politics (@daily_politics) December 17, 2017
  The furious Conservative infighting over Brexit continued on Sunday as one backbencher repeated her calls for Tory
  
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• Michelle O'Neill believes the Executive can be restored

  17-12-2017 13:46 via bbc.co.uk
  Sinn Féin leader at Stormont said she wants "to give hope to people" that the Executive can be restored
  
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• Brexit: Theresa May says she 'will not be derailed'

  17-12-2017 13:31 via bbc.co.uk
  The prime minister writes in two Sunday newspapers that she has "proven the doubters wrong".
  
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• Is Labour ready for government?

  17-12-2017 13:25 via bbc.co.uk
  Elizabeth Glinka took the moodbox to the constituency of Warwick and Leamington, a former Conservative seat snatched by Labour in June.
  
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• Bookmaker Forced To Apologise After Posting Blackface Diane Abbott Tweet

  17-12-2017 13:06
  A bookmaker has been forced to apologise after it posted a picture of a man blacked-up as Labour MP Diane Abbott on social media.Star Sports Bookmakers posted the picture on Twitter on Friday evening showing a man wearing blackface at a darts competition and holding up a sign reading “190” – lampooning the shadow home secretary for her grasp of numbers. The maximum score off three darts is 180.The bookmaker was accused of racism after posting the picture.The caption accompanyin
  
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• Gauke defends benefit sanctions

  17-12-2017 13:05 via bbc.co.uk
  Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke says the number of sanctions imposed fell in 2017.
  
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• 'Strictly Come Dancing' 2017 Final Attracts Huge Ratings For BBC One

  17-12-2017 12:51
  Over 13 million people tuned in to see Joe McFadden win ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ on Saturday (17 December) night.The final of the 2017 competition attracted huge audiences for BBC One, as Joe took on Alexandra Burke, Debbie McGee and Gemma Atkinson.According to overnight ratings, the BBC ballroom show averaged 11.6m viewers for its 150 minute special, which saw the finalists all perform three dances each in a bid to lift the Glitterball Trophy.A whopping peak of 13
  
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• Tom Watson Says Labour Can Not Rule Out Backing A Second EU Referendum

  17-12-2017 12:15
  Tom Watson has said Labour can not rule out backing a second referendum on EU membership.The party’s deputy leader said on Sunday it was not “likely” that Labour would push for another vote.But he told BBC Radio 5′s Pienaar’s Politics “when you are in complex negotiations on behalf the nation you shouldn’t rule anything out”.“We have not said we want a second referendum. What we actually want is a negotiated settlement,” he added.S
  
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• Theresa May Set To Avoid Second Commons Defeat after Brexit Debate Compromise

  17-12-2017 12:06
  Theresa May looks set to avoid a humiliating second Commons defeat after a compromise deal was reached within Tory ranks over plans to write the Brexit date in law.Behind-the-scenes efforts to prevent a revolt appear to have resulted in a situation which will see March 29, 2019 written into the Government’s Brexit legislation as the Prime Minister promised, but with flexibility allowing the date to be changed if negotiations with Brussels look set to stretch beyond that date.Rebels who hel
  
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• Pensions: Automatic saving to start at 18 under new plans

  17-12-2017 12:00 via bbc.co.uk
  An extra 900,000 young people could automatically save into a workplace pension under the plans.
  
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• 'Gogglebox' Star Sandra Martin Reveals She's Been Left Penniless And Homeless After Spending Show Earnings

  17-12-2017 11:56
  Former ‘Gogglebox’ star Sandra Martin has told of how she’s been left with no money or home after spending all the money she earned from the show.Sandra, who appeared on the Channel 4 series alongside best pal Sandi Bogle, revealed she has been forced out of her Brixton home and is living out of a suitcase in a budget hotel after not being able to keep up with the bills. Speaking to the Daily Star, she said: “I have no money coming in. It’s scary.”Explain
  
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• Brexit: Abbott 'does not want second referendum'

  17-12-2017 11:41 via bbc.co.uk
  Diane Abbott says she does not want a referendum on the final Brexit deal.
  
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• The Apprentice's Joanna Jarjue Slams Show Portrayal: 'I Feared Looking Like I Was Playing Race Card'

  17-12-2017 11:10
  Fired ‘Apprentice’ candidate Joanna Jarjue has criticised the way she feels she was portrayed on the show, but was afraid to speak up for fear of being accused of “playing the race card”. The businesswoman, who missed out on a place in the final after the infamous interviews round earlier this week, revealed she was left in tears behind the scenes of the BBC reality show over what she called the “engineered narrative” around her.After reading a Guardian o
  
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• The Apprentice's Joanna Jarjue Slams 'Engineered' Portrayal: 'I Feared Looking Like I Was Playing Race Card'

  17-12-2017 11:10
  Fired ‘Apprentice’ candidate Joanna Jarjue has criticised the way she was portrayed on the show, but was afraid to speak up for fear of being accused of “playing the race card”. The businesswoman, who missed out on a place in the final after the infamous interviews round earlier this week, revealed she was left in tears behind the scenes of the BBC reality show over the “engineered narrative” around her.After reading a Guardian op-ed on the treatment Alex
  
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• 'I'm A Celebrity': Iain Lee's Sister Hints At Behind-The-Scenes Bullying As She Wades Into Row

  17-12-2017 10:14
  The sister of ’I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!’ star Iain Lee has waded in on the on-going row about whether he was bullied on the show. Jo Angell, who visited Iain in camp, has hinted there was bullying going on behind-the-scenes, after her brother backtracked on his previous claims he was treated properly. Iain had tweeted to say he was now discovering nasty things that were said behind his back - something which Jo has seemingly corroborated. Replying t
  
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• Birmingham Crash: Six People Killed And Another Critically Injured Following 'Very Serious' Incident

  17-12-2017 10:00
  Six people have been killed and a seventh person is critically injured after several vehicles crash in Birmingham in the early hours of Sunday morning, West Midlands Ambulance Service has said.Belgrave Middleway, near Edgbaston, will be closed from Islington Row to Bristol Street “throughout Sunday”, West Midlands Police said.The crash happened at about 1.10am at the entrance to the underpass on Lee Bank Middleway at the junction of Bristol Road.Ambulances, the air ambulance and
  
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• Call off Brexit bullies or face defeat, Conservative peers tell May

  17-12-2017 09:10
  Conservatives in House of Lords warn prime minister party rebellion ‘will spread’ if the whips keep using strong-arm tactics• Dark rumours in Westminster over Tory whips’ behaviourTheresa May was warned on Sunday by Tory peers that she will face a string of parliamentary defeats over Europe in the House of Lords if she tries to “bully” members of the second chamber into backing an extreme form of Brexit.After 11 Conservative MPs joined opposition parties to inf
  
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• Christmas Quiz: How Much Do You Actually Know About The Festive Season?

  17-12-2017 08:00
  We celebrate it every year but many people don’t actually know much about the history of many of our Christmas traditions.The annual festival, which literally means Christ’s Mass, marks the birth of Jesus, although it is celebrated by many as a secular holiday today.From carols to mince pies, many of our holiday traditions seem set in stone - but do you actually know where they came from?Test your festive knowledge with our fiendishly difficult quiz....
  
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• The Syrian Refugee Chasing His Dream Of Being a Professional Footballer

  17-12-2017 06:00
  Odai Al Jburri, a Syrian refugee, dreams of turning his passion for football into a professional career. In 2011, his family fled Homs to find a better life in Lebanon. But despite the arduous journey, he has not given up his childhood dream of playing for a major European football club.   
  
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• Defence budget: New equipment at risk over MoD savings 'doubts'

  17-12-2017 02:04 via bbc.co.uk
  MPs warn plans for new military equipment - including warships and jets - could be at risk.
  
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• MPs cast ‘serious doubt’ on £14bn defence savings

  17-12-2017 01:22
  Budget for £178bn new equipment programme under pressure, report warns
  
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• The Tory rebels are emboldened by their success. They won’t stop now | Andrew Rawnsley

  17-12-2017 01:05
  It will be increasingly difficult to contain MPs who are developing a taste for voting with their consciencesThe spectacle of a control freak losing control is generally satisfying, but not to Tories who are angry about the government’s first major defeat in parliament since the election. Casting around for places to allocate the blame, some fingers are being pointed at Julian Smith.The relatively new chief whip is being accused of misreading and mishandling the rebellion that saw Tor
  
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• The NHS desperately needs a new vision for the 21st century | Lord Darzi

  17-12-2017 01:05
  The people of the UK deserve the best health service in the world and with the clinical talent and scientific innovations at our disposal, we can achieve itNext year the NHS will be 70 years old. For seven decades it has been there for us at times of most basic human need, offering care and compassion. The NHS has been a vital friend to millions: it belongs to the people, and is cherished by the public. I want to see it not just survive but thrive: the NHS deserves a secure future that gives us
  
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• The Brexit pantomime: act two – cartoon

  17-12-2017 01:05
  Chris Riddell on the second phase of the EU withdrawal negotiations Continue reading...
  
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• MoD intervenes to clamp down on ministers’ fake Twitter accounts

  17-12-2017 01:05
  Social media giant suspends accounts after ministry’s protestsIt is a new struggle being quietly waged by the Ministry of Defence – one where the battlefield is a constantly shifting one. In the era of fake news and so-called infowars with Russia, Britain’s military establishment has launched a clamp-down on bogus Twitter accounts masquerading under the official MoD banner.At least three Twitter accounts – including one in the name of the new defence secretary, Gavin Will
  
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• At Westminster, those accused of abuse still walk among us | Jess Phillips

  17-12-2017 01:05
  It seems that nothing has changed since the sexual harassment scandal brokeThe voting lobbies in Westminster are crowded. MPs pour in to them from the three available doors and form a scrum at the end where we declare our names. One of the doorways which leads straight from the chamber of the House of Commons demands that you stand in a very narrow winding stairway waiting to descend in to the packed lobby. Six or seven people can fit uncomfortably on these stairs, nine or 10 would have to be fr
  
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• Why business could prosper under a Corbyn government

  17-12-2017 01:02
  Labour’s economic plans will alleviate the long-term damage being inflicted by austerity policiesWhile the Daily Mail, with Pavlovian regularity, persists in ringing the “Marxist” alarm bell, the Financial Times is a little more measured. “Labour has a fair wind” with business leaders, the paper argued this month, “with many terrified of a hard Brexit”. At the CBI’s annual conference in November, leaders of industry gave Jeremy Corbyn a distinctly
  
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