Political news

• Theresa May battles to shore up EU support over Russia

  21-03-2018 23:32 via ft.com
  Britain warns of Putin threats amid signs of European divisions 
  
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• May battles to shore up EU support over Russia

  21-03-2018 23:32 via ft.com
  Britain warns of Putin threats amid signs of European divisions 
  
  Read more

• First UK Flights To Terracotta Army

  21-03-2018 23:29
  The UK’s first direct flights to the home of China’s Terracotta Army launch this summer.Tianjin Airlines will fly between Heathrow and Xi’an, where the popular tourist attraction is located.It is one of a number of improved air links between Heathrow and China this year.Exciting new UK/China flight announcements to increase seat capacity by 18% over 2017. New flights:China Southern – Wuhan/LHR Hainan–Changsha/LHR Tianjin airlines – Xi’an/LHR Hainan &ndas
  
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• Tory School Cuts Have Forced 37% Of Head Teachers To Reduce Staff Or Hours, Survey Shows

  21-03-2018 23:00
  More than a third of school heads say they have had to cut teachers or teaching hours due to a Tory funding squeeze, a new survey has revealed.And nearly three quarters expect to their budgets to be in the red in the coming year as Government cuts continue to bite.The ‘Breaking Point 2018’ poll of heads, conducted by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), also found that 65% felt that savings they’ve had to make have had a “negative impact” on their pupil
  
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• Cambridge Analytica: PM quizzed over Conservative links

  21-03-2018 22:17 via bbc.co.uk
  The SNP puts Theresa May on the spot over the controversial firm at Prime Minister's Questions.
  
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• Brexit: Wales EU Continuity Bill passed by AMs

  21-03-2018 20:48 via bbc.co.uk
  The bill aims to stop what Welsh ministers call a Whitehall "power-grab" in devolved areas.
  
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• NHS deal ‘does not signal end to pay restraint’

  21-03-2018 20:34 via ft.com
  Government says it is only planning 1% pay rises in rest of public sector
  
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• Wealthy Financier Wins High Court Injunction Against Former Mistress

  21-03-2018 20:30
  A wealthy financier “taken for a ride” by a former mistress, who twice lied about being pregnant to get money from him, has won a High Court injunction against her.The married father, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was also awarded £100,000 in damages for payments he made to the woman during their affair.Following a hearing held in private, Sir David Eady ruled the woman was responsible for “a consistent pattern of harassing behaviour” and would continu
  
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• Unions Recommend 6.5% Pay Offer For NHS Workers

  21-03-2018 20:30
  Health workers ranging from nurses and ambulance drivers to hospital porters and cleaners are being urged to accept a “significant” pay offer ranging from 6.5% to 29% over the next three years.The Government is investing £4.2 billion into the deal for over a million workers in England, signalling the end of the seven-year cap on public sector pay.The pay of the lowest-paid staff, such as porters and cleaners, will increase by 15%, while nurses are being offered their biggest wa
  
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• TV Presenter Ant McPartlin Charged With Drink-Driving

  21-03-2018 20:30
  TV presenter Ant McPartlin has been charged with drink-driving following his arrest on Sunday, and will appear in court next month.A statement from the Metropolitan Police said: “A man has been charged following a road traffic collision in Lower Richmond Road, SW14 that occurred on Sunday, 18 March.“Anthony McPartlin, 42 (18.11.75) of Chiswick has been charged by postal requisition on Wednesday, 21 March with drink driving.Ant McPartlin leaving a house in west London on the same day
  
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• Supreme Court Justices Asked To Consider Issues In £453m Russian Divorce Case

  21-03-2018 20:30
  Supreme Court justices have been asked to consider issues in a case in which a Russian billionaire was ordered to pay his estranged wife £453 million by a London divorce court judge.Tatiana Akhmedova was given a 41.5% share of Farkhad Akhmedov’s £1 billion-plus fortune by Mr Justice Haddon-Cave following a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court.News of Ms Akhmedova’s payout emerged during the summer of 2017 when Mr Justice Haddon-Cave revealed detail in a writte
  
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• RAF Engineer Killed In Red Arrows Crash Named

  21-03-2018 20:30
  The RAF engineer killed when the Red Arrows jet he was flying in crashed at the air force’s fighter pilot training ground has been named as Corporal Jonathan Bayliss.The Hawk T1 crashed at RAF Valley in Anglesey at 1.30pm on Tuesday.The pilot, Flight Lieutenant David Stark travelling in the aircraft is receiving medical care after sustaining non-life threatening injuries.Witnesses reported seeing someone eject from the aircraft with a parachute before it smashed into the ground then &ldquo
  
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• Patients Remain In Stable Condition With Water-Linked Infection

  21-03-2018 20:30
  Four children remain in a stable condition with infections linked to bacteria found in the water supply at a Glasgow hospital.The issue at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) led to patients in some wards unable to bathe or drink tap water while tests were carried out.Testing was also extended to four wards at the neighbouring Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QUEH) but NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said filters have now been fitted to the affected wards and patients wil
  
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• Officers Granted Two Extra Days’ Paid Holiday To Improve ‘Spiritual Well-Being’

  21-03-2018 20:30
  Officers at Lincolnshire Police are to be given two extra days’ paid holiday per year to improve their “spiritual and emotional well-being”.The force said the initiative will ensure officers have sufficient rest and recuperation time, a move which they say is a first for policing.It is hoped the change will help officers cope with the pressures of the job which are “taking a greater toll on them”.As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring the wellbeing of every i
  
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• Low Back Pain Named As Leading Cause Of Disability

  21-03-2018 20:30
  Low back pain has been named the leading cause of disability worldwide as experts accused doctors and policymakers of letting down patients with the condition.At any one time, 540 million people globally are affected by pain in the lower back that can be crippling and persist for months or even years.Most cases respond to simple physical and psychological therapies aimed at keeping people active and able to stay at work, according to the authors of a major series of studies.Instead many back pai
  
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• Law Governing Cohabitants’ Rights In Desperate Need Of Reform – Judge

  21-03-2018 20:30
  The most senior family court judge in England and Wales says the law governing the rights of people who live together but are not married is in desperate need of reform.Sir James Munby, president of the Family Division of the High Court, said the problem of cohabitants’ rights is “long-running”.He outlined his thoughts during a lecture at the University of Edinburgh Law School.“If a marriage or civil partnership terminates by divorce or dissolution, the court has power to
  
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• Individual Hearings To Commemorate Grenfell Victims Prior To Probe Evidence

  21-03-2018 20:30
  The 71 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire will be individually commemorated in a series of hearings before evidence is heard by the public inquiry into the tragedy.Survivors and bereaved family members will be able to memorialise their loved ones “calmly and with dignity” during a special period of hearings ahead of the oral evidence.Mr Richard Millett QC, counsel to the inquiry, said the team was “warmly in agreement” that the bereaved could pay tribute using video, audi
  
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• Former MP Natalie McGarry In Court On Fraud Charges

  21-03-2018 20:30
  A former MP has appeared in court on six charges including fraud.Natalie McGarry, who represented Glasgow East but did not seek re-election in 2017, appeared in private at the city’s sheriff court.She is charged with three counts of embezzlement, two charges under the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 and one charge under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.The charges under the referendum act relate to “knowingly or recklessly making a false declaration” re
  
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• Facebook Had Wild West Approach To User Data, Ex-Employee Tells MPs

  21-03-2018 20:30
  Facebook had “wild west” approach to looking after its users’ data and had “little detection” of any violations of its policies, a former employee of the company has told MPs.Speaking amid allegations election consultants Cambridge Analytica (CA) harvested the data of millions of Facebook users for the purposes of political targeting, whistleblower Sandy Parakilas claimed the company “had very few ways of discovering abuse or enforcing on abuse when it wa
  
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• Children’S Playgrounds Are Declining At An Alarming Rate, Labour MP Warns

  21-03-2018 20:30
  The “great British tradition” of children’s playgrounds are “declining at quite an alarming rate”, a Labour MP has warned.Chris Leslie said that nationally playgrounds were not being replaced at the same rate at which they were disappearing, with pressures on the availability of local outdoor spaces, plus “very squeezed” resources.The Nottingham East MP said parents were faced with the “retreat of the traditions of municipal provision” and ha
  
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• Bullying Not Institutionalised At Deepcut Barracks, Senior Officer Says

  21-03-2018 20:30
  Bullying was not institutionalised at Deepcut barracks, a senior officer has told an inquest into the death of a recruit who was found with gunshot injuries.Lieutenant Colonel Robert Gascoigne, a major at the time, was the officer commanding B Squadron at the Surrey base when Private Sean Benton died in June 1995.A fresh inquest into the death of the 20-year-old at Woking Coroner’s Court has heard claims of bullying at the barracks, with allegations made against two of his instructors &nda
  
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• ‘Breaking Bad’ Student Drugs Gang Leader Jailed For 15 Years

  21-03-2018 20:30
  The leader of a gang of university students who trafficked drugs via the online “dark web” has been jailed for 15 years and three months.Basil Assaf, 26, was the “whiz-kid” and “prime mover” of the operation which imported, exported and supplied ecstasy, 2CB, LSD and ketamine.The petro-chemical engineering student and his fellow conspirators Elliott Hyams, 26, James Roden, 25, and Jaikishen Patel, 26, all from London, immersed themselves in the recreational dr
  
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• Boris Johnson Urges Restraint From Turkey Against Kurds

  21-03-2018 20:30
  Boris Johnson has called on Turkey to show restraint in its campaign against Kurdish forces in Syria.The Foreign Secretary said the offensive by the UK’s Nato ally was “one of the most worrying elements in the whole Syrian war”.His comments come just days after Briton Anna Campbell was killed fighting alongside the Kurdish militia in Afrin, northern Syria.Anna Campbell died fighting alongside the Kurdish YPJ group (YPJ handout/PA)Mr Johnson acknowledged that Turkey had a &ldquo
  
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• Conservatives criticised for links to Cambridge Analytica

  21-03-2018 20:18 via ft.com
  Theresa May moves to distance party from data company in Facebook scandal
  
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• Theresa May Told To Create 'Social Mobility Minister' To Heal Class Divide

  21-03-2018 20:12
  Prime Minister Theresa May must create a ‘social justice minister’ to focus the Government on tackling yawning inequalities dividing society, MPs warn in a new report. Despite pledges on the steps of Downing Street to tackle “burning injustice”, May is losing her grip on the social mobility agenda, Robert Halfon, the Tory chair of the Commons’ Education Select Committee says. His committee urges her to appoint a new Cabinet Office minister dedicated to soc
  
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• Lowest paid NHS staff may receive pay rise of up to 29% in new deal

  21-03-2018 19:37
  All NHS staff will see pay rise by at least 6.5% if they back deal supported by 13 of the 14 unionsHundreds of thousands of NHS staff are set to receive pay rises of between 9% and 29% over the next three years after ministers abandoned a seven-year health service salary squeeze.
  All of the more than 1 million personnel working for the NHS in England will receive at least a 6.5% increase, if they back the deal in ballots to be run by the 14 trade unions to which they belong. They include nurses,
  
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• After Salisbury, Britain must realise its true friends are in Europe | Martin Kettle

  21-03-2018 19:37
  Our EU partners have been staunch allies in a crisis. We’re leaving yet leaning more towards them, especially in defenceOf all the vacuous slogans generated by the entire Brexit campaign and process, “Global Britain” is the most vacuous of all. Not before time, the phrase is being called out for what it really is. Last week the Commons foreign affairs select committee dismissed it as meaningless, the former head of the Foreign Office trashed it as “mushy thinking”,
  
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• FCA reviews approach to UK financial penalties

  21-03-2018 19:28 via ft.com
  UK financial watchdog to launch consultation after penalties swung from record highs to new lows
  
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• Cambridge Analytica Chief Advised Foreign Office On Trump's Presidential Campaign Data Tactics

  21-03-2018 19:05
  A leading executive at the controversial data firm Cambridge Analytica advised the Foreign Office on lessons from Donald Trump’s election campaign, HuffPost has learned.Mark Turnbull, who was filmed by undercover reporters describing himself as “a master of disguise”, was one of two experts from the company’s SCL parent group who attended a special event hosted by the FCO last year.Cambridge Analytica is accused of secretly harvesting up to 50 million Facebook users&rsquo
  
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• EU to agree Brexit transition period, says Donald Tusk

  21-03-2018 18:45
  Summit will confirm deal – but UK will have to reach agreement with Spain over GibraltarEU leaders will agree in principle on a transition period for the UK after the president of the European council, Donald Tusk, promised Spain that its veto over Gibraltar’s inclusion in the agreement would be emphasised at this week’s summit.
  Tusk was forced into last-minute talks with Madrid after David Davis, the Brexit secretary, spooked the Spanish government with his insistence on Monda
  
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• Facebook 'lost sight' of data accessed by apps, insider tells MPs

  21-03-2018 18:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Sandy Parakilas tells MPs the site did not have adequate ways of detecting data misuse by app developers.
  
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• Underpaid ESA claimants could get £20,000 repaid, says watchdog

  21-03-2018 18:34 via bbc.co.uk
  Around 70,000 Employment and Support Allowance claimants were underpaid for years, the NAO watchdog says.
  
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• Russia says Boris Johnson 'poisoned with hatred' after comparing World Cup to Hitler's Olympics – as it happened

  21-03-2018 18:30
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happened, including foreign secretary giving evidence to MPs on spy poisoning scandalTory MPs threaten to defeat PM over fishing - Summary and analysisPMQs - Snap verdictJohnson says Russia World Cup will be like Hitler hosting 1936 OlympicsAfternoon summary 5.30pm GMT5.25pm GMT MPs have challenged connexions between a firm linked to Cambridge Analytica, AggegateIQ, and the DUP.The DUP paid almost £33,000 during the EU refe
  
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• The Guardian view on big tech: a new era needs new rules | Editorial

  21-03-2018 18:24
  Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon are too big and too powerful. Regulation has to catch up with the changing character of the digital economyOne beneficiary of the scandal surrounding a massive data leak from Facebook has been its fellow technology giant Amazon. Tens of billions of dollars were wiped from Facebook’s value in just a few days. Other tech companies, including Google, also suffered.But Amazon was spared. Earlier this week the online retailer overtook Alphabet, the parent comp
  
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• Former MP Natalie McGarry appears in court on fraud charges

  21-03-2018 18:10
  Ex-SNP politician faces six charges relating to missing campaign group donationsThe former Scottish National party MP Natalie McGarry has appeared in court on six charges relating to allegations that tens of thousands of pounds in donations went missing from Women for Independence (WFI), a campaign group she helped set up.She appeared in private at Glasgow sheriff court on Wednesday morning under her married name Natalie Meikle, and was charged with three counts of embezzlement, two charges unde
  
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• MoD granted 'List X' status to Cambridge Analytica parent company

  21-03-2018 18:05
  MPs call for investigation into concerns over SCL Group and its access to secret documentsThe chair of the Commons home affairs committee has called for a full investigation into the activities of Cambridge Analytica after it emerged that its parent company was granted provisional “List X” status by the Ministry of Defence until 2013, granting it access to secret documents.The Labour MP Yvette Cooper said there were serious concerns around SCL Group and its subsidiary Cambridge Analy
  
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• Protesters throw fish into Thames in Brexit deal protest

  21-03-2018 18:03 via bbc.co.uk
  Protesters throw dead fish into the Thames by Parliament in protest at the Brexit transition deal.
  
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• Westminster Attack Marked Beginning Of Wave Of Terrorist Activity

  21-03-2018 17:32
  For more than two years, Britain had been on high alert. As terrorist attacks hit other European countries, UK authorities foiled plots, stepped up security preparations and issued warnings about the threat.Then, a year ago on Thursday, the danger that had seemed close but not quite here crystallised in 82 seconds in Westminster.Gunshots and sirens rang out around Parliament after Khalid Masood launched a murderous rampage at the centre of British democracy, killing five people before he was sho
  
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• Theresa May Faces Fresh Pleas Over England Fans’ World Cup Safety

  21-03-2018 17:32
  Theresa May has faced fresh demands to guarantee the safety of England football fans at the 2018 World Cup in Russia following the Salisbury poison attack. Labour’s Sir David Crausby (Bolton North East) backed the decision to prevent members of the royal family and Government ministers from attending the showpiece event this summer, but questioned how “everyday” football fans will be protected.The Prime Minister said police are examining what arrangements will be in place, with
  
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• Teachers Step Up Pay Campaign Following Health Workers’ Deal

  21-03-2018 17:32
  Teachers are stepping up their campaign for a 5% pay hike, following the announcement of a pay deal for health workers.Union leaders said the move increases pressure on the Treasury and Department for Education (DfE) to find the funds to boost wages from this September.Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU) said England’s school system is in the middle of a teacher shortage “crisis”, and that pay increases are needed to help deal with the
  
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• Russia Has Duty To Protect England World Cup Fans – Boris Johnson

  21-03-2018 17:32
  Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has issued a warning to Russia that it has a duty to ensure England fans travelling to the World Cup are properly protected.Giving evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Johnson compared Russia’s hosting of the tournament to Hitler’s notorious Berlin Olympics in 1936, describing it as an “emetic prospect”.Following the plunge in diplomatic relations in the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attack, Mr Johnson said he was &ldqu
  
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• Russia Accuses UK Of Hiding Evidence In Salisbury Nerve Agent Attack

  21-03-2018 17:32
  Russia has accused Britain of deliberate concealing evidence in the escalating war of words over the Salisbury nerve agent attack.The Russian foreign ministry head of non-proliferation and arms control insisted Moscow bore no responsibility for the incident and dismissed British demands for an explanation as “absurd”.At a “briefing” for foreign diplomats in Moscow, Vladimir Yermakov questioned whether the incident, which left former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and
  
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• Reed Cutters Start Harvesting Work On The Norfolk Broads

  21-03-2018 17:32
  Reed cutters who claim they are scarcer than royalty have started harvesting work on the Norfolk Broads.The harvesting season runs from Christmas to Easter, and the majority of reed will be used for thatched roofs.Reed cutter Paul Eldridge said: “There’s more royalty than there are reed cutters.”Reed cutter Paul Eldridge stacks bundles of reed on the Norfolk Broads near Irstead, Norfolk (Joe Giddens/PA)He said this winter’s weather had caused problems, adding: “We&r
  
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• Rape Accused Rugby Star ‘Has Told The Truth, Warts And All’

  21-03-2018 17:32
  An Ireland and Ulster rugby player on trial for rape has told the truth, warts and all, a court has heard.Stuart Olding, who denies raping a woman in June 2016, has also welcomed the opportunity to put his account before a jury, according to his defence counsel.Frank O’Donoghue QC told Belfast Crown Court: “Finally that someone might listen to him and decide, he told the truth, warts and all.“The reality is there was no rape by Stuart Olding.“There is no case here.“
  
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• PwC Defends Charging £20m For Eight Weeks Work On Carillion Liquidation

  21-03-2018 17:32
  PwC has raked in over £20 million for its role in winding down failed outsourcer Carillion, with the accountancy giant set to pocket even more cash as the process drags on.The professional services firm said the costs accounted for its first eight weeks of work following Carillion’s collapse in January, when it had been drafted in with just 12 hours notice.David Kelly, partner and special manager at PwC, told the Business and Pensions Committees on Wednesday that the current wee
  
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• PM’S Deal With DUP Harming UK National Interest In Brexit Talks – Sir Nick Clegg

  21-03-2018 17:32
  Theresa May’s “marriage of convenience” with the Democratic Unionists is preventing her taking courageous decisions on the long-term future of the UK post-Brexit, Sir Nick Clegg has said.The former Lib Dem leader said the Prime Minister’s reliance on DUP votes was harming the UK national interest when it came to the Brexit negotiations.The high-profile Remain advocate expressed concern about the impact of the confidence and supply deal as he met politicians in Dublin.Sir
  
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• Officers Granted Two Extra Rest Days Per Year For ‘Spiritual Well-Being’

  21-03-2018 17:32
  Officers at Lincolnshire Police are to be given two extra rest days per year to improve their “spiritual and emotional well-being”.The force said the initiative will ensure officers have sufficient rest and recuperation time – a move which they say is a first for policing.It is hoped the change will help officers cope with the pressures of the job which are “taking a greater toll on them”.As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring the wellbeing of every individua
  
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• New Look To Shut Wave Of Stores As High Street Misery Continues

  21-03-2018 17:32
  Embattled retailer New Look has agreed a restructuring plan with creditors that will see it shut 60 stores, resulting in the loss of up to 980 jobs.Under the terms of the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), the firm has also secured rent reductions on 393 stores.The closures, which account for nearly 10% of its 593-strong UK store estate, will lead to a maximum of 980 redundancies, although New Look will redeploy staff where possible.A total of 98% of New Look’s creditors, which includes
  
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• MSP ‘Sick To Death’ Of Diversity Training Being A Punishment For Race Abuse

  21-03-2018 17:32
  A footballer who racially abused another player during a match should have been suspended by his club or even expelled instead of being sent on diversity training, Labour’s Anas Sarwar has said.The MSP, who has recently launched a campaign against “everyday Islamophobia”, criticised the punishment imposed by bosses at Clyde FC on Ally Love after he used racist language towards Annan Athletic’s Rabin Omar.Mr Sarwar said: “During the game he called him a P B, you
  
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• Kate Says ‘Teach Teenagers Parenting To Help Them Raise Resilient Children’

  21-03-2018 17:32
  The Duchess of Cambridge has suggested teenagers could be taught parenting and relationship skills to help them raise mentally and socially resilient children.Kate’s comment came as she announced she was setting up a panel of experts to examine how best to help the nation break the “inter-generational cycle of disadvantage” that sees youngsters with emotional and psychological problems go on to bring up offsprings with issues.Speaking at a symposium, convened by her R
  
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