Political news

• Government Proposes Plastic Bottle 'Deposit Return Scheme' To Crackdown On Waste

  27-03-2018 23:56
  Shoppers in England will have to pay a deposit on drinks bottles and cans under Government plans to tackle plastic waste.Environment Secretary Michael Gove confirmed ministers would introduce a ‘deposit return scheme’ for single use drinks containers such as plastic and glass bottles and aluminium cans, subject to consultation.The scheme is likely to see prices rise - but consumers will get the money back if they return the container.Some countries already have deposit return schemes
  
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• Bottle And Can 'Deposit Return Scheme' To Crackdown On Waste And Boost Recycling

  27-03-2018 23:56
  Shoppers would pay a deposit on drinks bottles and cans which is repaid when they hand them in for recycling, under Government plans to tackle plastic waste.Environment Secretary Michael Gove confirmed ministers would introduce a deposit return scheme for single use drinks containers such as plastic and glass bottles and aluminium cans in England, subject to consultation.The move aims to boost recycling rates and cut litter, and comes amid increasing concern over the issue of single use plastic
  
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• Islamist Terror Threat In UK To Remain High For Two Years And Could Get Worse, New Security Review Warns

  27-03-2018 23:30
  The threat of an Islamist terror attack on Britain will remain high for at least another two years and may get even worse, security service chiefs have revealed.The chaotic collapse of so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, combined with more online radicalisation, means that the risk of terrorism on UK soil could increase further, according to the new National Security Capability Review (NSCR) to be published on Wednesday.In the foreword to the document drafted by intelligence and security
  
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• Britain shares ‘unprecedented’ Skripal intelligence with allies

  27-03-2018 23:30 via ft.com
  Nato and EU handed reports to support claim Russia was behind poisoning
  
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• Bottle and can deposit return scheme gets green light in England

  27-03-2018 23:05
  Consumers to receive small cash sum for returning plastic, glass and metal drinks containersAll drinks containers in England, whether plastic, glass or metal, will be covered by a deposit return scheme, the government has announced.The forthcoming scheme is intended to cut the litter polluting the land and sea by returning a small cash sum to consumers who return their bottles and cans. Continue reading...
  
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• The Brexit whistleblower and Labour's anti-semitism problem

  27-03-2018 21:56
  Heather Stewart is joined by Carole Cadwalladr, Hadley Freeman, Owen Jones and Randeep Ramesh to discuss new revelations regarding donations from the victorious Vote Leave campaign to a sister movement staffed by young Brexiters. Plus, Labour MP Wes Streeting on his party’s problem with antisemitismIt’s a year until Britain leaves the EU but new revelations in the Observer have shown how Vote Leave may have broken election spending rules during the 2016 referendum campaign.We hear fr
  
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• Unite boss accused of breaching rules over leadership contest

  27-03-2018 21:54
  Union election won by Len McCluskey should be run again, says challenger Gerard CoyneA hearing that could decide the future direction of the Unite union was told on Tuesday that Len McCluskey broke the rules by continuing to act as general secretary after he stepped down from the post.Gerard Coyne, who narrowly lost to McCluskey in April 2017, claimed that the incumbent acted improperly by calling a contest despite the fact there was no vacancy.The hearing is being monitored by all factions with
  
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• Skwawkbox Accused Of 'Bullying And Intimidating' MPs Who Protested Against Anti-Semitism

  27-03-2018 21:33
  Labour MPs who attended a rally against anti-Semitism within their party say they have been “bullied and intimidated” for standing up for Jewish members. More than 40 MPs and peers, including Stella Creasy, Wes Streeting and Luciana Berger, have signed an open letter to Corbyn-supporting website The Skwawkbox after its editor demanded they provide examples of occasions on which they had stood up to other forms of racism, including Islamophobia. The members were given a dead
  
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• Steve Bell on Boris Johnson being reprimanded by the Speaker – cartoon

  27-03-2018 21:14
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• EU referendum won through fraud, whistleblower tells MPs

  27-03-2018 21:12
  Former Cambridge Analytica worker says Brexit result may have been different without financial ‘cheating’
  The EU referendum was won through fraud, the whistleblower Christopher Wylie has told MPs, accusing Vote Leave of improperly channelling money through a tech firm with links to Cambridge Analytica.Wylie told a select committee that the pro-Brexit campaign had a “common plan” to use the network of companies to get around election spending laws and said he thought there
  
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• May wants west to develop long-term response to Russia

  27-03-2018 20:45
  Prime minister says allies also recognise threat posed by Russia after Skripal attackTheresa May has warned that the west needs to develop a long-term response to the renewed Russian threat as she claimed more than 25 countries had joined the unprecedented coalition taking diplomatic action against Vladimir Putin in response to the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.
  British officials are convinced that the Russian president is privately taken aback by the scale of the coalition that has formed aga
  
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• Facebook’s Zuckerberg under pressure to testify to UK lawmakers

  27-03-2018 20:38 via ft.com
  Cambridge Analytica whistleblower unveils fresh allegations over Brexit campaign
  
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• Great Ormond Street Hospital To Keep Money Donated From Scandal-Hit Presidents Club

  27-03-2018 20:23
  Great Ormond Street Hospital has U-turned on its decision to return hundreds of thousands of pounds to a disgraced charitable trust following a scandal-hit fundraising event.In January, the children’s hospital said it would be returning donations from the Presidents Club Charitable Trust after an undercover investigation exposed alleged sexual harassment at a men-only charity gala.The Presidents Club had donated £530,000 to the charity via three gifts between 2009 and
  
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• Theresa May signals imminent extra funding for NHS

  27-03-2018 20:11 via ft.com
  PM says health service ‘cannot afford to wait until next Easter’ for more money
  
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• GKN vs Melrose poses key test for Britain’s national priorities

  27-03-2018 19:39 via ft.com
  Theresa May’s government promised radical approach to avoid controversial takeovers
  
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• GKN debate reflects UK takeover regime’s flaws

  27-03-2018 19:39 via ft.com
  Some deals may hurt national interests, but the reasons must be clear
  
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• NHS Crisis: Theresa May Signals First Ever 'Multi-Year' Funding Plan

  27-03-2018 19:35
  Theresa May has signalled she the Government will back the first ever long-term funding plan for the NHS.In a victory for Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the Prime Minister has said she recognises “serious cost and demand pressures” on the health service and that a “multi-year” plan was on the cards. Hunt said on Sunday that he backed a ten-year funding plan for the NHS and indicated tax rises could be used to pay for it. May  told t
  
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• May says long-term plan to boost NHS funding to be announced later this year - Politics live

  27-03-2018 19:29
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May’s evidence to the Commons liaison committeeWylie’s evidence about Cambridge Analytica and Vote Leave - SummaryAfternoon summary 6.25pm BST We are looking at different potential customs arrangements for the future in order to deliver on the commitments that we have made. We are now the point at being able to look in more detail with the European commission at some of those proposals. And I
  
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• You're a broken record, Rees-Mogg. Get thee to that monastery

  27-03-2018 18:59
  Increasingly isolated and in self-denial, he talks of remainers being cave dwellers, failing to realise the joke is now on himAt the very end of his central London speech to mark a year to go till Brexit day, Jacob Rees-Mogg mentioned that he’d considered going to a Trappist monastery in Leicestershire if the UK had voted to stay in the European Union. If only he’d told us that before the referendum, the outcome might have been very different. Anything to shut him up. Even if it was
  
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• Businesses back unrestricted access to EU workers after Brexit

  27-03-2018 18:59 via ft.com
  Europeans seen as better qualified and more motivated than British counterparts
  
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• To The Parent Whose Child Has Just Been Diagnosed With Autism And Is Struggling

  27-03-2018 18:46
  Dear ParentI wanted to write this letter to you to help you understand the diagnosis you have just received and some of the thoughts and feelings going through your mind at the moment.When my son was diagnosed with autism, we’d barely had chance to enjoy his early years as we’d many things thrown at us. Joseph was only three when he was diagnosed and I know some parents wait a long time to hear the news that they have fought for, for such a long time. That wasn’t the case with
  
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• My Name Is Lorn And My Dad Was An Alcoholic

  27-03-2018 18:45
  On 1 April last year, I received a phone call to tell me that my dad had died from an alcohol-related incident.Dad had been an alcoholic for most of my life. As a child growing up, we used to say things like “Dad likes a drink” or “sometimes Dad drinks a bit too much”. We would play down the seriousness of his illness by normalising his behaviour because we ourselves didn’t understand it or know where to turn to for help. However, as we got older it became worse and
  
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• Commissioners to take direct financial control of Northants council

  27-03-2018 18:34
  Minister announces move after report says bankrupt country council should be scrappedThe Tory-run council which declared itself effectively bankrupt last month will have commissioners sent in to take direct control of its financial management and governance, Sajid Javid, the local government secretary, has told MPs.An independent report this month found that Northamptonshire county council had “failed to comply with its duty” to deliver services and should be scrapped.Continue readin
  
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• NUS election: Corybn-supporting activist sets sights on presidency

  27-03-2018 18:20
  Labour policies take centre stage as Momentum member Sahaya James takes on Shakira MartinA Jeremy Corbyn-supporting student activist is hoping to unseat Shakira Martin as president of the National Union of Students (NUS) when elections are held at its annual conference this week in what could herald a shift to the left in student politics.Hoping to capitalise on a new political engagement among students who recently mobilised in support of striking university workers, the left wing of the studen
  
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• Another Homeless Death In London - When Will It Be Enough To Be Another 'Wake-Up' Call?

  27-03-2018 18:08
  Tragedy was said to have been brought to the government’s door last month when a rough sleeper in his 40s died metres away from the Houses of Parliament near Westminster tube station last month.As the story hit the headlines, many people said it was ‘a wake up call’ for MPs. Flowers were laid by many politicians, including Jeremy Corbyn, as other members rushed to share their condolences on social media.Today another man in his 40s died on the streets of London – less tha
  
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• Labour leaders pledge to tackle antisemitism

  27-03-2018 18:06
  Shadow cabinet agrees on need for radical changes after Jewish leaders call for actionMembers of the shadow cabinet have held an emotional debate on the antisemitism crisis engulfing Labour, with participants agreeing that the party must make radical changes to deal with the problem.Meeting shortly after Jewish community leaders issued a set of demands they said Jeremy Corbyn would have to address if they were to meet him, almost every member spoke in the discussion. In a mood described as &ldqu
  
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• 'There is progress but we could do better' - experts debate Brexit outlook

  27-03-2018 17:47
  Two former members of Bank of England’s interest rate-setting committee discuss the economy as inflation eases slightly•The Brexit economy - light at the end of the tunnel?
  • How has the Brexit vote affected the economy - March verdict?Professor of economics at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, US, and member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee from June 2006 to May 2009 Continue reading...
  
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• #MeToo Means Standing By The Most Marginalised. It’s Time To End Prostitution

  27-03-2018 17:45
  Today marks the first anniversary of Ireland’s Sex Buyer’s Law - the Act that makes criminals of those who control and use prostituted women.Changing the legislation required a hard-fought battle led by survivors of the sex trade, against an organised and vocal industry.  Ireland’s law is now the inverse of current UK law, which criminalises the women who sell sex, rather than those who purchase it.I find it extraordinary that the purchase of a woman’s body for sex i
  
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• The 'Devastating' Impact Being Outed Can Have On LGBT+ People

  27-03-2018 17:44
  Vote Leave whistleblower Shahmir Sanni broke down in tears on Monday evening as he talked of being outed by Theresa May’s political secretary, Stephen Parkinson. Sanni, who claimed the EU Referendum “wasn’t legitimate”, had not come out to many of his friends and family, but in a public statement, Parkinson revealed he and Sanni had been in a “personal relationship”.Sanni said members of his family in Pakistan have been “forced to take urgent p
  
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• 'I'm sure she knows her history': Rees-Mogg in veiled warning to May

  27-03-2018 17:30
  European Research Group chair suggests PM will be ousted if she fails to deliver on Brexit red linesJacob Rees-Mogg has issued a thinly veiled warning to Theresa May suggesting she would be ousted by the Conservative party if she failed to deliver on her original Brexit red lines.
  The Tory MP criticised the government for giving way on all of its objectives, including freedom of movement and the jurisdiction of the European court of justice, during the 21-month transition period agreed in Brusse
  
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• Holocaust Survivor Mireille Knoll's Murder Was Anti-Semitic Hate Crime, Police Suspect

  27-03-2018 17:18
  Police suspect the murder of a Holocaust survivor in France was an anti-semitic hate crime, it has been confirmed.Mireile Knoll, 85, was found dead with 11 stab wounds on Friday in her Paris apartment, which had also been set on fire.On Tuesday a judge told two men arrested in connection with the crime that they are suspected of murder motivated by the victim’s “real or supposed adherence to a religion”.Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, has called on residents of the city to jo
  
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• Lily Allen Questions #MeToo Movement's Impact: 'Who's Been Arrested? Who's Gone To Jail?'

  27-03-2018 17:13
  Lily Allen has shared her take on the rise of the #MeToo movement, admitting she’s not convinced it’s had an effect in the real world.The ‘Trigger Bang’ singer questioned what had kind of change had been sparked by the movement, acknowledging that while it had sparked a global conversation about sexual misconduct, she didn’t feel that enough action had been taken against those accused.During a conversation with Vice, reporter Sam Wolfson commented that celebrities&r
  
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• More Millennials Are Paying For Their Weddings, Rather Than Relying On Financial Help

  27-03-2018 17:10
  “It felt like the natural thing to do,” says Anastasia Wilson, 24, who covered the entire cost of her £12,000 wedding with her husband Ryan, 26, without any additional help from family or friends. The couple, who got married last year said they used a combination of credit cards and their savings to cover the bill.Anastasia, who lives in Nottingham, says that even though her father and her partner’s parents offered to help with the overall costs they wanted to fund it the
  
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• Teacher Who Trained 'Army Of Children' For Isis-Inspired London Terror Attacks Jailed For Life

  27-03-2018 17:01
  A self-styled teacher who trained an “army of children” for terrorist attacks in London has been jailed for life at the Old Bailey with a minimum of 25 years. Islamic State (Isis) supporter Umar Haque, 25, planned to use guns and a car packed with explosives to strike 30 high-profile targets including Big Ben, the Queen’s Guard and Westfield shopping centre.He enlisted children as young as 11 at the Ripple Road mosque in Barking, east London, where he secretly groomed them
  
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• Chris Hughes And Katie Price End Long-Running Feud

  27-03-2018 16:58
  ‘Love Island’ star Chris Hughes has confirmed his long-running feud with Katie Price is finally over. The pair called a truce when they both attended a charity football match last week. After being pictured pleasantly greeting one another at the event, where Chris went up against Katie’s husband Kieran Hayler, Chris has given further details of their meeting to The Sun.“There is no bad blood between me and Katie. She is fine,” he said. “I w
  
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• Why We Must End Unlawful Imprisonment For Council Tax Non-Payment

  27-03-2018 16:28
  Since council tax replaced the community charge in 1992, thousands of people in England and Wales have been committed to prison for not having paid their council tax.Unlike most other civil debts, people who fail to pay their council tax can be brought before criminal courts and imprisoned if the Magistrates find they are guilty of “culpable neglect” or a “wilful refusal” to pay. Despite having committed no actual crime, these people are at risk of losing their liberty.Ev
  
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• In Yemen, Another Generation Is Being Lost To Conflict

  27-03-2018 16:25
  Imagine all children in Wales waking up tomorrow to find their schools reduced to a heap of rubble. Or finding that there are no teachers at school because they can’t even afford to feed their families having worked without a salary for over a year.This is the reality for the children in Yemen, where almost half a million children have been forced to drop out of school since the rise of conflict in 2015.With so many global crises facing us every time we switch on the news, such a statement
  
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• Reducing Veterans’ Homelessness To As Close To Zero As Possible

  27-03-2018 16:23
  Every year there are well over a thousand ex-service personnel who become homeless or who face the risk of homelessness and are in urgent need of housing. With others experiencing crises in their lives, urgent intervention is needed to provide the necessary support for vulnerable veterans.Whilst there is a significant amount of good and effective provision to support veterans, new research from the University of York highlights there are still many ex-service personnel falling unnecessarily thro
  
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• Teenage Pregnancy Rates Drop To Record Low, But Regional Inequalities Are Still Rife

  27-03-2018 15:48
  Teenage pregnancy rates in England and Wales have dropped to an all-time low, new official figures have revealed. In 2016, 18,076 women and girls aged 15 to 17 became pregnant. The year before, the number of conceptions among this age group was 20,351, a decrease of 11%.The number of girls under 16 becoming pregnant decreased even more dramatically. The number of conceptions to those aged under 16 fell to 2,821 in 2016, compared with 3,466 in 2015, a decrease of 19%. The
  
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• Nestlé Launches Chocolate Bar With 30% Less Sugar, But Same Sweet Taste

  27-03-2018 15:22
  If you’re trying to cut back on sugar but can’t resit the lure of chocolate, you might want to check out Nestlé’s latest product, Milkybar Wowsomes.The chocolate bar, available in the UK and Ireland from next week, is the first in the world to use Nestlé’s sugar reduction technique, which is designed to leave products with 30% less sugar than similar chocolate bars without changing the taste.Researchers at the confectionery giant made a scientific break
  
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• Fire service took two hours to arrive at Manchester bombing, report finds

  27-03-2018 15:12 via ft.com
  Emergency phone system for victims’ families was also a ‘catastrophic failure’
  
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• This Is How You Are Going To Want To Decorate Your Home In 2018

  27-03-2018 14:47
  Whether you are renting or own your home, it is always nice to update your living space with new touches and try to put your own stamp on it (as much as is possible when you’ve got a deposit at stake). But if you’re feeling a bit lost for inspiration, these are three interior trends that are going to be big in the UK for 2018, according to Pinterest’s latest report.Whether you opt for some maximalist accessories or a splash of paint, one thing is for sure, this year is all
  
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• Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower: EU Referendum Result Could Have Been Different Had There Been No 'Cheating'

  27-03-2018 14:43
  Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Chris Wylie has told MPs he believes the EU referendum result could have been different “had there been no cheating”.Giving evidence to Parliament’s digital, culture, media and sport committee, the former company employee said it was “completely reasonable” to conclude the Remain campaign could have won the 2016 vote.It follows calls for the Electoral Commission to investigate the possibility of a conspiracy involving two senior mem
  
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• Remainers Are 'Cave Dwellers' Says Jacob Rees-Mogg

  27-03-2018 14:42
  Jacob Rees-Mogg dubbed Remainers as “cave dwellers” today as he warned Theresa May she will be ousted as PM if she compromises any further on Brexit.The Conservative backbencher made the threat as he hit out at the Government for giving way on “every red line” during the transition period, agreed between the UK and EU in Brussels last week.Rees-Mogg, chairman of the influential group of Tory Brexiteers known as the European Research Group, cited concessions over UK fishin
  
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• Johnson apologises for 'sexist' reference to Emily Thornberry

  27-03-2018 14:35
  Speaker John Bercow says calling senior Labour MP ‘Lady Nugee’ was inappropriate
  Boris Johnson has apologised after referring to the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, as “Lady Nugee”. The Speaker of the House of Commons said the references, in relation to Thornberry’s husband, Sir Christopher Nugee, were sexist and inappropriate.John Bercow drew applause from Labour MPs when he upbraided the foreign secretary at Foreign Office questions in the Commons. Joh
  
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• Giant Drone Can Do Everything From Rescue Humans To De-Icing Wind Turbines

  27-03-2018 14:32
  A Latvian company called Aerones is developing a new type of heavy-duty drone that can do everything from physically rescuing humans out of the water to de-icing the blades of a wind turbine.The powerful craft can lift up to 100kg and uses a whopping 36 propellors to keep it airborne.What makes this particular drone special however is that while it can be completely mobile, the company has also developed a tether system that allows it to reach impressive heights while still being connected to a
  
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• Digital assistant

  27-03-2018 14:23 via bbc.co.uk
  The prime minister was the "last member" of Downing Street team using the device.
  
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• Jake Graf And Hannah Winterbourne: Sun's Frontpage On Our Wedding Was 'Sensationalist And Tacky’

  27-03-2018 14:17
  Trans actor and filmmaker Jake Graf has responded to The Sun’s controversial exclusive front page coverage of his recent wedding, branding it “sensationalist and tacky”.Graf married Captain Hannah Winterbourne, the highest-ranking trans officer in the British Army, on Friday in London and shared their story with The Sun, but the couple were left disappointed by Tuesday’s coverage, which drew considerable criticism in parts of the media.“Whilst it was a really positi
  
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• Jake Graf And Hannah Winterbourne: Sun's Front Page On Our Wedding Was 'Sensationalist And Tacky’

  27-03-2018 14:17
  Trans actor and filmmaker Jake Graf has responded to The Sun’s controversial exclusive front page coverage of his recent wedding, branding it “sensationalist and tacky”.Graf married Captain Hannah Winterbourne, the highest-ranking trans officer in the British Army, on Friday in London and shared their story with The Sun, but the couple were left disappointed by Tuesday’s coverage, which drew considerable criticism in parts of the media.“Whilst it was a really positi
  
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• Shadow Cabinet Members 'Visibly Upset' At Meeting Over Jeremy Corbyn Anti-Semitism Storm

  27-03-2018 14:07
  Members of Labour’s shadow cabinet were “visibly upset” as they discussed accusations of the party failing to take action against anti-Semitism at a meeting today, HuffPost UK has learned.Insiders say the agenda for the pre-planned gathering of Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench was not amended to include time for discussion of allegations which led to a protest on Monday, organised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC).The groups c
  
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