Jas Athwal, the recently elected MP for Ilford South, rents out 15 flats and has described himself as a “renter’s champion”. But tenants in a block of seven flats in Ilford, east London, owned by the MP claimed they have to put up with black mould, ants and threats of eviction if they complain. “The ants are everywhere,” one resident ...
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Tory MP’s smoking ban tweet branded ‘repugnant’
Conservative MP Esther McVey has been branded “repugnant” for using a poem about the Holocaust to criticise the government’s proposals for tougher rules on outdoor smoking. The MP for Tatton shared a section of Martin Niemoller’s 1946 poem, “First They Came”, on social media, adding: “Pertinent words re Starmer’s smoking ban.” The Board of Deputies of British Jews called on ...
Read More »10,000 homes on ex-military bases were never built
A government scheme to use vacant military land for new homes was quietly shelved two years ago without a single house being built. The plan was meant to deliver up to 10,000 new homes, but came to an end after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) withdrew most of the chosen sites from the programme. Earlier this year the MoD identified ...
Read More »UK keen to help Bangladesh reform banking, revenue sectors
The United Kingdom (UK) on Tuesday expressed their keen interest to help Bangladesh reform its banking and revenue sectors alongside the capital market. The interest surfaced as the UK High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke called on Finance Adviser to the interim government Dr Salehuddin Ahmed at his Economic Relations Division (ERD) office in the city, report BSS. After the ...
Read More »PM Sir Keir Starmer to say: ‘Things will get worse before we get better’
Sir Keir Starmer is set to warn that “things will get worse” in the UK before they get better. In a speech on Tuesday, the prime minister is likely to say there are no quick fixes to remedy what he will call the “rubble and ruin” left by the Conservatives. He will also continue to argue that the last government ...
Read More »New arrests after mum and children killed in fire
Police have arrested two men on suspicion of murder after a woman and her three children died in a house fire in Bradford. Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her daughter Denisty Birtle, nine, son Oscar Birtle, five, and daughter Aubree Birtle, 22 months, died on Westbury Road on 21 August. Two men, aged 36 and 45, were arrested overnight in the ...
Read More »Storm Lilian dampens bank holiday weekend
Up to 70mm of rain could drench parts of the UK on Saturday with a yellow weather warning issued for the south-east of England, following widespread disruption caused by Storm Lilian. The warning will be in place from 06:00 to 13:00 and will span Portsmouth, Hampshire and parts of Suffolk including Ipswich. “With that yellow warning, expect some small travel ...
Read More »UK must curb rise in racist hate speech by politicians and public figures, UN says
The UK must act to curb a sharp increase in the use of racist hate speech by British politicians and high-profile public figures, a UN body has said. Ministers must “adopt comprehensive measures to discourage and combat racist hate speech and xenophobic discourse by political and public figures” and ensure that such cases are “effectively investigated and sanctioned”, the UN ...
Read More »I’ll let councils decide 20mph limits – minister
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has said decisions on introducing road calming and safety schemes, such as 20mph zones, should remain with local communities rather than her department. Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) became a political issue under the previous government, when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called such schemes “hare-brained” and ordered a review. Conservative ministers had sought to tighten up rules to ...
Read More »Murdo Fraser calls for Tory contest rivals to drop out
Scottish Conservative leadership candidate Murdo Fraser has called on his two rivals to drop out of the contest so a coronation can take place. Launching his campaign in Perth, Mr Fraser said Russell Findlay and Meghan Gallacher could “bring this sorry chapter to a close” and endorse him to unite the party. When asked by journalists at the event if ...
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