UK News

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 ...

A mother who attended Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday with her child narrowly avoided being killed after she was stabbed, the Metropolitan Police has said. The 32-year-old remains in a critical condition in hospital. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said Carnival’s family day had been “marred by unacceptable violence”. About 7,000 officers are patrolling this year’s event, which is expected ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

All rules have been followed in the appointment of a Labour Party donor to a senior Treasury role, a government minister has insisted. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme that appointing Ian Corfield as director of investment at the Treasury was “perfectly appropriate” and “it’s good to bring in external expertise”. ...

Sir Keir Starmer has denied giving “false hope” to Port Talbot steel workers ahead of the planned closure of the town’s last blast furnace next month. The Labour UK government is in discussions to try to save jobs at Tata Steel, where thousands face redundancy. The prime minister said the Labour UK government will do “everything we can” but added: ...