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Julie Reilly murder: Life sentence for killer who chopped up victim - BBC News
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2019-02-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A convicted killer is jailed for at least 28 years for murdering a woman and dismembering her body.
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Scotland
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Andrew Wallace was previously convicted of killing a woman when he was 15
A convicted killer has been jailed for at least 28 years for murdering a woman in Glasgow and dismembering her body.
Andrew Wallace was given a mandatory life sentence for killing Julie Reilly, 47, in her Govan flat in February last year.
Wallace, 42, cut off her legs with a knife and put the remains in plastic bags and suitcases, before burying them near Ms Reilly's home.
Judge Lady Rae told him he was guilty of an "evil and despicable act".
The judge told Wallace: "You are a dangerous man who has a considerable propensity for violence."
She passed a life sentence with a minimum of 28 years before he can apply for parole.
The judge said she would have set the minimum term at 30 years if it had not been for his guilty plea.
It is the second time Wallace has killed a woman.
He was just 15 when he was found guilty of culpable homicide in 1992.
Part of Ms Reilly's body was found in a garden in Ardshiel Road
Wallace was arrested for Ms Reilly's murder after the discovery of two leg bones close to her home.
No other body parts have been found and her sister, Lynne Bryce, has appealed to Wallace to reveal the location of her remains.
"I hope that if he has a heart he could now please tell us where he has put my sister and let her come home to be put to rest properly, with the dignity she deserves," Ms Bryce said.
Ms Reilly's sister and other members of her family were in court to hear the details of the murder as Wallace was sentenced.
Parts of Julie's body were found buried in a nearby garden
The High Court in Glasgow was told that Ms Reilly had a brain injury which caused problems with her memory, slowed her reactions and affected her speech.
She was befriended by Wallace, and had allowed him to stay with her at her home in Shieldhall Road after he had split up with his girlfriend in December 2017.
She thought he would help to care for her, but the court heard that he saw her as being "easy to manipulate and rip off".
After she went missing, a forensic team examined a piece of land close to where Ms Reilly lived
The last recorded sighting of Ms Reilly was on 6 February last year.
The following day Wallace told a friend he needed "to get rid of a body".
He also sent texts claiming that Ms Reilly had moved to the Penilee area of Glasgow.
In the following days he was seen at the homes of two friends with heavy suitcases.
He told one friend he had hit a deer while out driving and wanted to sell the meat.
He told another friend he had been thrown out by Ms Reilly and the suitcase contained his dirty washing.
Prosecutor Richard Goddard told the court that the cases actually contained human remains.
Ms Reilly was reported missing by worried relatives on 15 February last year after failing to turn up to several appointments.
She also missed her grandson's first birthday.
Her mother Margaret Hanlon and sister Ms Bryce made an emotional appeal for her return.
When police examined Mr Reilly's flat as part of the missing person's investigation, they found traces of blood in the hall, kitchen, bedrooms and living room.
On 19 April a member of the public found a bone with flesh attached in his front garden in Ardshiel Road.
Days later another person contacted the police about an apparent burial site at Drumoyne Drive.
Mr Goddard added: "The precise circumstances of the murder are not known. To-date neither the suitcases seen in possession of the accused, nor the rest of the body of Julie Reilly, has been recovered."
Wallace's defence lawyer Ian Duguid told the court the killing had come after an argument.
"Julie Reilly had taken a knife and presented it at him," he said.
"He took that from her and stabbed her in the chest. This is his explanation as to how she met her death.
"A shocking crime exacerbated by what followed it. Going to such lengths was either desperation or a reflection on his thought process."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-47171929
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Lauri Love: Alleged hacker begins legal battle over seized computers - BBC News
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2019-02-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Lauri Love is using legislation from 1897 in a bid to get four computers and an SD card returned.
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Suffolk
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Lauri Love outside Hendon Magistrates' Court ahead of the hearing
An alleged hacker whose computers were seized more than five years ago has begun a legal bid to get them back.
Lauri Love, 34, is using the Police (Property) Act of 1897 to seek their return, a year after top judges blocked his extradition to the United States.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said a UK investigation into Mr Love, from Suffolk, was ongoing.
At Hendon Magistrates' Court, district judge Margot Coleman ruled that limited details of the case could be published.
Mr Love, who has Asperger's syndrome, is alleged to have stolen data from American agencies including Nasa and the FBI in a spate of online attacks in 2012 and 2013.
The court heard he wanted the NCA to return four computers and an SD card that were seized in 2013.
Mr Love was first arrested in October 2013
In a skeleton argument presented to the court, Mr Love said the Police and Criminal Evidence Act highlights "the right to privacy and respect for private property".
He also claimed the NCA had "failed to respect" his rights by seizing his equipment.
Authorities in the US want Mr Love, who currently lives with his parents near Newmarket, to face cyber-hacking charges.
But in February 2018, Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and Mr Justice Ouseley blocked his extradition, claiming it would be "oppressive by reason of his physical and mental condition".
The district judge said she would deliver her ruling at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 19 February.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-47203809
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Facebook and Google news should be regulated, Cairncross Review says - BBC News
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2019-02-11
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The landmark review also recommended the BBC should do more to share its technical and digital expertise.
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Entertainment & Arts
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Dame Frances Cairncross explains the findings of her review into the future of the UK news industry
A regulator should oversee tech giants like Google and Facebook to ensure their news content is trustworthy, a government-backed report has suggested.
The Cairncross Review into the future of UK news said such sites should help users identify fake news and "nudge people towards news of high quality".
The review also said Ofcom should assess the BBC's impact on online news on other providers.
In addition, the report called for a new Institute for Public Interest News.
Such a body, it said, could work in a similar way to the Arts Council, channelling public and private funding to "those parts of the industry it deemed most worthy of support".
The report said Facebook and Google need to give more prominence to public interest news
The independent review, undertaken by former journalist Dame Frances Cairncross, was tasked with investigating the sustainability of high-quality journalism.
Its recommendations include measures to tackle "the uneven balance of power" between news publishers and online platforms that distribute their content.
Services such as Facebook, Google and Apple should continue their attempts to help readers understand how reliable a story is, and the process that decides which stories are shown should be more transparent, it says.
"Their efforts should be placed under regulatory scrutiny - this task is too important to leave entirely to the judgment of commercial entities," according to the report.
Could a digital regulator stop the spread of so-called 'fake news'?
A regulator would initially only assess how well these sites are performing - but if this doesn't work, the report warns "it may be necessary to impose stricter provisions".
Yet the report falls short of requiring Facebook, Google and other tech giants to pay for the news they distribute via their platforms.
Dame Frances told the BBC's media editor Amol Rajan that "draconian and risky" measures could result in firms such as Google withdrawing their news services altogether.
"There are a number of ways we have suggested technology companies could behave differently and could be made to behave differently," she said.
"But they are mostly ways that don't immediately involve legislation."
The review was not asked to comment specifically on the BBC but concluded that curtailing the corporation's news offering would be counter-productive after hearing arguments from other publishers that the BBC reporting on so-called "soft content" online was crowding out other news providers.
The review noted that the BBC Charter states the corporation should endeavour to reach all demographics, and that stories of this type are essential to appeal to an increasingly elusive younger audience.
The BBC also argues that "soft content" stories may attract users who might then click onwards to a public-interest news story.
The review said the BBC was delivering high quality journalism but suggested it "could do more and think more carefully about how its news provision can act as a complement, rather than a substitute, for private news provision".
Dame Frances also recommended an exploration of the market impact of BBC News, conducted by broadcasting regulator Ofcom, to find whether it is 'striking the right balance' and driving traffic to other, commercial providers.
The BBC should do more to share its technical and digital expertise for the benefit of local publishers, the report concluded.
The review suggests it would 'make little sense to curtail the BBC'
Shadow Culture Secretary Tom Watson urged the government to tackle Google and Facebook's "duopoly" in the digital advertising market, and said Dame Frances was "barking up the wrong tree" in recommending an inquiry into the BBC's online news output.
Meanwhile, former director general of the BBC Greg Dyke defended the role of the corporation.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It seems to me that at a time when large American media companies - the likes of Netflix and the rest of it - are going to come to dominate in the world, for the BBC to be cutting back on anything will be a mistake.
"The importance of the BBC is going to grow in the next 10 years, not decline."
Frances Cairncross earned widespread respect as a journalist for her hard-headed and pragmatic approach to economics.
That pragmatism is the very reason the government commissioned her to look at the future of high-quality news - and also the reason many in local and regional media will be disappointed by her recommendations.
What is most notable about her review is what it doesn't do.
This is because the practicalities of doing these things are difficult, and experience shows that the likes of Google will simply pull out of markets that don't suit them.
There are concrete measures that could boost local news, from tax relief to an extension of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
And Dame Frances certainly seemed cognisant of the argument that BBC News has over-reached, to the extent that it is harming the commercial sector. But this is a matter for Ofcom.
Ultimately, as this report acknowledges, when it comes to news, convenience is king. The speed, versatility and zero cost of so much news now means that, even if it is of poor quality, a generation of consumers has fallen out of the habit of paying for news.
But quality costs. If quality news has a future, consumers will have to pay. That's the main lesson of this report.
The report recommends "new codes of conduct" whose implementation would be supervised by a regulator "with powers to insist on compliance".
The Barnsley Chronicle goes to press in September 2017
One local newspaper editor welcomed the report's recommendations but said it "comes too late for so many once proud and important community newspapers".
The Yorkshire Post's James Mitchinson said: "The various fiscal reviews and recommendations... must come quickly... if we are to turn the Cairncross Review into something which we look back upon as being instrumental in preserving what we do for generations to come."
Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright said some of its suggestions could be acted upon "immediately", while others would need "further careful consideration".
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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Brexit: Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke issue delay warning - BBC News
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2019-02-23
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke say extending Article 50 is better than "crashing out" of the EU.
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UK Politics
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Brexit should be delayed if Parliament does not approve a deal in the coming days, three cabinet ministers have warned publicly for the first time.
Ahead of crucial votes in the Commons, Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke told the Daily Mail they would be prepared to defy Theresa May and vote for a delay.
Downing Street said the trio's views on no deal were "scarcely a secret".
Conservative Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen called on them to resign.
"They are rejecting government policy and they are threatening to vote against government policy next week," the MP told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"In that case, they should do the honourable thing and resign from the government immediately."
Number 10 said in a statement: "The PM is working hard to ensure we get a deal with the EU that allows us to deliver on the result of the referendum.
"That is where the cabinet's energy should be focused."
Earlier, Mrs May's spokeswoman said the PM would have another "period of engagement" on Brexit at an EU-League of Arab States summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt - including a meeting with European Council president Donald Tusk.
The UK remains on course to leave the European Union on 29 March.
But the government has repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility of the UK leaving without a formal deal, in the event that Mrs May cannot get MPs to approve the deal she negotiated with Brussels in time.
MPs are due to debate Brexit again next Wednesday and are expected to consider an amendment tabled by former Tory minister Sir Oliver Letwin and Labour's Yvette Cooper.
That would give Parliament the opportunity to delay Brexit and prevent a no-deal situation if there is no agreement with the EU by the middle of March.
Mr Clark, Ms Rudd and Mr Gauke argue if a deal is not endorsed by MPs imminently "it would be better to seek to extend Article 50 and delay our date of departure rather than crash out of the European Union on March 29".
Mr Clark, the business secretary, along with Ms Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, and the justice secretary, Mr Gauke, said there had been "months of uncertainty".
They wrote: "It is time MPs recognised the need to get a deal, accepted that this is the only deal on offer, and supported it."
But they also warned Brexiteers in the European Research Group (ERG) that Parliament will block the UK leaving without a deal, stating that if there is a delay "they will have no-one to blame but themselves".
They said: "Beyond the next few days, there simply will not be time to agree a deal and complete all the necessary legislation before March 29."
Their article comes after the BBC was told dozens of normally loyal Conservatives could back plans to stop the UK leaving the EU without a deal if a reworked version of Mrs May's plan does not pass.
Mark Francois, Tory MP and vice-chairman of the ERG, told the BBC that "the prime minister will want to know why three members of her cabinet have decided to publicly decry government policy" and added that he thought it was "interesting that the chancellor has not signed the letter".
However Tory MP Nick Boles, who voted Remain but supports Mrs May's deal, said they were "courageous and principled" for speaking out to try to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
Anna Soubry, who quit the Conservatives this week over Brexit to join the Independent Group, said the move was a sign of the "complete chaos that's now existing at the top of government".
The MP, who supports another EU referendum, said the trio had to go to the press because "they can't win the argument in a deeply divided cabinet".
Meanwhile, Labour MPs Phil Wilson and Peter Kyle are planning to put forward an amendment that would allow Mrs May's deal to pass in the Commons, as long as it is then put to the public in another vote.
Mr Wilson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his amendment had the support of shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor John McDonnell, and he hoped to secure the backing of the rest of the Labour front bench.
It is a pretty incredible intervention by these three cabinet ministers.
Time and time again Theresa May has said the UK is leaving the EU on 29 March, in just five weeks' time.
It's a very different message from these three. They've all made it very clear they wouldn't accept a no deal scenario.
Now publicly, for the first time, they've said Brexit would have to be delayed if Parliament doesn't back a deal next week.
In their article in the Daily Mail they've got a pretty stark warning to their colleagues.
This is happening because, on Wednesday, there will be an attempt by MPs to seize control of that Brexit process.
These three are suggesting that they will be prepared to resign in order to back that move.
This is piling the pressure on Mrs May to get the changes to the deal, to bring it back early next week, but it's also piling the pressure on their colleagues to get behind the deal.
Don't be in any doubt, what they are saying is not government policy.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47336501
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news_uk-politics-47336501
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More over-75s should take statins, experts say - BBC News
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2019-02-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Thousands of lives could be saved each year if more took the cholesterol-lowering drugs, researchers say.
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Health
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More people over the age of 75 should be taking statins, scientists have said, following a review of research.
There had been a lack of evidence about how much the cholesterol-lowering drugs benefit this age group.
But the review found they cut the risk of major cardiovascular disease in all ages studied, including the over-75s.
Researchers said thousands of lives could be saved each year if more than the estimated third of UK over-75s who do take statins, were given them.
They also said it could improve quality of life for many people.
Cardiovascular disease kills about 150,000 people in the UK each year, with two-thirds of these occurring in people over the age of 75.
Statins reduce the build-up of fatty plaques that lead to blockages in blood vessels, though reported side effects and the extent of how often they are prescribed has attracted controversy.
The review, which looked at 28 randomised controlled trials - often called the "gold standard" of studies - involving nearly 190,000 patients, found statins lowered the risk of major cardiovascular disease in the ages studied, from under-55s to over-75s.
There were similar reductions in risk for stroke and for coronary stenting or bypass surgery.
Authors of the paper said there had until now been an "evidence gap" around how effective the drugs are for the elderly.
They estimate that about a third of the 5.5 million people in the UK over 75 take a statin, when the "vast majority" of these would meet the medicine regulator's guidelines for being prescribed the drug.
Prof Colin Baigent, one of the authors of the paper, said: "One of the issues we have is that very often doctors are unwilling to consider statin therapy for elderly people simply because they're old, and that, I think, is an attitude that is preventing us from making use of the tools we have available to us."
Researchers said statins may help people avoid disability caused by cardiovascular disease
The benefits were strongest in people who have already had vascular disease. There wasn't enough data in people over the age of 75 who haven't had it to show a benefit. Experts have called for more data to guide prescription for these people.
However, the authors said even a smaller reduction in risk was significant because the elderly have a higher baseline risk for cardiovascular disease in the first place.
The more people reduced their low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, the more the risk of cardiovascular disease was lowered, the study found.
A 1.0 mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol lowered the risk of major vascular events by about a fifth and a major coronary event by a quarter, when results from all age groups were combined.
To put this into perspective, about 2.5% of 63-year-olds with no history of vascular disease would be expected to have their first major vascular event per year, compared with 4% of 78-year-olds.
Reducing those risks by a fifth would prevent first major vascular events from occurring each year in 50 people aged 63 and 80 people aged 78 per 10,000 people treated.
Prof Baigent said there was an argument for giving statins to people over the age of 75 who have a "normal" level of LDL cholesterol.
He said: "In many circumstances, the person may be very healthy, they may be able to avoid having a stroke or having a heart attack simply by taking a cheap and safe tablet every day.
"That may be a choice they're willing to take. At the moment I feel we're not taking the opportunity to offer that."
There has been controversy about statin side effects and how often they are prescribed, especially in otherwise healthy people.
It is possible to lower cholesterol levels without drugs by making lifestyle changes, such as by cutting down on saturated fat and eating more fruit, vegetables and fibre.
Prof Baigent said side effects were "massively outweighed, both in middle age and the elderly, by the benefits of statin therapy that we already know about".
And he also said he was not calling for people to pick statins over exercise and lifestyle changes.
"I think it's not an either/or," he added.
The Royal College of GPs welcomed the research and said it was "particularly reassuring" to see evidence of the benefit of statins in over-75s.
Prof Martin Marshall, vice-chairman of the college, said some patients would not want to be on long-term medication.
"But GPs are highly trained to prescribe and will only recommend the drugs if they think they will genuinely help the person sitting in front of them, based on their individual circumstances - and after a frank conversation about the potential risks and benefits."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-47058919
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Brexit: Donald Tusk's planned outburst - BBC News
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2019-02-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The European Council president completely condemns a chunk of the British cabinet with his speech in Brussels.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Donald Tusk: "Special place in hell" for those without Brexit plan
The softly-spoken politician who holds the authority of all EU countries has just completely condemned a chunk of the British cabinet, wondering aloud: "What that special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit, without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely".
Sure, for a long time the EU has been frustrated with how the UK has approached all of this.
And sure, plenty of voters in the UK are annoyed too at how politicians have been handling these negotiations.
But it is quite something for Donald Tusk to have gone in like this, studs up, even though he sometimes reminisces about his time as a football hooligan in his youth.
Be clear, he was not intending to talk about voters who wanted to Leave, but politicians who were involved in the campaign.
He also had pretty stern remarks for those who'd been on the other side of the argument, accusing those who still want the UK to stay in the EU of having "no political force, and no effective leadership".
Mr Tusk will be all too aware that he will provoke tempers at home, even laughing about it as he left the stage with the Taoiseach, the Irish leader, Leo Varadkar.
But if you strip away the planned flash of temper, also in his remarks was an invitation to the prime minister to come forward with a different version of the backstop - a "believable guarantee", a promise that a "common solution is possible".
That is, on the face of it, in tone at least, more of an opening to the UK to put something new on the table than we have seen from the EU side.
Certainly, Theresa May's most pressing job is to put something that could work on the table in Belfast, and in Brussels, and to do it fast.
But don't forget, also at her back, she has Brexiteers whom she needs to manage, whose expectations she needs to contain, whose votes she desperately needs.
And at a time when cool tempers and compromise are absolutely needed, Mr Tusk's remarks are likely to whip up the mood instead.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47147258
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Stansted 15 spared jail over grounded plane - BBC News
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2019-02-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The activists got through a fence and chained themselves to a plane which was due to deport 60 people.
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Essex
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Members of the Stansted 15 gathered outside Chelmsford Crown Court ahead of their sentencing
Fifteen protesters who chained themselves to a plane to stop it deporting people to Africa have avoided immediate jail sentences.
Dubbed the Stansted 15, the group broke through a fence at the airport in a bid to reach the jet taking 60 people to Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
They were found guilty of endangering the safety of an aerodrome.
Three were given suspended jail terms and 12 received community orders at Chelmsford Crown Court.
The group has said they will appeal against their convictions, which they believe have serious implications for the freedom to protest.
They used bolt cutters to enter Stansted Airport and attached themselves to the Boeing 767 using tubes and expanding foam on 28 March 2017.
The runway was closed for more than an hour and 23 incoming flights had to be diverted to other airports.
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Passing sentence, Judge Christopher Morgan told the 15 that while he accepted the group were seeking to demonstrate in support of their cause, they had come "perilously close" to causing a catastrophe.
He said: "In normal circumstances only a normal custodial sentence would have been justified in this case, but in your case I accept that your intentions were to demonstrate."
"There is no doubt that you understood that there were safety implications," he added.
"You put at risk the safe operations of the airport and the persons who were there on the night."
In court, the judge faced some tough arguments from a top human rights barrister about his duties to balance the question of airport security with the need to protect freedom of speech and assembly. Judge Morgan said he did this through tempering his sentences - in other circumstances, he said, he would have jailed the lot of them.
Some of the defendants looked jubilant and defiant. Others looked like defendants often do: exhausted by the process, somewhat remorseful and promising never to do it again.
So if the Court of Appeal decides not to examine the convictions, this prosecution will stand as a warning to others of the type of charge they could face for endangering an airport.
A large crowd gathered outside the court in support of the Stansted 15
Three of the defendants, Edward Thacker, Alistair Tamlit and Melanie Strickland were given nine-month jail sentences, suspended for 18 months.
The other 12 received 12-month community orders, with 11 of them ordered to carry out unpaid work.
All 15 were convicted on 10 December last year under the 1990 Aviation and Maritime Security Act, which was brought in after the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
The Stansted 15 have said they will appeal their convictions
The defendants had said they were being prosecuted under the "little known" legislation, originally devised to combat terrorism and hjijacking.
In a statement, the Crown Prosecution Service said it was never suggested to the jury that any of the 15 were terrorists.
Prosecutor Tony Badenoch said the Crown would not be recouping the financial deficit caused by the protest; estimated to be more than £1m.
New mother Emma Hughes, who gave birth between being convicted and sentenced, said the group were "massively relieved" none of them would be going to jail.
She said: "It is a massive vindication of what we did. There are 11 people still in the UK because of the action we took. Three of them have now been granted leave to remain; there is one man here who would have been separated from his family and is now here with his family. We are going to keep fighting until we get these convictions overturned."
Hundreds of people turned out to a demonstration outside the court, with crowds singing, clapping and waving banners.
The courtroom was packed for the hearing, with extra space created in the public gallery and all seats filled.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-47145449
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Brexit: Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke issue delay warning - BBC News
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2019-02-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke say extending Article 50 is better than "crashing out" of the EU.
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UK Politics
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Brexit should be delayed if Parliament does not approve a deal in the coming days, three cabinet ministers have warned publicly for the first time.
Ahead of crucial votes in the Commons, Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke told the Daily Mail they would be prepared to defy Theresa May and vote for a delay.
Downing Street said the trio's views on no deal were "scarcely a secret".
Conservative Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen called on them to resign.
"They are rejecting government policy and they are threatening to vote against government policy next week," the MP told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"In that case, they should do the honourable thing and resign from the government immediately."
Number 10 said in a statement: "The PM is working hard to ensure we get a deal with the EU that allows us to deliver on the result of the referendum.
"That is where the cabinet's energy should be focused."
Earlier, Mrs May's spokeswoman said the PM would have another "period of engagement" on Brexit at an EU-League of Arab States summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt - including a meeting with European Council president Donald Tusk.
The UK remains on course to leave the European Union on 29 March.
But the government has repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility of the UK leaving without a formal deal, in the event that Mrs May cannot get MPs to approve the deal she negotiated with Brussels in time.
MPs are due to debate Brexit again next Wednesday and are expected to consider an amendment tabled by former Tory minister Sir Oliver Letwin and Labour's Yvette Cooper.
That would give Parliament the opportunity to delay Brexit and prevent a no-deal situation if there is no agreement with the EU by the middle of March.
Mr Clark, Ms Rudd and Mr Gauke argue if a deal is not endorsed by MPs imminently "it would be better to seek to extend Article 50 and delay our date of departure rather than crash out of the European Union on March 29".
Mr Clark, the business secretary, along with Ms Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, and the justice secretary, Mr Gauke, said there had been "months of uncertainty".
They wrote: "It is time MPs recognised the need to get a deal, accepted that this is the only deal on offer, and supported it."
But they also warned Brexiteers in the European Research Group (ERG) that Parliament will block the UK leaving without a deal, stating that if there is a delay "they will have no-one to blame but themselves".
They said: "Beyond the next few days, there simply will not be time to agree a deal and complete all the necessary legislation before March 29."
Their article comes after the BBC was told dozens of normally loyal Conservatives could back plans to stop the UK leaving the EU without a deal if a reworked version of Mrs May's plan does not pass.
Mark Francois, Tory MP and vice-chairman of the ERG, told the BBC that "the prime minister will want to know why three members of her cabinet have decided to publicly decry government policy" and added that he thought it was "interesting that the chancellor has not signed the letter".
However Tory MP Nick Boles, who voted Remain but supports Mrs May's deal, said they were "courageous and principled" for speaking out to try to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
Anna Soubry, who quit the Conservatives this week over Brexit to join the Independent Group, said the move was a sign of the "complete chaos that's now existing at the top of government".
The MP, who supports another EU referendum, said the trio had to go to the press because "they can't win the argument in a deeply divided cabinet".
Meanwhile, Labour MPs Phil Wilson and Peter Kyle are planning to put forward an amendment that would allow Mrs May's deal to pass in the Commons, as long as it is then put to the public in another vote.
Mr Wilson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his amendment had the support of shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor John McDonnell, and he hoped to secure the backing of the rest of the Labour front bench.
It is a pretty incredible intervention by these three cabinet ministers.
Time and time again Theresa May has said the UK is leaving the EU on 29 March, in just five weeks' time.
It's a very different message from these three. They've all made it very clear they wouldn't accept a no deal scenario.
Now publicly, for the first time, they've said Brexit would have to be delayed if Parliament doesn't back a deal next week.
In their article in the Daily Mail they've got a pretty stark warning to their colleagues.
This is happening because, on Wednesday, there will be an attempt by MPs to seize control of that Brexit process.
These three are suggesting that they will be prepared to resign in order to back that move.
This is piling the pressure on Mrs May to get the changes to the deal, to bring it back early next week, but it's also piling the pressure on their colleagues to get behind the deal.
Don't be in any doubt, what they are saying is not government policy.
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Facebook and Google news should be regulated, Cairncross Review says - BBC News
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2019-02-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The landmark review also recommended the BBC should do more to share its technical and digital expertise.
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Entertainment & Arts
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Dame Frances Cairncross explains the findings of her review into the future of the UK news industry
A regulator should oversee tech giants like Google and Facebook to ensure their news content is trustworthy, a government-backed report has suggested.
The Cairncross Review into the future of UK news said such sites should help users identify fake news and "nudge people towards news of high quality".
The review also said Ofcom should assess the BBC's impact on online news on other providers.
In addition, the report called for a new Institute for Public Interest News.
Such a body, it said, could work in a similar way to the Arts Council, channelling public and private funding to "those parts of the industry it deemed most worthy of support".
The report said Facebook and Google need to give more prominence to public interest news
The independent review, undertaken by former journalist Dame Frances Cairncross, was tasked with investigating the sustainability of high-quality journalism.
Its recommendations include measures to tackle "the uneven balance of power" between news publishers and online platforms that distribute their content.
Services such as Facebook, Google and Apple should continue their attempts to help readers understand how reliable a story is, and the process that decides which stories are shown should be more transparent, it says.
"Their efforts should be placed under regulatory scrutiny - this task is too important to leave entirely to the judgment of commercial entities," according to the report.
Could a digital regulator stop the spread of so-called 'fake news'?
A regulator would initially only assess how well these sites are performing - but if this doesn't work, the report warns "it may be necessary to impose stricter provisions".
Yet the report falls short of requiring Facebook, Google and other tech giants to pay for the news they distribute via their platforms.
Dame Frances told the BBC's media editor Amol Rajan that "draconian and risky" measures could result in firms such as Google withdrawing their news services altogether.
"There are a number of ways we have suggested technology companies could behave differently and could be made to behave differently," she said.
"But they are mostly ways that don't immediately involve legislation."
The review was not asked to comment specifically on the BBC but concluded that curtailing the corporation's news offering would be counter-productive after hearing arguments from other publishers that the BBC reporting on so-called "soft content" online was crowding out other news providers.
The review noted that the BBC Charter states the corporation should endeavour to reach all demographics, and that stories of this type are essential to appeal to an increasingly elusive younger audience.
The BBC also argues that "soft content" stories may attract users who might then click onwards to a public-interest news story.
The review said the BBC was delivering high quality journalism but suggested it "could do more and think more carefully about how its news provision can act as a complement, rather than a substitute, for private news provision".
Dame Frances also recommended an exploration of the market impact of BBC News, conducted by broadcasting regulator Ofcom, to find whether it is 'striking the right balance' and driving traffic to other, commercial providers.
The BBC should do more to share its technical and digital expertise for the benefit of local publishers, the report concluded.
The review suggests it would 'make little sense to curtail the BBC'
Shadow Culture Secretary Tom Watson urged the government to tackle Google and Facebook's "duopoly" in the digital advertising market, and said Dame Frances was "barking up the wrong tree" in recommending an inquiry into the BBC's online news output.
Meanwhile, former director general of the BBC Greg Dyke defended the role of the corporation.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It seems to me that at a time when large American media companies - the likes of Netflix and the rest of it - are going to come to dominate in the world, for the BBC to be cutting back on anything will be a mistake.
"The importance of the BBC is going to grow in the next 10 years, not decline."
Frances Cairncross earned widespread respect as a journalist for her hard-headed and pragmatic approach to economics.
That pragmatism is the very reason the government commissioned her to look at the future of high-quality news - and also the reason many in local and regional media will be disappointed by her recommendations.
What is most notable about her review is what it doesn't do.
This is because the practicalities of doing these things are difficult, and experience shows that the likes of Google will simply pull out of markets that don't suit them.
There are concrete measures that could boost local news, from tax relief to an extension of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
And Dame Frances certainly seemed cognisant of the argument that BBC News has over-reached, to the extent that it is harming the commercial sector. But this is a matter for Ofcom.
Ultimately, as this report acknowledges, when it comes to news, convenience is king. The speed, versatility and zero cost of so much news now means that, even if it is of poor quality, a generation of consumers has fallen out of the habit of paying for news.
But quality costs. If quality news has a future, consumers will have to pay. That's the main lesson of this report.
The report recommends "new codes of conduct" whose implementation would be supervised by a regulator "with powers to insist on compliance".
The Barnsley Chronicle goes to press in September 2017
One local newspaper editor welcomed the report's recommendations but said it "comes too late for so many once proud and important community newspapers".
The Yorkshire Post's James Mitchinson said: "The various fiscal reviews and recommendations... must come quickly... if we are to turn the Cairncross Review into something which we look back upon as being instrumental in preserving what we do for generations to come."
Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright said some of its suggestions could be acted upon "immediately", while others would need "further careful consideration".
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's trial: From shocking to bizarre - BBC News
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2019-02-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Gold-plated rifles and a fatal handshake snub - what we've been told about Joaquín Guzmán so far.
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US & Canada
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The trial of accused druglord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is nearing its end after eight weeks of evidence from the prosecution
The trial of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has provided shocking revelations about the Mexican drug lord's life.
Below are some of the most disturbing testimonies by witnesses in the high-profile trial in New York as well as some allegations which are plain bizarre.
A trusted hitman for El Chapo kept a "murder room" in his mansion on the US border, which featured a drain on the floor to more easily clean up after slayings.
Edgar Galvan testified in January that Antonio "Jaguar" Marrufo had a room with white tiles that was sound-proofed "so no noise comes out".
"In that house, no-one comes out," Galvan told jurors.
Galvan said his role in the organisation was to smuggle weapons into the US, so that Marrufo could use them to "clear" the region of rivals.
At the time, he was living in El Paso, Texas, while Marrufo was living in Ciudad Juarez, just across the US-Mexico border.
But both men are now in jail on firearms and gun charges.
Documents unsealed just two days before jury deliberations offered disturbing new accusations against El Chapo from Alex Cifuentes, a Colombian drug lord who has described himself as El Chapo's "right-hand man".
Cifuentes, who prosecutors say spent two years hiding from authorities with El Chapo in the Mexican mountains, claims that El Chapo would drug and rape girls as young as 13 years old, according to the New York Times.
A woman named Comadre Maria would routinely send El Chapo photographs of young girls that he and his associates could pick from.
This same woman was involved as an intermediary for El Chapo's dealings with Mexico's president, Cifuentes alleged during the trial.
For $5,000 (£3,800), Cifuentes claims Comadre Maria would send the selected girls up to Mr Guzman's mountain camps, where they would be drugged with "a powdery substance" and raped.
The documents allege that El Chapo called the youngest girls "his vitamins" and said raping them gave him "life".
Mr Guzman's lawyer said his client denies these allegations and added that the claims had been "too prejudicial and unreliable to be admitted at trial".
El Chapo's wife, Emma Coronel, sat quietly through a session where the FBI shared her husband's texts to his lovers
Cifuentes claims former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, who served from 2012-18, accepted a $100m (£77m) bribe from El Chapo.
He alleges Mr Pena Nieto contacted El Chapo after taking office in 2012, asking for $250m in return for ending a manhunt for the drug cartel kingpin. El Chapo instead offered him $100m, which the new president allegedly accepted.
Mr Pena Nieto has not publicly commented on the allegations.
"El Chapo" used his slew of mistresses to help further his narcotics operation - and his text history proves it, the FBI alleges.
Thanks to the Flexi-spy software Guzmán used to spy on his wife, Emma Coronel, and the women with whom he had affairs, the FBI was able to present his texts in court.
Guzmán and Ms Coronel fawned over their daughters in many texts, as parents do, but some had a distinctly "El Chapo" sensibility.
In one sent on the twins' six-month birthday, the New York Daily News reported, he said: "Our [daughter] is fearless, I'm going to give her an AK-47 so she can hang with me."
Another damaging series of texts relayed how El Chapo fled a villa during a raid by US and Mexican officials.
"I had to run out at three in the afternoon," Guzmán told his wife. "I saw them pounding on the door next door, but I was able to jump out."
He then reportedly asked her to bring him new clothes, shoes and black moustache dye.
Guzmán tracked around 50 people through phones and computers, according to the drug lord's ex-techie, Cristian Rodriguez.
Mr Rodriguez told the court "El Chapo" frequently turned on his lovers' microphones after ending calls with them "to see what they would say about him", the Daily News reported.
One of those lovers was Agustina Cabanillas Acosta, who allegedly helped "El Chapo" make deals across the region.
In between sweet nothings, they discussed drug shipments and "non-stop" sales.
The alleged kingpin also reportedly paid for Ms Acosta's liposuction.
Ms Acosta, meanwhile, was well aware of her lover's snooping - "I'm way smarter than him," she reportedly texted her friends.
Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez, girlfriend (2nd left) of accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman (2nd right), testifies as his wife Emma Coronel (right) looks on
In the most gruesome testimony to date, witness Isaias Valdez Rios described seeing "El Chapo" brutally beat at least three men before shooting them.
In one incident, Mr Valdez Rios said two people originally from Sinaloa who had joined the rival Los Zetas cartel were deemed traitors and rounded up by Guzmán's hitmen.
For more than three hours the drug lord brutally beat them, Guzmán's former bodyguard said.
"They were completely like rag dolls - their bones were totally broken. They could not move. And Joaquin was still hitting them with the branch and his weapon too," Mr Valdez Rios said.
The two men were later driven to an area where they could see a large bonfire.
There, the jury was told, "El Chapo" cursed each one before shooting them in the head with his rifle.
The leader of the Sinaloa cartel ordered that they be thrown in the bonfire, telling his men that he did not want any bones to remain, Mr Valdez Rios said.
He said the third man murdered by "El Chapo" was a member of the rival Arellano Felix cartel.
"He had burns made with an iron on his back, his shirt was stuck to his skin. He had burns made with a car lighter all over his body. His feet were burned," Mr Valdez Rios told the court.
The man was then locked in a wooden structure for days. Then he was brought blindfolded to a graveyard, his hands and legs bound.
"El Chapo" started to interrogate him, and while he was responding, shot him with his handgun.
The man was still gasping for air - but he was dumped in a hole and buried alive, Mr Valdez Rios said.
The secrets of the drug lord's daring escape from a Mexican maximum security prison in 2015 were revealed by a former cartel associate.
Testifying in court, Damaso Lopez said his boss' wife and sons had been involved from the start to get El Chapo out of Altiplano prison.
He mentioned secret meetings in 2014, where Emma Coronel delivered detailed instructions from her husband to the plotters.
"A tunnel had to be built and they [plotters] should start to work," Ms Coronel said.
"El Chapo" used a specially adapted motorcycle to ride through the tunnel
The kingpin's sons later bought a property near the prison, and the digging started.
A GPS watch was smuggled into the prison, giving the plotters exact co-ordinates where the drug lord's prison cell was.
The one-mile (1.6km) tunnel took months to complete, and "El Chapo" had complained that digging was too loud and he could hear the "noise" from his cell, Mr Lopez said.
He added that the concrete below his boss' cell "had been very difficult to break through".
Despite all the problems, "El Chapo" escaped in July 2015, riding on a specially adapted small motorcycle through the tunnel.
Yet another mistress, Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez, revealed to the court details of the drug lord's 2014 escape from Mexican marines.
When the marines burst into his safehouse, Ms Lopez said the alleged drug lord took off running - stark naked.
They used an escape tunnel under a bathtub to flee, trudging through mud for an hour before surfacing, according to the New York Post.
As the mistress began to cry while testifying, the drug lord's wife, Ms Coronel, reportedly cackled in the gallery.
Just days after his affair with Ms Lopez, "El Chapo" would be captured by authorities - once again naked - in bed with Ms Coronel.
She and her husband were both in matching burgundy-coloured jackets during Ms Lopez's testimony, in an attempt to show their solidarity, reports the BBC's Tara McKelvey from court.
The drug lord's reputed extravagance extended even to his extensive collection of weaponry, the trial has heard.
Among his prized possessions were a diamond-encrusted, monogrammed pistol and a gold-plated AK-47.
Much of the evidence against the suspected narco chief has come from the prosecution's star witness, Jesús Zambada.
Mr Zambada testified that the alleged drug kingpin had the brother of another cartel leader killed because he did not shake Guzmán's hand.
Rodolfo Fuentes had met Guzmán to make peace in a cartel and gang war, the court heard.
"When [Rodolfo] left, Chapo gave him his hand and said, 'See you later, friend,' and Rodolfo just left him standing there with his hand extended," Mr Zambada said.
Mr Fuentes and his wife were shot and killed outside a cinema soon afterwards.
Former Sinaloa lieutenant Miguel Angel Martinez also testified for the government, telling the jury he once asked "El Chapo" why he killed people.
"And he answered me: 'Either your mom's going to cry or their mom's going to cry.'"
A former cartel leader told the court how "El Chapo" once had his own cousin killed after the man lied about being out of town.
Juan Guzman had told the drug boss he would be travelling, only to be spotted at a park in the city.
"My compadre became angry, because he had lied to him," ex-cartel capo Damaso Lopez Nunez said.
To make an example out of Juan, "El Chapo" allegedly ordered him to be interrogated and assassinated. Juan's secretary, who was with him at the time, was also killed.
The drug boss' mistress Ms Lopez later told the court she remembered being with him when the news of Juan's death arrived.
"He said from that point on, whoever betrayed him, they would die," Ms Lopez said. "Whether they were family or women, they were going to die."
Assistant US Attorney Adam Fels said in his opening argument that "El Chapo" had sent "more than a line of cocaine for every single person in the United States" - in just four of his shipments.
That amounts to over 328 million lines of cocaine, said the prosecutor.
Mr Zambada said that once, in 1994, Guzmán gave the order to sink a boat carrying 20 tonnes of cocaine to evade authorities.
Drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán is escorted into a helicopter at Mexico City"s airport following his recapture during an intense military operation in Los Mochis, in Sinaloa State
The court also heard that Guzmán once used a bazooka for target practice - to relax on a family holiday.
Mr Zambada said "El Chapo" took the anti-tank rocket launcher with him on a trip with relatives in 2005.
He decided to "test out" the weapon after the group had finished target practice with assault rifles, according to the witness.
Some of the biggest news from testimony was how the Sinaloa cartel allegedly paid off a host of top Mexican officials to ensure their drug business ran smoothly.
Mr Zambada said the traffickers had $50m (£39m) in protection money for former Mexican Secretary of Public Security García Luna, so that corrupt officers would be appointed to head police operations.
Mr Zambada said he gave the money to Mr Luna in briefcases full of cash. Mr Luna has denied the allegations.
When former Mexico City Mayor Gabriel Regino was in line to become the next secretary of security, Mr Zambada says the cartel bribed him, too.
Mr Regino, who is now a professor, has also denied the claims.
"El Chapo" (right) is the highest-ranking alleged drug lord to face trial in the US so far
A 6in (15cm) figurine of a folk hero dubbed the narco-saint has been spotted on a shelf in a conference room used by the defendant's lawyers at the court, the New York Post reported.
The statue of Jesús Malverde, which has him seated on a purple throne with bags of cash, appeared on Wednesday, one of Guzmán's lawyers told the newspaper.
Jesús Malverde has been celebrated as a Robin Hood-type hero who, legend says, stole from the rich and gave to the poor in the early 1900s.
Mr Martinez told the court Guzmán was so wealthy, he had a private zoo on top of his numerous properties - including a $10m (£8) beach house as well as a yacht he named after himself ("Chapito").
Built in the early '90s, El Chapo's zoo reportedly had lions, tigers, and crocodiles, as well as a little train to ferry guests through it.
The property also had a house, pool and tennis courts nearby, Mr Martinez said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46282173
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Cardiff Irish Traveller's arrest shameful, says charity - BBC News
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2019-03-21
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Calls are made for a new inquiry into the arrest of a Traveller with known mental health issues.
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Wales
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Police bodycam footage shows Minnie Moloney getting hysterical upon being arrested
The way a pregnant Irish Traveller was arrested was shameful and inappropriate, a race charity has said.
Minnie Moloney, 25, who has severe mental health issues, was visited by several male police officers on 7 December 2017 after a row at a shop six weeks earlier.
During the arrest, Ms Moloney became hysterical and was handcuffed wearing nothing but an untied dressing gown.
South Wales Police said its actions were "proportionate and necessary".
In bodycam footage from one of the officers, she can be seen coming down the stairs wearing just her dressing gown.
After realising there was no woman officer, Ms Moloney became hysterical and tried to contact her mother as officers told her to calm down.
She is eventually handcuffed with her arms around her back and led out to the police van despite her protestations that her modesty was being compromised by her dressing gown becoming undone.
Race Equality First said the arrest should have been handled differently due to Ms Moloney's mental health issues and her cultural background which means her husband is the only man who should touch her.
Ms Moloney's husband told police his wife was pregnant and not to handcuff her, but police say they will do because of how she is behaving
The force said an investigation found no evidence Ms Moloney was mistreated during her arrest for a public order offence. She was later released without charge.
Police were not called to the original row at the shop, but went to Ms Moloney's home in Rumney several weeks later to arrest her.
She said the experience was "humiliating" and made her feel "helpless, stressed and worried".
"When they took me out of the house, I was naked, I was stressed, I didn't have my medication, I didn't wake up properly, I knew they'd just leave me in the cell," she said.
South Wales Police and the Independent Office of Police Conduct investigated and found no case to answer, with no evidence Ms Moloney was mistreated.
Aliya Mohammed said the bodycam footage looked like "a bit of fun and laughs and a bit of games basically at the expense of a vulnerable young woman"
But Aliya Mohammed, chief executive of Race Equality First, disagreed and said it was racial discrimination.
"I've never seen [a case] that has been caught on body-cam footage that shows such shocking scenes of blatant inappropriate, shameful behaviour.
"Why haven't we had a case like this for a non-ethnic minority person? For someone who is not a Gypsy or Traveller?"
In an investigation by the Professional Standards Department, the officer who arrested Minnie said he feared the situation would quickly escalate.
His statement said: "I took hold of Minnie's arm and she immediately became extremely irate and aggressive to a level that I have rarely seen in my 10.5 years of front line policing."
But Ms Mohammed disagrees: "There are points where she holds up her hands, there are points when she is protesting, she does swear a lot throughout the video, however, she doesn't lash out at them, she doesn't hit them, she doesn't obstruct them either, she is just protesting at the way she's being treated.
"She wasn't being overly aggressive - certainly not for a woman who was half naked - with an open dressing gown and not even being allowed to cover herself up. I think it's extremely shocking."
Minnie Moloney's case is being handled by Race Equality First
Ms Mohammed has now called for a new investigation.
"In the video footage, you can see that police officers are staring at her naked body, they are laughing and they are making inappropriate comments.
"Why were they doing that? Why did the police feel that it was appropriate and that they were able to actually make such inappropriate comments?"
South Wales Police said the incident highlighted the "incredibly difficult job" officers do on a daily basis.
"Once a complaint was received it was immediately referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct which directed a local investigation by the force's professional standards department," it said.
"An investigation found that none of the officers had a case to answer and the complainant was sent a report containing the findings of the investigation."
The force said it had met Race Equality First, no new complaints were presented and they rejected a civil claim.
But Ms Moloney said: "If two people from Cyncoed (an affluent Cardiff suburb) had an argument, would they have arrested a woman from Cyncoed in that manner?
"It's no different because I'm an Irish Traveller. I'm still the same as everybody else. I still bleed the same. I still feel the same. We're all human."
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'Millennial burnout': this is how it feels - BBC Three
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2019-03-03
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I don’t remember the last time I relaxed. Honestly? I don’t know how to. Every time I try to read a book or watch TV, I think about what I have to do next, or my ‘to-do’ list flashes before my eyes. I feel guilty because I know that I could be cleaning my flat, or at the gym, or buying a birthday present for my boyfriend’s mum.
My brain never stops. I’m constantly on hyper-alert about the things I should be doing – but just can’t bring myself to do. I already suffer from anxiety and depression, and this stress has disrupted my sleep and led me to have mild insomnia.
I think I’m one of many in my generation suffering from ‘millennial burnout’. This is not currently a recognised medical condition, and there are no specific stats for it, but in the UK, 74% of us are so stressed we’ve been unable to cope. That same study found that 49% of 18-24-year-olds who have experienced high levels of stress felt that comparing themselves to others was a source of stress, which was higher than in any of the older age groups. This is essentially burnout - a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion.
The idea that millennials are experiencing a specific type of ‘burnout’ was first popularised by BuzzFeed writer Anne Helen Petersen. Her much-shared article on the subject points to the fact that the line between work and life is so blurred for many of us that there is no work-life balance anymore. Plus, we’re online 24/7, so we’re always expected to be available, whether it’s work emails, social messages, or looking for love. It doesn’t even stop on holiday. Her article provoked a wide-ranging response, which she edited down into a follow-up piece.
Anne Helen believes one of the biggest signs you're suffering from this is ‘errand paralysis’, where minor tasks such as going to the bank or returning an online order just feel impossible.
“None of these tasks were that hard,” she wrote. “It’s not as if I were slacking in the rest of my life. But when it came to the mundane, the medium priority, the stuff that wouldn’t make my job easier or my work better, I avoided it. The more I tried to figure out my errand paralysis, the more the actual parameters of burnout began to reveal themselves… It’s not limited to workers in acutely high-stress environments. And it’s not a temporary affliction: It’s the millennial condition.”
This is something I fully relate to.
While I'm doing well in my career, my personal life admin is a mess
My job is a big priority for me, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to work hard. It means I'm always on – replying to emails at all hours, and bringing my work laptop home at night. But while I'm doing well in my career, my personal life admin is a mess. I have endless to-do lists that I never complete. Recently, I even made a list of lists and sectioned it off into the different rooms of my flat, with a weekly list of chores to do by each room.
Then I have a list of appointments I need to make, and a shopping list I know I’ll never buy half the stuff on, like ingredients to make packed lunches for the week in order to save money. I often send myself reminder emails the night before I get into work, so when I’m at my desk, they’re at the top of my inbox.
It’s my way of trying to stay in control of my spiralling life admin, but when I end up not doing the things on my list, I’m left feeling even more overwhelmed. Then I bury my head in the sand so I don’t have to think about everything I’m not doing - and end up less productive than before. It’s a vicious circle.
And it’s about more than about making lists. I tend to break my life up into compartments: work, relationship, friends, and family. I want to give all of them equal attention, but I can’t do that because there just isn't enough time, so then I feel stressed, guilty, and permanently tired.
It’s affecting all areas of my life and I just don’t see an end in sight
I overcommit constantly but always manage to make my deadlines with work. The sacrifices are more in my social life where I’ve ended up having to cancel nights out last minute and let down friends who end up angry and disappointed.
It’s affecting all areas of my life and I just don’t see an end in sight. This is the main symptom of ‘millennial burnout’, according to British psychotherapist Beverley Hills. While the condition isn’t medically recognised, Hills says it is something she has seen in her clients.
“You can feel stress, insomnia, self-doubt, cynicism, and as though you're in a void, like, ‘How can I possibly succeed when there are not enough resources left for me?’ There will be emotional exhaustion, a feeling of dissatisfaction, inadequacy, and also anger, and maybe physical pain that could take the form of Fibromyalgia or constant feelings of ‘unwellness'," she says.
She believes that this burnout can be brought on by “over-expectations from parents, careers, and society”. It’s exacerbated by social media because of the constant pressure to be living your best life, which “leads to a fear of failure and, conversely, a fear of success: 'If I achieve all that, how can I possibly keep it up? I may as well not even try'."
In extreme situations, she says it can even lead to depression or suicidal thoughts, and urges people experiencing millennial burnout to seek medical help like counselling.
For me, one of the hardest parts about millennial burnout is that I don’t feel I’m ‘allowed’ to be this tired. I don’t think I’ve earned it or done enough to warrant having burnout. I always compare myself to my mum, who was a single mother working two or three jobs at a time to raise me and my siblings in Wales. I always think, 'How could my mum work all these jobs, cook for us, clean, have all our school uniforms ironed and never complain?' Then I feel worse for whining.
But, at the same time, things have changed for our generation. We've internalised the idea that we need to be working all the time, and that being average is no longer enough; we have to always be achieving. Plus, our lives are a lot more 'out there' for everyone to see with social media. My mum had no one to prove to on a daily basis that she was keeping us alive, and that we had the latest toy or computer game. She’s really sympathetic to what I’m going through, and obviously worried about me, but sometimes talking to her makes me feel worse because I can’t help comparing myself unfavourably to her.
It’s all about being hyper-healthy, hyper-clued-up, hyper-fashionable - and it’s exhausting
The idea of what a successful career should look like has also changed for my generation. It used to be about earning a decent salary, but now it feels like we need to do that as well as have a cool, exciting job you’re passionate about. It’s the same with being healthy. For my mum, that meant eating three balanced meals and having clean clothes. For us, that means going to the gym at 5am, doing a run post-work to get cardio in, eating kale at every possible opportunity, and cleansing my skin all the time or I’ll get wrinkles. It’s all about being hyper-healthy, hyper-clued-up, hyper-fashionable - and it’s exhausting.
Last year, I felt so bad that I thought I was going to have a breakdown. I’d been feeling burnt out for months, and with my to-do list growing as much as my stress levels, I wasn’t coping well. I could barely get out of bed or motivate myself to do the simplest of tasks. I was constantly stressed, and I didn’t feel like myself at all. I was snapping at my boyfriend, because I had no emotional energy left to give – I was so focused on trying to get through the day. He was worried about me because I wasn’t myself, and I even had physical symptoms: my skin broke out with acne for the first time and became flushed with the skin condition rosacea.
I was constantly sweating, because I was on hyper-alert - waiting for the next thing to worry about. Eventually, I booked an appointment to see my doctor and told him I felt like I was about to break. He said my anxiety and depression symptoms were exacerbated by feeling burnout, and suggested I take some time off for my mental health. I wasn’t surprised by his diagnosis, but the thought of being allowed to stop was such a relief.
I took a few weeks off work where I had absolutely nothing to do. I still had my to-do lists going round in my head, and felt like I needed to make the most of my time off, but I was also so exhausted that I just slept. In the end, the time off helped, but a year later, the burnout still hasn’t gone away. I'm now looking into therapy as my doctor suggested - even though that’s now a new source of stress as I’m struggling to find an affordable one.
I'm also doing a lot of reading up on how to manage stress. My go-to is to flare up in an argument with my boyfriend because I’m so on edge, but I don’t want to be like that, so I’m trying to find other ways of channelling how I’m feeling instead, like doing creative writing.
I’m also trying to see more of my friends and talk to them about what I’m going through, because I know a lot of them feel the same way. Last year, I spent a lot of time staying at home trying to get through my lists, and felt guilty about going for beers with my friends and wasting money. But now I need to remind myself that being with people helps because it makes me feel less alone, and it takes me out of my head.
I know a lot of people think this is another typical ‘millennial snowflake’ issue. But the world changes and generations adapt. I know life was also difficult for our parents and grandparents, with a lot more hard graft, but things are tough now in different ways. If previous generations knew what I went through on a daily basis, they wouldn’t think of millennials as lazy and entitled. We’re just trying to do our best, and often, it's harder than it looks.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help and support is available.
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Man arrested for egging Jeremy Corbyn in Finsbury Park - BBC News
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2019-03-03
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The Labour leader was visiting a mosque in north London when the egg was thrown at him on Sunday.
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London
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Jeremy Corbyn had been visiting Finsbury Park mosque when an egg was thrown at him
A man has been arrested after an egg was thrown at Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London.
It happened as Mr Corbyn was visiting a mosque in Seven Sisters Road, not far from where the MP lives, just before 16:00 GMT on Sunday.
The Metropolitan Police said a 41-year-old man was "quickly detained by officers on scene" and arrested on suspicion of assault.
The man is in custody at a north London police station, the force said.
Mr Corbyn had been visiting the Finsbury Park Mosque and Muslim Welfare House to coincide with Visit My Mosque Day.
The Press Association said it was believed Mr Corbyn had been chatting to community leaders when a man came from behind him and hit him on the head with an egg.
The Labour leader is believed to have left with a police escort at about 18:30 GMT.
Mr Corbyn later tweeted about the "fantastic opportunity" Visit My Mosque Day opened up to communities, without mentioning the egging.
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Labour MP Jess Phillips tweeted that "acts of violence against politicians loses your argument, lessens your cause and demeans our democracy".
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A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "On Sunday, March 3 at around 3:52pm an egg was thrown at a Member of Parliament."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-47435623
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news_election-2017-47435623
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Brexit: Any sign of Theresa May changing course? - BBC News
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2019-03-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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After a comprehensive defeat, it's not clear how the prime minister intends to dig herself out of this dreadful political hole.
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UK Politics
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Second time very unlucky. The tweaks to the deal with the EU that the prime minister sweated for more than a month to achieve were to little purpose.
The government was, again, comprehensively defeated, this time by almost 150 votes.
One senior cabinet minister said this afternoon another thumping defeat would mean that she "has to change course".
So far, she has shown no sign of that, repeating, as we have heard her say so very many times at the despatch box, that she believes her deal is still the best one.
But neither did she move away from the promises she has made more recently, to give MPs a vote on whether they want to stop us leaving without a formal deal at the end of this month.
There is already consternation in the Commons over her additional pledge that leaving without a deal remains the default option.
The vote will, though, after pressure from colleagues, be a free vote where Tories can vote as they wish. That might not sound like a big deal, but for the government to let its own troops vote as they like on an issue that's so important is extremely unusual.
And if, as is likely, they rule out leaving with no deal for now, on Thursday she confirmed another vote for delaying Brexit.
What isn't clear from all of that is how the prime minister actually intends to dig herself out of this dreadful political hole.
Some of her colleagues around the Cabinet table think it shows she has to tack to a closer deal with the EU.
Some of them believe it's time now to go hell-for-leather to leave without an overarching deal but move to make as much preparation as possible, and fast.
Other ministers believe genuinely, still with around two weeks to go, and an EU summit next week, there is still time to try to manoeuvre her deal through - somehow.
The response of the 27 other EU countries to any request for an extension would be influential too. But that's an argument for another day, and there are likely to be many, for sure.
You might wonder how has Theresa May found herself in this position again? When she hailed a revised deal last night in Strasbourg then crashed to defeat again.
Her rivals and friends would give a long list of reasons.
Her own difficulties in deploying the authority of Number 10, to charm and promise, to chivvy reluctant backbenchers, are well known.
The grumpy dynamics and misunderstandings with the EU have played a part too. Decades of disputes over Europe inside the Tory Party are at the root - and part of today's problem.
But above all, Theresa May as prime minister has been trying to achieve what would have been distinctly challenging for any leader to pull off at any time - to complete a grand project, abhorred by many, adored by others - to persuade Parliament to unplug the UK from the European Union without a majority in Parliament.
Her decision to gamble with a small majority in 2017 haunts her profoundly still.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47548072
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news_uk-politics-47548072
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Mueller report: Key lines from Bill Barr summary - BBC News
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2019-03-25
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After two years of work and 2,800 subpoenas, the president has been cleared of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
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US & Canada
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Attorney general William Barr was tasked with summarising the Mueller report for Congress
Two days after Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed the report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election to the attorney general, William Barr provided a four-page summary to Congress and the public.
Mr Barr writes that the special counsel's 22-month inquiry involved 40 government investigators issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas and 500 search warrants questioning around 500 witnesses.
What was the end result? Here are some key lines from the attorney general's letter and what they mean.
"The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities"
Most of Mr Barr's letter to Congress summarising the special counsel's investigation was in the attorney general's own words. In this instance, however, he chose to directly quote Mr Mueller's report. He clearly didn't want any misunderstanding about the investigation's conclusions.
When Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mr Mueller as special counsel, he instructed the former FBI director to look for "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump".
On Sunday, in those 23 words, the special counsel provided his answer.
Some will point to the words "did not establish" in that sentence and note that it doesn't mean the investigation found no evidence at all or that "collusion" didn't actually take place.
Perhaps it isn't the "complete and total exoneration" that Mr Trump is claiming.
When it comes to the language used in these type of investigations, however, it's as close as it going to get.
"As noted above, the Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."
After outlining the special counsel's conclusions that the Russian government attempted to interfere with the 2016 election through social media disinformation and hacking the computers and emails of Democratic Party officials, Mr Barr again says there was no evidence of conspiracy or coordination - with a twist. There were "multiple offers" of Russian help to the Trump campaign
This is probably a reference to the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr, senior campaign officials and Russians with ties to the Kremlin. It also might include Russian contacts by more tangential campaign aides such as George Papadopoulos and Carter Page or, perhaps, former Trump adviser Roger Stone's attempts to contact Wikileaks to find out about hacked Democratic emails.
The details aren't provided, but the gist of what Mr Barr is saying is that while there was Russian outreach, there is no evidence that anyone from the Trump campaign took the bait.
"The Special Counsel states that 'while this report does not conclude the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was only one component of Mr Mueller's special counsel work. He also looked into whether the president violated the law by obstructing the investigation. And instead of making a prosecutorial judgement, the former FBI director punted.
"While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime,"it also does not exonerate him," wrote Mr Barr, quoting the report.
Noting "difficult issues" involved in the determination of the president's conduct, Mr Mueller presents both sides of the argument for charging the president with the crime of obstruction of justices. He then leaves it up to the attorney general to make the call.
"In cataloguing the President's actions, many of which took place in public view, the report identifies no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent ..."
With the ball firmly in his court, Mr Barr - nominated to the job of attorney general by Mr Trump in December - decided Mr Trump would not be charged with obstruction of justice.
Central to the attorney general's conclusion was the fact that the special counsel found no "underlying crime" of conspiracy with the Russians to interfere with the 2016 election. There has been an ongoing debate in legal circles on whether obstruction of justice can take place without evidence of a crime to investigate, and Mr Barr comes down solidly, if not entirely, on the "no" side.
While Mr Trump made plenty of public statements that could be construed as an attempt to influence the investigation, it appears Mr Barr concluded that they were not done with "corrupt intent".
The attorney general made sure to note that this decision was made in consultation with Mr Rosenstein, who had appointed Mr Mueller back in 2017, as well as other Justice Department lawyers.
This was a judgement call - and Mr Barr will take heat for it from the president's critics. He clearly wanted to make sure he wasn't alone in the spotlight.
"My goal and intent is to release as much of the Special Counsel's report as I can consistent with applicable law, regulations and Departmental policies."
Mr Barr insists he will release as much of the report as he can, given rules that limit the disclosure of grand jury activities and information that could impact upon ongoing criminal proceedings.
Democrats will be interested in learning of any more details unearthed in the Russia investigation, even if Mr Mueller did not conclude that there was sufficient evidence to prove conspiracy or coordination. In addition, they will want to see the pro-and-con arguments the special counsel made as it weighed charging Mr Trump with obstruction of justice.
That's when the second-guessing of Mr Barr's decision will begin in earnest.
All this, however, is going to take time.
Meanwhile, Republicans - from the president down - will use Mr Barr's summary to argue that all the investigations into the president's conduct are baseless and should be abandoned.
"This should be a lesson to my Democrat colleagues that chasing imagined scandals and following a partisan investigatory agenda will not result in any meaningful change for the country," writes Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
There are a variety of ongoing investigations into Mr Trump's conduct and that of his businesses. Several of them pose a legitimate threat to the president, both legal and political. Those inquiries will continue unabated.
On Sunday, however, Mr Trump's side landed a powerful talking point to use in the political warfare to come.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47688297
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news_world-us-canada-47688297
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Brexit: We will not back deal which breaks up UK - Leadsom - BBC News
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2019-03-10
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Commons Leader says she is "deeply disappointed" by a proposal from the EU's chief negotiator.
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UK
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Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom is "deeply disappointed" by the EU proposal
The government will not sign up to a Brexit agreement that breaks up the UK, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has said.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday that the UK would be free to leave a proposed single customs territory with the EU - provided Northern Ireland remained within it.
The DUP - the party Theresa May relies on for a majority in Parliament - has rejected the proposal.
The plan is designed to avoid physical checks on the Irish border.
The UK is due to leave on 29 March, although Parliament has yet to agree the terms of withdrawal.
The UK and the EU remain at loggerheads over the contentious issue of the Irish backstop - which is designed to maintain an open border on the island of Ireland by keeping the UK aligned with EU customs rules until the two sides' future relationship is agreed or alternative arrangements are worked out.
The Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has suggested there may be a possible technical solution to the border problem "but only if there is trust and goodwill".
On Friday the EU said it was prepared to include a number of existing commitments relating to the application of the backstop in a legally-binding document.
In a series of tweets Mr Barnier said the UK would not be forced into a customs union against its will through the Northern Ireland backstop.
He said it would be able to exit the single customs territory unilaterally if it chose to do so.
But, he added, Northern Ireland would remain part of the EU's customs territory, subject to many of its rules and regulations.
Mrs Leadsom said she was "deeply disappointed" by the proposal.
She told the BBC: "We will not break up the United Kingdom and have a border down the Irish Sea - so, I have to ask myself: what game are [the EU] playing?"
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay has also been dismissive of Mr Barnier's proposal.
Mr Barclay tweeted on Friday: "With a very real deadline looming, now is not the time to rerun old arguments.
"The UK has put forward clear new proposals. We now need to agree a balanced solution that can work for both sides."
The DUP said the proposal disrespected the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK, and was neither "realistic nor sensible".
The UK government has previously said it will not agree to anything which threatens the constitutional integrity of the UK.
But Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald backed Mr Barnier's position and said the Irish government needed to "hold firm" regardless of "pressure that might be applied from London".
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Meanwhile, a report published on Saturday by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has suggested a "world first" mobile phone identification system could be the way to achieve invisible border controls.
The system would use either the mobile phone network or radio frequency identification to check goods or driver's IDs without them leaving the vehicle, in combination with a trusted trader scheme.
Lars Karlsson, a former director at the World Customs Organisation, said all the separate elements which made up the proposal had been tested "somewhere in the world, just not in one single border".
The border in Northern Ireland would be "the first and a leading example in the world of this kind," he added.
However, the committee urged the UK and EU negotiators to agree on a definition of a hard border by 12 March.
"Mistrust over the backstop protocol has been heightened by lack of clarity on what exactly constitutes a 'hard border'," said chairman Andrew Murrison.
"My committee is calling for clarification of the term in a legally explicit way to ensure both parties share the same understanding of how the backstop can be avoided."
"Time is running out to reach common ground," the Conservative MP warned.
MPs are due to vote again on Theresa May's Brexit deal on Tuesday, but so far the UK has not secured any changes to the withdrawal agreement in its negotiations with Brussels.
UK and EU negotiating teams will meet again over the weekend but correspondents say there is little sign of a breakthrough.
The first Commons vote on the deal was rejected by 432 votes to 202 in January, the largest defeat for a sitting government in history.
Leading Brexiteers are unlikely to change their position on the deal unless Mrs May can secure promises that the backstop will not endure indefinitely.
Remainer Dominic Grieve, who supports a referendum to endorse the terms of Brexit, said it was "hard to see" how Parliament would agree to the current deal.
The Labour leadership is also unlikely to back Mrs May's deal.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47506139
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news_uk-47506139
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Brexit could be lost if deal rejected, Jeremy Hunt says - BBC News
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2019-03-10
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Tories face "devastating" consequences if MPs do not back Theresa May's deal, Jeremy Hunt says.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tells Andrew Marr the Conservative party is "in very perilous waters"
Conservative MPs should back Theresa May's deal this week or risk losing Brexit altogether, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned.
There was "wind in the sails" of those opposing Brexit and the consequences for the party will be "devastating", if it is not delivered, he said.
MPs will vote again on the deal on Tuesday, after rejecting it in January.
Labour's John McDonnell said it looked like the PM had failed to secure any changes and it would be rejected again.
The UK is due to leave on 29 March, although Parliament has yet to agree the terms of withdrawal.
MPs will vote for a second time on Tuesday on the withdrawal deal Mrs May has negotiated with the European Union - after rejecting it by a historic margin in January.
If they reject it again, they will get a vote on leaving without a deal, and if that fails, on delaying the exit date.
Many Conservative Brexiteers voted against the deal in January over concerns about the backstop - a controversial insurance policy designed to prevent physical checks on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
But there have been few visible signs of progress over the issue in continuing talks between EU and UK officials.
Mr Hunt told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show some MPs wanted to "kill" the deal, in order to delay Brexit, with the ultimate aim of getting another referendum on the issue.
"Within three weeks, those people could have two of those three things," he said, adding that Labour's position made the third more likely.
He said: "We are in very perilous waters, and people who want to make sure that we really do deliver this result need to remember that if it fails... they are going to say: 'There was a party that promised to deliver Brexit, we put them into No 10 and they failed', and the consequences for us as a party, would be devastating."
He added: "We have an opportunity now to leave on March 29, or shortly thereafter. And it's very important that we grasp that opportunity because there is wind in the sails of people trying to stop Brexit."
If Parliament approves Mrs May's withdrawal agreement next week and the UK leaves the EU on 29 March, it will begin a transition period, when the two sides will attempt to agree a comprehensive trade deal.
If a trade deal is not agreed by the end of the transition period, the "backstop" plan is designed to maintain an open border on the island of Ireland.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell: "This is the mess the PM has got us into"
It would keep the UK in a "single customs territory" with the EU, and leave Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods.
But some MPs fear that - in its current form - the backstop may leave the UK tied to the EU indefinitely.
On Friday, Mrs May urged the EU to help her get the deal through by resolving concerns about the backstop.
But Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told the BBC: "It looks as though she's bringing back the same deal so it looks as though we will have the same result and it will be thrown out."
He said the party's priority this week would be to stop Theresa May "driving through some sort of Brexit deal that will damage our economy and undermine jobs" and if that meant a delay to allow for a discussion about the deal Labour backs instead "so be it".
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He also denied that Labour's support for keeping the option of another referendum open had been put on the backburner, adding: "If Parliament can't agree, if we have to break the logjam, yes, we will keep the option available of going back to the people."
And he said he believed that Labour's alternative Brexit deal could be agreed with the EU "within a matter of weeks" but said any delay requested should be "as long as is necessary".
Labour's policy is to seek a permanent customs union with the EU after Brexit, which would allow the UK "a say" in future trade deals. Mr McDonnell said the EU had "looked positively" on the proposal.
On Friday, the EU said it would give "legal force" to assurances it has already made about the withdrawal deal and its chief negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted that the UK would be free to leave a proposed single customs territory with the EU - provided Northern Ireland remained within it.
The leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, said she was deeply disappointed by the EU's proposal, which has already been rejected by the UK government.
The Brexit Secretary it was "not the time to rerun old arguments".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47514248
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Man arrested for egging Jeremy Corbyn in Finsbury Park - BBC News
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2019-03-04
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Labour leader was visiting a mosque in north London when the egg was thrown at him on Sunday.
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London
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Jeremy Corbyn had been visiting Finsbury Park mosque when an egg was thrown at him
A man has been arrested after an egg was thrown at Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London.
It happened as Mr Corbyn was visiting a mosque in Seven Sisters Road, not far from where the MP lives, just before 16:00 GMT on Sunday.
The Metropolitan Police said a 41-year-old man was "quickly detained by officers on scene" and arrested on suspicion of assault.
The man is in custody at a north London police station, the force said.
Mr Corbyn had been visiting the Finsbury Park Mosque and Muslim Welfare House to coincide with Visit My Mosque Day.
The Press Association said it was believed Mr Corbyn had been chatting to community leaders when a man came from behind him and hit him on the head with an egg.
The Labour leader is believed to have left with a police escort at about 18:30 GMT.
Mr Corbyn later tweeted about the "fantastic opportunity" Visit My Mosque Day opened up to communities, without mentioning the egging.
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Labour MP Jess Phillips tweeted that "acts of violence against politicians loses your argument, lessens your cause and demeans our democracy".
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A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "On Sunday, March 3 at around 3:52pm an egg was thrown at a Member of Parliament."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-47435623
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news_election-2017-47435623
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A new home for the Gregory's Girl clock? - BBC News
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2019-03-26
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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A long-running debate over the famous clock's true home flares up after another attempt to move it to Glasgow.
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Glasgow & West Scotland
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A landmark clock which featured in the 1981 romantic Scottish comedy Gregory's Girl is at the centre of a debate over its true home. But how did this striking piece wind up in a Lanarkshire shopping arcade - and will it remain there?
It's perhaps unusual for a prominent landmark to go through something of an identity crisis - but then, the St Enoch Station Clock is not your average timepiece.
The clock, which famously appeared in the film Gregory's Girl, was suspended from the roof of the old Glasgow station until its closure in 1966.
It was distinctly Victorian, embroidered with an ornate frill as it ticked out the minutes and hours on Roman numerals.
Even now, it is still fondly remembered as the place where young lovers would often meet before a night on the town.
But just in the way that Glasgow residents were absorbed into Cumbernauld due to an overspill in population, so was the famous clock when it was gifted to the town by businessman Raymond Gillies in the 1970s.
In recent years a debate has arisen over the clock's true home, fuelled by a number of bids to bring it back to Glasgow - most recently from Network Rail who want to install it in the revamped Queen Street Station.
The tug of war over ownership is living proof that the clock's links with both regions are alive and well, according to Cumbernauld community councillor, and author of Cumbernauld Through Time, Adam Smith.
He said: "I know people in Cumbernauld who have strong memories in St Enoch station, including someone who regularly met his now wife for dates under that clock. For him, the clock kept that association and link with Glasgow.
"This debate has been going on for a while. I'm aware that within the last few years there has been a few approaches from Network Rail and others to secure the clock.
"The argument is that, though St Enoch Station is long gone, it should be returned to Glasgow.
"But the clock actually went to auction. Glasgow or the relevant train operator decided they didn't want it, and so it was bought by a private businessman and gifted to Cumbernauld for our 21st birthday. A lot of it was circumstance."
Be it a stroke of fate or not, Cumbernauld embraced the clock with open arms more than four decades ago.
It was installed at a key pedestrian thoroughfare - an atrium between the town centre and the main supermarket Woolco, which is now Asda.
The Queen unveiled the clock in 1977.
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Once again it was passed every day by thousands of commuters, and was even featured in Bill Forsyth's 1981 film Gregory's Girl - appropriately during the scene when Gregory waits for his date Dorothy.
Eventually the walkway was redeveloped and the clock, now known to many as the Cumbernauld clock, was placed into storage.
By 2005 it had been out of the public eye for roughly a decade, a move that incensed locals who regarded the piece as a cinematic treasure.
Clare Grogan and John Gordon Sinclair were a massive success in the 1981 film Gregory's Girl
Eventually it was hung in the newly built Antonine Shopping Centre, which opened in 2007 - and interest in its welfare was far from waning.
Mr Smith said: "Cumbernauld does get quite a lot of tourists.
"People come from all over the world to view it - it does have that legendary status.
"Architectural students ask about it, also people who have the connection with the clock. They want to see it and make sure it's in good working order."
Until last week, the area surrounding the clock was sealed off from the public amid developments at the shopping centre.
It is now back on display, but questions have been raised over its future after Network Rail recently indicated their interest.
The clock on display at the Antonine Shopping Centre
The company hoped to acquire the clock as part of a £100m upgrade to Queen Street Station, which is due for completion in 2019.
A spokesperson said: "We have committed to exploring the possibility of returning the former St Enoch station clock to a railway setting in the redeveloped Queen Street, but any decision on its future would be for the current owners to make."
Councillor Allan Graham, who is chair of Campsies Centre Ltd, maintained the clock is an "important artefact in the town's history".
Plans are in motion to find the clock a new home, but whether that home will be in Cumbernauld is unclear.
Mr Smith said: "The problem is, the clock is very large and heavy.
"The problem is finding somewhere structurally able to cope. The idea is it goes somewhere visible and accessible to as many people as possible.
"Campsies Centre Ltd have kind of been custodians investigating various options - chances are it'll need to be a purpose built area to accommodate it."
• None Gregory and girl go back to school
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-47666900
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news_uk-scotland-glasgow-west-47666900
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Jack Shepherd: Speedboat killer will return to UK - BBC News
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2019-03-26
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Jack Shepherd agrees to return from Georgia, where he hid out, and a judge approves the extradition.
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London
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Prosecutors argued there was nothing to prevent Jack Shepherd being extradited from Georgia
Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd is to be sent back to the UK after agreeing to his extradition from Georgia.
The 31-year-old went on the run before his trial where he was found guilty of manslaughter following a speedboat crash on the River Thames which killed Charlotte Brown.
After months in hiding in the capital, Tbilisi, he handed himself into police and was jailed for three months.
Shepherd has been granted the right to appeal against his UK conviction.
Judge Arsen Kalatozishvili agreed to the extradition going ahead, following a hearing at Tbilisi City Court.
The court heard Shepherd's extradition order was based on both the manslaughter offence and a separate assault charge.
The second charge relates to an incident - shortly before Shepherd fled to Tbilisi - in Moretonhampstead, Devon, on 16 March 2018.
Shepherd is accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
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Defence lawyers said Shepherd had agreed to be extradited, but only if his safety was taken into consideration by the judge.
Speaking before the hearing, his lawyer Mariam Kublashvili told Rustavi-2 TV Shepherd feared for his safety in the UK.
She said: "Because of the attitude of the British media and public he truly does not feel himself to be human."
Shepherd's boat was found to have several defects
Outlining the extradition case, prosecutor Naniko Zazunashvili argued there was nothing to prevent Shepherd being sent back to the UK.
Ms Zazunashvili said: "He knew the boat was not in good working order and knew Charlotte Brown had no skills to control the boat - and he let her control the boat.
"While being on board the boat Jack Shepherd took obligation to take care of Charlotte Brown, but this obligation was violated.
"He knew boat was in poor working order. We are sure that if he is extradited there will be no threat to his life."
MP James Brokenshire said Charlotte Brown's family "clearly welcome the news" that Shepherd agreed to be extradited.
"It is their wish that he now accepts responsibility and atones for his actions, also that he drops the appeal against his conviction which can only cause more pain and anguish," he added.
Jack Shepherd gave himself up in the former Soviet state in January after months on the run
In Courtroom Number 3, Jack Shepherd sat impassively while his fate was being decided.
After the prosecution had set out the case for extradition, Shepherd's defence team dismissed the arguments as "groundless".
But Shepherd had already decided to return to Britain. "He agrees to extradition," announced one of the defence lawyers.
When the judge invited him to speak, Shepherd confirmed the decision. He was ready to return to the UK, he said, because he wanted to take part in his Appeal Court hearing.
Two months after he handed himself in to Georgian police, the legal process in Georgia appears to be nearing its conclusion. The extradition order will need to be approved by the Georgian Justice Minister, before Shepherd can leave Georgia.
One of Shepherd's lawyers in Georgia, Tariel Kakabadze, said he could return to the UK within two weeks.
Shepherd met Ms Brown online and they went on a date on 8 December. He invited her to go on a speedboat ride.
They were thrown from the boat when it hit branches in the water near Wandsworth Bridge at about midnight.
Ms Brown, from Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, was found in the water unconscious and unresponsive. Shepherd was clinging to the upturned boat.
Shepherd made his first appearance at the Old Bailey on 26 January 2018, when he entered a not guilty plea to a charge of manslaughter by gross negligence.
He was released on unconditional bail by Judge Richard Marks QC, but failed to show up for his trial and was later sentenced in his absence to six years in jail.
Despite being on the run, Shepherd won the right to appeal against his conviction.
However, the Court of Appeal said Shepherd had been refused permission to appeal against his sentence.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-47703517
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news_uk-england-london-47703517
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Team Sky set to name new sponsor as Ineos, owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe - BBC Sport
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2019-03-18
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Team Sky are set to announce a new sponsor - owned by Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
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Last updated on .From the section Cycling
Team Sky are set to announce a new sponsor - owned by Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The broadcaster said in December that it would end its decade-long commitment at the end of 2019, during which time Team Sky have won eight Grand Tours.
The team will be renamed Team Ineos - after the chemicals giant that billionaire Ratcliffe owns.
Ratcliffe is worth £21bn and has been in talks with Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford for several weeks.
Team Sky was launched in January 2010 and has since amassed 327 victories, including those eight Grand Tour triumphs.
Current riders Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas have won five Tours de France between them, and Welshman Thomas signed a new three-year deal in September after winning his first Tour last July.
Ineos is Britain's largest privately owned company and in 2018 posted annual pre-tax profits of £2bn.
Ratcliffe has already invested £110m in Ben Ainslie's Americas Cup team.
Former Team Sky rider Bradley Wiggins, who won the 2012 Tour de France, said the partnership between Brailsford and Ratcliffe could be "ideal".
Talking on Eurosport's The Bradley Wiggins Show, he said: "I think he would have been reluctant to have another multinational company that came in and wanted the control in terms of 'this is how we advertise our company'.
"Ratcliffe is the richest man in Britain and you would imagine that the kind of money they have asked for is nothing to him.
"Dave can continue running this team with all his plans and philosophies, so it's an ideal situation for him and you'd imagine he is answerable to one man."
Team Sky have dominated the Tour de France in recent years, winning six of the past seven editions, while Froome also won the 2017 Vuelta a Espana and the 2018 Giro d'Italia.
However, the efficient style and big spending that underpinned Sky's success has been unpopular with some fans, particularly in France.
The team has also been subject to allegations of cheating.
Froome, 33, had an anti-doping case brought against him and subsequently dropped by governing body the UCI, while former rider Bradley Wiggins has faced questions over his use of a medical exemption for hayfever medication.
The UK Anti-Doping Agency also conducted a 14-month investigation into a 'mystery package' delivered to then-team doctor Richard Freeman on the final day of Wiggins' successful Criterium du Dauphine bid in 2011.
Team Sky, Froome and Wiggins deny any wrongdoing in all three cases.
This has been a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for arguably the country's most successful and controversial sports team.
Only a year ago, a group of MPs accused Team Sky of "crossing the ethical line". Although that was denied, once Sky announced it was pulling out, the future looked bleak.
Some felt team boss Sir Dave Brailsford's bid to find a saviour could be scuppered by the medical tribunal of the team's ex-doctor. Richard Freeman denied a charge that he ordered a mystery delivery of testosterone to help a rider to cheat.
But the case was bogged down in legal argument, then adjourned, damaging headlines were avoided, and now the team has been saved.
From TUEs to jiffybags, Sir Jim Ratcliffe will have weighed up the team's various scandals in recent years, but concluded their unprecedented success is worth being associated with.
This will come as a huge relief to the team's staff and fans who will be delighted that its star riders will now stay. Others however will be concerned that the dominance of cycling's wealthiest team could continue, making races too predictable.
Joining forces with Ratcliffe allows the team to preserve its British identity, although some will point out reports of the billionaire's controversial recent move to Monaco for tax reasons.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47608625
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West Kensington stabbing: Four held on suspicion of murder - BBC News
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2019-03-08
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The 17-year-old victim was found with multiple stab wounds in West Kensington on Thursday afternoon.
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London
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Ayub Hassan was described as "very kind and handsome" by a family friend
Four people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a teenage boy was stabbed to death in west London.
Seventeen-year-old Ayub Hassan was found with multiple stab wounds to the chest in Lanfrey Place, West Kensington, on Thursday afternoon.
He was taken to hospital but died soon after. His family has been informed.
The Met said four teenagers had been arrested on suspicion of murder and are in custody. Two of them are aged 15, and the other suspects are 17 and 18.
Four males aged 18, 17, 15 and 15 have been arrested on suspicion of murder
Ayub was a former student at West London College who said they were "deeply saddened" by his death.
"We wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to his family and many friends as they deal with the tragic loss of a loved one," a spokeswoman for the college said.
Flowers have been laid near where the 17-year-old was found
Neighbour Rosie Hayes said she noticed "a group of four guys" near her home who "started calling for help" so she and another person went to assist them where they found the victim.
"They were upset and maybe a little bit aggressive too. There was obviously a bit of an argument going on... they didn't know how to deal with the situation," she said.
Amina Osman, who said she was a family friend, described the 17-year-old as "very kind and handsome".
While laying flowers at the scene, she told reporters this was "the fourth attempt on his life."
Flowers have been laid near where the 17-year-old was found
Ch Supt Rob Jones said the killing would have a "devastating effect... not only on the victim's loved ones, but also on the wider community".
He added there would be a heightened visible police presence in the area "to prevent any potential further incidents."
The victim is the 6th teenager to be stabbed to death in the capital this year.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-47495232
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news_uk-england-london-47495232
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Jeremy Corbyn makes plea for Labour unity - BBC News
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2019-03-08
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Jeremy Corbyn tells the Scottish Labour conference that the party must unite if it is to get into government.
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Scotland politics
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Jeremy Corbyn told Labour delegates that they must be "united" to get into government
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has issued a plea for unity in his speech to the party's Scottish conference in Dundee.
The build-up to the conference has seen continuing disagreements within the party about its approach to Brexit and how to tackle anti-Semitism.
Mr Corbyn told delegates that to get into government "we have to be united".
And he said Labour "must lead the fight against all types of racism" and "root out anti-Semitism in our party and in society at large".
This came after the leader of the party's group in the Lords wrote to Mr Corbyn complaining that handling of anti-Semitism complaints had been an "embarrassing mess" and a "political failure".
Mr Corbyn was the main speaker on the first day of the conference in Dundee, with Scottish leader Richard Leonard to address delegates on Saturday and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell speaking on Sunday.
As well as the leaders' speeches, the conference is to feature debates about healthcare, the economy, education and Scotland's place in the world - with a series of local party motions lodged on the topic of a fresh EU referendum for the latter.
Richard Leonard will address the conference on Saturday
The build-up to the conference - the party's first major gathering since eight MPs quit to sit as a new "Independent Group" at Westminster - has been hit by rows over Brexit and anti-Semitism.
Former leader Kezia Dugdale complained that references to a second EU referendum had been removed from a conference report from the party's Scottish MEPs - something described as a "genuine misunderstanding" by a Labour source.
And bosses averted a fresh row over anti-Semitism by promising to publish a statement from the party executive in lieu of an emergency debate on the topic at the conference, which some local groups had been pushing for.
Mr Corbyn told delegates that Labour could get into power in London and Edinburgh, but warned them that "to get there, we have to be united".
He continued: "That doesn't mean we have no room for disagreement. Discussion and debate are the lifeblood of our democracy. But there is no justification for the abuse of anybody.
"Racism, religious bigotry and misogyny have no place whatsoever in our movement.
"And we will root out anti-Semitism in our party, and in society at large. We, the Labour Party, must lead the fight against all types of racism."
He later added that unity was the party's "greatest asset", saying: "The only thing that can hold us back is if we were to turn our fire on each other rather than on the Tory government.
"With the Conservatives in disarray, now is the time to come together and defeat them."
Shadow Scottish Secretary Lesley Laird made similar arguments in her speech on Friday morning, telling delegates that "unity is key to any winning team".
And both politicians hit out at constitutional "obsessions" of other parties, contrasting Labour with the Conservatives and the SNP.
Mr Corbyn said the dominance of issues like Brexit and Scottish independence "borders almost on the obsessive", taking attention away from other issues.
He said: "The truth about Labour is, we're not obsessed by constitutional issues like the others are. We're absolutely obsessed with tackling the problems people face in their daily lives.
"Ending insecurity at work. Ending poverty wages. Ending the cuts to our public services.
"Because we believe that the real divide in our society is not between people who voted yes or no for independence. And it's not between people who voted to remain or to leave the EU.
"The real divide is between the many - who do the work, create the wealth and pay their taxes - and the few, who set the rules, reap the rewards and dodge their taxes."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-47488357
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news_uk-scotland-scotland-politics-47488357
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Brexit could be lost if deal rejected, Jeremy Hunt says - BBC News
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2019-03-11
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Tories face "devastating" consequences if MPs do not back Theresa May's deal, Jeremy Hunt says.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tells Andrew Marr the Conservative party is "in very perilous waters"
Conservative MPs should back Theresa May's deal this week or risk losing Brexit altogether, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned.
There was "wind in the sails" of those opposing Brexit and the consequences for the party will be "devastating", if it is not delivered, he said.
MPs will vote again on the deal on Tuesday, after rejecting it in January.
Labour's John McDonnell said it looked like the PM had failed to secure any changes and it would be rejected again.
The UK is due to leave on 29 March, although Parliament has yet to agree the terms of withdrawal.
MPs will vote for a second time on Tuesday on the withdrawal deal Mrs May has negotiated with the European Union - after rejecting it by a historic margin in January.
If they reject it again, they will get a vote on leaving without a deal, and if that fails, on delaying the exit date.
Many Conservative Brexiteers voted against the deal in January over concerns about the backstop - a controversial insurance policy designed to prevent physical checks on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
But there have been few visible signs of progress over the issue in continuing talks between EU and UK officials.
Mr Hunt told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show some MPs wanted to "kill" the deal, in order to delay Brexit, with the ultimate aim of getting another referendum on the issue.
"Within three weeks, those people could have two of those three things," he said, adding that Labour's position made the third more likely.
He said: "We are in very perilous waters, and people who want to make sure that we really do deliver this result need to remember that if it fails... they are going to say: 'There was a party that promised to deliver Brexit, we put them into No 10 and they failed', and the consequences for us as a party, would be devastating."
He added: "We have an opportunity now to leave on March 29, or shortly thereafter. And it's very important that we grasp that opportunity because there is wind in the sails of people trying to stop Brexit."
If Parliament approves Mrs May's withdrawal agreement next week and the UK leaves the EU on 29 March, it will begin a transition period, when the two sides will attempt to agree a comprehensive trade deal.
If a trade deal is not agreed by the end of the transition period, the "backstop" plan is designed to maintain an open border on the island of Ireland.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell: "This is the mess the PM has got us into"
It would keep the UK in a "single customs territory" with the EU, and leave Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods.
But some MPs fear that - in its current form - the backstop may leave the UK tied to the EU indefinitely.
On Friday, Mrs May urged the EU to help her get the deal through by resolving concerns about the backstop.
But Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told the BBC: "It looks as though she's bringing back the same deal so it looks as though we will have the same result and it will be thrown out."
He said the party's priority this week would be to stop Theresa May "driving through some sort of Brexit deal that will damage our economy and undermine jobs" and if that meant a delay to allow for a discussion about the deal Labour backs instead "so be it".
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He also denied that Labour's support for keeping the option of another referendum open had been put on the backburner, adding: "If Parliament can't agree, if we have to break the logjam, yes, we will keep the option available of going back to the people."
And he said he believed that Labour's alternative Brexit deal could be agreed with the EU "within a matter of weeks" but said any delay requested should be "as long as is necessary".
Labour's policy is to seek a permanent customs union with the EU after Brexit, which would allow the UK "a say" in future trade deals. Mr McDonnell said the EU had "looked positively" on the proposal.
On Friday, the EU said it would give "legal force" to assurances it has already made about the withdrawal deal and its chief negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted that the UK would be free to leave a proposed single customs territory with the EU - provided Northern Ireland remained within it.
The leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, said she was deeply disappointed by the EU's proposal, which has already been rejected by the UK government.
The Brexit Secretary it was "not the time to rerun old arguments".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47514248
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Brexit march: Remainer walks 200 miles to join protest - BBC News
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2019-03-23
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Ed Sides set off two and a half weeks ago and talked to Brexiteers along the way.
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Wales
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Members of Swansea 4 Europe bade farewell to Ed Sides (left) as his walk began on 6 March
A man has walked 200 miles to join a march in London in favour of another EU referendum, engaging with Brexit supporters along the way.
Ed Sides set off from Swansea two and a half weeks ago and has "taken time to listen as much as talk".
Wales for Europe had booked out 30 coaches to transport protesters to Saturday's demonstration.
But one Leave supporter said a fresh vote would just prolong the arguments for another three years.
Others from across Wales made their own way to Hyde Park for the march.
Ed Sides and his wife Rhiannon Barrar in Hyde Park following their arrival in London
Mr Sides, who was joined by his wife Rhiannon Barrar for part of the journey, set out on foot from Swansea on 6 March.
"I set out on the walk to raise attention to our cause, but also to prove that just because you're passionate about something it doesn't mean you have to rubbish opposing opinions," he said.
"We need a kinder, more rational debate about Brexit, and everywhere I've stopped I've taken the time to listen as much as talk."
Hundreds of campaigners from Wales attended the march
Welsh Government ministers Vaughan Gething and Eluned Morgan were among the many politicians joining the march in London.
The UK had been due to leave the EU on 29 March, but that date has now been put back to 12 April, as MPs try to find a way forward.
Prime Minister Theresa May's exit deal, negotiated with the EU over two years has been voted down twice in parliament, once by a record margin.
MPs are now divided on what direction to take next - some want to leave without a deal, others want to not leave at all, and some want another referendum.
In the 2016 referendum, Wales voted 52.5% to 47.5% in favour of leave, a slightly higher margin than the UK as a whole at 51.9% to 48.1%.
But Peter Gilbey, director of the anti-Brexit campaign group Wales for Europe, believed the mood had shifted over the past three years.
"Those who were ardent Remainers are probably more so now, and likewise with Leavers, but equally those who were uncertain in 2016 are even more confused than ever," he said.
"The argument that a second referendum would be a betrayal of the people makes no sense; how can more information and more democracy equal less democracy?"
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However, retired Swansea builder Fred Jones, who voted Leave, told BBC Wales he found arguments espoused by some Remainers patronising.
"I wouldn't say that I'm passionate one way or the other, but I am fed up of being told I voted Leave because I am in my nineties, or because I'm stupid and didn't know what I was voting for," he said.
"I knew full well that leaving was going to cause upheaval and hardship in the short term, but would eventually allow Britain to decide for ourselves what sort of country we want to be.
"But the main reason why I don't believe in another referendum is that it will solve nothing - we'll be having the same arguments in three years' time."
Organisers claim more than a million people took part in the March in London on Saturday
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47670317
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'Millennial burnout': this is how it feels - BBC Three
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2019-03-01
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I don’t remember the last time I relaxed. Honestly? I don’t know how to. Every time I try to read a book or watch TV, I think about what I have to do next, or my ‘to-do’ list flashes before my eyes. I feel guilty because I know that I could be cleaning my flat, or at the gym, or buying a birthday present for my boyfriend’s mum.
My brain never stops. I’m constantly on hyper-alert about the things I should be doing – but just can’t bring myself to do. I already suffer from anxiety and depression, and this stress has disrupted my sleep and led me to have mild insomnia.
I think I’m one of many in my generation suffering from ‘millennial burnout’. This is not currently a recognised medical condition, and there are no specific stats for it, but in the UK, 74% of us are so stressed we’ve been unable to cope. That same study found that 49% of 18-24-year-olds who have experienced high levels of stress felt that comparing themselves to others was a source of stress, which was higher than in any of the older age groups. This is essentially burnout - a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion.
The idea that millennials are experiencing a specific type of ‘burnout’ was first popularised by BuzzFeed writer Anne Helen Petersen. Her much-shared article on the subject points to the fact that the line between work and life is so blurred for many of us that there is no work-life balance anymore. Plus, we’re online 24/7, so we’re always expected to be available, whether it’s work emails, social messages, or looking for love. It doesn’t even stop on holiday. Her article provoked a wide-ranging response, which she edited down into a follow-up piece.
Anne Helen believes one of the biggest signs you're suffering from this is ‘errand paralysis’, where minor tasks such as going to the bank or returning an online order just feel impossible.
“None of these tasks were that hard,” she wrote. “It’s not as if I were slacking in the rest of my life. But when it came to the mundane, the medium priority, the stuff that wouldn’t make my job easier or my work better, I avoided it. The more I tried to figure out my errand paralysis, the more the actual parameters of burnout began to reveal themselves… It’s not limited to workers in acutely high-stress environments. And it’s not a temporary affliction: It’s the millennial condition.”
This is something I fully relate to.
While I'm doing well in my career, my personal life admin is a mess
My job is a big priority for me, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to work hard. It means I'm always on – replying to emails at all hours, and bringing my work laptop home at night. But while I'm doing well in my career, my personal life admin is a mess. I have endless to-do lists that I never complete. Recently, I even made a list of lists and sectioned it off into the different rooms of my flat, with a weekly list of chores to do by each room.
Then I have a list of appointments I need to make, and a shopping list I know I’ll never buy half the stuff on, like ingredients to make packed lunches for the week in order to save money. I often send myself reminder emails the night before I get into work, so when I’m at my desk, they’re at the top of my inbox.
It’s my way of trying to stay in control of my spiralling life admin, but when I end up not doing the things on my list, I’m left feeling even more overwhelmed. Then I bury my head in the sand so I don’t have to think about everything I’m not doing - and end up less productive than before. It’s a vicious circle.
And it’s about more than about making lists. I tend to break my life up into compartments: work, relationship, friends, and family. I want to give all of them equal attention, but I can’t do that because there just isn't enough time, so then I feel stressed, guilty, and permanently tired.
It’s affecting all areas of my life and I just don’t see an end in sight
I overcommit constantly but always manage to make my deadlines with work. The sacrifices are more in my social life where I’ve ended up having to cancel nights out last minute and let down friends who end up angry and disappointed.
It’s affecting all areas of my life and I just don’t see an end in sight. This is the main symptom of ‘millennial burnout’, according to British psychotherapist Beverley Hills. While the condition isn’t medically recognised, Hills says it is something she has seen in her clients.
“You can feel stress, insomnia, self-doubt, cynicism, and as though you're in a void, like, ‘How can I possibly succeed when there are not enough resources left for me?’ There will be emotional exhaustion, a feeling of dissatisfaction, inadequacy, and also anger, and maybe physical pain that could take the form of Fibromyalgia or constant feelings of ‘unwellness'," she says.
She believes that this burnout can be brought on by “over-expectations from parents, careers, and society”. It’s exacerbated by social media because of the constant pressure to be living your best life, which “leads to a fear of failure and, conversely, a fear of success: 'If I achieve all that, how can I possibly keep it up? I may as well not even try'."
In extreme situations, she says it can even lead to depression or suicidal thoughts, and urges people experiencing millennial burnout to seek medical help like counselling.
For me, one of the hardest parts about millennial burnout is that I don’t feel I’m ‘allowed’ to be this tired. I don’t think I’ve earned it or done enough to warrant having burnout. I always compare myself to my mum, who was a single mother working two or three jobs at a time to raise me and my siblings in Wales. I always think, 'How could my mum work all these jobs, cook for us, clean, have all our school uniforms ironed and never complain?' Then I feel worse for whining.
But, at the same time, things have changed for our generation. We've internalised the idea that we need to be working all the time, and that being average is no longer enough; we have to always be achieving. Plus, our lives are a lot more 'out there' for everyone to see with social media. My mum had no one to prove to on a daily basis that she was keeping us alive, and that we had the latest toy or computer game. She’s really sympathetic to what I’m going through, and obviously worried about me, but sometimes talking to her makes me feel worse because I can’t help comparing myself unfavourably to her.
It’s all about being hyper-healthy, hyper-clued-up, hyper-fashionable - and it’s exhausting
The idea of what a successful career should look like has also changed for my generation. It used to be about earning a decent salary, but now it feels like we need to do that as well as have a cool, exciting job you’re passionate about. It’s the same with being healthy. For my mum, that meant eating three balanced meals and having clean clothes. For us, that means going to the gym at 5am, doing a run post-work to get cardio in, eating kale at every possible opportunity, and cleansing my skin all the time or I’ll get wrinkles. It’s all about being hyper-healthy, hyper-clued-up, hyper-fashionable - and it’s exhausting.
Last year, I felt so bad that I thought I was going to have a breakdown. I’d been feeling burnt out for months, and with my to-do list growing as much as my stress levels, I wasn’t coping well. I could barely get out of bed or motivate myself to do the simplest of tasks. I was constantly stressed, and I didn’t feel like myself at all. I was snapping at my boyfriend, because I had no emotional energy left to give – I was so focused on trying to get through the day. He was worried about me because I wasn’t myself, and I even had physical symptoms: my skin broke out with acne for the first time and became flushed with the skin condition rosacea.
I was constantly sweating, because I was on hyper-alert - waiting for the next thing to worry about. Eventually, I booked an appointment to see my doctor and told him I felt like I was about to break. He said my anxiety and depression symptoms were exacerbated by feeling burnout, and suggested I take some time off for my mental health. I wasn’t surprised by his diagnosis, but the thought of being allowed to stop was such a relief.
I took a few weeks off work where I had absolutely nothing to do. I still had my to-do lists going round in my head, and felt like I needed to make the most of my time off, but I was also so exhausted that I just slept. In the end, the time off helped, but a year later, the burnout still hasn’t gone away. I'm now looking into therapy as my doctor suggested - even though that’s now a new source of stress as I’m struggling to find an affordable one.
I'm also doing a lot of reading up on how to manage stress. My go-to is to flare up in an argument with my boyfriend because I’m so on edge, but I don’t want to be like that, so I’m trying to find other ways of channelling how I’m feeling instead, like doing creative writing.
I’m also trying to see more of my friends and talk to them about what I’m going through, because I know a lot of them feel the same way. Last year, I spent a lot of time staying at home trying to get through my lists, and felt guilty about going for beers with my friends and wasting money. But now I need to remind myself that being with people helps because it makes me feel less alone, and it takes me out of my head.
I know a lot of people think this is another typical ‘millennial snowflake’ issue. But the world changes and generations adapt. I know life was also difficult for our parents and grandparents, with a lot more hard graft, but things are tough now in different ways. If previous generations knew what I went through on a daily basis, they wouldn’t think of millennials as lazy and entitled. We’re just trying to do our best, and often, it's harder than it looks.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help and support is available.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/c384d54a-0116-437f-83e8-ddbca65b6c06
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ree_article_c384d54a-0116-437f-83e8-ddbca65b6c06
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£7,500 tuition fees plan faces Brexit delay - BBC News
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2019-03-01
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Review expected to recommend a cut in university tuition fees, but more funding for vocational training.
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Family & Education
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The review of university tuition fees in England has been caught in a Brexit gridlock - and might be delayed until May or later, according to sources.
The government-commissioned review of student finance is expected to call for a cut in fees, with the figure of £7,500 now being floated.
The review will send a tough message to universities about value for money.
But further education and skills are expected to be given much more support, including easier access to loans.
University leaders are braced for a recommendation to cut fees from the review chaired by Philip Augar, with private expectations that the current £9,250 will be cut to about £7,500, rather than the £6,500 first suggested.
But it seems increasingly likely that the all-consuming politics and economic uncertainty of Brexit have pushed back the review.
There are also claims of significant differences in what 10 Downing Street, the Treasury and the Department for Education want from the shake-up of fees.
According to sources, a headline cut in fees is seen as important for the prime minister's office - described as being the "retail offer" needed to respond to Labour in a general election.
Universities are anxious about whether any cut in fees will be fully replaced by direct funding - and this, according to sources, is part of the Brexit-related delay.
Theresa May commissioned the review to find better value for money for students
The Treasury does not want to commit to extra direct funding while there is such uncertainty about future public finances.
But at the same time, the Department for Education is reluctant to go ahead with a cut in students' fees until it is clear how that income could be replaced.
The debate is said to be "stuck on the roundabout" - and even when the Augar review publishes its findings, there could be delays before the government responds with any decision.
This might not be until the autumn or later - in a political calendar full of uncertainties about budgets, elections and leaders.
However, other senior university figures say the prime minister might want to push ahead with changing fees as soon as Brexit has been achieved, as a way of showing the government still has a grip on domestic policy.
There are suggestions that the DfE has been fighting a rearguard action over reducing fees - against more sceptical voices who want to put pressure on what they see as expensive fees, expensive vice-chancellors and low-value courses.
This week Education Secretary Damian Hinds spoke in defence of the current fees system, saying there was no evidence it deterred disadvantaged youngsters.
But universities are expecting this to be a challenging review for them, which will want to rebalance funding and political focus towards further education, adult education and vocational skills.
This is likely to mean more financial support for further education colleges and access to loans for vocational students, with more funding expected through the spending review if not the Augar review process.
The aim is to make technical education a much more attractive option.
But Dr Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group of universities, said: "It is high time colleges received proper support, but it makes no sense to do this by punishing university students.
"Why take aim at a national asset? Diminishing our higher education sector through reduced funding would be an act of self-harm."
Universities seem likely to face tough questions about value for money and whether students should be funded to study courses which give them low financial returns.
Ideas have been floated for limiting student numbers - such as not allowing grants for students below three D grades.
But this suggestion, considered and discarded by the previous fees review a decade ago, would raise accusations of adversely affecting new universities, some with already fragile finances, who are doing the most work in social mobility.
There could be more scrutiny of university spending on widening access to disadvantaged groups, currently costing £860m per year, with suggestions of a more centralised approach.
Another big factor influencing the review is the accounting decision of the Office for National Statistics to add £12bn of the cost of student finance to the deficit.
This is said to have forcefully "concentrated minds" on the real cost of fees and loans.
The return of maintenance grants for students from low-income families is also under consideration - and there has been pressure for a reduction in interest charges on loan repayments.
There are also arguments that when the review is so strongly linked to Theresa May, any change at the top could see it disappearing into the long grass.
Charles Heymann, a higher education consultant who formerly worked at the DfE, says: "It wouldn't be the first education review to end up gathering dust on Whitehall shelves.
"Brexit means ministers have limited political bandwidth, legislative space or civil service capacity to push any major new domestic programme.
"The final report will no doubt be well-evidenced, well-argued and compelling - but it's at the mercy of political forces well beyond its control. It's just not clear whether it will form the basis of radical, long-term tertiary education reform or whether it is dead on arrival."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-47405054
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news_education-47405054
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Vaccination deniers gaining traction, NHS boss warns - BBC News
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2019-03-01
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The NHS is considering what it can do to stop anti-vaccination messages spreading, Simon Stevens says.
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Health
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The head of NHS England has warned that "vaccination deniers" are gaining traction on social media as part of a "fake news" movement.
Simon Stevens said parents were seeing "fake messages" online about vaccines, which was making it harder to "win the public argument" on vaccination.
NHS England is considering what action can be taken to stop such messages spreading, Mr Stevens said.
He said the health service needed to support parents on the issue.
Speaking at a health summit held by the Nuffield Trust think tank, Mr Stevens said that there had been a "steady decline" in the uptake of the measles vaccine over the last five years.
He went on to describe the uptake of the MMR vaccine among five-year-olds in England (87.5% compared with the World Health Organization target of 95%) as a "real problem".
He said: "Across the world, two to three million lives are saved each year by vaccination.
"But as part of the fake news movement, actually the vaccination deniers are getting some traction...
"We are not being helped on this front by the fact that although nine in 10 parents support vaccination, half of them say they have seen fake messages about vaccination on social media."
Mr Stevens said parents at his daughter's primary school have expressed concern about vaccines.
"This is probably not something I should be saying, but I'll anonymously read you one of the WhatsApp messages from one of the parents.
"'My kids aren't vulnerable and I think loading up on vaccines blocks their systems from fighting disease as it should do'."
"We have a responsibility for the nine out of 10 to really explain it's not just of interest for your own children but herd immunity for other children as well."
In January, the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) warned that social media is helping to spread "misleading and dangerous information" about vaccines.
Experts called for more to be done to challenge untruths about possible side effects of vaccines and said that social media giants should clamp down on "fake news".
The study said social media is a "breeding ground for misleading information and negative messaging around vaccination".
Mr Stevens added: "Frankly it's as irresponsible to tell parents that their children shouldn't be vaccinated as it is to say don't bother - to your kids on their way to primary school - to look both ways when they cross the road.
"As a health service we've really got to help support parents on this."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-47417966
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news_health-47417966
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Brexit: We will not back deal which breaks up UK - Leadsom - BBC News
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2019-03-09
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Commons Leader says she is "deeply disappointed" by a proposal from the EU's chief negotiator.
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UK
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Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom is "deeply disappointed" by the EU proposal
The government will not sign up to a Brexit agreement that breaks up the UK, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has said.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday that the UK would be free to leave a proposed single customs territory with the EU - provided Northern Ireland remained within it.
The DUP - the party Theresa May relies on for a majority in Parliament - has rejected the proposal.
The plan is designed to avoid physical checks on the Irish border.
The UK is due to leave on 29 March, although Parliament has yet to agree the terms of withdrawal.
The UK and the EU remain at loggerheads over the contentious issue of the Irish backstop - which is designed to maintain an open border on the island of Ireland by keeping the UK aligned with EU customs rules until the two sides' future relationship is agreed or alternative arrangements are worked out.
The Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has suggested there may be a possible technical solution to the border problem "but only if there is trust and goodwill".
On Friday the EU said it was prepared to include a number of existing commitments relating to the application of the backstop in a legally-binding document.
In a series of tweets Mr Barnier said the UK would not be forced into a customs union against its will through the Northern Ireland backstop.
He said it would be able to exit the single customs territory unilaterally if it chose to do so.
But, he added, Northern Ireland would remain part of the EU's customs territory, subject to many of its rules and regulations.
Mrs Leadsom said she was "deeply disappointed" by the proposal.
She told the BBC: "We will not break up the United Kingdom and have a border down the Irish Sea - so, I have to ask myself: what game are [the EU] playing?"
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay has also been dismissive of Mr Barnier's proposal.
Mr Barclay tweeted on Friday: "With a very real deadline looming, now is not the time to rerun old arguments.
"The UK has put forward clear new proposals. We now need to agree a balanced solution that can work for both sides."
The DUP said the proposal disrespected the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK, and was neither "realistic nor sensible".
The UK government has previously said it will not agree to anything which threatens the constitutional integrity of the UK.
But Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald backed Mr Barnier's position and said the Irish government needed to "hold firm" regardless of "pressure that might be applied from London".
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Meanwhile, a report published on Saturday by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has suggested a "world first" mobile phone identification system could be the way to achieve invisible border controls.
The system would use either the mobile phone network or radio frequency identification to check goods or driver's IDs without them leaving the vehicle, in combination with a trusted trader scheme.
Lars Karlsson, a former director at the World Customs Organisation, said all the separate elements which made up the proposal had been tested "somewhere in the world, just not in one single border".
The border in Northern Ireland would be "the first and a leading example in the world of this kind," he added.
However, the committee urged the UK and EU negotiators to agree on a definition of a hard border by 12 March.
"Mistrust over the backstop protocol has been heightened by lack of clarity on what exactly constitutes a 'hard border'," said chairman Andrew Murrison.
"My committee is calling for clarification of the term in a legally explicit way to ensure both parties share the same understanding of how the backstop can be avoided."
"Time is running out to reach common ground," the Conservative MP warned.
MPs are due to vote again on Theresa May's Brexit deal on Tuesday, but so far the UK has not secured any changes to the withdrawal agreement in its negotiations with Brussels.
UK and EU negotiating teams will meet again over the weekend but correspondents say there is little sign of a breakthrough.
The first Commons vote on the deal was rejected by 432 votes to 202 in January, the largest defeat for a sitting government in history.
Leading Brexiteers are unlikely to change their position on the deal unless Mrs May can secure promises that the backstop will not endure indefinitely.
Remainer Dominic Grieve, who supports a referendum to endorse the terms of Brexit, said it was "hard to see" how Parliament would agree to the current deal.
The Labour leadership is also unlikely to back Mrs May's deal.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47506139
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news_uk-47506139
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Team Sky become Team Ineos as new sponsor owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe is confirmed - BBC Sport
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2019-03-19
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[]
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Team Sky change their name to Team Ineos as they announce a new sponsor - a company owned by Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
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Last updated on .From the section Cycling
Team Sky have officially become Team Ineos to reflect their new sponsor, a chemicals firm owned by Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Broadcaster Sky said in December it would end its decade-long commitment at the end of 2019, during which time the team Sky have won eight Grand Tours.
Ratcliffe is worth £21bn and has been in talks with Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford for several weeks.
The new team's launch will take place at the Tour de Yorkshire on 2 May.
Ineos will become the sole owners of the team from 1 May and says it "will continue to fund the current team in full, honouring all existing commitments to riders, staff and partners".
• None BeSpoke podcast: What does this mean for the future of cycling?
Ratcliffe, chairman and chief executive of Ineos, said: "Cycling is a great endurance and tactical sport that is gaining ever more popularity around the world.
"Equally, cycling continues to mushroom for the general public as it is seen to be good for fitness and health, together with easing congestion and pollution in city environments.
"Ineos is delighted to take on the responsibility of running such a professional team."
Team Sky was launched in January 2010 and has amassed 327 victories since, including the eight Grand Tours.
Current riders Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas have won five Tours de France between them, and Welshman Thomas signed a new three-year deal in September after winning his first Tour last July.
Brailsford, who will continue in his role as team principal, said: "Today's announcement is great news for the team, for cycling fans, and for the sport more widely.
"It ends the uncertainty around the team and the speed with which it has happened represents a huge vote of confidence in our future.
"In Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos, I know we have found the right partner whose vision, passion and pioneering spirit can lead us to even greater success on and off the bike. It heralds the start of a hugely exciting new chapter for us all as Team Ineos."
Ineos is Britain's largest privately owned company and in 2018 posted annual pre-tax profits of £2bn.
Ratcliffe has already invested £110m in Ben Ainslie's Americas Cup team.
Team Sky have dominated the Tour de France in recent years, winning six of the past seven editions, while Froome also won the 2017 Vuelta a Espana and the 2018 Giro d'Italia.
However, the efficient style and big spending that underpinned Sky's success has been unpopular with some fans, particularly in France.
The team has also been subject to allegations of cheating.
Froome, 33, had an anti-doping case brought against him and subsequently dropped by governing body the UCI, while former rider Bradley Wiggins has faced questions over his use of a medical exemption for hayfever medication.
The UK Anti-Doping Agency also conducted a 14-month investigation into a 'mystery package' delivered to then-team doctor Richard Freeman on the final day of Wiggins' successful Criterium du Dauphine bid in 2011.
Team Sky, Froome and Wiggins deny any wrongdoing in all three cases.
This has been a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for arguably the country's most successful and controversial sports team.
Only a year ago, the brand appeared toxic and a group of MPs accused Team Sky of "crossing the ethical line". Although that was denied, once Sky announced it was pulling out, the future looked bleak.
Some felt team boss Sir Dave Brailsford's bid to find a saviour could be scuppered by the medical tribunal of the team's ex-doctor. Richard Freeman denied a charge that he ordered a mystery delivery of testosterone to help a rider to cheat.
But the case was bogged down in legal argument, then adjourned, damaging headlines were avoided, and now the team has been saved.
From therapeutic use exemptions to 'jiffybags', Sir Jim Ratcliffe will have weighed up the team's various scandals in recent years, but concluded their unprecedented success is worth being associated with.
This will come as a huge relief to the team's staff and fans who will be delighted that their star riders will now stay.
Others, however, will be concerned that the dominance of cycling's wealthiest team could continue, making races too predictable. I understand the team's annual £35m budget will be maintained and perhaps even increased.
Joining forces with Ratcliffe allows the team to preserve their British identity, although some will point out reports of the billionaire's controversial recent move to tax haven Monaco.
Environmentalists will also be concerned that Ineos - one of the biggest plastic producers in Europe, with an interest in fracking in the UK - could be investing in the green sport of cycling as a PR tactic.
What does it mean for Sky's riders?
Ineos' takeover secures the immediate futures of Brailsford and Team Sky's riders with contracts beyond the end of this season.
Four-time Tour de France winner Froome's deal runs until the end of 2020, while Thomas is under contract until 2021.
This takeover also ensures the team will retain highly rated Colombian Egan Bernal, who signed a notable five-year deal in October.
The 22-year-old won Paris-Nice on Sunday, will lead Team Sky at this year's Giro d'Italia and is expected to challenge for Grand Tour titles throughout his career.
Ivan Sosa, another promising young Colombian, signed a three-year deal last year and Brailsford reportedly met the Colombian government and the country's largest petroleum company Ecopetrol while searching for new sponsorship.
But Ineos' investment means the team remains backed by a UK company, with eight British riders in Team Sky's 29-man roster.
Team Sky's accounts for 2017 revealed a budget of £34.5m, the biggest in professional cycling.
Ineos is one of the world's largest manufacturers of chemicals and Britain's largest privately owned company.
Ratcliffe announced £1bn worth of investments in the UK oil and chemical industries last month.
Ineos moved its head office to the Swiss city of Lausanne in 2010 to cut its corporation tax bill, but returned to the UK in 2016, with headquarters in London and an office in Hampshire.
The company has rights to explore for shale gas in sites in Cheshire, Yorkshire and the Midlands, but has yet to start fracking because of planning disputes, with Ratcliffe criticising the government's fracking rules.
Ratcliffe, 66, was born in Failsworth, near Manchester, and worked as a chemical engineer before founding Ineos in 1998 out of previous company Inspec.
He retains a 60% stake in Ineos and was knighted in June last year, shortly after becoming the first British-born industrialist to top the Rich List.
Ratcliffe supports Brexit and last month criticised the European Union, saying its "foolish" green taxes deterred investment in industry.
He is a season ticket holder at Chelsea and was linked with a £2bn bid to buy the club from the Stamford Bridge club's owner Roman Abramovich.
In 2017, he bought football club FC Lausanne-Sport, who play in the Swiss second tier.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47629760
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rt_cycling_47629760
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Team Sky set to name new sponsor as Ineos, owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe - BBC Sport
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2019-03-19
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[]
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Team Sky are set to announce a new sponsor - owned by Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
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Last updated on .From the section Cycling
Team Sky are set to announce a new sponsor - owned by Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The broadcaster said in December that it would end its decade-long commitment at the end of 2019, during which time Team Sky have won eight Grand Tours.
The team will be renamed Team Ineos - after the chemicals giant that billionaire Ratcliffe owns.
Ratcliffe is worth £21bn and has been in talks with Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford for several weeks.
Team Sky was launched in January 2010 and has since amassed 327 victories, including those eight Grand Tour triumphs.
Current riders Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas have won five Tours de France between them, and Welshman Thomas signed a new three-year deal in September after winning his first Tour last July.
Ineos is Britain's largest privately owned company and in 2018 posted annual pre-tax profits of £2bn.
Ratcliffe has already invested £110m in Ben Ainslie's Americas Cup team.
Former Team Sky rider Bradley Wiggins, who won the 2012 Tour de France, said the partnership between Brailsford and Ratcliffe could be "ideal".
Talking on Eurosport's The Bradley Wiggins Show, he said: "I think he would have been reluctant to have another multinational company that came in and wanted the control in terms of 'this is how we advertise our company'.
"Ratcliffe is the richest man in Britain and you would imagine that the kind of money they have asked for is nothing to him.
"Dave can continue running this team with all his plans and philosophies, so it's an ideal situation for him and you'd imagine he is answerable to one man."
Team Sky have dominated the Tour de France in recent years, winning six of the past seven editions, while Froome also won the 2017 Vuelta a Espana and the 2018 Giro d'Italia.
However, the efficient style and big spending that underpinned Sky's success has been unpopular with some fans, particularly in France.
The team has also been subject to allegations of cheating.
Froome, 33, had an anti-doping case brought against him and subsequently dropped by governing body the UCI, while former rider Bradley Wiggins has faced questions over his use of a medical exemption for hayfever medication.
The UK Anti-Doping Agency also conducted a 14-month investigation into a 'mystery package' delivered to then-team doctor Richard Freeman on the final day of Wiggins' successful Criterium du Dauphine bid in 2011.
Team Sky, Froome and Wiggins deny any wrongdoing in all three cases.
This has been a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for arguably the country's most successful and controversial sports team.
Only a year ago, a group of MPs accused Team Sky of "crossing the ethical line". Although that was denied, once Sky announced it was pulling out, the future looked bleak.
Some felt team boss Sir Dave Brailsford's bid to find a saviour could be scuppered by the medical tribunal of the team's ex-doctor. Richard Freeman denied a charge that he ordered a mystery delivery of testosterone to help a rider to cheat.
But the case was bogged down in legal argument, then adjourned, damaging headlines were avoided, and now the team has been saved.
From TUEs to jiffybags, Sir Jim Ratcliffe will have weighed up the team's various scandals in recent years, but concluded their unprecedented success is worth being associated with.
This will come as a huge relief to the team's staff and fans who will be delighted that its star riders will now stay. Others however will be concerned that the dominance of cycling's wealthiest team could continue, making races too predictable.
Joining forces with Ratcliffe allows the team to preserve its British identity, although some will point out reports of the billionaire's controversial recent move to Monaco for tax reasons.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47608625
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rt_cycling_47608625
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Brexit march: Remainer walks 200 miles to join protest - BBC News
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2019-03-24
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Ed Sides set off two and a half weeks ago and talked to Brexiteers along the way.
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Wales
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Members of Swansea 4 Europe bade farewell to Ed Sides (left) as his walk began on 6 March
A man has walked 200 miles to join a march in London in favour of another EU referendum, engaging with Brexit supporters along the way.
Ed Sides set off from Swansea two and a half weeks ago and has "taken time to listen as much as talk".
Wales for Europe had booked out 30 coaches to transport protesters to Saturday's demonstration.
But one Leave supporter said a fresh vote would just prolong the arguments for another three years.
Others from across Wales made their own way to Hyde Park for the march.
Ed Sides and his wife Rhiannon Barrar in Hyde Park following their arrival in London
Mr Sides, who was joined by his wife Rhiannon Barrar for part of the journey, set out on foot from Swansea on 6 March.
"I set out on the walk to raise attention to our cause, but also to prove that just because you're passionate about something it doesn't mean you have to rubbish opposing opinions," he said.
"We need a kinder, more rational debate about Brexit, and everywhere I've stopped I've taken the time to listen as much as talk."
Hundreds of campaigners from Wales attended the march
Welsh Government ministers Vaughan Gething and Eluned Morgan were among the many politicians joining the march in London.
The UK had been due to leave the EU on 29 March, but that date has now been put back to 12 April, as MPs try to find a way forward.
Prime Minister Theresa May's exit deal, negotiated with the EU over two years has been voted down twice in parliament, once by a record margin.
MPs are now divided on what direction to take next - some want to leave without a deal, others want to not leave at all, and some want another referendum.
In the 2016 referendum, Wales voted 52.5% to 47.5% in favour of leave, a slightly higher margin than the UK as a whole at 51.9% to 48.1%.
But Peter Gilbey, director of the anti-Brexit campaign group Wales for Europe, believed the mood had shifted over the past three years.
"Those who were ardent Remainers are probably more so now, and likewise with Leavers, but equally those who were uncertain in 2016 are even more confused than ever," he said.
"The argument that a second referendum would be a betrayal of the people makes no sense; how can more information and more democracy equal less democracy?"
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However, retired Swansea builder Fred Jones, who voted Leave, told BBC Wales he found arguments espoused by some Remainers patronising.
"I wouldn't say that I'm passionate one way or the other, but I am fed up of being told I voted Leave because I am in my nineties, or because I'm stupid and didn't know what I was voting for," he said.
"I knew full well that leaving was going to cause upheaval and hardship in the short term, but would eventually allow Britain to decide for ourselves what sort of country we want to be.
"But the main reason why I don't believe in another referendum is that it will solve nothing - we'll be having the same arguments in three years' time."
Organisers claim more than a million people took part in the March in London on Saturday
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47670317
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news_uk-wales-47670317
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Mueller report: Key lines from Bill Barr summary - BBC News
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2019-03-24
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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After two years of work and 2,800 subpoenas, the president has been cleared of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
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US & Canada
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Attorney general William Barr was tasked with summarising the Mueller report for Congress
Two days after Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed the report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election to the attorney general, William Barr provided a four-page summary to Congress and the public.
Mr Barr writes that the special counsel's 22-month inquiry involved 40 government investigators issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas and 500 search warrants questioning around 500 witnesses.
What was the end result? Here are some key lines from the attorney general's letter and what they mean.
"The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities"
Most of Mr Barr's letter to Congress summarising the special counsel's investigation was in the attorney general's own words. In this instance, however, he chose to directly quote Mr Mueller's report. He clearly didn't want any misunderstanding about the investigation's conclusions.
When Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mr Mueller as special counsel, he instructed the former FBI director to look for "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump".
On Sunday, in those 23 words, the special counsel provided his answer.
Some will point to the words "did not establish" in that sentence and note that it doesn't mean the investigation found no evidence at all or that "collusion" didn't actually take place.
Perhaps it isn't the "complete and total exoneration" that Mr Trump is claiming.
When it comes to the language used in these type of investigations, however, it's as close as it going to get.
"As noted above, the Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."
After outlining the special counsel's conclusions that the Russian government attempted to interfere with the 2016 election through social media disinformation and hacking the computers and emails of Democratic Party officials, Mr Barr again says there was no evidence of conspiracy or coordination - with a twist. There were "multiple offers" of Russian help to the Trump campaign
This is probably a reference to the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr, senior campaign officials and Russians with ties to the Kremlin. It also might include Russian contacts by more tangential campaign aides such as George Papadopoulos and Carter Page or, perhaps, former Trump adviser Roger Stone's attempts to contact Wikileaks to find out about hacked Democratic emails.
The details aren't provided, but the gist of what Mr Barr is saying is that while there was Russian outreach, there is no evidence that anyone from the Trump campaign took the bait.
"The Special Counsel states that 'while this report does not conclude the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was only one component of Mr Mueller's special counsel work. He also looked into whether the president violated the law by obstructing the investigation. And instead of making a prosecutorial judgement, the former FBI director punted.
"While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime,"it also does not exonerate him," wrote Mr Barr, quoting the report.
Noting "difficult issues" involved in the determination of the president's conduct, Mr Mueller presents both sides of the argument for charging the president with the crime of obstruction of justices. He then leaves it up to the attorney general to make the call.
"In cataloguing the President's actions, many of which took place in public view, the report identifies no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent ..."
With the ball firmly in his court, Mr Barr - nominated to the job of attorney general by Mr Trump in December - decided Mr Trump would not be charged with obstruction of justice.
Central to the attorney general's conclusion was the fact that the special counsel found no "underlying crime" of conspiracy with the Russians to interfere with the 2016 election. There has been an ongoing debate in legal circles on whether obstruction of justice can take place without evidence of a crime to investigate, and Mr Barr comes down solidly, if not entirely, on the "no" side.
While Mr Trump made plenty of public statements that could be construed as an attempt to influence the investigation, it appears Mr Barr concluded that they were not done with "corrupt intent".
The attorney general made sure to note that this decision was made in consultation with Mr Rosenstein, who had appointed Mr Mueller back in 2017, as well as other Justice Department lawyers.
This was a judgement call - and Mr Barr will take heat for it from the president's critics. He clearly wanted to make sure he wasn't alone in the spotlight.
"My goal and intent is to release as much of the Special Counsel's report as I can consistent with applicable law, regulations and Departmental policies."
Mr Barr insists he will release as much of the report as he can, given rules that limit the disclosure of grand jury activities and information that could impact upon ongoing criminal proceedings.
Democrats will be interested in learning of any more details unearthed in the Russia investigation, even if Mr Mueller did not conclude that there was sufficient evidence to prove conspiracy or coordination. In addition, they will want to see the pro-and-con arguments the special counsel made as it weighed charging Mr Trump with obstruction of justice.
That's when the second-guessing of Mr Barr's decision will begin in earnest.
All this, however, is going to take time.
Meanwhile, Republicans - from the president down - will use Mr Barr's summary to argue that all the investigations into the president's conduct are baseless and should be abandoned.
"This should be a lesson to my Democrat colleagues that chasing imagined scandals and following a partisan investigatory agenda will not result in any meaningful change for the country," writes Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
There are a variety of ongoing investigations into Mr Trump's conduct and that of his businesses. Several of them pose a legitimate threat to the president, both legal and political. Those inquiries will continue unabated.
On Sunday, however, Mr Trump's side landed a powerful talking point to use in the political warfare to come.
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Lorraine Kelly, tax law and how celebrities build public personas - BBC News
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2019-03-24
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Even though, as a judge has ruled, "she may not like the guest she interviews or the food she eats".
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Entertainment & Arts
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"Lorraine Kelly is one of the most ruthless people you'll meet in the business," joked Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain last week.
"Don't be fooled by that halo. To warm herself up for her show, she literally murders kittens and puppies."
Morgan's joke, which he made the day after Kelly's win at the TRIC Awards, was funny precisely because it was the opposite of the Lorraine millions of viewers know and love.
In fact, her warm, likeable TV persona is the very reason so many of us were fascinated by a tax ruling involving Kelly on Wednesday.
As part of a dispute with HMRC, Judge Jennifer Dean ruled that Kelly is playing a particular version of herself on air, which means she could be considered a "theatrical artist".
"She may not like the guest she interviews, she may not like the food she eats, she may not like the film she viewed - but that is where the performance lies," Judge Dean said in the ruling.
So has Lorraine Kelly, a gold-standard national treasure, been fooling us all?
Michael Ball presenting Lorraine Kelly with her TRIC Award earlier this month
Is she, in fact, a horrible person, who has gone through life being secretly nasty to everyone, just faking being nice for the one hour she's on air every day?
This whole case boils down to something much more boring - basic tax law.
For various reasons which we'll get to in a minute, Kelly has argued she should effectively be considered a freelancer rather than a direct employee of ITV.
But part of the judge's ruling picked up on the point that she is more of a performer than a standard employee.
That has raised issues about the personas that celebrities create when facing the public.
Andrew H Walker's series of portraits explored the idea of the multiple personas of celebrities like Elisabeth Moss
"Lorraine's value to ITV lies in the image that she's created and her emotional appeal with audiences, and that brand value can easily be taken to other channels," says Jeetendr Sehdev, celebrity branding expert and author of The Kim Kardashian Principle.
"I think viewers are aware that you know there is a potential image and persona that celebrities are selling, and I think that that's OK. I don't think people have much of a problem with that as long as that image and persona is authentic."
Photographer Andrew H Walker explored this very theme in a series of portraits taken in 2016.
At the Toronto Film Festival that year, he asked some of the stars in attendance if he could photograph them - twice.
In one shot, he'd ask them to pose as a way they would act in front of the public, while the other would reveal a side we don't normally see.
"I was really curious with actors, because they have... a public persona that they put out there, and they also have their private self," Walker told Mashable.
"There's this whole other layer of themselves as people. I found that really, really intriguing."
Double Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali showed a more serious side in his portrait
The issue of public personas often crops up in the world of hip-hop, where many rappers are reliant on portraying a tough, gangster image.
Earlier this year, it was revealed rapper 21 Savage, whose brand and lyrics centre on the years he spent growing up in Atlanta, had actually been born in the UK, where he lived for the early part of his life.
Last year, when Tekashi 6ix9ine was indicted on six counts including firearms and racketeering charges, his attorney argued that the fact the rapper was "an entertainer who portrays a 'gangster image' to promote his music does not make him a member of an enterprise".
Do such cases make their music less authentic? Does it matter?
Issues about 21 Savage's public persona came up after he was arrested by US immigration officials
But unlike actors, musicians or authors, who have the option to hide themselves behind their art, TV presenters in particular are reliant on their own personalities for their jobs.
It's usually necessary for them to come across as warm, likeable, sympathetic and entertaining all at once.
"I'm an actor, playing the part of a presenter," Matt LeBlanc told BBC News last year. "So is it really me you see on Top Gear? Probably not.
"It's the me that suits the film we're making. It's the me that suits the studio portion in front of the crowd. That's what an actor does, you try to mould yourself to fit the needs of the piece."
As an actor by trade, LeBlanc's case is obviously different to Kelly's, but to some extent, all TV presenters have to do a bit of this kind of acting.
In Kelly's case, her warm persona has endeared her to viewers for decades - and seen her achieve immense success.
Just this week, she was given the outstanding contribution to British television prize at the RTS Awards.
Matt LeBlanc has spoken about the different personalities he adopts on Top Gear
We all arguably have multiple versions of ourselves which we present in different situations. You'd behave differently at work to how you would on a night out, for example.
And in many sectors, doing so doesn't affect our employment. But Sedhev says it's slightly different when it comes to high profile figures.
"The value of brands now are infiltrating all areas - from business to healthcare to technology," he explains.
"We see that with CEOs, whether it's Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg - these are different types of leaders. They are a brand, first and foremost, that stands for something and there's an enormous amount of value in that.
"I can see a lot of analogies between digital influencers, these new types of celebrities, and what has happened with Lorraine. It's interesting now how the worlds are beginning to merge."
However, Rahul Batra, managing partner at Hudson McKenzie, specialists in media and entertainment law, says the Lorraine Kelly ruling has little to do with the issue of public personas which has been picked up on by news outlets.
"Where the ruling talks about Lorraine Kelly being a brand, that's not to do with media law, but tax law," he tells BBC News.
Kelly's employment status, he explains, is important only because it impacts on how much tax she is due to pay.
Given that she also presents TV programmes for the BBC and releases her own fitness DVDs, it would be wrong to say she is a standard employee of ITV.
"Suppose Lorraine Kelly earns a million pounds a year, and she has an agent who takes £200,000. That £200,000 is tax deductible, so she'd only be liable to pay tax on £800,000," Mr Batra says.
"But if you're an employee, then everything is tax deducted at source from the employer itself. That's what this argument is all about."
He adds that, because of IR35, the UK's anti-avoidance tax legislation, this is something that occurs in every industry - not just in the celebrity world.
"It happens a lot with IT contractors... in fact, anybody who's a contractor in the UK gets muddled up in an HMRC inquiry at some point in time," he says.
"Because HMRC would try to say 'you're an employee', and the contractor would say, 'No, I'm not an employee. I have set up my own limited company and I'm providing services to other people as well'."
James Hender, partner and head of private wealth at Saffery Champness, points out IR35 for the private sector is due to take effect from April 2020, meaning there'll be more disputes to come in this area.
"It's likely that we'll see many more cases like this over the next few years as both HMRC and taxpayers seek to get to grips with this rapidly evolving area of tax law," he said.
The reasons for the ruling might be much more technical than many first imagined. But we also secretly hope Lorraine really is a massive diva.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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Brexit: Any sign of Theresa May changing course? - BBC News
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2019-03-12
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After a comprehensive defeat, it's not clear how the prime minister intends to dig herself out of this dreadful political hole.
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UK Politics
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Second time very unlucky. The tweaks to the deal with the EU that the prime minister sweated for more than a month to achieve were to little purpose.
The government was, again, comprehensively defeated, this time by almost 150 votes.
One senior cabinet minister said this afternoon another thumping defeat would mean that she "has to change course".
So far, she has shown no sign of that, repeating, as we have heard her say so very many times at the despatch box, that she believes her deal is still the best one.
But neither did she move away from the promises she has made more recently, to give MPs a vote on whether they want to stop us leaving without a formal deal at the end of this month.
There is already consternation in the Commons over her additional pledge that leaving without a deal remains the default option.
The vote will, though, after pressure from colleagues, be a free vote where Tories can vote as they wish. That might not sound like a big deal, but for the government to let its own troops vote as they like on an issue that's so important is extremely unusual.
And if, as is likely, they rule out leaving with no deal for now, on Thursday she confirmed another vote for delaying Brexit.
What isn't clear from all of that is how the prime minister actually intends to dig herself out of this dreadful political hole.
Some of her colleagues around the Cabinet table think it shows she has to tack to a closer deal with the EU.
Some of them believe it's time now to go hell-for-leather to leave without an overarching deal but move to make as much preparation as possible, and fast.
Other ministers believe genuinely, still with around two weeks to go, and an EU summit next week, there is still time to try to manoeuvre her deal through - somehow.
The response of the 27 other EU countries to any request for an extension would be influential too. But that's an argument for another day, and there are likely to be many, for sure.
You might wonder how has Theresa May found herself in this position again? When she hailed a revised deal last night in Strasbourg then crashed to defeat again.
Her rivals and friends would give a long list of reasons.
Her own difficulties in deploying the authority of Number 10, to charm and promise, to chivvy reluctant backbenchers, are well known.
The grumpy dynamics and misunderstandings with the EU have played a part too. Decades of disputes over Europe inside the Tory Party are at the root - and part of today's problem.
But above all, Theresa May as prime minister has been trying to achieve what would have been distinctly challenging for any leader to pull off at any time - to complete a grand project, abhorred by many, adored by others - to persuade Parliament to unplug the UK from the European Union without a majority in Parliament.
Her decision to gamble with a small majority in 2017 haunts her profoundly still.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47548072
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Fulham fight: Fatal stabbing victim was 'good guy' - BBC News
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2019-03-16
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The 29-year-old victim's friend said at their age "you don't do silly things like... knife crimes".
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London
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A 29-year-old man died at the scene before paramedics arrived
A 29-year-old man has been stabbed to death in a fight in south-west London.
He was stabbed at the junction of Gowan Avenue and Munster Road in Fulham in the early hours of Saturday and died at the scene.
Neighbours said they heard an argument unfolding at 00:30 GMT, before police and paramedics arrived.
A friend of the victim's described him as a "good and big man" and said: "At the age of 29, you don't do silly things like this, knife crimes."
The friend, who asked not to be named, said he was not aware of any similar violent incidents in the residential area but added: "There might have been a stabbing in this area, don't get me wrong, but they are normally with kids, not people our age."
Greg Hands, the Conservative MP for Chelsea and Fulham, said he had thanked the local "hero" who gave CPR to the victim and also thanked a group of girls from New Zealand who had stopped to help.
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Efforts were still being made to contact the victim's family, police said.
No arrests have been made.
Efforts were still being made to contact the victim's family, police said
Det Ch Insp Glen Lloyd, said: "We are appealing for information from those who were out and about in the area at the time of the attack and saw anything of note.
"My team is particularly keen to trace a light skinned black male, approximately 6ft tall who was seen near the scene at the time."
The victim was stabbed in the same street where TV presenter Jill Dando was murdered in 1999.
Ms Dando was 37 when she was shot in the head on the doorstep of her home in Gowan Avenue on 26 April. Her murder remains unsolved.
A white forensic tent remained at the scene on Saturday morning and several police officers stood guard at the cordon
Motives and circumstances behind killings have varied - as have the age and gender of the victims.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-47593883
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Katie Price denies being abusive outside West Sussex school - BBC News
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2019-03-20
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The reality star is accused of being in a "verbal altercation" with her ex-husband's girlfriend.
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Sussex
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Katie Price is due to stand trial at Horsham Magistrates' Court on 3 June
TV star Katie Price has denied being abusive outside a school.
The 40-year-old reality star is charged with one count of using threatening and abusive words or behaviour outside a primary school in Shipley last September.
Crawley Magistrates' Court heard she was involved in a "verbal altercation" with Michelle Pentecost, the girlfriend of her ex-husband Kieran Hayler.
When read the charge, Ms Price replied: "Definitely not guilty."
The former model, of Dial Post, near Horsham, West Sussex, is due to stand trial at Horsham Magistrates' Court on 3 June.
A second charge of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour was dropped.
Prosecutor Georgina Kent told the court Ms Price had used foul language towards Ms Pentecost and another woman next to the school playground on 6 September.
The court heard the argument had been witnessed by two teachers.
Ms Price, who stood in the dock holding her mobile phone, had been due to appear before magistrates in Crawley on 13 March but failed to turn up.
When reminded by chairman of the bench Serena Stewart of the importance of attending the trial in June, Ms Price replied: "I will definitely be attending, don't worry about that."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-47639047
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In full: Theresa May's Brexit delay request to EU's Donald Tusk - BBC News
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2019-03-20
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Prime Minister Theresa May has written to European Council President Donald Tusk to request a delay to Brexit.
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UK Politics
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The UK Government's policy remains to leave the European Union in an orderly manner on the basis of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration agreed in November, complemented by the Joint Instrument and supplement to the Political Declaration President Juncker and I agreed on 11 March.
You will be aware that before the House of Commons rejected the deal for a second time on 12 March, I warned in a speech in Grimsby that the consequences of failing to endorse the deal were unpredictable and potentially deeply unpalatable. The House of Commons did not vote in favour of the deal. The following day it voted against leaving the EU without a negotiated deal. The day after that it supported a Government motion that proposed a short extension to the Article 50 period if the House supported a meaningful vote before this week's European Council. The motion also made clear that if this had not happened, a longer extension would oblige the UK to call elections to the European Parliament. I do not believe that it would be in either of our interests for the UK to hold European Parliament elections.
I had intended to bring the vote back to the House of Commons this week. The Speaker of the House of Commons said on Monday that in order for a further meaningful vote to be brought back to the House of Commons, the agreement would have to be "fundamentally different-not different in terms of wording, but different in terms of substance". Some Members of Parliament have interpreted that this means a further change to the deal. This position has made it impossible in practice to call a further vote in advance of the European Council. However, it remains my intention to bring the deal back to the House.
In advance of that vote, I would be grateful if the European Council could therefore approve the supplementary documents that President Juncker and I agreed in Strasbourg, putting the Government in a position to bring these agreements to the House and confirming the changes to the Government's proposition to Parliament. I also intend to bring forward further domestic proposals that confirm my previous commitments to protect our internal market, given the concerns expressed about the backstop. On this basis, and in the light of the outcome of the European Council, I intend to put forward a motion as soon as possible under section 13 of the Withdrawal Act 2018 and make the argument for the orderly withdrawal and strong future partnership the UK economy, its citizens' security and the continent's future, demands.
If the motion is passed, I am confident that Parliament will proceed to ratify the deal constructively. But this will clearly not be completed before 29 March 2019. In our legal system, the Government will need to take a Bill through both Houses of Parliament to enact our commitments under the Withdrawal Agreement into domestic law. While we will consult with the Opposition in the usual way to plan the passage of the Bill as quickly and smoothly as possible, the timetable for this is inevitably uncertain at this stage. I am therefore writing to inform the European Council that the UK is seeking an extension to the Article 50 period under Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union, including as applied by Article 106a of the Euratom Treaty, until 30 June 2019.
I would be grateful for the opportunity to set out this position to our colleagues on Thursday.
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Vaccination deniers gaining traction, NHS boss warns - BBC News
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2019-03-02
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The NHS is considering what it can do to stop anti-vaccination messages spreading, Simon Stevens says.
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Health
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The head of NHS England has warned that "vaccination deniers" are gaining traction on social media as part of a "fake news" movement.
Simon Stevens said parents were seeing "fake messages" online about vaccines, which was making it harder to "win the public argument" on vaccination.
NHS England is considering what action can be taken to stop such messages spreading, Mr Stevens said.
He said the health service needed to support parents on the issue.
Speaking at a health summit held by the Nuffield Trust think tank, Mr Stevens said that there had been a "steady decline" in the uptake of the measles vaccine over the last five years.
He went on to describe the uptake of the MMR vaccine among five-year-olds in England (87.5% compared with the World Health Organization target of 95%) as a "real problem".
He said: "Across the world, two to three million lives are saved each year by vaccination.
"But as part of the fake news movement, actually the vaccination deniers are getting some traction...
"We are not being helped on this front by the fact that although nine in 10 parents support vaccination, half of them say they have seen fake messages about vaccination on social media."
Mr Stevens said parents at his daughter's primary school have expressed concern about vaccines.
"This is probably not something I should be saying, but I'll anonymously read you one of the WhatsApp messages from one of the parents.
"'My kids aren't vulnerable and I think loading up on vaccines blocks their systems from fighting disease as it should do'."
"We have a responsibility for the nine out of 10 to really explain it's not just of interest for your own children but herd immunity for other children as well."
In January, the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) warned that social media is helping to spread "misleading and dangerous information" about vaccines.
Experts called for more to be done to challenge untruths about possible side effects of vaccines and said that social media giants should clamp down on "fake news".
The study said social media is a "breeding ground for misleading information and negative messaging around vaccination".
Mr Stevens added: "Frankly it's as irresponsible to tell parents that their children shouldn't be vaccinated as it is to say don't bother - to your kids on their way to primary school - to look both ways when they cross the road.
"As a health service we've really got to help support parents on this."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-47417966
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Abuse survivor calls for end to corroboration - BBC News
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2019-04-03
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Sex abuse survivors are campaigning for the need for two separate sources of evidence to be scrapped.
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Scotland
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Suzy Angus felt "defeated" after trying to seek justice
A woman who says she was sexually abused as a child has told the BBC she felt "defeated" after trying to seek justice.
Suzy Angus is part of the Speak Out Survivors group campaigning to scrap the need for corroboration in Scots law.
Corroboration means two separate sources of evidence are needed for a case to go to trial.
The campaigners will meet MSPs at Holyrood later.
They are also due to raise the issue in a meeting with Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf.
Ms Angus told BBC Scotland's The Nine that she had tried to take her case to court, but it was dropped because of the need for corroboration, which is a unique feature of Scots law.
She said she was raped for the first time when she was 13-years-old.
Over the next two years, she said she was raped and sexually abused multiple times by a group of six men.
She said that having to recount "incredibly detailed information" that she had "buried for over 40 years" has left her on medication for PTSD and anxiety.
Investigating the case and trying to bring it to court was a long and complicated process.
She said: "Because there were several people involved, it took about 18 months, probably, for everybody to be investigated.
After one man was arrested, she felt hopeful of a prosecution: "I was getting quite interested in the fact that maybe finally there will be a prosecution, and they said 'Sorry, no corroboration, that's the end of the line'.
"I was standing in my office at work on the phone and that was it, and I just felt like collapsing."
Now, she is campaigning, along with other survivors of sexual abuse, for corroboration to be dropped.
In 2014 SNP ministers had proposed abolishing the need for corroboration, although this was dropped in 2015 after a review by former high court judge Lord Bonomy recommended it should be retained in some circumstances.
Ms Angus said she appreciated why the standard of evidence should remain high: "I understand that you do have to protect people.
"I'm not for changing the law just so people will be falsely convicted, of course not, the law has to protect everybody and everyone deserves a defence.
"However, it's the quality and sometimes the quantity of evidence."
In her case, however, she thinks that had there been no requirement for corroboration there would have been enough evidence for a prosecution.
"In my case it was patterns of behaviour over several people that would have taken someone to court and you know it's jut left me feeling kind of defeated, to be honest."
Brian McConnachie QC says he has never been convinced by the arguments for scrapping corroboration
Brian McConnachie QC said that the merits of corroboration had already been debated and a decision had already been made for it to be continued.
He said: "I know that some people consider that corroboration is something which we ought to abandon or abolish, and as often as not the argument is given that it should be abolished because nobody else has it.
"I've never been convinced by that argument.
"We went through a process where it was discussed at significant and considerable length, and at the end of that process the decision was taken that it should go no further."
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "There was no parliamentary or legal consensus for the removal of the corroboration requirement.
"We asked Lord Bonomy to conduct a review into what additional safeguards may be required if the corroboration rule was removed.
"The review recommended research into jury reasoning and decision-making should be undertaken so that any changes to the jury system are made on a fully informed basis."
She added: "Any future consideration of corroboration reform needs to await the findings of the jury research, which we expect to be complete by Autumn 2019.
"Since the review reported, we have taken forward a wide range of measures to improve how the justice system deals with allegations of sexual offending and to improve support for victims.
"The justice secretary and lord advocate co-chair a new victims' taskforce to improve the provision of advice and information for victims of crime and their families and the Scottish government also legislated to introduce statutory jury directions in certain sexual offence cases."
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Brexit: Theresa May's extension statement in full - BBC News
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2019-04-03
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Mrs May says she will ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline to "break the logjam".
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UK Politics
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Theresa May has said she will ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline to "break the logjam" in Parliament.
The prime minister also said she wants to meet Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to agree a plan on the future relationship with the EU.
Here is her statement in full.
"I've just come from chairing seven hours of Cabinet meetings focused on finding a route out of the current impasse, one that will deliver the Brexit the British people voted for and allow us to move on and begin bringing our divided country back together.
"I know there are some who are so fed up with delay and endless arguments that they would like to leave with no deal next week. I've always been clear that we could make a success of no deal in the long term.
"But leaving with a deal is the best solution. So we will need a further extension of Article 50, one that is as short as possible and which ends when we pass a deal.
"And we need to be clear what such an extension is for, to ensure we leave in a timely and orderly way.
"This debate, this division, cannot drag on much longer.
"It is putting members of Parliament and everyone else under immense pressure and it is doing damage to our politics.
"Despite the best efforts of MPs, the process that the House of Commons has tried to lead has not come up with an answer.
"So today I'm taking action to break the log jam.
"I'm offering to sit down with the Leader of the Opposition to try to agree a plan that we would both stick to, to ensure that we leave the European Union and that we do so with a deal.
"Any plan would have to agree the current withdrawal agreement.
"It has already been negotiated with the 27 other members and the EU has repeatedly said that it cannot and will not be reopened.
"What we need to focus on is our future relationship with the EU.
"The ideal outcome of this process would be to agree an approach on a future relationship that delivers on the result of the referendum, that both the Leader of the Opposition and I could put to the House for approval and which I could then take to next week's European Council.
"However, if we cannot agree on the single unified approach then we would instead agree a number of options for the future relationship that we could put to the House in a series of votes to determine which course to pursue.
"Crucially, the government stands ready to abide by the decision of the House, but to make this process work, the opposition would need to agree to this too.
"The government would then bring forward the Withdrawal Agreement bill.
"We would want to agree a timetable for this bill to ensure it is passed before the 22nd of May so that the United Kingdom need not take part in the European parliamentary elections.
"This is a difficult time for everyone. Passions are running high on all sides of the argument, but we can and must find the compromises that will deliver what the British people voted for.
"This is a decisive moment in the story of these islands and it requires national unity to deliver the national interest."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47794673
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Royal Opera House loses appeal over viola player's hearing - BBC News
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2019-04-17
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The Royal Opera House failed to protect a musician's hearing during rehearsal, the Court of Appeal rules.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Christopher Goldscheider joined the viola section of the ROH orchestra in 2002
The Royal Opera House has lost its appeal over the life-changing hearing damage caused to a viola player at a rehearsal of Wagner's Die Walkure.
The Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that the ROH failed to take reasonable steps to protect Christopher Goldscheider during the 2012 rehearsal.
It also failed to act on dangerous noise levels until after Mr Goldscheider's injury, the court ruled.
The ROH said it was "disappointed" by aspects of the court's ruling.
Mr Goldscheider won a landmark High Court case last year, which was challenged by the ROH.
In that case, Mr Goldscheider sued the London opera house, claiming damages for acoustic shock - a condition with symptoms including tinnitus, hyperacusis and dizziness - after being exposed to noise levels exceeding 130 decibels.
It was the first time acoustic shock had been recognised as a condition which could be compensated by a court.
In its appeal, the ROH claimed the artistic value of the music produced by the orchestra meant that some hearing damage to its players was inevitable and justifiable - but that was rejected by the court.
Mr Goldscheider said he hoped the Court of Appeal guidance will help others
On 1 September 2012, Mr Goldscheider was seated directly in front of the brass section of the orchestra for a rehearsal of Wagner's thunderous opera Die Walkure in the famous orchestra pit of the opera house, in Covent Garden.
The bell of a trumpet was immediately behind his right ear during the rehearsal and noise levels reached 132 decibels - roughly equivalent to that of a jet engine.
His hearing was irreversibly damaged. Mr Goldscheider, from Bedfordshire, now has to wear ear defenders to carry out everyday household tasks such as preparing food.
Speaking after Wednesday's Court of Appeal decision, he said: "I am grateful to the court for acknowledging that more should have been done to protect me and other musicians from the risk of permanent and life changing hearing problems.
"We all want to find a way to participate and share in the experience of live music in a safe and accessible way and I hope that the guidance which the Court of Appeal has given in my case will help others. I hope that the Royal Opera House will now support me to get on with rebuilding my life."
In terms of protecting people from hearing damage due to noise, this case effectively brings an orchestra space - or any live music venue for that matter - into line with other working environments such as a factory floor. An orchestra space or gig venue becomes, if you like, a factory where noise is the end product rather than the by-product of an industrial process.
Because no classical musician has sued an orchestra for acoustic shock before Mr Goldscheider, it has become something of a myth that orchestra spaces and live music venues are exempt from noise protection.
That myth was fed in part by a defence available to employers under the Compensation Act. It effectively said that as the product (that is, the music) was of high artistic value, some noise damage to those producing it was acceptable.
But the Court of Appeal ruling lays that myth to rest. Employers and organisers will now have to put processes in place to assess noise and anticipate sudden rises in noise levels. They will then have to take all reasonably practical steps to prevent injury resulting from the noise. The music won't stop, but it could get a fair bit quieter.
Alex Beard, chief executive of the ROH, said he was pleased the court had accepted its argument that it was not "reasonably practicable for orchestral musicians to wear hearing protection at all times whilst performing and rehearsing".
Such a move, as recommended in the original High Court ruling, would be "completely impractical with potentially devastating and far-reaching consequences for the entire sector", he said.
He said the ROH would work with its legal team to consider its next move.
"This is an unprecedented and unusually complex case for the live-music and theatre industries and we will continue to work collegiately with other cultural institutions to encourage and implement best practice across the sector," added Mr Beard.
Mr Goldscheider's solicitor, Chris Fry, said: "Live music, and quality artistic output can be ruined by turning sound into noise.
"I can choose to turn volume and other settings down if I listen in private, but no such luxury existed for Chris Goldscheider and many other musicians who are required to have someone else dictate the noise they are exposed to at work."
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He said the hearing protection is "not always practicable" and was "never intended to be the complete solution".
"The court's emphasis on reducing noise at source will have implications in live music, entertainment and sports across various jurisdictions where there is the potential for sudden and unexpected noise," he added.
Mr Goldscheider began playing the violin at the age of five and the viola from about 21. He studied in Prague and the UK and played with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and BBC Symphony orchestras.
In 2002 he joined the viola section of the ROH orchestra as number eleven viola and was promoted to number six. Career highlights included playing on stage with Kylie Minogue and with the Three Tenors to 100,000 people in Barcelona.
He left the ROH in July 2014 as a result of his injuries.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47965734
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news_entertainment-arts-47965734
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Warning over 'unexplained' school moves - BBC News
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2019-04-18
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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A report says high numbers switching schools might conceal pupils being "off-rolled".
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Family & Education
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There are warnings that some of the 55,000 "unexplained" moves by pupils between schools in England over five years could be driven by schools trying to remove difficult children.
The Education Policy Institute has looked at cases where pupils have changed school without moving home.
Almost a quarter of these moves have taken place in 330 secondary schools.
David Laws, chairman of the think tank, said it raised concerns "whether some schools are 'off-rolling' pupils".
"The size of unexplained pupil moves is disturbing," said Mr Laws, a former education minister.
This is where schools try to remove pupils with challenging behaviour, or whose poor exam results might damage league table performances.
Schools are accused of wanting to get them "off their rolls" so that they become someone else's problem.
It can be hard to prove, because it might be not be clear whether such moves are the result of schools pushing out pupils or choices made by parents.
Schools will also have to consider the safety and education of other pupils - and arguments over off-rolling have sometimes accompanied new rules over behaviour.
But off-rolling has also become part of the debate about what happens to pupils who are removed from mainstream schools, including those with special needs, who end up in "alternative provision" of variable quality or who are claimed to be home-schooled.
The study from the Education Policy Institute - sponsored by the National Education Union - has examined the movement of pupils between starting secondary school and taking GCSEs in 2017.
The researchers show when other factors are accounted for - such as families moving to another part of the country - there are about 10,000 pupils a year whose moves are described as "unexplained".
These are children, aged between 11 and 16, who have switched to another school, without having moved to another area.
The study does not measure how many of these might be the result of off-rolling, but it suggests this could be an explanation for some of them.
It could also be that families have chosen to move to another local school for other academic or social reasons or personal preferences, with more than three million children in this age group.
The most common time for these moves is in the first three years of secondary school - with fewer moves in the GCSE years.
The study says this pattern is the same as six years before - although the peak, between Years 8 and 9, was slightly higher in 2011.
The suspicion that some schools are removing more pupils than might be expected is from the concentration of almost a quarter of these unexplained moves in 330 secondary schools.
There were similar numbers of girls and boys changing schools, a slightly higher proportion of black pupils and an increased likelihood among those who had been excluded and those in social care.
There was no regional breakdown to show whether this might be more common in big cities such as London, with access to a wider range of schools.
Labour's shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, said it was a "national scandal that tens of thousands of children are falling off school rolls and potentially out of education altogether".
The National Education Union, which commissioned the report, said it was "shocking if not surprising".
The union's joint general secretary, Mary Bousted, said: "It is urgent that we move beyond the numbers, analyse the real reasons behind these moves and challenge the government policies which are undermining inclusive and high-quality education".
Paul Whiteman, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, warned "not to conflate and condemn all the different reasons a pupil might leave a school's roll. Every individual circumstance is different".
Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union, said there was an "uncomfortable reality" that some of these "unexplained exits" could be because of the "illegitimate" behaviour of schools.
But he said it was also important to "keep in mind that many parents make the decision to move or home-school their child for their own reasons".
A Department for Education spokesman said: "No head teacher goes into the job to remove a pupil from school - and no head teacher takes the decision to do so lightly.
"It is against the law to remove pupils on the basis of academic results - any school that does it is breaking the law.
"We have written to all schools to remind them of the rules on exclusions, and Edward Timpson is currently reviewing how schools use them and why some groups of children are more likely to be excluded from school than others."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-47962294
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news_education-47962294
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Brexit: Tom Watson urges public vote to 'solve national crisis' - BBC News
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2019-04-05
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Tom Watson says most Labour MPs would have difficulty with any solution excluding a referendum option.
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UK Politics
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Labour's Tom Watson said about 80% of Labour MPs backed a so-called "confirmatory ballot"
A public vote on any Brexit deal could "solve the national crisis" in the UK, Labour's deputy leader has said.
Tom Watson said he was a "reluctant convert" to a confirmatory ballot but if MPs "failed" to do their job, the public could make the final call.
Talks between Labour and the Tories on finding a way forward on Brexit are entering their third day.
He suggested Labour MPs would find it "a bit difficult" to accept any outcome which excluded a referendum option.
He also revealed that Labour has opened nominations for European elections to make sure the party was prepared if the polls do go ahead on 23 May.
Theresa May announced earlier this week that she wanted to hold discussions with Jeremy Corbyn in order to find a proposal to put to MPs ahead of an emergency EU summit on 10 April.
On a visit to Wales to celebrate Labour's victory in the Newport West by-election, Mr Corbyn said the issue of another referendum was still "in the mix", but Parliament had twice discussed and rejected the idea.
If a proposal is passed, and agreed by the EU, it would stop the UK leaving the bloc on the 12 April with no deal.
Mrs May has now written to European council President Donald Tusk to ask for an extension until 30 June - but said she still hopes to leave before 23 May so the UK does not have to take part in European elections taking place that month.
Labour agreed a policy at its last conference that if Parliament voted down the government's deal or talks end in no deal, there should be a general election.
But if they cannot force one - Labour's attempt to call a no confidence vote in January failed - then the party "must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote".
There is opposition to another referendum within Labour, with nine shadow cabinet members believed to remain sceptical and 25 Labour backbenchers writing to Mr Corbyn on Thursday, urging him to rule it out.
They wrote: "Delaying for many months in the hope of a second referendum will simply divide the country further and add uncertainty for business.
"A second referendum would be exploited by the far right, damage the trust of many core Labour voters and reduce our chances of winning a general election."
And it has emerged that party chairman Ian Lavery offered to quit the shadow cabinet, after twice defying orders to vote in favour of another referendum.
But Mr Watson said about 80% of Labour MPs backed a confirmatory referendum of some sort, evidence that the party was "holding it together" in difficult circumstances.
He BBC Radio 4's Today that his party was going into the talks "with an open mind," but warned that if a confirmatory ballot was not part of an agreed plan, "we would have a bit of difficulty in our parliamentary party".
"We have got a strong policy on it," he said. "People would say we don't like Theresa May's deal....That is why we are genuinely with open minds and good faith on both sides trying to see if we can work through a solution."
"[But] it is pretty clear the people need to be part of that process and that is really a recognition of parliamentary failure. The argument has not been resolved in the chamber of the House of Commons."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Corbyn on Brexit talks: May meeting "useful but inconclusive"
The public, he added, would be able to "work out for themselves if this deal will work for them and their families".
"People can take a look at the deal and they can make a call on it."
But Mr Watson did warn that the process of talks with the government would take time.
"From our point of view, we [just had] day two," he said. "But we have had over 1,000 days being locked out of any discussions.
"We've had all this long delay, unnecessary delay. We think these talks are happening in good faith, but it is going to take a bit of time."
He added: "A lot of us hope they can find a creative solution to this issue. The first part of the talks were to establish some clarity on everyone's position. Now we are looking at quite technical detail.
"We hope today [the government] can give some indication of where we can work more closely."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47826026
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news_uk-politics-47826026
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More over-75s should take statins, experts say - BBC News
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2019-04-15
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Thousands of lives could be saved each year if more took the cholesterol-lowering drugs, researchers say.
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Health
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More people over the age of 75 should be taking statins, scientists have said, following a review of research.
There had been a lack of evidence about how much the cholesterol-lowering drugs benefit this age group.
But the review found they cut the risk of major cardiovascular disease in all ages studied, including the over-75s.
Researchers said thousands of lives could be saved each year if more than the estimated third of UK over-75s who do take statins, were given them.
They also said it could improve quality of life for many people.
Cardiovascular disease kills about 150,000 people in the UK each year, with two-thirds of these occurring in people over the age of 75.
Statins reduce the build-up of fatty plaques that lead to blockages in blood vessels, though reported side effects and the extent of how often they are prescribed has attracted controversy.
The review, which looked at 28 randomised controlled trials - often called the "gold standard" of studies - involving nearly 190,000 patients, found statins lowered the risk of major cardiovascular disease in the ages studied, from under-55s to over-75s.
There were similar reductions in risk for stroke and for coronary stenting or bypass surgery.
Authors of the paper said there had until now been an "evidence gap" around how effective the drugs are for the elderly.
They estimate that about a third of the 5.5 million people in the UK over 75 take a statin, when the "vast majority" of these would meet the medicine regulator's guidelines for being prescribed the drug.
Prof Colin Baigent, one of the authors of the paper, said: "One of the issues we have is that very often doctors are unwilling to consider statin therapy for elderly people simply because they're old, and that, I think, is an attitude that is preventing us from making use of the tools we have available to us."
Researchers said statins may help people avoid disability caused by cardiovascular disease
The benefits were strongest in people who have already had vascular disease. There wasn't enough data in people over the age of 75 who haven't had it to show a benefit. Experts have called for more data to guide prescription for these people.
However, the authors said even a smaller reduction in risk was significant because the elderly have a higher baseline risk for cardiovascular disease in the first place.
The more people reduced their low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, the more the risk of cardiovascular disease was lowered, the study found.
A 1.0 mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol lowered the risk of major vascular events by about a fifth and a major coronary event by a quarter, when results from all age groups were combined.
To put this into perspective, about 2.5% of 63-year-olds with no history of vascular disease would be expected to have their first major vascular event per year, compared with 4% of 78-year-olds.
Reducing those risks by a fifth would prevent first major vascular events from occurring each year in 50 people aged 63 and 80 people aged 78 per 10,000 people treated.
Prof Baigent said there was an argument for giving statins to people over the age of 75 who have a "normal" level of LDL cholesterol.
He said: "In many circumstances, the person may be very healthy, they may be able to avoid having a stroke or having a heart attack simply by taking a cheap and safe tablet every day.
"That may be a choice they're willing to take. At the moment I feel we're not taking the opportunity to offer that."
There has been controversy about statin side effects and how often they are prescribed, especially in otherwise healthy people.
It is possible to lower cholesterol levels without drugs by making lifestyle changes, such as by cutting down on saturated fat and eating more fruit, vegetables and fibre.
Prof Baigent said side effects were "massively outweighed, both in middle age and the elderly, by the benefits of statin therapy that we already know about".
And he also said he was not calling for people to pick statins over exercise and lifestyle changes.
"I think it's not an either/or," he added.
The Royal College of GPs welcomed the research and said it was "particularly reassuring" to see evidence of the benefit of statins in over-75s.
Prof Martin Marshall, vice-chairman of the college, said some patients would not want to be on long-term medication.
"But GPs are highly trained to prescribe and will only recommend the drugs if they think they will genuinely help the person sitting in front of them, based on their individual circumstances - and after a frank conversation about the potential risks and benefits."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-47058919
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news_health-47058919
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Laleh Shahravesh back in UK after horse jibe row in Dubai - BBC News
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2019-04-12
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Laleh Shahravesh hugged her daughter as she landed back in London - four weeks after her arrest in Dubai.
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UK
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Laleh Shahravesh was arrested in Dubai when she arrived with her teenage daughter Paris for her ex-husband's funeral
A British woman who faced prison in Dubai over a jibe she posted on Facebook has embraced her daughter after landing back in the UK.
Laleh Shahravesh, 55, had faced up to two years in jail after calling her ex-husband's new wife a "horse".
Her case was settled with a AED3,000 (£625) fine on Thursday, the campaign group which represented her said.
Ms Shahravesh told reporters at Heathrow airport: "I'm really, really happy to be reunited."
Her daughter Paris, 14, had pleaded with United Arab Emirates authorities to release her mother, earlier this week.
The mother-of-one, from Richmond in south-west London, also thanked Radha Stirling, the chief executive of campaigners Detained in Dubai, who she said had "worked tirelessly to get me home to my daughter".
Ms Stirling said the incident was a "grave warning" to social media users over visiting Dubai, with the "vast majority" of similar cases going unheard.
She told BBC News: "I think without the spotlight from the international press and the raising of awareness to the UAE authorities this would have gone on for at least six months."
Ms Shahravesh was arrested in Dubai, part of the UAE, on 10 March.
She had travelled there for her Portuguese ex-husband's funeral following his death from a heart attack at the age of 51. She had been married to Pedro Correia Dos Santos for 18 years.
The couple lived together in Dubai for eight months - where Mr Correia Dos Santos worked for HSBC - before Ms Shahravesh returned alone to the UK with the couple's daughter.
In 2016, she received divorce papers and discovered on Facebook that he was remarrying.
Writing in Farsi on Facebook, Ms Shahravesh said: "I hope you go under the ground you idiot. Damn you. You left me for this horse."
In another post, she wrote: "You married a horse you idiot."
Detained in Dubai said Ms Shahravesh's ex-husband's new wife, who lives in Dubai, had reported the comments.
Under the UAE's cyber-crime laws, a person can be jailed or fined for making defamatory statements on social media.
Detained in Dubai has called on the Foreign Office to provide more explicit guidance about the risks of travelling to the UAE.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Radha Stirling - CEO @detainedindubai 🇺🇸🇦🇺🇬🇧 This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Ms Stirling compared the UAE's cyber laws to "a loaded gun pointed at the head of anyone using the internet".
"Anyone who you might have had an argument with in the past - and maybe you don't even know them, maybe you had a Twitter war with them - they can actually go through your social media and report you to the telecom regulation authority who could then take a police a case against you. It's extremely risky.
"The fact is almost everyone who visits Dubai is going to be in breach of those cyber laws and that means they could be subject to arrest.
"That's absolutely ridiculous for a country that wants to attract tourism."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47907760
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news_uk-47907760
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More over-75s should take statins, experts say - BBC News
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2019-04-16
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Thousands of lives could be saved each year if more took the cholesterol-lowering drugs, researchers say.
|
Health
|
More people over the age of 75 should be taking statins, scientists have said, following a review of research.
There had been a lack of evidence about how much the cholesterol-lowering drugs benefit this age group.
But the review found they cut the risk of major cardiovascular disease in all ages studied, including the over-75s.
Researchers said thousands of lives could be saved each year if more than the estimated third of UK over-75s who do take statins, were given them.
They also said it could improve quality of life for many people.
Cardiovascular disease kills about 150,000 people in the UK each year, with two-thirds of these occurring in people over the age of 75.
Statins reduce the build-up of fatty plaques that lead to blockages in blood vessels, though reported side effects and the extent of how often they are prescribed has attracted controversy.
The review, which looked at 28 randomised controlled trials - often called the "gold standard" of studies - involving nearly 190,000 patients, found statins lowered the risk of major cardiovascular disease in the ages studied, from under-55s to over-75s.
There were similar reductions in risk for stroke and for coronary stenting or bypass surgery.
Authors of the paper said there had until now been an "evidence gap" around how effective the drugs are for the elderly.
They estimate that about a third of the 5.5 million people in the UK over 75 take a statin, when the "vast majority" of these would meet the medicine regulator's guidelines for being prescribed the drug.
Prof Colin Baigent, one of the authors of the paper, said: "One of the issues we have is that very often doctors are unwilling to consider statin therapy for elderly people simply because they're old, and that, I think, is an attitude that is preventing us from making use of the tools we have available to us."
Researchers said statins may help people avoid disability caused by cardiovascular disease
The benefits were strongest in people who have already had vascular disease. There wasn't enough data in people over the age of 75 who haven't had it to show a benefit. Experts have called for more data to guide prescription for these people.
However, the authors said even a smaller reduction in risk was significant because the elderly have a higher baseline risk for cardiovascular disease in the first place.
The more people reduced their low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, the more the risk of cardiovascular disease was lowered, the study found.
A 1.0 mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol lowered the risk of major vascular events by about a fifth and a major coronary event by a quarter, when results from all age groups were combined.
To put this into perspective, about 2.5% of 63-year-olds with no history of vascular disease would be expected to have their first major vascular event per year, compared with 4% of 78-year-olds.
Reducing those risks by a fifth would prevent first major vascular events from occurring each year in 50 people aged 63 and 80 people aged 78 per 10,000 people treated.
Prof Baigent said there was an argument for giving statins to people over the age of 75 who have a "normal" level of LDL cholesterol.
He said: "In many circumstances, the person may be very healthy, they may be able to avoid having a stroke or having a heart attack simply by taking a cheap and safe tablet every day.
"That may be a choice they're willing to take. At the moment I feel we're not taking the opportunity to offer that."
There has been controversy about statin side effects and how often they are prescribed, especially in otherwise healthy people.
It is possible to lower cholesterol levels without drugs by making lifestyle changes, such as by cutting down on saturated fat and eating more fruit, vegetables and fibre.
Prof Baigent said side effects were "massively outweighed, both in middle age and the elderly, by the benefits of statin therapy that we already know about".
And he also said he was not calling for people to pick statins over exercise and lifestyle changes.
"I think it's not an either/or," he added.
The Royal College of GPs welcomed the research and said it was "particularly reassuring" to see evidence of the benefit of statins in over-75s.
Prof Martin Marshall, vice-chairman of the college, said some patients would not want to be on long-term medication.
"But GPs are highly trained to prescribe and will only recommend the drugs if they think they will genuinely help the person sitting in front of them, based on their individual circumstances - and after a frank conversation about the potential risks and benefits."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-47058919
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news_health-47058919
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Brexit: Theresa May's extension statement in full - BBC News
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2019-04-02
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Mrs May says she will ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline to "break the logjam".
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UK Politics
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Theresa May has said she will ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline to "break the logjam" in Parliament.
The prime minister also said she wants to meet Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to agree a plan on the future relationship with the EU.
Here is her statement in full.
"I've just come from chairing seven hours of Cabinet meetings focused on finding a route out of the current impasse, one that will deliver the Brexit the British people voted for and allow us to move on and begin bringing our divided country back together.
"I know there are some who are so fed up with delay and endless arguments that they would like to leave with no deal next week. I've always been clear that we could make a success of no deal in the long term.
"But leaving with a deal is the best solution. So we will need a further extension of Article 50, one that is as short as possible and which ends when we pass a deal.
"And we need to be clear what such an extension is for, to ensure we leave in a timely and orderly way.
"This debate, this division, cannot drag on much longer.
"It is putting members of Parliament and everyone else under immense pressure and it is doing damage to our politics.
"Despite the best efforts of MPs, the process that the House of Commons has tried to lead has not come up with an answer.
"So today I'm taking action to break the log jam.
"I'm offering to sit down with the Leader of the Opposition to try to agree a plan that we would both stick to, to ensure that we leave the European Union and that we do so with a deal.
"Any plan would have to agree the current withdrawal agreement.
"It has already been negotiated with the 27 other members and the EU has repeatedly said that it cannot and will not be reopened.
"What we need to focus on is our future relationship with the EU.
"The ideal outcome of this process would be to agree an approach on a future relationship that delivers on the result of the referendum, that both the Leader of the Opposition and I could put to the House for approval and which I could then take to next week's European Council.
"However, if we cannot agree on the single unified approach then we would instead agree a number of options for the future relationship that we could put to the House in a series of votes to determine which course to pursue.
"Crucially, the government stands ready to abide by the decision of the House, but to make this process work, the opposition would need to agree to this too.
"The government would then bring forward the Withdrawal Agreement bill.
"We would want to agree a timetable for this bill to ensure it is passed before the 22nd of May so that the United Kingdom need not take part in the European parliamentary elections.
"This is a difficult time for everyone. Passions are running high on all sides of the argument, but we can and must find the compromises that will deliver what the British people voted for.
"This is a decisive moment in the story of these islands and it requires national unity to deliver the national interest."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47794673
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news_uk-politics-47794673
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Sturgeon: Prime minister 'kicking the can' over Brexit - BBC News
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2019-04-02
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Theresa May wants a further extension to the Brexit deadline - but Nicola Sturgeon says she's "kicking the can".
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Scotland politics
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Nicola Sturgeon has accused Theresa May of "kicking the can" after the prime minister said she would ask the EU for a further Brexit deadline extension.
Mrs May called for talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to "break the logjam" in the Commons over Brexit.
Ms Sturgeon said the prime minister was "kicking the can and delaying making any decision" on how to compromise.
The first minister had earlier proposed cancelling Holyrood's Easter recess if the UK is heading for a no-deal exit.
Westminster looks set to sit through its Easter recess as MPs attempt to agree a plan for the UK's exit from the EU, and the Scottish government said it would be "weird" if MSPs took time away from Holyrood if a no-deal exit was looming.
Mrs May has been unable to win backing for her proposed Brexit plan, suffering three defeats in the Commons, while MPs have failed to unite around any alternative after a series of "indicative votes".
The UK's departure from the EU was put back from 29 March to 12 April following a summit of European leaders late in March. If MPs or ministers cannot come up with a plan, which is accepted by the EU, then the UK will leave without a deal.
After an all-day meeting of her cabinet on Tuesday, Mrs May said she would ask the EU for a further extension to the deadline to "break the logjam in parliament".
She said she wanted this delay to be "as short as possible" - before 22 May, so the UK does not have to take part in European elections - and that she would seek talks with Mr Corbyn to agree a new approach.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Nicola Sturgeon This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
In a post on Twitter, Ms Sturgeon responded: "This does seem very much like the PM kicking the can and, yet again, delaying making any decision that could break her cabinet.
"What is missing is an answer to the question that many MPs faced up to last night - what is the compromise she is willing to make?"
The SNP leader favours having a second referendum on EU membership, but her MPs have also backed proposals that would keep the UK in the single market and customs union to keep the option of a softer Brexit on the agenda.
She said: "The sensible way forward - and I think one the PM would take if this was a serious attempt to build consensus - is to agree to fight an election, seek a longer delay and allow the option of a public vote on what the Commons says."
The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford added: "Scotland has been utterly ignored throughout the Brexit process.
"The SNP has shown we are willing to find a compromise position to end the impasse, but out priority remains stopping Brexit in its tracks.
"Time is fast running out and the prime minister must now seek a long extension to Article 50, bring this back to the people through a fresh referendum, and keep the option to revoke Article 50 on the table to avoid a no-deal Brexit."
In her Downing Street statement, Mrs May said: "This is a difficult time for everyone. Passions are running high on all sides of the argument, but we can and must find the compromises that will deliver what the British people voted for.
"This is a decisive moment in the story of these islands and it requires national unity to deliver the national interest."
Mrs May made a statement at Downing Street offering talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
Ms Sturgeon had earlier agreed with her own cabinet that Holyrood's Easter recess should be curtailed if the UK is heading for a no-deal Brexit.
MSPs are due to have two weeks away from the parliament from 8 April, clashing with the latest deadline.
A spokesman for the first minister said "MSPs should not be on holiday" while the UK is "staring down the barrel of the disaster of no-deal".
The move would have to be confirmed by Holyrood's cross-party business bureau management group of MSPs, but has been backed by the Greens and the Lib Dems.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Parliament said the bureau would consider its position "before the close of business on Thursday".
It is understood the current proposal is that if the UK is heading for a no-deal exit on 12 April, Holyrood would sit that Thursday and Friday to provide updates and communicate resilience plans.
Brexit Secretary Mike Russell said MSPs would need to "discuss issues involved, hear about work being done on resilience, and to prepare for the terrible situation we'd find ourselves in".
MSPs could return to Holyrood to sit during the upcoming Easter recess
Ms Sturgeon's official spokesman said that if the UK was "staring down the barrel of the disaster of no-deal, then members of the public would find it weird if parliament was in recess and not focused on the issue in front of them".
He added: "The first minister's view is clearly MSPs should not be on holiday when the biggest, most momentous, potentially most damaging issue to hit Scotland and the UK since the Second World War is about to take place."
The Scottish Greens said it would be "quite right" for Holyrood to sit in light of the "unprecedented crisis" of no-deal, while the Lib Dems said there would be "a lot of frightened people out there" who would "need reassurances that their representatives are dealing with any issues that arise in a focused and collaborative way".
However a number of MSPs hit out at the idea of recess being a "holiday", with several stressing that it was rather "a chance to catch up on local issues" and hold constituency surgeries.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-47790048
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news_uk-scotland-scotland-politics-47790048
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Cyclone Idai: What's the role of climate change? - BBC News
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2019-05-03
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Direct links to climate change are difficult to prove but rising temperatures are increasing cyclone intensity, say scientists.
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Science & Environment
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Unless a rich benefactor steps in, the role of human-induced climate change in Cyclone Idai is unlikely to be clearly determined.
The scientists with the expertise simply don't have the resources to do the large amount of computer modelling required.
However, there are a number of conclusions about rising temperatures that researchers have gleaned from previous studies on tropical cyclones in the region.
While Cyclone Idai is the seventh such major storm of the Indian Ocean season - more than double the average for this time of year - the long-term trend does not support the idea that these type of events are now more frequent.
"The interesting thing for the area is that the frequency of tropical cyclones has decreased ever so slightly over the last 70 years," said Dr Jennifer Fitchett from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa who has studied the question.
"Instead, we are getting a much higher frequency of high-intensity storms."
Climate change is also changing a number of factors in the background that are contributing to making the impact of these storms worse.
"There is absolutely no doubt that when there is a tropical cyclone like this, then because of climate change the rainfall intensities are higher," said Dr Friederike Otto, from the University of Oxford, who has carried a number of studies looking at the influence of warming on specific events.
"And also because of sea-level rise, the resulting flooding is more intense than it would be without human-induced climate change."
A poor country with a long coastline, Mozambique is especially vulnerable to storms sweeping in from the Indian Ocean.
More than 700 lives were lost during a devastating flood there nearly 20 years ago. I was one of many journalists reporting on the plight of communities submerged. One woman, stranded in a tree, was forced to give birth among the branches.
A huge international response saw the Royal Air Force send six helicopters to rescue survivors. Back then, the priority was to save lives. Little thought was given to rebuilding homes and infrastructure with new designs to help them withstand future storms.
Development experts have long argued that reconstruction should enshrine the principle of resilience, with roads raised high enough to stay dry in floods and houses made robust enough to resist cyclone-strength winds.
There are plenty of examples of how this forward-thinking can help. In low-lying Bangladesh, there are schools built on high ground which can serve as refuges during storms. And as the potential effects of climate change become better understood, there's growing recognition of the need for communities to adapt to what could be tougher conditions ahead.
One critical factor in the Southern Indian Ocean that is having an impact on these storms is sea-surface temperatures. Warmer seas mean there is more energy available for cyclones, which only form when the water reaches 26 degrees C.
These storms also need help from the Earth's rotation to get them spinning. This rotating effect gets stronger the further you move away from the Equator and towards the poles.
However, in previous decades, the further away you were from the Equator meant the cooler the seas became and so any tropical cyclones that formed didn't have the energy to keep going. Now climate change is impacting that relationship.
"Under increasing sea-surface temperatures, we are seeing the line of constant temperature required for these storms to form moving further and further towards the South Pole," said Dr Fitchett.
"So it is increasing the range in which these storms can form and that's then allowing them to intensify so quickly."
But it's not just a simple equation. Higher sea-surface temperatures can also work against the formation of cyclones.
"On the one hand, you have the higher ocean temperatures and that lends more energy for tropical cyclones to form," said Dr Otto. "But you also have higher temperatures in the atmosphere which leads to more wind shear, which weakens hurricanes."
According to researchers, about seven different ocean or atmospheric conditions are required for cyclone formation and normally only a couple of these occur. However, because of climate change, more and more of these conditions are coinciding with each other and that's why these big storms happen very quickly.
Whatever arguments about the impacts of climate change on tropical cyclones, the damage caused in Mozambique has much more to do with the vulnerability of people on the ground than rising temperatures.
"If you look at North America, they are experiencing Category 5 cyclones quite regularly now, and they don't experience the level of damage that Mozambique is seeing," said Dr Fitchett.
"When a storm like this comes along, the potential for devastation is infinitely higher. A city like Beria is at much higher risk, because not only have you many more people there, it's also so much more difficult for them to get out."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47638588
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news_science-environment-47638588
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Local elections: Why has Labour lost seats? - BBC News
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2019-05-03
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The Labour Party suffers a net loss of council seats - starting from the low base of 2015.
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UK Politics
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Labour has suffered a net loss of council seats - starting from the low base of 2015 in many cases.
The Conservatives have lost more than 10 times as many councillors, but what is remarkable is that the main party of opposition - around the mid-term of a not-very-popular government - has not made net gains.
It seems reasonable to assume that some votes have been lost by Labour in Leave areas because - as the leader of Sunderland City Council Graeme Miller has said - the party hasn't decisively ruled out another referendum.
(It has retained it as an option, if the Conservatives are unwilling to change their deal).
But if you take a close look at the figures in Sunderland, the complexity of Labour's political problems are revealed.
Its vote fell by nearly 17 points there - while UKIP's went up by 4.5.
The pro-Remain Lib Dems saw their vote rise by nearly 10 points and the Greens by 8.5.
Indeed, the combined vote of the Lib Dems and Greens was 21.4%, not far off UKIP's 23.9%.
The swing from Labour to the Lib Dems was about 13% and to the Greens 10%.
Those in Labour's ranks who wanted a stronger commitment to another referendum on any Brexit deal are arguing now that the party is losing support in some Leave areas by failing to appeal enough to those who voted Remain.
Defections to the Lib Dems and the Greens suppressed the Labour vote, and further flatters UKIP's performance.
In leave-supporting Derby, where Jeremy Corbyn's party lost six seats and UKIP gained two, the swing from Labour to Lib Dems was 6%.
But those who support Labour's current policy - a heavily caveated commitment to a referendum on Brexit under certain circumstances rather than a public vote in all circumstances - say this is too simplistic an analysis.
In truth, we can't discern the underlying motives of Labour/Lib Dem switchers in every part of the country unless we ask them.
There are genuinely local factors at play in some areas - unsurprising, perhaps, as these are indeed local elections.
And some on Labour's left have another theory. They say the party is vulnerable to a protest vote because some Labour councils have had to cut services due to constrained budgets.
In some cases the Lib Dems are the beneficiaries
Others on the left say the party can't get a hearing for its anti-austerity message as the Brexit debate muffles all else.
They are actually quite keen for their party leadership to reach a deal with the government soon to get Brexit over the line and - they believe - this will then neutralise the political toxicity of the issue.
But there is little doubt politicians will proclaim to know the will of the people, without necessarily exploring deeper motivations - and the results will be interpreted in a way which advances their own arguments.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48150656
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news_uk-politics-48150656
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UK knife crime: The first 100 fatal stabbings of 2019 - BBC News
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2019-05-17
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The BBC has tracked the killings to uncover the stories of those who have lost their lives.
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UK
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One hundred people have been fatally stabbed in the UK so far this year.
The first death was 33-year-old mother Charlotte Huggins, who died in London just a few hours after celebrating the start of the new year.
The 100th death was John Lewis, 32, who died in Middlesbrough on the evening of 14 May.
Those killed in 2019 range in age from 14-year-old Jaden Moodie, who was stabbed in Leyton, east London in January - to 80-year-old Barbara Heywood, who was attacked at her home in Bolton in March.
Almost half of the victims were under 30 and were overwhelmingly male.
There has been one fatal stabbing every 1.45 days so far this year in England and Wales. If killings continued at that rate for the rest of the year, the total would be slightly lower than the 285 stabbing deaths recorded in 2017-18.
Thirty of the fatal stabbings were in London, 10 in Greater Manchester and eight in the West Midlands.
Sorry, your browser cannot display this map
The police have made arrests in nearly all of the cases and have charged suspects in 86.
Below are the details and, where available, photos of those who have lost their lives so far this year.
You can filter the list using the categories below
• Thirty-three-year-old mother Charlotte Huggins died just a few hours after celebrating the start of the new year. She was stabbed at a residential address in south London and died at the scene. In a message posted on Facebook shortly before being attacked, Ms Huggins had wished her friends and family a "healthy, happy 2019". Her boyfriend Michael Rolle is due to stand trial at the Old Bailey on 1 July after pleading not guilty to Ms Huggins’ murder.
• Tudor Simionov, 33, had recently moved from Romania to east London with his girlfriend. On New Year’s Eve, he was working as a doorman at a private party in Mayfair. Mr Simionov was stabbed to death in the early hours of 1 January when a group of men tried to gatecrash the party. A woman and two of his male colleagues were also found with stab injuries. Haroon Akram, Adham Khalil, Adham Elshalakany, and Nor Aden Hamada will appear at the Old Bailey on 1 July to face charges of Mr Simionov’s murder, as well as two counts of attempted murder and two counts of GBH.
• Computer programmer Lee Pomeroy, 51, died after being attacked on a South Western Railway train bound for London Waterloo. Described as a “devoted family man”, Mr Pomeroy had been heading to London from Guildford for a day out with his 14-year-old son when he was stabbed nine times on the train. Darren Pencille is due to stand trial at the Old Bailey on 24 June to face charges of murder.
• Jaden Moodie became the first teenager to be stabbed to death in the UK in 2019 when he was knocked off a moped and attacked in Leyton, east London. The 14-year-old boy had moved to London from Nottingham with his mother for a "new start" six months before he died. His sister, Leah Moodie, said: "No one should have to go through the traumatic experience my family are going through." Ayoub Majdouline, 18, and Yousuf Dubbad, 21, have been charged with Jaden’s murder.
• Gavin Moon, 31, died from a stab wound he suffered at his flat in Washington, Tyne and Wear. His family paid tribute to the 31-year-old father, describing Mr Moon as "a devoted dad to his children and a loving son". Brian Goldsmith, 47, from Sunderland and Luc Barker, 28, from Washington, have been charged with Mr Moon’s murder and will face trial at Newcastle Crown Court on 18 June.
• Przemyslaw Cierniak was found with stab wounds shortly after midday on 10 January in a street in the centre of Boston, Lincolnshire. The 41-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. Lincolnshire Police say the victim and two suspects were known to each other. Mariusz Skiba, 32, and Dariusz Kaczkowski, 33, have both been charged with murder and will face the charges at Lincoln Crown Court on 10 June.
• Thirty-two-year-old Bashir Abdullah was found dead inside a block of flats in Bristol. A post-mortem revealed Mr Abdullah died after being stabbed. Avon and Somerset Police said the stabbing was being treated as an isolated incident. On 15 January, Jamal Sheik-Mohammed, 51, was charged with Mr Abdullah’s murder. He will stand trial at Bristol Crown Court on 8 July.
• Asma Begum, 31, was found with a neck injury at an address in Tower Hamlets. Police were called to the address in Poplar, but Ms Begum was pronounced dead at the scene. Jalal Uddin, 46, has been charged with her murder.
• Paul Dickson was stabbed at a house in Bolton, Lancashire, on 30 December. The 49-year-old died nearly two weeks later in hospital and a murder investigation was launched by Greater Manchester Police. No one has been charged with Mr Dickson’s murder, but a 34-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assault at the time of the stabbing. She has been bailed pending further police enquiries.
• Alison Hunt’s body was found at a property in Swinton, Greater Manchester, on 16 January. The 42-year-old had been stabbed to death, police confirmed. Described as a “wonderful mum”, Ms Hunt’s family and friends paid tribute to her in a statement, saying: “The light in our lives has been forever extinguished. The way she brightened up every day with her laughter and sense of humour will always be with us." Vernon Holmes, 48, from Irlam, was charged with Ms Hunt’s murder and will stand trial at Manchester Crown Court on 1 July.
• Sixty-nine-year-old Mary Annie Sowerby, known as Annie, was a "devoted wife" who "filled her life with joy and happiness", her family said. Ms Sowerby, who was married with two children, was found stabbed at a property in Dearham. She was treated by paramedics but died of her injuries. Her son Lee Sowerby, 45, has been charged with her murder and will stand trial at Carlisle Crown Court on 24 June.
• The 33-year-old was taken to Warrington General Hospital where he later died. Adrisse Gray, 23, admitted to Mr O’Donnell’s murder and will be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on 20 May. Gray is the first person to be convicted of a 2019 fatal stabbing.
• Community worker Ian Ogle, 45, died after being stabbed 11 times and beaten in the street near his home in East Belfast on 27 January. The father-of-two had acted as a spokesman for the loyalist community in East Belfast. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said a gang of at least five men were involved in the attack. Jonathan Brown, 33, and Glenn Rainey, 32, have been charged with murder.
• Kamil Malysz was found dead in a shared residential building in Acton on 27 January. The 34-year-old was a Polish national who had been living in west London. A post-mortem examination found he died as a result of haemorrhaging because of a stab injury. A 33-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder, but later released with no further action being taken. The Metropolitan Police are yet to charge anyone in connection with Mr Malysz’s death.
• Teenager Nedim Bilgin died after being attacked on Caledonian Road in Islington on 29 January. Speaking at the scene after the stabbing, Islington Councillor Paul Convery said the area had been blighted by tensions between gang rivalries for years. An investigation was launched by police, but nobody has been charged with the 17-year-old’s murder.
• Michael Liddell, 35, was found by paramedics suffering from a stab wound at a home in Longlevens, Gloucester, on 31 January. Mr Liddell died a short time later and his 65-year-old mother, Joy, was charged with his murder. Joy Liddell had been due to stand trial at Bristol Crown Court on 29 July, however, Avon and Somerset Police said she died in April. An inquest date for both deaths is yet to be set.
• Reece Ottaway, 23, was found dead at a social housing complex in Northampton on 1 February, following a "disturbance". A post-mortem examination confirmed that Mr Ottaway, from Daventry, had died as a result of a stab wound. His family said his death "will haunt us for the rest of our lives". Five men have been charged with his murder and will face trial in September.
• Kevin Byrne's body was discovered at an address in Alison Street, Kirkcaldy, on 5 February. The 45-year-old, who had had his left leg amputated and used crutches, was also known locally as Kevin Forrester. Leslie Fraser appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court charged with assault and murder.
• Jurijs Paramonovs was stabbed inside his home in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on 3 February. The 46-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene and a murder investigation was launched by Cambridgeshire police. Olegs Titovs, 49, pleaded not guilty at Cambridge Crown Court to murdering Mr Paramonovs and was told a trial would start on 8 July.
• Lejean Richards became the third teenager to be stabbed to death in London in 2019 when he was attacked near his home in Battersea. In a tribute, Mr Richards' mother said her 19-year-old son was “turning his life around”. Roy Reyes-Nieves and Roger Reyes-Nieves have both been charged with Mr Richards' murder and will stand trial at the Old Bailey on 12 August.
• Mum-of-four Aliny Mendes had been picking up her children from school when she was attacked and stabbed in a street in Ewell, Surrey, on 8 February. A JustGiving page raised more than £58,000 for her family and to repatriate the 39-year-old’s body back to her native Brazil. Her estranged husband, Ricardo Godinho, 41, has admitted manslaughter but denied murdering Ms Mendes. He will stand trial at Guildford Crown Court on 17 June.
• Dennis Anderson was attacked in a street in Dulwich, south London, reportedly after a row about cigarettes in an off-licence. The 39-year-old, who was a painter and decorator, was stabbed in the neck outside the Food and Wine shop on Lordship Lane. Jahmal Michael Riley was charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon. The 24-year-old will stand trial at the Old Bailey on 5 August.
• Wesley Adyinka died after being stabbed in the heart near his home in Maidstone on 10 February. The 37-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. His partner Amanda Francis was also injured but survived the attack. Four people have been charged with murder and causing grievous bodily harm.
• Carl Hopkins, 49, was stabbed in his lung near Colchester’s Castle Park on 11 February. A friend described in a newspaper interview how he and Mr Hopkins were both sleeping rough in Colchester at the time. Andrew Whitten reportedly said Mr Hopkins “was a loveable pain in the neck and we argued like cat and dog. But we were close and we had each other’s back. He was always there for me and I love him to bits”.
• Paramedics were called to a shared property in Coventry and found 22-year-old Patrick Hill suffering from a stab wound. He was taken to hospital but died from his injuries three days later. Levi Whitmore-Wills, 18, was initially charged with wounding, but was later charged with murder after Mr Hill died. Mr Whitmore-Wills has pleaded not guilty and is due to stand trial at Warwick Crown Court on 24 June.
• Dorothy Bowyer, 77, was found dead at a house in the Derbyshire village of Buxworth on Valentine’s Day. She had been stabbed in the chest. A dog was also found dead at the property. The mother-of-three had worked at a sweets factory and was “loved by the community”, according to friends and neighbours. William Blunsdon, 25, of Buxworth, who was arrested shortly afterwards, has been charged with her murder and criminal damage.
• Sixteen-year-old Sidali Mohamed was attacked outside Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College in Highgate, Birmingham, on 13 February. He died two days later. The teenager had fled war-torn Somalia with his family when he was a toddler. Family members said Sidali had "many ambitions and goals" and wanted to be an accountant. His college principal described him as "a wonderful young man". A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with murder.
• Abdul Deghayes was found stabbed in a car in Brighton after a crash on 16 February. He died from his injuries the following day. He was the brother of two British teenagers killed while fighting for Islamist militants in Syria. Another brother, Amer, is believed to be still alive in Syria. His uncle, Omar Deghayes, was detained at Guantanamo Bay for almost six years. Daniel MacLeod, 36, will stand trial at Hove Crown Court on 24 June to face a charge of murdering Abdul Deghayes.
• Bright Akinleye was stabbed in the leg during a row at a party near Euston railway station on 18 February. The 22-year-old staggered into a nearby luxury hotel and collapsed. He later died at the scene. Seven men and seven women were arrested on suspicion of murder. Only one person - Tashan Brewster - has been charged with Mr Akinleye’s murder. The 30-year-old is set to appear at the Old Bailey on 12 August for trial.
• Sixteen-year-old Abdullah Muhammad was stabbed in the back and chest in a Birmingham park on 20 February. He was the second teenager to be stabbed to death in the city in a week. Abdullah had been studying to memorise the Koran at the Green Lane Mosque. His teachers said he was “a young man with ambition and potential". Three people - Demille Innis, Amari Robinson, also known as Amari Tullock, and a 17-year-old boy - have all been charged with murder and will appear at Birmingham Crown Court for a trial on 27 August.
• Alasdair Forsyth was discovered with serious injuries at an address in Clearburn Road, Prestonfield, Edinburgh, on 21 February. The 67-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene by the Scottish Ambulance Service. Three males - aged 15, 16 and 19 - have been charged in connection with the death and were remanded in custody following a court appearance in February.
• Glendon Spence, 23, died after being attacked at the Marcus Lipton Youth Centre in Brixton on 21 February. The Metropolitan Police said a fight had started outside the youth centre and Mr Spence had run inside, where he was stabbed. A football training session for children was taking place in the centre at the time. Two 17-year-old boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been charged with Mr Spence’s murder and will stand trial at the Old Bailey on 12 August.
• Courtney Valentine-Brown died after being stabbed in the leg in Southend just before midnight on 21 February. The 36-year-old was taken to hospital, but later died from his injuries. His family said he was "ambitious, cheeky and extremely creative with his whole future ahead of him". Three men and a woman have been charged with Mr Valentine-Brown's murder.
• Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck died after he was stabbed by a gang riding bikes in Wood Green, north London. The 19-year-old was chased into a hair salon and attacked by men armed with a firearm, knives and a samurai sword. A second man was shot but survived. Detectives said the attack would have been witnessed by several people, including children. Tyrell Graham, 18, and Sheareem Cookhorn, 20, have been charged with murder, attempted murder and robbery.
• Philip McMillan, 26, died in Wishaw General Hospital, in North Lanarkshire, after being stabbed during a fight in a street in Holytown on 22 February. Mr McMillan, who was a Rangers fan, had a son. Three men, in their 20s, have been charged in connection with the incident.
• Father-of-two, Phillip Rooney, 32, was found dead at a house in Leigh, Greater Manchester, after being stabbed in the stomach. His family said he was "witty, caring and had a heart of gold". Stephen Brocklehurst, 48, will stand trial at Manchester Crown Court after being charged with Mr Rooney’s murder.
• Gary Cunningham became the third person in ten days to die from a stabbing in Birmingham. The 29-year-old was attacked at a flat in Harborne on 23 February and died at the scene. Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow was arrested and charged with Mr Cunningham’s murder. The 26-year-old will appear at Birmingham Crown Court on 22 July for trial.
• Teenager Connor Brown died in hospital after being attacked behind The Borough pub in Sunderland city centre in the early hours of 24 February. The 18-year-old was a student at the local Farringdon Community Sports College. England footballer and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who went to the same school as Mr Brown, was among those who expressed their sympathy to his family. Ally Gordon, 19, and Leighton Barrass, 20, were charged with Mr Brown’s murder and remanded in custody to appear at Newcastle Crown Court for a trial on 1 July.
• Spanish national David Lopez-Fernandez was found stabbed at an address in Stepney, east London. Police and paramedics treated the 38-year-old at the scene, however, he later died from his injuries. Jairo Sepulveda-Garcia, 36, was charged with Mr Lopez-Fernandez’s murder and will stand trial at Southwark Crown Court on 19 August.
• Hazrat Umar became the third teenager within 12 days to be stabbed to death in Birmingham. The 18-year-old, who was a student at the South and City College in Birmingham, suffered fatal stab injuries in Bordesley Green. Mr Umar was studying electrical engineering. His family and friends said they could not understand why he was targeted. A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is due to stand trial at Birmingham Crown Court on 10 June.
• Jodi Miller was found suffering from serious injuries inside a home in Harehills, Leeds, on 25 February. The 21-year-old was taken to hospital but died a short time later. It is believed she had been stabbed. Karar Ali Karar, 29, has been charged with Ms Miller’s murder and is set to appear at Leeds Crown Court for a trial on 12 August.
• Che Morrison was stabbed to death outside Ilford railway station in east London on 26 February. His family described the 20-year-old as "very ambitious" and said he "had many aspirations for his future". Mr Morrison had studied at Havering College of Further and Higher Education. Florent Okende, 20, is due to stand trial over Mr Morrison’s murder, at the Old Bailey on 15 July.
• St John Lewis died after being attacked in Broadlea Terrace in Bramley, Leeds, on 26 February. Mr Lewis worked as a chef at a pizza restaurant in the city. His father, Alfie Lewis said he was a “gentleman who was very keen to help people. He wouldn’t hurt a fly". Dean Dagless, 48, of Broadlea Terrace, is due to appear at Leeds Crown Court on 8 July to face charges of murder and possession of an offensive weapon.
• Emergency services were called to an address in Paignton, Devon, on 27 February where 74-year-old Peter Flux was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem revealed that Mr Flux - who was an artist - died from a stab wound to the neck. Faye Burford, 40, was charged with Mr Flux’s murder and remanded in custody to appear at Exeter Crown Court on 12 August for a trial.
• Lance Martin, 24, was found with life-threatening injuries in Normanton on 28 February, and died in hospital. A friend paid tribute to him, saying he was a "gentle giant at heart" who "loved his little boy". Mr Martin's death had shaken everyone he knew, she added. Three people have been charged with murder and one with manslaughter. All four have pleaded not guilty.
• Jodie Chesney was attacked while playing music in a park with friends in Harold Hill, Havering, on 1 March. The 17-year-old died after being stabbed in the back. Former classmates described her as a "bundle of joy and such a good person" and said she was "so beautiful - inside and out". Jodie, who was a girl scout – was said to be a “wonderful student “ by the Principal at Havering College. Manuel Petrovic, 20, Svenson Ong-a-kwie, 18, and a 16-year-old boy have all been charged with Jodie’s murder and are set to stand trial at the Old Bailey on 2 September.
• Yousef Makki, from Burnage, died after being attacked in Gorse Bank Road, near Altrincham on 2 March. The Manchester Grammar School student had been stabbed in the street. Yousef's parents described him as a "loving and caring son and brother", and said he had phoned hours before his death to say he would be home for tea. Two 17-year-old boys - who cannot be named for legal reasons - were charged in connection with Yousef’s death. The pair are set to stand trial at Manchester Crown Court on 18 June.
• Mother-of-three Elize Stevens was stabbed to death at a house in Hendon, north-west London on 2 March. The 50-year-old worked as a welfare officer for the S&P Sephardi Community. A spokesman said she had impressed everyone with her "friendly nature, warmth and dedication to the job". Ian Levy, 54, was charged with Ms Stevens’ murder and is set to stand trial at the Old Bailey on 5 August.
• Spanish national David Martinez-Valencia,26, was stabbed in the chest, legs and back inside a flat in Leyton, east London, on 6 March. The police said his death "is not believed to be gang-related". Carlos Rueda Velez, 18, has been charged with Mr Martinez’s murder and is due to stand trial at the Old Bailey on 19 August.
• Luciano Dos Santos was struck by a vehicle in Oxford and stabbed several times. The 22-year-old victim was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, where he later died on 6 March. His mother, Carla Dos Santos, said he was "a sweet, loving and strong-willed young man". Four men have been charged in connection with Mr Dos Santos’ death and are set to appear at Oxford Crown Court on 2 September for trial.
• Mohamed Elmi was one of two men stabbed in linked attacks in central London on Sunday 3 March. The 37-year-old was found with stab wounds early in the morning in Soho. Hours later, police were called to another incident in Camden, in which a 16-year-old boy had been stabbed. The teenager survived the attack but Mr Elmi died three days later. Joe Gynane, 32, will stand trial at the Old Bailey on 1 July to face charges of murder, attempted murder, possession of a bladed article and two counts of assaulting emergency service workers.
• Ayub Hassan, 17, was stabbed three times in the chest in Lanfrey Place, West Kensington, on 7 March. The teenager, who was a student at Hammersmith College, had dreamed of becoming a barrister, a relative said. A 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with murder and will appear for a trial at the Old Bailey on 19 August.
• Mother-of-five Rachel Evans, 46, was stabbed multiple times at a house in Hignett Avenue, St Helens, on 11 March. Carl Harrison, 46, has pleaded guilty to murder. He is due to be sentenced on 14 June.
• Reece Leeman was stabbed following an argument at a house in Sydenham, East Belfast. The 21-year-old staggered into the street where he was found collapsed. He later died in hospital. A 28-year-old man has been charged with Mr Leeman’s murder.
• Nathaniel Armstrong, 29, was stabbed to death in the early hours of the morning on 16 March in Fulham, west London. Mr Armstrong's cousin Alex Beresford, Good Morning Britain's weatherman, said the victim was a "bright young man". Lovel Bailey, 29, was arrested at Gatwick Airport on 2 April and charged with Mr Armstrong’s murder. He is due to stand trial at the Old Bailey on 18 November.
• Kumarathas Rajasingam, 57, was stabbed to death at his home in Wymondham, Norfolk. His wife, Jeyamalar Kumarathas, 54, has been charged with his murder and is set to stand trial at Norwich Crown Court on 19 August. Norfolk Police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder.
• Mother-of-three Debbie Twist was stabbed to death at her home in Leigh, Manchester, on 17 March. Greater Manchester Police said the stabbing of the 47-year-old was being treated as an “isolated” incident. A 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and bailed.
• The body of Alison McKenzie, 55, was found inside a flat in the Berwick Hills area of Middlesbrough on 20 March. Her son, Ian McKenzie, 34, was charged with murder and has been remanded to appear at Teesside Crown Court.
• On the evening of 22 March, teenager Abdirashid Mohamoud had been in Syon Park, Isleworth, when he was chased to a block of flats by a group of men. The 17-year-old from Brentford was stabbed several times and died at the scene. A relative said Abdirashid had dreamed of becoming an engineer. A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and bailed. A 23-year-old was also arrested and released under investigation.
• Jonathan Roper, from Glastonbury, was stabbed on the afternoon of 23 March. The 34-year-old died at the scene in Wells, Somerset. He was described as a "devoted family man", who would be much missed. Seven men and three women were arrested in connection with Mr Roper’s death.
• Ravi Katharkamar, 54, was stabbed in the chest as he went to open his newsagents in Pinner, north-west London, on a Sunday morning. Alex Gunn, 31, of no fixed address, has been charged with murder, robbery, possession of a bladed article, and theft of a motor vehicle. Mr Gunn is due to appear at the Old Bailey on a date to be set.
• Richard Astin, 42, died from his injuries after being stabbed on a road outside the nearby Highgate pub in Oakes, Huddersfield. Shaun Waterhouse, 39, has been charged with Mr Astin’s murder and is due to stand trial at Leeds Crown Court on 23 July.
• The 80-year-old great-grandmother was fatally stabbed at her home in Bolton on 27 March. A family statement described Mrs Heywood as a “generous, kind-hearted lady who loved life". An 88-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and later detained under the Mental Health Act.
• Zahir Visiter, a Chechen refugee, was stabbed in St John’s Wood, London, on the evening of 28 March. The 25-year-old was taken to hospital, where he died a short time later. It is thought that those involved fled in the direction of the London Central Mosque, near Regent’s Park, which was put in lockdown while it was searched by armed police. Three people were arrested by police at an address in Whitechapel, east London. Subsequently, Kamal Hussain, 21, and Yosif Ahmed, 18, were both charged with murder.
• Hassan Ahmed Mohamoud, from Toxteth, Liverpool, was stabbed in the neck in broad daylight on 28 March. The 29-year-old was taken to hospital where he later died from his injuries. A 28-year-old man, also from Toxteth, was arrested and has been detained under the Mental Health Act, Merseyside Police have said.
• Father-of-three Gavin Garraway was attacked in his car while he was driving near Clapham Common tube station. The 40-year-old was stabbed and pronounced dead at the scene outside The Belle Vue pub. Zion Chiata,18, has been charged with Mr Garraway’s murder and is set to stand trial at the Old Bailey on 14 October.
• Father-of-one Leneto Kellengbeck was stabbed near his home in Solihull, on 29 March. The 24-year-old’s mother Jasmine described her son as "kind and thoughtful". Mr Kellengbeck was a keen boxer. Demus Marcus, 24, was charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon on 19 April.
• Damian Banks was found unconscious and with stab wounds to his chest at a property in Durham on 30 March. The 34-year-old was taken to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary but died. His brother Vincent Bell, 35, was arrested and charged with Mr Banks’ murder and is due to appear at Teesside Crown Court.
• Paul Taylor, 45, from Hebburn, South Tyneside, was pronounced dead by emergency services after he was found at a house in Jarrow. Nicola Lee, 44, was charged with his murder and has pleaded not guilty.
• Calvin Bungisa was chased and repeatedly stabbed in Gospel Oak, Camden, in what was described by the Met as a “brutal and merciless attack”. The 22-year-old former Haverstock School pupil was pronounced dead at the scene, despite the efforts of paramedics. No one has been charged or arrested in connection with Mr Bungisa’s death.
• Jordan O'Brien, 25, died in hospital after suffering serious injuries at a house in Gainsborough on 27 March. Doctors tried to save the father-of-two by amputating a leg but he later died of his injuries on 2 April. Kieron Walker, 22, was charged with Mr O’Brien’s murder and has pleaded not guilty.
• John Carroll, 52, died on 2 April after being stabbed at a house in Selly Oak, Birmingham. His 53-year-old wife, Deborah Carroll, was arrested and subsequently charged with Mr Carroll’s murder. She has been remanded to appear at Birmingham Crown Court.
• Tyrelle Burke died in hospital after being stabbed in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, on 5 April. In a statement paying tribute to the 20-year-old, his family said he was a “funny, caring son, who always had time for his family”. A 17-year-old boy was charged with Mr Burke’s murder and possession of an offensive weapon. He has been remanded to appear at Manchester Crown Court.
• Alexandru Constantinescu died at a caravan park in Dunkirk near Canterbury after being stabbed in the heart. His family, who live in Romania, described him as a music lover and a “beautiful son". Dumitru Palazu, 48, has been charged with the 30-year-old's murder and has pleaded not guilty.
• Odessa Carey was found injured inside her home in Ashington, on 8 April. The 73-year-old's daughter, also called Odessa Carey, was arrested after being found a few miles away in the village of Guide Post. Ms Carey, 35, was charged with her mother’s murder and is due to stand trial at Newcastle Crown Court on 2 October.
• Noore Bashir Salad was shot and stabbed in Newham, east London, on 8 April. Police believe the 22-year-old was attacked by three men. The post-mortem examination gave his cause of death as a stab wound to the leg.
• Yet to be named Police Scotland launched a murder investigation on 13 April after a 25-year-old man was found dead in Dalry, Ayrshire. A 19-year-old man has been charged with murder.
• Steven Brown, 47, was stabbed in the heart outside a builder’s merchants in north London. The father-of-five had recently been reunited with relatives from the United States, his family said. Eleven people have been arrested by the police but there have been no charges yet.
• Anthony Ferns was stabbed in the neck in his car in Glasgow. Police believe he had been approached by a man who spoke to him through the driver’s window before the attack. The 33-year-old tiler managed to drive to his home where he collapsed and died in front of his mother and friends. His was the second killing in the city in the space of 24 hours.
• Simon Jones died in hospital after being stabbed near Chaddesden Park, Derby, on the evening of 20 April. The 57-year-old, who lived in Belper, was described as a “true gentleman” by his family. A number of people have been arrested and charged in connection with Mr Jones’ death.
• Barrister’s clerk Joe O’Brien, 24, was stabbed during a brawl outside a pub in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, at about 3am on Easter Sunday. “His friends, his family and Manchester United were his life,” said his mother Roz McDonald. She said her son loved his job at Deans Court Chambers in Manchester. A 21-year-old man was treated at hospital for stab wounds but has recovered. Momodou Jallow, 21, has been charged with murder.
• Saima Riaz, who was a nurse, was found stabbed to death at her home in Rochdale. Her family said she was “an amazing mother to three wonderful children” and was “dedicated to helping others". Mohammed Abid Choudhry, 36, has been charged with murder.
• Twenty-five-year-old Katheeskaran Thavarasa – better known as Karan – was found seriously injured in a flat in Hitchin on 23 April. He was pronounced dead at the scene having “suffered knife wounds”, according to Hertfordshire Police. Eswaran Sinnathurai, 24, has been charged with Mr Thavarasa’s murder.
• Sammy-Lee Lodwig was killed at a house in Swansea on 23 April. Following her death, the 22-year-old's sister Miakala paid tribute to her, saying she would "always remain in my heart". Jason Farrell, of Swansea, has been remanded in custody after being charged with Ms Lodwig’s murder. The 49-year-old will appear at Swansea Crown Court on 14 October for a trial.
• Meshach Williams was fatally stabbed on High Street, Harlesden by a gang who used two cars to block traffic on 24 April. The 21-year-old was attacked and fled into a betting shop to seek help, but later died in hospital. Dominic Calder, 19, has been charged with murder, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of cannabis.
• Teenager Jordan Moazami was stabbed to death in a street in Harborne, Birmingham, on 24 April. The 18-year-old, from Quinton, was described as "an excellent young man" and role model by his former youth football club. Moshood Giwa, 19, has been charged with Mr Moazami’s murder as well as a public order offence in connection with the teenager’s death. Hamed Hussein, 18, of no fixed address, is also charged with Mr Moazami’s murder.
• A murder inquiry was launched by Bedfordshire Police after grandfather Meuric Roberts was found dead inside his flat on 24 April. His family said Mr Roberts, 51, will be "missed every day". Simon Lewis, 39, of Chapel Street, Luton, has been charged with Mr Roberts’ murder and remanded in custody.
• Joshua White died from injuries after being stabbed in Homerton, Hackney, on 26 April. A 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man have been charged with Mr White's murder.
• Niall Magee was stabbed at a house in the Cairn Walk area of Crumlin, County Antrim. The following day the 21-year-old died from his injuries in hospital and a murder investigation was launched by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Michael McManus, of Cairn Walk, Crumlin, was charged with Mr Magee’s murder – a charge which he denied at Limavady Magistrates' Court on 1 May.
• Teenager Tashaun Aird died in Hackney after being stabbed in the street on 1 May. The 15-year-old's death came on the day the Met Police announced a drop in homicides in the latest financial year compared to figures from 2017-18. Commissioner Cressida Dick said the teenager’s death was “truly, truly terrible”. Romaine Williams-Reid, 18, has been charged with murder. A 16-year-old boy has also been arrested.
• Alex Davies, 18, was reported missing from his home in Skelmersdale on April 30. His body was found in woodland the next day in Parbold, Lancashire. He had been stabbed and suffocated. Mr Davies worked in a shop. His boss said he was “an energetic, kind and helpful lad, who loved working with customers". A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and will stand trial in October.
• Michael Dale died from a stab wound to the chest. The 46-year-old was found inside a property on Charles Lane, Haslingden, on 2 May and died in the early hours of the morning. Mr Dale ran a tattoo shop in the town and was said by a niece to have prided himself on being “a punk for life”. Shahid Hussain, 37, of no fixed address, has been charged with murder.
• Year 12 pupil Ellie Gould died after being stabbed at a house in Calne, Wiltshire, on 3 May. Hardenhuish School head teacher, Lisa Percy, paid tribute to the 17-year-old, saying “the students, staff and parents have found comfort in being together and paying their respects". A 17-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with her murder and is due to stand trial in October.
• Hamze Ibrahim Ismail, 21, died in hospital after being stabbed in the street. His father said the "mindless act of violence" had "broken" his family. Mohamed Khashkhush, 24, has been charged with murder.
• McCaulay Junior Urugbezi-Edwards, 18, was stabbed to death after being chased down a street in south-east London. Paramedics treated him at the scene but he died just over an hour later in a south London hospital. A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder. A 33-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
• Daniel Pitham, 33, was found dead by police officers after they forced their way into a house in Bedworth. His family paid tribute to him saying: "Danny was a very out outgoing young man who loved to party with his friends, travel, and keep fit". Scott Warner, 35, and John Allison, 33, have been charged with his murder.
• Murdoch Brown, 31, was stabbed to death at an address in Colchester. In a statement his family said he was a "much-loved partner, son, brother and uncle" and a "devoted father to his children". A second man was hurt but not seriously injured.
• Nadeem Uddin Hameed Mohammed, 24, was stabbed in the chest in a Tesco car park in Slough. A 21-year-old witness said he was in the car park when he "heard shouting" and saw "lots of blood on the floor". Mr Mohammed was rushed to hospital but later pronounced dead. Aqib Pervaiz, 26, has been charged with murder.
• Thomas Abraham, 48, was found with stab wounds at an address in Gloucester, by police and paramedics who had been called to a disturbance. Despite strenuous efforts to save him, he died at the scene. Tobias Hayley, 51, has been charged with murder.
• John Lewis, 32, was found stabbed at an address in Middlesbrough. He died later in hospital. A 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
The number of people being taken to court for possessing a weapon has been rising.
There's a bit of a time lag when it comes to getting figures from the criminal justice system, so the latest ones we have, published on Thursday, only take us up to the end of last year.
In 2018, the Ministry of Justice recorded 21,587 cases of people in England Wales being prosecuted for possessing a weapon, of which 13,350 cases led to a conviction - compared with 17,669 cases in 2013 - with 10,026 leading to a conviction.
This was mostly driven by a rise in the offence of "having possession of a bladed article in a public place".
For adults, the maximum sentence for possessing a knife is four years.
Knife possession is now making up a bigger share of all weapons offences - two-thirds compared with half 10 years ago.
And a bigger proportion of knife and weapons possession offences now result in jail time - 36% compared with 20% in 2008.
These figures cover both adults and children aged 10-17. For adults only, 42% of weapons offences resulted in an immediate custodial sentence last year.
While knife possession offences have been rising since 2013, they are still lower than a decade ago.
Information supplied by police forces in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Figures are correct at time of publication but may change as investigations progress and charges are brought or dropped.
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Brexit: Does collapse of Labour talks spell end for Theresa May's hopes? - BBC News
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2019-05-17
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Could Labour MPs and Tories with their eyes on a future leadership contest come to the PM's rescue?
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UK Politics
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Bringing the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to Parliament is the last roll of the dice for the prime minister
Labour has finally pulled the plug on the Brexit talks with the government, at the end of a week in which they appeared to be on life support.
So is it, as some suggest, time to read the last rites on Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement Bill?
Let's be clear - it will be challenging, to say the least, for the legislation to get through the Commons.
But reports of its demise may well have been exaggerated. It may not go down to immediate defeat. And this is why.
A leaked memo from the government side, not agreed by Labour or the cabinet, contained a wheeze that could have been attractive to both leaderships.
Even before the Withdrawal Agreement Bill makes its appearance, the memo suggested there could be a "free vote" in Parliament on another referendum.
This is rather different from what the shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, was suggesting - that there ought to be a "confirmatory" vote, as part of a package, on any agreed deal.
The leaders of both the main parties aren't keen on another public vote, to say the least. So a stand-alone Commons vote on the issue, divorced from the deal, would be more likely to go down to defeat - as it has on previous occasions.
Jeremy Corbyn could say to People's Vote supporters in his ranks: "Oh, I did try for a referendum, but oops, it didn't work - so now let's just leave with the best possible deal."
But it would seem that this approach has been scuppered by Labour's wider negotiating team and, presumably, by the cabinet. I have had a strong steer that this proposal in the leaked government memo won't go ahead in this form.
But this might not be the setback it seems for the prime minister because supporters of another referendum may have no option but to vote initially for her bill.
There will be a vote at what's called, in parliamentary speak, second reading in the first week in June. If the prime minister is defeated at this point, it's basically the end of the road for her deal and her premiership.
Theresa May's immediate fate could be in the hands of Labour MPs
But if MPs vote for the bill at second reading, they then get an opportunity to change it - and that would include an amendment on another referendum.
So it's not impossible that some people who hate Theresa May's deal give it their temporary backing so they can discuss improving it, or putting it to a public vote.
Talks with Labour are over - but efforts to win over individual Labour MPs are not. Note the wording of Downing Street's statement that "complete agreement" hasn't been reached.
So expect to see some incentives in - or around - the Brexit bill for opposition MPs to back the government. For example, a commitment to stay in step with the EU on workers' rights and environmental protection.
Allies of Sir Keir have blamed the breakdown of the talks on the PM's inability to get a customs union compromise past her cabinet.
But if she keeps Conservative MPs on board in the legislation by eschewing a customs union but delivers a "comprehensive" (trust me, this word is important to some Labour MPs) temporary arrangement to last until the next election, some soft opposition to her deal may crumble.
Then there is the argument put forward by the former Conservative minister Nick Boles, echoed off the record by some in Downing Street.
If the prime minister's bill gets shot down in flames there is no other readily available vehicle to prevent the default option of no deal. Indeed, No 10 insiders expect to see "vociferous" arguments for no deal if Theresa May's legislation falls.
Some unions, such as the GMB and Unison, favour another referendum. But the leadership of Unite, which is closest to Mr Corbyn, essentially favours leaving with a deal - and Labour MPs will be made well aware of this.
So even if Labour formally opposes the bill at second reading, there could be a sizeable rebellion from those former Remainers representing Leave areas - safe in the knowledge that they wouldn't exactly be upsetting some powerful forces in the party.
And the MPs who support what's called Common Market 2.0 could be crucial to the outcome. These are, broadly speaking, Labour MPs who are neither Corbynistas nor in favour of another referendum - such as Lucy Powell and Stephen Kinnock - and they are very keen to avoid no deal.
However, if the Labour whip is to oppose, expect it to be rigorously enforced irrespective of the views of the party leader's office. So Mrs May's immediate fate may still be in the hands of opposition MPs
The forthcoming leadership contest may firm up opposition to Theresa May's bill on the Conservative benches
By putting the Withdrawal Agreement Bill out of its misery almost as soon as it appears, the prime minister's critics know she will vacate office sooner rather than later.
But some candidates will be keener for her to get Brexit over the line, even with a less than optimal deal, so they don't immediately get bogged down with difficult votes. It would also allow them to make their pitch based on the future relationship with the EU.
So could some of their supporters - irrespective of their public criticism of the deal - quietly vote to get it over the line?
Set against all this, there is plenty of analysis in the public domain which will tell you how impossible it is for a deal to go through.
But right now, No 10 might well see "highly improbable" as grounds for optimism. Hope dies last, does it not?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48307713
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Has Wales embraced the Welsh Assembly 20 years on? - BBC News
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2019-05-07
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Twenty years after devolution, what do people think about the Welsh Assembly?
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Wales politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What has the Welsh Assembly done for you?
Showing a class of AS level politics students some of the landmark moments of Welsh devolution is a sobering experience.
In the Welsh Assembly, which enters its 20th year this week, politicians voted to make Wales the first place in the UK to charge for carrier bags.
It was an important moment of leadership, years before concern over plastic pollution was the subject of prime time television.
Later there was the reform of the organ donation system: presumed consent, a measure designed to save lives all over the UK.
As the students, from Cardiff and Vale College, have grown up, the Welsh Assembly has grown with them. It has gone from being an assembly with no ability to make laws without the permission of the UK Parliament, to a Parliament itself in all but name.
It can make laws, agree taxes (including income tax) and scrutinise the Welsh Government's running of every day services like health, schools and housing.
But one of the students we spoke to, Bill, said he did not think the assembly had "much influence compared to Westminster".
Rhyddian said: "Because Parliament still has some jurisdiction over Wales, people just don't understand the difference between them.
"They probably just see it as less important."
Another said the difference between Parliament and the assembly is not understood, while one student said his friends understand the assembly "but just don't care".
They would not be alone in their reluctance to engage.
Alun Michael led the government in the assembly when it opened in 1999 - much has changed since those early days
Although there was a referendum in 2011 to give the assembly more powers, and successive opinion polls suggest it's become a settled feature of Welsh life, turnout in an assembly election has never been higher than 46%.
And surveys indicate that many people don't realise that it is the Welsh Government, scrutinised by the assembly, not the government in London, which controls most of the day-to-day services we all use.
It's a far cry from Scotland where turnout at Scottish Parliament elections is usually more than 50%.
My colleague Brian Taylor, BBC Scotland's Political Editor, says much of the reason for that is historical.
"Scotland was a sovereign state, a sovereign nation for many centuries," Mr Taylor said.
There are other reasons too. Wales has a weaker media which hinders robust scrutiny and the communication of information about Welsh politics.
One party, Welsh Labour, has dominated the political landscape and governed continuously for the last 20 years.
Opposition parties have failed to persuade voters to trust them with the reins of government.
Wales was the first part of the UK to charge for plastic bags
Yet one of the big arguments in favour of devolution is that it brings decision making closer to the people whose lives are affected by those decisions.
There's the feeling among many voters across Wales that the assembly is too Cardiff-centric - in other words not close enough.
So if most voters aren't connecting with the Welsh Assembly, that's a problem.
Sometimes, the roles of the assembly and the Welsh Government get confused as well.
The government makes decisions and proposes policies, while the assembly's role is to scrutinise that and decide whether to support them.
Laura McAllister, professor of public policy at Cardiff University, said the assembly had a "chequered past"
Many would argue the assembly has spent much of its life ill equipped to carry out that role properly.
Prof Laura McAllister says it has only recently come of age.
"If you look at the history of the last 20 years we know it had a pretty chequered past, with a ridiculous model of devolution at the outset," the Cardiff University academic said.
"Only now is it fit for purpose."
Criticisms about the failure to address the poverty that plagues so much of Wales and the underlying problems of an under-performing economy are really about the performance of the Welsh Government, not the Welsh Assembly itself.
Successive Welsh Governments would point out they have never had control over welfare or big economic levers.
But some would argue there has been a reluctance to wrestle with difficult issues.
Big projects have been proposed, encountered controversy and been left to drift, like local government reorganisation or the M4 relief road.
The latter is a proposal older than the assembly itself. We are told there'll be a decision on that in June.
In the meantime the assembly is using this anniversary to reach out. In July it is planning a citizens' assembly where people can discuss some of the big issues facing Wales in the years ahead.
It's already running a youth parliament and there are proposals to reduce the voting age to 16.
Engage them early, engage them for life - that's the hope anyway.
• None The evolution of devolution in Wales
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Jeremy Kyle Show: 'I used to work as a runner' - BBC News
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2019-05-14
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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A former runner on the show gives us a glimpse of what happens behind the scenes.
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Newsbeat
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The Jeremy Kyle Show has been suspended after a guest was found dead following the recording of an episode.
The news has opened up a debate around the most popular show on ITV's daytime schedule.
Below is a glimpse of what it's like to work on the programme from a former employee, who wants to remain anonymous:
I have a confession to make. I worked on The Jeremy Kyle Show.
I was what the TV industry calls a runner - someone who, funnily enough, runs about the place fetching food for crew members, making tea and coffee and looking after guests coming onto the programme.
I did it for a month about three years ago and had also been working on other programmes before I came to Kyle.
"Studio days", when the live audience are there and the programme is recorded, were really long. There was no leaving the building unless it was to get the director a katsu curry, or to calm down a guest by taking them outside for a cig.
I saw things that you would never imagine happening on any other TV programme - guests running around the place uncontrollably, screaming and swearing at production crew. Guests and producers would argue and you can guarantee a guest would tell you "where to go".
Television runners are rarely seen without a headset (file picture)
Runners were given a headset and clipboard that opened up - a useful place to store a pack of 20 cigarettes - and a lighter for guests who wanted a smoke before and after recordings.
The cigarettes were provided by ITV, because guests can't bring them in the studio. Guests were put up in a hotel close to the studio, sometimes with access to a mini bar so they could get wasted the night before.
A friend who also worked on the show told me guests from the programme were banned from certain hotels because rooms were being trashed.
Runners now have to ferry people to and from a hotel miles away from the studio in taxis.
The clothes you see the guests wear are sometimes not their own. The show might give them a basic jeans and T-shirt combo or sometimes a more stereotypical tracksuit and hoodie look - and those have to be given back afterwards.
Guests had separate hotel rooms, dressing rooms, and green rooms - and their assigned runner on studio day would walk them around via selected coloured corridors to avoid contact.
Runners would warn colleagues through the headset that they were taking their guest through the yellow corridor to make-up, for example. If you had the guest on the opposing side, you knew to use the blue corridor to avoid any conflict - producers wanted any arguments saved for the actual programme.
Producers and researchers would be talking to guests for hours before the show began, passing information across. I heard them saying things like, "You won't believe what I just heard your fella say to me just now".
On one occasion I was in the dressing room and overheard a producer tell a guest that their girlfriend had called them a "slag". This was normal - you didn't even question it.
Just before going on-air, the producer or researcher stood with guests just inches away from where they would meet Jezza for the first (and probably last) time, and say one final remark.
I once heard a producer tell a guest: "We don't want you to be violent - but you do whatever you need to do out there."
Sometimes, if guests don't like the way Jeremy has treated them or the show hasn't gone their way, they could get aggressive and even violent towards production staff.
Producers suddenly changed their tune if that happened.
Jeremy once called a guest I was looking after a liar because he failed a lie-detector test.
The guest stormed off stage, pushed me over and the producer ran after them, screaming at them to come back.
I remember them saying something along the lines of… "You can't go. Have you forgotten what she said about you? Get back in there and tell her what you think!"
Radio 1 Newsbeat contacted ITV about the claims made in this article by the former employee. A spokesman says it does "not recognise this characterisation" of The Jeremy Kyle Show.
In a more general statement to the BBC, ITV said The Jeremy Kyle Show "has significant and detailed duty of care processes in place for contributors pre, during and post show".
ITV says its "guest welfare team" - made up of a consultant psychotherapist and three mental health nurses - looks after people coming onto the show.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-48266570
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Cyclone Idai: What's the role of climate change? - BBC News
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2019-05-04
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Direct links to climate change are difficult to prove but rising temperatures are increasing cyclone intensity, say scientists.
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Science & Environment
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Unless a rich benefactor steps in, the role of human-induced climate change in Cyclone Idai is unlikely to be clearly determined.
The scientists with the expertise simply don't have the resources to do the large amount of computer modelling required.
However, there are a number of conclusions about rising temperatures that researchers have gleaned from previous studies on tropical cyclones in the region.
While Cyclone Idai is the seventh such major storm of the Indian Ocean season - more than double the average for this time of year - the long-term trend does not support the idea that these type of events are now more frequent.
"The interesting thing for the area is that the frequency of tropical cyclones has decreased ever so slightly over the last 70 years," said Dr Jennifer Fitchett from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa who has studied the question.
"Instead, we are getting a much higher frequency of high-intensity storms."
Climate change is also changing a number of factors in the background that are contributing to making the impact of these storms worse.
"There is absolutely no doubt that when there is a tropical cyclone like this, then because of climate change the rainfall intensities are higher," said Dr Friederike Otto, from the University of Oxford, who has carried a number of studies looking at the influence of warming on specific events.
"And also because of sea-level rise, the resulting flooding is more intense than it would be without human-induced climate change."
A poor country with a long coastline, Mozambique is especially vulnerable to storms sweeping in from the Indian Ocean.
More than 700 lives were lost during a devastating flood there nearly 20 years ago. I was one of many journalists reporting on the plight of communities submerged. One woman, stranded in a tree, was forced to give birth among the branches.
A huge international response saw the Royal Air Force send six helicopters to rescue survivors. Back then, the priority was to save lives. Little thought was given to rebuilding homes and infrastructure with new designs to help them withstand future storms.
Development experts have long argued that reconstruction should enshrine the principle of resilience, with roads raised high enough to stay dry in floods and houses made robust enough to resist cyclone-strength winds.
There are plenty of examples of how this forward-thinking can help. In low-lying Bangladesh, there are schools built on high ground which can serve as refuges during storms. And as the potential effects of climate change become better understood, there's growing recognition of the need for communities to adapt to what could be tougher conditions ahead.
One critical factor in the Southern Indian Ocean that is having an impact on these storms is sea-surface temperatures. Warmer seas mean there is more energy available for cyclones, which only form when the water reaches 26 degrees C.
These storms also need help from the Earth's rotation to get them spinning. This rotating effect gets stronger the further you move away from the Equator and towards the poles.
However, in previous decades, the further away you were from the Equator meant the cooler the seas became and so any tropical cyclones that formed didn't have the energy to keep going. Now climate change is impacting that relationship.
"Under increasing sea-surface temperatures, we are seeing the line of constant temperature required for these storms to form moving further and further towards the South Pole," said Dr Fitchett.
"So it is increasing the range in which these storms can form and that's then allowing them to intensify so quickly."
But it's not just a simple equation. Higher sea-surface temperatures can also work against the formation of cyclones.
"On the one hand, you have the higher ocean temperatures and that lends more energy for tropical cyclones to form," said Dr Otto. "But you also have higher temperatures in the atmosphere which leads to more wind shear, which weakens hurricanes."
According to researchers, about seven different ocean or atmospheric conditions are required for cyclone formation and normally only a couple of these occur. However, because of climate change, more and more of these conditions are coinciding with each other and that's why these big storms happen very quickly.
Whatever arguments about the impacts of climate change on tropical cyclones, the damage caused in Mozambique has much more to do with the vulnerability of people on the ground than rising temperatures.
"If you look at North America, they are experiencing Category 5 cyclones quite regularly now, and they don't experience the level of damage that Mozambique is seeing," said Dr Fitchett.
"When a storm like this comes along, the potential for devastation is infinitely higher. A city like Beria is at much higher risk, because not only have you many more people there, it's also so much more difficult for them to get out."
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Local elections: Why has Labour lost seats? - BBC News
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2019-05-04
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The Labour Party suffers a net loss of council seats - starting from the low base of 2015.
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UK Politics
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Labour has suffered a net loss of council seats - starting from the low base of 2015 in many cases.
The Conservatives have lost more than 10 times as many councillors, but what is remarkable is that the main party of opposition - around the mid-term of a not-very-popular government - has not made net gains.
It seems reasonable to assume that some votes have been lost by Labour in Leave areas because - as the leader of Sunderland City Council Graeme Miller has said - the party hasn't decisively ruled out another referendum.
(It has retained it as an option, if the Conservatives are unwilling to change their deal).
But if you take a close look at the figures in Sunderland, the complexity of Labour's political problems are revealed.
Its vote fell by nearly 17 points there - while UKIP's went up by 4.5.
The pro-Remain Lib Dems saw their vote rise by nearly 10 points and the Greens by 8.5.
Indeed, the combined vote of the Lib Dems and Greens was 21.4%, not far off UKIP's 23.9%.
The swing from Labour to the Lib Dems was about 13% and to the Greens 10%.
Those in Labour's ranks who wanted a stronger commitment to another referendum on any Brexit deal are arguing now that the party is losing support in some Leave areas by failing to appeal enough to those who voted Remain.
Defections to the Lib Dems and the Greens suppressed the Labour vote, and further flatters UKIP's performance.
In leave-supporting Derby, where Jeremy Corbyn's party lost six seats and UKIP gained two, the swing from Labour to Lib Dems was 6%.
But those who support Labour's current policy - a heavily caveated commitment to a referendum on Brexit under certain circumstances rather than a public vote in all circumstances - say this is too simplistic an analysis.
In truth, we can't discern the underlying motives of Labour/Lib Dem switchers in every part of the country unless we ask them.
There are genuinely local factors at play in some areas - unsurprising, perhaps, as these are indeed local elections.
And some on Labour's left have another theory. They say the party is vulnerable to a protest vote because some Labour councils have had to cut services due to constrained budgets.
In some cases the Lib Dems are the beneficiaries
Others on the left say the party can't get a hearing for its anti-austerity message as the Brexit debate muffles all else.
They are actually quite keen for their party leadership to reach a deal with the government soon to get Brexit over the line and - they believe - this will then neutralise the political toxicity of the issue.
But there is little doubt politicians will proclaim to know the will of the people, without necessarily exploring deeper motivations - and the results will be interpreted in a way which advances their own arguments.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48150656
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news_uk-politics-48150656
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Alliance surge in NI council elections a striking development - BBC News
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2019-05-04
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Alliance's surge is the most striking development of the NI council election results so far.
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Northern Ireland
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Alliance's Ross McMullan (centre) got almost 1,000 votes over the quota when he was elected to Belfast City Council
PR elections in Northern Ireland are always more of a marathon than a sprint, so it's wise not to overanalyse the results at the halfway mark.
The protracted drama of single transferable voting means that both candidates and parties who looked like hares early on turn into tortoises as the white tape approaches.
Conversely some early stragglers eventually crawl on their hands and knees towards the finishing line.
So with that caveat, where are we after day one of the count?
Alliance's surge is undeniably the most striking development.
So with inter-party talks due to get under way on Tuesday, what lessons might the party leaders be mulling over from the local council elections?
As day one of the count drew to a close the most striking development was the strong showing for Alliance.
At the halfway point their vote share was up by five percentage points, and they had broken out of their Greater Belfast heartlands by taking seats in places like the ABC council (Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon) and Derry & Strabane where they previously had no representation.
What has fuelled the Alliance success?
Well since its inception in 1970 the party has stood for compromise between Orange and Green, so it seems plausible that the public's disenchantment with the paralysis at Stormont must have been an important factor.
Also on Brexit, Alliance reflects a widespread anxiety about the potential impact on the border and business.
With the parties due to resume talks next Tuesday, maybe the British and Irish governments could do worse than to re-read the Alliance blueprint "Next Steps Forward" which suggested a variety of ways to break the deadlock including the appointment of an independent talks facilitator.
Alliance haven't been the only winners - the strong performances of Green and left wing People Before Profit candidates appear to indicate generational change.
And the election of the DUP's first openly gay candidate shows that times are changing, even within the party which used to be regarded as the political wing of Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church.
But the maverick South Down MLA Jim Wells isn't the only DUP traditionalist unnerved by the election of Alison Bennington.
In private, other DUP figures think the leadership is testing the water as part of a process of incremental change.
Alison Bennington (centre, with thumbs up) celebrates her election to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
The draft deal which the DUP failed to sign off on in February of last year sidelined the issue of same sex marriage (something Sinn Féin took some criticism over).
But as the former Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams made clear in a blog published on polling day it will be back near the top of the talks agenda in the coming weeks.
The DUP seem fairly relaxed about their performance, with their vote share up and the Traditional Unionist Voice well down.
But both big parties will no doubt be annoyed that they have failed to take overall control of a single council.
On a good day, Sinn Féin might have hoped to seize either Fermanagh & Omagh or Derry & Strabane, whilst the DUP could have had a similar aspiration in Lisburn & Castlereagh.
In the event, none of these targets were hit.
Sinn Féin did make a breakthrough in Lisburn & Castlereagh, where they got two councillors in a chamber in which they were previously unrepresented.
But some of the party's other gambits failed to pay off - notably moving Patrice Hardy into Ballymena in the hope of inheriting some SDLP votes.
So far the Ulster Unionists look like the losers with a fall of two percentage points.
That's partly because the former leader Mike Nesbitt had a successful council election five years ago, and under Robin Swann's leadership the party seems to lack firm direction, uncomfortably straddling a divide between its liberal and hardline unionists.
The SDLP has experienced problems, with breakaway councillors in some districts and arguments over its new link with Fianna Fáil.
However, it has proved resilient, especially in its Derry & Strabane home turf, with impressive debuts from Cara Hunter and Mary Durkan, who is keeping the family political dynasty going.
And last but not least we have a new kid on the block - the pro-life republican Aontú with its first councillor, recently retired GP Anne McCloskey, also in Derry & Strabane.
Day two and the political marathon continues.
The day after the counting stops, the real runners will take to the streets of Belfast for a real marathon.
It's the first time the race has taken place in the city on a Sunday, another reminder of how much the times have changed for those who still remember the days when some Northern Ireland councils used to tie up the swings in their play parks in the name of observing the Lord's Day.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-48159710
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John McDonnell: No trust left in PM over Brexit talks - BBC News
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2019-05-05
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The shadow chancellor accuses Theresa May of an "act of bad faith" in cross-party Brexit talks.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. John McDonnell: 'We're dealing with a very unstable government'
Labour's shadow chancellor says he does not trust Theresa May after details from cross-party talks on Brexit were leaked to the press.
The PM has called on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to "put their differences aside" and agree a Brexit deal.
But John McDonnell said she had "blown the confidentiality" of the talks and "jeopardised the negotiations".
The UK was due to leave the EU on 29 March, but it was delayed to 31 October after MPs failed to agree a deal.
Mrs May put the plan she had negotiated with the EU to Parliament three times, but it did not have the support of the Commons.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mrs May said Mr Corbyn should "listen to what voters said" in Thursday's local elections - which saw the Conservatives lose 1,334 councillors and Labour fail to make expected gains, instead losing 82 seats.
The Liberal Democrats benefited from Tory losses, gaining 703 seats, with the Greens and independents also making gains.
The prime minister blamed the Brexit impasse for the losses - but said the elections gave "fresh urgency" to find a way to "break the deadlock".
Theresa May appealed to the Labour Party to find a compromise over Brexit
Mrs May also said she hoped to find a "unified, cross-party position" with Labour - despite admitting that her colleagues "find this decision uncomfortable" and that "frankly, it is not what I wanted either".
Mr McDonnell agreed that the message from the polls was to "get on with it" and come to an agreement over Brexit quickly.
But while he said the talks between the two parties would continue on Tuesday, he said they had been undermined after an article in the Sunday Times detailed where Mrs May was willing to compromise - namely on customs, goods alignment and workers' rights.
The paper also said the PM could put forward plans for a comprehensive, but temporary, customs arrangement with the EU that would last until the next general election.
Mr McDonnell told the BBC's Andrew Marr show: "We have maintained confidentiality as that is what we were asked to do. We haven't briefed the media.
"So it is disappointing the prime minister has broken that, and I think it is an act of bad faith.
"I fully understand now why she couldn't negotiate a decent deal with our European partners if she behaves in this way."
Asked if he trusted the prime minister, the shadow chancellor said: "No. Sorry. Not after this weekend when she has blown the confidentiality we had, and I actually think she has jeopardised the negotiation for her own personal protection."
Labour's Rebecca Long-Bailey, John McDonnell and Sue Hayman have all been taking part in the cross-party talks
Clearly both sides think there is fresh impetus to get a deal after the local elections.
The government seems prepared to move towards Labour's position, but it's far from clear that it will be enough.
There's a real fear on the Labour side that if this isn't a permanent arrangement, a new Tory leader - perhaps Boris Johnson or Dominic Raab - could come along and try to change it.
So success isn't guaranteed when the two sides get back around the table on Tuesday, and both sides need to know they can take a big chunk of their parties with them.
If Theresa May faces losing dozens of Tories opposed to a customs union, or Jeremy Corbyn faces losing dozens of labour MPs who want another referendum, they might not have the numbers to get this through the Commons.
And in that case, a compromise is useless.
Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, told the Daily Telegraph that staying in a customs union could lead to a "catastrophic split" in the Conservative Party.
And Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme that millions of people would give up on Labour and the Conservatives if they agreed a deal, adding it would be the "final betrayal".
But the new International Development Secretary Rory Stewart told BBC Radio 5 live's Pienaar's Politics the Tories might have to "take some short-term pain" to finish the job.
The leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, also said her party needed to "start walking ourselves back" from the extremes of the argument to find a compromise, telling the BBC's Andrew Marr "there is a deal to be done" with Labour.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ruth Davidson MSP: "The answer is somewhere in the middle".
Meanwhile, Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said it was "absolutely right" for the talks to continue, but told Pienaar's Politics: "I don't think we should be in any doubt that the Labour Party membership and vast numbers of my colleagues in Parliament don't want us to just sign off on a Tory Brexit.
"They don't want us to bail the prime minister out of the problem of her own making and a very large number of our members think the people should decide on what that deal looks like."
The comments come after the People's Vote campaign - which wants a referendum on a final Brexit deal - published a letter signed by more than 100 opposition MPs saying any new, agreed deal should be put to the public for a vote.
Labour MP Bridget Phillipson, who backs the campaign, told Sky's Sophy Ridge: "I think we have reached a stage now that whatever deal is agreed... it has to go back to the British people.
"Something stitched up, cobbled together in Westminster will not be sustainable in the long run. I want to check it is what people want now."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48165373
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What would a Brexit Party Brexit look like? - BBC News
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2019-05-27
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The newly formed party won 31.6% of the votes in the European elections.
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UK Politics
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The Brexit Party has won the largest share of the vote and the most seats in the UK's European elections.
Many of its policies are unknown, it produced no manifesto, and it has avoided answering detailed questions on immigration or economic policy.
One thing we do know very clearly is that it wants to leave the European Union as soon as possible.
So what would a Brexit Party Brexit actually look like?
The Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage says he wants a "clean-break" Brexit, abandoning the withdrawal agreement that Theresa May's government negotiated with the EU.
It is notable that Mr Farage tended to avoid the term "no-deal" Brexit during the election campaign.
A party spokesman argued that it is a misleading term that gives a false impression.
Without a withdrawal agreement, though, most of the vast network of rules and regulations that have governed the UK's relationship with the rest of Europe for more than 40 years, whether in trade or security or other issues, would disappear overnight.
That's what a clean break would mean.
While arguing for a swift exit, the Brexit Party has also called for its newly elected MEPs to play a "major role" in the Brexit negotiations.
But as the Brexit Party is not in government and has no MPs in the House of Commons that is highly unlikely. The only direct role Brexit Party MEPs might have is if the withdrawal agreement was ever to pass in the House of Commons - there would then be a vote in the European Parliament to ratify it.
A clean break also means - and this was a promise that appeared on a pledge card the Brexit Party produced during the campaign - that it would refuse to pay the £39bn financial settlement, or "divorce bill", that the government has agreed in order to settle past debts and future obligations to the EU.
And it means the party wants to leave the EU on - as it puts it - World Trade Organization (WTO) terms.
It sounds very simple, and it is a phrase that is also used by several contenders for the Conservative Party leadership.
But what does it mean in practice? Not a lot.
The basic rules of the WTO are really just the baseline of international trade, which don't offer more than the most rudimentary of benefits.
A lot of Brexit supporters - including the Brexit Party - argue that the UK can use something called Article 24 (of GATT - the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) to ensure that the UK can still enjoy free or frictionless trade with the EU.
It would mean no tariffs or taxes would be imposed on goods crossing borders between the UK and its largest trading partner, the European Union.
The trouble with that argument is that you can only use Article 24 if two parties are willing to make an agreement - in this case, the UK and the EU. Neither can impose it on the other.
In other words, you have to agree a deal first and the Brexit Party, along with several would-be Conservative leaders, are prepared to leave without a deal.
Mr Farage argues that there will in fact be a deal of some kind because the EU needs one.
He has been fond of saying that when push comes to shove the EU would "come running" to do a quick trade deal with the UK.
It is certainly true that any significant disruption to trade would hurt both sides, but the EU has said consistently that it values the integrity of its single market more than free trade with the UK, and that that will be its priority.
Of course no deal or a "clean break" is not an end in itself. Eventually - and sooner rather than later - the two sides would have to start talking again about a future agreement.
The 27 other EU countries have already agreed that if there is no deal then the first thing they would want to talk to the UK about after Brexit would not be a trade deal.
It would be the financial settlement, citizens' rights and the Irish border - exactly those issues that are dealt with in detail in the withdrawal agreement that has been rejected three times in the House of Commons.
The Brexit Party is offering simple solutions. But the Brexit process is full of complex problems.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48422801
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Cardiff man Kane Burns jailed for killing friend over mum insult - BBC News
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2019-05-15
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The remains of Mohamed Megherbi were found nearly two months after he vanished.
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Wales
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Kane Burns changed his plea during a murder trial to manslaughter
A man who killed his friend with a sword for insulting his mother before burning his body and burying it has been jailed for 10-and-a-half years.
Kane Burns admitted he "went too far in self defence" against Mohamed Megherbi.
The "skeletonised" remains of the 24-year victim were found in a shallow grave on 30 November last year.
Burns, 26, from Cardiff, denied murder but on the second day of his trial, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the city's crown court.
Mr Justice Clive Lewis said: "An argument broke out between you and a struggle ensued lasting three minutes before you killed him.
"You struck Mr Megherbi a single blow to the skull with a weapon - a sword. It was described as a ninja sword.
"After the killing you sought to conceal the body.
"The remains of Mr Megherbi were found buried in a shallow grave about a metre deep - there had been attempts to burn the body."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. How Burns tried to cover up his crime
Mr Megherbi's remains were found in woodland by police, almost two months after being reported missing after he was last seen in the Roath area of Cardiff on 9 October.
Search teams found spades and what "looked like the lower bones of a human leg" when combing an area near Pentwyn leisure centre.
Burns' murder trial heard Mr Megherbi, who was originally from Algeria, "had received catastrophic and fatal head injuries at the hand of this defendant".
Jurors were told neighbours described hearing "loud banging" and arguing between two men at Burns' flat in Llanedeyrn.
Mohamed Megherbi's body was discovered last November in woodland
After the commotion, Burns bought lighter fluid and matches at a nearby petrol station, returning twice to buy bleach, paper towels and more lighter fluid.
In an unrelated raid on his flat, police spotted blood on the furniture and blinds, samples of which matched Mr Megherbi.
A 2ft (61cm) sword was found in the wooded area near Mr Megherbi's body and police also found an axe, "large rusty machete" and Taser at Burns' home.
Jurors heard during the trial that Burns told a friend: "I stabbed him up because he was saying stuff about my mother."
Burns bought the shovel (similar to that on the right) which was found with the help of a bus driver stuck in traffic
South Wales Police senior investigating officer Det Insp Andy Miles said: "We cannot underestimate the role of the public in this case.
"From the beginning there was a willingness to support the investigation for which we are very grateful."
"Despite Kane Burns not choosing to assist the investigation at any stage, which included not revealing where he had put the body of Mohamed Megherbi, we are pleased that he has been sentenced here today."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48278265
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Co-accused acquitted of murdering Annalise Johnstone - BBC News
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2019-05-15
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A judge rules there is insufficient evidence against the woman who had been accused of killing Annalise Johnstone,
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Tayside and Central Scotland
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Annalise Johnstone's body was discovered in woodland in May 2018
A woman has been acquitted of murdering her friend's sister in Perthshire.
Angela Newlands was accused of killing Annalise Johnstone, 22, along with co-accused Jordan Johnstone, at the Maggie's Wall Memorial near Dunning.
Miss Newlands was acquitted of the murder charge at the conclusion of the prosecution's case against the couple.
The 19-year-old still faces a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice, and the murder charge against Mr Johnstone remains.
Ms Newlands broke down in tears as judge Lady Scott told the jury there was insufficient evidence to convict her of murder.
The judge said: "I have heard legal submissions made in respect of the second accused in terms of the charge of murder.
"I have made a ruling that there is insufficient evidence which would entitle you to consider the evidence and convict on that charge.
"Accordingly I have acquitted the second accused on charge four. She remains on charge five on the indictment, that's the attempt to defeat the ends of justice."
She added: "I know this is a bit frustrating for jurors because you haven't heard the legal arguments and the decision's been made in your absence."
Both accused deny falsely reporting Annalise Johnstone missing last May, cleaning their car, disposing of a knife and burning items of clothing.
During the final day of prosecution evidence, the jury heard Ms Newlands told police her relationship with Jordan Johnstone was not sexual, although they shared a bed when they stayed at her home in Auchterarder and at her parents' house in Inchture, also in Perthshire.
Mark Stewart QC, defending Ms Newlands, put it to witness Det Con Rachel Webster: "Angela Newlands makes it clear they haven't had a sexual relationship. Beyond that statement (she) gave you some explanation why that might be so - because she believes him to be gay?"
Mr Stewart also asked about clothing Mr Johnstone had been wearing.
He put it to Det Con Webster that Ms Newlands had stated that Jordan Johnstone had taken Annalise away, and later returned wearing entirely different clothes.
Mr Stewart added: "The clothing wasn't his clothing, it was Angela Newland's father's clothing. She wasn't very happy about it.
"It was Jordan Johnstone alone who took Annalise away from Inchture late on the 9 May into the early hours of the 10th?"
Mr Stewart then asked: "Throughout this entire interview she's crystal clear Jordan Johnstone left Inchture with Annalise Johnstone in the Ford Galaxy and they left together and alone?" The officer agreed.
Following the cross examination, Lady Scott warned the jury that any allegations made by one accused against another were not evidence.
Earlier in the trial, the jury heard agreed evidence that the cause of Miss Johnstone's death was a deep puncture wound to her neck which severed vital veins and arteries and caused death within a few minutes.
The prosecution and defence also confirmed that Mr Johnstone's car was near the Maggie's Wall Memorial at the time Miss Johnstone was attacked.
The trial at the High Court in Livingston continues.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-48286653
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Why The Jeremy Kyle Show was scrapped - BBC News
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2019-05-15
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Damaging front-page headlines and fresh evidence around the death left ITV with little option but to end the show permanently.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The precise circumstances of Steve Dymond's death are not known. But what is clear, from multiple sources, is that he was troubled and vulnerable before he participated in the show - even though he did so willingly - and that failing the lie detector test was a devastating blow.
That much was clear on Tuesday morning, when ITV said that they were minded to launch an inquiry and wait for the coroner's verdict. Yet this morning the show was taken off the air permanently.
What happened that should cause the sudden change of mind?
The Jeremy Kyle show has been part of ITV's daytime schedule since it started in 2005
Two things at least. First, growing evidence of links between that failed lie detector test and Mr Dymond's death. ITV learned significant new information in the past 24 hours. And second, another morning of damaging front page headlines, especially in the tabloids that are still influential and widely read among ITV's heartland audience.
That is explicitly not to say that the decision to take the show off air permanently was primarily a commercial one. The driver may have been moral repugnance, at ITV board level, at what has happened. Certainly, if as part of their internal process board members saw footage of Mr Dymond's response to failing the lie detector test on the episode that was never aired, it must have prompted a visceral reaction.
But even if you accept that Carolyn McCall and the ITV board made this decision because of revulsion at what one of their shows did, that doesn't discount the commercial and editorial context in which the decision was made.
As an advertiser-funded broadcaster, albeit with multiple linear channels and a digital offering, ITV is under pressure. Kevin Lygo, its creative chief, has tried to reinvent the schedule, and with some success. But the feeling at the top of ITV is that Jeremy Kyle's show was a distinct anomaly within the new offering - and therefore not necessarily a good fit as part of its future. It is hard to imagine that the show would have been permanently scrapped if Lygo and other bosses were deeply admiring of it.
In reaching millions of people every weekday, many of them of the view that the mainstream media doesn't generally reflect their lives very well, ITV had a solid, regular offer to a big and loyal audience. In today's exceptionally competitive media environment, when the claims on our attention are multiplying by the minute, that isn't something you give up lightly. Especially when you know that whatever replaces Kyle will struggle to achieve its ratings, at least at first.
There is, as I mentioned on last night's bulletins, a massive disconnect here: between those who wanted the show off air, who generally don't watch it; and those who do watch it, and feel they can relate to it.
These fans, like ITV bosses, might proffer a liberal argument: people who go on the show are consenting, fully informed, capacitous adults who know what they're doing. In the show's 14-year history, thousands of contributors have been on-stage. And this is not a show that has traditionally led to Ofcom being inundated with complaints.
Several people have said to me that, given two people who appeared on Love Island have taken their own lives, it is inconsistent to leave that show on air, and ITV's decision on Wednesday is partly about protecting that highly lucrative show.
ITV resist the latter point strongly, and it is important not to generalise from the specific circumstances of any death - particularly suicide. Moreover, Love Island and The Jeremy Kyle Show occupied very different parts of the schedule, and don't belong in the same category of programme.
Steve Dymond, who was 63, was found dead a week after he was filmed on the Jeremy Kyle show taking a lie detector test to prove if he'd been faithful to his fiancee
I wonder, however, if rising concerns about the mental health of participants in all TV programmes may prompt greater investment in after-care, or an expansion of Ofcom's remit to go much further on the duty of care programme makers have toward their contributors.
Celebrity culture is as old as culture itself; but the advent of, first, mass media, and now social media, has rapidly expanded the circle of those who can be famous. But displaying, or even parading, private anguish and trauma in a public way can obviously have a disastrous impact on mental health.
Whether it be Strictly Come Dancing, Come Dine With Me, or The Jeremy Kyle Show and Love Island, contributors and contestants give up something of themselves, some degree of autonomy, when they become characters in productions whose goal is commercially motivated entertainment. The journey they go on, and which viewers are encouraged to go on with them, can be life-affirming, cultural gold-dust. That is television at its best.
But the spectacle can also lead contributors to a dark place. Even if that is not television at its worst, it is television that - for now - ITV believes should not be aired. No matter the ratings.
If you're interested in issues such as these, you can follow me on Twitter or Facebook; and subscribe to The Media Show podcast from BBC Radio 4.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48285032
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Jeremy Kyle Show: 'I used to work as a runner' - BBC News
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2019-05-15
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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A former runner on the show gives us a glimpse of what happens behind the scenes.
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Newsbeat
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The Jeremy Kyle Show has been suspended after a guest was found dead following the recording of an episode.
The news has opened up a debate around the most popular show on ITV's daytime schedule.
Below is a glimpse of what it's like to work on the programme from a former employee, who wants to remain anonymous:
I have a confession to make. I worked on The Jeremy Kyle Show.
I was what the TV industry calls a runner - someone who, funnily enough, runs about the place fetching food for crew members, making tea and coffee and looking after guests coming onto the programme.
I did it for a month about three years ago and had also been working on other programmes before I came to Kyle.
"Studio days", when the live audience are there and the programme is recorded, were really long. There was no leaving the building unless it was to get the director a katsu curry, or to calm down a guest by taking them outside for a cig.
I saw things that you would never imagine happening on any other TV programme - guests running around the place uncontrollably, screaming and swearing at production crew. Guests and producers would argue and you can guarantee a guest would tell you "where to go".
Television runners are rarely seen without a headset (file picture)
Runners were given a headset and clipboard that opened up - a useful place to store a pack of 20 cigarettes - and a lighter for guests who wanted a smoke before and after recordings.
The cigarettes were provided by ITV, because guests can't bring them in the studio. Guests were put up in a hotel close to the studio, sometimes with access to a mini bar so they could get wasted the night before.
A friend who also worked on the show told me guests from the programme were banned from certain hotels because rooms were being trashed.
Runners now have to ferry people to and from a hotel miles away from the studio in taxis.
The clothes you see the guests wear are sometimes not their own. The show might give them a basic jeans and T-shirt combo or sometimes a more stereotypical tracksuit and hoodie look - and those have to be given back afterwards.
Guests had separate hotel rooms, dressing rooms, and green rooms - and their assigned runner on studio day would walk them around via selected coloured corridors to avoid contact.
Runners would warn colleagues through the headset that they were taking their guest through the yellow corridor to make-up, for example. If you had the guest on the opposing side, you knew to use the blue corridor to avoid any conflict - producers wanted any arguments saved for the actual programme.
Producers and researchers would be talking to guests for hours before the show began, passing information across. I heard them saying things like, "You won't believe what I just heard your fella say to me just now".
On one occasion I was in the dressing room and overheard a producer tell a guest that their girlfriend had called them a "slag". This was normal - you didn't even question it.
Just before going on-air, the producer or researcher stood with guests just inches away from where they would meet Jezza for the first (and probably last) time, and say one final remark.
I once heard a producer tell a guest: "We don't want you to be violent - but you do whatever you need to do out there."
Sometimes, if guests don't like the way Jeremy has treated them or the show hasn't gone their way, they could get aggressive and even violent towards production staff.
Producers suddenly changed their tune if that happened.
Jeremy once called a guest I was looking after a liar because he failed a lie-detector test.
The guest stormed off stage, pushed me over and the producer ran after them, screaming at them to come back.
I remember them saying something along the lines of… "You can't go. Have you forgotten what she said about you? Get back in there and tell her what you think!"
Radio 1 Newsbeat contacted ITV about the claims made in this article by the former employee. A spokesman says it does "not recognise this characterisation" of The Jeremy Kyle Show.
In a more general statement to the BBC, ITV said The Jeremy Kyle Show "has significant and detailed duty of care processes in place for contributors pre, during and post show".
ITV says its "guest welfare team" - made up of a consultant psychotherapist and three mental health nurses - looks after people coming onto the show.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-48266570
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Heathrow campaigners lose challenge against third runway - BBC News
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2019-05-01
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High Court judges rule in favour of the government's decision to approve airport expansion plans.
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Business
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Campaigners have lost a High Court challenge against the government's decision to approve plans for a third runway at London's Heathrow airport.
Five councils, residents, environmental charities and London Mayor Sadiq Khan brought the action after MPs backed the plans in June.
The campaigners said the runway would effectively create a "new airport", having a "severe" impact on Londoners.
But judges rejected the arguments, ruling the plans were lawful.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "The expansion of Heathrow is vital and will provide a massive economic boost to businesses and communities across the length and breadth of Britain, all at no cost to the taxpayer and within our environmental obligations.
"I now call on all public bodies not to waste any more taxpayers' money or seek to further delay this vital project."
But John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: "This verdict will not reduce the impact on local communities from increased noise and air pollution, nor will it resolve Heathrow Ltd's financial difficulties or the economic weakness in their expansion plans."
Shirley Rodrigues, deputy London mayor for environment and energy, said: "In challenging the decision to expand Heathrow, Sadiq has stood up for Londoners who have serious concerns about the damaging impact it will have.
"We will now consider the judgement and consult with our co-claimants before deciding our next steps."
Campaigners said a third runway would effectively create a "new airport"
The case was brought against the transport secretary by five local authorities in London affected by the expansion - Hillingdon, Wandsworth, Richmond, Hammersmith & Fulham and Windsor and Maidenhead.
Residents and charities including Greenpeace, Friends Of The Earth and Plan B also joined the action.
They argued that the government's National Policy Statement (NPS), setting out its support for the project, failed to account fully for the impact on air quality, climate change, noise and congestion.
Outlining the case on behalf of campaigners, Nigel Pleming QC had said the plans could see the number of passengers using the airport rise to an estimated 132 million - an increase of 60%.
But lawyers representing Mr Grayling said the claimants' case was "premature", as they would have the opportunity to make representations at a later stage in the planning process.
Lord Justice Hickinbottom, sitting with Mr Justice Holgate, said in the ruling on Wednesday: "We understand that these claims involve underlying issues upon which the parties - and indeed many members of the public - hold strong and sincere views.
"There was a tendency for the substance of the parties' positions to take more of a centre stage than perhaps it should have done, in a hearing that was only concerned with the legality, and not the merits, of the Airports National Policy Statement."
The ruling means the government will not have to devise a new NPS and put it to another vote in Parliament.
It won its first vote by a comfortable majority of 296 after Labour MPs were granted a free vote.
The decision to expand Heathrow follows almost half a century of indecision on how and where to add new airport capacity in south-east England.
Under the current £14bn plan, construction could begin in 2021, with the third runway operational by 2026.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48118100
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news_business-48118100
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Sport & gender: A history of bad science & 'biological racism' - BBC Sport
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2019-05-01
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Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has been cleared to run again but she is collateral damage in a scientific dispute, writes Matt Slater.
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Having become the first Indian sprinter to reach a final at a global athletics event in 2013, the 18-year-old was already the national champion at 100m and 200m, and an Asian Games bronze medallist.
Such was the excitement about her potential that the Sports Authority of India's director general Jiji Thomson described her as a "sure shot Olympic medallist" of the future, and a place in a final on her Commonwealth Games debut looked within her reach.
But then, less than a fortnight before the opening ceremony in Glasgow, she "failed" a test that had nothing to do with fitness, form or even doping, and was dramatically withdrawn from the national team.
Like South African 800m sensation Caster Semenya before her, Chand discovered - in bold newsprint - that her natural levels of the hormone testosterone were normally only found in men. It did not take long before reporters were outside her parents' humble home asking them and her six siblings if she was a boy or a girl.
The third of seven children to a weaver couple from the state of Odisha, Dutee is born on 3 February 1996 Becomes Indian national under-18 champion for 100m when she clocks 11.8 seconds in 2012 Wins a 200m bronze at 2013 Asian Games and is first Indian to reach a global sprint final at the World Youths, coming sixth in 11.62 seconds 100/200m double at Asian Junior Athletics Championships, prompting the Athletics Federation of India to ask for a gender test in July Wins a case in July 2015 overturning her ban on competing
She has now been cleared to race by a landmark ruling questioning the validity of so-called gender tests around naturally high testosterone levels in female athletes.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) has suspended the International Association of Athletics Federations' "hyperandrogenism" rules for two years. The rules will be scrapped if the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) cannot provide new evidence supporting them.
However, Chand's career has been on hold for a year, leading to her missing both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games after she refused to subject herself to the "corrective" treatment (hormone suppression therapy and sometimes even genital surgery) prescribed by the IAAF, International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other leading sports bodies.
"I am who I am," said Chand with a mixture of defiance and dismay at the time.
Instead of the sprinter she has spent years training to be, she became the focus of a challenge to sport's rules on gender, a cause celebre and evidence in a scientific debate about testosterone.
Concerns about men masquerading as women to win medals have been around for almost as long as women have been allowed to play sport, which is surprising given how rare it is. In fact, the last case most people can agree on is German high jumper Dora/Heinrich Ratjen. He nearly won a bronze medal at the 1936 Olympics.
Undeterred by the unlikelihood of a man successfully passing himself off as a woman, the IOC started comprehensive "gender verification" testing in 1968.
Initially, this was done by asking female athletes to drop their underwear, but eventually a less humiliating method was found: checking swabs of cheek tissue for chromosomes, women being XX, men XY.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not as black-and-white as your typical blazer would like his competitions to be, and it turns out there are a dozen different conditions that would once have been lumped under "hermaphrodite", but are now referred to by the less pejorative term of intersex, or disorders of sexual development.
Sport first cottoned on to this when Spanish hurdler Maria Jose Martinez-Patino was told in 1985 that she was an XY "man", but refused to quit or feign injury (as it is widely believed many had before) and spent the next three years fighting ignorance and ridicule to line up alongside women again.
She got there in the end, proving her Y chromosomes were the product of a rare genetic syndrome. She was also able to show that her condition meant she was insensitive to testosterone: it was in her blood, but it was no good to her.
Sadly, Martinez-Patino's most competitive years were behind her. It is not known what happened to the 13 women who "failed" gender tests at Olympics between 1972 and 1984.
But sport seemed to have learned something, though, mainly that it did not know enough about these complicated issues, and by the end of the 1990s gender verification was shelved, apart from in cases of extreme suspicion.
And then Semenya burst onto the scene.
A junior champion in 2008, the muscular teenager took seven seconds off her personal best for 800m over the next nine months, breaking the South African record and setting a world-leading time in the process. The IAAF felt "obliged to investigate", if only to rule out doping.
Hours before the start of the 800m final at the 2009 World Athletics Championships, a race Semenya would win by a huge margin, it was leaked that the sport's governing body had also asked for a gender test.
After Semenya's crushing win at the 2009 Worlds, a Russian rival sniped, "just look at her".
A young girl with a rare condition, and an even rarer talent, was subjected to a medical examination by media.
Semenya, now 24, returned to racing in 2010, and won silver medals at the 2011 Worlds and 2012 Olympics. But she has never run as fast as she did as an 18-year-old.
Bruce Kidd, the 1962 Commonwealth champion in the imperial version of the 10,000m, the six miles, has spent the last half century as a leading academic in the field of physical and health education. The Canadian is also a self-confessed Olympian "of the old school", a champion of sport's ability to unite.
"What a remarkable story Semenya should have been," said Kidd.
"Wouldn't it have been better if the authorities had raised her hand as a great new champion? Instead they hit the moral panic button.
"There has been a long current in modern sport that there must be something wrong with strong women. In the last 20 years it has become a kind of biological racism."
Ashamed at the leaks and lack of scientific rigour, but stung by the reaction to Semenya's physique from some quarters, the IAAF asked an expert working group to come up with a plan for women with "excessive androgenic hormones", or hyperandrogenism.
Androgenic hormones are any natural or synthetic substance that control the development of male characteristics - everything from the formation of testes, to male pattern baldness - with the best known being testosterone.
There is some disagreement over the normal spectrum of testosterone levels for men and women in general, but everybody agrees that typically there is a gap that emerges between the sexes during puberty.
As we have seen, though, there are some women with conditions that give them masculine amounts of testosterone, which the IAAF's working group, in conjunction with the IOC's Medical Commission, decided was anything above the bottom of the male range, 10 nanomoles per litre (nmol/L) of blood.
In April 2011, the new rules came into force. From this moment on, a confidential investigation could be made into any athlete where there were "reasonable grounds". This could be a complaint from a rival, or as a result of an anomaly in a drugs test.
The process would be handled by experts, and "an effective therapeutic strategy" would be offered to any athlete found to have elevated levels of androgen.
Part of this investigation would include finding out if the athlete is benefiting from the testosterone. As was seen in the Martinez-Patino case, androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) means those elevated levels of the hormone can give a false picture of what is actually happening.
But while all this is being established, the athletes are ineligible to compete. Sounds reasonable… doesn't it?
Peter Sonksen is a professor of endocrinology (the study of hormones) at St Thomas' Hospital in London. It was his research for the IOC that eventually led to the development of an anti-doping test for Human Growth Hormone, but he is far from impressed with its work on testosterone.
"They have got it completely wrong with this idiotic rule," Sonksen told me.
"This rule is unfair, gross and unscientific. It is clear discrimination."
Sonksen's main objection to the 10 nmol/L threshold is that the research he did for his HGH study found 16% of his male athletes had lower than expected testosterone, whereas 13% of his female athletes had high levels of testosterone "with complete overlap between the sexes".
In other words, the gap that exists for testosterone between men and women in the general population does not exist among elite athletes.
This research has been leapt upon by a growing body of campaigners who question the premise that testosterone is a significant factor in any discussions about differences between the sexes' athletic performances.
For them, men's greater height, leaner body mass, narrower hips and higher counts of oxygen-carrying red blood cells are all more persuasive than testosterone.
But this is where we enter disputed territory, and a number of experts reacted angrily to what they saw as the misuse of Sonksen's HGH data. For them, there is little doubt of testosterone's impact, although most admit it is part of the mix, as opposed to being the only ingredient.
David Epstein is an award-winning writer for the US magazine Sports Illustrated, but he is perhaps better known as the author of "The Sports Gene", a myth-debunking look at "nature versus nurture".
The book details the many physical differences between men and women, including testosterone, which, when you add them all up, explain why unisex sport is a non-starter for most athletic pursuits. As he explains, elite men's running times are about 11% faster than women's, with even bigger differences in jumping and throwing.
"For lots of good reasons, we have decided to have a class of athletes who aren't men," Epstein explained.
"But biological sex is not binary. That means whichever line you draw between men and women it is going to be arbitrary."
For now, Epstein agrees with the IAAF's experts that testosterone is probably "the best line we can draw", although he would prefer it if those experts at least admitted they were making an educated guess.
Joanna Harper is a medical physicist based in Oregon who could run two-hour-23-minute marathons as "a young man", but is now an age-group national champion as "an old lady".
As part of her sex change in 2004, she had therapy to suppress her testosterone levels. For her, there is no real argument about testosterone's effect.
"Women's sport is like a testosterone-handicap event," Harper told me.
"But you cannot have women's equality without women's sport, so you have a dilemma with no perfect solution."
There are two things that everybody does agree on: the women in question deserve to be treated with sensitivity and in confidence, and any consent they give to treatment must be informed.
A 2013 report revealed that four female athletes from "developing countries" had recently come to France for hormone therapy and extensive genital surgery. These cases were dealt with anonymously, and as far as anybody knows they are still competing.
But confirmation that young women are being operated on to comply with sport's rules on what "normal" female genitalia should look like has provoked outrage. Are male athletes subjected to the same scrutiny?
The details of Chand's condition have not been published or leaked, thankfully, but it is believed she was offered hormone therapy and "feminising" surgery.
It is ironic then that her failure to tick the "anonymity box" on her test form saved Chand from being rushed into medical procedures a probably traumatised teenager cannot be expected to understand. The media attention she has received has been intrusive at times, but it also alerted intersex campaigners to her fate.
The first person to come to Chand's aid was Dr Payoshni Mitra, a researcher on gender issues, and she helped galvanise opinion behind taking Chand's case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"We were able to convince (the Sports Authority of India) that these rules are unethical and need to be abolished," said Mitra. "Institutionalised genital mutilation is just scary."
Chand's challenge was filed at CAS last October, with the SAI paying the bill. Her supporters hoped to get her reinstated immediately and the IAAF rules ripped up within six months. An online "Let Dutee Run" campaign got 5,646 signatures and the Indian media massed behind her.
In the end it was late July 2015 when Chand won her case and was allowed to run once more, with the IAAF "hyperandrogenism" rules suspended for two years pending further investigation.
It is impossible to research Chand's story without developing huge sympathy for the position she found herself in. Her life was turned upside down.
It is also clear that elite sport has always been about unfair advantages, be they Usain Bolt's long legs, Michael Phelps's out-of-proportion wingspan, or Sir Bradley Wiggins's cardiovascular system. Sport is not fair.
But if women's sport is to have meaning there must be some boundaries. And if testosterone is so irrelevant, how do we explain the fact that many of the best performances ever achieved by women came during an era when they were pumped full of it as part of an ideological struggle between East and West?
There are no easy answers here.
As Harper, with her special insight into testosterone's effect, puts it: "A level playing field is probably impossible to ever achieve, but a more level playing field is worth striving for."
This feature was first published in October 2014 and updated in the wake of Dutee Chand being cleared to race on 27 July 2015.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/29446276
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Flooding boss urges debate on abandoning at-risk homes - BBC News
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2019-05-09
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Environment Agency's boss asks whether it is cheaper and safer to relocate communities than defend them.
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UK Politics
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The man in charge of England's flood defences has called for a debate on whether communities at the highest risk should be abandoned and their residents permanently relocated.
Sir James Bevan, the Environment Agency chief executive, said England could not continue to build taller, stronger and costlier concrete defences for ever.
In a speech in Telford, he asked if it would be safer for people to move.
The UK "owed it to future generations" to think the unthinkable, he suggested.
Addressing the Flood and Coast Conference, he also called for homeowners to be more aware of the risks they faced and for businesses, councils and other organisations to share more of the cost of funding flood defences.
Central government accounts for about 90% of all English funding on flood risk management and defence.
According to a 2016 government review, 12% of England's land mass, 8% of the population and 2.4 million homes and other premises are vulnerable to coastal and river flooding.
In the wake of the devastating 2013-14 winter floods across southern England, the then prime minister David Cameron pledged to spend whatever it took to rebuild communities and ensure they weren't swamped again.
Sir James said the UK had strengthened its capacity to deal with flooding since then and the equally devastating floods in the north of England in the winter of 2015-6.
But, in the longer term, he said government would have to rethink its approach "from first principles", suggesting what had worked so well in the past and continued to do so "may not be enough in the future".
Sir James Bevan said traditional lines of defence may not work in the future
While vital infrastructure such as the Thames Barrier would likely have to be upgraded in the years to come, he said there was a limit to the protection "hard" structures could offer and "more concrete was not the answer".
"In the face of the rising risks and costs, it won't make sense to go on building ever taller, stronger and more expensive concrete defences as the default solution to flood risk," he said.
"The engineering won't work and the humans won't put up with it. You can only build a wall so high before people stop wanting to live behind it."
While he made clear he was not calling for high-risk communities to be uprooted, he said the argument that it would be safer and cheaper to do so than to continue to defend them had to be confronted.
"There are places on the coast and on some of our major rivers which are already costing millions of pounds a year to defend and those costs will only rise over time," he said.
"Do we want to defend every inhabited location or should we consider moving some communities?
"I am not saying we should do that. I know how important place and community are to people. I am saying we should be prepared to have the debate."
In its 2016 flood resilience review, UK ministers acknowledged alternatives to "hard solutions" were needed, with more emphasis on natural flood management and water planning, both down river and upstream.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43476335
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Brexit: Does collapse of Labour talks spell end for Theresa May's hopes? - BBC News
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2019-05-19
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Could Labour MPs and Tories with their eyes on a future leadership contest come to the PM's rescue?
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UK Politics
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Bringing the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to Parliament is the last roll of the dice for the prime minister
Labour has finally pulled the plug on the Brexit talks with the government, at the end of a week in which they appeared to be on life support.
So is it, as some suggest, time to read the last rites on Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement Bill?
Let's be clear - it will be challenging, to say the least, for the legislation to get through the Commons.
But reports of its demise may well have been exaggerated. It may not go down to immediate defeat. And this is why.
A leaked memo from the government side, not agreed by Labour or the cabinet, contained a wheeze that could have been attractive to both leaderships.
Even before the Withdrawal Agreement Bill makes its appearance, the memo suggested there could be a "free vote" in Parliament on another referendum.
This is rather different from what the shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, was suggesting - that there ought to be a "confirmatory" vote, as part of a package, on any agreed deal.
The leaders of both the main parties aren't keen on another public vote, to say the least. So a stand-alone Commons vote on the issue, divorced from the deal, would be more likely to go down to defeat - as it has on previous occasions.
Jeremy Corbyn could say to People's Vote supporters in his ranks: "Oh, I did try for a referendum, but oops, it didn't work - so now let's just leave with the best possible deal."
But it would seem that this approach has been scuppered by Labour's wider negotiating team and, presumably, by the cabinet. I have had a strong steer that this proposal in the leaked government memo won't go ahead in this form.
But this might not be the setback it seems for the prime minister because supporters of another referendum may have no option but to vote initially for her bill.
There will be a vote at what's called, in parliamentary speak, second reading in the first week in June. If the prime minister is defeated at this point, it's basically the end of the road for her deal and her premiership.
Theresa May's immediate fate could be in the hands of Labour MPs
But if MPs vote for the bill at second reading, they then get an opportunity to change it - and that would include an amendment on another referendum.
So it's not impossible that some people who hate Theresa May's deal give it their temporary backing so they can discuss improving it, or putting it to a public vote.
Talks with Labour are over - but efforts to win over individual Labour MPs are not. Note the wording of Downing Street's statement that "complete agreement" hasn't been reached.
So expect to see some incentives in - or around - the Brexit bill for opposition MPs to back the government. For example, a commitment to stay in step with the EU on workers' rights and environmental protection.
Allies of Sir Keir have blamed the breakdown of the talks on the PM's inability to get a customs union compromise past her cabinet.
But if she keeps Conservative MPs on board in the legislation by eschewing a customs union but delivers a "comprehensive" (trust me, this word is important to some Labour MPs) temporary arrangement to last until the next election, some soft opposition to her deal may crumble.
Then there is the argument put forward by the former Conservative minister Nick Boles, echoed off the record by some in Downing Street.
If the prime minister's bill gets shot down in flames there is no other readily available vehicle to prevent the default option of no deal. Indeed, No 10 insiders expect to see "vociferous" arguments for no deal if Theresa May's legislation falls.
Some unions, such as the GMB and Unison, favour another referendum. But the leadership of Unite, which is closest to Mr Corbyn, essentially favours leaving with a deal - and Labour MPs will be made well aware of this.
So even if Labour formally opposes the bill at second reading, there could be a sizeable rebellion from those former Remainers representing Leave areas - safe in the knowledge that they wouldn't exactly be upsetting some powerful forces in the party.
And the MPs who support what's called Common Market 2.0 could be crucial to the outcome. These are, broadly speaking, Labour MPs who are neither Corbynistas nor in favour of another referendum - such as Lucy Powell and Stephen Kinnock - and they are very keen to avoid no deal.
However, if the Labour whip is to oppose, expect it to be rigorously enforced irrespective of the views of the party leader's office. So Mrs May's immediate fate may still be in the hands of opposition MPs
The forthcoming leadership contest may firm up opposition to Theresa May's bill on the Conservative benches
By putting the Withdrawal Agreement Bill out of its misery almost as soon as it appears, the prime minister's critics know she will vacate office sooner rather than later.
But some candidates will be keener for her to get Brexit over the line, even with a less than optimal deal, so they don't immediately get bogged down with difficult votes. It would also allow them to make their pitch based on the future relationship with the EU.
So could some of their supporters - irrespective of their public criticism of the deal - quietly vote to get it over the line?
Set against all this, there is plenty of analysis in the public domain which will tell you how impossible it is for a deal to go through.
But right now, No 10 might well see "highly improbable" as grounds for optimism. Hope dies last, does it not?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48307713
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Brexit: New UK PM will not alter withdrawal deal - Coveney - BBC News
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2019-05-19
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Ireland's deputy prime minister says "the personality might change" but the Brexit deal will not.
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Europe
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Mr Coveney suggested many British politicians do not understand the complexity of NI politics
Ireland's deputy prime minister has ruled out any renegotiation of the Brexit withdrawal deal if Theresa May is replaced as UK prime minister.
Speaking on RTÉ, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said "the personality might change but the facts don't".
He described Mrs May as a "decent person" and strongly criticised Conservative MPs at Westminster.
Mrs May has promised to set a timetable for the election of her successor after the next Brexit vote.
Mr Coveney described political events at Westminster as "extraordinary", as he questioned the logic of politicians who believed a change of leader would deliver changes to the agreement struck by Mrs May.
He said Conservative MPs were "impossible" on the issue of Brexit.
"The EU has said very clearly that the Withdrawal Agreement has been negotiated over two-and-a-half years, it was agreed with the British government and the British cabinet and it's not up for renegotiation, even if there is a new British prime minister," he said.
He told RTÉ's This Week programme that many British politicians "don't, quite frankly, understand the complexity of politics in Northern Ireland".
"They have tried to dumb this debate down into a simplistic argument whereby it's Britain versus the EU, as opposed to two friends tying to navigate through the complexity of a very, very difficult agreement," he added.
Mr Coveney also said the Irish government would continue to focus significant efforts and financial resources towards planning for a no-deal Brexit scenario, following Friday's collapse of Brexit talks in the UK.
He said time was of the essence for the UK to get a deal through Parliament, adding that he was concerned Britain would not "get its act together over summer" and leave without a deal.
On Wednesday, Mrs May announced that MPs would vote on the bill that would pave the way for Brexit in the week beginning 3 June.
If the bill is not passed, the default position is that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October without a deal.
Brexit had been due to take place on 29 March.
But the UK was given an extension until 31 October after MPs three times voted down the withdrawal agreement Mrs May had negotiated with the EU - by margins of 230, 149 and 58 votes.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48330965
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news_world-europe-48330965
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John McDonnell: No trust left in PM over Brexit talks - BBC News
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2019-05-06
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The shadow chancellor accuses Theresa May of an "act of bad faith" in cross-party Brexit talks.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. John McDonnell: 'We're dealing with a very unstable government'
Labour's shadow chancellor says he does not trust Theresa May after details from cross-party talks on Brexit were leaked to the press.
The PM has called on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to "put their differences aside" and agree a Brexit deal.
But John McDonnell said she had "blown the confidentiality" of the talks and "jeopardised the negotiations".
The UK was due to leave the EU on 29 March, but it was delayed to 31 October after MPs failed to agree a deal.
Mrs May put the plan she had negotiated with the EU to Parliament three times, but it did not have the support of the Commons.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mrs May said Mr Corbyn should "listen to what voters said" in Thursday's local elections - which saw the Conservatives lose 1,334 councillors and Labour fail to make expected gains, instead losing 82 seats.
The Liberal Democrats benefited from Tory losses, gaining 703 seats, with the Greens and independents also making gains.
The prime minister blamed the Brexit impasse for the losses - but said the elections gave "fresh urgency" to find a way to "break the deadlock".
Theresa May appealed to the Labour Party to find a compromise over Brexit
Mrs May also said she hoped to find a "unified, cross-party position" with Labour - despite admitting that her colleagues "find this decision uncomfortable" and that "frankly, it is not what I wanted either".
Mr McDonnell agreed that the message from the polls was to "get on with it" and come to an agreement over Brexit quickly.
But while he said the talks between the two parties would continue on Tuesday, he said they had been undermined after an article in the Sunday Times detailed where Mrs May was willing to compromise - namely on customs, goods alignment and workers' rights.
The paper also said the PM could put forward plans for a comprehensive, but temporary, customs arrangement with the EU that would last until the next general election.
Mr McDonnell told the BBC's Andrew Marr show: "We have maintained confidentiality as that is what we were asked to do. We haven't briefed the media.
"So it is disappointing the prime minister has broken that, and I think it is an act of bad faith.
"I fully understand now why she couldn't negotiate a decent deal with our European partners if she behaves in this way."
Asked if he trusted the prime minister, the shadow chancellor said: "No. Sorry. Not after this weekend when she has blown the confidentiality we had, and I actually think she has jeopardised the negotiation for her own personal protection."
Labour's Rebecca Long-Bailey, John McDonnell and Sue Hayman have all been taking part in the cross-party talks
Clearly both sides think there is fresh impetus to get a deal after the local elections.
The government seems prepared to move towards Labour's position, but it's far from clear that it will be enough.
There's a real fear on the Labour side that if this isn't a permanent arrangement, a new Tory leader - perhaps Boris Johnson or Dominic Raab - could come along and try to change it.
So success isn't guaranteed when the two sides get back around the table on Tuesday, and both sides need to know they can take a big chunk of their parties with them.
If Theresa May faces losing dozens of Tories opposed to a customs union, or Jeremy Corbyn faces losing dozens of labour MPs who want another referendum, they might not have the numbers to get this through the Commons.
And in that case, a compromise is useless.
Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, told the Daily Telegraph that staying in a customs union could lead to a "catastrophic split" in the Conservative Party.
And Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme that millions of people would give up on Labour and the Conservatives if they agreed a deal, adding it would be the "final betrayal".
But the new International Development Secretary Rory Stewart told BBC Radio 5 live's Pienaar's Politics the Tories might have to "take some short-term pain" to finish the job.
The leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, also said her party needed to "start walking ourselves back" from the extremes of the argument to find a compromise, telling the BBC's Andrew Marr "there is a deal to be done" with Labour.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ruth Davidson MSP: "The answer is somewhere in the middle".
Meanwhile, Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said it was "absolutely right" for the talks to continue, but told Pienaar's Politics: "I don't think we should be in any doubt that the Labour Party membership and vast numbers of my colleagues in Parliament don't want us to just sign off on a Tory Brexit.
"They don't want us to bail the prime minister out of the problem of her own making and a very large number of our members think the people should decide on what that deal looks like."
The comments come after the People's Vote campaign - which wants a referendum on a final Brexit deal - published a letter signed by more than 100 opposition MPs saying any new, agreed deal should be put to the public for a vote.
Labour MP Bridget Phillipson, who backs the campaign, told Sky's Sophy Ridge: "I think we have reached a stage now that whatever deal is agreed... it has to go back to the British people.
"Something stitched up, cobbled together in Westminster will not be sustainable in the long run. I want to check it is what people want now."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48165373
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Why The Jeremy Kyle Show was scrapped - BBC News
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2019-05-16
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Damaging front-page headlines and fresh evidence around the death left ITV with little option but to end the show permanently.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The precise circumstances of Steve Dymond's death are not known. But what is clear, from multiple sources, is that he was troubled and vulnerable before he participated in the show - even though he did so willingly - and that failing the lie detector test was a devastating blow.
That much was clear on Tuesday morning, when ITV said that they were minded to launch an inquiry and wait for the coroner's verdict. Yet this morning the show was taken off the air permanently.
What happened that should cause the sudden change of mind?
The Jeremy Kyle show has been part of ITV's daytime schedule since it started in 2005
Two things at least. First, growing evidence of links between that failed lie detector test and Mr Dymond's death. ITV learned significant new information in the past 24 hours. And second, another morning of damaging front page headlines, especially in the tabloids that are still influential and widely read among ITV's heartland audience.
That is explicitly not to say that the decision to take the show off air permanently was primarily a commercial one. The driver may have been moral repugnance, at ITV board level, at what has happened. Certainly, if as part of their internal process board members saw footage of Mr Dymond's response to failing the lie detector test on the episode that was never aired, it must have prompted a visceral reaction.
But even if you accept that Carolyn McCall and the ITV board made this decision because of revulsion at what one of their shows did, that doesn't discount the commercial and editorial context in which the decision was made.
As an advertiser-funded broadcaster, albeit with multiple linear channels and a digital offering, ITV is under pressure. Kevin Lygo, its creative chief, has tried to reinvent the schedule, and with some success. But the feeling at the top of ITV is that Jeremy Kyle's show was a distinct anomaly within the new offering - and therefore not necessarily a good fit as part of its future. It is hard to imagine that the show would have been permanently scrapped if Lygo and other bosses were deeply admiring of it.
In reaching millions of people every weekday, many of them of the view that the mainstream media doesn't generally reflect their lives very well, ITV had a solid, regular offer to a big and loyal audience. In today's exceptionally competitive media environment, when the claims on our attention are multiplying by the minute, that isn't something you give up lightly. Especially when you know that whatever replaces Kyle will struggle to achieve its ratings, at least at first.
There is, as I mentioned on last night's bulletins, a massive disconnect here: between those who wanted the show off air, who generally don't watch it; and those who do watch it, and feel they can relate to it.
These fans, like ITV bosses, might proffer a liberal argument: people who go on the show are consenting, fully informed, capacitous adults who know what they're doing. In the show's 14-year history, thousands of contributors have been on-stage. And this is not a show that has traditionally led to Ofcom being inundated with complaints.
Several people have said to me that, given two people who appeared on Love Island have taken their own lives, it is inconsistent to leave that show on air, and ITV's decision on Wednesday is partly about protecting that highly lucrative show.
ITV resist the latter point strongly, and it is important not to generalise from the specific circumstances of any death - particularly suicide. Moreover, Love Island and The Jeremy Kyle Show occupied very different parts of the schedule, and don't belong in the same category of programme.
Steve Dymond, who was 63, was found dead a week after he was filmed on the Jeremy Kyle show taking a lie detector test to prove if he'd been faithful to his fiancee
I wonder, however, if rising concerns about the mental health of participants in all TV programmes may prompt greater investment in after-care, or an expansion of Ofcom's remit to go much further on the duty of care programme makers have toward their contributors.
Celebrity culture is as old as culture itself; but the advent of, first, mass media, and now social media, has rapidly expanded the circle of those who can be famous. But displaying, or even parading, private anguish and trauma in a public way can obviously have a disastrous impact on mental health.
Whether it be Strictly Come Dancing, Come Dine With Me, or The Jeremy Kyle Show and Love Island, contributors and contestants give up something of themselves, some degree of autonomy, when they become characters in productions whose goal is commercially motivated entertainment. The journey they go on, and which viewers are encouraged to go on with them, can be life-affirming, cultural gold-dust. That is television at its best.
But the spectacle can also lead contributors to a dark place. Even if that is not television at its worst, it is television that - for now - ITV believes should not be aired. No matter the ratings.
If you're interested in issues such as these, you can follow me on Twitter or Facebook; and subscribe to The Media Show podcast from BBC Radio 4.
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Brexit: Matt Hancock urges MPs to vote for bill - BBC News
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2019-05-20
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The health secretary says they should support it in June's vote and worry about the detail afterwards.
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UK Politics
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MPs who want to deliver the referendum result should vote for the government's Brexit bill and worry about the detail afterwards, a senior minister has said.
A vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill - the legislation that will implement Brexit - is expected early next month.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said MPs should back it "no matter the details" they want in a future relationship.
But ex-Brexit Secretary David Davis says if the bill passes, the PM's successor will "have their hands tied".
Theresa May announced last week that MPs would vote on the bill in the week beginning 3 June. If it is not passed, the default position is that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October without a deal.
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg says the vote "really is the last roll of the dice" for the prime minister, who has had her withdrawal agreement with the EU rejected three times in the Commons.
Mrs May last week promised to set out the timetable for her own departure after the vote.
Mr Hancock told BBC Radio 4's Today: "If you want, as an MP, to leave the European Union and deliver on the result of referendum - no matter the details you want to see in terms of the future relationship - you need to vote for legislation and then have the debate in the committee stages later on exactly what the details are.
"No doubt there will be votes on really big issues, on whether to have a 'People's vote' or whether to have a customs union, both of which I'm against."
The committee stage is where a bill is considered line-by-line by MPs and is an opportunity for changes to be made to the wording or new clauses to be added.
Any fresh demands that Parliament came up with at that stage - for example, for a customs union with the EU - would then need to be taken back to Brussels.
The EU has said it will not re-open negotiations on the withdrawal agreement, but could make changes to the political declaration - a non-binding document that sketches out the shape of the future relationship between it and the UK.
Theresa May insists that the Brexit plan she'll discuss with her cabinet on Tuesday is "new" - and not to be confused with the deal that went down to defeat three times in the Commons.
And some of it will represent a fresh approach - further moves on workers' rights to try to appeal to Labour MPs, for example. But some of it will be familiar, including the controversial Northern Ireland backstop which the DUP and Conservative Brexiteers, in particular, loathe.
Irrespective of the specifics, Matt Hancock gave a sneak preview of the argument the prime minister will make herself.
She plans to deliver a speech later this week spelling out that this could be the last chance of leaving the EU with a deal.
Vote down the latest legislation, and both no deal and no Brexit at all become more likely.
The trouble is, some MPs find the former attractive and others are willing to gamble on the latter.
Mr Hancock, who is tipped as a potential centrist candidate for next Tory leader, insisted Mrs May's Brexit plan would include "new proposals" for MPs to vote on - those are expected to include enhanced protection for workers' rights and the environment.
But prominent Brexiteer Mr Davis, who is firmly on the right of the party, told BBC Radio 4's Today he would not support the bill and rejected the idea it was "a great new offer".
"If we pass that act, it opens things up so that a successor to the prime minister, the next prime minister, will have their hands tied," he said.
"I think the next prime minister must have the right to reset the negotiation on their terms."
Change UK's interim leader Heidi Allen told Today she believed the issue of Brexit was going "around and round in circles" and Mrs May's plan would fail in the Commons once again.
"I just don't believe that deal will go through, nor have we for many, many months now," she said.
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Jeremy Corbyn said he would consider any new proposals "very carefully", but he said what was being talked about did not appear "fundamentally different" from what was already on the table.
As things stand, Labour MPs will vote against it, he said.
Talks between the government and Labour - to see if they could find a compromise Brexit deal, despite differences over issues including membership of a customs union and a further referendum - lasted six weeks before ending on Friday without agreement.
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer blamed the collapse of talks on the inability to "future proof" any agreement against an "incoming Tory leader", and said although the two sides had conducted the talks "in good faith", they were "a long way apart" on substance.
But Mrs May blamed the lack of a "common position" within Labour, and said she would consider putting different Brexit options to MPs to see which ones "command a majority".
Downing Street said the cabinet would discuss the merits of holding such indicative votes at its meeting on Tuesday morning.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The Conservatives jostling to be the next prime minister
Meanwhile, Mr Hancock, when asked whether he would run for Tory leadership, said he didn't "rule out" standing in a future contest but added: "There isn't a vacancy as yet."
"I find it flattering that a lot of people have asked me to put my name forward," he said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48334109
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Brexit: New UK PM will not alter withdrawal deal - Coveney - BBC News
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2019-05-20
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Ireland's deputy prime minister says "the personality might change" but the Brexit deal will not.
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Europe
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Mr Coveney suggested many British politicians do not understand the complexity of NI politics
Ireland's deputy prime minister has ruled out any renegotiation of the Brexit withdrawal deal if Theresa May is replaced as UK prime minister.
Speaking on RTÉ, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said "the personality might change but the facts don't".
He described Mrs May as a "decent person" and strongly criticised Conservative MPs at Westminster.
Mrs May has promised to set a timetable for the election of her successor after the next Brexit vote.
Mr Coveney described political events at Westminster as "extraordinary", as he questioned the logic of politicians who believed a change of leader would deliver changes to the agreement struck by Mrs May.
He said Conservative MPs were "impossible" on the issue of Brexit.
"The EU has said very clearly that the Withdrawal Agreement has been negotiated over two-and-a-half years, it was agreed with the British government and the British cabinet and it's not up for renegotiation, even if there is a new British prime minister," he said.
He told RTÉ's This Week programme that many British politicians "don't, quite frankly, understand the complexity of politics in Northern Ireland".
"They have tried to dumb this debate down into a simplistic argument whereby it's Britain versus the EU, as opposed to two friends tying to navigate through the complexity of a very, very difficult agreement," he added.
Mr Coveney also said the Irish government would continue to focus significant efforts and financial resources towards planning for a no-deal Brexit scenario, following Friday's collapse of Brexit talks in the UK.
He said time was of the essence for the UK to get a deal through Parliament, adding that he was concerned Britain would not "get its act together over summer" and leave without a deal.
On Wednesday, Mrs May announced that MPs would vote on the bill that would pave the way for Brexit in the week beginning 3 June.
If the bill is not passed, the default position is that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October without a deal.
Brexit had been due to take place on 29 March.
But the UK was given an extension until 31 October after MPs three times voted down the withdrawal agreement Mrs May had negotiated with the EU - by margins of 230, 149 and 58 votes.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48330965
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Caster Semenya: Cas ruling 'justifies discrimination' - Athletics South Africa - BBC Sport
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2019-05-02
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Athletics South Africa (ASA) says it is "reeling in shock" after Caster Semenya lost a landmark case against athletics' governing body.
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Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Athletics South Africa (ASA) says it is "reeling in shock" after Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya lost a landmark case against athletics' governing body.
The South African, 28, challenged new IAAF rules which attempt to restrict testosterone levels in female runners.
Athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD) must now take medication to compete in some track events or change to another distance.
ASA said the decision "goes to lengths to justify" discrimination.
Semenya had challenged the IAAF's new rules at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) but on Wednesday it announced it had rejected the appeal.
"We believe their decision is disgraceful," ASA added.
And it said by justifying discrimination, Cas had "seen it fit to open the wounds of apartheid" - the South African political system which enforced white rule and racial segregation until 1991 - which it pointed out was "condemned by the whole world as a crime against humanity".
• None 'Nobody has truly won in Semenya case - one side has just lost less than the other'
• None Semenya Q&A: Why is her case pivotal?
Cas found the rules for athletes with DSD, like Semenya, were discriminatory - but that the discrimination was "necessary, reasonable and proportionate" to protect "the integrity of female athletics".
But, in making the ruling on Wednesday, Cas said it had "serious concerns as to the future practical application" of the regulations.
Semenya, a multiple Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion, said she believed the IAAF "have always targeted me specifically".
"We are reeling in shock at how a body held in high esteem like Cas can endorse discrimination without flinching," said ASA in a statement on Wednesday.
"For Cas does not only condone discrimination but also goes to lengths to justify it, only undermines the integrity that this body is entrusted with.
"We are deeply disappointed and profoundly shocked."
Semenya is still eligible to compete at the Diamond League meet in Doha on Friday and can make an appeal against the Cas ruling to the Swiss Tribunal Courts within the next 30 days.
ASA said it was "encouraged to take the matter further" because of some of the observations raised by Cas in the ruling.
"ASA was confident of a favourable outcome given the human rights, medico-legal and scientific arguments and evidence that we believe invalidated the regulations," it added.
"It is these facts that have left ASA shocked that Cas rejected these compelling factors in favour of the IAAF.
"ASA reiterates that this may not be the end of the matter."
What are the proposed changes?
The rules, applying to women in track events from 400m up to the mile, require athletes to keep their testosterone levels below a prescribed amount "for at least six months prior to competing".
However, 100m, 200m and 100m hurdles are exempt, as are races longer than one mile and field events.
Female athletes affected must take medication for six months before they can compete, and then maintain a lower testosterone level.
The rules were intended to be brought in on 1 November 2018, but the legal challenge from Semenya and Athletics South Africa caused that to be delayed until 26 March.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has called the plans "unnecessary, harmful and humiliating" and South Africa's sports minister called them a "human rights violation".
• 31 July 2009: 18-year-old Semenya runs fastest 800m time of the year to win gold at the Africa Junior Championships.
• August 2009: Semenya undertakes a gender test before the World Championships in Berlin. She is unaware of the purpose of the test, with Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene telling her it is a random doping test.
• 19 August 2009: Semenya wins 800m world gold, breaking the world-leading mark she set in July. After her victory, the news of Semenya's gender test is leaked to the press.
• November 2009: There are reports that Semenya's test has revealed male and female characteristics. The results are not made public.
• 6 July 2010: Semenya is cleared by the IAAF to compete again.
• 22 August 2010: Semenya wins the 800m at an IAAF event in Berlin.
• 11 August 2012: Semenya wins 800m silver at the 2012 London Olympics. This is later upgraded to gold after Russian winner Mariya Savinov is given a lifetime ban for doping violations. Semenya is also upgraded to 2011 world gold.
• July 2014: India sprinter Dutee Chand, 18, is banned from competing after a hormone test shows natural natural levels of testosterone normally only found in men.
• 27 July 2015: Chand is cleared to compete; the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspends, for two years, the introduction of an earlier version of IAAF rules requiring female athletes to take testosterone-suppressing medication.
• 20 August 2016: Semenya wins 800m gold at the Rio Olympics, but the decision to allow her to compete is
• 4 July 2017: Research commissioned by the IAAF finds female athletes with high testosterone levels have a "competitive advantage".
• 26 April 2018: The IAAF introduces new rules for female runners with naturally high testosterone.
• 19 June 2018: Semenya says she will challenge the "unfair" IAAF rules.
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Boris Johnson: Police called to Tory leadership contender's home - BBC News
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2019-06-21
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Officers responded to a call by a local resident "concerned for the welfare of a female neighbour".
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UK Politics
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Police were called to the London home of Boris Johnson and his partner in the early hours of Friday after neighbours reportedly heard a loud argument.
The Guardian said Carrie Symonds was heard telling the Conservative MP to "get off me" and "get out of my flat".
The Metropolitan Police told the BBC it "spoke to all occupants of the address, who were all safe and well".
In a statement, it said "there was no cause for police action". A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: "No comment".
Mr Johnson refused to answer questions as he arrived at Birmingham ahead of the first of the Conservative Party's leadership membership hustings.
Earlier, a neighbour of Ms Symonds in Camberwell, south London, told the Guardian they had heard a woman screaming followed by "slamming and banging".
The paper said the neighbour was inside their own flat when they recorded the alleged altercation.
It said that in the recording - heard by the newspaper, but not by the BBC - Mr Johnson was refusing to leave the flat and told the woman to "get off" his laptop, before there was a loud crashing noise.
Ms Symonds is allegedly heard saying the MP had ruined a sofa with red wine: "You just don't care for anything because you're spoilt. You have no care for money or anything."
Another neighbour, who would only give her name as Fatima, told the BBC: "I heard a female voice, shouting and screaming, and then I heard things smashing, it sounded like plates or glasses.
"I couldn't hear what she was saying but she sounded really angry."
Conservative MP Dominic Grieve told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he could not comment on the Guardian's report specifically but said character was relevant in the contest to be leader of the party.
"They are going to be in a position of responsibility where they have to make very important decisions," he said.
The former attorney general added: "Clearly, things like reliability and honesty are very important things.
"And I think they matter in one's private and personal life, and also they matter in one's public life."
Carrie Symonds has been in a relationship with Mr Johnson since 2018
Boris Johnson would have preferred his politics - not his private life - to be making headlines.
As we enter the final stage of this leadership campaign the scrutiny of the two men who want the top job will no doubt increase.
There will be intense focus on their every move; their past, their present and their future.
It's not surprising given the importance of the job they want - running the country.
But does what allegedly happened in the London flat Mr Johnson shares with his partner really matter? His critics will say yes.
They argue that we need someone of good character who can make difficult decisions and work under pressure.
Supporters of Boris Johnson disagree. Whatever happened, they say, was an entirely private matter between two people in a relationship which should never have been recorded by a neighbour.
Journalist Sonia Purnell, who has written a biography of Mr Johnson, told the Today programme she believed it was important to know a future leader's character.
She said: "It is the most unbelievably pressured job, crises will be coming at you day and night. You have to have equilibrium, a clear head, a stability in your life to be able to cope with that."
But, political commentator Tim Montgomerie told the BBC that until a complaint was made by Ms Symonds, the row "should be a non-issue".
He added: "If there was any domestic violence, Boris Johnson's candidacy would be toast and would deserve to be.
"But all we have at the moment is a partially overheard conversation between two people late at night.
"Unless there is a complaint I think we should draw a line under this."
Some of Mr Johnson's supporters have also taken to social media to defend him.
Brexit minister James Cleverly questioned the motives of the "person who recorded Boris and then gave the story to the Guardian".
Tory MP Michael Fabricant appeared to confuse Camberwell with Islington but wrote he was glad he did not have "nosey neighbours" recording private conversations, sending them to newspapers and "wasting police time for political advantage".
Mr Johnson's relationship with Ms Symonds - a former director of communications for the Conservative party - became public after Mr Johnson and his wife announced they were divorcing in 2018.
Ms Symonds was seen in the audience during Mr Johnson's leadership campaign launch on 12 June.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "At 00:24 on Friday 21 June, police responded to a call from a local resident in the SE5 area of Camberwell.
"The caller was concerned for the welfare of a female neighbour.
"Police attended and spoke to all occupants of the address, who were all safe and well. There were no offences or concerns apparent to the officers and there was no cause for police action."
A poster opposite Boris Johnson's London home shows not everyone supports his leadership bid
Mr Johnson is the bookmakers' favourite to succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader and the UK's next prime minister.
The former foreign secretary and Mayor of London is in a run-off with Jeremy Hunt, with Tory party members due to vote over the next month.
Mr Johnson came top in a ballot of Tory MPs on Thursday. The first hustings of the second phase of the leadership campaign takes place on Saturday.
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Jack Letts: Why jihadi's parents are guilty of funding terrorism - BBC News
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2019-06-21
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An ex-charity fundraiser and an organic farmer face jail for sending cash to their son in Syria. How did they end up in court?
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A former charity fundraiser and an organic farmer have been convicted of funding terrorism by sending cash to their son in Syria. So how did Sally Lane and John Letts end up before a jury in the Old Bailey?
In the words of one judge, they were "two perfectly decent people... in custody because of the love of their child".
And over four years, Lane and Letts battled to avoid trial for sending cash to their son, who had joined the war in Syria and the Islamic State group.
But now they have both been found guilty of a serious terrorism-related offence after a trial that came down to evidence of foreseeable consequences.
Jack Letts converted to Islam as a 16-year-old. His parents had supported his decision.
But two years later in May 2014 evidence began to emerge that he was associating with extremists. He married Asmaa, whose family were influential in IS in Iraq, and they had a child together.
A fellow Muslim who knew Jack Letts in Oxford warned his parents their son wanted to go to Syria.
Jack Letts, who is now 23, told his parents he only wanted to study in the Middle East and they decided to fund his travel.
But they were not sure what he was up to. Evidence from their trial reveals that Lane confided in a friend that she believed her son might be seeking to join the war - but both she and his father appeared to hoping for the best.
In late August the truth dawned. Lane emailed a friend to say her son was in the "worst" possible country, a message sent two days before the beheading of James Foley, the first western hostage to be murdered by IS.
And Jack Letts finally confirmed to his parents on 2 September 2014 that he was in Syria and later exchanges made clear he was alongside other IS group recruits from the UK in the group's capital Raqqa.
By March 2015 counter-terrorism detectives were investigating Jack Letts and they advised his parents not to send him any cash. Quite simply, it would probably end up in the hands of the terror group and wiring money in such circumstances was a crime.
During the trial the jury heard that Jack Letts has obsessive compulsive disorder and his parents believed his decision to go to Syria was influenced by his condition.
But to others, he had appeared to have become a fully signed-up member of an extremist sect. In one Facebook post he declared he'd like to "do a martyrdom operation" against a school friend who was in the Army.
Lane sent one payment - and tried to transfer two more
Weeks later he was bragging to his mother about the "Islamic State Health Service", a key piece of propaganda that the group's UK recruits were encouraged to promote.
And so when he began to ask for cash, he was playing on his parents' turmoil.
He repeatedly asked Lane to send money to an intermediary in Turkey or Lebanon whom she did not know. He claimed it would not go on "jihad" but advised her to come up with a cover story.
Despite her reservations, the trial heard Lane and John Letts agreed to the proposal and in September 2015 she wired £223 to her son's contact in Lebanon.
She hoped any cash she sent her son could help him survive or escape. But the transfer led to a second warning from the police not to send any more.
In relation to this transaction, the couple were convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey of entering into a funding arrangement for the purposes of terrorism.
They were each sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
As the winter wore on, Jack Letts was sending conflicting messages. On the one hand he said the West should "die in their rage". He also began to suggest he was doubting IS beliefs and wanted to return home.
His parents pressed further, and Jack Letts again asked for cash, suggesting smugglers could help him to get out.
By now it was not just the police warning the couple not to send anything. Two independent experts, an academic and a professional deradicaliser, also advised the couple not to send money.
Then, on 27 December 2015, a junior police officer, acting as a liaison with the family, made a mistake. That officer said money could be sent if it were to aid their son's escape.
Two days later, case officers corrected the error in a meeting with Lane and John Letts, backed up with a written notice that sending cash would be a crime.
Despite that formal advice, effectively a third warning, on New Year's Eve Lane tried to send £1,000 to her son's nominated intermediary in Lebanon.
The payment was blocked. Four days later, the trial heard, that Sally Lane used a false identity to try again to send £500. Again, the payment was blocked.
The jury cleared the couple of funding terrorism by attempting to send the £1,000 payment and were unable to reach a verdict in relation to the third attempted transfer.
The case has been one of the most drawn-out terrorism prosecutions in recent history - including the almost 20 hours the jury took to reach verdicts.
No jury could be asked to find Sally Lane and John Letts guilty of supporting terrorism - because there was no evidence they supported banned violent groups. It was clear from their own emotional arguments with their son how deeply disgusted and shocked they had been by his decision.
But at the same time, they wanted to help him come to his senses and find a way out.
Supporters of Lane and John Letts came to the Old Bailey
The question for the jury would be whether sending cash for that purpose broke the law which bans the funding of terrorism in any circumstances.
That law, Section 17 of the Terrorism Act 2000, states that it is a crime to enter into a funding arrangement if someone either knows or has "reasonable cause to suspect" that money could end up in the hands of terrorists.
When the offence was originally created in 1976, prosecutors had to prove the defendant either definitely knew for sure or suspected the cash was going to fund terrorism.
But Parliament later changed the wording to include situations where people would merely have had reasonable cause to suspect where their cash was heading. This, in effect, lowered the evidential test to find someone guilty.
As the case approached trial, the couple asked the Court of Appeal to rule that the law was being misinterpreted - a challenge that could have stopped the prosecution. During the hearing in 2017 they argued they could not be accused of funding terrorism if they honestly did not believe their son would ever hand money to a banned terror group.
Their aim had been to try to rescue him, to save his life, and therefore they could not be prosecuted for funding a terror group.
Those senior judges rejected that appeal and that decision was backed a year later by the Supreme Court.
If Jack Letts had successfully covered his tracks, his parents would never have committed a crime because they would have had absolutely no idea what he was up to.
However, there was ample evidence of where he was, who he appeared to be with and what he had been doing.
The jury had to decide whether the couple knew enough about their son's situation to reasonably suspect cash might end up in the pockets of IS fighters, even if they genuinely hoped that it would not.
In opening the trial, prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said jurors would inevitably have sympathy for the parents but the law was focused on "the greater good, stopping money flowing into terrorist groups".
Both of them knew where Jack was, who he was associating with and believed he was being manipulated by others, she added.
"Sending money in such circumstances, where you may conclude that it was highly likely to fall into the wrong hands, is against the law."
While the facts of their trial appear unusual, there have been other very similar cases involving Muslim-heritage families, albeit with less media hullabaloo.
Salim Wakil, a 25-year-old from Hampshire, was jailed for 30 months in February this year for the same crime.
In 2014, his 16-year-old sister, Summaiyyah, headed to the warzone along with other Britons. She ended up a teenage mum and widow after her fighter husband from Portsmouth was killed.
Her siblings repeatedly tried to persuade her to return home. Instead she kept nagging them for money. They all resisted, other than Salim, who the Old Bailey heard had mental health problems.
He was too meek and suggestible to resist his sister's manipulation and ultimately agreed to send her more than £2,500.
There's a long-standing principle that someone should not be found guilty of a very serious crime unless they intended it to happen.
This is an important safeguard in English law because it requires a jury to be sure of the defendant's state of mind. This is known as the concept of "Mens Rea", the guilty mind.
But the law of funding terrorism works differently because the test is what the defendant reasonably suspects might happen, rather than what they intended.
Henry Blaxland QC, for John Letts, told the trial the prosecution was "inhumane to the point of being cruel".
"This prosecution does absolutely nothing to further the prevention of terrorism," he said.
"In fact it runs the risk of undermining the fight against terrorism because it runs the risk of bringing the law into disrepute. Law without compassion is not justice."
But the law, in this case, is the law. Jack Letts did something terrible. The dual UK-Canadian national has appeared to live to regret it.
His parents, right to the eve of their trial, petitioned the British and Canadian governments for help to get him home, including a hunger strike outside St Paul's Cathedral.
Their suffering is the same as that of many other parents who discovered their sons and daughters had headed to a war 3,000 miles away.
But the jury at the Old Bailey concluded Lane and John Letts were not entitled to take the law into their own hands.
The crime they were accused of makes no allowances for crossed fingers, a refusal to accept the available facts, or naivety.
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Brexit: 'High price to pay' for Labour stance, says Watson - BBC News
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2019-06-17
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Deputy leader Tom Watson urges his party to back a new Brexit vote and wholeheartedly fight for Remain.
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UK Politics
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Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson has described another Brexit referendum as "the least worst option" and urged his party to throw its weight behind one.
Speaking to the BBC, he said Labour should then fight for Remain, even though "we might lose some votes".
Jeremy Corbyn has resisted calls to fully endorse another public vote, only calling for it in some circumstances.
But Mr Watson said Labour would pay "a very high electoral price" if it did not have "a clear position" on Brexit.
The nuanced position was blamed for Labour's performance at the European elections - it came third behind The Brexit Party and the Liberal Democrats, with its share of the vote falling to 14%.
Afterwards, several senior figures criticised a lack of clarity on Brexit, and last week, MPs expressed their frustration at a heated meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
The PLP is still split, though, with some MPs in Leave-supporting areas warning against backing a further public vote.
The shadow cabinet was due to meet on Monday to discuss Brexit, but the meeting has been postponed.
Mr Watson - who has repeatedly put pressure on Mr Corbyn to back a further referendum - told the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg he believed it was now the only choice available.
Theresa May's Brexit deal with the EU has been rejected by Parliament three times and the UK currently has until 31 October to come up with another way to leave.
"Sometimes in politics your choices are the least worst option," Mr Watson said. "It is my honestly held view that Parliament will not be able to get a deal on Brexit and therefore the only choice, reluctantly, is to ask the people to take another look at it."
When asked if he would leave the Labour Party if things did not change, he replied, "I'm never going to leave the Labour Party," but added "sometimes I wonder whether the Labour Party is leaving me."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Corbyn spells out his party's "very clear policy"
Earlier, in a speech to the Centre for European Reform, the deputy leader said Labour must be honest about the EU's strengths.
"Pro-European is who we are and who we have always been. Our members are Remain. Our values are Remain. Our hearts are Remain."
He told the BBC Labour "might lost some votes if we change position", but added: "I think it's incumbent on us to give an honest account of ourselves and make the case for why we've changed our position."
Mr Watson is calling for a one-off meeting or ballot of members to be held to vote on a shift in policy - warning Labour could not afford to wait until its party conference in late September.
But as he gave his speech, Labour chairman Ian Lavery - who is against another referendum - tweeted that "ignoring Leave voters" was not a sensible move.
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Labour MP John Mann warned adopting an overtly Remain position would lead to Labour losing the next general election "by a significant amount".
He said if Labour "turned its back" on voters in the North who voted Leave, "then Tom Watson won't be deputy, Jeremy Corbyn won't be prime minister."
Labour MP Kerry McCarthy said she would commend Mr Watson for "speaking out", but shadow ministers needed to "meet urgently for a proper discussion on Brexit".
"We need to be clear where Labour stands, and if [the] shadow cabinet can't agree, put it to the members," Ms McCarthy posted on Twitter.
Mr Watson has received support from a number of colleagues, including Jess Phillips and Anna Turley.
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Another MP, Siobhain McDonagh, tweeted: "I have had my differences with Tom Watson over the years but this video is brilliant and his argument is bang on! So many Labour members will be cheering him on!"
Laura Kuenssberg says plenty of Labour MPs are worried because they represent constituencies with Leave voters, but there is no question the balance in the party is on the other side.
"There are plenty of senior people - including those absolutely loyal to Jeremy Corbyn - who think it is time for the leadership to make a clearer statement arguing for another referendum and for Britain to stay in EU," she says.
"Some of those think it is vital to do before the summer and they predict we may end up with an election in the autumn with the Tories arguing for Leave and Labour arguing for Remain."
However, Mr Watson said all strands of opinion within the party are entitled to be heard.
He also argued that the "core" EU values of internationalism, solidarity and freedom are also the values of Labour.
"Some people have begun to equate support for Europe with class identity - I don't think that's right or helpful," he said.
"The majority of Labour people are supportive of Europe and that support is not dictated by social class."
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Nottinghamshire Police offers abuse victims blunt knives - BBC News
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2019-06-13
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Police defend a "ludicrous" decision to offer knives with blunt tips to domestic violence victims.
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Nottingham
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The knives are being offered "as part of a much wider range of measures"
A police force has defended a "ludicrous" decision to give domestic abuse victims blunt knives to replace sharp implements in their kitchens.
Nottinghamshire Police hopes the scheme will reduce the number of people being seriously injured by their partners.
The force stressed it was a "tiny trial" in one part of the county and part of wider protective measures.
The idea has attracted criticism and one psychologist said it could put victims in greater danger.
Dr Jessica Eaton is a psychologist specialising in interpersonal abuse and violence
Dr Jessica Eaton, a specialist in interpersonal abuse, said she initially thought the trial was a joke.
"If you are going to take knives, why not forks? Because I work with women who have been stabbed with forks," she said.
"You could be attacked with anything. You could be attacked with a book. What about scissors? Everybody has got scissors.
"What do they think will happen when the perpetrator finds the knives and asks what happened to the normal ones? It undermines the perpetrator from a psychological point of view.
"It's a huge red flag to them: 'Who did you tell?' It's going to cause an argument. [The police have] not thought that through."
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Samantha Billingham, from the Survivors of Domestic Abuse support group, said perpetrators will still be able to seriously hurt victims using the knife.
She said abusers could use other household objects and she had been attacked with a kettle cord.
"I think it's quite ludicrous. The blade of the knife is still there so that can cause significant harm to the victim. Abusers will use anything at all to inflict pain on their victim.
"I don't think they've actually spoken to people who have been in that situation, because survivors can see dangers that maybe others don't."
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Supt Matt McFarlane, the force's new knife crime strategy manager, said some of the critics had "got the whole idea wrong".
"It's a very small trial, and it will always be part of a much wider range of measures that we are doing to safeguard and protect that victim," he said.
"We will simply have these as an offer to somebody in appropriate circumstances and they can have them if they think they want them.
"We can debate something theoretically or from a psychological perspective all day long. Sometimes you need to try something and see if it works or not."
The force has bought 100 knives and these have already been offered to victims, but the force has not yet "assessed how many have taken them up".
"We will assess the number that have been given at the end of the year and assess if we continue," said Supt McFarlane.
Nottinghamshire Police has bought 100 of the knives
Retired judge Nic Madge said the trial "could save lives".
"Most violent offences are committed on the spur of the moment," he said. "People pick up the closest thing they can find, and in the kitchen, the closest thing they find is often a pointed kitchen knife."
One domestic abuse survivor told the Nottingham Post the idea was "100% positive".
Fiona McCulloch told the newspaper: "To have a blunt knife in my situation, it would have taken that risk away. It is like you are taking away their options and the more you can take away, the better."
Nottinghamshire Police works with Women's Aid to help domestic abuse victims but the charity did not wish to comment when contacted by the BBC.
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Theresa May to stay as Conservative MP after quitting No 10 - BBC News
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2019-06-13
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She says she will sit on the backbenches and continue to represent her Maidenhead constituents.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Barry Sheerman asks Theresa May if she will give her successors "a bit of the medicine that they've given her".
Theresa May has said she will remain in Parliament as MP for Maidenhead after stepping down as prime minister.
Mrs May told the Commons she would sit on the backbenches after she leaves office at the end of July.
Her predecessor, David Cameron, stood down as an MP within months of leaving No 10, while Tony Blair triggered a by-election on the same day as quitting.
But other prime ministers, most notably Ted Heath, have remained in Parliament for decades after giving up power.
Mr Heath hung around in the Commons for 26 years after quitting as Tory leader in 1975, enjoying a famously tense and terse relationship with his successor, Margaret Thatcher.
Both Sir John Major and Gordon Brown served full parliamentary terms as backbench MPs after their election defeats in 1997 and 2010 respectively.
And another former prime minister, Alec Douglas-Home, returned to high office as foreign secretary six years after leaving Downing Street.
Mrs May was asked about her future intentions by veteran Labour MP Barry Sheerman during Prime Minister's Questions.
Praising her sense of duty, Mr Sheerman urged her not to "cut and run" but instead to stick around in Parliament in order to "give some of the people who will take over after her a bit of the medicine they have given her".
To cheers from the Conservative benches, Mrs May replied: "I will indeed be staying in the chamber of the House of Commons because I will continue as the member of Parliament for my constituency."
She has represented the Berkshire seat of Maidenhead since 1997.
When he gave up his Witney seat in 2016, Mr Cameron said he did not want to get in the way of his successor or be a focal point for arguments over Brexit.
Once upon a time, prime ministers historically accepted peerages after their retirement and saw out the remainder of their political lives in relative obscurity in the House of Lords.
However, this has become far less common in recent decades, with ex-prime ministers remaining more active in public life, combining charitable activities with earning money on the lecture circuit and making increasingly frequent political interventions.
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Boris Johnson tops first ballot in Tory leadership contest - BBC News
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2019-06-13
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Three MPs are knocked out in the race to succeed Theresa May, as Boris Johnson secures more than a third of votes.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Cheryl Gillan announces the result with seven of the 10 candidates making it to round two
Boris Johnson has secured the highest number of votes in the first MPs' ballot to select the Conservative Party leader and next prime minister.
Three contenders - Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey - were knocked out in the secret ballot of Tory MPs.
Mr Johnson received 114 votes, significantly more than his nearest rival Jeremy Hunt, who came second with 43. Michael Gove was third with 37.
Seven candidates progress to the next round of voting next week.
The two who prove most popular after the last MPs' ballot will go to Conservative Party members in a final vote later this month.
The winner of the contest to succeed Theresa May is expected to be announced in the week of 22 July.
Sources close to Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg he was "mulling over" whether to withdraw from the contest after coming sixth with 20 votes.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who came fifth with 23 votes, is understood to be staying in the race for now. Some have suggested his candidacy - with support from Mr Hancock - could take on Mr Hunt to become second in the ballot.
Mr Johnson, a former foreign secretary who served for eight years as London mayor, said he was "delighted" to win but warned that his campaign still had "a long way to go".
Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt said: "Boris did well today but what the result shows is, when it comes to the members' stage, I'm the man to take him on."
Environment Secretary Mr Gove said it was "all to play for" and he was "very much looking forward" to candidates' TV debates on Channel 4 on Sunday and on BBC One next Tuesday.
All 313 Conservative MPs voted in the first ballot, including Mrs May, who refused to say whom she had backed.
The fourth-placed candidate, former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, said he was "proud and honoured" and he had a "good base to build on".
Mr Javid said: "I look forward to continuing to share my positive vision and my plan for uniting the country."
Mr Hancock thanked his supporters, saying it was "terrific to have more votes from colleagues than I could have hoped for".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Rory Stewart said: "I don't look anything like the previous PM", and he negotiates "in a completely different way"
And International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, the seventh-placed candidate, told the BBC's Politics Live he was "completely over the Moon" to have got through the first vote.
He said he had had only six declared votes ahead of the poll, but "more than three times that" had voted for him in the secret ballot.
The margin of success took his fellow candidates by surprise - but not the core of Boris Johnson's team.
After many, many weeks of private campaigning, introducing Boris Johnson to the world of the spreadsheet, this morning one of his organisers wrote the number 114 and sealed it in an envelope.
At lunchtime, the announcement revealed the controversial former foreign secretary had indeed received exactly that number.
That is not just a marker of the level of Mr Johnson's support but for the sometimes clownish politician, whose reputation has risen and fallen and then risen again, it's a sign that it is different this time.
Justice Secretary David Gauke said Mr Stewart was now the main challenger to Mr Johnson, saying: "He's really in with a chance and the momentum is with Rory."
But Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt, who is supporting Mr Hunt's campaign, said the foreign secretary was "attractive to many sides of the party because he's a serious individual".
And schools minister Nick Gibb told BBC Radio 4's World at One that Mr Gove was now "best placed as a Brexiteer to challenge the front runner" Mr Johnson in the final.
Further ballots are scheduled to take place on 18, 19 and 20 June to whittle down the contenders until only two are left.
The final pair will then be put to a vote of members of the wider Conservative Party from 22 June, with the winner expected to be announced about four weeks later.
After being knocked out of the contest, Mr Harper, a former government chief whip, said he continued "to believe we need a credible plan that delivers Brexit" in order to "restore trust".
Mrs Leadsom's campaign team said they were "disappointed" but "wish all the other candidates well".
And Ms McVey, who gained nine votes, coming last in the first round of MPs' ballots, said she was "extremely grateful" to those who had supported her.
Televised candidates' debates are scheduled to take place, but not all the remaining seven have confirmed they are taking part.
Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, who is backing Mr Hunt, urged them to appear, saying the Conservative Party "needs to remember that we're not just choosing a leader, we're choosing a prime minister and the public need to see them".
And former Brexit secretary David Davis, who is backing Mr Raab, said it was "very important" for the public to hear from the contenders.
Mr Johnson has previously been criticised by some of his rivals for not taking part in media interviews during the campaign.
The leadership race has so far been dominated by Brexit and arguments over whether a deal can be renegotiated with the EU by 31 October, and whether talking up a no-deal Brexit is a plausible promise.
On Tuesday 18 June BBC One will host a live election debate between the Conservative MPs still in the race.
If you would like to ask the candidates a question live on air, use the form below. It should be open to all of them, not a specific politician.
If you are reading this page on the BBC News app, you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question on this topic.
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Tory leadership contest: 10 rivals face first ballot of MPs - BBC News
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2019-06-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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At least one contender will be knocked out later in the race to become the next prime minister.
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UK Politics
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Tory MPs have voted in the first round of the contest to select a new party leader and the next prime minister.
A secret ballot was held in the House of Commons, with a result expected some time after 13:00 BST.
Outgoing leader Theresa May refused to say which of the 10 contenders she had voted for, telling reporters: "That's none of your business."
Any candidate who fails to secure at least 17 MPs' votes will be eliminated from the contest.
Further ballots will be held next week, with the two most popular MPs moving to a run-off of Tory party members.
The winner of the contest to succeed Mrs May is expected to be announced in the week of 22 July.
Esther McVey was the first candidate to cast her vote and Boris Johnson the last.
Mr Johnson - who launched his leadership campaign on Wednesday - is regarded as the frontrunner in the contest, with many more public endorsements from MPs than any of his rivals.
In his pitch to MPs, the former foreign secretary pledged to take the UK out of the EU by the end of October. He gave little detail of his plan but stressed it was not his aim to leave without a deal.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC's Jessica Parker explains how the new leader - and new PM - will be selected
He also defended what he called his straight-talking style, saying the public wanted to hear what politicians genuinely thought. But he dodged questions on whether he had ever taken cocaine.
One rival, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, described Mr Johnson as "yesterday's news".
"We need tomorrow's leader, today," he said. "Not the same old insiders with the same old school ties - but a new generation, with a new agenda."
Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he wanted to leave the EU with a deal, but would choose no deal over no Brexit.
He said there needed to be changes to the controversial Irish backstop - designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland - of either a time limit "or some proper exit clause", and UK government should offer to pay for any "alternative arrangements" for the border.
Mr Javid, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt have all received enough public endorsements to suggest they will make it through to the next round.
The remaining five candidates - Matt Hancock, Rory Stewart, Andrea Leadsom, Mark Harper and Ms McVey - are hoping to make it through and to build momentum.
What we can say, in terms of the public declarations, is that Boris Johnson is way ahead with well over 80 nominations.
Then at the bottom there are three or four candidates perhaps, who have been struggling to get to the mark they need to stay in the race, which is 16 votes (from other MPs).
There is Rory Stewart, who has been pitching himself at the left of the Tory party and has completely ruled out leaving the EU without a deal; Mark Harper, the former chief whip, and then two Brexiteers Esther McVey and Andrea Leadsom, on the other side of the party.
All four of those are in the danger zone. I think it's likely that at least two of those will go out.
But it is really hard to read: it is unpredictable and it's a secret ballot.
More than a quarter of the 313 Conservative MPs eligible to vote have yet to state openly whom they are supporting - and, with it being a secret ballot, MPs could vote differently to their declared intention.
The leadership race has so far been dominated by Brexit and arguments over whether a deal can be renegotiated with the EU by 31 October, and whether talking up a no-deal Brexit is a plausible promise.
On Wednesday afternoon, MPs rejected a Labour-led effort to take control of Parliament's timetable, thereby blocking the latest attempt to stop a no-deal Brexit.
The Commons opposed the move by 309 votes to 298, prompting cheers from the Tory benches.
If passed, it would have given opponents of a no-deal Brexit the chance to table legislation to thwart the UK leaving without any agreement on the 31 October deadline.
Conservative former minister Sir Oliver Letwin, who has been behind a series of cross-party attempts to block a no-deal, said Parliament may have run out of options.
"On October 31, the UK leaves the EU regardless of whether we do or don't have a deal in place unless somebody does something to alter that," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
"We have run out of all the possibilities any of us can - at the moment anyway - think of for Parliament to be able to insist on having a view," he added.
Thursday's ballot is taking place under new rules agreed by the Conservative Party earlier this month designed to speed up the contest.
Any candidate who fails to gain 5% of the vote in the first round will be out.
If all 10 candidates receive 17 votes, then the one with the fewest votes will drop out of the contest.
If the two weakest candidates receive the same number of votes, then a decision will be taken between them on how to proceed. The candidates are allowed to vote for themselves.
Subsequent ballots are scheduled to take place on 18, 19 and 20 June to whittle down the contenders one by one until only two are left.
The final pair will then be put to a vote of members of the wider Conservative Party from 22 June, with the winner expected to be announced about four weeks later.
The winner of the contest to lead the Conservative Party will become the next prime minister. The contenders are:
On Tuesday 18 June BBC One will host a live election debate between the Conservative MPs still in the race.
If you would like to ask the candidates a question live on air, use the form below. It should be open to all of them, not a specific politician.
If you are reading this page on the BBC News app, you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question on this topic.
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Tim Jones: US dad to be executed for murder of five children - BBC News
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2019-06-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Prosecutors had argued that life in prison would have been like sending "Timmy to his room".
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US & Canada
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Timothy Jones Jr seen in a Lexington court on 4 June
A South Carolina father who killed his five children should be executed, a jury has agreed, ignoring a court plea for mercy from the victims' mother.
Amber Kyzer said on Tuesday convicted murderer Tim Jones Jr, 37, "did not show my children mercy by any means, but my kids loved him".
The sentence came after prosecutors argued that life in prison would be like sending "Timmy to his room".
South Carolina has not executed an inmate since 2011.
Thursday's unanimous decision was reached by the same jury that convicted Jones of the August 2014 slaying of the five children, aged one to eight.
"If I could personally rip his face off, I would," says mother Amber Kyzer
Had the Lexington County panel of seven men and five women been unable to reach a unanimous decision, Jones would have been sentenced to life in prison.
The jurors agreed his fate after about two hours of deliberation on the 21st day of the trial.
During sentencing arguments, prosecutors asked jurors to recall the shocking manner of the murders.
Jones admitting exercising his oldest child as a punishment until he collapsed and died.
He strangled the other four, before driving aimlessly around for nine days with the bodies in his car, dumping the remains in black bin bags in rural Alabama.
Jones drove around aimlessly for nine days with the children's bodies in his car
During the trial, Jones' father, stepmother, sister and two brothers all took the stand to ask that he be given life without parole.
Jones' father removed his shirt to show the courtroom tattoos of his slain grandchildren.
Ms Kyzer also requested mercy for her ex-husband.
"He did not show my children any mercy by any means," she said. "But my kids loved him and if I'm speaking on behalf of my kids and not myself, that's what I have to say."
• None Mum seeks mercy for dad who killed five children
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Peterborough by-election: Fifteen candidates to fight seat - BBC News
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2019-06-07
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Fifteen candidates will fight for the seat whose previous MP was removed following a recall petition.
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UK Politics
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Peterborough has been represented by Labour and Conservative MPs over the years
Fifteen candidates for the Peterborough seat vacated by Fiona Onasanya have been confirmed.
The by-election on 6 June was triggered when Ms Onasanya was removed following a recall petition, after being jailed for lying about a speeding offence.
She won the seat for Labour in 2017, narrowly beating the Conservatives who had held it since 2005.
But UKIP and the Brexit Party will be hoping to capitalise on the city's 61% Leave vote in the 2016 EU referendum.
Despite moves by pro-Remain parties to back a joint candidate, the Lib Dems, Greens and Renew have announced separate ones and Change UK - The Independent Group is not standing one at all.
The by-election was triggered when Fiona Onasanya was removed following a recall petition
Change UK MP Gavin Shuker said the four parties had agreed to stand aside "in favour of a genuinely independent, pro-People's Vote and pro-Remain candidate" but blamed "senior Labour figures" for having "made it clear that they would strenuously disrupt the campaign and obstruct an independent candidate".
But Labour's Jonathan Reynolds said on BBC One's Question Time said Change UK's argument was "strange".
"Elections are contests between different candidates... so trying to somehow complain that political parties are going to fight against each other - that's exactly what elections are."
A Lib Dem spokesman said the parties understood "the need for a collective effort in securing a People's Vote and stopping Brexit" but moves to back an independent candidate had not been successful.
The candidate they had planned to back, Femi Oluwole, told the BBC he had pulled out over concerns his candidacy would hand victory to the Brexit Party and ultimately harm the campaign for another referendum.
• None MP first to be ousted under recall rules
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'My mum killed my dad with a hammer but I want her freed' - BBC News
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2019-06-07
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Sally Challen was jailed for murder in 2011 but a new law means an appeal next month could succeed.
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Family & Education
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Sally Challen and Richard Challen during their 31-year marriage
Sally Challen was jailed for the murder of her husband in 2011 but her solicitors believe a new law, recognising psychological manipulation as a form of domestic abuse, could be a defence in an appeal hearing next month. Her son David explains why he's backing the appeal and hopes to see his mother freed.
Sally's last words to David were supposed to be heartfelt but undramatic. "You know I love you, don't you?" she said, fixing his gaze through an open car door, as she dropped him off at work.
A day earlier, she had killed her long-time husband, and father of David, in a frenzied hammer attack. But as he headed to his job, David knew nothing of Richard Challen's gruesome death.
After that drop-off, she had planned to swiftly end her own life - jumping from the top floor of a nearby car park. When she realised the car park was closed, she pressed on regardless, driving to Beachy Head in East Sussex. There she planned to jump to her death off the chalky precipice.
From the clifftop, Sally called her cousin to admit the killing. She repeated the admission to a suicide team and a chaplain, who had been called to help her.
It took them two hours to talk her down from the edge.
She was charged with her husband's murder, convicted and jailed for life.
However, eight years on, lawyers acting for Sally Challen are hoping to make legal history, and David is working to help them. They hope to use a law passed in 2015, which recognises psychological manipulation, or coercive control, as a form of domestic abuse, to secure her release.
David Challen says his mother suffered years of abuse at the hands of his father
Just as physical violence in a relationship has been recognised as a mitigating factor in a killing, her lawyers say her history of psychological abuse by Richard provides a defence of provocation.
The circumstances around the killing itself give a taste of the sort of coercive control Richard exerted over his wife.
In the wealthy suburban village of Claygate, Surrey, one wet Saturday morning in August 2010, Sally visited the house she had, until recently, shared with Richard, her husband of 31 years.
He lived there alone since she had walked out on the relationship the previous November, after discovering he had been visiting prostitutes.
David and his elder brother James, who prefers to avoid media attention, say their father inflicted years of psychological abuse on their mother. Having left Richard, the sons were adamant their mother should stay away from him.
However, unknown to them, she had secretly begun seeing Richard again, hoping to patch up their marriage.
What actually happened in the family home that morning was far removed from reconciliation.
On this particular morning, she drove the short distance from her new home. In the car with her was a handbag and, stashed inside it, a hammer.
Richard had wanted her to approve a post-nuptial agreement that would cut her rights to the £1m family home and impose stringent conditions, such as not interrupting him and not talking to other people when they were together in restaurants.
There was no food in the house and Richard was hungry, so he asked her to go out and buy something for his lunch.
As she headed back from the shops, Sally suspected Richard had had an ulterior motive for getting her out of the house. So, on her return she picked up his phone, rang the last number he had dialled and found it answered by a woman.
In the family kitchen, Sally fried bacon and eggs on the hob. Richard sat with his back to her at the table.
She served him, and, as he ate, she pulled the hammer from her bag and hit Richard 20 times over the head.
She then wrapped his body in curtains and blankets, left a note saying: "I love you, Sally," and left.
She bought herself some cigarettes, drank some wine and composed a suicide note. But she decided to delay killing herself until she had seen David who, at 23, still lived with her.
The next day, David remembers, his mother dropped him at work and, as he stepped out of the car, she made her heartfelt pledge of love.
Later that day, David was summoned by his manager.
"Then came round the corner, my cousin, followed by a police officer, uniformed, and rushed to me, grabbed me on both shoulders and said, 'your father's dead'."
Charged with her husband's murder, 10 months later Sally stood in the dock of Guildford Crown Court. Her hair was a mess and her fingers stained yellow from smoking. David remembers the proceedings being hard to watch.
"Anyone standing up who had anything worth saying was not saying enough, or not feeling as if they had enough time, or not being asked the right questions. She was being painted as vengeful and jealous."
Here was a woman who counted her husband's Viagra and monitored his phone calls, the prosecution said.
In court, Sally hardly spoke. But there was video evidence in which she admitted to the killing and testimony from the Beachy Head suicide prevention team. They recounted her confessing: "I killed him with a hammer. I hit him lots of times... If I can't have him, no-one can."
Convicted of murder and jailed for life, all hope appeared to have expired for Sally. Then, in 2015, a law came into force that recognised psychological manipulation, or coercive control, as a form of domestic abuse.
In March 2018, Sally Challen won leave to appeal against her conviction.
Her solicitor, Harriet Wistrich, of the feminist campaigning organisation Justice for Women, says the new law should be accepted as "new evidence" in the case.
"We're arguing, for the first time, that the framework for understanding domestic abuse that's set out in coercive and controlling behaviour which became law in 2015, provides a way of understanding Sally's actions which would support a defence of provocation."
She believes this is the first time coercive control has been used as a defence in a murder appeal: "Our argument is that if this evidence is allowed as fresh evidence it renders the murder conviction unsafe therefore that murder conviction should be quashed."
She says that the appeal court could reduce the conviction to manslaughter or order a retrial.
The fact that the family want to see her freed - and none of Richard's friends or relatives has come forward to say otherwise - is significant, she believes. But she fears the fact Sally brought the hammer with her "with a conditional intent to use it", suggests some premeditation. This could mean the murder conviction will stand, says Ms Wistrich.
Both grown-up sons back the legal challenge, with David clear that his father's treatment of his mother is a textbook example of coercive control.
"It was tick, tick, tick - everything: financial abuse, psychological manipulation, controlling her freedom of movement, just controlling every facet of her mind... It was almost like she was a robot and he punched in the commands of what she had to do."
Sally and Richard on their wedding day in 1979
Sally Jenney was 15 when she met Richard, five years her senior, in 1971. They were married in 1979. Sally had nothing but wide-eyed love for Richard, David says, but his father felt otherwise.
"Seeing women, cheating on her, brothels."
And when she challenged him, David remembers his father questioned her sanity: "'Sally, you are mad'. It was a mantra."
There were petty rules. In restaurants she was not allowed to speak to other people.
"He didn't like her having any independence in terms of friends, it was only friends together. It was total control."
If she displeased him, Richard would restrict her car use to work travel only, and all household spending came out of her earnings. Neighbours have said he treated her as if she belonged to him.
And Sally was subjected to constant criticism.
"My father would refer to my mother as 'saddlebags', 'thunder thighs', really critiques of her weight... and that was something me and my brother witnessed and heard all the time. Not just in our own company but with other friends as well... It was just not right."
At the original trial, it was suggested Sally attacked Richard in a rage, after realising he had called a girlfriend that morning. But David says he believes his mother's claim that she was unaware of her actions when she killed Richard.
"She took that hammer and she killed my father. I recognise what happened but we have to recognise what psychological control does. I don't know why she took that hammer. She doesn't understand why," he says.
David says his mother still loves Richard, something he and his brother "can't understand".
"We don't know what to do with that... my father's not alive any more and he still has power over her."
David says he hopes the appeal "will acknowledge my mother's mental abuse, will acknowledge what she suffered throughout her life".
"The cause is not that she's a jealous wife," he adds. "She has been manipulated psychologically all her life, tied down by this man, my father. She deserves her right to freedom. She deserves for her abuse to be recognised."
David says the only way to help his mother is to let her be free
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Tory leadership race: Hunt tells Johnson 'don't be a coward' - BBC News
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2019-06-25
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Jeremy Hunt said he was "not interested" in Boris Johnson's private life, but challenged him to a TV debate.
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UK Politics
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Jeremy Hunt has urged Tory leadership rival Boris Johnson not to be "a coward" about facing public scrutiny.
Mr Hunt said he was "not interested" in his private life but he should "man up" and debate with him on TV this week.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson has warned the UK will face a "democratic explosion" if it does not leave the EU by 31 October.
But Mr Hunt challenged him to reveal whether he would call a general election if MPs refused to allow the UK to leave without a deal on that date.
After Prime Minister Theresa May failed to get her Brexit deal through Parliament earlier this year, the date of the UK's departure for the EU was moved to 31 October.
Mr Johnson is under pressure to answer questions about a row with his partner in the early hours of Friday which led to police being called to his London home.
The Metropolitan Police has said it will not be taking any further action over the incident and his supporters have rallied around him.
Former International Development Secretary Priti Patel told BBC Radio 4's Today programme a recording of the argument, given to the Guardian newspaper, was part of a "politically-motivated series of attacks".
"That is not the type of behaviour that you'd expect in our country, that's the type of behaviour associated with the old Eastern bloc," she added.
Mr Johnson refused to answer questions about the incident at a hustings event on Saturday, instead insisting his stance on Brexit was what mattered to the public and to the Conservative Party members who will choose the next leader.
In his Daily Telegraph column on Monday, he said of the 31 October deadline: "This time we are not going to bottle it. We are not going to fail."
He said it was "disgraceful" the UK was still in the EU three years after it voted to leave, and exiting the EU would "renew the national faith in democracy".
He did not address questions about his private life in the column.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Priti Patel said Mr Johnson would "never" comment on his personal life
The BBC's Norman Smith says Mr Hunt's shift in language is striking.
He is using a much more combative, pugilistic tone, our assistant political editor says, perhaps realising there is no point doing this softly and nicely because if he does, Mr Johnson is just going to walk into Number 10.
Writing in the Times, Mr Hunt called for a "fair and open contest, not one that one side is trying to rig to avoid scrutiny".
"Only then can you walk through the front door of No 10 with your head held high instead of slinking through the back door, which is what Boris appears to want."
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was "very disrespectful" of Mr Johnson to refuse to do "any tough media interviews" and urged him to take part in a Sky News leadership debate scheduled for Tuesday.
The two men are due to face off on ITV in July, but by then voting papers will already have been sent to party members.
Mr Hunt said he feared a government led by Mr Johnson would rapidly collapse, because he would be unable to hold together a coalition of supporters that range from MPs who back no deal to others who feel it would be totally unacceptable.
"If you are not clear about exactly what you are going to do, that coalition will collapse immediately and you will have Corbyn in Number 10," the foreign secretary said.
He said Mr Johnson must explain how he could guarantee the UK would leave the EU on 31 October if Parliament voted to stop a no-deal Brexit, as it did in a non-binding vote in March.
Mr Hunt ruled out calling a general election in such a circumstance - saying it would destroy the Conservative Party - and demanded that Mr Johnson be clear whether he would do the same.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who withdrew from the leadership contest after coming sixth in the first ballot of the party's MPs, told BBC Breakfast Mr Johnson had the "best chance" of securing a new Brexit deal with the EU.
Mr Hancock said it was "total nonsense" to suggest Mr Johnson was not open to scrutiny, drawing attention to the various hustings he has taken part in.
"He's got the energy, he's got the support from right across the party, and I think that's why he's the right man for the job," Mr Hancock added.
In a separate development, defence minister Tobias Ellwood told the BBC's Panorama programme that "a dozen or so" Conservative MPs would support a vote of no confidence in the government to stop a no-deal Brexit.
A no-deal exit would see the UK leave the customs union and single market overnight and start trading with the EU on World Trade Organisation rules.
Opponents say it would cause huge disruption at the borders and be catastrophic to many firms reliant on trade with the continent.
Next month around 160,000 Conservative Party members will choose the next leader of the Tory Party - and the next prime minister.
Members will receive their ballots between 6 and 8 July, with the new leader expected to be announced in the week beginning 22 July.
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Johnson defends Brexit plan and 'row' silence - BBC News
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2019-06-25
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He admits to the BBC he would need EU co-operation to avoid a hard Irish border or crippling tariffs in the event of no deal.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson on Brexit, privacy and his character
Boris Johnson has admitted he would need EU co-operation to avoid a hard Irish border or the possibility of crippling tariffs on trade in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, the favourite to be the next PM said: "It's not just up to us."
But he said he did "not believe for a moment" the UK would leave without a deal, although he was willing to do so.
Asked about a row he'd had with his partner, he said it was "simply unfair" to involve "loved ones" in the debate.
Reports of the argument on Friday with his girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, dominated headlines over the weekend after the police were called to their address in London.
The interview comes after Sky News said it would have to cancel a head-to-head debate on Tuesday between the two leadership contenders as Mr Johnson had "so far declined" to take part.
Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd told Radio 4's Today programme she found Mr Johnson's decision to ignore live TV debates "very odd" and urged him "to reconsider".
Following days of criticism that he has been avoiding media scrutiny, Mr Johnson has given a number of other interviews, including with LBC and Talk Radio.
On LBC, he was repeatedly challenged on his personal life and a photograph which showed him and his partner. Asked whether his campaign was behind the release of the picture, Mr Johnson refused to answer.
He told Talk Radio's political editor Ross Kempsell he would "not rest" until the UK had left the EU, insisting Brexit would happen on 31 October "come what may... do or die".
Meanwhile, the other candidate, Jeremy Hunt has promised to boost defence spending by £15bn over the next five years if he becomes prime minister.
In his interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Johnson said the existing deal negotiated by Theresa May "is dead".
He insisted it was possible to broker a new deal with the EU before the end of October because the political landscape had changed in the UK and on the continent.
"I think actually that politics has changed so much since 29 March," he said, referring to the original Brexit deadline.
"I think on both sides of the Channel there's a really different understanding of what is needed."
At the moment, the UK is due to leave the EU on 31 October after the PM's Brexit deal was rejected three times by Parliament, and the EU has previously said the withdrawal agreement reached with the UK cannot be reopened.
Mr Johnson said he would be able to persuade Brussels to resolve the Irish border issue - a key sticking point - despite repeated warnings from EU leaders that that was impossible.
He said there were "abundant, abundant technical fixes" that could be made to avoid border checks.
When challenged that these did not exist yet, Mr Johnson replied: "Well, they do actually... in very large measure they do, you have trusted trader schemes, all sorts of schemes that you could put into place."
But, he admitted, there was "no single magic bullet" to solve the issue.
Mr Johnson's really controversial gamble is to say he could do a new trade deal with EU leaders before the end of October.
And he says he would be able to do that before resolving the most controversial conundrum - how you fix the dilemma over the Irish border.
He clearly believes he has the political skill to pull that off. He and his supporters would say that is a plan.
But it is a plan that is full of ifs and buts - either heroic or foolhardy assumptions to imagine that EU leaders and Parliament would be ready to back his vision - and back it by Halloween - on an extremely tight deadline.
The political pressure is on, not just to get it done quickly, but done in a way that does not harm our relations with the rest of the world and the livelihoods of people living in this country.
In terms of the controversies over his personal life, it is absolutely clear even now - when he is on the threshold of No 10 - that Boris Johnson thinks there are questions he simply does not have to answer.
And for a politician about whose character many people have their doubts, that is going to follow him around unless and until he is willing to give more.
Mr Johnson said if he was elected he would start new talks as soon as he reached Downing Street to discuss a free trade agreement.
He also said he hoped the EU would be willing to grant a period of time where the status quo was maintained for a deal to be finalised after Brexit.
He called this "an implementation period", but accepted this was not the same as the implementation period in the current draft treaty agreed with the EU.
Mr Johnson committed to passing new laws as soon as possible in order to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.
The former foreign secretary also suggested EU leaders might change their attitude to renegotiation because they had Brexit Party MEPs they did not want in their Parliament, and wanted to get the £39bn that had been promised as part of the so-called divorce bill.
And he said MPs could be more willing to back a revised deal because - after disappointing local and European elections last month - they realised both Labour and the Conservatives would face "real danger of extinction" if Brexit were to be stalled again.
Mr Johnson refused again to give more detail of what happened at his home in the early hours of Friday.
"I do not talk about stuff involving my family, my loved ones," he said.
"And there's a very good reason for that. That is that, if you do, you drag them into things that really is... not fair on them."
Instead of his private life, he said the public actually want to know "what is going on with this guy?"
"Does he, when it comes to trust, when it comes to character, all those things, does he deliver what he says he's going to deliver?"
Despite widespread criticisms from his fellow Conservatives that he cannot be trusted, Mr Johnson said anyone questioning his character was "talking absolute nonsense".
He also refused to respond to accusations from rival Jeremy Hunt that he was being a "coward" for avoiding more head-to-head TV debates, promising that if elected he would "govern from the centre right" because the centre "is where you win".
Ms Rudd, who is supporting Mr Hunt, said Mr Johnson was making a mistake by shying away from the debates and said he needed to "go further" in explaining his Brexit plan.
"This is an incredibly difficult situation and Boris needs to explain how he will deal with both sides of the Conservative Party that have concerns and try and break the impasse with the European Union.
"Enthusiasm and optimism is not sufficient."
Responding to claims that a dozen Tory MPs would be prepared to bring down a government heading to a no-deal Brexit, she said: "I think that's about right. I think it's slightly less than that, but it's certainly more than two."
Correction 7th August 2019: An earlier version of this article referred to crippling tariffs on trade in the event of a no-deal Brexit and has been amended to make clear that Boris Johnson was asked about this as a possibility.
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Lee Pomeroy death: Accused 'stabbed man over train aisle row' - BBC News
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2019-06-25
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Darren Pencille stabbed Lee Pomeroy 18 times after a "heated argument" on a train, a court hears.
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Surrey
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Darren Pencille, left, and Chelsea Mitchell are on trial at the Old Bailey
A man was stabbed 18 times on a train in front of his 14-year-old son after a "heated argument" over blocking the aisle, the Old Bailey has heard.
Darren Pencille denies murdering Lee Pomeroy, 51, on a Guildford to London service on 4 January.
The defendant's girlfriend, Chelsea Mitchell, is also on trial and denies assisting an offender.
Opening the case, prosecutor Jacob Hallam QC said Mr Pomeroy was killed the day before his birthday.
He said the victim and his son boarded the train at London Road Station at 13:01 GMT and within five minutes, he had been stabbed by Mr Pencille, 36.
"That wound to the neck was the first of 18 wounds with a knife that Mr Pencille inflicted on Mr Pomeroy that day," he told jurors.
"A little over an hour after he boarded the train, and despite the best efforts of the emergency services who rushed to save his life, Lee Pomeroy was dead."
Lee Pomeroy was stabbed to death on a Guildford to London train
The prosecutor told jurors the events surrounding the killing were captured on CCTV and witnessed by other passengers.
Mr Pomeroy and his son had boarded the same carriage as Mr Pencille and made their way down the aisle, the court heard.
Mr Hallam suggested they may have been "blocking" Mr Pencille's way and the defendant had said: "Ignorance is bliss."
"That prompted Lee Pomeroy to respond and ask what it was he meant. An argument began between them. It was an argument that became heated and became heated pretty quickly."
The court heard that passenger Megan Fieberg witnessed Mr Pencille insult the deceased and shout: "You touch me, you touch me and you see what happens at the next stop."
The jury heard that Mr Pomeroy responded: "You shouldn't have humiliated me in front of my kid."
The prosecutor told the court that another witness recalled Mr Pencille saying "leave me alone, you're racist" and "I'm not scared of you".
However, Mr Hallam told the jury that another passenger, Kayleigh Carter, said that she had not heard Mr Pomeroy make a racist remark.
He said: "Her impression was that both men appeared to be taunting one another."
The prosecutor told jurors Ms Carter recalled Mr Pomeroy stating that he had "never dealt with someone with special needs before," to which Mr Pencille allegedly responded: "I'm hearing voices right now."
She then saw Mr Pencille appear to make a phone call and "the words she recalled [hearing] were 'I'm going to kill this man'," Mr Hallam said.
Records showed he had called Miss Mitchell, the court heard.
Mr Hallam said Ms Carter saw the defendant take a knife from his pocket and strike the first blow. He then described how Mr Pomeroy tried to defend himself but Mr Pencille kept stabbing him "again and again and again".
"It was a blow that cut through his jugular vein and carotid artery which are the vessels that take blood to the brain," he said.
The prosecutor said after the attack, Mr Pencille was picked up by 27-year-old Miss Mitchell, of Wilbury Road, Farnham.
He told the jury: "She collected him and together they drove to the flat where she lived in Farnham, Surrey, then drove to the south coast.
"Mr Pencille cleaned himself up and changed his appearance. The two of them also engaged in research on the internet about what it was Mr Pencille had done."
The court heard Mr Pencille later called his mother and said: "Something's happened, I've done something bad". He then called his ex-partner and told her the same and that she would see it on the news.
Mr Pencille, of no fixed address, has admitted possessing a bladed article, the court heard.
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Boris Johnson: Police called to Tory leadership contender's home - BBC News
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2019-06-22
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Officers responded to a call by a local resident "concerned for the welfare of a female neighbour".
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UK Politics
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Police were called to the London home of Boris Johnson and his partner in the early hours of Friday after neighbours reportedly heard a loud argument.
The Guardian said Carrie Symonds was heard telling the Conservative MP to "get off me" and "get out of my flat".
The Metropolitan Police told the BBC it "spoke to all occupants of the address, who were all safe and well".
In a statement, it said "there was no cause for police action". A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: "No comment".
Mr Johnson refused to answer questions as he arrived at Birmingham ahead of the first of the Conservative Party's leadership membership hustings.
Earlier, a neighbour of Ms Symonds in Camberwell, south London, told the Guardian they had heard a woman screaming followed by "slamming and banging".
The paper said the neighbour was inside their own flat when they recorded the alleged altercation.
It said that in the recording - heard by the newspaper, but not by the BBC - Mr Johnson was refusing to leave the flat and told the woman to "get off" his laptop, before there was a loud crashing noise.
Ms Symonds is allegedly heard saying the MP had ruined a sofa with red wine: "You just don't care for anything because you're spoilt. You have no care for money or anything."
Another neighbour, who would only give her name as Fatima, told the BBC: "I heard a female voice, shouting and screaming, and then I heard things smashing, it sounded like plates or glasses.
"I couldn't hear what she was saying but she sounded really angry."
Conservative MP Dominic Grieve told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he could not comment on the Guardian's report specifically but said character was relevant in the contest to be leader of the party.
"They are going to be in a position of responsibility where they have to make very important decisions," he said.
The former attorney general added: "Clearly, things like reliability and honesty are very important things.
"And I think they matter in one's private and personal life, and also they matter in one's public life."
Carrie Symonds has been in a relationship with Mr Johnson since 2018
Boris Johnson would have preferred his politics - not his private life - to be making headlines.
As we enter the final stage of this leadership campaign the scrutiny of the two men who want the top job will no doubt increase.
There will be intense focus on their every move; their past, their present and their future.
It's not surprising given the importance of the job they want - running the country.
But does what allegedly happened in the London flat Mr Johnson shares with his partner really matter? His critics will say yes.
They argue that we need someone of good character who can make difficult decisions and work under pressure.
Supporters of Boris Johnson disagree. Whatever happened, they say, was an entirely private matter between two people in a relationship which should never have been recorded by a neighbour.
Journalist Sonia Purnell, who has written a biography of Mr Johnson, told the Today programme she believed it was important to know a future leader's character.
She said: "It is the most unbelievably pressured job, crises will be coming at you day and night. You have to have equilibrium, a clear head, a stability in your life to be able to cope with that."
But, political commentator Tim Montgomerie told the BBC that until a complaint was made by Ms Symonds, the row "should be a non-issue".
He added: "If there was any domestic violence, Boris Johnson's candidacy would be toast and would deserve to be.
"But all we have at the moment is a partially overheard conversation between two people late at night.
"Unless there is a complaint I think we should draw a line under this."
Some of Mr Johnson's supporters have also taken to social media to defend him.
Brexit minister James Cleverly questioned the motives of the "person who recorded Boris and then gave the story to the Guardian".
Tory MP Michael Fabricant appeared to confuse Camberwell with Islington but wrote he was glad he did not have "nosey neighbours" recording private conversations, sending them to newspapers and "wasting police time for political advantage".
Mr Johnson's relationship with Ms Symonds - a former director of communications for the Conservative party - became public after Mr Johnson and his wife announced they were divorcing in 2018.
Ms Symonds was seen in the audience during Mr Johnson's leadership campaign launch on 12 June.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "At 00:24 on Friday 21 June, police responded to a call from a local resident in the SE5 area of Camberwell.
"The caller was concerned for the welfare of a female neighbour.
"Police attended and spoke to all occupants of the address, who were all safe and well. There were no offences or concerns apparent to the officers and there was no cause for police action."
A poster opposite Boris Johnson's London home shows not everyone supports his leadership bid
Mr Johnson is the bookmakers' favourite to succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader and the UK's next prime minister.
The former foreign secretary and Mayor of London is in a run-off with Jeremy Hunt, with Tory party members due to vote over the next month.
Mr Johnson came top in a ballot of Tory MPs on Thursday. The first hustings of the second phase of the leadership campaign takes place on Saturday.
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Businesses push government to complete HS2 railway - BBC News
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2019-06-22
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Business leaders have written a letter urging the next prime minister to commit to completing HS2.
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Business
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Business leaders are calling on the next prime minister to commit to delivering HS2 in full.
In an open letter, more than 20 business leaders say continued backing for the next phase of the £56bn high-speed rail network project is vital.
Construction of the first HS2 link between London and the West Midlands is currently under way.
Business leaders want to see the line linking Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds completed as well.
The open letter, targeted at whoever wins the Conservative leadership vote out of Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, has been signed by business groups including the CBI, the Institute of Directors, the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Chambers of Commerce, London First and Business Improvement Districts across the UK.
It comes almost five years after the "Northern Powerhouse" concept, first mentioned by the then Chancellor, George Osborne, in a speech on 23 June 2014.
Mr Osborne had planned to improve transport connections between the cities, towns and rural communities of the north of England and Wales, in order to increase jobs and fuel economic growth in the region.
The groups assert that the HS2 has already led to record foreign investment in the West Midlands, including the creation of 7,000 new jobs in Birmingham, with a further 100,000 more expected around the new Curzon Street and Interchange stations.
Business leaders are concerned that the forthcoming change of prime minister could lead to the rail network not being completed.
In May, a group of peers warned that HS2 would not offer value for money and risked "short-changing" the North of England.
The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee said the project should not go ahead without a new assessment of its costs and benefits.
"We assert that committing to HS2 in full, once and for all, will spread the flow of investment across the Midlands, the North of England and into Scotland," the leaders wrote in the letter.
"The current poor connectivity in the North is a major obstacle to encouraging companies from growing in the region and is a barrier to inward investment."
According to Transport for the North, fewer than 10,000 people in northern England are able to access four or more of the region's largest economic centres within an hour.
The leaders wrote: "We urge the next prime minister and government to restate its commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail, and its links to HS2, as a matter of urgent priority.
"We are passionate believers that this is not just a Northern issue. It is a UK issue.
"We should move away from arguments that pit Crossrail 2 in London versus Northern Powerhouse Rail; both schemes are vital for Britain's future. It's not an either/or choice. Britain needs both."
The Department for Transport told the BBC: "HS2 is well under way, with over 9,000 people and 2,000 businesses working on delivering the project right now. It will significantly improve connections between our largest cities, create extra capacity across our rail network and release capacity on some of our busiest rail lines.
"We are also clear that it is not either/or with HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, as both are needed - the full benefits of NPR can only be delivered on the back of HS2."
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Jack Letts: Why jihadi's parents are guilty of funding terrorism - BBC News
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2019-06-22
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An ex-charity fundraiser and an organic farmer face jail for sending cash to their son in Syria. How did they end up in court?
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A former charity fundraiser and an organic farmer have been convicted of funding terrorism by sending cash to their son in Syria. So how did Sally Lane and John Letts end up before a jury in the Old Bailey?
In the words of one judge, they were "two perfectly decent people... in custody because of the love of their child".
And over four years, Lane and Letts battled to avoid trial for sending cash to their son, who had joined the war in Syria and the Islamic State group.
But now they have both been found guilty of a serious terrorism-related offence after a trial that came down to evidence of foreseeable consequences.
Jack Letts converted to Islam as a 16-year-old. His parents had supported his decision.
But two years later in May 2014 evidence began to emerge that he was associating with extremists. He married Asmaa, whose family were influential in IS in Iraq, and they had a child together.
A fellow Muslim who knew Jack Letts in Oxford warned his parents their son wanted to go to Syria.
Jack Letts, who is now 23, told his parents he only wanted to study in the Middle East and they decided to fund his travel.
But they were not sure what he was up to. Evidence from their trial reveals that Lane confided in a friend that she believed her son might be seeking to join the war - but both she and his father appeared to hoping for the best.
In late August the truth dawned. Lane emailed a friend to say her son was in the "worst" possible country, a message sent two days before the beheading of James Foley, the first western hostage to be murdered by IS.
And Jack Letts finally confirmed to his parents on 2 September 2014 that he was in Syria and later exchanges made clear he was alongside other IS group recruits from the UK in the group's capital Raqqa.
By March 2015 counter-terrorism detectives were investigating Jack Letts and they advised his parents not to send him any cash. Quite simply, it would probably end up in the hands of the terror group and wiring money in such circumstances was a crime.
During the trial the jury heard that Jack Letts has obsessive compulsive disorder and his parents believed his decision to go to Syria was influenced by his condition.
But to others, he had appeared to have become a fully signed-up member of an extremist sect. In one Facebook post he declared he'd like to "do a martyrdom operation" against a school friend who was in the Army.
Lane sent one payment - and tried to transfer two more
Weeks later he was bragging to his mother about the "Islamic State Health Service", a key piece of propaganda that the group's UK recruits were encouraged to promote.
And so when he began to ask for cash, he was playing on his parents' turmoil.
He repeatedly asked Lane to send money to an intermediary in Turkey or Lebanon whom she did not know. He claimed it would not go on "jihad" but advised her to come up with a cover story.
Despite her reservations, the trial heard Lane and John Letts agreed to the proposal and in September 2015 she wired £223 to her son's contact in Lebanon.
She hoped any cash she sent her son could help him survive or escape. But the transfer led to a second warning from the police not to send any more.
In relation to this transaction, the couple were convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey of entering into a funding arrangement for the purposes of terrorism.
They were each sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
As the winter wore on, Jack Letts was sending conflicting messages. On the one hand he said the West should "die in their rage". He also began to suggest he was doubting IS beliefs and wanted to return home.
His parents pressed further, and Jack Letts again asked for cash, suggesting smugglers could help him to get out.
By now it was not just the police warning the couple not to send anything. Two independent experts, an academic and a professional deradicaliser, also advised the couple not to send money.
Then, on 27 December 2015, a junior police officer, acting as a liaison with the family, made a mistake. That officer said money could be sent if it were to aid their son's escape.
Two days later, case officers corrected the error in a meeting with Lane and John Letts, backed up with a written notice that sending cash would be a crime.
Despite that formal advice, effectively a third warning, on New Year's Eve Lane tried to send £1,000 to her son's nominated intermediary in Lebanon.
The payment was blocked. Four days later, the trial heard, that Sally Lane used a false identity to try again to send £500. Again, the payment was blocked.
The jury cleared the couple of funding terrorism by attempting to send the £1,000 payment and were unable to reach a verdict in relation to the third attempted transfer.
The case has been one of the most drawn-out terrorism prosecutions in recent history - including the almost 20 hours the jury took to reach verdicts.
No jury could be asked to find Sally Lane and John Letts guilty of supporting terrorism - because there was no evidence they supported banned violent groups. It was clear from their own emotional arguments with their son how deeply disgusted and shocked they had been by his decision.
But at the same time, they wanted to help him come to his senses and find a way out.
Supporters of Lane and John Letts came to the Old Bailey
The question for the jury would be whether sending cash for that purpose broke the law which bans the funding of terrorism in any circumstances.
That law, Section 17 of the Terrorism Act 2000, states that it is a crime to enter into a funding arrangement if someone either knows or has "reasonable cause to suspect" that money could end up in the hands of terrorists.
When the offence was originally created in 1976, prosecutors had to prove the defendant either definitely knew for sure or suspected the cash was going to fund terrorism.
But Parliament later changed the wording to include situations where people would merely have had reasonable cause to suspect where their cash was heading. This, in effect, lowered the evidential test to find someone guilty.
As the case approached trial, the couple asked the Court of Appeal to rule that the law was being misinterpreted - a challenge that could have stopped the prosecution. During the hearing in 2017 they argued they could not be accused of funding terrorism if they honestly did not believe their son would ever hand money to a banned terror group.
Their aim had been to try to rescue him, to save his life, and therefore they could not be prosecuted for funding a terror group.
Those senior judges rejected that appeal and that decision was backed a year later by the Supreme Court.
If Jack Letts had successfully covered his tracks, his parents would never have committed a crime because they would have had absolutely no idea what he was up to.
However, there was ample evidence of where he was, who he appeared to be with and what he had been doing.
The jury had to decide whether the couple knew enough about their son's situation to reasonably suspect cash might end up in the pockets of IS fighters, even if they genuinely hoped that it would not.
In opening the trial, prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said jurors would inevitably have sympathy for the parents but the law was focused on "the greater good, stopping money flowing into terrorist groups".
Both of them knew where Jack was, who he was associating with and believed he was being manipulated by others, she added.
"Sending money in such circumstances, where you may conclude that it was highly likely to fall into the wrong hands, is against the law."
While the facts of their trial appear unusual, there have been other very similar cases involving Muslim-heritage families, albeit with less media hullabaloo.
Salim Wakil, a 25-year-old from Hampshire, was jailed for 30 months in February this year for the same crime.
In 2014, his 16-year-old sister, Summaiyyah, headed to the warzone along with other Britons. She ended up a teenage mum and widow after her fighter husband from Portsmouth was killed.
Her siblings repeatedly tried to persuade her to return home. Instead she kept nagging them for money. They all resisted, other than Salim, who the Old Bailey heard had mental health problems.
He was too meek and suggestible to resist his sister's manipulation and ultimately agreed to send her more than £2,500.
There's a long-standing principle that someone should not be found guilty of a very serious crime unless they intended it to happen.
This is an important safeguard in English law because it requires a jury to be sure of the defendant's state of mind. This is known as the concept of "Mens Rea", the guilty mind.
But the law of funding terrorism works differently because the test is what the defendant reasonably suspects might happen, rather than what they intended.
Henry Blaxland QC, for John Letts, told the trial the prosecution was "inhumane to the point of being cruel".
"This prosecution does absolutely nothing to further the prevention of terrorism," he said.
"In fact it runs the risk of undermining the fight against terrorism because it runs the risk of bringing the law into disrepute. Law without compassion is not justice."
But the law, in this case, is the law. Jack Letts did something terrible. The dual UK-Canadian national has appeared to live to regret it.
His parents, right to the eve of their trial, petitioned the British and Canadian governments for help to get him home, including a hunger strike outside St Paul's Cathedral.
Their suffering is the same as that of many other parents who discovered their sons and daughters had headed to a war 3,000 miles away.
But the jury at the Old Bailey concluded Lane and John Letts were not entitled to take the law into their own hands.
The crime they were accused of makes no allowances for crossed fingers, a refusal to accept the available facts, or naivety.
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Boris Johnson refuses to answer questions about 'home row' - BBC News
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2019-06-22
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The Tory leadership candidate was pressed about reports of an argument with his partner.
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Boris Johnson has refused to answer questions about his private life, after police were called to a reported row with his girlfriend.
Police were called to the Conservative leadership candidate's London home in the early hours of Friday after neighbours reportedly heard a loud argument.
On Saturday afternoon in Birmingham, at the first of 16 Conservative Party hustings, LBC's Iain Dale pressed Mr Johnson on the incident.
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'Harmful' gender stereotypes in adverts banned - BBC News
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2019-06-14
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The UK advertising watchdog brings in new rule to stop adverts "contributing to inequality in society".
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Business
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A ban on adverts featuring "harmful gender stereotypes" or those which are likely to cause "serious or widespread offence" has come into force.
The ban covers scenarios such as a man with his feet up while a woman cleans, or a woman failing to park a car.
The UK's advertising watchdog introduced the ban because it found some portrayals could play a part in "limiting people's potential".
It said it was pleased with how advertisers had responded.
The new rule follows a review of gender stereotyping in adverts by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) - the organisation that administers the UK Advertising Codes, which cover both broadcast and non-broadcast adverts, including online and social media.
The ASA said the review had found evidence suggesting that harmful stereotypes could "restrict the choices, aspirations and opportunities of children, young people and adults and these stereotypes can be reinforced by some advertising, which plays a part in unequal gender outcomes".
"Our evidence shows how harmful gender stereotypes in ads can contribute to inequality in society, with costs for all of us. Put simply, we found that some portrayals in ads can, over time, play a part in limiting people's potential," said ASA chief executive Guy Parker.
An advert for baby formula Aptamil was accused of reinforcing gender stereotypes
Blogger and father of two Jim Coulson thinks the ban is a good idea. He dislikes adverts that perpetuate stereotypes about dads being "useless".
"It's the small things though that build up, and the small things are what inform the subconscious," he told the BBC.
"That's the problem... that adverts rely on stereotypes. We know why they do it, because it's easy. "
But columnist Angela Epstein disagrees, and thinks that society has become "over-sensitive".
"There's a lot of big things we need to fight over - equality over pay, bullying in the workplace, domestic violence, sexual harassment - these are really big issues that we need to fight over equally," she told the BBC.
"But when you chuck in the fact that women are doing the dishes [in advertisements], it's not in the same sphere. When we lump it all together and become desensitised, we devalue those important arguments we need to have."
As part of its review, the ASA brought together members of the public and showed them various adverts to gauge how they felt about how men and women were depicted.
One of them was a 2017 television advert for Aptamil baby milk formula, which showed a baby girl growing up to be a ballerina and baby boys engineers and mountain climbers.
The ASA found some parents "felt strongly about the gender based aspirations shown in this advert specifically noting the stereotypical future professions of the boys and girls shown.
"These parents queried why these stereotypes were needed, feeling that they lacked diversity of gender roles and did not represent real life."
At the time it was released, the campaign prompted complaints but the ASA did not find grounds for a formal investigation as it did not break the rules.
However, Fernando Desouches, managing director of marketing agency New Macho, which specialises in targeting men, said this was an example of a past advert that would not pass the new ASA legislation.
He said it showed how easy it can be for "deeply entrenched views on gender to come through in an ad that purports to be caring and nurturing of future generations." He was "unsurprised it generated a backlash".
Other situations likely to fall foul of the new rule include:
However, the new rules do not preclude the use of all gender stereotypes. The ASA said the aim was to identify "specific harms" that should be prevented.
So, for example, adverts would still be able to show women doing the shopping or men doing DIY, or use gender stereotypes as a way of challenging their negative effects.
The ASA outlined the new rules at the end of last year, giving advertisers six months to prepare for their introduction.
Mr Parker said the watchdog was pleased with how the industry had already responded.
The ASA said it would deal with any complaints on a case-by-case basis and would assess each advert by looking at the "content and context" to determine if the new rule had been broken.
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Boris Johnson tops first ballot in Tory leadership contest - BBC News
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2019-06-14
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Three MPs are knocked out in the race to succeed Theresa May, as Boris Johnson secures more than a third of votes.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Cheryl Gillan announces the result with seven of the 10 candidates making it to round two
Boris Johnson has secured the highest number of votes in the first MPs' ballot to select the Conservative Party leader and next prime minister.
Three contenders - Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey - were knocked out in the secret ballot of Tory MPs.
Mr Johnson received 114 votes, significantly more than his nearest rival Jeremy Hunt, who came second with 43. Michael Gove was third with 37.
Seven candidates progress to the next round of voting next week.
The two who prove most popular after the last MPs' ballot will go to Conservative Party members in a final vote later this month.
The winner of the contest to succeed Theresa May is expected to be announced in the week of 22 July.
Sources close to Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg he was "mulling over" whether to withdraw from the contest after coming sixth with 20 votes.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who came fifth with 23 votes, is understood to be staying in the race for now. Some have suggested his candidacy - with support from Mr Hancock - could take on Mr Hunt to become second in the ballot.
Mr Johnson, a former foreign secretary who served for eight years as London mayor, said he was "delighted" to win but warned that his campaign still had "a long way to go".
Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt said: "Boris did well today but what the result shows is, when it comes to the members' stage, I'm the man to take him on."
Environment Secretary Mr Gove said it was "all to play for" and he was "very much looking forward" to candidates' TV debates on Channel 4 on Sunday and on BBC One next Tuesday.
All 313 Conservative MPs voted in the first ballot, including Mrs May, who refused to say whom she had backed.
The fourth-placed candidate, former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, said he was "proud and honoured" and he had a "good base to build on".
Mr Javid said: "I look forward to continuing to share my positive vision and my plan for uniting the country."
Mr Hancock thanked his supporters, saying it was "terrific to have more votes from colleagues than I could have hoped for".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Rory Stewart said: "I don't look anything like the previous PM", and he negotiates "in a completely different way"
And International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, the seventh-placed candidate, told the BBC's Politics Live he was "completely over the Moon" to have got through the first vote.
He said he had had only six declared votes ahead of the poll, but "more than three times that" had voted for him in the secret ballot.
The margin of success took his fellow candidates by surprise - but not the core of Boris Johnson's team.
After many, many weeks of private campaigning, introducing Boris Johnson to the world of the spreadsheet, this morning one of his organisers wrote the number 114 and sealed it in an envelope.
At lunchtime, the announcement revealed the controversial former foreign secretary had indeed received exactly that number.
That is not just a marker of the level of Mr Johnson's support but for the sometimes clownish politician, whose reputation has risen and fallen and then risen again, it's a sign that it is different this time.
Justice Secretary David Gauke said Mr Stewart was now the main challenger to Mr Johnson, saying: "He's really in with a chance and the momentum is with Rory."
But Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt, who is supporting Mr Hunt's campaign, said the foreign secretary was "attractive to many sides of the party because he's a serious individual".
And schools minister Nick Gibb told BBC Radio 4's World at One that Mr Gove was now "best placed as a Brexiteer to challenge the front runner" Mr Johnson in the final.
Further ballots are scheduled to take place on 18, 19 and 20 June to whittle down the contenders until only two are left.
The final pair will then be put to a vote of members of the wider Conservative Party from 22 June, with the winner expected to be announced about four weeks later.
After being knocked out of the contest, Mr Harper, a former government chief whip, said he continued "to believe we need a credible plan that delivers Brexit" in order to "restore trust".
Mrs Leadsom's campaign team said they were "disappointed" but "wish all the other candidates well".
And Ms McVey, who gained nine votes, coming last in the first round of MPs' ballots, said she was "extremely grateful" to those who had supported her.
Televised candidates' debates are scheduled to take place, but not all the remaining seven have confirmed they are taking part.
Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, who is backing Mr Hunt, urged them to appear, saying the Conservative Party "needs to remember that we're not just choosing a leader, we're choosing a prime minister and the public need to see them".
And former Brexit secretary David Davis, who is backing Mr Raab, said it was "very important" for the public to hear from the contenders.
Mr Johnson has previously been criticised by some of his rivals for not taking part in media interviews during the campaign.
The leadership race has so far been dominated by Brexit and arguments over whether a deal can be renegotiated with the EU by 31 October, and whether talking up a no-deal Brexit is a plausible promise.
On Tuesday 18 June BBC One will host a live election debate between the Conservative MPs still in the race.
If you would like to ask the candidates a question live on air, use the form below. It should be open to all of them, not a specific politician.
If you are reading this page on the BBC News app, you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question on this topic.
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Tory leadership: Matt Hancock quits contest - BBC News
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2019-06-14
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The health secretary declines to back any of the remaining six candidates in the race to succeed Theresa May.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Matt Hancock has quit the contest to become Conservative leader - and prime minister - a day after coming sixth in the first ballot of the party's MPs.
The health secretary did not endorse any of his former rivals, but told the BBC he was "talking" to them all.
Mr Hancock, who had been the youngest contender, said he was "focused on the future" but the party needed a leader to succeed in "the here and now".
Boris Johnson won the first Tory MPs' ballot by a big margin, with 114 votes.
The final two contenders remaining after further MPs' ballots next week will go to a party-wide vote.
But cabinet minister David Lidington - who had backed Mr Hancock - told the BBC's Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast: "The Conservative Party started having elections for its leaders in 1965. Only once in that time has the favourite won and that was when Michael Howard was unopposed.
"I think it's still very open and no candidate can take things for granted - and shouldn't."
Three candidates - Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey - were knocked out in the first round, in which Mr Hancock, aged 40, received 20 votes.
His decision to withdraw from the race means six candidates remain.
Mr Hancock told BBC deputy political editor John Pienaar: "I've been incredibly encouraged and humbled by the amount of support that I've had in this campaign.
"I've tried to make the argument about the values that the Conservative Party needs to hold dear, of free enterprise and support for a free society and being open and optimistic and enthusiastic about the future."
He added: "But the party clearly is looking for a candidate to deal with the here and now. I very much put myself forward as the candidate focused on the future.
"And so I've decided to withdraw from the race and instead see how best I can advance those values within the party and the big and difficult tasks we've got ahead."
Mr Hancock said the remaining candidates all had "admirable qualities" and that all should take part in televised debates: "The nature of this contest isn't just to be the leader of the Conservative Party. It's to be the next prime minister, and so that scrutiny is important."
He added: "We stand at a defining moment in our country's history and we need to deliver Brexit, and then we need to cast forward and bring the country together. That's the goal."
Further ballots are scheduled to take place next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to whittle down the contenders until only two are left. The process could be speeded up if anyone else drops out.
The final pair will be put to a vote of the 160,000 members of the Conservative Party from 22 June. The winner is expected to be announced about four weeks later.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson, the former Foreign Secretary and London Mayor, has confirmed that he will take part in a televised debate with other candidates on the BBC on Tuesday - although it is not known whether he will join Sunday's debate on Channel 4.
He picked up support from businessman Lord Sugar - who quit as a Labour peer in 2015 and sits as a crossbencher:
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Lord Sugar This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Fellow leadership contender Dominic Raab, a former Brexit Secretary, called for a "proper debate", saying: "I'm looking forward to the first televised debates on Sunday and I hope that everyone gets involved - we should have a proper debate on the vision for the country."
On Tuesday 18 June, BBC One will host a live election debate between the Conservative MPs still in the race.
If you would like to ask the candidates a question live on air, use the form below. It should be open to all of them, not a specific politician.
If you are reading this page on the BBC News app, you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question on this topic.
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BBC TV licence: Over-75s 'richer' than when policy began - BBC News
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2019-06-10
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A report into free TV licences for the over-75s finds pensioners are richer now than two decades ago.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The exterior of the BBC's New Broadcasting House building
A report looking at free TV licences for the over-75s suggests older households have seen "a marked improvement" in their living standards since the policy was introduced.
The BBC-commissioned report said pensioners are now less likely than any other age group to live in poverty.
The government began funding free TV licences for the over-75s in 2000.
In 2015 it was decided the concession would be paid for in future by the BBC.
According to the report by Frontier Economics, which was commissioned to carry out the research, almost half (46%) of households with someone aged 75 or more were among the poorest in terms of incomes in 2000.
By 2017, that proportion had fallen to fewer than one in three (32%).
The paper says this has come about "because incomes of over-75 households have grown much more rapidly than average".
It goes on: "Incomes, wealth and life expectancy of older people have improved significantly, pensioner poverty rates have fallen, and older households report higher well-being on a range of metrics."
The government's contribution to the free TV licence is being phased out by 2020. Parliament has given the corporation the duty to consult on what the policy should be for the older population thereafter.
Free TV licences were brought in when Gordon Brown was chancellor
In 2001, free licence fees for the over-75s cost the government £365m. The report forecasts that by 2021 the current arrangements will cost the BBC £745m a year - constituting a fifth of the licence fee income.
A full report from Frontier Economics on longer-term funding options relating to the over-75s concession will be published in the next few weeks.
The BBC will then produce its own public consultation paper exploring various options.
Reforms to the policy may include raising the age of eligibility, introducing means-testing or removing the benefit from older people who live with younger relatives.
Writing in The Times, former cabinet secretary and chairman of Frontier Economics Lord O'Donnell said it was "a complex issue".
"Different approaches need to be considered in economic, financial, distributional and feasibility terms," he went on.
"Any final decision will ultimately be one for the BBC based on a wider consultation process."
As Gus O'Donnell, Lord O'Donnell was cabinet secretary from 2005 to 2011
"This is an important discussion paper which we are studying carefully," said a BBC spokesperson. "The full report - which looks at a range of approaches the BBC could take - will be published shortly.
"As we have said, the government concession ends in June 2020. We are going to be consulting on what then happens. It might be a concession on the same terms, it might be different concession.
"There are important issues to consider. We will do nothing without consulting with the public. Everyone who wants to contribute will be able to do so."
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said there were "compelling arguments in favour of the over 75s TV licence concession".
"Despite some creditable improvement over the last decade, significant numbers of older people are still poor and progress in reducing pensioner poverty has stalled.
"The question for the BBC is therefore how they intend to fulfil the responsibility they have taken on as regards the TV licence concession for the over 75s... the majority of whom live on only modest incomes."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
• None Where can I find information on the licence fee?
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UK's biggest money manager warns on climate catastrophe - BBC News
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2019-06-04
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Firms' failure to tackle environmental damage is Legal & General's biggest corporate governance concern.
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Business
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The world is facing a climate catastrophe and businesses around the world must address it urgently or face the ultimate sanction for a public company, shareholders who refuse to back them any more.
That is not a message from an environmental action group but from the largest money manager in the UK, Legal & General Investment Management, which manages £1 trillion worth of UK pension fund investments.
Its climate warning was the top of a list of concerns about the way companies are run.
Other red lights included the level of executive pay, lack of diversity in senior corporate roles, the role (and cost) of political lobbying and the poor quality of the financial information provided by auditors.
Legal & General insist that it is not just virtue signalling.
The company voted against the re-election of nearly 4,000 directors in 2018 - an increase of 37%. That included votes against over 100 board chairs on the basis of gender diversity alone.
Legal & General's director of corporate governance, Sacha Sadan, said it was getting tougher with company boards and managements.
"2018 was a record year for us as we continued to engage with companies on a broad range of issues, using our voting power to influence change on behalf of our clients. The increased figures reflect the higher standards we expect companies to adhere to"
The collapse last year of construction and services company Carillion which continued to pay out high salaries, shareholder dividends and get a clean bill of health from its auditors until just months before its sudden liquidation caused widespread outrage and shone a light on the standard of company stewardship in the UK.
A recent report from a committee of MPs was sceptical about asset managers' appetite and ability to raise the quality of company management.
The business select committee chair said last month: "We do not have confidence in institutional investors in exercising their stewardship functions. We cannot rely on shareholders to exert pressure."
Legal & General admit they too have made mistakes.
In 2012, the company voted in favour of a pay formula for the chief executive of housebuilder Persimmon that saw Jeff Fairburn awarded a pay packet of £100m. Mr Sadan told the BBC it had learnt its lesson. "Since then we insist that maximum payouts are capped."
The VERY best way for investors to exert pressure is to sell their shares - or not become shareholders of misbehaving companies in the first place.
Plenty of fund managers argue they are trying to "reform from within" while happily accepting bumper dividend pay outs from companies in some of the most controversial sectors - such as oil and tobacco.
Legal & General insist they are prepared to do that and last year issued a list of companies whose shares they decided to dump. The list of eight included Russian oil company Rosneft, the China Construction Bank and Subaru.
Legal & General say that all eight of those on the "black list" have been in touch to try and get themselves off it. Proof positive, say L&G, that their brand of shareholder engagement - or disengagement - really works.
Many in the UK might find that argument more convincing if the list of no-go investments included companies closer to home that would REALLY feel the cold shoulder of the UK's biggest money manager.
Shell boss Ben van Beurden's pay more than doubled last year
For example, Royal Dutch Shell is the UK's biggest dividend payer by miles - offering investors a tempting 5.8% return on their money. Legal & General say they were successful in moving the chief executive's performance targets to be based on safety and environmental improvements rather than raw profit. They were less successful in tackling the sheer amount he pocketed last year - a colossal £17m.
For decades, many firms have paid lip service to climate change without substantially altering the way they do business.
Then investors joined the climate campaign and began applying pressure from within.
Their message is that acting on climate change isn't just a feel-good - it's a necessity to protect long-term assets.
The Bank of England, for instance, recently warned that $20tn (£15.3tn) of assets could be wiped out by climate change.
This alarming note is being amplified by fund managers who are pulling their investments out of fossil fuels.
They include the World Council of Churches, the Rockefeller family and insurance giants AXA and Allianz.
Collectively their portfolios are said to total about £7tn and they'll increasingly influence firms with discretion over their use of fossil fuels.
But what about the massively-powerful fossil fuel giants whose very existence depends on mining those carbon compounds the world can't afford to burn?
The slave trade was abolished only after traders were compensated for their "loss of human property".
Will society need to compensate the oil majors for the assets they must leave underground?
Asset managers are effectively the "masters of the universe" when it comes to telling companies how to behave as they have to vote on their investors behalf. But they have powerful customers of their own to answer to.
Increasing numbers of pension fund trustees are seeking assurances that their employees' retirement contributions are not finding their way into embarrassing or inappropriate investments. The Church of England was not thrilled to find out its pension scheme was invested in the now defunct high cost credit company Wonga.
More recently - and more importantly - was the decision by Norway's sovereign wealth fund to divest itself of some of its fossil fuel investments (paradoxically perhaps - the source of all the money in the first place).
But what these examples show is that the savers and citizens, on whose behalf this money is managed, are becoming more aware - and more willing to object - about how that is done.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47941180
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M4: New road plan to ease congestion divides opinion - BBC News
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2019-06-04
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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People living near the current motorway and a proposed relief road are divided on the plans.
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Wales
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "Everything outside gets dirty and it affects our chests - it's dreadful."
It has been branded an "attack on nature" by some and a "godsend" by others - but nearly 30 years of uncertainty is set to finally end with a decision on the M4 relief road.
A statement on the £1.4bn project is expected on Tuesday.
The controversial 14-mile (23km) six-lane motorway would be built south of Newport to relieve congestion at the Brynglas tunnels.
But whether the road would bring relief depends where you live.
Villagers in Magor, Monmouthshire, where the new road would split from the existing M4, have lived with the proposal for years. A relief road was first suggested in 1991.
Carole Poultney says residents will lose their views
Villagers say they will be "surrounded" by motorways if the plan goes ahead
Some fear the new road would leave "two-thirds of the village surrounded" by motorway.
"I know people say 'not in my back yard' but for us, it really is going to feel that it's in our garden," said Carole Poultney, 63.
"We're keeping our fingers crossed. We've lived with this idea for a long time.
"We can already see and hear the motorway from our house but now it could be 50 yards from our back door."
Their homes are already close enough to the carriageway not to need the radio for traffic updates - they simply look out of the kitchen window.
And as the England rugby team discovered when travelling to a Six Nations clash with Wales in Cardiff in February, it can sometimes take more than an hour to travel a few miles.
Both sides of the argument agree that "something" needs to be done to ease congestion. The question is... what?
The proposed M4 relief road would run to the south of Newport
For some Magor residents, the uncertainty is an issue.
"I'm really concerned because I don't know how this is going to affect us but it would have to be dreadful for me to actually pack up and leave," said Sandra Teale, 64.
"You can't have everything. People didn't want the services [a motorway service station at junction 23A] but when they came they brought work. We'll just have to get on with it."
Tonew Kennels in Redwick - home to up to 100 dogs, including strays and abandoned pets - lies almost directly in the path of the proposed route.
Kennel owner Mandy Jones said closing the business and family home would be "heartbreaking"
Co-owner Mandy Jones said they are still unsure whether they might be the subject of a compulsory purchase order.
"I don't even want to think about leaving, it's just too upsetting," she said.
"It would be horrendous to leave. We've been here since 1967 when my father built this house. It's not just our business but the family home as well."
The kennels are located on the Gwent levels, described as "Wales' own Amazon rainforest" by conservationists who say the new motorway would be a "direct attack on nature".
However, nine miles along the motorway to the infamous Brynglas tunnels and you arrive at the other side of the argument.
The decision on M4 relief road is due on Tuesday
Terry and Janet Clark were the first to own their house on Bryn Bevan, Malpas, overlooking the tunnels, 45 years ago.
They say the volume of traffic has increased significantly since then, and they would welcome the construction of a relief road.
"It's dreadful living so close to the tunnels. It's noisy and dirty all the time because of the traffic. It's 24-7... It doesn't stop even for five minutes," said Mrs Clarke.
"It's terrible trying to get to sleep, especially in the summer on hot evenings, you can't have the windows open. Guests who come to stay don't get a wink of sleep.
"And the dust is a nightmare. Everything outside gets dirty and it affects our chests - we get quite a lot of coughs. So a relief road to divert some of the traffic away would be lovely."
"People think we're mad for living here," say Terry and Janet Clarke
After tolls on the Severn bridges ended in December there was a rise in traffic of more than 10%.
Mr Clarke says the number of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) has increased since too.
"There are a lot more lorries now - especially at night," he said.
"I know that's good for Wales and business, but not everyone has to live with it. Something has to be done - I just don't know why it's taken so long."
Neighbours have become so accustomed to the "constant drone" of noise that they find moments when the motorway is closed - due to roadworks or an accident - as "eerie".
Some are sceptical as to whether a relief road will solve the problem of ever-increasing traffic.
However David Bird, who has raised a family in the shadow of the tunnels, believes it would be a "godsend".
Commuter Steven Bird has to get up earlier because of rush hour traffic
His 30-year-old son Steven uses the M4 to commute most days to Bristol - an experience he describes as "painful".
"It's very easy for a 10-hour day to turn into a 12-hour day because you're stuck in traffic from the bridge.
"A relief road would make our lives easier - I could get to work on time, spend less time on the road and have more time to go about your day.
"It would also be quieter at home and perhaps house prices would go up a bit."
If you have any questions about the M4 relief road, use the form below to send them in:
If you are reading this page on the BBC News app, you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question on this topic.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48365314
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news_uk-wales-48365314
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Is it time to treat sugar like smoking? - BBC News
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2019-06-04
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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A leading think tank is suggesting plain packaging should be adopted for sugary foods.
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Health
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Over the past decade, smoking has become marginalised and stigmatised.
From the smoking ban in 2007 to the introduction of plain packaging a decade later, everything has been done to discourage people from taking up the habit.
And there are signs sugar is heading the same way.
Sugary drinks are already taxed - and now a leading think tank has even suggested sweets, snacks and sugary drinks should be wrapped in plain packaging to make them less appealing, given the excess consumption of the sweet stuff.
The call has been made by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in a new report.
"Plain packaging would help us all to make better choices and reduce the hassle of pester power for busy parents," he said.
He wants to see it adopted alongside a range of other measures, including a ban on junk food advertising.
That is something that has already been looked at by ministers.
But would plain packaging be a step too far?
Industry has been quick to object, with trade body the Food and Drink Federation arguing that branding is a "fundamental commercial freedom" and "critical to competition".
The same sort of arguments were put forward by the tobacco industry, but successive governments have still increasingly shown an appetite to get tough.
Interestingly, the government has not ruled the idea of plain packaging for sugar products entirely.
Instead, the Department of Health and Social Care is saying it is waiting to hear what England's chief medical officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies, has to say.
Why? There is a recognition that bold moves are needed if the ambition to halve the child obesity rate by 2030 is to be achieved.
Dame Sally has been asked to review the steps that are being taken to ensure no stone is left unturned.
In fact, she has already suggested that another measure floated by the IPPR - extending the tax on sugary drinks to other unhealthy foods - is a real option.
And she is said to be open to the idea of plain packaging, which of course would be an even more radical step.
All cigarettes must be sold in plain green packaging with health warnings
But what is clear from the last decade is that the unlikely can soon become likely.
During the early noughties, health campaigners and academic bodies were pushing and pushing for a ban on smoking in public places to be introduced.
Time after time, the government poured cold water on the move.
But then things slowly began to change once Patricia Hewitt became health secretary, paving the way for even more radical measures.
The approach seems to be working - smoking rates have fallen by a third in just over 10 years.
Some of the credit is clearly because of the growth of vaping as an alternative.
But tough public health tactics have no doubt played some part.
Evidence from Australia - the first nation to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products - suggests a quarter of the subsequent reduction in smoking rates could be attributed to the move.
As the debate rages about obesity, expect to hear much more about the merits of radical action on sugar.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48499195
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Trump UK visit: Protesters mix humour and expletives to make their point - BBC News
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2019-06-04
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Demonstrators deploy satire, candour and expletives as Donald Trump meets the UK prime minister.
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UK
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If Donald Trump had been inclined to wind down a bullet-proof window in The Beast as he passed through central London, he may well have wound it straight back up.
The public were kept a long way from his motorcade but the boos were loud, the placards stark and the general message expletive-laden.
And beyond that, in Parliament Square, under the gaze of a statue of a hunched Winston Churchill, British satire was on display.
A Donald Trump baby blimp rocked back and forth in a light wind.
A man was dressed as a caged gorilla with a Donald Trump face mask while his companion pulled off an impression of Boris Johnson - the MP who wants to be the next UK prime minister - dressed in a striped prison uniform.
There were toilet rolls for sale bearing the president's face, sold for two for £5 from a couple of supermarket trolleys.
A police officer went above and beyond to hand out Haribo sweets to his colleagues standing in a neat line along Whitehall.
Above them, builders in hard hats watched events unfold from the scaffolding encasing Big Ben.
But it wasn't just the British who were there to protest.
US holidaymakers gave up a day's sightseeing in the capital to let their president know what they thought of him.
Jess Renner, and her mother, Lisa, from Nevada, say their president promotes division
Nineteen-year-old student Jess Renner, who was too young to vote in the last US presidential election, headed down to the protest from her nearby hotel with her mum.
"It was fun to come and flip him off," she said. "He's a bully and he's trying to bully you guys into buying all our stuff."
Fellow American Robert Kihm, from Denver, Colorado, said having Mr Trump for a president was no longer funny.
What's your message to him? "Where do I start," he replied, in exasperation.
"Stop being authoritarian, respect the rule of law and stick to the norms for a US president," he urged.
A group from Belgium on a three-day trip to London also couldn't resist having their say.
"He said Brussels was a hell-hole so we are also very against him," said Annelie Comeyne, from Ghent.
Not everyone felt the same.
A minority, including Lorraine Chapel, from Chiswick, in west London, was there to welcome the president.
"Love him or hate him, Mr Trump runs America and he is here by invite from the Queen," she said, waving her handmade sign.
Lorraine Chapel says the president should be shown respect
The blimp of a baby Donald was offensive, she said. "Suppose they did that for the Queen in America".
In a flash, things turned rather ugly when a woman appeared next to Ms Chapel, accusing her in strongly-worded terms of supporting misogyny.
Meanwhile, a heated exchange played out in the background as Trump supporters took on anti-Trump protesters before the debate veered back to domestic arguments around Brexit.
A little later, the atmosphere lifted as speakers took to a temporary stage outside Downing Street where Mr Trump was holding talks with the outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May.
"Say it loud, say it clear," the speaker shouted over the microphone, as the rain kept falling.
"Donald Trump's not welcome here," the crowd hollered back, from under hoods and umbrellas.
Some had their faces covered with #trumpstinks masks, others wore badges saying "another nasty woman against Trump".
There was whooping and whistling as police officers cautiously managed the growing numbers, opening and closing routes.
Melissa Branzburg gives her children a lesson in political activism
Mothers with small children in buggies rubbed shoulders with seasoned protesters and American ex-pats.
Melissa Branzburg, originally from Miami but now living in Greenwich, said President Trump has been talked about in her house for a long time.
Her children - Isaac, five, and Ruth, three - would usually be doing crafts or playing in the park but today they were getting a lesson in political activism.
They were keen to let Mr Trump know they didn't want him here in London, said Ms Branzburg.
They asked a lot about children behind bars in the US, something she tried to explain in age-appropriate language.
"I want them to know they can make their voices heard and can see that other people agree with them," she added.
Protesters delivered their messages on placards - some chose humour, others candour
Florence Iwegbue, a dual US-British citizen, wore bright pink feathers in her hair and red, white and blue glitter on her cheek.
She said she feared Britain might be following too closely in US footsteps.
"The message is not getting through that the way of life in America does not work," she said.
"In the US, you can't afford to be poor, sick, black or brown. This is becoming an issue in Britain - and it needs to be dialled back."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48517606
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news_uk-48517606
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Overseas aid: Stewart says funding may be shifted 'away from humans' - BBC News
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2019-06-26
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Rory Stewart says money may be better spent on planting trees as fighting climate change becomes key.
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UK Politics
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Overseas aid funding may need to be shifted away from humans to the natural environment to protect the planet and reduce poverty, Rory Stewart has said.
The international development secretary told MPs hard decisions would be needed if the UK was serious about mitigating the impact of climate change globally.
"We may have to target our money directly on the trees," he said. "We may actually have to plant trees."
He also warned a no-deal Brexit could, at worse, cut aid funds by up to £400m.
Discussing his department's priorities in front of the Commons international development committee, Mr Stewart warned MPs it might be the last time he spoke to them.
Mr Stewart, who caused a stir during his recent Conservative leadership bid, has said he will not serve under Boris Johnson if he becomes Tory leader due to disagreements over Brexit.
With Mr Johnson considered favourite to succeed Mrs May, Mr Stewart said he may only have a month left in the role.
In that time, he said his main goal was to try and double the amount of money his department spent on climate and environment programmes.
In the longer-term, he said the department may need to reconsider how it allocates its resources - the bulk of which are spent on bilateral programmes in developing countries.
Dealing with the climate emergency was key to tackling global poverty, he said, because without it, the number of people below the poverty line would increase by up to 100 million.
"It has been very tempting for this department, in the short term, to think it can't spend money on climate change because there are also these poor people out there," he said.
"But the harsh reality is that if we don't start tackling climate and the environment, we are going to start going backwards rather than forwards."
Using a Venn diagram to illustrate his argument, he said the overlapping, shared area between environmental and poverty initiatives was "not always a very good place to be".
As an example, he said while it might seem sensible to provide rural communities dependent on forestry with alternative sources of employment nearby, such diversification may end up having a marginal economic benefit while taking people away from the land.
In contrast, tree planting could provide sustainable income sources for communities while benefiting eco-systems, increasing carbon capture and providing defence against flooding.
"That is quite a shift in the way we think. Because we have tended to assume that best way to deal with humans is to target your money on humans.
"But sometimes, in the long run, the best way is to target your money on non-humans."
During his leadership campaign, Mr Stewart - who worked as a diplomat in Iraq and Afghanistan before entering politics - claimed to have planted 5,000 trees himself.
With successive governments committing to spend 0.7% of UK national income on aid spending, the aid department has seen a huge increase in its budgets in the past decade.
Mr Stewart said there would be "problems" if, for whatever reason, the economy grew at a slower rate than was currently projected.
In the worst-case scenario of a no-deal Brexit, he said there could be a £300-£400m annual shortfall in the Overseas Development Assistance budget.
Asked how the gaps would be plugged, he suggested the UK could look to reduce the amount of money it gave to multilateral partners such as the World Bank.
This, he suggested, would be an "easier conversation" for the UK to have than cutting funding for programmes in individual countries.
Mr Stewart has also been setting out the UK's progress towards hitting its Sustainable Development Goals, a series of international targets for eradicating poverty and hunger, reducing inequality and securing gender equality.
He said the UK had made "significant strides" by having a faster rate of decarbonisation than any other advanced economy but there was "more to do".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48770640
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news_uk-politics-48770640
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