Tag: UK

Sunak Wants More Knighthoods for Northerners in Bid to ‘Level Up’ Honours System

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to “level up” the honours system by giving more knighthoods, damehoods, and other honours to people living in under-represented areas of the country, according to a new report. In the foreword to a new report on the operation of the honours system, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said that Sunak…


British Cycling Bans Transgender Women From Female Events

Transgender women will be permanently banned from taking part in all-female competitive events, British Cycling has announced. The decision followed a nine-month consultation and a review of the latest science, a statement from the governing body said on Friday. Under the new rules—which end transgender cyclist Emily Bridges’ chances of competing for Britain in the…


Chancellor Backs Interest Rate Hikes Even If They Risk UK Recession

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has backed further interest rate hikes being used to rein in inflation even if they increase the risk of pushing the UK into recession. The Bank of England (BoE) has raised rates 12 times in a row to 4.5 percent from 0.1 percent in December 2021. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) of…


Retired Metropolitan Police Officers Admit Possessing Child Abuse Images

Two retired officers with the Metropolitan Police officers have admitted possession of thousands of child abuse images after a “lengthy and complex” investigation which was linked to a third officer who apparently committed suicide rather than face charges. Jeremy Laxton, 63, who now lives in Lincolnshire, and Jack Addis, 63, from Perthshire in Scotland, admitted…


Review Launched Into Hindu–Muslim Unrest in Leicester

The government has commissioned an independent review into the violence between the Hindu and Muslim communities in Leicester last year. Leicester, known for its ethnic diversity, saw serious incidents of disorder following India’s victory over Pakistan in an Asia Cup cricket match on Aug. 28, 2022. Groups of men from the Hindu and Muslim communities,…


West ‘Dead in the Water’ If Identity Politics Persists Warns UK Author

The West will be “dead in the water” if identity politics continue to undermine its culture, a British author warned. Doug Stokes, professor in international security and the director of the strategy and security institute at the University of Exeter, said identity politics are absorbing “way too much” of the West’s cultural bandwidth while there…


‘Huge Income Shock’ Predicted for Households on Fixed-Term Mortgage Deals

British households with fixed-term mortgage deals will feel the impact of higher interest rates when their current deals expire by the end of next year, a Barclay’s chief has warned. Barclay’s CEO CS Venkatakrishnan told the Wall Street Journal CEO Council that a higher portion of households’ earnings will be spent on mortgage payments, leading…


French Magistrates Probing 27 Migrant Deaths File Charges Against English Channel Maritime Rescuers

PARIS—French magistrates on Thursday filed preliminary charges against five French maritime rescue personnel in a probe of the deadly sinking of a flimsy migrant craft in the English Channel in 2021 that killed 27 people. The five, all military personnel, were handed a preliminary charge of not assisting people in danger, judicial authorities said. Preliminary…


Man Arrested After Car Collides With Gates of Downing Street; Police Don’t Suspect Terror Attack

LONDON—A car collided Thursday with the gates of Downing Street in central London, where the British prime minister’s home and offices are located, setting off a rapid, intense security response at one of London’s most-fortified sites. No one was injured and police said they were not treating the incident as terror-related. Police arrested a man…


‘Major Problem’ Grid Not Ready for Solar Farm Projects Until 2030s

Some UK solar farm developers have been told that they face a 15–20 year wait to connect to local electricity grids, which the energy regulator claims is a “major problem” as the government wants to decarbonise its power system by 2035. Blockages in the network mean that some solar farm developers will only be connected…