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Newscast - Electioncast: Pebbledash Semis and Dribbling - BBC Sounds | 2024-05-27 | null | Chris visits Keir Starmer’s hometown as Rishi Sunak hits the football pitch | null | Electioncast: What Is Labour Doing Abbott Candidate Selection?
And how did it cause Starmer’s first stumble? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j0mfx6 |
General election 2024 poll tracker: How do the parties compare? - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How do people say they will vote in the UK general election? Our poll tracker measures the trends. | UK Politics | We're now well into the election campaign, and Parliament has officially been dissolved, but there's been no real shift in the polls since Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on 22 May, writes BBC senior political analyst Peter Barnes.
On average, Labour has been on 44% or 45% since then and the Conservatives have been on 23% or 24%.
The other parties haven't seen any movement either.
There has been quite a big spread between the different pollsters though. Labour's lead has been as low as 12% in one poll but as high as 27% in others.
Much of this difference is down to how the different polling companies handle people who say they don't know how they'll vote.
As we get closer to polling day, the number of undecided voters should fall which might mean that the polls begin to converge.
However, it's unclear whether this will have an impact on the parties' average poll ratings. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68079726 |
Bournemouth stabbing: Teen released without charge - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Amie Gray, 34, died following the attack on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth on Friday. | Dorset | The woman was fatally stabbed on the beach on Friday night
A teenage boy who was arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was stabbed to death on a beach has been released without charge. The woman, named locally as Amie Gray, 34, from Poole, died at the scene on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth shortly before midnight on Friday. Another woman, aged 38, was seriously injured and remains in hospital. The 17-year-old from Lancashire has been eliminated from inquiries, Dorset Police said.
A woman died at the scene and another was taken to hospital with serious injuries
Ms Gray was a personal trainer and head coach at Dorset Futsal Club, a women's indoor football team. In a statement posted on Facebook, the club said: "The club has received some truly devastating news. "We cannot put this into words at this time and as a mark of respect to all those affected, we will not be posting anything new for the foreseeable future." On Sunday, police issued CCTV images of a man they want to speak to in a bid to prompt witnesses to come forward. An online portal, external has been set up so people can submit information.
Dorset Police have renewed an appeal to trace a man seen in a CCTV image
Det Supt Richard Dixey said: "We need the public's help to identify the suspect in the CCTV images. "If you were on Durley Chine beach during the night from Friday 24 May to Saturday 25 May 2024 and saw the man pictured or any suspicious activity, we need to hear from you." Police also appealed for suspicious sightings or video recordings from Durley Roundabout, West Cliff Gardens, Durley Gardens or West Cliff Drive, especially between 22:00 BST and midnight. On Saturday, police set up an extensive cordon on the beach, turning visitors away on what would normally be a busy Bank Holiday weekend.
Follow BBC South on Facebook, external, X, external, or Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-69065705 |
Spitfire crash victim named as pilot Mark Long - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The aircraft crashed in a field close to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Saturday. | Lincolnshire | Sqn Ldr Mark Long is named as the pilot who died
A pilot who died after a Spitfire crashed in a field in Lincolnshire has been named by the RAF as Sqn Ldr Mark Long. Emergency crews were called to the crash site, near RAF Coningsby, shortly before 13:20 BST on Saturday. The World War Two-era fighter belonged to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) based at the station. In a statement, the RAF said Sqn Ldr Long was "a great friend, colleague and a passionate, professional aviator." Leading the tributes, Gp Capt Robbie Lees, commander of the RAF's Display Air Wing, said: "Mark was a Typhoon pilot here at RAF Coningsby and for the last four years he has been a pilot with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. "A great friend, colleague, and a passionate, professional aviator he will be sorely missed by all that knew him." Gp Capt Lees said an investigation into the cause of the "tragic event" was now under way. He added: "I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the RAF personnel, and our emergency services colleagues who responded so swiftly yesterday. "Our thoughts remain with Mark's family and friends to whom we offer our deepest sympathies. We ask that their privacy be respected at this tragic and shocking time."
The Spitfire came down in a field in Coningsby on Saturday afternoon
The Prince and Princess of Wales are among those who earlier paid tribute to the pilot. They said they were "incredibly sad" to learn of the death, adding their thoughts were with the pilot's family, BBMF and the wider RAF. BBMF operates six Spitfires, two Hurricanes, a Lancaster, a C47 Dakota, and two Chipmunk aircraft used for training. The aircraft are flown by regular RAF aircrew.
The Spitfire that crashed - MK356 - was part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
According to Wally Epton, a retired RAF squadron leader and chairman of the Historic Aircraft Association (HAA), this was the first fatality involving a BBMF aircraft since its creation in July 1957. Mr Epton, who flew Spitfires for BBMF from 1972 to 1974, said the aviation community would await the outcome of the investigation into the crash. Sharing his knowledge of BBMF's fleet, he added: "They are probably the best maintained aircraft in the world. The standard is very high indeed. "The Spitfire is an exceptionally safe aeroplane."
Mr Epton said HAA wished to extend its condolences to the family and friends of the dead pilot. Allan Winn, chairman of Aviation Heritage UK, the national body for the preservation of aviation-related items, is a former editor of Flight International magazine, and said: "The loss of a pilot and a historic airframe is a terrible thing. "Our thoughts go out to his family and team mates. BBMF is a very close knit organisation." "It's exemplary," he said.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-69062769 |
'I was misidentified as shoplifter by facial recognition tech' - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Live facial recognition is becoming increasingly common on UK high streets. Should we be worried? | Technology | Sara needed some chocolate - she had had one of those days - so wandered into a Home Bargains store. "Within less than a minute, I'm approached by a store worker who comes up to me and says, 'You're a thief, you need to leave the store'." Sara - who wants to remain anonymous - was wrongly accused after being flagged by a facial-recognition system called Facewatch. She says after her bag was searched she was led out of the shop, and told she was banned from all stores using the technology. "I was just crying and crying the entire journey home… I thought, 'Oh, will my life be the same? I'm going to be looked at as a shoplifter when I've never stolen'." Facewatch later wrote to Sara and acknowledged it had made an error. Facewatch is used in numerous stores in the UK - including Budgens, Sports Direct and Costcutter - to identify shoplifters. The company declined to comment on Sara's case to the BBC, but did say its technology helped to prevent crime and protect frontline workers. Home Bargains, too, declined to comment. It's not just retailers who are turning to the technology. On a humid day in Bethnal Green, in east London, we joined the police as they positioned a modified white van on the high street. Cameras attached to its roof captured thousands of images of people's faces. If they matched people on a police watchlist, officers would speak to them and potentially arrest them. Unflattering references to the technology liken the process to a supermarket checkout - where your face becomes a bar code.
On the day we were filming, the Metropolitan Police said they made six arrests with the assistance of the tech. That included two people who breached the terms of their sexual-harm prevention orders, a man wanted for grievous bodily harm and a person wanted for the assault of a police officer. Lindsey Chiswick, director of intelligence for the Met, told the BBC the tech's speed was extremely helpful. "It takes less than a second for the technology to create a biometric image of a person's face, assess it against the bespoke watchlist and automatically delete it when there is no match." The BBC spoke to several people approached by the police who confirmed that they had been correctly identified by the system - 192 arrests have been made so far this year as a result of it. But civil liberty groups are worried that its accuracy is yet to be fully established, and point to cases such as Shaun Thompson's. Mr Thompson, who works for youth-advocacy group Streetfathers, didn't think much of it when he walked by a white van near London Bridge in February. Within a few seconds, though, he was approached by police and told he was a wanted man. "That's when I got a nudge on the shoulder, saying at that time I'm wanted".
Shaun Thompson says he was a victim of mistaken identity
He was asked to give fingerprints and held for 20 minutes. He says he was let go only after handing over a copy of his passport. But it was a case of mistaken identity. "It felt intrusive… I was treated guilty until proven innocent," he says. The BBC understands the mistake might have been due to a family resemblance. The Metropolitan Police declined to comment.
Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, has filmed the police on numerous facial-recognition deployments. She was there the night Shaun Thompson was picked up by police. "My experience, observing live facial recognition for many years, [is that] most members of the public don't really know what live facial recognition is," she says. She says that anyone's face who is scanned is effectively part of a digital police line-up. "If they trigger a match alert, then the police will come in, possibly detain them and question them and ask them to prove their innocence." The use of facial recognition by the police is ramping up. Between 2020 and 2022 the Metropolitan Police used live facial recognition nine times. The following year the figure was 23. Already in 2024 it has been used 67 times, so the direction of travel is clear. Champions say that misidentifications are rare. The Metropolitan Police say that around one in every 33,000 people who walk by its cameras is misidentified. But the error count is much higher once someone is actually flagged. One in 40 alerts so far this year has been a false positive. Michael Birtwhistle, head of research at the Ada Lovelace Institute research group, believes the technology is so new that the laws have not yet caught up. "I think it absolutely is a Wild West at the moment. That's what creates this legal uncertainty as to whether current uses are unlawful or not," he says. In Bethnal Green, although some people the BBC spoke to were worried about the use of the tech, a majority were supportive - if it helped to tackle crime. That leads to another question about the technology: will it help in the long run? As people get more used to seeing white vans parked on busy high streets, will people who know they are wanted by police simply get wise to the cameras and avoid them? Will shoplifters hide their faces? Ms Carlo says society needs to guard against facial recognition becoming normalised. "Once the police can say this is OK, this is something that we can do routinely, why not put it into the fixed-camera networks?" This is the dystopian future that civil-liberty campaigners are most afraid of - a China-style mass-surveillance state. And it is also clear there are plenty among the public who are willing to put up with having their faces scanned - if it means safer streets. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-69055945 |
Radio 1's Big Weekend: Coldplay provide rousing festival finale - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A day of sunshine and rain also saw Sabrina Carpenter, Vampire Weekend and Olly Alexander perform. | Newsbeat | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Coldplay pay tribute to Luton in new song, Orange
A set full of flashing lights, fireworks and confetti by Coldplay closed this year's Radio 1 Big Weekend. The headline act went through classic hits such as Viva La Vida, Yellow and A Sky Full of Stars to entertain the crowd at Stockwood Park, Luton. Other acts on the Main Stage through the day included Sabrina Carpenter, Vampire Weekend and Olly Alexander. The New Music Stage also saw performances from beabadoobee, Olivia Dean, Teddy Swims and CMAT. The day saw changeable weather with Sabrina Carpenter's set starting in pouring rain but eventually bringing sunshine to adoring fans.
"I think the sun likes our work," Sabrina said on stage
There was even a surprise by Coldplay, bringing out a "new song" called Orange (in a tribute to Luton Town's footballers), after Chris Martin said he read in the papers that some people in Luton were worried about singing Yellow (the colour worn by rivals Watford). AJ Tracey was the first artist on the Main Stage and told Newsbeat he was delighted to have the opportunity to perform. "I haven't dropped an album cover for almost four years… and they still want me to come." "It's one of the biggest festivals and I've always enjoyed myself," he says. Vampire Weekend came on stage wearing Luton Town shirts, to big cheers from the crowd. They promised familiar favourites when speaking to Newsbeat before their set, and they delivered, bringing fans a decade of their indie hits.
AJ Tracey said he was grateful for the opportunity to perform
The three days have seen an estimated 100,000 music fans enjoy numerous performances. Drum and bass duo Chase & Status thrilled on Friday with surprise acts such as ArrDee, Stefflon Don and Clementine Douglas. They followed Becky Hill, Ella Henderson, Rudimental and Nathan Dawe who also performed on the Main Stage. Saturday saw Raye deliver a powerful, and at times emotional, performance. "When you've waited so long, for opportunities like this, I will be kicking myself if I didn't give it everything," she said. Charli XCX entertained fans in the sweaty New Music Tent, bringing a club night vibe. She admitted being "very scared" before going on stage, because she hadn't done a "real proper show for a long time". You can catch highlights of Radio 1's Big Weekend on BBC iPlayer.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-69060966 |
Labour's Rachel Reeves rules out increasing income tax or NI - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The shadow chancellor told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg she would face "difficult decisions" on spending. | UK Politics | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Reeves: No return to austerity under Labour
Labour has said there will be no rises in income tax or National Insurance if it wins the general election - but some spending cuts have not been ruled out. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg she did not want to make any spending cuts. But she was "under no illusion about the scale of the challenge" and would face "difficult decisions", she said. The Conservatives have cut National Insurance twice and said they aim to scrap it when circumstances allow. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami said Ms Reeves' comments showed this was "just the same old Labour Party who have no plan to cut taxes and instead are leaving hard-working families to foot the bill for their unfunded spending commitments". The choice at the election was between "a clear and bold plan to cut taxes, and end the double tax on work, under Rishi Sunak, or going back to square one with the same old Labour Party, who as soon as they run out of money will come after yours", he added. Ms Reeves told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg Labour supported lower taxes, but she would not put forward "unfunded proposals". Pressed repeatedly on her tax plans, she said: "What I want and Keir [Starmer] wants is taxes on working people to be lower and we certainly won't be increasing income tax or national insurance if we win at the election. "We opposed the increases to national insurance when Rishi Sunak put those forward as chancellor.
"Unlike the Conservatives, who have already racked up £64bn of unfunded tax cuts in just three days of this campaign, I will never play fast and loose with the public finances, I will never put forward unfunded proposals." Labour has claimed the government's ambition to abolish national insurance contributions for workers would cost £46bn, but the Conservatives have said this will not happen before 2030 and only if the economy grows sufficiently. The Tories claim Labour's spending commitments would leave a £38.5bn black hole in government finances, equivalent, Mr Afolami said, to a "tax rise of £2,094 on every hardworking family". Labour has dismissed the figures. On Saturday, independent think tank The Institute of Fiscal Studies issued a stark warning about the challenges awaiting the next government, saying the state of public finances hung over the election campaign "like a dark cloud".
It warned that more tax rises or cuts to public services could lie ahead, whoever won on 4 July. Ms Reeves promised there was "not going to be a return to austerity", saying commitments to boost frontline services were a "down payment on the changes that we want to make". "That money for our NHS, the additional police - 13,000 additional police and community officers - and the 6,500 additional teachers in our schools, they are all fully costed and fully funded promises because unless things are fully costed and fully funded, frankly, you can't believe they're going to happen." She said Labour would raise some of the money by ending the VAT exemption for private schools and by extending the windfall tax on energy firms. The party has also said it will raise £5bn a year by tackling tax avoidance and evasion, and £2.6bn by closing "loopholes" in the government's plans to abolish non-dom exemptions. Non-doms are UK residents whose permanent home for tax purposes is abroad, meaning they do not have to pay UK tax on money they earn overseas.
"But in the end we have to grow the economy, we have to turn around this dire economic performance," Ms Reeves added. Later, during a campaign visit to Ossett, West Yorkshire, when asked if she would rule out rises in other taxes including VAT and capital gains tax, she said: "There is nothing in our plans that requires further tax rises." While the shadow chancellor promised a rapid injection of funds to boost the number of NHS appointments and the recruitment of teachers, other unprotected areas of public spending such as local council services and justice could face cuts if Labour sticks to its rule that it will not borrow to fund day-to-day spending . Ms Reeves ruled out setting a timetable for when a Labour government would increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income, saying there would be a review of defence costs which had "got out of control under this government". Mr Sunak has pledged that the defence budget will rise to the 2.5% figure by 2030. A spending review would take place if Labour won the election, the shadow chancellor said, and a "fiscal lock" would be introduced, meaning any significant and permanent tax and spending changes would require a full accompanying forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey launched his party's campaign battle bus in Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire
The OBR normally needs 10 weeks' notice to produce a forecast, and scrutiny of opposition party plans is not allowed. This means there would need to be a delay between the result of the general election and any spending actions, in order for the OBR to comprehensively incorporate and evaluate those policies if Labour was to follow through on its commitment for a full process. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party had "already pledged not to raise taxes for ordinary people". "People are paying too much tax under the Conservatives - the Conservatives have raised taxes to a record amount," he added. Speaking in Cambridgeshire, Sir Ed also said the Lib Dems were "excited" about the campaign and could "beat the Tories where Labour can not". The SNP accused Labour of trying to "fool" voters about its spending plans. Drew Hendry, the party's economy spokesperson, said Labour had a "devastating plan to slash funding for public services by billions of pounds". He added that there was a "conspiracy of silence between the Tories and Labour Party on austerity cuts". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69063581 |
‘Exterminate the beasts’: How Israeli settlers took revenge for a murder in the West Bank - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Israeli settlers went on a violent rampage last month, inciting and co-ordinating attacks on WhatsApp. | Middle East | At dawn on Friday 12 April, the Israeli teenager Benjamin Achimeir walked out from his settler outpost in the occupied West Bank, with a flock of sheep, and disappeared.
Achimeir, 14, had been living and working on a tiny farm outpost near his family's settlement, Malachei HaShalom - one of nearly 150 Israeli settlements in the West Bank regarded as illegal under international law.
The young teenager was murdered that morning out on the pasture, according to Israeli police, but it would be 24 hours before his body was found. When the flock of sheep returned to the farm without him, a massive search began, involving the Israeli police, military, air force, intelligence services and thousands of volunteers from the settler community.
For some, it was not enough. At 08:30 on Saturday, Elisha Yered, a former spokesman for MP Limor Son Har-Melech and extremist settler suspected in the murder, external of a Palestinian man last August, posted in a WhatsApp group for settlers.
"Shabbat Shalom, it's been nearly 24 hours of heavy suspicion that Benjamin was kidnapped from the pasture and still the obvious measures have not been taken," Yered wrote.
The same message was being posted in various settler WhatsApp groups that morning. It called on the settlers to take matters into their own hands - "crowning" of nearby Palestinian villages (a term for blocking residents from leaving or entering), "home to home searches", and "collective punishment against the murderous Arab population".
The message also contained a list of meeting points. Hours later, a similar message would circulate in the settler groups but with fire emojis attached to each location, as well as calls from individual settlers to "eliminate the enemy", "exterminate the beasts", and - referring to a nearby Palestinian village - "let all of Duma burn". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-69052857 |
The Middlesbrough footballer's widow trying to save future players - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Judith Gates is campaigning for radical changes around heading in the beautiful game. | Tees | Judith Gates spent years watching her ex-professional footballer husband Bill disintegrate, his brain damaged by the game he loved. As a new book tells their story, the BBC spoke to Judith about her fight to save future footballers.
When Bill Gates realised his brain was failing, he implored his wife Judith to make him a promise.
"It's too late for me," he told her, "but do everything you can to stop this happening to others."
The former-Middlesbrough and England youth defender had not headed a ball since he retired from football a day before his 30th birthday in 1974. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-69037557 |
PR for pigeons: Woman's mission to give the birds a better image - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Hannah Hall says pigeons are seen as vermin, and mistreated, but she is trying to change that. | Nottingham | Hannah Hall is challenging the view that pigeons are vermin
Gutter birds, sky rats, vermin - pigeons don't have the best reputation, but one woman is on a mission to change that. Hannah Hall explains how she intends to tackle "pigeon prejudice" with a new charity. It was a chance encounter in a beer garden that changed Hannah's life. She had gone to the pub with some friends on a bank holiday two years ago, in May 2022, when a little pigeon hopped on the bench she was sitting on. "The pigeon sat next to my friend, who I didn't know then has an incredible bird phobia, so she freaked out and jumped up and wanted to swap places," Hannah recalls. Hannah carried on chatting to her friends while the pigeon was sitting calmly next to her. "And then the weirdest, weirdest thing happened. She came across the bench and then she hopped up on to my lap," says Hannah. A waitress told Hannah the pigeon had been inside the pub but people had been kicking her, so the waitress had to shoo the pigeon out to protect it.
The pigeon jumped on Hannah's lap and did not leave her side
Three and a half hours later, the pigeon had still not left Hannah's side. "It was crazy because at one point she was on my arm, at one point she was on my shoulder, nestled into my hair. At one point she was on my head. I was like, 'this is bizarre'," Hannah says. When it was time for Hannah to go back to her home in Nottingham, the waitress asked her if she was taking the pigeon. Then, a group of students walked past and told Hannah how some other students had been throwing the pigeon earlier in the evening, trying to make her fly. Hannah knew the pigeon was in need and there was no way she could leave her. "So, on my shoulder she popped and I walked her to my car," says Hannah. "My friends said goodbye to me and said I was absolutely crazy."
Hannah says Penny was "the best thing that has ever happened to me"
Hannah, who works in the NHS, turned to social media for advice. She already had a TikTok channel, external, in which she shares her love of vintage, particularly about the 1940s. "So I was like 'this is what happened to me on Monday night. If anybody knows what I should do, I'd love a bit of feedback'," says Hannah. "And 27 million views later, the entire world was invested in this little pigeon. The internet named her, they voted on Penny, because she was lucky and pennies are supposed to be lucky."
Following the initial video of Hannah befriending the pigeon, she set up a dedicated TikTok account for Penny, external that gained more than 300,000 followers. Hannah also wrote a children's book about Penny, and Hannah and Penny were filmed for a 50-minute TV programme. But Penny unfortunately started to have health problems. "She had a liver problem, an abscess that we never would have known was there," says Hannah. "What's heartbreaking is that the vet said it was probably from being kicked." Hannah says she spent thousands of pounds treating Penny, who was put on a course of antibiotics.
Then Hannah went to check on Penny one day and had a strange feeling. "Me and Penny had always had this very strange connection. I knew what she was trying to tell me and I knew what she was trying to communicate," says Hannah. "And I went up the stairs and my mum was behind me, and halfway up the stairs my brain went, 'she's dead'. And when I got to the bedroom she'd died." Hannah had learned CPR for birds in preparation and tried to resuscitate Penny, but it was too late.
Hannah raised four baby pigeons to adulthood and also adopted ex-racing pigeon Bob (behind Hannah's head)
Hannah was left with an empty aviary and was too heartbroken to adopt another pigeon. "I was like 'well I'm never getting pigeons again. I can't even look at a pigeon any more without crying, it's never going to happen'," she says. But she decided to carry on - as she puts it, "for Penny's sake" - and help rescue more pigeons. She initially took in four baby pigeons, which had been found in a loft and were going to be culled. Three of the four pigeons still live with Hannah and her mum now, but one flew the nest after finding "a feral pigeon she took a fancy to". Her current flock includes a lost racing pigeon who needed a home because his owner did not want to collect him. He was skittish to start with but now eats out of her hand, Hannah says. Not content with helping a handful of pigeons at home, Hannah decided she wanted to help the birds on a much bigger scale. "People are so cruel to pigeons; they don't see them as living creatures," says Hannah. "So I thought to myself, 'this is awful, I can't have this any more', and so I decided to start a pigeon welfare charity." Penny's Pigeon Aid was founded in January with two other women who are passionate about pigeons.
Long before drone cameras were invented, pigeons were used for aerial photography
One of the charity's aims is to change how people perceive pigeons, in the hope they will be kinder to them. "It is vanishingly rare to get sick from contact with pigeon droppings or contact with a pigeon," says Hannah, who blames "not very nice pieces of propaganda" 60 years ago for changing how people view them. "It turns out in the 1960s, there was an article produced where two deaths were falsely blamed on pigeons and not long after that, the New York parks commissioner coined the term 'rats with wings'," she says. "And then in the 1980s, a film by Woody Allen said that line, 'rats with wings', and so the public started using that term, and ever since then their reputation just got worse and worse."
Pigeons were used to deliver messages and saved lives in World War Two
Dr Charles Walcott, who studied pigeons for 20 years at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, external in the US, agrees that it is a myth the birds are dirty. "In general pigeons are pretty clean; they really don't deserve their reputation as flying rats," he says. "They are really quite an extraordinary bird. Imagine trying to make your life in London on the streets. What are you going to eat and where do you find a nest? It's kind of impressive that they are able to do all that." Before pigeons gained their bad reputation, Hannah says they were valued and even saved lives in wartime. "I was like 'this is such a coincidence, I'm a 1940s girl, I love posting content about it', and it turns out pigeons were incredibly important during World War Two - 250,000 of them were flown over enemy lines to transport vital messages," says Hannah. "There's pigeons like Cher Ami who saved lives because of managing to deliver messages."
The late Queen Elizabeth II was a pigeon fancier and patron of a number of pigeon racing societies
After more research, Hannah says she discovered how intelligent pigeons are. "I found out pigeons can recognise the alphabet, pigeons can do mathematics, external - simple mathematics, probably better than me though - and pigeons can recognise their own reflection, which is very rare, and pigeons can recognise cancer in humans," she says. The American psychologist B F Skinner did numerous experiments with pigeons, teaching them to play ping-pong, and even training them to operate a pigeon-guided missile in World War Two. However, the missile was never used, with Skinner saying, "our problem was no-one would take us seriously".
Psychologist B F Skinner trained pigeons to match coloured lights with corresponding coloured panels
Hannah believes one reason people don't like pigeons is because there are so many feral ones. "The whole reason there are loads of them is because when we didn't need them any more, we abandoned them," she says. "So it's like if we all of a sudden all went, 'do you know what? I don't think we should keep dogs as pets any more, let's all turf our dogs out into the street', and there would be dogs everywhere." People have complained that pigeons cause a nuisance when they nest in cities - where there is a food supply - and leave droppings on buildings. This is something the charity eventually hopes to tackle, by encouraging councils to make better nesting sites for pigeons, keeping buildings safe. But for now the charity is aiming to "gently push" its ethos, for example by making social media content that tells people about pigeon history. "I often make funny videos on the TikTok channel about how they served us in World War Two," says Hannah. "And funny videos about how the robin keeps getting crowned Britain's national bird and the pigeon has done so much more for the nation than the robin has, videos like that. "We are not expecting everybody to suddenly fall in love with them, we're just expecting or hoping that people will be humane and at least not cause any unnecessary cruelty."
Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, external, on X, external, or on Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk, external or via WhatsApp, external on 0808 100 2210.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-66604567 |
Benedict Cumberbatch in Netflix show Eric: Dressing as monster is 'one of the most ludicrous things I've done' - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The actor calls dressing as a 7ft monster in Netflix thriller series Eric a ridiculous moment. | Entertainment & Arts | A bystander appears puzzled by the sight of Cumberbatch running through New York in a monster suit
Being versatile should be part of any actor's repertoire, but Benedict Cumberbatch was taken to new limits when he jogged around New York dressed as a 7ft monster. "It was one of the most ludicrous things I've ever done - and I've done a few," he tells BBC News. "It was fun though - and painfully funny." He stars in thriller TV series Eric, as Vincent, the troubled father of a nine-year-old boy who goes missing on the way to school. Set in New York City during the 1980s, the show introduces Vincent as a somewhat charmless puppeteer. He's the co-creator of Good Day Sunshine, a popular children's TV show that celebrates being "different". Vincent and his wife Cassie are sent frantic with worry after the disappearance of their son, which splinters their unhappy marriage as Vincent spirals downwards. Wracked with guilt, he becomes even more caustic and destructive. Vincent also becomes fixated with the idea that if he can create a real-life version of Eric, a monster his son imagined and drew at home, he will find Edgar. The puppeteer even hallucinates seeing Eric standing next to him, wisecracking and poking holes in his ego - because "puppets say the things we can't".
It's very much a psychological exploration, written for Netflix by Abi Morgan. Her other work includes 2011's Oscar-winning film The Iron Lady, plus Bafta-nominated film Shame and BBC legal drama series The Split. Cumberbatch says the monster represents Vincent's "shadow self" - a term developed by psychiatrist Carl Jung, describing "parts of the psyche people often keep hidden, such as trauma and resentment". "He's this chaotic guy on the edge," the actor explains. Vincent had a pretty bad start in life, emotionally speaking, he says. His "loveless upbringing, where his mental health issues were dealt with by prescriptions and a cold, Victorian dismissal of 'not seen, not heard'", result in "that trauma smashing into the family dynamic and his work life".
Cassie (Gaby Hoffman) and Vincent appeal for Edgar's safe return at a press conference
The actor, Oscar-nominated for 2022's for The Power of the Dog and 2015's The Imitation Game, also starred as Dr Strange in the Marvel films, and clearly enjoys playing complex characters. "I don't want to play people who get the green thumbs up or red thumbs down. I think we all live in a grey area," he says. "There's good and bad in all of us. That's what makes us human. And this is an extreme, admittedly, but there's a huge deal of pain behind the pain Vincent causes." Gaby Hoffman, who plays Edgar's mother Cassie, adds: "The way that I see it is when you're not properly loved as a child, and not given the space and the opportunity to discover yourself, you struggle with that as life goes on. "If you are given that space as a child, there's less of that work to be done later on."
Eric and Vincent challenge each other throughout the series
Meanwhile, on set, Cumberbatch was in awe of Olly Taylor, who played Eric for much of the series. "It was beautiful to act opposite Olly, who's inside the suit - he gave him so much life and character," the actor smiles. But it was quite a revelation when he had to climb inside the suit himself. As well as finding it "ludicrous" to run in it, he was also quite humbled. "People say, 'What moved you most about this drama?' Actually it was putting on Olly's visor and seeing what he saw, and how he'd been doing it for about five months at that point," he says. "It just made me be so sad for my collaborator, who'd been so brilliant, but had suffered so much."
Cumberbatch had to learn how to move around while dressed as Eric
He reveals how to navigate safely while wearing the 20kg suit. He had to wear goggles inside it, which allowed him to see the camera feed on Eric, so he could work out where he was standing. "You have four fixed cameras inside it. You can't see at all, as we would, with periphery - nothing - just reported sight of what he looks like within the scene… with three screens to look at. "I mean, Olly gave a beautiful, grounded, believable performance that had us all like kids again, just in awe, and tearing up and smiling and laughing. It was a joy." Morgan muses over why she included puppets in the series, telling the BBC: "I guess the creative process in itself is a form of puppetry. "That metaphor could go on and on in various institutions that we know well, which is all about who's pulling the strings, and who has their hands up our backsides."
The last few years have been pretty tough for Morgan, as documented in her 2022 book, This Is Not a Pity Memoir, where she describes how her husband, who has multiple sclerosis, developed the neurological condition Anti-NMDAR encephalitis in 2018, after taking part in a clinical trial. It left him him in a medically-induced coma, but when he eventually came round, he had developed Capgras delusion, meaning he was unable to recognise her. In 2020, she also said she was recovering from breast cancer. After experiencing so much trauma, did she have the urge to write something dark? "I think I've always been drawn to the dark," she says. "But I guess what the last five years have taught me is that there was this point in my life where I wanted to be fearless in my writing."
Her inspiration for the show came from growing up in a theatrical family, and also working as a nanny in New York in the 80s. She has a love of films set there, such as Taxi Driver, Tootsie and Kramer vs Kramer - although Budapest doubles for the Big Apple's cityscapes in Eric. No stranger to how the entertainment industry works, the Emmy-winning writer says she gave Netflix a one-line pitch for the show. "I told them, 'It's about a man who goes on a quest to find his son, and there's a seven-foot blue puppet on his shoulder'." But much like the melting pot of New York City, Morgan's show is a multi-layered look at issues from addiction, family breakdown and mental illness to homophobia, racism, corruption, homelessness and the Aids epidemic. "I didn't intend to explore so much at once," she explains. "But if you're going to take on the city at that time, it's pretty hard not to cross over those major themes. "You know, we still have that dark underbelly in every city in the world. We still have those themes that may have modified with time. "But they're still there - racism, homophobia, greed, corruption - and so those felt like the sort of the obstacles our characters had to cross over and travel through."
McKinley Belcher III admits he was daunted by playing Detective Michael Ledroit
McKinley Belcher III plays Detective Ledroit, the police officer tasked with finding Edgar, who finds himself on the receiving end of many prejudices. Ledroit is black and gay, and "understands he lives in a world that is not ready to receive him as such", the actor explains. He says the role "scared" him because it "asked me to explore some things that are not necessarily always comfortable". "I am a black queer man, and there's a lot of that that hasn't changed all that much from the 80s 'til now. In my journey as a man coming to terms with myself and coming out, there's a lot that is very present for me on a daily basis."
Cecile Rochelle, the mother of another missing teenager, Marlon, is played by Adepero Oduye
Ledroit also searches for another missing boy, a black teenager called Marlon, who got much less press attention than Edgar. Cassie meets Marlon's mother Cecile (played by Adepero Oduye), who doggedly pursues the police, repeatedly reminding them to look for her son. Describing Oduye's "beautiful performance", Hoffman says Cecile is "a guide of sorts, through the murky darkness of this experience for Cassie". Morgan ends by saying that if Eric has a message, it's possibly that "little monsters become big monsters". "I guess it's not just about parenting on the micro-level - that we grow up and learn from our own parents - I'm talking about the way a city parents people. "As artists, I suppose we try and hold a mirror up - it's about being fearless and saying, 'OK, what does this say about our own times, as well as the period it's set in?'" Eric is released on 30 May on Netflix. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-69032128 |
Sir Winston Churchill pocket watch sells at auction for £76,000 - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The 18-carat gold watch is engraved with Sir Winston's coat of arms. | Berkshire | The former prime minister's pocket watch had an estimated value of £20,000-£30,000
A pocket watch once gifted to Sir Winston Churchill by Herbert Henry Asquith in 1905 has gone under the hammer at auction for £76,000. The 18-carat gold watch, engraved with Sir Winston's coat of arms, exceeded initial estimates of £20,000-£30,000. The watch went to a private collector in the UK after a "ferocious bidding war" at the auction house, in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The auction house said there was "hot competition online, from the US in particular", during the bidding.
The watch bears an inscription on the inner case
The pocket watch is inscribed on the inner case: "To Winston with gratitude H. H. Asquith Xmas 1905." The gift was believed to acknowledge Sir Winston's "bold move" in 1904 when he famously crossed the floor to the Liberal party, due to a disagreement with the Conservative leadership over its stance on tariff reform, said the auction house. Mr Churchill was Prime Minister twice - from 1940 to 1945 and then again between 1951 to 1955. Asquith was a prominent member of the Liberal party at the start of the 20th Century. He went on to become prime minister from 1908 to 1916, taking Britain into World War One.
The pocket watch was originally purchased from clock and watchmaker Sir John Bennett
Mr Langmead said: "It was an honour to be able to handle, research and auction this incredible pocket watch... "It was a thrilling outcome for Dawsons and our client, after what has been an exciting journey with an exceptional item from history."
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• None Churchill's pocket watch to go under the hammer
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-69065826 |
Rishi Sunak promises allowance for military national service - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Conservatives have given more details of their plan for 30,000 young people to work with the military. | UK Politics | Rishi Sunak has said young people who serve with the military as part of his national service scheme will receive a "stipend" to help with living expenses. The PM gave no details about the amounts of stipend, or allowance, participants would receive from the total £2.5bn a year budget. The Conservatives have also confirmed "some form of sanction" would apply to those who refused to get involved. Opposition parties have described the initiative as a "gimmick". The Conservatives have pledged that, if they win the general election, 18-year-olds will have to take part in a scheme involving military or civilian service. The party has also suggested that incentives for young people to take up 30,000 military places could include highlighting national service on Ucas applications and urging employers to favour those who complete the placement. Speaking to reporters at a campaign event in Buckinghamshire, Mr Sunak said: "This modern form of national service will mean that young people get the skills and the opportunities that they need, which is going to serve them very well in life. "It is going to foster a culture of service which is going to be incredibly powerful for making our society more cohesive, and in a more uncertain and dangerous world it's going to strengthen our country's security and resilience." During a separate TikTok video, the prime minister said: "As is the case in other countries, we will provide a stipend to help with living costs for those doing the military element alongside their training. "Meanwhile, on the civic side, we will make sure organisations have funding for training and administration." The party is continuing to use the social media site even though security concerns have seen its use on government devices banned.
Speaking to the BBC, Tory Party deputy chairman James Daly said there would "be some form of sanction" for those not taking part in the mandatory scheme. "If you are fit and healthy and you are able to make a contribution to your wider community to do something for your area, I have faith that young people will take that opportunity," he said. But, he added, it was "important" to make the scheme mandatory "because this is about opportunity". Without a compulsory system and state support to create opportunities, "many kids will miss out and some of the kids who need this more than perhaps others in certain circumstances, are those who don't have access to money, to have a parent who can organise a work placement or do something like this," Mr Daly said.
The Conservatives said young people in full-time armed forces placements could gain better work or study opportunities, including fast-tracked interviews for graduate schemes in the civil service or private sector. On Sunday, Home Secretary James Cleverly ruled out criminal sanctions for teenagers who refused to participate in any part of the scheme, saying: "There's no-one going to jail over this." Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan told Times Radio the scheme would be compulsory in the same way as staying in education or training until 18 was. Asked whether parents might face fines if their children refused to sign up, she said that would be an issue for the royal commission. The announcement of the policy came as a surprise to many Conservatives, including some members of Mr Sunak's own government. In a post on X, external, Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker, a former RAF officer, appeared to distance himself from the plan, suggesting it had been "developed by a political adviser or advisers and sprung on candidates, some of whom are relevant ministers". Under national service from 1947 to 1960, young men aged between 17 and 21 had to serve in the armed forces for 18 months - but it did not apply in Northern Ireland.
The Conservatives said a royal commission would look at the details of the scheme. Last week - a day after the election was called - defence personnel minister Andrew Murrison told MPs there were no plans to reintroduce "any form of national service". He warned that, if national service military recruits were kept in separate units, "it would be difficult to find a proper and meaningful role for them". Campaigning in West Sussex, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described the scheme as a plan for a "teenage Dad's Army" and a sign of "desperation". He also criticised the Conservative proposal to fund it "by cancelling levelling up and with money from tax avoidance that we would use to invest in our NHS". Labour questioned how the Ministry of Defence would fund 30,000 places for the scheme. And pointing to cuts in the funding of the volunteer National Citizen Service in 2022 when Mr Sunak was chancellor, a Labour spokesperson said: "What were the flaws in that model of youth service which made it a bad use of money, that have been corrected in the new plan proposed this week?" Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: "Not content with crashing the economy and sending mortgages spiralling, now the Conservatives want to fine parents whose children don't take part in their hare-brained scheme. "Rishi Sunak wants to clobber families with a National Service tax. It just shows the Conservative Party is totally out of touch and deserves to be kicked out of office." The Lib Dems called for cuts in army numbers to be reversed "to keep the country safe".
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Palestinians under attack as Israeli settler violence surges in the West Bank - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Palestinian families say they have been intimidated and displaced in the wake of Hamas's attack on Israel. | Middle East | Abed Wadi was getting dressed for the funeral when the message arrived.
It was an image, forwarded to him by a friend, of a group of masked men posing with axes, a petrol canister, and a chainsaw, with text printed on the image in Hebrew and Arabic.
"To all the rats in the sewers of Qusra village, we are waiting for you and we will not mourn you," the text said.
"The day of revenge is coming."
Qusra was Wadi's village, in the northern part of the West Bank near Nablus. The funeral that day was for four Palestinians from the village. Three had been killed the previous day - Wednesday 11 October - after Israeli settlers entered Qusra and attacked a Palestinian family home.
The fourth was shot dead in clashes with Israeli soldiers that followed.
The following day, the Qusra villagers were preparing to set out for a hospital half an hour away and return with the bodies of the dead. To do so, they would need to travel across land that is dotted with Israeli settlements, where the risk of violence, high even in ordinary times, has risen dramatically in the two weeks since the Hamas attack that launched a war with Israel.
Wadi put his phone down and continued getting dressed. There were four men in refrigerators in the hospital who needed to be brought home. He was not going to be deterred by a threat, he said. He had heard too many.
There was no way for Wadi to know that, in a few hours' time, hardline Israeli settlers would confront the funeral procession and his own brother and young nephew would be shot dead.
"If we had delayed one or even two days, what good would it have done?" Wadi said, sitting in the shaded courtyard of his family home in Qusra.
"Do you think that the settlers would have left this place on the second day?" | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67173344 |
Dublin passengers recall 'panic' as Doha plane hit turbulence - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | null | People from a Dublin-bound plane from Doha describe scenes on board during severe turbulence. | null | Passengers who were on board a Dublin-bound flight which experienced severe turbulence have described seeing people 'hit the ceiling' when the aircraft dropped very suddenly.
Twelve people was injured during the incident on board Qatar Airways flight QR017 from Doha to Dublin.
Eight of them were taken to hospital after the plane landed safely at Dublin Airport.
Some of those on board spoke to Irish broadcaster RTÉ. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69064916 |
Israel troops continue posting abuse footage despite pledge to act - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Images shared online include Palestinian detainees draped in the Israeli flag and held in stress positions. | Middle East | A Palestinian detainee pictured with an Israeli flag draped over their back
Israel's soldiers are sharing footage of Palestinian detentions in the occupied West Bank, despite the army's pledge to act on previous misconduct revealed by the BBC. Legal experts say the filming, and its posting online, could be a war crime. The BBC has analysed 45 photos and videos, which include those of detainees draped in Israeli flags. The Israel Defense Forces said soldiers have been disciplined or suspended in the event of "unacceptable behaviour". It did not comment on the individual incidents or soldiers we identified. International law says detainees must not be exposed to unnecessary humiliation or public curiosity, yet human rights experts say the posting of detention footage does just that. In February, BBC Verify reported on IDF soldiers' misconduct on social media during the war in Gaza which began after a 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people. More than 252 others were taken hostage. More than 34,000 people have since been killed by Israel's offensive in Gaza, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says. During our earlier investigation, we noticed - and began looking into - a similar pattern of behaviour in the West Bank, which has experienced a spike in violence over the same period. Despite the BBC's previous reporting on Israeli soldiers' social media misconduct, and the military's subsequent promise to act on our findings, a former Israeli soldier, Ori Givati, says he is far from shocked to hear that this activity is continuing. A spokesperson for Breaking The Silence - an organisation for former and serving Israeli soldiers which works to expose alleged wrongdoing in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) - Mr Givati added that in fact he believed current far-right political rhetoric in the country is encouraging it further. "There are no repercussions. They [Israeli soldiers] get encouraged and supported by the highest ministers of the government," he said. And he says this plays into a mindset that the military already subscribes to. "The culture in the military, when it comes to Palestinians, is that they are only targets. They are not human beings. This is how the military teaches you to behave." Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in the 1967 Middle East war. The majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
Screenshots of pictures shared to social media by members of the IDF
Our analysis found that the 45 social media videos and photos that we examined were posted by 11 soldiers of the Kfir Brigade, which is the largest infantry brigade in the IDF and mainly operates in the West Bank. All 11 are, or were, serving soldiers, and did not hide their identity on social media. Four are from a Kfir Brigade reservist battalion - the 9213 - whose area of operation appears to be in the northern part of the West Bank, according to our analysis of their social media videos. We asked the IDF about the actions of the individual soldiers we have named and whether they have been disciplined, but they did not respond. We also attempted to contact these soldiers on their public social media accounts to put our findings to them. One appears to have blocked us and the others did not reply at the time of writing. The most prolific of these soldiers posts under the name Yohai Vazana. Many of his videos show his battalion entering homes at night and detaining Palestinians - often binding their hands and blindfolding them. Women are seen panicking as they are filmed without their headscarves. Mr Vazana - a self-proclaimed "digital creator" whose forearms bear tattoos saying "Never forget never forgive, 7/10" - often refers to his operations as "hunts". His military insignia, visible in the videos, suggests he carries the rank of sergeant major. He has posted 22 videos and photos on Facebook and TikTok, from what appear to be bodycam footage of patrols, showing the detention of Palestinians. TikTok confirmed that two videos we highlighted, which had not been taken down on its platform, have now been removed for violating its guidelines which "make clear that we do not tolerate content that seeks to degrade victims of violent tragedies". Meta, the company that owns Facebook, explained that it is reviewing the content and will remove any videos that violate its policies.
A screenshot from one of Yohai Vazana’s videos shows members of his battalion posing in front of a Palestinian woman with a child
This photo, a screenshot from one of Yohai Vazana's videos, shows members of his battalion forcefully entering a home and posing in front of a Palestinian woman with a child. Fellow soldier Ofer Bobrov features in a number of shots with Mr Vazana. Captions on his videos often include the hashtag "9213", suggesting he is from Mr Vazana's battalion. Mr Bobrov's videos of his military operations are posted alongside clips of soldiers dancing and partying, getting ready for patrols, and other snippets from their everyday life. One video posted on 12 February on TikTok includes several photos of a detainee blindfolded and bound on the floor as a soldier poses with the Israeli flag behind him. Another soldier from the same battalion, who goes by Sammy Ben online, has posted eight videos and one photo of Palestinian detainees on Instagram. The detained Palestinians are frequently shown blindfolded and restrained, having been forced to either lie on the floor, or squat, with their hands bound behind their backs, in what are often referred to by military and law enforcement as "stress positions". Mr Ben says in the posts that he and his fellow soldiers have detained "terrorists" and claim to have found Hamas flags on them. Israel - like the UK, US and other countries - proscribes Hamas as a terrorist organisation. In one video, Mr Ben, who has also served with IDF forces in Gaza, mocks two detained Palestinians, ordering them to say: "Am Yisrael Chai", meaning "The people of Israel live". Ori Dahbash is another member of the same battalion who has posted footage of military operations in the West Bank, including a photo of a detainee that has also been shared by Mr Vazana.
An Israeli soldier posts a photo of detainees while holding an Israeli flag
Experts said the footage posted by the soldiers could violate international law. Dr Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association, called for an investigation into the incidents in the footage, and for the IDF to discipline the soldiers involved. International human rights lawyer Sir Geoffrey Nice, who worked with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) between 1998 and 2006, agreed with Dr Ellis, but was sceptical anyone would be held to account for their actions. In response to our investigation, the IDF replied: "The IDF holds its soldiers to a professional standard… and investigates when behavior is not in line with the IDF's values. In the event of unacceptable behavior, soldiers were disciplined and even suspended from reserve duty. "Additionally, soldiers are instructed to avoid uploading footage of operational activities to social media networks." The IDF's response did not acknowledge that it had pledged to act on our earlier findings on similar social media misconduct, in Gaza. Mr Givati, former Israeli commander in the West Bank, said he felt ashamed and disgusted by Israeli soldiers' treatment of detainees. "We should treat them with the same dignity that we would like to be treated with," he told the BBC. He said the behaviour reflected how he felt Israeli society views Palestinians, and called into question its claims to abide by international law. "We have no future as a society if we continue behaving this way," he said.
• None Israeli soldier videos from Gaza could breach international law, experts say | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-69020237 |
Laura Kuenssberg: Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have more in common than you might think - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | They may start the election in very different political positions but the PM and the Labour leader are similar characters. | UK Politics | Has it been a shaky start to Rishi Sunak's general election campaign? "Damn right!", to use the man himself's phrase, except he was talking about whether he would win. I'd say, "Damn right!" to that too. But both men know there is an awful long way to go before a single vote is cast. They have other things in common too. Both leaders inspire unusual loyalty among their teams. They are often praised by those who work with them as being warmer than they appear on camera: staffers describe them as decent family men, who take their jobs incredibly seriously and work incredibly hard. They come from different generations. Sir Keir Starmer is 61, and voted in a general election for the first time in 1983, the year Margaret Thatcher won a second term. Rishi Sunak was only three years old then. He cast his first ballot in 2001, when Tony Blair won another term. But neither party leader is a political "lifer". They became MPs in the same year - 2015 - after successful careers in other fields.
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The Labour leader's first job was clearing stones from fields on a farm, before studying law and reaching the top of that profession. The Tory leader helped his mum in her pharmacy, but his first paid job was a waiter in a restaurant, before university and then a highflying career in finance.
Unlike many of their predecessors, these party leaders do not come from political families and have not been steeped from an early age in political intrigue and campaigning. You won't find either of them spinning yarns about drunken shenanigans at long ago party conferences, or carrying grudges about things that happened decades ago in student election campaigns. They both like to think things through, take time over decisions and test the arguments rather than being ruled by flashes of instinct. Having got to the top of their parties, they have both been prepared to be ruthless, and compromise to achieve the power they want. But neither man is entirely comfortable with the showbiz side of modern politics and the intrusion into their personal lives that comes with the territory. They both genuinely appear to enjoy talking to members of the public - but the morning TV sofa, or the glossy magazine shoot, is not something either of them would choose. They will be on the road for the next month in what is always a gruelling test of endurance for party leaders (although Mr Sunak has raised eyebrows by taking a less frantic day on Saturday, with only a couple of events in his constituency in Yorkshire).
• None On this week's show are Home Secretary James Cleverly and Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves
• None Watch live on BBC One and iPlayer from 09:00 GMT on Sunday
• None Follow latest updates in text and video on the BBC News website from 08:30
• None Viewers can send questions or comments to @bbclaurak on x, external or instagram, external and email kuenssberg@bbc.co.uk
Both leaders start their days at the crack of dawn. Mr Starmer is on the phone to his top team at 06:15, who have already been planning the day. The first call of campaign managers at Tory HQ is at 05:30. Mr Sunak keeps going on tea, with the bag left in to make it industrial strength, and munches on cake - lemon drizzle the favourite. Starmer chooses coffee then maybe a tea later as the day goes on. No sweet tooth and hardly any snacks for him, it seems, just an occasional bag of crisps.
Starmer headed to Gillingham on the first day of campaigning
For all their similarities, the two leaders are in totally different political positions. Rishi Sunak has been behind and his battered party in the doldrums for months. A cabinet minister tells me "everyone accepts it is pretty unlikely we are going to win the election - it would be a heroic outcome if we can deprive them of an overall majority". The flip side is that every poll, every pundit, at the moment, expects that Keir Starmer will be prime minister. Sunak starts in a pretty grim position - although in one sense it is easier to be the underdog. For Keir Starmer, the fear is a deadly complacency that could set in. His team is insistent that they must keep fighting for the broadest possible level of support - relax or slip up, and their huge hypothetical lead could fall away. The first act of the 40-day election drama has been totally different for each of them too. Rishi Sunak has managed to chuck away his first mover advantage. The Downing Street speech in the torrential rain, a photo gaffe picturing him under an exit sign, a planned photocall where the Titanic was built, asking Welsh voters if they were looking forward to a football tournament they aren't in.
Sunak's photo ops have not gone smoothly
These mistakes are not his fault. But they are campaign mistakes nonetheless, giving the impression in these vital early stages that it's all a bit of a mess. What is also damaging are the departures of more and more Conservative MPs, including Michael Gove, who had been a prominent personal backer of Mr Sunak himself. It's impossible not to see the sheer numbers of Tory MPs departing as a reflection of the party's prospects. There are whispers already about unhappiness in campaign HQ in its grand building tucked in behind Parliament Square, concern about a lack of experience in Mr Sunak's team, and suggestions that some of the senior staffers are distracted by trying to find their own seats instead of focusing on the job they are there to do. At Labour HQ on the other side of the Thames, it is a story of "so far, so good". They didn't know the election was coming on that particular day, yet their plan was conceived months back, just in case. They had even done what looked like an election launch before it had been called, with Keir Starmer's speech last week on the "first steps" he would take in government. There have not yet been gaffes, dramas or campaign disasters, although it's a long six weeks and they are highly likely to come. The test of a good campaign is what happens when things go wrong.
The Labour and Conservative manifestos are not due for another fortnight or so - but expect the Conservatives to soon start releasing plans and policies that are designed to grab your attention. In contrast, the Labour manifesto is likely only to bottom out what they have already said. The Tories are behind, so hope to be rewarded if they take some risks. Labour is ahead, so it's safety first, even if it means criticism from their left wing that they are not being ambitious enough and from the Conservatives that there are too many blanks in their programme. One final thing that unites the two leaders vying to be prime minister is an awareness that in the last few years British voters have proven themselves to be incredibly volatile.
There aren't just millions of voters who haven't yet made up their minds. There are millions of voters who have made a decision already, but who might change it by the time of polling day. I have seen scenarios which suggest the Conservatives could be facing an historic wipeout. At this early stage in the game, neither side is expecting Rishi Sunak to be able to stay in Number 10. But sources in both camps say the range of outcomes is still wide within that - from a hung Parliament, to a thumping Labour win.
The start of David Cameron's campaign in 2015 was shaky, he even admitted he wouldn't run for a third term, and forgot which football team he supported. A couple of weeks later he won a majority that looked like it had been out of reach. The beginning of Theresa May's campaign 2017 gave the impression she was cruising to glory. But her early promises of "strong and stable" government crashed to disappointment by the end. What had looked like a scrappy grassroots campaign from Jeremy Corbyn looked authentic and powerful to many voters by the end and ran the Tories closer than Labour had dared to hope at the start. Mistakes on both sides are bound to come, and there will be unexpected events to disrupt their best-laid plans. There are rumblings among the unions about Labour's plans for workers' rights falling short. More big Conservative names could exit. And the smaller parties are capable of changing the outcome too. Can either Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer be sure of the outcome?
What questions do you have about the general election? In some cases your question will be published, displaying your name, age and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read our terms & conditions and privacy policy. Use this form to ask your question:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or send them via email to YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk, external. Please include your name, age and location with any question you send in. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69061699 |
Diane Abbott readmitted as Labour MP - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The veteran MP has been let back in to the parliamentary party, but it is not clear if she will stand at the general election. | UK Politics | Remember a little earlier we were wondering where Labour’s claim of £64bn of unfunded tax cuts promised by the Conservatives came from?
Well, Labour got back to us to explain their working.
It starts with the £46bn from the aspiration to abolish National Insurance, which we’ve already written about.
The next two “pledges” come from an interview Jeremy Hunt has given to the Telegraph.
The chancellor described inheritance tax as “profoundly anti-Conservative”, but did not say whether abolishing it would be in the manifesto.
And he said that the distortions in the tax system for people earning between £60,000 and £125,000, such as the withdrawal of the personal allowance and child benefit, are “bad economically” and said a Conservative government would try to correct them.
Labour has costed those at £7.5bn and £6.5bn respectively, although we do not know what aspects of them are actually going to be Tory manifesto pledges for the next Parliament.
And the rest of the money comes from another Telegraph interview at the start of April , in which energy secretary Claire Coutinho said she was considering removing £4bn of green levies from household energy bills.
Remember, we only have a few weeks to wait until the Conservatives release their manifesto, together with how they plan to pay for the measures they include. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-69063295 |
The BBC News app keeps you informed with live and breaking news you can trust - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Get our news coverage on your phone or tablet and discover a range of compelling features. | BBC News Services | Depending on the contract you have, data charges may apply for accessing the internet on your mobile device.
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Battle of Britain planes grounded after pilot killed in Spitfire crash - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Sqn Ldr Mark Long was killed when the Spitfire he was flying crashed in a field in Lincolnshire. | Lincolnshire | Sqn Ldr Mark Long died when the Spitfire he was flying crashed in Lincolnshire
The RAF has temporarily grounded the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight following the death of a pilot in a crash. Sqn Ldr Mark Long was killed when the Spitfire he was flying crashed in a field in Lincolnshire. Emergency crews were called to the site near RAF Coningsby shortly before 13:20 BST on Saturday. The RAF said it had taken the decision to ground the aircraft while investigations take place. A spokesperson said: "Following the tragic accident at RAF Coningsby, and while the formal investigation is ongoing, the RAF has instigated a temporary pause in flying for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight [BBMF]." In a statement, the RAF said Sqn Ldr Long had been "a great friend, colleague and a passionate, professional aviator". The Prince and Princess of Wales were among those who earlier paid tribute to the pilot. They said they were "incredibly sad" to learn of the death, adding their thoughts were with the pilot's family, the BBMF and the wider RAF.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight planes are a popular sight at summer shows
Gp Capt Robbie Lees, commander of the RAF's Display Air Wing, said: "Mark was a Typhoon pilot here at RAF Coningsby and for the last four years he has been a pilot with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight." In a post on Facebook, officials said the BBMF visitor centre would also remain closed until further notice. The BBMF planes, which include Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Lancaster bomber, are a popular sight at summer shows. A flypast had been due to take place at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, near Spilsby, on Monday.
A book of condolence for Sqn Ldr Long has been placed in the chapel at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, at East Kirkby
A spokesperson for the heritage centre said a book of condolence for Sqn Ldr Long had been placed in the chapel for visitors to sign, and they could spend a few quiet moments of reflection there. Visitors and staff at the centre held a minute's silence for the pilot. The flight had also been due to take part in a national commemorative event in Portsmouth on 5 June to mark 80 years since D-Day.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-69065857 |
CCTV images of Bournemouth beach murder suspect issued - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A 34-year-old woman died at the scene in Bournemouth and another woman was seriously injured. | Dorset | Dorset Police released CCTV images of the suspect on Sunday evening
Police investigating the murder of a woman stabbed to death on a beach have released a CCTV image of the suspect. A 34-year-old woman, from Poole, died at the scene on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth shortly before midnight on Friday. Another woman, 38, was seriously injured and is receiving treatment in hospital, Dorset Police said. A 17-year-old boy, from Lancashire, arrested on suspicion of murder, has since been released without charge.
A woman died at the scene and another was taken to hospital with serious injuries
Det Supt Richard Dixey, of the major crime investigation team, said: "We are now in a position to issue CCTV images of the suspect." He urged anyone who was in the area of Durley Chine beach during the night from Friday to Saturday - and may have seen the person pictured or anything unusual - to contact the force. "Similarly, anyone who was in the area of Durley Roundabout, West Cliff Gardens, Durley Gardens or West Cliff Drive during that night might have vital clues that could help us," he said. Earlier, police sought to "reassure" residents and visitors they were "investigating at pace" the "horrendous incident". An online portal, external has been set up so people can submit information. On Saturday, people arriving at the beach were turned away by police due to an extensive cordon. Officers guarding the cordon were unable to say how long it would remain in place, during what would normally be a busy Bank Holiday weekend.
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-69064850 |
Lok Sabha elections: LGBTQ Indians are more accepted than ever - but politics hasn't caught up - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Despite major wins for the community, no major party is fielding any openly LGBTQ candidates in this election. | India | Madhu Bai says she is like a rainbow. She rose from a storm, fleetingly spread joy and then returned to the sky.
The 44-year-old made history in 2015 when she became the first trans person to be elected a mayor in India. She won in Raigarh, a small town in the central state of Chhattisgarh.
But when her term ended in 2020, Madhu returned to her old life without a pension or government benefits. She dances and sings with other hijras, or trans women, at weddings and birth ceremonies - a common livelihood in India's transgender community.
Madhu has no intention of re-joining politics. She says she is tired and thinks it's too polarised.
"I fought, won and worked for the people. Now I want to live for myself."
Madhu's short but successful political foray in India is a rarity in a field where the LGBTQ community is still heavily underrepresented.
It's perplexing, activists say, in a democracy where acceptance of sexual and gender diversity has been on the rise and the community has seen many wins.
In 2014, the Supreme Court officially recognised transgender people and their rights to welfare and other government benefits. Four years later, it scrapped a colonial-era ban on gay sex.
Over half of Indian adults now believe same-sex marriage should be legal, external, according to a Pew survey.
But LGBTQ Indians cannot only rely on the courts for change, as a ruling from the top court to not legalise same-sex unions demonstrated last year.
Judges declared that changing the law was a matter for politicians, not the justice system.
Campaigners say that LGBTQ politicians are the best advocates for their community. Yet in this year's general election, no major political party has fielded a single openly LGBTQ candidate. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68933715 |
As it happened: Annual cheese rolling races take place - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The races saw competitors chase a large wheel of cheese down an incredibly steep hill. | Gloucestershire | The event attracts competitors from all over the world - Delaney Irving from British Columbia in Canada won one of the races last year.
It was a mixed day for the 20-year-old, who was knocked unconscious as she crossed the finishing line.
"I was sensitive to lights and felt very dizzy over the following week," she told BBC West reporter Emma Elgee this week.
"My body was very bruised and I had scrapes and cuts all over from the rocks and twigs on the hill."
So what did she do with the cheese she won?
"I ate the cheese at my house on Vancouver Island with friends and family. We paired it with crackers and spread, melted it for nachos and used it in pasta dishes We also gave other people slices of the cheese to try."
Looking back at the experience from the Pacific North West, thousands of miles from Cooper's Hill, Delaney - who is studying theatre at university - says she would recommend taking part to anyone who is an "adrenaline seeker". But...
"It can be a dangerous race so take that into consideration before you throw yourself down a hill!".
"The weeks following the event were filled with interviews from news stations from everywhere. I was interviewed by people in the UK, Australia and even Norway.
"My friend from Honduras said that I was in a newspaper there as well." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-gloucestershire-69065807 |
Israel-Gaza briefings: How plans for ‘the day after’ could help end war in Gaza - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | This subject will be on the table when EU and Middle Eastern foreign ministers meet. | Middle East | The Day After might sound like the title of a film or a novel. But for diplomats and policymakers, the phrase has only one meaning and that is what happens 'the day after' the fighting stops in Gaza. Given the intensity of the conflict and the absence of hope, such thinking might seem surprising, even wishful. Yet there is an increasing focus on what could and should happen if and when the guns fall silent in Gaza. EU foreign ministers will discuss exactly this in Brussels on Monday when they hold talks with counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with the secretary-general of the Arab League. Across the Middle East and among Western countries, conversations are taking place and plans are being drawn up. Many are aware the window of opportunity before the US election in November is closing. Despite all this, however, there seems little agreement about what should happen and when. For the three European nations which will formally recognise the state of Palestine this week - Norway, Spain and Ireland - the focus is to revive discussion about a two-state solution, which for years has been little more than a slogan to which politicians pay lip service. They hope talk of a political "day after" will open a way towards a ceasefire and the release of hostages. "The only pathway to peace is political," said Ireland's Taoiseach Simon Harris. For British ministers, the focus is how best to support the Palestinian Authority (PA) so it could potentially help govern post-war Gaza. The foreign secretary, Lord Cameron, told the House of Lords this week that he was pushing Israel to stop withholding money from the PA. Not only is Israel denying the PA tax revenues, far-right Finance Minister Belazel Smotrich is also threatening to cut Palestinian banks off from their Israeli counterparts.
Hardliners like Bezalel Smotrich have shown hostility to the Palestinian Authority
Lord Cameron said he had told the Israeli government: "You may not think the Palestinian Authority is ideal. You may think that it fails in many respects. But you need to find a partner that is not Hamas that you can work with in Gaza and the West Bank, and that partner should be the new technocratic government run by the Palestinian Authority." UK Treasury officials are understood to be preparing new forms of financial and technical support for the PA. But there are also some within government who are pushing for the UK to be more explicit about its own thoughts for how a Palestinian state would be created. "You can't support a two-state solution and not talk about recognition," one senior and well-placed source told me. "What we lack is a timeline. We agree the starting point: stop the war. And we agree on the creation of a Palestinian state. But there's no definition of an irreversible path towards it. We have got to get into that space, otherwise we will be dealing with this for the next 70 years." Then there are voices from within Israel. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has issued a passionate denunciation of Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to set out a post-war plan. "The 'day after Hamas' will only be achieved with Palestinian entities taking control of Gaza, accompanied by international actors, establishing a governing alternative to Hamas rule," he said. Fellow war cabinet member Benny Gantz has gone a step further, threatening to resign from the government unless Mr Netanyahu agreed a six-point plan by 8 June. That included a demilitarised Gaza and the establishment of a joint US, European, Arab and Palestinian administration.
Benny Gantz has laid down a marker for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
The focus of these two former generals is more military than political. They fear - and wish to avoid - the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) running Gaza in the long run, which Mr Gallant said would be a "dangerous course" for which Israel would pay a heavy price in "bloodshed and victims". The United States shares this view. "It is imperative not only that the conflict in Gaza ends as soon as possible, but that Israel comes forward with a clear plan for how Gaza is going to be governed, secured, redeveloped," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a Senate committee hearing this week. Without that, he said, Israel would face unacceptable options: long-term military occupation and insurgency, the return of Hamas, or anarchy and lawlessness. "We believe that Palestinians must be governed by themselves," he said. The US is also putting pressure on Arab states to agree an international force that could establish security in Gaza in the short term. The US would not put its own troops on the ground but wants countries including Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain and the UAE to do so instead. But diplomats say these countries have made clear they would take part only if the West recognised the state of Palestine, there was an agreed pathway to a two-state solution, and they came at the invitation of some kind of Palestinian leadership.
Having the IDF run Gaza in the long term would be a "dangerous course", Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said
"'The day after' cannot be separated from the political process, it must be part of a comprehensive package," one Arab diplomat told me. "No-one will put one foot on the ground unless there is a political process." Some Arab states feel the US has been too focused on trying to secure a deal to normalise diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. They accept this may be key to getting Israel's agreement to a wider political settlement, but suspect it is seen too much as a "silver bullet" by some US officials. They also think the US needs to think harder about "the day after" for Israel, engaging more closely with moderate voices who could win popular support for a Palestinian-governed Gaza. There is discussion, too, about what role Turkey could play, using its leverage over Hamas to agree some kind of post-war deal. Ultimately the key obstacle to any agreement is Benjamin Netanyahu. He refuses to discuss it apart from categorically opposing any role for the Palestinian Authority. He fears upsetting hard-right members of his government who favour long-term Israeli occupation. But pressure is rising on the prime minister, and one day he may have to choose. "The risk is that there is no 'day after'," said one Western diplomat. "Israel could do Rafah, Hamas would still be there, there could be another Rafah. The military campaign could go on for months." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-69059863 |
Kenyan lion takes dog from family home, CCTV reveals - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | null | Jaci the rottweiler had been with the family for nearly two years and leaves her twin Laser behind. | null | In a suburb on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, a family is processing the news that their pet was taken by a lioness during the night.
CCTV footage reveals the animal jumping up across the house gate, later leaving the same way while clutching a Rottweiler in her mouth.
The BBC caught up with the pet's owners who are still shocked that their beloved animal was snatched away. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-69060451 |
The Global Story - Stolen treasures: Scandal at the British Museum - BBC Sounds | 2024-05-27 | null | The iconic institution is scrambling to protect its reputation after alleged thefts | null | Perfume's dark secret: Child labour behind some of your fragrances
Pickers earn as little as a dollar a day, while huge profits are made in the industry | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct6dl6 |
I've changed Labour permanently, Keir Starmer says - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Labour leader tells voters to trust him as he makes his first big speech of the general election campaign. | UK Politics | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Sir Keir Starmer: 'The Tories have beaten the hope out of people'
Sir Keir Starmer has promised voters he will "fight for you" and put "country first, party second". In his first major speech since the general election was called, the Labour leader said he could be trusted because he had "changed this party permanently". And he urged people to trust him to deliver economic stability and protect national security. Rishi Sunak said the country needed "bold action, not waffle". "Not a single plan for the future," the prime minister added in a post responding to the speech on X, external.
Despite Labour's commanding lead in the opinion polls, Sir Keir acknowledged that many voters were not yet fully persuaded about his party. "I know there are countless people who haven't decided how they'll vote in this election. They're fed up with the failure, chaos and division of the Tories, but they still have questions about us: has Labour changed enough? "Do I trust them with my money, our borders, our security? My answer is yes, you can, because I have changed this party permanently," he said. Later, Sir Keir told the BBC he did consider himself a "socialist". He has been accused by many on the left of his party abandoning the socialist vision of his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, but Sir Keir said: "I would describe myself as a socialist. I describe myself as a progressive. I'd describe myself as somebody who always puts the country first and party second." Sir Keir also told the BBC that Labour's plans did not mean taxes needed to rise, including the main rate of VAT. He said: "Working people have been overburdened with tax increases in recent years. "We have gone through all of our plans, and none of them require us to raise taxes." This follows Sunday's announcement by Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves that there would be no income tax or National Insurance increases under a Labour government. And pressed on whether there was a lack of enthusiasm for Labour, Sir Keir pointed to the party's performance in recent local and by-elections, saying: "It is quite obvious to me that people who have voted for other parties are now looking to the Labour Party."
In a personal speech on Monday, Sir Keir spoke at length of his own background, growing up in the small town of Oxted, Surrey, during "hard times" in the 1970s. "My dad was a tool maker, he worked in a factory. My mum was a nurse... She never complained, but her illness did shape our lives. "I know what out of control inflation feels like, how the rising cost-of-living can make you scared of the postman coming down the path: 'will he bring another bill we can't afford?'" Elections were "about more than individual changes and policies, but about values, temperament, character and a bigger question: whose side are you on?" he added. "Who do you hold in your mind's eye when you are making decisions? "Everything I have fought for has been shaped by my life, every change I have made to this party has been about a cause, the answer to that question, the only answer: the working people of this country delivering on their aspirations, earning their respect, serving their interests." Sir Keir, who became leader in April 2020, was frustrated during the pandemic that he never had a proper opportunity to introduce himself to voters. With the election campaign now under way, he feels it necessary to tell voters something of the person who wants to be prime minister. The Labour leader said his experiences had "shaped the plan I have drawn up for Britain and the importance, above all, of economic stability".
Sir Keir referred to the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals, saying: "For a long time now, working people have believed opportunity in Britain is stacked against them. "But now we are at a dangerous new point, close to crossing a Rubicon of trust, not just in politics but in many of the institutions that are meant to serve and protect the British people." Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden dismissed the Labour leader's speech as "wearisome and rambling" with "no policy, no substance, and no plan". "Once again Keir Starmer stood up to tell the country absolutely nothing... The question remains: will Starmer ever find the courage and conviction to tell us what he would do, or does he simply not know? "The choice is clear: stick with the plan that is working and take bold action for a safer, more secure future with Rishi Sunak or go back to square one with Labour." The Conservatives also claimed on Sunday the Labour leader does not have the "stamina" to campaign, saying he had been "resting at home". On Monday, Sir Keir dismissed that as "desperate", saying: "I've wasted nine years of my life in opposition. I've worked four-and-a-half years to change this Labour Party, and now I've got the chance to take that to the country. "So we're doing that not only with energy, but with a smile, with positivity across all of our candidates as we go into this election."
What questions do you have about the general election? In some cases your question will be published, displaying your name, age and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read our terms & conditions and privacy policy. Use this form to ask your question:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or send them via email to YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk, external. Please include your name, age and location with any question you send in. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69066265 |
Inside the West Bank district under harsh Israeli lockdown since Hamas attack - BBC News | 2024-05-27 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | In the fortified H2 area of Hebron, Palestinian residents are being forced off the street at gunpoint. | Middle East | Fawaz Qafisha cracked his front door open a few inches, stuck his head through the gap and squinted against the sun. The street outside was almost completely dead, save for an Israeli soldier who was sitting on a garden chair placed opposite Qafisha's house, facing the front door.
Before Qafisha had even adjusted his eyes to the light and spotted us coming down the road towards him, the Israeli soldier had sprung to his feet, raised his rifle halfway and ordered Qafisha back inside.
The falafel cook, aged 52, gestured for us to hurry.
"This is how it is any time we try to open the door now," he said, as we entered.
"We are not even allowed to stand at our windows."
Qafisha, who was born and raised in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, is a resident of H2, a dense and heavily fortified district that is home to 39,000 Palestinians and roughly 900 Israeli settlers considered some of the most extreme in the occupied territory. The Palestinians and Israelis of H2 are separated in some places here by just a few feet, and surrounded by cameras, cages, checkpoints, concrete blast walls and rolls of razor wire.
For more than 40 days now, since the Hamas attack on Israel, 11 Palestinian neighbourhoods within H2 - comprising about 750 families - have been under one of the harshest lockdowns imposed on the area for more than 20 years. H2's population is almost entirely Palestinian, but the district is under the total control of the Israeli military, which has for the past few weeks been forcing Palestinian residents back inside their homes at gunpoint.
Qafisha and his family of nine had barely left the house, he said. He did not want to take any risks. "You saw what happened when you arrived," he said. "We have a door we cannot open and windows we cannot look out from. We do not have any freedom. We are living in fear." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67463162 |
Newscast - Electioncast: Pebbledash Semis and Dribbling - BBC Sounds | 2024-05-28 | null | Chris visits Keir Starmer’s hometown as Rishi Sunak hits the football pitch | null | Electioncast: What Is Labour Doing Abbott Candidate Selection?
And how did it cause Starmer’s first stumble? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j0mfx6 |
General election 2024 poll tracker: How do the parties compare? - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How do people say they will vote in the UK general election? Our poll tracker measures the trends. | UK Politics | We're now well into the election campaign, and Parliament has officially been dissolved, but there's been no real shift in the polls since Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on 22 May, writes BBC senior political analyst Peter Barnes.
On average, Labour has been on 44% or 45% since then and the Conservatives have been on 23% or 24%.
The other parties haven't seen any movement either.
There has been quite a big spread between the different pollsters though. Labour's lead has been as low as 12% in one poll but as high as 27% in others.
Much of this difference is down to how the different polling companies handle people who say they don't know how they'll vote.
As we get closer to polling day, the number of undecided voters should fall which might mean that the polls begin to converge.
However, it's unclear whether this will have an impact on the parties' average poll ratings. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68079726 |
Bournemouth stabbing: Teen released without charge - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Amie Gray, 34, died following the attack on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth on Friday. | Dorset | The woman was fatally stabbed on the beach on Friday night
A teenage boy who was arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was stabbed to death on a beach has been released without charge. The woman, named locally as Amie Gray, 34, from Poole, died at the scene on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth shortly before midnight on Friday. Another woman, aged 38, was seriously injured and remains in hospital. The 17-year-old from Lancashire has been eliminated from inquiries, Dorset Police said.
A woman died at the scene and another was taken to hospital with serious injuries
Ms Gray was a personal trainer and head coach at Dorset Futsal Club, a women's indoor football team. In a statement posted on Facebook, the club said: "The club has received some truly devastating news. "We cannot put this into words at this time and as a mark of respect to all those affected, we will not be posting anything new for the foreseeable future." On Sunday, police issued CCTV images of a man they want to speak to in a bid to prompt witnesses to come forward. An online portal, external has been set up so people can submit information.
Dorset Police have renewed an appeal to trace a man seen in a CCTV image
Det Supt Richard Dixey said: "We need the public's help to identify the suspect in the CCTV images. "If you were on Durley Chine beach during the night from Friday 24 May to Saturday 25 May 2024 and saw the man pictured or any suspicious activity, we need to hear from you." Police also appealed for suspicious sightings or video recordings from Durley Roundabout, West Cliff Gardens, Durley Gardens or West Cliff Drive, especially between 22:00 BST and midnight. On Saturday, police set up an extensive cordon on the beach, turning visitors away on what would normally be a busy Bank Holiday weekend.
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-69065705 |
Newscast - Electioncast: Tory Pension Pledge - BBC Sounds | 2024-05-28 | null | And, Angela Rayner to face no further police action in council house row | null | Electioncast: What Is Labour Doing Abbott Candidate Selection?
And how did it cause Starmer’s first stumble? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j0tjy4 |
‘Exterminate the beasts’: How Israeli settlers took revenge for a murder in the West Bank - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Israeli settlers went on a violent rampage last month, inciting and co-ordinating attacks on WhatsApp. | Middle East | At dawn on Friday 12 April, the Israeli teenager Benjamin Achimeir walked out from his settler outpost in the occupied West Bank, with a flock of sheep, and disappeared.
Achimeir, 14, had been living and working on a tiny farm outpost near his family's settlement, Malachei HaShalom - one of nearly 150 Israeli settlements in the West Bank regarded as illegal under international law.
The young teenager was murdered that morning out on the pasture, according to Israeli police, but it would be 24 hours before his body was found. When the flock of sheep returned to the farm without him, a massive search began, involving the Israeli police, military, air force, intelligence services and thousands of volunteers from the settler community.
For some, it was not enough. At 08:30 on Saturday, Elisha Yered, a former spokesman for MP Limor Son Har-Melech and extremist settler suspected in the murder, external of a Palestinian man last August, posted in a WhatsApp group for settlers.
"Shabbat Shalom, it's been nearly 24 hours of heavy suspicion that Benjamin was kidnapped from the pasture and still the obvious measures have not been taken," Yered wrote.
The same message was being posted in various settler WhatsApp groups that morning. It called on the settlers to take matters into their own hands - "crowning" of nearby Palestinian villages (a term for blocking residents from leaving or entering), "home to home searches", and "collective punishment against the murderous Arab population".
The message also contained a list of meeting points. Hours later, a similar message would circulate in the settler groups but with fire emojis attached to each location, as well as calls from individual settlers to "eliminate the enemy", "exterminate the beasts", and - referring to a nearby Palestinian village - "let all of Duma burn". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-69052857 |
Bournemouth stabbing: Man arrested on suspicion of murder - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Amie Gray, 34, died following the attack on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth on Friday. | Dorset | Amie Gray, 34, was fatally stabbed on the beach on Friday night
A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman who was fatally stabbed on a Bournemouth beach. Two women from Poole were stabbed on Durley Chine Beach at around 23:45 BST on 24 May. Amie Gray, a 34-year-old personal trainer, died at the scene, while a 38-year-old woman with serious injuries remains in hospital. Police said the man, from Croydon, London, was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Det Supt Richard Dixey, from Dorset Police's major crime investigation team, said: "The investigation has progressed at speed over recent days, which has now led to an arrest being made in London. "Officers from Dorset Police intelligence and firearms teams worked together with colleagues from the Metropolitan Police to carry out the arrest."
Flowers have been left at the scene of the stabbing
A cordon put in place along the promenade has now been lifted but searches continue. On Tuesday morning, search teams could be seen lowering themselves down the cliff on ropes, hacking back undergrowth. Residents spoke of their shock following the stabbings, with some saying they were "scared", while others were reassured by the police response. On Sunday, police issued CCTV images of a man they want to speak to in a bid to prompt witnesses to come forward. In a statement posted on Facebook the club said it was "truly devastating news".
Search teams on ropes scour the cliffs for evidence
A 17-year-old boy from Lancashire who was arrested on suspicion of murder following the stabbing has since been eliminated from enquiries. Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said: "The death of the woman on Bournemouth beach is a tragedy, and my thoughts and condolences are with her family, friends, and loved ones. "I know Dorset Police are working relentlessly to ensure the person responsible is brought to justice."
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-69071424 |
CCTV shows thieves driving away cars worth £700,000 in Essex - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | null | The vehicles, including two Porsches and a rare Ariel Atom car, were taken from an industrial unit. | null | CCTV video showed the moment five cars worth more than £700,000 were stolen from an industrial unit.
Thieves cut the bolts on a front gate in Brentwood Road, in Bulphan, near Thurrock, Essex, just after midnight on 11 November and were later seen driving the vehicles away.
They included two Porsches, a Mercedes and a rare Ariel Atom car.
Essex Police appealed for CCTV or dashcam video from the area. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-63859995 |
Labour promises to hit 18-week NHS waiting target within five years - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Party pledges to achieve goal within five years as it sets out steps to tackle backlog in England. | Health | A target to start treatment within 18 weeks for most NHS patients in England will be hit within five years, Labour has promised. The party made the pledge as it set out details of how it would start making inroads into the backlog. This includes getting the NHS to do more out-of-hours, and making greater use of the private sector. Currently the waiting list stands at 7.5 million treatments. Treatment is defined as an operation - if a patient requires that - or starting a drug treatment or any other kind of care. Figures are down from a peak of nearly 7.8 million in September, but that is still 3 million more than before the pandemic. Latest figures show 43% of those on the waiting list have been on it longer than 18 week. The NHS target, which calls for 92% of patients to start their treatment within 18 weeks, was last hit in February 2016.
Cutting NHS waiting lists is also a government goal - it was one of five priorities Prime Minister Rishi Sunak set out in January 2023. "If the Conservatives get another five years in power there is a genuine risk, based on Rishi Sunak's performance to date, that we'll see NHS waiting lists rise as high as 10 million," the shadow health secretary told BBC Breakfast on Wednesday. Labour's Wes Streeting said his party's pledge to make use of "spare capacity" in the independent healthcare sector would remain "free at the point of use". "Huge numbers" of people were opting to go private where they could afford it, he said, adding: "I'm not going to see working class people left behind while operating theatres in private hospitals are left empty." Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is expected to say later on Wednesday that he will take immediate steps to make more inroads into the backlog. He will point out how in 1997 the Blair government tackled long waits and created the 18-week target. "Putting the NHS back on its feet and making it fit for the future is personal for me," he will say. "The first step of my Labour government will be to cut NHS waiting lists, clearing the Tory backlog."
To help achieve the goal, Labour says it will create 40,000 extra appointments, scans and operations a week during its first year, if it gains power. That is on top of the two million already carried out. This will be done by getting the NHS to do more in the evenings and weekends, as well as making greater use of the private sector, Labour will say. The number of scanners in the NHS will also be doubled - waiting for test results is a key bottleneck in the system. The policy will cost £1.3 billion in the first year, Labour says, and will be paid for by clamping down on tax dodgers, and closing non-dom tax loopholes. However, the party has yet to set out its plans for the overall budget - the previous Labour government increased spending by 6% to 7% on average. It has been half that over this parliament.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said: "This is more 'copy and paste' politics from Labour, who have no plan. The NHS has faced unprecedented challenges which it can only overcome if supported by a strong economy. "That is why the Conservatives have a clear plan and will take bold action to strengthen the economy and continue to deliver the technology and innovation the NHS needs to keep cutting waiting lists." She pointed out that in Labour-run Wales, waiting lists had also gone up. Its waiting time target was last hit in 2010. Mr Sunak has also said more patients could have been treated if long-standing strike action had not taken place in the NHS. He has cited NHS England research published in March, which suggested around 430,000 more patients could have been treated, had there been no strikes. Lib Dem health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: "The Conservatives have run the NHS into the ground. "The Liberal Democrats are putting the NHS and social care front and centre of our campaign by ensuring hospitals get the repairs they need, people have the legal right to see a GP within seven days, and can get a dentist appointment when they need one." Sarah Woolnough, of the King's Fund health think tank, said: "Clearing the backlog within five years would take real effort and focus, and may mean other ambitions in health and care will be slower to realise." She said that while offering weekend and evening appointments was a good idea and had worked already in some areas, scaling it up would rely on having enough NHS staff to take on the extra shifts. "This is not a given when so many report high levels of stress and burn-out," she added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-69070207 |
Rishi Sunak promises allowance for military national service - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Conservatives have given more details of their plan for 30,000 young people to work with the military. | UK Politics | Rishi Sunak has said young people who serve with the military as part of his national service scheme will receive a "stipend" to help with living expenses. The PM gave no details about the amounts of stipend, or allowance, participants would receive from the total £2.5bn a year budget. The Conservatives have also confirmed "some form of sanction" would apply to those who refused to get involved. Opposition parties have described the initiative as a "gimmick". The Conservatives have pledged that, if they win the general election, 18-year-olds will have to take part in a scheme involving military or civilian service. The party has also suggested that incentives for young people to take up 30,000 military places could include highlighting national service on Ucas applications and urging employers to favour those who complete the placement. Speaking to reporters at a campaign event in Buckinghamshire, Mr Sunak said: "This modern form of national service will mean that young people get the skills and the opportunities that they need, which is going to serve them very well in life. "It is going to foster a culture of service which is going to be incredibly powerful for making our society more cohesive, and in a more uncertain and dangerous world it's going to strengthen our country's security and resilience." During a separate TikTok video, the prime minister said: "As is the case in other countries, we will provide a stipend to help with living costs for those doing the military element alongside their training. "Meanwhile, on the civic side, we will make sure organisations have funding for training and administration." The party is continuing to use the social media site even though security concerns have seen its use on government devices banned.
Speaking to the BBC, Tory Party deputy chairman James Daly said there would "be some form of sanction" for those not taking part in the mandatory scheme. "If you are fit and healthy and you are able to make a contribution to your wider community to do something for your area, I have faith that young people will take that opportunity," he said. But, he added, it was "important" to make the scheme mandatory "because this is about opportunity". Without a compulsory system and state support to create opportunities, "many kids will miss out and some of the kids who need this more than perhaps others in certain circumstances, are those who don't have access to money, to have a parent who can organise a work placement or do something like this," Mr Daly said.
The Conservatives said young people in full-time armed forces placements could gain better work or study opportunities, including fast-tracked interviews for graduate schemes in the civil service or private sector. On Sunday, Home Secretary James Cleverly ruled out criminal sanctions for teenagers who refused to participate in any part of the scheme, saying: "There's no-one going to jail over this." Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan told Times Radio the scheme would be compulsory in the same way as staying in education or training until 18 was. Asked whether parents might face fines if their children refused to sign up, she said that would be an issue for the royal commission. The announcement of the policy came as a surprise to many Conservatives, including some members of Mr Sunak's own government. In a post on X, external, Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker, a former RAF officer, appeared to distance himself from the plan, suggesting it had been "developed by a political adviser or advisers and sprung on candidates, some of whom are relevant ministers". Under national service from 1947 to 1960, young men aged between 17 and 21 had to serve in the armed forces for 18 months - but it did not apply in Northern Ireland.
The Conservatives said a royal commission would look at the details of the scheme. Last week - a day after the election was called - defence personnel minister Andrew Murrison told MPs there were no plans to reintroduce "any form of national service". He warned that, if national service military recruits were kept in separate units, "it would be difficult to find a proper and meaningful role for them". Campaigning in West Sussex, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described the scheme as a plan for a "teenage Dad's Army" and a sign of "desperation". He also criticised the Conservative proposal to fund it "by cancelling levelling up and with money from tax avoidance that we would use to invest in our NHS". Labour questioned how the Ministry of Defence would fund 30,000 places for the scheme. And pointing to cuts in the funding of the volunteer National Citizen Service in 2022 when Mr Sunak was chancellor, a Labour spokesperson said: "What were the flaws in that model of youth service which made it a bad use of money, that have been corrected in the new plan proposed this week?" Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: "Not content with crashing the economy and sending mortgages spiralling, now the Conservatives want to fine parents whose children don't take part in their hare-brained scheme. "Rishi Sunak wants to clobber families with a National Service tax. It just shows the Conservative Party is totally out of touch and deserves to be kicked out of office." The Lib Dems called for cuts in army numbers to be reversed "to keep the country safe".
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Diane Abbott readmitted as Labour MP after race row probe - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | But it is not clear whether the ex-shadow home secretary will stand for Labour at the election. | UK Politics | Diane Abbott has been readmitted as a Labour MP, the BBC understands, but it is unclear whether she will stand for the party at the general election. The former shadow home secretary was suspended in April 2023 after saying Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not face racism "all their lives". Her suspension meant she would not be able to stand for Labour on 4 July. Party officials had tried to broker a deal by which she would get the whip back in return for standing down. It is not clear if the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP has accepted that arrangement. Labour has not said who its candidate will be in the Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat. Ms Abbott has been contacted for a comment. The party is currently selecting remaining candidates before a meeting to endorse them next week, before nominations legally close on 7 June. Labour branches are no longer able to put forward their own candidates, after a deadline passed on Monday. Asked whether Ms Abbott wanted to stand for the party, Jacqueline McKenzie, an immigration lawyer and friend of the MP, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think she wants to be given the opportunity to make that decision." She said it was "astonishing" that this week Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and senior officials were saying an investigation into her comments was still under way, when according to BBC Newsnight it finished in December.
Labour launched an investigation in April last year after Ms Abbott wrote in the Observer that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people "undoubtedly experience prejudice" which she said is "similar to racism". The letter added: "It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. "But they are not all their lives subject to racism." Ms Abbott apologised and withdrew her remarks shortly after they were published. BBC Newsnight revealed earlier that the party's investigation was completed in December 2023. Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) issued her with a "formal warning" for "engaging in conduct that was in the opinion of the NEC, prejudicial and grossly detrimental to the Labour Party". It said it expected her to undertake an "online, e-learning module" which a source said was a two-hour antisemitism awareness course. Ms Abbott did the module in February, after which it is understood she received an email from Labour's chief whip acknowledging she had completed it.
As recently as Friday, Sir Keir had been saying the investigation into her comments was not "resolved". Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden said it was "inconceivable" that the Labour leader "wasn't told the process had finished and a warning issued". Questioned about the situation earlier, Sir Keir told reporters that "the process overall" was "obviously a little longer than the fact-finding exercise". Ms Abbott, who became the first black woman to be elected to Parliament in 1987, was a close ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and served as his shadow home secretary. Mr Corbyn, who was suspended as a Labour MP in 2020 for saying the scale of antisemitism within Labour's ranks had been "dramatically overstated" by his opponents, has confirmed he will stand against the party. He will contest Islington North, which he has held since 1983, as an independent candidate. A complete list of candidates standing in the seat will be available on the BBC website after nominations close. Momentum, the left-wing campaign group set up support Corbyn's leadership, said it would be "outrageous" for the party not to pick her as its candidate, having readmitted her as an MP. "Anything less is a slap in the face to Diane, her constituents and the millions inspired by her example," it added. Labour's full list of candidates is set to be endorsed at the NEC on Tuesday next week. Parliament is due to be formally shut down on Thursday, triggering the official five-week election campaign ahead of polling day on Thursday 4 July. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69040616 |
Luxury perfumes linked to child labour, BBC finds - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The BBC witnessed children picking jasmine in Egypt, a major exporter of the flowers’ oil. | Middle East | Basmalla,10. and her siblings pick jasmine through the night to help their mother make ends meet
Children have picked ingredients used by suppliers to two major beauty companies, the BBC can reveal. A BBC investigation into last summer's perfume supply chains found jasmine used by Lancôme and Aerin Beauty's suppliers was picked by minors. All the luxury perfume brands claim to have zero tolerance on child labour. L'Oréal, Lancôme's owner, said it was committed to respecting human rights. Estée Lauder, Aerin Beauty's owner, said it had contacted its suppliers. The jasmine used in Lancôme Idôle L'Intense - and Ikat Jasmine and Limone Di Sicilia for Aerin Beauty - comes from Egypt, which produces about half the world's supply of jasmine flowers - a key perfume ingredient. Industry insiders told us the handful of companies that own many luxury brands are squeezing budgets, resulting in very low pay. Egyptian jasmine pickers say this forces them to involve their children. And we have discovered the auditing systems the perfume industry uses to check on supply chains are deeply flawed. The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, said he was disturbed by the BBC World Service's evidence, which includes undercover filming in Egyptian jasmine fields during last year's picking season. "On paper, they [the industry] are promising so many good things, like supply chain transparency and the fight against child labour. Looking at this footage, they are not actually doing things that they promised to do." Heba - who lives in a village in the district of Gharbia, the heart of Egypt's jasmine region - wakes her family at 03:00 to begin picking the flowers before the sun's heat damages them. Heba says she needs her four children - aged from 5 to 15 - to help. Like most jasmine pickers in Egypt, she is what is known as an "independent picker" and works on a smallholder farm. The more she and her children can pick, the more they earn. On the night we filmed her, she and her children managed to pick 1.5kg of jasmine flowers. After paying a third of her earnings to the land owner, she was left with roughly US$1.5 [£1.18] for that night's work. This is worth less than ever before, given inflation in Egypt is at an all-time high, and pickers are often living below the poverty line.
Heba's family share one head torch to try to see what they are doing
Heba's 10-year-old daughter Basmalla has also been diagnosed with a severe eye allergy. At a medical consultation we attended with her, the doctor told her that her vision will be affected if she continues jasmine picking without treating the inflammation. Once the jasmine has been picked and weighed, it is transferred via collection points to one of several local factories which extract oil from the flowers - the main three being A Fakhry and Co, Hashem Brothers and Machalico. Each year, it is the factories that set the price for the jasmine picked by people like Heba. It is difficult to say exactly how many of the 30,000 people involved in Egypt's jasmine industry are children. But during the summer of 2023 the BBC filmed across this region and spoke to many residents who told us the low price for jasmine meant they needed to include their children in their work.
Children the BBC saw picking jasmine for perfume
We witnessed that, at four different locations, a significant number of pickers working on smallholder farms - which supply the main factories - were children under the age of 15. Multiple sources also told us that there were children working on farms directly owned by the Machalico factory, so we went undercover to film there and found pickers who told us their ages ranged from 12 to 14. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 15 to work in Egypt between the hours of 19:00 and 07:00. The factories export the jasmine oil to international fragrance houses where the perfumes are created. Givaudan, based in Switzerland is one of the largest, and has a longstanding relationship with A Fakhry and Co.
A child we met during undercover filming on a farm belonging to the Machalico perfume factory
But it is the perfume companies above them - which include L'Oréal and Estée Lauder - which hold all the power, according to independent perfumer Christophe Laudamiel and several other industry insiders. Known as "the masters", they set the brief and a very tight budget for the fragrance houses, he said. "The masters' interest is to have the cheapest oil possible to put in the fragrance bottle," and then to sell it at the highest possible price, said Mr Laudamiel, who spent years working inside one of the fragrance houses. "They actually don't govern the salary or the wages of the harvesters, nor the actual price of jasmine, because they are beyond that," he explained. But he said that because of the budget that they set, the pressure on wages "trickles down" - to the factories, and ultimately, the pickers. "There's a big disconnect between the preciousness that is talked about in the marketing talk, and what is actually given to the harvesters," he added.
Christophe Laudamiel says budgets are being squeezed
In their promotional material, the perfume companies and fragrance houses paint a picture of ethical sourcing practices. Every employer in the supply chain has also signed a letter of commitment to the UN, pledging to abide by its guidelines regarding safe working practices and eliminating child labour. The issue, according to a senior executive with fragrance house Givaudan, is the lack of oversight the perfume companies have of their supply chains. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the executive said these companies relied on the fragrance houses to instruct third-party auditing companies to check for due diligence.
Top perfume brands may have "worst form of child labour" in their supply chain, a BBC Eye investigation reveals. Watch now on BBC iPlayer (UK Only). For international audiences, watch on YouTube, external
BBC Eye Investigations has discovered that, when the sun goes down in Egypt, there is a hidden human cost to this industry.
The auditing firms most often mentioned by the conglomerates and fragrance houses on their websites, and in letters to the UN, are Sedex and UEBT. Their audit reports are not publicly available but by posing as a buyer looking for ethically sourced jasmine, we managed to get the factory A Fakhry and Co to send both of them to us. The report from UEBT, based on a visit to the factory last year, shows there was an indication of a human rights issue, but it doesn't go into detail. Despite this, the company was given a "verification", which means it can say it offers "responsibly sourced jasmine oil". UEBT, in its response to this, said: "One company has been issued a responsible sourcing attestation, subject to an action plan… valid till mid 2024, and will be withdrawn if… not implemented." The Sedex report gave the factory a glowing assessment, but it was clear from its write-up that the visit had been pre-announced, and only the factory site itself had been audited, and not the smallholder farms it sourced jasmine from. Sedex told us that it was "firmly against all forms of labour rights abuses. But no one tool alone can or should be relied on to uncover and remediate all environmental and human rights risks or impacts." Lawyer Sarah Dadush, founder of the Responsible Contracting Project, which seeks to improve human rights in global supply chains, said the BBC's investigation "reveals… that those systems aren't working". The issue, she said, is that "the auditors are only auditing what they're paid to audit", and this might not include the price paid to the labour force - "a major root cause" of child labour. A Fakhry and Co told us that child labour is prohibited in both its farm and factory, but that the vast majority of its jasmine is sourced from independent collectors. "In 2018, under the monitoring of the UEBT, we commenced the Jasmine Plant Protection Products Mitigation Project, which imposes a prohibition on individuals under the age of 18 working on the farms." It added that "by any comparable standards in Egypt, jasmine picking is well-remunerated". Machalico said it does not use pickers under the age of 18, and said it had increased the price it pays for jasmine for the past two years, and will do so again this year. Hashem Brothers said our report was "based on misleading information".
Basmalla on the way to a medical appointment for the eye allergy she has developed
Givaudan, the fragrance house which makes Lancôme Idôle L'Intense, described our investigation as "deeply alarming", adding "it's incumbent upon us all to continue taking action to remove the risk of child labour entirely". Firmenich, the fragrance house which makes Ikat Jasmine and Limone Di Sicilia for Aerin Beauty, and in summer 2023 sourced jasmine from Machalico, told us it was now using a new supplier in Egypt. It added that it will "support initiatives that seek to collectively address this issue with industry partners and local jasmine farmers". We also put the findings of the investigation to the perfume masters. L'Oréal said it was "actively committed to respecting the most protective internationally recognised human rights standards", adding that it "never request[s] Fragrance Houses to go lower than the market price for ingredients at the expense of farmers. Despite our strong commitments… we know that in certain parts of the world where L'Oréal suppliers operate there are risks to our commitments being upheld." It added: "Whenever an issue arises, L'Oréal works proactively to identify the underlying causes and the way to resolve the issue. In January 2024, our partner performed an on-site human rights impact assessment to identify potential human rights violations and find ways to prevent and mitigate them, with a focus on the child labour risks." L'Oréal has provided the BBC with an additional statement: "L'Oréal is seeking to ensure that decent wages are paid to the farmers, that their children have access to education, and human rights laws, policies and practices are in place to stop children from working. "Ahead of this year's harvest in June, a detailed action plan is in place with suppliers and our teams will be in Egypt evaluating their success." Estée Lauder said: "We believe the rights of all children should be protected. And we have contacted our suppliers to investigate this very serious matter. We recognise the complex socio-economic environment surrounding the local jasmine supply chain, and we are taking action to gain better transparency and to work toward improving the livelihoods of sourcing communities." Back in Gharbia, jasmine picker Heba was shocked when we told her the price perfume was selling for on the international market. "People here are worth nothing," she said. "I don't mind people using perfume, but I want the people using this perfume to see in it the pain of children. And to speak up." But lawyer Sarah Dadush said the responsibility does not lie with the consumer. "This is not a problem that should be for us to solve. We need law… we need corporate accountability, and that cannot just be on the consumers." Update 29 May: This article has been updated with an additional response from L'Oréal. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68172560 |
Diane Abbott readmitted as Labour MP - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The veteran MP has been let back in to the parliamentary party, but it is not clear if she will stand at the general election. | UK Politics | Remember a little earlier we were wondering where Labour’s claim of £64bn of unfunded tax cuts promised by the Conservatives came from?
Well, Labour got back to us to explain their working.
It starts with the £46bn from the aspiration to abolish National Insurance, which we’ve already written about.
The next two “pledges” come from an interview Jeremy Hunt has given to the Telegraph.
The chancellor described inheritance tax as “profoundly anti-Conservative”, but did not say whether abolishing it would be in the manifesto.
And he said that the distortions in the tax system for people earning between £60,000 and £125,000, such as the withdrawal of the personal allowance and child benefit, are “bad economically” and said a Conservative government would try to correct them.
Labour has costed those at £7.5bn and £6.5bn respectively, although we do not know what aspects of them are actually going to be Tory manifesto pledges for the next Parliament.
And the rest of the money comes from another Telegraph interview at the start of April , in which energy secretary Claire Coutinho said she was considering removing £4bn of green levies from household energy bills.
Remember, we only have a few weeks to wait until the Conservatives release their manifesto, together with how they plan to pay for the measures they include. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-69063295 |
Battle of Britain planes grounded after pilot killed in Spitfire crash - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Sqn Ldr Mark Long was killed when the Spitfire he was flying crashed in a field in Lincolnshire. | Lincolnshire | Sqn Ldr Mark Long died when the Spitfire he was flying crashed in Lincolnshire
The RAF has temporarily grounded the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight following the death of a pilot in a crash. Sqn Ldr Mark Long was killed when the Spitfire he was flying crashed in a field in Lincolnshire. Emergency crews were called to the site near RAF Coningsby shortly before 13:20 BST on Saturday. The RAF said it had taken the decision to ground the aircraft while investigations take place. A spokesperson said: "Following the tragic accident at RAF Coningsby, and while the formal investigation is ongoing, the RAF has instigated a temporary pause in flying for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight [BBMF]." In a statement, the RAF said Sqn Ldr Long had been "a great friend, colleague and a passionate, professional aviator". The Prince and Princess of Wales were among those who earlier paid tribute to the pilot. They said they were "incredibly sad" to learn of the death, adding their thoughts were with the pilot's family, the BBMF and the wider RAF.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight planes are a popular sight at summer shows
Gp Capt Robbie Lees, commander of the RAF's Display Air Wing, said: "Mark was a Typhoon pilot here at RAF Coningsby and for the last four years he has been a pilot with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight." In a post on Facebook, officials said the BBMF visitor centre would also remain closed until further notice. The BBMF planes, which include Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Lancaster bomber, are a popular sight at summer shows. A flypast had been due to take place at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, near Spilsby, on Monday.
A book of condolence for Sqn Ldr Long has been placed in the chapel at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, at East Kirkby
A spokesperson for the heritage centre said a book of condolence for Sqn Ldr Long had been placed in the chapel for visitors to sign, and they could spend a few quiet moments of reflection there. Visitors and staff at the centre held a minute's silence for the pilot. The flight had also been due to take part in a national commemorative event in Portsmouth on 5 June to mark 80 years since D-Day.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-69065857 |
Trump trial: Prosecution details evidence in final arguments - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | After weeks of blockbuster testimony, the defence and prosecution both spoke directly to the jury, summarising their cases | US & Canada | After a marathon day in court, Donald Trump walked into the hallway with a single fist raised for the cameras and then left without speaking.
He usually gives a statement to the media at the end of his days in court, but we were told by one of his team that he has a private event tonight he needs to get to.
With closing arguments for both legal teams finished, we will pause our live coverage.
You can join us again tomorrow when the jury will hear instructions from the judge.
Then they will retire to deliberate in this truly historic case.
As we reported earlier, court will start at 10:00 local time (15:00 BST). But we will have our live coverage up and running well before then, bringing you the latest analysis.
You can read a full wrap of today in court here.
We had Kayla Epstein and Madeline Halpert in court, while Nada Tawfik, Caitlin Wilson and Ana Faguy contributed.
This page was edited by Tiffany Wertheimer, Jessica Murphy and Brandon Livesay. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-69046641 |
CCTV images of Bournemouth beach murder suspect issued - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A 34-year-old woman died at the scene in Bournemouth and another woman was seriously injured. | Dorset | Dorset Police released CCTV images of the suspect on Sunday evening
Police investigating the murder of a woman stabbed to death on a beach have released a CCTV image of the suspect. A 34-year-old woman, from Poole, died at the scene on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth shortly before midnight on Friday. Another woman, 38, was seriously injured and is receiving treatment in hospital, Dorset Police said. A 17-year-old boy, from Lancashire, arrested on suspicion of murder, has since been released without charge.
A woman died at the scene and another was taken to hospital with serious injuries
Det Supt Richard Dixey, of the major crime investigation team, said: "We are now in a position to issue CCTV images of the suspect." He urged anyone who was in the area of Durley Chine beach during the night from Friday to Saturday - and may have seen the person pictured or anything unusual - to contact the force. "Similarly, anyone who was in the area of Durley Roundabout, West Cliff Gardens, Durley Gardens or West Cliff Drive during that night might have vital clues that could help us," he said. Earlier, police sought to "reassure" residents and visitors they were "investigating at pace" the "horrendous incident". An online portal, external has been set up so people can submit information. On Saturday, people arriving at the beach were turned away by police due to an extensive cordon. Officers guarding the cordon were unable to say how long it would remain in place, during what would normally be a busy Bank Holiday weekend.
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Israeli tanks in the heart of Rafah as 21 reported killed in latest strikes - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Hamas-run health ministry says 21 people were killed and 64 injured in a displaced persons camp on Tuesday. | Middle East | Amid global outrage over an attack that resulted in the deaths of dozens of Palestinians, the Israeli military has said it is investigating the possibility that weapons stored in a facility near the location hit might have exploded after an airstrike in Rafah on Sunday, triggering a blaze in a tent camp for displaced residents.
The bombing, which resulted in the massive fire in the camp in the Tel Al-Sultan district, led to widespread international condemnation and renewed criticism of the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza, with world leaders and humanitarian groups calling for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Speaking at a briefing today, Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), said the explosives used in the attack – 17-kg munition, which he described as the “smallest our jets can use” – could not have sparked a fire of that scale.
“Weapons stored in a compound next to our target, which we didn’t know of, may have ignited the fire,” he said, providing no evidence, adding that the investigation continued.
Hagari said the attack hit a structure where two senior Hamas commanders were meeting, and that pictures posted on social media in the aftermath appear to show secondary explosions, which could have been caused by the weapons allegedly stored nearby.
The target, he said, was 1.7km from the area that had been designated as a humanitarian zone by the Israeli military, and 180m from the tents. At least 45 people were killed in the attack, including many women, children and the elderly, according to Gaza health authorities.
The update is unlikely to change the view of those who are critical of Israel’s tactics in Gaza, who say the military assumes the risk of killing large numbers of civilians when carrying out airstrikes knowing how densely populated the territory is. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-69068028 |
Giving babies smooth peanut butter could provide lifelong allergy defence - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Risks of peanut allergy cut by 71% in teenagers who had peanut as a baby. | Health | Giving smooth peanut butter to babies and throughout early childhood could give lifelong protection against peanut allergy, researchers say. Teenagers who ate it up to age five were 71% less likely to develop an allergy than if the food was shunned. The team at King's College London advise parents to offer peanut butter during weaning, then regularly and in large amounts until age five. Under-fives should not eat whole or chopped peanuts due to choking hazards. The idea of giving peanut butter to babies and young children will horrify a generation of parents who were told to avoid the food due to the fear of allergies. The advice at one point was to avoid peanuts completely until age three. But peanut allergies are becoming more common, now affecting one-in-50 children, and the ingredient is now banned from many schools. The Kings College research has shown the original advice was wrong. Instead, early life is a critical period for the immune system to learn to recognise friend from foe. Food allergies are the result of our immune system mistaking something harmless for a severe threat. It is why a small amount of peanut can cause an overwhelming and life-threatening reaction in somebody with an allergy.
Around 15 years ago, 640 children at high-risk of peanut allergy started taking part in a clinical trial. Half avoided peanut and half had it as part of their diet between four-months-old and five-years-old. The original results showed eating peanut butter led to a dramatic reduction in allergies by the time children celebrated their fifth birthdays. But would that protection last or would those children need to take peanut constantly to stay protected? The findings, now published in NEJM Evidence, showed the protection lasts whether children kept eating peanut or removed it from their diet.
• None Some 15 out of every 100 high-risk children that avoided peanut as an infant developed an allergy
• None Just four out of every 100 high-risk children that regularly ate peanut as an infant developed an allergy
• None It marked a reduction in allergy of 71%
• None Whether children kept eating peanut after five did not matter
"I'm delighted to see this protection continues into adolescence," Prof Gideon Lack, from King's College London, told the BBC. He added: "We have good reason to believe [it will last] for the life of the individual, it is extremely unusual to see new onset of peanut allergy in adolescent years. "This simple intervention will make a remarkable difference to future generations and see peanut allergies plummet." The team advise including a soft paste of peanut butter or peanut puffs into a baby's diet once they are ready for solids. This is when:
• None They can stay in a sitting position, holding their head steady
• None Co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at their food, pick it up and put it in their mouth
• None Swallow food, rather than spit it back out
After that point, peanut butter be consumed three-to-four times a week adding up to around one-and-a-half or two tablespoons of peanut butter a week. It means the body's first experience of peanut is in the tummy where it is more likely to be recognised as food rather than on the skin, where it may be more likely to be treated as a threat. The team suggest starting at four months if possible as this is before food allergies tend to emerge. However, the UK's National Health Service (NHS) say parents can give smooth peanut butter to children from six months old, external and the World Health Organization (WHO) argues for exclusive breast feeding, external for the first six months. It remains unclear whether children need to consume peanut for the full five years to reduce the allergy risk, or if just the impact is confined to the early period of their development. Prof Lack says the "safest and wisest" thing to do would be the full five years as "we're talking about normal nutritious foods, not medication". The team estimate 100,000 cases of peanut allergy could be prevented globally every year. The US's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases funded the Kings College study. The organisation's director Dr Jeanne Marrazzo said: "Today's findings should reinforce parents' and caregivers' confidence that feeding their young children peanut products beginning in infancy according to established guidelines can provide lasting protection from peanut allergy." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-69068815 |
Angela Rayner: No police action after council house probe - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Police had been investigating the deputy Labour leader over a house in Stockport she sold in 2015. | UK Politics | Angela Rayner will face no police action after an investigation into the Labour deputy leader's previous living arrangements. Greater Manchester Police has been investigating the 2015 sale of her former house in Stockport after a complaint from a senior Tory MP. She had faced questions including over whether she owed tax on the sale, and paid the right amount of council tax. She welcomed the result and said she was focused on the election. In a statement, Ms Rayner criticised the Conservatives for referring her to the police, calling it a tactic to "distract from their dire record". Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his deputy, who had pledged to step down if found to have committed a criminal offence, had been "vindicated". But the Conservatives said she hadn't "provided an explanation" to the questions facing her, and called on her to publish her personal tax advice.
A spokesperson for the force said it had carried out a "thorough" investigation and determined it would take no further action - but questions on personal tax and council tax were outside its remit. Stockport Council, which has powers to investigate unpaid council tax, also said it would take "no further action" after assessing information from the police. GMP also said it had passed information from its inquiry to HMRC, the UK's tax authority. HMRC cannot comment on personal tax affairs - but a Labour source told the BBC it had concluded she did not owe tax on the sale of the house, after she asked them to look into the matter.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: "I'm really pleased that Angela (Rayner) has been vindicated" - Labour leader Keir Starmer
Ms Rayner has faced questions over whether she should have paid tax after selling a council house she bought under the government's right-to-buy scheme in 2007. She sold the property eight years later for £48,500 more than she paid, after getting married in 2010. She initially said she didn't pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the profit, because it was "my home and the only one I owned". Those selling their "main residence" typically don't have to pay the tax - but married couples can normally only count one property as their main home for CGT purposes. It led to questions over whether she owed tax on the sale, with Conservative deputy chair James Daly calling for an investigation.
GMP initially decided not to investigate in March, but reversed that decision last month, in the run-up to England's local elections, following a "reassessment" of information provided by Mr Daly. As the row developed, the deputy Labour leader also faced questions over whether she had registered to vote at the right address, which eligible voters are required to do. It is an offence to give "false information" when joining the electoral roll. She was reportedly registered at the house she sold, in Vicarage Road in Stockport, Greater Manchester, until she sold it in 2015. But she appears to have given two different addresses when she re-registered the births of two of her children in 2010 following her marriage to Mark Rayner, listing her then-husband's home on Lowndes Lane in the town. Last month, a Labour spokesperson said Ms Rayner spent time at her husband's house after their marriage, but "the house she owned remained her main home". In a statement, Ms Rayner said she welcomed the conclusion of the police probe and attacked the Conservatives for referring her. "We have seen the Conservative Party use this playbook before - reporting political opponents to the police during election campaigns to distract from their dire record," she added. Following the police announcement, a spokesperson for the party said GMP's confirmation it would be taking no action "draws a line under the matter". "Angela has always been clear that she was not liable for capital gains tax on the sale of the home she owned before she was an MP, that she was properly registered to vote, and paid the appropriate council tax," they added. "She took expert tax and legal advice which confirms this," the spokesperson added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69069869 |
The Global Story - Stolen treasures: Scandal at the British Museum - BBC Sounds | 2024-05-28 | null | The iconic institution is scrambling to protect its reputation after alleged thefts | null | Perfume's dark secret: Child labour behind some of your fragrances
Pickers earn as little as a dollar a day, while huge profits are made in the industry | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct6dl6 |
I've changed Labour permanently, Keir Starmer says - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Labour leader tells voters to trust him as he makes his first big speech of the general election campaign. | UK Politics | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Sir Keir Starmer: 'The Tories have beaten the hope out of people'
Sir Keir Starmer has promised voters he will "fight for you" and put "country first, party second". In his first major speech since the general election was called, the Labour leader said he could be trusted because he had "changed this party permanently". And he urged people to trust him to deliver economic stability and protect national security. Rishi Sunak said the country needed "bold action, not waffle". "Not a single plan for the future," the prime minister added in a post responding to the speech on X, external.
Despite Labour's commanding lead in the opinion polls, Sir Keir acknowledged that many voters were not yet fully persuaded about his party. "I know there are countless people who haven't decided how they'll vote in this election. They're fed up with the failure, chaos and division of the Tories, but they still have questions about us: has Labour changed enough? "Do I trust them with my money, our borders, our security? My answer is yes, you can, because I have changed this party permanently," he said. Later, Sir Keir told the BBC he did consider himself a "socialist". He has been accused by many on the left of his party abandoning the socialist vision of his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, but Sir Keir said: "I would describe myself as a socialist. I describe myself as a progressive. I'd describe myself as somebody who always puts the country first and party second." Sir Keir also told the BBC that Labour's plans did not mean taxes needed to rise, including the main rate of VAT. He said: "Working people have been overburdened with tax increases in recent years. "We have gone through all of our plans, and none of them require us to raise taxes." This follows Sunday's announcement by Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves that there would be no income tax or National Insurance increases under a Labour government. And pressed on whether there was a lack of enthusiasm for Labour, Sir Keir pointed to the party's performance in recent local and by-elections, saying: "It is quite obvious to me that people who have voted for other parties are now looking to the Labour Party."
In a personal speech on Monday, Sir Keir spoke at length of his own background, growing up in the small town of Oxted, Surrey, during "hard times" in the 1970s. "My dad was a tool maker, he worked in a factory. My mum was a nurse... She never complained, but her illness did shape our lives. "I know what out of control inflation feels like, how the rising cost-of-living can make you scared of the postman coming down the path: 'will he bring another bill we can't afford?'" Elections were "about more than individual changes and policies, but about values, temperament, character and a bigger question: whose side are you on?" he added. "Who do you hold in your mind's eye when you are making decisions? "Everything I have fought for has been shaped by my life, every change I have made to this party has been about a cause, the answer to that question, the only answer: the working people of this country delivering on their aspirations, earning their respect, serving their interests." Sir Keir, who became leader in April 2020, was frustrated during the pandemic that he never had a proper opportunity to introduce himself to voters. With the election campaign now under way, he feels it necessary to tell voters something of the person who wants to be prime minister. The Labour leader said his experiences had "shaped the plan I have drawn up for Britain and the importance, above all, of economic stability".
Sir Keir referred to the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals, saying: "For a long time now, working people have believed opportunity in Britain is stacked against them. "But now we are at a dangerous new point, close to crossing a Rubicon of trust, not just in politics but in many of the institutions that are meant to serve and protect the British people." Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden dismissed the Labour leader's speech as "wearisome and rambling" with "no policy, no substance, and no plan". "Once again Keir Starmer stood up to tell the country absolutely nothing... The question remains: will Starmer ever find the courage and conviction to tell us what he would do, or does he simply not know? "The choice is clear: stick with the plan that is working and take bold action for a safer, more secure future with Rishi Sunak or go back to square one with Labour." The Conservatives also claimed on Sunday the Labour leader does not have the "stamina" to campaign, saying he had been "resting at home". On Monday, Sir Keir dismissed that as "desperate", saying: "I've wasted nine years of my life in opposition. I've worked four-and-a-half years to change this Labour Party, and now I've got the chance to take that to the country. "So we're doing that not only with energy, but with a smile, with positivity across all of our candidates as we go into this election."
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Diane Abbott: I would be sad if MP's career ends outside Labour, says Harman - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The party's ex-deputy leader says Diane Abbott is a "trailblazer" but it was right to investigate her. | UK Politics | One of Labour's most senior MPs has said she would be sad if Diane Abbott's career ends without her being readmitted to the parliamentary party. Ex-deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman told the BBC Ms Abbott was "an amazing trailblazer" but said the party must investigate her according to its rules. Labour suspended Ms Abbott, who now sits as an independent MP, over alleged antisemitic comments. Ms Abbott withdrew her remarks and apologised "for any anguish caused". She was suspended by Labour in April 2023 having written in the Observer newspaper that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people "undoubtedly experience prejudice", which she said is "similar to racism". "But they are not all their lives subject to racism," she added.
Ms Abbott has been forced into the spotlight this week over allegedly racist comments made about her by top Tory donor Frank Hester. Speaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Ms Harman said: "I would be sad if Diane Abbott ends her political career - and she has been an amazing trailblazer - not a member of the Labour Party, which is how she came into politics in the first place." But she added Labour has "an independent complaints process and I don't like to second guess them". "I very strongly support Keir Starmer's Drive against antisemitism - it had to be rooted out of the party," she said.
Ms Harman, the UK's longest-serving female MP, joins a growing number of Labour figures who have spoken about Ms Abbott's case to be re-admitted to the party. Deputy leader Angela Rayner told reporters she would "like to see" Diane Abbott back as a Labour MP, while Brent Central's Dawn Butler said: "Diane needs to have the whip returned." Former Labour cabinet minister Ed Balls said Ms Abbott should be "brought back" instead of being "left alone" after her apology. It is understood that Ms Abbott asked Sir Keir to readmit her to the Parliamentary Labour Party when he approached her after Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions. The leader had reportedly asked if there was anything he could do to help during the backlash following Mr Hester's comments reported by the Guardian, external. Sir Keir told the BBC that Ms Abbott cannot re-join the party while an independent investigation into her comments was in progress. Shadow cabinet minister Jonathan Ashworth said it was important not to intervene in that investigation but said he was "not casually indifferent to what has gone on, not just this week but the abuse that Diane has had over many, many years". Ms Abbott was "a good colleague - I am in awe of everything she has achieved over many years," he said. But he added "these processes have to be free from political interference". Mr Ashworth said he hoped the 11-month long investigation into Ms Abbott would conclude before the general election - expected in the second half of this year. Asked about Ms Abbott's accusations of racism within Labour, Mr Ashworth said: "We must challenge Islamophobia and antisemitism if we see that in our party as we do when we see it in society at large," he added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68591663 |
Lok Sabha 2024: Modi's party volunteers targeting 100,000 people a day - BBC News | 2024-05-28 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | India’s governing party is far ahead of its rivals in digital campaigning, especially on WhatsApp. | India | Ankur Rana, a social media coordinator for the BJP, manages hundreds of WhatsApp groups
Ankur Rana types furiously into his phone, sending messages across the hundreds of WhatsApp groups he manages. "I have 400-450 WhatsApp groups which each have about 200-300 members. Apart from this, I have about 5,000 direct contacts. In this way, I personally reach 10-15,000 people every day," the social media coordinator for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Meerut parliamentary constituency in western Uttar Pradesh explained in the run-up to voting last month. He was part of a crack team set up to ensure the BJP gets its message out to millions of voters - groups which are then replicated across dozens of constituencies in Uttar Pradesh alone. The scale of the operation is eye-watering, but then the BJP have identified WhatsApp - along with other messaging and social media apps - as a key route to reach their ambitious target of 370 seats in this year's Lok Sabha election. And that is for good reason: India is WhatsApp's biggest market globally with more than half a billion users who spend several hours a day on the messaging platform. They forward everything from "good morning" to memes - and, crucially, political commentary in different languages. And volunteers like Ankur are a key cog of the election machine, trying to ensure that the BJP's messaging is part of all that. The BBC spoke to 10 other BJP volunteers who also work as constituency social media coordinators in Uttar Pradesh and they all said they run hundreds of WhatsApp groups, with members ranging from 200 to 2,000 each.
Volunteers from the BJP office in Meerut sent thousands of messages to people every day
It is a tightly controlled operation: BJP volunteers in Meerut say that each day, the party's headquarters in Delhi sends political messages and hashtags - these range from praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP to criticising the opposition - that need to trend to the state-level headquarters. From there, the messages reach 180 Meerut constituency volunteers, including Ankur. These volunteers distribute messages further down the chain, and it eventually reaches those managing the campaign for each polling booth. WhatsApp is particularly useful in reaching the young, says Ankur, who runs a digital marketing company in Mumbai when not doing unpaid volunteering for the BJP. The over-40s, he reveals, are more active on Facebook. "On average, our target is to reach 100,000-150,000 new people each day," he says. Experts note that when it comes to social media, the BJP's seemingly unparalleled social media campaign appears to be pulling away from its rivals. But none of it works without the personal touch, party activists say - especially as they need to get people's numbers in the first place.
Vipin showed us a single page with the photos, names and details of 30 voters on each side that's given to every party worker
"Each member of the party, from the bottom to the very top, including the party president, is responsible for 60 voters," said Vipin Vipala, in charge of campaigning for the BJP near a polling booth in Meerut. "We have to continuously make face-to-face contact with the 60 people assigned to us and encourage them to vote for the BJP. It's also our responsibility to take their mobile numbers and include them in our messaging groups." Vipin's WhatsApp group for the set of voters assigned to him is named 'Humanity is Life'. In this case, not making the group overtly political seems to be a part of the appeal. But as everyone knows, when it comes to the internet, keeping total control of the narrative is nigh on impossible. And when that narrative is being shared on private WhatsApp accounts and groups, it is also extremely difficult to know exactly what is being shared - and where it came from in the first place. One viral message that was forwarded many times in several groups the BBC saw included claims accusing the Congress party of carrying out appeasement of the Muslim minority. In Hindi it read: "Congress had already converted India into an Islamic country, they just never officially announced it". The message went on to list 18 ways in which it was claimed that the Congress favours the Muslim community. Its origins are impossible to establish, but the fact is it does mirror comments made by the BJP leadership during election rallies in recent weeks. In April, Mr Modi himself was accused of Islamophobia after claiming in rallies that the opposition would distribute people's wealth to "infiltrators" if they won power, in remarks referring to Muslims. The BJP's own social media handles have shared animated videos repeating the point, and its leaders have wrongly claimed that this is written in the Congress's manifesto. The document does not mention redistributing wealth or the word Muslims.
Kiran Garimella, assistant professor at Rutgers University, who is researching the use of WhatsApp in India, says that the official narrative of political parties is often mirrored on private groups - but then, it becomes difficult to unpick what is official, and what is unofficial. "There is a top-down push, there is the IT cell (the BJP's social media team) operation and there is content generated around that which is sustained and coordinated. But the main innovation is in the fact that there is buy-in from normal people in spreading these sorts of narratives," he says, adding that given the nature of WhatsApp, it is hard to understand "which is IT cell content and which is supporter content". And while messages might originate on one platform, they can end up circulating across other media as well, convincing people that what they see is the truth. In a recent campaign advertisement, the BJP implied that Mr Modi had got Russia's war in Ukraine paused to evacuate Indian students stuck there amidst the fighting.
The advertisement shows perplexed couples awaiting their children at an Indian airport as a young woman hugs her parents and tells them Mr Modi "stopped the war"
It was a claim first made back in March 2022, soon after the war began, by several accounts on X and amplified by some news channels. At the time, India's foreign affairs ministry rejected the claim. "To say that somebody's holding off bombing, or that, you know, this is something we are co-ordinating, that I think is absolutely inaccurate," a spokesman had said. Two years on, the BJP's top leaders have mentioned it during the election campaign and the ad was widely viewed on social media. The BJP didn't respond to a question on why it was repeating the claim. Outside Meerut University, we met students in their early 20s who are first-time voters. We asked them whether they had heard the claim, and what they believed.
Most students said they believe Mr Modi stopped the Russia-Ukraine war for a few hours
Most said they'd come across it on X. "Yes, definitely we believe the war was paused because of India's request," said Vishal Verma to agreement from his friends. Others gathered around us nodded in agreement. Just a couple of students disagreed. Kabir said, "It is not true. I have seen videos made by the students themselves who said the government didn't help them." We asked the same question to people in a nearby village, many of whom had seen the claim being made on TV news. "Yes, the war was stopped because Modi is respected globally," said Sanjeev Kashyap, a 41-year-old farmer. "Look, we have heard the war was stopped. We have not gone to see for ourselves. But I think there must be some truth in it," said 75-year-old Jagdish Chaudhury. Four other villagers agreed with him. It's a crucial power - being able to influence what people believe. Ultimately it may affect how they vote. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68984688 |
Video shows car crashed in Bury St Edmunds Premier Inn reception - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | null | Shattered glass can be seen at the front of the Premier Inn and the wreckage of a car in its foyer. | null | Video showed the wreckage of a car that crashed through the front doors of a hotel into its reception area.
The incident happened at the Premier Inn on Etna Road in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on Friday night.
Shattered glass could be seen at the front of the building in footage of the aftermath, and the crumpled bonnet of the car, which had come to a rest at one end of the foyer.
Police said a member of staff, a man in his 20s, sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital, while the driver of the car, a woman in her 50s, was not injured.
Follow East of England news on Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk, external or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-68528263 |
5 Questions On - Junior doctors on strike - why now? - BBC Sounds | 2024-05-29 | null | Junior doctors in England have announced a fresh strike, one week before the election. | null | Donald Trump convicted: What happens next?
He's become the first former or serving US president to have a criminal conviction. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j0yrf9 |
'Labour wants to exclude me from Parliament,' says Diane Abbott - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | It comes amid a row over whether the party will select the veteran Labour MP to run at the election. | UK Politics | Diane Abbott said she wants to remain as an MP for as long as possible, as she accused Labour of wanting to "exclude" her from Parliament. It comes as a row continues over whether she would be selected to run in her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat at the election. She told supporters at a rally on Wednesday she had been "banned from running" for Labour Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said no decision had been taken to bar her. Speaking in east London, Ms Abbott, a close ally of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, said she wanted to stand "by any means possible". She did not respond when later asked repeatedly by a BBC reporter if she would run as an independent candidate.
Sir Keir readmitted Ms Abbott as one of the party's MPs on Tuesday, after she was suspended last April for saying Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not face racism "all their lives". Labour has not confirmed who its candidate will be in her constituency, which it won with a majority of more than 33,000 at the last election. Reports that Ms Abbott had been barred from standing for Labour first emerged on Tuesday evening, shortly after it was confirmed her suspension as a Labour MP had been lifted. She then told the BBC on Wednesday morning she had been "banned from standing as a Labour candidate". At a rally outside Hackney Town Hall, she said the party had not communicated with her personally, but she was "shocked to learn yesterday that I'm going to be banned from running" for Labour. "The national party is insisting that I be banned," she said, adding: "They haven't given a reason for banning me. They just want me excluded from Parliament". "I am so shocked. And so alarmed about what is going on. Because it is as if you are not allowed to be a Labour MP unless you're prepared to repeat everything the leader says".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Not true Abbott barred from standing for Labour - says Sir Keir Starmer
During a campaign event in Worchester, Sir Keir told reporters it is "not true" about Ms Abbott being barred. " "No decision has been taken to bar Diane Abbott," he added. It is unclear whether his comments are a statement of technical fact – no formal decision about her candidacy will be made until Labour's ruling body meets next week – or a shift in the direction of travel. The party is selecting remaining candidates before a meeting at the National Executive Committee (NEC) to endorse them next week, before nominations legally close on 7 June. The deadline for Labour branches to put forward their own candidates passed on Monday. Writing on X earlier, Ms Abbott suggested there was a wider "cull of left wingers" happening within Labour, referring to the case of another prospective candidate, Faiza Shaheen. On Wednesday, it was confirmed that Ms Shaheen had not been endorsed by Labour to be their for Chingford and Woodford Green in north east London, after she allegedly liked a post on X that downplayed antisemitism accusations. Ms Shaheen told BBC Newsnight she had received an email that claimed she would "frustrate Labour's purpose". "I'm just in a state of shock to be honest," she said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Labour candidate shocked after being blocked from standing as candidate
Momentum, the left-wing campaign group set up to support Mr Corbyn's leadership has said it is "sickened" by reports Ms Abbott will not be picked, adding "the way Keir Starmer has treated Britain's first Black woman MP is appalling, vindictive and cruel". Six unions - Aslef, the TSSA, Unite, the NUM, the Communication Workers Union and the Fire Brigades Union - have also called for Ms Abbott to be confirmed as the Labour candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.
• None First black woman to be elected to Parliament in 1987, as MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington in east London
• None After a long career on the backbenches, she was promoted to Ed Miliband's front bench following her unsuccessful bid to become Labour leader in 2010
• None Previously held the posts of shadow international development secretary and shadow health secretary
• None A close ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, she was appointed as his shadow home secretary in 2016, a position she held until 2020
Criticism of the handling of Ms Abbott's case has also extended beyond the left of the party. Lord Boateng, who was the UK's first black cabinet minister under Tony Blair, told BBC London he was disappointed there was no place for Ms Abbott on the Labour benches, describing her as "a trailblazer for equal rights". Labour launched an investigation in April last year after Ms Abbott wrote in the Observer that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people "undoubtedly experience prejudice" which she said is "similar to racism". The letter added: "It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. "But they are not all their lives subject to racism." Ms Abbott apologised and withdrew her remarks shortly after they were published.
BBC Newsnight revealed earlier this week that the party's investigation was completed in December 2023. Labour's NEC issued her with a "formal warning" for "engaging in conduct that was in the opinion of the NEC, prejudicial and grossly detrimental to the Labour Party". It said it expected her to undertake an "online, e-learning module" which a source said was a two-hour antisemitism awareness course. Ms Abbott did the module in February, after which it is understood she received an email from Labour's chief whip acknowledging she had completed it. However, as recently as Friday, Sir Keir had been saying the investigation into her comments was not "resolved". Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Labour needed to "clear up" this issue. "The Labour Party has been telling everybody this investigation into Diane Abbott is ongoing, it now appears it concluded months ago," he said. Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn, who was suspended as a Labour MP in 2020 for saying the scale of antisemitism within Labour's ranks had been "dramatically overstated" by his opponents, has launched his campaign to stand as an independent candidate in Islington North. Speaking at a launch event, he said he had been "disturbed at the way Diane's been treated" and had sent her a "message of support". A complete list of candidates standing in the seat will be available on the BBC website after nominations close. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-69072113 |
General election 2024 poll tracker: How do the parties compare? - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How do people say they will vote in the UK general election? Our poll tracker measures the trends. | UK Politics | We're now well into the election campaign, and Parliament has officially been dissolved, but there's been no real shift in the polls since Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on 22 May, writes BBC senior political analyst Peter Barnes.
On average, Labour has been on 44% or 45% since then and the Conservatives have been on 23% or 24%.
The other parties haven't seen any movement either.
There has been quite a big spread between the different pollsters though. Labour's lead has been as low as 12% in one poll but as high as 27% in others.
Much of this difference is down to how the different polling companies handle people who say they don't know how they'll vote.
As we get closer to polling day, the number of undecided voters should fall which might mean that the polls begin to converge.
However, it's unclear whether this will have an impact on the parties' average poll ratings. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68079726 |
Newscast - Electioncast: Tory Pension Pledge - BBC Sounds | 2024-05-29 | null | And, Angela Rayner to face no further police action in council house row | null | Electioncast: What Is Labour Doing Abbott Candidate Selection?
And how did it cause Starmer’s first stumble? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j0tjy4 |
Bournemouth stabbing: Man arrested on suspicion of murder - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Amie Gray, 34, died following the attack on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth on Friday. | Dorset | Amie Gray, 34, was fatally stabbed on the beach on Friday night
A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman who was fatally stabbed on a Bournemouth beach. Two women from Poole were stabbed on Durley Chine Beach at around 23:45 BST on 24 May. Amie Gray, a 34-year-old personal trainer, died at the scene, while a 38-year-old woman with serious injuries remains in hospital. Police said the man, from Croydon, London, was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Det Supt Richard Dixey, from Dorset Police's major crime investigation team, said: "The investigation has progressed at speed over recent days, which has now led to an arrest being made in London. "Officers from Dorset Police intelligence and firearms teams worked together with colleagues from the Metropolitan Police to carry out the arrest."
Flowers have been left at the scene of the stabbing
A cordon put in place along the promenade has now been lifted but searches continue. On Tuesday morning, search teams could be seen lowering themselves down the cliff on ropes, hacking back undergrowth. Residents spoke of their shock following the stabbings, with some saying they were "scared", while others were reassured by the police response. On Sunday, police issued CCTV images of a man they want to speak to in a bid to prompt witnesses to come forward. In a statement posted on Facebook the club said it was "truly devastating news".
Search teams on ropes scour the cliffs for evidence
A 17-year-old boy from Lancashire who was arrested on suspicion of murder following the stabbing has since been eliminated from enquiries. Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said: "The death of the woman on Bournemouth beach is a tragedy, and my thoughts and condolences are with her family, friends, and loved ones. "I know Dorset Police are working relentlessly to ensure the person responsible is brought to justice."
Follow BBC South on Facebook, external, X, external, or Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-69071424 |
CCTV shows thieves driving away cars worth £700,000 in Essex - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | null | The vehicles, including two Porsches and a rare Ariel Atom car, were taken from an industrial unit. | null | CCTV video showed the moment five cars worth more than £700,000 were stolen from an industrial unit.
Thieves cut the bolts on a front gate in Brentwood Road, in Bulphan, near Thurrock, Essex, just after midnight on 11 November and were later seen driving the vehicles away.
They included two Porsches, a Mercedes and a rare Ariel Atom car.
Essex Police appealed for CCTV or dashcam video from the area. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-63859995 |
Labour promises to hit 18-week NHS waiting target within five years - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Party pledges to achieve goal within five years as it sets out steps to tackle backlog in England. | Health | A target to start treatment within 18 weeks for most NHS patients in England will be hit within five years, Labour has promised. The party made the pledge as it set out details of how it would start making inroads into the backlog. This includes getting the NHS to do more out-of-hours, and making greater use of the private sector. Currently the waiting list stands at 7.5 million treatments. Treatment is defined as an operation - if a patient requires that - or starting a drug treatment or any other kind of care. Figures are down from a peak of nearly 7.8 million in September, but that is still 3 million more than before the pandemic. Latest figures show 43% of those on the waiting list have been on it longer than 18 week. The NHS target, which calls for 92% of patients to start their treatment within 18 weeks, was last hit in February 2016.
Cutting NHS waiting lists is also a government goal - it was one of five priorities Prime Minister Rishi Sunak set out in January 2023. "If the Conservatives get another five years in power there is a genuine risk, based on Rishi Sunak's performance to date, that we'll see NHS waiting lists rise as high as 10 million," the shadow health secretary told BBC Breakfast on Wednesday. Labour's Wes Streeting said his party's pledge to make use of "spare capacity" in the independent healthcare sector would remain "free at the point of use". "Huge numbers" of people were opting to go private where they could afford it, he said, adding: "I'm not going to see working class people left behind while operating theatres in private hospitals are left empty." Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is expected to say later on Wednesday that he will take immediate steps to make more inroads into the backlog. He will point out how in 1997 the Blair government tackled long waits and created the 18-week target. "Putting the NHS back on its feet and making it fit for the future is personal for me," he will say. "The first step of my Labour government will be to cut NHS waiting lists, clearing the Tory backlog."
To help achieve the goal, Labour says it will create 40,000 extra appointments, scans and operations a week during its first year, if it gains power. That is on top of the two million already carried out. This will be done by getting the NHS to do more in the evenings and weekends, as well as making greater use of the private sector, Labour will say. The number of scanners in the NHS will also be doubled - waiting for test results is a key bottleneck in the system. The policy will cost £1.3 billion in the first year, Labour says, and will be paid for by clamping down on tax dodgers, and closing non-dom tax loopholes. However, the party has yet to set out its plans for the overall budget - the previous Labour government increased spending by 6% to 7% on average. It has been half that over this parliament.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said: "This is more 'copy and paste' politics from Labour, who have no plan. The NHS has faced unprecedented challenges which it can only overcome if supported by a strong economy. "That is why the Conservatives have a clear plan and will take bold action to strengthen the economy and continue to deliver the technology and innovation the NHS needs to keep cutting waiting lists." She pointed out that in Labour-run Wales, waiting lists had also gone up. Its waiting time target was last hit in 2010. Mr Sunak has also said more patients could have been treated if long-standing strike action had not taken place in the NHS. He has cited NHS England research published in March, which suggested around 430,000 more patients could have been treated, had there been no strikes. Lib Dem health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: "The Conservatives have run the NHS into the ground. "The Liberal Democrats are putting the NHS and social care front and centre of our campaign by ensuring hospitals get the repairs they need, people have the legal right to see a GP within seven days, and can get a dentist appointment when they need one." Sarah Woolnough, of the King's Fund health think tank, said: "Clearing the backlog within five years would take real effort and focus, and may mean other ambitions in health and care will be slower to realise." She said that while offering weekend and evening appointments was a good idea and had worked already in some areas, scaling it up would rely on having enough NHS staff to take on the extra shifts. "This is not a given when so many report high levels of stress and burn-out," she added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-69070207 |
Bournemouth stabbing: Family pay tribute to Amie Gray - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The family of personal trainer Amie Gray say their hearts are "forever broken". | Dorset | Sian Gray, right, has paid tribute to her wife Amie, left
The wife of a woman fatally stabbed on a Bournemouth beach has said "her giggly laugh and big smile will be hard to be without". Amie Gray, a 34-year-old personal trainer, was one of two women stabbed on Durley Chine Beach at about 23:45 BST on 24 May. Her mum Sharon Macklin said she was "amazing, funny, kind and energetic". A 20-year-old man, from Croydon, London, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The second woman, who is 38, suffered serious injuries and remains in hospital.
Flowers have been left at the scene of the stabbing
Mrs Gray's wife Sian said: "I will miss you immensely my love. To the moon and back, forever and always. "Words cannot describe the pain that we feel. Amie was the most loving wife and mother." Ms Macklin added: "As a family we are devastated to have lost one of the most amazing, funny, kind and energetic souls. "When Amie entered a room it filled with laughter and her presence could not be ignored. "She was beautiful inside and out and there are no words that can express how empty our lives will be without her. "We will miss her so much and our hearts are forever broken."
Search teams on ropes scour the cliffs for evidence
Mrs Gray was head coach at Dorset Futsal Club, a women's indoor football team, who said they were "absolutely devastated". "As a club run by volunteers, the time and dedication she put into getting the women's team to where they are was second to none, without her, there would be no Dorset Futsal Ladies," the club said. "She was so committed to making the team thrive, giving them 1:1 advice, checking in with them individually, and her vision to enter the upcoming National Futsal Series and showcasing their amazing work and talent." A cordon put in place along the promenade has been lifted but searches continue. On Tuesday morning, search teams could be seen lowering themselves down the cliff on ropes, hacking back undergrowth. Residents spoke of their shock following the stabbings, with some saying they were "scared", while others were reassured by the police response.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-69074029 |
I see no reason why Diane Abbott can't stand for Labour - Angela Rayner - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is pressed on his Covid lockdown fine at a public Q&A in Buckinghamshire. | UK Politics | TV presenter Piers Morgan now has his say about the state of the NHS.
Morgan says his mother had a heart attack six months ago and it gave him an insight into hospitals.
He says she was kept on a trolley in A&E for seven hours, and 35 other people were in that corridor, which he describes as "absolutely shameful" in modern Britain.
Morgan says people have told him their relatives died in that exact corridor, and as he describes the health system as "completely broken" despite the high quality of doctors and nurses.
He accuses shadow health secretary Wes Streeting of "tinkering while Rome burns" and asks him how he would "pay for this stuff" without raising taxes.
In response, Streeting says £170bn spending on the NHS is not being put to best use because it's being poured into hospitals at the expense of fixing primary care.
He says the UK is in a situation that because somebody can't get an appointment that would cost £40, they end up in A&E that costs £400.
"It's about how you spend the money," the Labour MP adds. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-69071603 |
BBC Rewind. John Noakes climbs mast of HMS Ganges at Shotley Gate - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | null | Archive footage from 1978 shows Blue Peter's John Noakes taking part in a mast-manning ceremony. | null | Archive footage from 1978 showed Blue Peter presenter John Noakes climbing to the top of tall ship
He was taking part in a mast-manning ceremony with naval cadets on the HMS Ganges training base in Shotley Gate.
The film shows him climbing to the top of the 127-foot mast before the cadets slide down the ropes back to the ground.
HMS Ganges was established as a Royal Naval Training Establishment at Shotley in 1905 and remained in use until 1976.
Last year the mast was put back in position after a lengthy restoration.
Follow East of England news on Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk, external or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-68109638 |
Iceland volcano: Reykjanes peninsula eruption sends up 50m magma plumes - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A volcanic eruption has begun on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula, throwing up magma plumes of up to 50m. | Europe | The power of the eruption has decreased significantly since it started on Wednesday.
"The most activity is now on a few vents, but due to the limited visibility in the area [it is wet and cloudy], it is difficult to say how many there are," the Icelandic Met Office said this morning.
Lava flow is greatest north of the fissure, and at the vent at Sýlingarfell which opened last night. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-69073833 |
Diane Abbott readmitted as Labour MP after race row probe - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | But it is not clear whether the ex-shadow home secretary will stand for Labour at the election. | UK Politics | Diane Abbott has been readmitted as a Labour MP, the BBC understands, but it is unclear whether she will stand for the party at the general election. The former shadow home secretary was suspended in April 2023 after saying Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not face racism "all their lives". Her suspension meant she would not be able to stand for Labour on 4 July. Party officials had tried to broker a deal by which she would get the whip back in return for standing down. It is not clear if the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP has accepted that arrangement. Labour has not said who its candidate will be in the Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat. Ms Abbott has been contacted for a comment. The party is currently selecting remaining candidates before a meeting to endorse them next week, before nominations legally close on 7 June. Labour branches are no longer able to put forward their own candidates, after a deadline passed on Monday. Asked whether Ms Abbott wanted to stand for the party, Jacqueline McKenzie, an immigration lawyer and friend of the MP, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think she wants to be given the opportunity to make that decision." She said it was "astonishing" that this week Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and senior officials were saying an investigation into her comments was still under way, when according to BBC Newsnight it finished in December.
Labour launched an investigation in April last year after Ms Abbott wrote in the Observer that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people "undoubtedly experience prejudice" which she said is "similar to racism". The letter added: "It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. "But they are not all their lives subject to racism." Ms Abbott apologised and withdrew her remarks shortly after they were published. BBC Newsnight revealed earlier that the party's investigation was completed in December 2023. Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) issued her with a "formal warning" for "engaging in conduct that was in the opinion of the NEC, prejudicial and grossly detrimental to the Labour Party". It said it expected her to undertake an "online, e-learning module" which a source said was a two-hour antisemitism awareness course. Ms Abbott did the module in February, after which it is understood she received an email from Labour's chief whip acknowledging she had completed it.
As recently as Friday, Sir Keir had been saying the investigation into her comments was not "resolved". Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden said it was "inconceivable" that the Labour leader "wasn't told the process had finished and a warning issued". Questioned about the situation earlier, Sir Keir told reporters that "the process overall" was "obviously a little longer than the fact-finding exercise". Ms Abbott, who became the first black woman to be elected to Parliament in 1987, was a close ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and served as his shadow home secretary. Mr Corbyn, who was suspended as a Labour MP in 2020 for saying the scale of antisemitism within Labour's ranks had been "dramatically overstated" by his opponents, has confirmed he will stand against the party. He will contest Islington North, which he has held since 1983, as an independent candidate. A complete list of candidates standing in the seat will be available on the BBC website after nominations close. Momentum, the left-wing campaign group set up support Corbyn's leadership, said it would be "outrageous" for the party not to pick her as its candidate, having readmitted her as an MP. "Anything less is a slap in the face to Diane, her constituents and the millions inspired by her example," it added. Labour's full list of candidates is set to be endorsed at the NEC on Tuesday next week. Parliament is due to be formally shut down on Thursday, triggering the official five-week election campaign ahead of polling day on Thursday 4 July. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69040616 |
Replica of 17th Century Spanish boat docks in Great Yarmouth - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | null | Aerial footage captures the moment a replica of a 17th Century boat sails into town. | null | Drone footage captured the moment a replica of 17th Century Spanish boat was greeted by hundreds of people.
The Galeón Andalucía arrived in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk on Tuesday as part of its European tour.
The boat was constructed by the Nao Victoria Foundation and, since its launch in 2009, has sailed 80,500 miles (129,552km) across the world.
As the boat came into the dock, two shots were fired from its cannon. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-69073257 |
BBC iPlayer - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | null | null | null | JavaScript seems to be disabled. Please enable JavaScript to take full advantage of iPlayer. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10318089 |
South Africa elections 2024: The pivotal vote as it happened - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The ANC, which ended apartheid, faces its biggest challenge in 30 years as polls officially close. | Africa | (From left to right) the EFF's Julius Malema, the DA's John Steenhuisen and the ANC's Cyril Ramaphosa are the main contenders Image caption: (From left to right) the EFF's Julius Malema, the DA's John Steenhuisen and the ANC's Cyril Ramaphosa are the main contenders
South Africans do not directly vote for a president. Instead they vote for MPs who will then go on to elect the president. The leader of the party that can muster a majority in the National Assembly is likely to become the next head of state.
Here’s a brief overview of the main party leaders:
Cyril Ramaphosa: South Africa’s current president and leader of the African National Congress (ANC), he’s running for a second term.
The 71-year-old has a wide ranging CV. He’s a political veteran who helped Nelson Mandela negotiate an end to apartheid, but has also been a trade unionist, mine boss and business tycoon.
Ramaphosa’s first term in office has been beset by issues such as high unemployment, widespread power cuts and corruption allegations. He promises to create millions of new jobs, end corruption and boost investment.
John Steenhuisen: Heads South Africa’s second largest party, which makes him leader of the opposition.
Along with his party, the liberal Democratic Alliance(DA), Steenhuisen wants greater privatisation. He has also pledged to end power cuts and halve the rate of violent crime.
However, Steenhuisen faces the thorny issue of race. He’s a white man in a country where white people constitute just 7% of the population, yet hold a disproportionate amount of economic power. Thus, numerous commentators question whether South Africa is “ready” for a white president.
His focus is on inequality and the ANC’s failure to sufficiently redistribute land from the white minority to the black majority.
This stance, as well as his fiery speeches, has built Malema a considerable following of both poor black South Africans and young voters.
The 43-year-old is also known for generating controversy, throughout his political career he has offended a wide range of people and been convicted twice for hate speech.
Read more about these party leaders here: | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-69067213 |
Junior doctors call five-day strike just before election - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Ministers accuse doctors' union of "cynical" tactics with walkout due to start on 27 June in England. | Health | Junior doctors in England are to stage a five-day strike in the lead-up to the election in their long-running pay dispute with the government. British Medical Association (BMA) members will walk out from 07:00 BST on 27 June - a week before election day. The union said it was taking action as there had been no credible new offer after fresh talks started in mid-May. But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the timing of the strike "makes it look incredibly political". In theory, negotiations could have continued during the election period, but with both ministers and civil servants occupied by the election - and the prospect of the Conservatives not being in power after 4 July - it may have been difficult to reach an agreement. The BMA has asked for a 35% pay rise to make up for what it says is 15 years of below-inflation pay rises. Junior doctors received a pay rise averaging nearly 9% in the last financial year. The BMA walked out of talks last year during which an extra 3% pay rise on top was discussed.
This will be the 11th walkout by junior doctors in this dispute after their first strike in March 2023. The last one took place in February. It will see junior doctors walk out of all services, with senior doctors having to be drafted in to provide cover. That will cause huge disruption to elective services, such as routine operations, days before the general election. Junior doctors represent nearly half the doctor workforce in the NHS - with two-thirds members of the BMA. BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: "We made clear to the government that we would strike unless discussions ended in a credible pay offer. "For more than 18 months we have been asking Rishi Sunak to put forward proposals to restore the pay junior doctors have lost over the past 15 years." They added: "When we entered mediation with government this month we did so under the impression that we had a functioning government that would soon be making an offer. Clearly no offer is now forthcoming. Junior doctors are fed up and out of patience. "Even at this late stage, Mr Sunak has the opportunity to show that he cares about the NHS and its workers."
The prime minister has suggested the BMA's announcement could be "politically motivated". Speaking at a campaign event in Devon, he said: "It's hard to escape that conclusion, given the timing and to call a strike in an election campaign, especially as we found a constructive resolution with the remainder of the NHS workforce." He said junior doctors had already been offered a pay deal worth "on average a 10% increase". Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: "The next Labour government will negotiate with junior doctors to bring these strikes to an end." Strike action by junior doctors has also been taking place in Northern Ireland with another walkout planned in early June. Walkouts in Wales are on hold as talks take place. Junior doctors have not been on strike in Scotland after they accepted a pay offer from the government there. Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said the news of fresh strike action was a "worrying escalation" of the dispute. "This strike will inevitably hit patients hard," she said. "As always, trust leaders and their teams will do everything they can to protect patient safety. "They will spend countless hours preparing for the walkout, which includes cancelling and rescheduling appointments. This is time they would prefer to spend improving patient care and tackling sky-high waiting lists." Nearly 1.5 million appointments and operations have been cancelled because of strike action in the NHS in England at an estimated cost of £3bn. Consultants, nurses and midwives alongside other non-medical staff have all accepted pay offers over the past 12 months in England.
How will the latest junior doctors strike affect you? You can share with us by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, external. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk, external. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-69072640 |
Trump trial: Jury deliberations under way in hush-money case - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The 12-person jury began deliberating earlier on Wednesday in the historic hush-money trial. | US & Canada | The day started with Justice Juan Merchan giving jurors instructions. He spent about an hour telling jurors how to interpret the law that's relevant to this case.
Then they were sent off to start deliberating in this historic trial.
After a few hours, we had some movement. A buzzing noise sounded, and everyone surged back into the courtroom.
It wasn't a verdict, it was jurors asking some questions. They wanted to see evidence from earlier in the trial
And with that, the day wrapped up. We'll be back at it on Thursday, with court scheduled to start at 09:30 local time (14.30 BST).
For a recap of where things stand in the trial, you can read this article.
Our reporters in court today were Kayla Epstein and Madeline Halpert. And this page was edited by Caitlin Wilson, Tiffany Wertheimer and myself.
Thanks for joining us. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-69073129 |
Trump trial: Prosecution details evidence in final arguments - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | After weeks of blockbuster testimony, the defence and prosecution both spoke directly to the jury, summarising their cases | US & Canada | After a marathon day in court, Donald Trump walked into the hallway with a single fist raised for the cameras and then left without speaking.
He usually gives a statement to the media at the end of his days in court, but we were told by one of his team that he has a private event tonight he needs to get to.
With closing arguments for both legal teams finished, we will pause our live coverage.
You can join us again tomorrow when the jury will hear instructions from the judge.
Then they will retire to deliberate in this truly historic case.
As we reported earlier, court will start at 10:00 local time (15:00 BST). But we will have our live coverage up and running well before then, bringing you the latest analysis.
You can read a full wrap of today in court here.
We had Kayla Epstein and Madeline Halpert in court, while Nada Tawfik, Caitlin Wilson and Ana Faguy contributed.
This page was edited by Tiffany Wertheimer, Jessica Murphy and Brandon Livesay. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-69046641 |
Dashcam video shows car hit oncoming vehicle in Peterborough - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | null | The footage shows the oncoming car unsuccessfully trying to swerve out of the way. | null | Police have released dashcam footage of the moment a car collided with an oncoming vehicle.
The incident happened on 1 January 2023 in Peterborough.
Djiferson Monteiro, 35 of Deer Park Way, Thorney, pleaded guilty failing provide a specimen of blood for analysis, dangerous driving and driving without insurance.
He was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months and disqualified from driving for two years, when he will be required to retake a test.
He must also complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and undertake 120 hours of unpaid work.
Follow East of England news on Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk, external or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-68058238 |
Giving babies smooth peanut butter could provide lifelong allergy defence - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Risks of peanut allergy cut by 71% in teenagers who had peanut as a baby. | Health | Giving smooth peanut butter to babies and throughout early childhood could give lifelong protection against peanut allergy, researchers say. Teenagers who ate it up to age five were 71% less likely to develop an allergy than if the food was shunned. The team at King's College London advise parents to offer peanut butter during weaning, then regularly and in large amounts until age five. Under-fives should not eat whole or chopped peanuts due to choking hazards. The idea of giving peanut butter to babies and young children will horrify a generation of parents who were told to avoid the food due to the fear of allergies. The advice at one point was to avoid peanuts completely until age three. But peanut allergies are becoming more common, now affecting one-in-50 children, and the ingredient is now banned from many schools. The Kings College research has shown the original advice was wrong. Instead, early life is a critical period for the immune system to learn to recognise friend from foe. Food allergies are the result of our immune system mistaking something harmless for a severe threat. It is why a small amount of peanut can cause an overwhelming and life-threatening reaction in somebody with an allergy.
Around 15 years ago, 640 children at high-risk of peanut allergy started taking part in a clinical trial. Half avoided peanut and half had it as part of their diet between four-months-old and five-years-old. The original results showed eating peanut butter led to a dramatic reduction in allergies by the time children celebrated their fifth birthdays. But would that protection last or would those children need to take peanut constantly to stay protected? The findings, now published in NEJM Evidence, showed the protection lasts whether children kept eating peanut or removed it from their diet.
• None Some 15 out of every 100 high-risk children that avoided peanut as an infant developed an allergy
• None Just four out of every 100 high-risk children that regularly ate peanut as an infant developed an allergy
• None It marked a reduction in allergy of 71%
• None Whether children kept eating peanut after five did not matter
"I'm delighted to see this protection continues into adolescence," Prof Gideon Lack, from King's College London, told the BBC. He added: "We have good reason to believe [it will last] for the life of the individual, it is extremely unusual to see new onset of peanut allergy in adolescent years. "This simple intervention will make a remarkable difference to future generations and see peanut allergies plummet." The team advise including a soft paste of peanut butter or peanut puffs into a baby's diet once they are ready for solids. This is when:
• None They can stay in a sitting position, holding their head steady
• None Co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at their food, pick it up and put it in their mouth
• None Swallow food, rather than spit it back out
After that point, peanut butter be consumed three-to-four times a week adding up to around one-and-a-half or two tablespoons of peanut butter a week. It means the body's first experience of peanut is in the tummy where it is more likely to be recognised as food rather than on the skin, where it may be more likely to be treated as a threat. The team suggest starting at four months if possible as this is before food allergies tend to emerge. However, the UK's National Health Service (NHS) say parents can give smooth peanut butter to children from six months old, external and the World Health Organization (WHO) argues for exclusive breast feeding, external for the first six months. It remains unclear whether children need to consume peanut for the full five years to reduce the allergy risk, or if just the impact is confined to the early period of their development. Prof Lack says the "safest and wisest" thing to do would be the full five years as "we're talking about normal nutritious foods, not medication". The team estimate 100,000 cases of peanut allergy could be prevented globally every year. The US's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases funded the Kings College study. The organisation's director Dr Jeanne Marrazzo said: "Today's findings should reinforce parents' and caregivers' confidence that feeding their young children peanut products beginning in infancy according to established guidelines can provide lasting protection from peanut allergy." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-69068815 |
Angela Rayner: No police action after council house probe - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Police had been investigating the deputy Labour leader over a house in Stockport she sold in 2015. | UK Politics | Angela Rayner will face no police action after an investigation into the Labour deputy leader's previous living arrangements. Greater Manchester Police has been investigating the 2015 sale of her former house in Stockport after a complaint from a senior Tory MP. She had faced questions including over whether she owed tax on the sale, and paid the right amount of council tax. She welcomed the result and said she was focused on the election. In a statement, Ms Rayner criticised the Conservatives for referring her to the police, calling it a tactic to "distract from their dire record". Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his deputy, who had pledged to step down if found to have committed a criminal offence, had been "vindicated". But the Conservatives said she hadn't "provided an explanation" to the questions facing her, and called on her to publish her personal tax advice.
A spokesperson for the force said it had carried out a "thorough" investigation and determined it would take no further action - but questions on personal tax and council tax were outside its remit. Stockport Council, which has powers to investigate unpaid council tax, also said it would take "no further action" after assessing information from the police. GMP also said it had passed information from its inquiry to HMRC, the UK's tax authority. HMRC cannot comment on personal tax affairs - but a Labour source told the BBC it had concluded she did not owe tax on the sale of the house, after she asked them to look into the matter.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: "I'm really pleased that Angela (Rayner) has been vindicated" - Labour leader Keir Starmer
Ms Rayner has faced questions over whether she should have paid tax after selling a council house she bought under the government's right-to-buy scheme in 2007. She sold the property eight years later for £48,500 more than she paid, after getting married in 2010. She initially said she didn't pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the profit, because it was "my home and the only one I owned". Those selling their "main residence" typically don't have to pay the tax - but married couples can normally only count one property as their main home for CGT purposes. It led to questions over whether she owed tax on the sale, with Conservative deputy chair James Daly calling for an investigation.
GMP initially decided not to investigate in March, but reversed that decision last month, in the run-up to England's local elections, following a "reassessment" of information provided by Mr Daly. As the row developed, the deputy Labour leader also faced questions over whether she had registered to vote at the right address, which eligible voters are required to do. It is an offence to give "false information" when joining the electoral roll. She was reportedly registered at the house she sold, in Vicarage Road in Stockport, Greater Manchester, until she sold it in 2015. But she appears to have given two different addresses when she re-registered the births of two of her children in 2010 following her marriage to Mark Rayner, listing her then-husband's home on Lowndes Lane in the town. Last month, a Labour spokesperson said Ms Rayner spent time at her husband's house after their marriage, but "the house she owned remained her main home". In a statement, Ms Rayner said she welcomed the conclusion of the police probe and attacked the Conservatives for referring her. "We have seen the Conservative Party use this playbook before - reporting political opponents to the police during election campaigns to distract from their dire record," she added. Following the police announcement, a spokesperson for the party said GMP's confirmation it would be taking no action "draws a line under the matter". "Angela has always been clear that she was not liable for capital gains tax on the sale of the home she owned before she was an MP, that she was properly registered to vote, and paid the appropriate council tax," they added. "She took expert tax and legal advice which confirms this," the spokesperson added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69069869 |
Diane Abbott: I would be sad if MP's career ends outside Labour, says Harman - BBC News | 2024-05-29 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The party's ex-deputy leader says Diane Abbott is a "trailblazer" but it was right to investigate her. | UK Politics | One of Labour's most senior MPs has said she would be sad if Diane Abbott's career ends without her being readmitted to the parliamentary party. Ex-deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman told the BBC Ms Abbott was "an amazing trailblazer" but said the party must investigate her according to its rules. Labour suspended Ms Abbott, who now sits as an independent MP, over alleged antisemitic comments. Ms Abbott withdrew her remarks and apologised "for any anguish caused". She was suspended by Labour in April 2023 having written in the Observer newspaper that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people "undoubtedly experience prejudice", which she said is "similar to racism". "But they are not all their lives subject to racism," she added.
Ms Abbott has been forced into the spotlight this week over allegedly racist comments made about her by top Tory donor Frank Hester. Speaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Ms Harman said: "I would be sad if Diane Abbott ends her political career - and she has been an amazing trailblazer - not a member of the Labour Party, which is how she came into politics in the first place." But she added Labour has "an independent complaints process and I don't like to second guess them". "I very strongly support Keir Starmer's Drive against antisemitism - it had to be rooted out of the party," she said.
Ms Harman, the UK's longest-serving female MP, joins a growing number of Labour figures who have spoken about Ms Abbott's case to be re-admitted to the party. Deputy leader Angela Rayner told reporters she would "like to see" Diane Abbott back as a Labour MP, while Brent Central's Dawn Butler said: "Diane needs to have the whip returned." Former Labour cabinet minister Ed Balls said Ms Abbott should be "brought back" instead of being "left alone" after her apology. It is understood that Ms Abbott asked Sir Keir to readmit her to the Parliamentary Labour Party when he approached her after Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions. The leader had reportedly asked if there was anything he could do to help during the backlash following Mr Hester's comments reported by the Guardian, external. Sir Keir told the BBC that Ms Abbott cannot re-join the party while an independent investigation into her comments was in progress. Shadow cabinet minister Jonathan Ashworth said it was important not to intervene in that investigation but said he was "not casually indifferent to what has gone on, not just this week but the abuse that Diane has had over many, many years". Ms Abbott was "a good colleague - I am in awe of everything she has achieved over many years," he said. But he added "these processes have to be free from political interference". Mr Ashworth said he hoped the 11-month long investigation into Ms Abbott would conclude before the general election - expected in the second half of this year. Asked about Ms Abbott's accusations of racism within Labour, Mr Ashworth said: "We must challenge Islamophobia and antisemitism if we see that in our party as we do when we see it in society at large," he added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68591663 |
'Labour wants to exclude me from Parliament,' says Diane Abbott - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | It comes amid a row over whether the party will select the veteran Labour MP to run at the election. | UK Politics | Diane Abbott said she wants to remain as an MP for as long as possible, as she accused Labour of wanting to "exclude" her from Parliament. It comes as a row continues over whether she would be selected to run in her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat at the election. She told supporters at a rally on Wednesday she had been "banned from running" for Labour Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said no decision had been taken to bar her. Speaking in east London, Ms Abbott, a close ally of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, said she wanted to stand "by any means possible". She did not respond when later asked repeatedly by a BBC reporter if she would run as an independent candidate.
Sir Keir readmitted Ms Abbott as one of the party's MPs on Tuesday, after she was suspended last April for saying Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not face racism "all their lives". Labour has not confirmed who its candidate will be in her constituency, which it won with a majority of more than 33,000 at the last election. Reports that Ms Abbott had been barred from standing for Labour first emerged on Tuesday evening, shortly after it was confirmed her suspension as a Labour MP had been lifted. She then told the BBC on Wednesday morning she had been "banned from standing as a Labour candidate". At a rally outside Hackney Town Hall, she said the party had not communicated with her personally, but she was "shocked to learn yesterday that I'm going to be banned from running" for Labour. "The national party is insisting that I be banned," she said, adding: "They haven't given a reason for banning me. They just want me excluded from Parliament". "I am so shocked. And so alarmed about what is going on. Because it is as if you are not allowed to be a Labour MP unless you're prepared to repeat everything the leader says".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Not true Abbott barred from standing for Labour - says Sir Keir Starmer
During a campaign event in Worchester, Sir Keir told reporters it is "not true" about Ms Abbott being barred. " "No decision has been taken to bar Diane Abbott," he added. It is unclear whether his comments are a statement of technical fact – no formal decision about her candidacy will be made until Labour's ruling body meets next week – or a shift in the direction of travel. The party is selecting remaining candidates before a meeting at the National Executive Committee (NEC) to endorse them next week, before nominations legally close on 7 June. The deadline for Labour branches to put forward their own candidates passed on Monday. Writing on X earlier, Ms Abbott suggested there was a wider "cull of left wingers" happening within Labour, referring to the case of another prospective candidate, Faiza Shaheen. On Wednesday, it was confirmed that Ms Shaheen had not been endorsed by Labour to be their for Chingford and Woodford Green in north east London, after she allegedly liked a post on X that downplayed antisemitism accusations. Ms Shaheen told BBC Newsnight she had received an email that claimed she would "frustrate Labour's purpose". "I'm just in a state of shock to be honest," she said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Labour candidate shocked after being blocked from standing as candidate
Momentum, the left-wing campaign group set up to support Mr Corbyn's leadership has said it is "sickened" by reports Ms Abbott will not be picked, adding "the way Keir Starmer has treated Britain's first Black woman MP is appalling, vindictive and cruel". Six unions - Aslef, the TSSA, Unite, the NUM, the Communication Workers Union and the Fire Brigades Union - have also called for Ms Abbott to be confirmed as the Labour candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.
• None First black woman to be elected to Parliament in 1987, as MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington in east London
• None After a long career on the backbenches, she was promoted to Ed Miliband's front bench following her unsuccessful bid to become Labour leader in 2010
• None Previously held the posts of shadow international development secretary and shadow health secretary
• None A close ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, she was appointed as his shadow home secretary in 2016, a position she held until 2020
Criticism of the handling of Ms Abbott's case has also extended beyond the left of the party. Lord Boateng, who was the UK's first black cabinet minister under Tony Blair, told BBC London he was disappointed there was no place for Ms Abbott on the Labour benches, describing her as "a trailblazer for equal rights". Labour launched an investigation in April last year after Ms Abbott wrote in the Observer that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people "undoubtedly experience prejudice" which she said is "similar to racism". The letter added: "It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. "But they are not all their lives subject to racism." Ms Abbott apologised and withdrew her remarks shortly after they were published.
BBC Newsnight revealed earlier this week that the party's investigation was completed in December 2023. Labour's NEC issued her with a "formal warning" for "engaging in conduct that was in the opinion of the NEC, prejudicial and grossly detrimental to the Labour Party". It said it expected her to undertake an "online, e-learning module" which a source said was a two-hour antisemitism awareness course. Ms Abbott did the module in February, after which it is understood she received an email from Labour's chief whip acknowledging she had completed it. However, as recently as Friday, Sir Keir had been saying the investigation into her comments was not "resolved". Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Labour needed to "clear up" this issue. "The Labour Party has been telling everybody this investigation into Diane Abbott is ongoing, it now appears it concluded months ago," he said. Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn, who was suspended as a Labour MP in 2020 for saying the scale of antisemitism within Labour's ranks had been "dramatically overstated" by his opponents, has launched his campaign to stand as an independent candidate in Islington North. Speaking at a launch event, he said he had been "disturbed at the way Diane's been treated" and had sent her a "message of support". A complete list of candidates standing in the seat will be available on the BBC website after nominations close. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-69072113 |
General election 2024 poll tracker: How do the parties compare? - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How do people say they will vote in the UK general election? Our poll tracker measures the trends. | UK Politics | We're now well into the election campaign, and Parliament has officially been dissolved, but there's been no real shift in the polls since Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on 22 May, writes BBC senior political analyst Peter Barnes.
On average, Labour has been on 44% or 45% since then and the Conservatives have been on 23% or 24%.
The other parties haven't seen any movement either.
There has been quite a big spread between the different pollsters though. Labour's lead has been as low as 12% in one poll but as high as 27% in others.
Much of this difference is down to how the different polling companies handle people who say they don't know how they'll vote.
As we get closer to polling day, the number of undecided voters should fall which might mean that the polls begin to converge.
However, it's unclear whether this will have an impact on the parties' average poll ratings. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68079726 |
Rishi Sunak tells Chris Mason: Yes, I am changing minds - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | null | The PM tells the BBC's political editor he is "thoroughly enjoying" himself out meeting voters in the election campaign. | null | The PM told the BBC's political editor he was "thoroughly enjoying" himself meeting voters in the election campaign.
Rishi Sunak was asked if he was changing people's minds and he claimed he was.
Speaking in Devon, he added there would not be a bigger plan in the campaign as the Conservative policy for national service.
Live coverage of the election campaign | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69073026 |
Video shows cars driving through sea foam after storm - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | null | The foam was left behind after flood waters receded after a storm on the coast of New Hampshire. | null | Residents of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, registered huge waves lashing the coast earlier this week. The following day after flood waters receded, cars had to move through the dense sea foam left behind. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67953278 |
Bournemouth stabbing: Family pay tribute to Amie Gray - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The family of personal trainer Amie Gray say their hearts are "forever broken". | Dorset | Sian Gray, right, has paid tribute to her wife Amie, left
The wife of a woman fatally stabbed on a Bournemouth beach has said "her giggly laugh and big smile will be hard to be without". Amie Gray, a 34-year-old personal trainer, was one of two women stabbed on Durley Chine Beach at about 23:45 BST on 24 May. Her mum Sharon Macklin said she was "amazing, funny, kind and energetic". A 20-year-old man, from Croydon, London, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The second woman, who is 38, suffered serious injuries and remains in hospital.
Flowers have been left at the scene of the stabbing
Mrs Gray's wife Sian said: "I will miss you immensely my love. To the moon and back, forever and always. "Words cannot describe the pain that we feel. Amie was the most loving wife and mother." Ms Macklin added: "As a family we are devastated to have lost one of the most amazing, funny, kind and energetic souls. "When Amie entered a room it filled with laughter and her presence could not be ignored. "She was beautiful inside and out and there are no words that can express how empty our lives will be without her. "We will miss her so much and our hearts are forever broken."
Search teams on ropes scour the cliffs for evidence
Mrs Gray was head coach at Dorset Futsal Club, a women's indoor football team, who said they were "absolutely devastated". "As a club run by volunteers, the time and dedication she put into getting the women's team to where they are was second to none, without her, there would be no Dorset Futsal Ladies," the club said. "She was so committed to making the team thrive, giving them 1:1 advice, checking in with them individually, and her vision to enter the upcoming National Futsal Series and showcasing their amazing work and talent." A cordon put in place along the promenade has been lifted but searches continue. On Tuesday morning, search teams could be seen lowering themselves down the cliff on ropes, hacking back undergrowth. Residents spoke of their shock following the stabbings, with some saying they were "scared", while others were reassured by the police response.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-69074029 |
Neurodiverse dating app founder was date 'addict' - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Jamie Johnston started a dating app designed to be less overwhelming for people with ADHD and autism. | London | Jamie Johnston was diagnosed with ADHD at the start of 2021
The founder of a dating app designed for people with ADHD and autism says he launched it after feeling like he had become "addicted" to dating. Jamie Johnston, 34, founded Mattr, which is currently only a service for Londoners, after he was diagnosed with ADHD at the start of 2021. He said he felt addicted to the "stimuli and dopamine" from dating. His app launched one year ago and has 1,200 active users, mostly in east London. Jamie said he viewed traditional dating apps as "games" where profiles "would get "scored" by other users. "That really had a toll on my mental health. After a while, that lifestyle starts to grate on you," he said.
"I was addicted to the dopamine of it rather than actually trying to find a partner. "It was exhausting and I knew something had to change. I wanted to create a space where everyone feels comfortable being themselves, without fear of judgement from others or the app itself. "People with autism and ADHD are most likely to ghost people, delete apps, ignore messages, avoid small talk and get to the point or be abrupt - it's no wonder that dating apps are causing users to feel overwhelmed." The app, external has a range of features designed with neurodiversity in mind, Jamie said. These are:
• None Option to take a break - and let your matches know
• None Limit of up to four matches a day
• None Personality algorithm based on interests, not other user behaviours
• None Option to reply via video for those who struggle with typing
Jamie added that in a survey of autistic app users, four out of five people did not think other dating apps represented them. The survey also found that 94% of neurodivergent respondents felt misunderstood by digital matchmaking services.
Jamie said the app has been designed with neurodiversity in mind
He said the app has a section titled "You'll need to know", which people often use to share personal details about neurodiversity, as well as an option to tick a box to say they are neurodivergent. "The vast majority of people use it," he said. "It's about creating an environment and space where people feel free and open to articulate it." Mo, from Brent, said he used the app when he was living in Hackney, where he met his current partner. Both of them are neurodivergent.
"It's always easier to build a relationship when you have something in common," the 24-year-old said. Mo added that he tried other dating apps on and off for six or seven years, but found that he had less in common with the people he was matching with. "In general, I gravitate towards authenticity," he said. "[On other apps], people try to put forward their best selves rather than their actual selves. It's a bit trickier to bond with people in that way. "Because of the nature of [Mattr], authenticity was almost a given."
Daniella Opoku said she joined the app to meet more neurodiverse people
Daniella Opoku, from Waltham Forest in north-east London, said she signed up to the app to meet more neurodiverse people, although she is yet to go on any dates. The 24-year-old, who received an autism diagnosis a few years ago, said: "I feel it's a rite of passage for my generation at this point to use dating apps. "We all want a sense of community, and balancing a social life with the pressures of working can be so difficult without online support. "I find that I usually get along with and gravitate toward other neurodivergent people, particularly people with ADHD and autism, as they can relate to many of my social experiences." Daniella said it could be "anxiety-inducing" deciding when to tell people about her neurodivergence, and found using the app eased her nerves.
This was all considered as part of the design, Jamie says, adding that the app matches people with others based on their personalities, and what each person says they're looking for in a partner. "We tell you why you're matched with them," he said. "And you can't just like their profile, you have to message them. And to message you have to open their profile." Mr Johnston said that he is engaged now, after meeting his partner - on a another dating app. "About 50% of the weddings I'm invited to now have come from a dating app match. I just hope to make the experience much more manageable for people."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, external, X, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.uk, external
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68851058 |
I see no reason why Diane Abbott can't stand for Labour - Angela Rayner - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is pressed on his Covid lockdown fine at a public Q&A in Buckinghamshire. | UK Politics | TV presenter Piers Morgan now has his say about the state of the NHS.
Morgan says his mother had a heart attack six months ago and it gave him an insight into hospitals.
He says she was kept on a trolley in A&E for seven hours, and 35 other people were in that corridor, which he describes as "absolutely shameful" in modern Britain.
Morgan says people have told him their relatives died in that exact corridor, and as he describes the health system as "completely broken" despite the high quality of doctors and nurses.
He accuses shadow health secretary Wes Streeting of "tinkering while Rome burns" and asks him how he would "pay for this stuff" without raising taxes.
In response, Streeting says £170bn spending on the NHS is not being put to best use because it's being poured into hospitals at the expense of fixing primary care.
He says the UK is in a situation that because somebody can't get an appointment that would cost £40, they end up in A&E that costs £400.
"It's about how you spend the money," the Labour MP adds. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-69071603 |
Iceland volcano: Reykjanes peninsula eruption sends up 50m magma plumes - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A volcanic eruption has begun on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula, throwing up magma plumes of up to 50m. | Europe | The power of the eruption has decreased significantly since it started on Wednesday.
"The most activity is now on a few vents, but due to the limited visibility in the area [it is wet and cloudy], it is difficult to say how many there are," the Icelandic Met Office said this morning.
Lava flow is greatest north of the fissure, and at the vent at Sýlingarfell which opened last night. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-69073833 |
Why Anjana Vasan is done people pleasing - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The actress says she has a lot in common with her character Amina in We Are Lady Parts. | Entertainment & Arts | The actress Anjana Vasan has a lot in common with her character Amina in We Are Lady Parts. Both refuse to be people pleasers, both say no when necessary, and both have non negotiables. Vasan, 37, told BBC News that just like Amina, she is in her "villain era" now. Her character is the unlikely lead guitarist of a Muslim female punk band and in the second season of Channel 4's comedy written and created by Nida Manzoor we see her and her bandmates facing a set of new challenges. "This season is all about girl power - we don't have to always be apologetic and super polite, instead we can just be free to be who we want to," Vasan explains. She says the show was one of the best things she has worked on as the "sisterhood on the show is as strong in real life". "We all actually get on so well as friends and are desperate to hang out with each other so it's great fun on set." Vasan's co-star Juliette Motamed, who plays no nonsense drummer Ayesha says she "didn't realise you weren't actually meant to be friends with your cast". "Lady Parts was my first bit of acting so in roles after that I thought it was normal to want to hang out with the rest of the cast. I quickly realised it wasn't and now I'm even more grateful that we have this show."
We Are Lady Parts follows an all female Muslim punk band
The Bafta nominated show follows five very different young Muslim women from London who are bought together due to their love of punk rock. For director and writer Nida Manzoor creating this show was "of the upmost importance". "I made this show for my younger self," she says, explaining that she, and the cast, never saw people like them in TV and film growing up. "The point of this ensemble show is to show that Muslim women are not a homogenous group, everyone is different and this show focuses on the nuances." Manzoor and the cast said they all felt some pressure while making the show "as there are so few instances of Muslim women being represented in this way". The second season also features cameos from Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and comedian Meera Syal. Faith Omole who plays band member Bisma told the BBC that the group dealt with the pressure by encouraging each other. "It's funny because we all actually give each other pep talks on set reminding each other that we're in our villain era." "Society always talks about what women should be like, but this show is about how, who and what you are not what people expect of you," Lucie Shorthouse, who plays the band's manager on the show, adds.
Vasan has taken on a wide range of roles, from playing an assassin in Killing Eve, to a meek sales assistant in the Black Mirror episode, Demon 79. The latter role secured her a Best Actress nomination at the Bafta TV awards earlier this month, although she lost out to Sarah Lancashire from Happy Valley. But Demon 79 did pick up two awards earlier, at the Bafta Craft Awards, in the writer drama category and for photography and lighting fiction. Speaking to BBC News before the TV awards, Vasan said she "already felt like we'd won" and praised her team, including Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, for what they had achieved. Vasan, who grew up in Singapore, says her cultural influences came from a whole range of different places, from Monty Python to When Harry Met Sally. "But definitely I think my first influences were always comedy, that's what I was drawn to mostly." She also always loved theatre and film, although she admitted that growing up, she didn't really see herself on the big screen. "I always saw it as something as quite far away and reserved for people with blue eyes and cheekbones, maybe subconsciously." Vasan has spoken in the past about representation in TV and film, and she said "there's still so much more to do". "Every time we have this conversation, it feels like things are getting better, but that's not to say the work has stopped. There's more that always needs to be done." "We always when it comes round to awards seasons, people start asking these questions. And I think these questions need to be asked way before things like nominations happen. I think it's actually about the work. If the work is there, if the opportunities are there, then everything else comes." Vasan moved to the UK in her early 20s, where she has forged a successful career. In theatre, she won an Olivier award for her role as Stella Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire in 2023. Earlier this year, she had a role on the big screen in the comedy film Wicked Little Letters. It's clear that she enjoys the range of roles. "I think that's probably intentional, to always try different things," she said. "There's nothing wrong with playing feminine and dainty roles if they're written very well. I think the first question is always if the writing is good, and if there's more than one dimension to them." She added: "I'm probably not attracted to very obvious things, I like when characters have surprises within themselves." Season 2 of We Are Lady Parts is out on Channel 4 on May 30. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68987546 |
Junior doctors call five-day strike just before election - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Ministers accuse doctors' union of "cynical" tactics with walkout due to start on 27 June in England. | Health | Junior doctors in England are to stage a five-day strike in the lead-up to the election in their long-running pay dispute with the government. British Medical Association (BMA) members will walk out from 07:00 BST on 27 June - a week before election day. The union said it was taking action as there had been no credible new offer after fresh talks started in mid-May. But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the timing of the strike "makes it look incredibly political". In theory, negotiations could have continued during the election period, but with both ministers and civil servants occupied by the election - and the prospect of the Conservatives not being in power after 4 July - it may have been difficult to reach an agreement. The BMA has asked for a 35% pay rise to make up for what it says is 15 years of below-inflation pay rises. Junior doctors received a pay rise averaging nearly 9% in the last financial year. The BMA walked out of talks last year during which an extra 3% pay rise on top was discussed.
This will be the 11th walkout by junior doctors in this dispute after their first strike in March 2023. The last one took place in February. It will see junior doctors walk out of all services, with senior doctors having to be drafted in to provide cover. That will cause huge disruption to elective services, such as routine operations, days before the general election. Junior doctors represent nearly half the doctor workforce in the NHS - with two-thirds members of the BMA. BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: "We made clear to the government that we would strike unless discussions ended in a credible pay offer. "For more than 18 months we have been asking Rishi Sunak to put forward proposals to restore the pay junior doctors have lost over the past 15 years." They added: "When we entered mediation with government this month we did so under the impression that we had a functioning government that would soon be making an offer. Clearly no offer is now forthcoming. Junior doctors are fed up and out of patience. "Even at this late stage, Mr Sunak has the opportunity to show that he cares about the NHS and its workers."
The prime minister has suggested the BMA's announcement could be "politically motivated". Speaking at a campaign event in Devon, he said: "It's hard to escape that conclusion, given the timing and to call a strike in an election campaign, especially as we found a constructive resolution with the remainder of the NHS workforce." He said junior doctors had already been offered a pay deal worth "on average a 10% increase". Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: "The next Labour government will negotiate with junior doctors to bring these strikes to an end." Strike action by junior doctors has also been taking place in Northern Ireland with another walkout planned in early June. Walkouts in Wales are on hold as talks take place. Junior doctors have not been on strike in Scotland after they accepted a pay offer from the government there. Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said the news of fresh strike action was a "worrying escalation" of the dispute. "This strike will inevitably hit patients hard," she said. "As always, trust leaders and their teams will do everything they can to protect patient safety. "They will spend countless hours preparing for the walkout, which includes cancelling and rescheduling appointments. This is time they would prefer to spend improving patient care and tackling sky-high waiting lists." Nearly 1.5 million appointments and operations have been cancelled because of strike action in the NHS in England at an estimated cost of £3bn. Consultants, nurses and midwives alongside other non-medical staff have all accepted pay offers over the past 12 months in England.
How will the latest junior doctors strike affect you? You can share with us by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, external. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk, external. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-69072640 |
Hong Kong 47: Court finds 14 democracy activists guilty of subversion - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | They were accused of trying to “overthrow” the government in 2020 by holding unofficial primaries. | Asia | The case revolves around an unofficial primary the defendants organised in 2020 to pick candidates for local elections - some 600,000 people voted in it to pick opposition candidates. Prosecutors alleged that the activists held the primary with the intention of getting into the Legislative Council and disrupting government policies. The judges noted the prosecution's argument that the defendants - if they had been elected - would have "pursued a course of conduct which was to indiscriminately veto any budgets or refuse to pass any budgets... to be introduced by the Government". That plan, referred to as "the Scheme" by the court, would have caused chaos, prosecutors argued. They said this was subversion - an attempt to undermine the authority of the central government. The court agreed saying this would have led to a "constitutional crisis". This would result in “seriously interfering in, disrupting, or undermining the performance of duties and functions in accordance with the law by the body of power of the HKSAR”, the court said. However, many critics and rights groups have pointed out that this case hinged on hypotheticals: what would have happened if the defendants were elected, and if they pursued the alleged actions. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-asia-69051803 |
Drive-through worker draws gun on 'missing curly fries' customer - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | null | CCTV of a fast food drive-through shows a worker pull a gun during a row with a customer. | null | CCTV footage of a fast food restaurant drive-through shows the moment a worker pulled a gun on a customer after an argument over missing fries.
The incident took place in March 2021 in Houston, Texas.
The driver’s family has since filed a lawsuit against Jack-in-the-Box and its employee, Alonniea Ford-Theriot. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66933961 |
Watch: Donald Trump calls trial 'a disgrace' after guilty verdict - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | null | The former US president was found guilty on all 34 counts on Thursday. | null | Former US president Donald Trump says his trial was "rigged" after a jury found him guilty of falsifying business records on Thursday.
Speaking outside the courthouse after the verdict, he said he was a "very innocent man" and that the trial was a "disgrace".
"This is long from over," he added, before walking away without answering questions.
He will be sentenced on 11 July | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69077610 |
Donald Trump confirms he will appeal against historic conviction - BBC News | 2024-05-30 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The ex-president repeated claims the trial was "rigged" in remarks from Trump Tower in New York. | US & Canada | The day after the first-ever criminal conviction of a former president has been eventful, to say the least.
Here are some major moments.
Trump said this morning he will appeal the verdict. Speaking from Trump Tower, the same place where he announced his candidacy in the 2016 presidential election and a site frequently mentioned during the trial, he said: "We're going to be appealing this scam."
In the speech, which lasted about 40 minutes ,he also blasted the judge, star witness Michael Cohen, District Attorney Alvin Bragg and President Joe Biden, while saying he had wanted to testify in the trial and bringing up concerns about crime in New York. Our correspondent Anthony Zurcher said the remarks appeared to be "more of a venting session" and were reminiscent of his political rallies.
Later in the day, Biden responded to Trump's speech as part of a nationally televised address from the White House about the Israel-Hamas war. He called for respecting the American justice system and rejected Trump's allegation that the case was "rigged", saying: "It's reckless. It's dangerous. It's irresponsible."
Trump's presidential campaign said it raised a staggering $34.8 million in six hours following the verdict.
Stock prices for Trump's media company, which operates Truth Social, plunged when stock markets opened in the morning and then bounced around for most of the day. By late afternoon they were down more than 5%.
Advance Democracy, a non-profit research group, said it had detected a high volume of violent online rhetoric, including calls to hang Justice Merchan, but had not uncovered any concrete plans.
And finally, as Republican anger grew over the verdict, eight conservative senators announced they would no longer cooperate with the White House, pledging to block increases in non-security funding and Biden political and judicial appointees. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-69069142 |
Quiz of the week: Why wasn’t James Bond shaken or stirred by Lana Del Rey? - BBC News | 2024-05-31 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Test how closely you have been paying attention to what has been going on over the past seven days. | World | It's the weekly news quiz - how closely have you been paying attention to what's been going on in the world over the past seven days?
Some mobile users may experience difficulties. If you cannot see the quiz, try this link, external. Try last week's quiz or have a go at something from the archives. What information do we collect from this quiz? Privacy notice.
Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-69077923 |
Starmer and Sunak present competing visions for jobs and growth - BBC News | 2024-05-31 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Keir Starmer says wealth creation is Labour's main goal and Rishi Sunak pledges to give 30 towns across the UK £20m each. | UK Politics | Before we go, a bit more about the Conservatives' pledge that would expand the existing towns fund – with 30 more places being handed up to £20m each for local regeneration projects.
As a reminder, the towns fund is one part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda, which promised to reduce regional inequalities and help so-called ‘left behind’ areas of the country.
It was seen as being a major part of the message conveyed by Boris Johnson in the 2019 election when the Conservatives won dozens of ‘red wall’ seats in Labour’s traditional heartlands.
Today, Rishi Sunak made an attempt to hark back to that pledge – and those voters.
But a council leader in one of those 30 areas suggested that this offer may not be enough for struggling local authorities.
They told me that “what councils need is a return to pre-austerity levels of funding” and said “projects including Towns Fund or Levelling Up have focused on capital spending, been inflexible and often go over budget due to cost price inflation”.
When that happens, they said, councils have to “fill the gap when we are already cash strapped”.
And remember, although the towns fund already exists, for now this expansion of it is Conservative Party policy, not current government policy.
That means that the areas chosen – because of factors such as median pay and healthy life expectancy – weren’t necessarily told before the announcement earlier.
The council leader I spoke to hadn’t realised that their patch was on the list until I got in touch. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-69078711 |
General election 2024 poll tracker: How do the parties compare? - BBC News | 2024-05-31 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How do people say they will vote in the UK general election? Our poll tracker measures the trends. | UK Politics | We're now well into the election campaign, and Parliament has officially been dissolved, but there's been no real shift in the polls since Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on 22 May, writes BBC senior political analyst Peter Barnes.
On average, Labour has been on 44% or 45% since then and the Conservatives have been on 23% or 24%.
The other parties haven't seen any movement either.
There has been quite a big spread between the different pollsters though. Labour's lead has been as low as 12% in one poll but as high as 27% in others.
Much of this difference is down to how the different polling companies handle people who say they don't know how they'll vote.
As we get closer to polling day, the number of undecided voters should fall which might mean that the polls begin to converge.
However, it's unclear whether this will have an impact on the parties' average poll ratings. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68079726 |
Watch: Donald Trump calls trial 'a disgrace' after guilty verdict - BBC News | 2024-05-31 | null | The former US president was found guilty on all 34 counts on Thursday. | null | Former US president Donald Trump says his trial was "rigged" after a jury found him guilty of falsifying business records on Thursday.
Speaking outside the courthouse after the verdict, he said he was a "very innocent man" and that the trial was a "disgrace".
"This is long from over," he added, before walking away without answering questions.
He will be sentenced on 11 July | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69077610 |
Neurodiverse dating app founder was date 'addict' - BBC News | 2024-05-31 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Jamie Johnston started a dating app designed to be less overwhelming for people with ADHD and autism. | London | Jamie Johnston was diagnosed with ADHD at the start of 2021
The founder of a dating app designed for people with ADHD and autism says he launched it after feeling like he had become "addicted" to dating. Jamie Johnston, 34, founded Mattr, which is currently only a service for Londoners, after he was diagnosed with ADHD at the start of 2021. He said he felt addicted to the "stimuli and dopamine" from dating. His app launched one year ago and has 1,200 active users, mostly in east London. Jamie said he viewed traditional dating apps as "games" where profiles "would get "scored" by other users. "That really had a toll on my mental health. After a while, that lifestyle starts to grate on you," he said.
"I was addicted to the dopamine of it rather than actually trying to find a partner. "It was exhausting and I knew something had to change. I wanted to create a space where everyone feels comfortable being themselves, without fear of judgement from others or the app itself. "People with autism and ADHD are most likely to ghost people, delete apps, ignore messages, avoid small talk and get to the point or be abrupt - it's no wonder that dating apps are causing users to feel overwhelmed." The app, external has a range of features designed with neurodiversity in mind, Jamie said. These are:
• None Option to take a break - and let your matches know
• None Limit of up to four matches a day
• None Personality algorithm based on interests, not other user behaviours
• None Option to reply via video for those who struggle with typing
Jamie added that in a survey of autistic app users, four out of five people did not think other dating apps represented them. The survey also found that 94% of neurodivergent respondents felt misunderstood by digital matchmaking services.
Jamie said the app has been designed with neurodiversity in mind
He said the app has a section titled "You'll need to know", which people often use to share personal details about neurodiversity, as well as an option to tick a box to say they are neurodivergent. "The vast majority of people use it," he said. "It's about creating an environment and space where people feel free and open to articulate it." Mo, from Brent, said he used the app when he was living in Hackney, where he met his current partner. Both of them are neurodivergent.
"It's always easier to build a relationship when you have something in common," the 24-year-old said. Mo added that he tried other dating apps on and off for six or seven years, but found that he had less in common with the people he was matching with. "In general, I gravitate towards authenticity," he said. "[On other apps], people try to put forward their best selves rather than their actual selves. It's a bit trickier to bond with people in that way. "Because of the nature of [Mattr], authenticity was almost a given."
Daniella Opoku said she joined the app to meet more neurodiverse people
Daniella Opoku, from Waltham Forest in north-east London, said she signed up to the app to meet more neurodiverse people, although she is yet to go on any dates. The 24-year-old, who received an autism diagnosis a few years ago, said: "I feel it's a rite of passage for my generation at this point to use dating apps. "We all want a sense of community, and balancing a social life with the pressures of working can be so difficult without online support. "I find that I usually get along with and gravitate toward other neurodivergent people, particularly people with ADHD and autism, as they can relate to many of my social experiences." Daniella said it could be "anxiety-inducing" deciding when to tell people about her neurodivergence, and found using the app eased her nerves.
This was all considered as part of the design, Jamie says, adding that the app matches people with others based on their personalities, and what each person says they're looking for in a partner. "We tell you why you're matched with them," he said. "And you can't just like their profile, you have to message them. And to message you have to open their profile." Mr Johnston said that he is engaged now, after meeting his partner - on a another dating app. "About 50% of the weddings I'm invited to now have come from a dating app match. I just hope to make the experience much more manageable for people."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, external, X, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.uk, external
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68851058 |
Mum seeks answers as daughter's body kept in morgue - BBC News | 2024-05-31 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Susan Hodgetts says her life is "in limbo" waiting for a post-mortem for her daughter. | Somerset | Susan Hodgetts said every day that passes without knowing what happened to her daughter was "unbearable"
A "distraught" mother says she wants "answers" because her daughter's body has been kept in a morgue for three weeks due to a lack of pathologists. Zoe Loudon-Godfrey, 50, died from a possible heart attack and the family is now awaiting a post-mortem examination. Her mother, Susan Hodgetts, said she was still in the dark about the cause of her daughter's death. A spokesman for Somerset Council, which is responsible for the coroner's office, apologised for the delay. After publication, the BBC was told the post-mortem examination would go ahead on 31 May. Mrs Loudon-Godfrey was one of the first female train drivers to work in Bristol for Virgin Cross Country. She had only recently passed an occupational medical assessment before she became breathless on 7 May and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance.
Ms Loudon-Godfrey worked for Virgin Cross Country and "had a passion for driving trains"
After being discharged the next day back to her holiday home in Porlock, Somerset, she collapsed on 9 May. An ambulance crew carried out CPR before she was airlifted back to Musgrove Park Hospital. Ms Hodgetts, from Bournemouth, said: "Zoe was put on life support on 10 May as her brain was swollen. "[The doctor] said the life-support machine isn't doing anything for her and we don't think she's actually alive. It's just the machine doing the breathing for her." Hospital staff told Ms Hodgetts they believed her daughter may have suffered a heart attack but medics could not give an official cause of death until a post-mortem examination had been carried out. This would usually be carried out by a pathologist but Somerset currently has reduced pathologist capacity in one of its areas which is causing some delays.
Ms Loudon-Godfrey was just 50 when she collapsed and was put on life support
"My daughter's been lying in the morgue for three weeks and [they are] not giving me any answers," said Ms Hodgetts. "I was just distraught today because every day now it's getting more and more unbearable. "I just imagine her lying there." Somerset Council said: "We extend our sincere condolences and sympathies to the family and apologise for the delay they have experienced at what is always a very difficult time. "Pressure on pathology services is an issue affecting many areas of the country and in part is caused by the numbers of pathologists entering the profession and balancing other medical work with undertaken post mortems." According to a report, external by the Royal College of Pathologists, in many places, NHS employers often do not appreciate the importance of coronial autopsy work and would prefer their pathologists to prioritise living patients. Pathologists report that their work is often under-appreciated and that autopsy practice is not seen as a highly-skilled job. The council said it is looking at options to address staff shortages in the short and long term by identifying other pathologists that may be willing and able to undertake work within the Somerset area.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-69073721 |
Donald Trump confirms he will appeal against historic conviction - BBC News | 2024-05-31 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The ex-president repeated claims the trial was "rigged" in remarks from Trump Tower in New York. | US & Canada | The day after the first-ever criminal conviction of a former president has been eventful, to say the least.
Here are some major moments.
Trump said this morning he will appeal the verdict. Speaking from Trump Tower, the same place where he announced his candidacy in the 2016 presidential election and a site frequently mentioned during the trial, he said: "We're going to be appealing this scam."
In the speech, which lasted about 40 minutes ,he also blasted the judge, star witness Michael Cohen, District Attorney Alvin Bragg and President Joe Biden, while saying he had wanted to testify in the trial and bringing up concerns about crime in New York. Our correspondent Anthony Zurcher said the remarks appeared to be "more of a venting session" and were reminiscent of his political rallies.
Later in the day, Biden responded to Trump's speech as part of a nationally televised address from the White House about the Israel-Hamas war. He called for respecting the American justice system and rejected Trump's allegation that the case was "rigged", saying: "It's reckless. It's dangerous. It's irresponsible."
Trump's presidential campaign said it raised a staggering $34.8 million in six hours following the verdict.
Stock prices for Trump's media company, which operates Truth Social, plunged when stock markets opened in the morning and then bounced around for most of the day. By late afternoon they were down more than 5%.
Advance Democracy, a non-profit research group, said it had detected a high volume of violent online rhetoric, including calls to hang Justice Merchan, but had not uncovered any concrete plans.
And finally, as Republican anger grew over the verdict, eight conservative senators announced they would no longer cooperate with the White House, pledging to block increases in non-security funding and Biden political and judicial appointees. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-69069142 |
South Africa election: ANC forced into coalition as it loses votes to Zuma's MK - as it happened - BBC News | 2024-05-31 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The ANC, once led by Nelson Mandela, has its worst election since the end of apartheid 30 years ago. | Africa | That's it from our coverage of the aftermath of this historic South African election.
On Sunday, it was confirmed that the ANC - the party that led the struggle against white-minority rule and has been dominant for three decades - lost its parliamentary majority.
It will now have to find coalition partners.
That could be the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), whose leader John Steenhuisen urged other politicians to put "narrow sectarian interests aside".
Or, the ANC could look at the DA plus a host of other parties and form what could be called a government of national unity.
And then there's a possible ANC coalition with the very successful, newly formed MK, as well as the EFF - both of which came out of the ANC. However, the MK has already said it will not accept Mr Ramaphosa as president, and the ANC said it would not compromise on this.
The new parliament will meet in 14 days - in the past, that has been when the president has been elected, but the new set of MPs will still have 30 days after that to elect the country's head of state.
We'll be covering all the developments here at BBC News Online. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-69076473 |
Biden sets out new Israeli proposal to end conflict in Gaza - BBC News | 2024-05-31 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | US president urges Hamas to accept the three-phase plan, saying "it's time for this war to end". | US & Canada | An Israeli ceasefire proposal, announced to the world by an American president, came at a time when Israel’s politicians are usually silenced by the start of the Jewish Sabbath.
No mention of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Biden has set out a ceasefire deal that contains three phases, and which would lead to, in his words, “a cessation of hostilities, permanently".
Until now the Israeli prime minister has refused to accept any proposal that agreed to the end of the war. His far-right coalition partners have also threatened to walk out, and thus bring the government down, if Netanyahu concedes to a permanent ceasefire.
For its part Hamas has refused to agree to release Israeli hostages, in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners, unless such a deal would lead to “a sustainable long period of calm”.
However, Hamas yesterday appeared to reject the Israeli offer that was presented to it by Qatari mediators.
This evening, a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations who has seen the new Israeli proposal, said that the document did not include a guarantee that the war will end nor that Israeli troops would completely withdraw from Gaza. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-69081352 |
Americast - Trump Trial… Donald Found Guilty! - BBC Sounds | 2024-05-31 | null | The former president has been convicted on all counts in historic criminal trial. | null | The former president has been convicted on all counts in historic criminal trial. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j1c4v8 |
Africa's week in pictures: 24 - 30 May 2024 - BBC News | 2024-05-31 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A selection of the best photos from across the African continent this week. | Africa | South Africans aren't the only ones voting, in Kenya women from the Maasai community, who are members of Keekonyokie Community Trust, line up to elect a new leader on the outskirts of the capital Nairobi on Friday. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-69076463 |
Starmer and Sunak present competing visions for jobs and growth - BBC News | 2024-06-01 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Keir Starmer says wealth creation is Labour's main goal and Rishi Sunak pledges to give 30 towns across the UK £20m each. | UK Politics | Before we go, a bit more about the Conservatives' pledge that would expand the existing towns fund – with 30 more places being handed up to £20m each for local regeneration projects.
As a reminder, the towns fund is one part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda, which promised to reduce regional inequalities and help so-called ‘left behind’ areas of the country.
It was seen as being a major part of the message conveyed by Boris Johnson in the 2019 election when the Conservatives won dozens of ‘red wall’ seats in Labour’s traditional heartlands.
Today, Rishi Sunak made an attempt to hark back to that pledge – and those voters.
But a council leader in one of those 30 areas suggested that this offer may not be enough for struggling local authorities.
They told me that “what councils need is a return to pre-austerity levels of funding” and said “projects including Towns Fund or Levelling Up have focused on capital spending, been inflexible and often go over budget due to cost price inflation”.
When that happens, they said, councils have to “fill the gap when we are already cash strapped”.
And remember, although the towns fund already exists, for now this expansion of it is Conservative Party policy, not current government policy.
That means that the areas chosen – because of factors such as median pay and healthy life expectancy – weren’t necessarily told before the announcement earlier.
The council leader I spoke to hadn’t realised that their patch was on the list until I got in touch. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-69078711 |
General election 2024 poll tracker: How do the parties compare? - BBC News | 2024-06-01 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How do people say they will vote in the UK general election? Our poll tracker measures the trends. | UK Politics | We're now well into the election campaign, and Parliament has officially been dissolved, but there's been no real shift in the polls since Rishi Sunak fired the starting gun on 22 May, writes BBC senior political analyst Peter Barnes.
On average, Labour has been on 44% or 45% since then and the Conservatives have been on 23% or 24%.
The other parties haven't seen any movement either.
There has been quite a big spread between the different pollsters though. Labour's lead has been as low as 12% in one poll but as high as 27% in others.
Much of this difference is down to how the different polling companies handle people who say they don't know how they'll vote.
As we get closer to polling day, the number of undecided voters should fall which might mean that the polls begin to converge.
However, it's unclear whether this will have an impact on the parties' average poll ratings. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68079726 |