16 h. ago It's a national scandal, it's shameful, and it's time we started calling it that

When I speak to my friends, family, colleagues, interviewees, acquaintances about welcoming their children into the world through NHS maternity care – there’s a devastating common theme. And there's one place we should be pointing the finger

Politics

37 h. ago Fall and redemption of Becker and Wiggins shows sporting glory does not deliver purpose or meaning | Cath Bishop

Books by former champions demonstrate powerfully that we should not accept abuse and suffering as ‘the price of winning’. Sport must do moreViewed through one end of the lens, the two new autobiographies from the sporting legends Boris Becker and Bradley Wiggins might seem like classic tales of the downfalls of two deeply flawed heroes who then claw their way back to redemption. But viewed through the other end of the lens, we see troubling portrayals of an extremely inhumane and, at times, unsafe world of sport where talent is no saving grace, in fact it’s more of a liability.There are striking similarities between the stories of two different characters, sports, countries and generations. Both went bankrupt. Both made bad choices and admit their agency in their own demise. Both hit rock bottom and found themselves stripped bare of all dignity, be it in a prison cell or snorting cocaine in a toilet. Becker was convicted by a British court on four counts out of 24 and ended up in pr...

Politics

3 d. ago Southport inquiry: parents of victims call for killer’s parents to be ‘held to account’

The comments came after Alphonse Rudakubana tearfully apologised for failing to alert police to the danger posed by his sonThe parents of three girls murdered in the Southport attack have called for the killer’s parents to be “held to account for what they allowed to happen” after they gave dramatic testimony to a public inquiry.The bereaved families told Axel Rudakubana’s father they had “complete disdain for your excuses” after he tearfully apologised for failing to alert the police to his son’s weapons and another attempted attack days earlier. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Southport inquiry: killer’s parents must be ‘held to account’, say victims’ families

Call comes after Alphonse Rudakubana tearfully apologised for failing to alert police to the danger posed by his sonThe parents of three girls murdered in the Southport attack have called for the killer’s parents to be “held to account for what they allowed to happen” after they gave dramatic testimony to a public inquiry.The bereaved families told Axel Rudakubana’s father they had “complete disdain for your excuses” after he tearfully apologised for failing to alert police to his son’s weapons and another attempted attack days earlier. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Southport killer's mother made 'zip it' gesture to father as he was on verge of telling support worker about Axel Rudakubana's troubling behaviour, inquiry told

Laetitia Muzayire, whose 17-year-old son Axel Rudakubana killed three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last July, told the hearing that her family has been left broken by what he did.

Events

3 d. ago Trump is weaponizing the welfare state to attack healthcare | Moira Donegan

The proposed withholding of Medicaid and Medicare to restrict gender-affirming care follows the same logic as attacks on abortion careIn United States v Skrmetti, a supreme court decision issued this summer, the rightwing justices made it legal for states to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors, in a ruling whose reasoning strained logic, claiming that state laws banning the treatment did not discriminate on the basis of sex. The ruling upheld laws in 27 states, all of them passed since 2021, which banned the treatment outright; according to the Human Rights Campaign, about 40% of trans minors live in states where treatment for them is against the law. Now, the Trump administration seems to be looking to cut off access to care for the other 60% of those kids.In a proposed rule leaked to NPR, the administration plans to ban gender-affirming care for minors from being covered by Medicaid or by the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or Chip. In a second, more sweeping proposed ...

Events

4 d. ago Axel Rudakubana's dad reveals Southport killer son 'actively hated him'

Alphonse Rudakubana told an inquiry that his son's behaviour deteriorated over a very short period between Year 8 and the start of Year 9.

Events

5 d. ago Southport killer's brother was 'wary' of his 'violent outbursts', inquiry told

"He became increasingly withdrawn - I had to be cautious if I did speak to him"

Events

5 d. ago Southport killer's brother thought he'd kill their father and compared him to 'sociopath' killer from film No Country For Old Men

Dion Rudakubana, 21, told the inquiry his younger brother's behaviour deteriorated and became more and more violent after he was expelled from mainstream education aged 13.

Events

5 d. ago Removing stabbing video from X would be ‘overreach’, Southport Inquiry told

Head of global government affairs for X Deanna Romina Khananisho gave evidence on Tuesday.

Politics

5 d. ago AMANDA PLATELL: Fergie's delusions have reached a new low. I can't believe Beatrice and Eugenie are egging her on. But that's not the TRULY jaw

Barely days after Andrew and Fergie were banished, stripped of their titles, their homes, their dignity and all credibility, Fergie is said to be plotting her comeback with a complete rebrand.

Politics

6 d. ago Paedo found guilty of abusing 'vulnerable children' at Scots care home

Alexander Boyd will be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow in December.

Society

6 d. ago Some Head Start preschools shutter as government shutdown continues

The government shutdown is triggering a wave of closures of Head Start centers, leaving many working parents scrambling for child care and shutting some of the nation’s neediest children out of preschool

Politics

1 week ago Organised crime making millions from illegal waste dumping in UK, says committee

Peers say ‘woeful’ record on prosecutions has led to a ‘low-risk, high-reward’ criminal cultureOrganised crime groups in the UK are making millions every year from illegally dumping and burning rubbish, peers have told ministers, after an inquiry found a lack of enforcement made it a “low-risk, high-reward” criminal enterprise.“Criminality is endemic in the waste sector,” a Lords committee told the government on Tuesday, after it found at least 38m tonnes of waste was illegally managed every year, “leading to serious environmental, economic and social consequences”. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago NHS trials rapid blood test that could spot deadly infections in kids in just 15 minutes

Experts say the 15-minute test could have a "massive impact" on the emergency care of children

Events

2 w. ago Baby P’s mother tells parole hearing she would be ‘risk to children in her care’

Tracey Connelly’s public parole hearing is taking place on Wednesday and Thursday.

Events

2 w. ago Boris Johnson says children paid a 'huge price' when schools were closed during Covid but officials DID plan ahead of 'nightmare' decision

The former PM told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that it was 'obvious' there would need to be 'consideration of closing schools' and he believed education bosses were making a plan.

Politics

2 w. ago UK's Covid rules around going outside during lockdown were too strict and should have been 'more liberal', Chris Whitty admits

Professor Sir Chris Whitty told the Covid-19 Inquiry that the approach to the first lockdown should have been 'more liberal', as the evidence showed that being outdoors was safer than being indoors.

Events

3 w. ago Vulnerable children in care were 'stripped of their dignity' inquiry told

Simon Collins represented In Care Abuse Survivors (INCAS) at the inquiry as he delivered its closing submission on Friday.

Politics

3 w. ago Children in care were ‘stripped of their dignity’, inquiry told

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry heard closing submissions related to its current phase.

Politics