61 h. ago UK accused of ‘stark injustice’ as woman from Montserrat refused free NHS care

Cherry Brown, 69, a British overseas territory citizen, was left sleeping rough after being sent to England for treatmentThe UK has been accused of a “stark injustice” for failing to provide health services and humanitarian support to citizens of British overseas territories after a woman from the Caribbean island of Montserrat was refused free NHS care and left homeless.Council officials found Cherry Brown, 69, sleeping rough in a park in Swanley, Kent, in April. Brown had been funded by the Montserratian government – whose budget is largely subsidised by the UK – to travel to England to receive treatment from the NHS that was not available at home. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago 'I would rather go to jail than remove plant pots outside my home'

A pensioner has caused one local council a huge headache after refusing to remove three plant pots designed to block dodgy parking that has blocked his garden and forced his grandkids to walk on the road

Events

4 d. ago India’s refusal to collect trophy from Pakistani head of Asian Cricket Council sparks row

Opposition party criticises prime minister Narendra Modi for comparing cricket match to recent military action against rival country

Politics

6 d. ago Council must pay developer's legal fees after wrongly refusing motocross venue

The council says lessons need to be learned from the saga

Politics

1 week ago Council refuse to grant permission for former bank in Wishaw to be converted into children’s soft play

The planning application from JFM ELectrical concerned a building in the town centre’s Stewarton Street, an area which is a mixture of commercial, ground floor units with a mixture of flats and additional commercial spaces on the upper floors.

Events

1 week ago ‘I tried world's biggest McDonalds, it looks like an NHS walk in centre and sells odd food'

The world's largest McDonalds is a much more stressful experience than you may think, with a soft play centre and a huge arcade being the backdrop to your Big Mac

Politics

2 w. ago Clown Town by Mick Herron review – more fun and games with the Slow Horses

The ninth novel in the Slough House series, this tale of IRA infiltration is a perfect mix of one-liners, plot twists and real-world-tinged intrigueTrigger warning: the new Slough House novel shares its name, I assume accidentally, with a particularly bleak soft-play centre on London’s North Circular Road in which sticky under-fives circulate through an infernal apparatus wailing and stabbing each other with plastic forks while the grownups sit at plastic tables drinking horrible coffee and waiting for death. Just a glimpse at the dust jacket sent me back a decade to that environment of grubbiness, boredom and mild peril. It’s not that big a leap, mind. There’s something of the knockabout quality of a soft-play centre in Mick Herron’s fictional world: all fun and games until someone loses an eye.That said, as far as I know, none of the injuries in the real-world Clown Town will have been occasioned by the victim being held down so the front wheel of a Land Rover Defender c...

Politics

2 w. ago The £4million bridge for bats that Reform councillor refuses to spend taxpayer money on because it's 'nonsense'

The discovery of barbastelle bats in Lincolnshire risks derailing a long-awaited relief road after the leader of the council refused to fork out an additional £4m for a bat tunnel.

Economics

3 w. ago Craigie Hill Golf Club housing development proposal refused by Perth and Kinross Council

Perth and Kinross councillors voted against plans which would have seen up to 175 homes built on Perth's green belt

Politics

3 w. ago 'I confronted men smoking in the kids' play area at Piccadilly Gardens

"There, sat on the bouncy astro turf installed to provide kiddies with a safe, soft place to play, were four men smoking and drinking."

Politics