4 d. ago Labour comms director helped write manifesto while still working at TikTok

Exclusive: James Lyons rewrote 2024 election pledges ‘over evenings and weekends’ before his exit from social media company A senior executive at TikTok helped write the Labour manifesto while still working at the Chinese-owned technology company, he has said.James Lyons, who left his post as Keir Starmer’s director strategic communications last week, wrote on LinkedIn that he was asked last year to help write the party’s election pledges while he was still working for the social media platform. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Popular Gaza ice cream parlour stirs nostalgia with new branch outside of Palestine

Kazem began serving ice cream in northern Gaza in 1950

Politics

1 week ago Ice cubes in beer: is this popular pub order atrocious – or ingenious?

A new survey has found that more than a quarter of adults under 35 commit the sin of dilution to keep their pint cool. Is this alarming new trend here to stay?Name: Icy beer.Age: Niche for a while, now horribly mainstream. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago How the 'asylum king' worth £400 million ran Britannia Hotels into the ground

Britannia regularly tops consumer review polls to claim the dubious crown of worst hotel chain in the UK.

Economics

2 w. ago Nigel Farage’s ‘fag packet’ asylum plans are a golden opportunity for Labour

Editorial: Reform UK’s plan to detain and deport all migrants who arrive in the UK without permission will be popular, but it is unworkable. It will also give the prime minister a winning idea – about how he should now assume a pivotal role in updating international agreements such as the Geneva Conventions for the modern age

Events

2 w. ago Fact checked: The truth behind claims asylum seekers have been moved into a Premier Inn in Greater Manchester

The hotel chain and a council chief have spoken out to quash the rumours

Politics

3 w. ago Budget hotel chain eyes 'contactless' service where you never see anyone

The popular budget option opened its first so-called 'hybrid' hotel last month where guests can check-in and get a key for their room through an app

Politics

3 w. ago Marriott does not deny a hotel in its portfolio was used to detain families for Ice

Hospitality giant responded to Guardian story about Ice’s use of Sheraton hotel to hold families prior to deportationMarriott, the hospitality giant, has not disputed recent revelations that a Louisiana hotel in its portfolio was used to detain migrant families before deportation, which contradicts a 2019 policy that it would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). In a new statement to the Guardian, the company suggested that its “acceptance of business” did not mean it supported the Trump administration’s immigration policies.The Guardian reported on Tuesday that a Sheraton hotel in the city of Alexandria, situated close to a major Ice deportation hub, has been used to hold family groups before they are removed from the US. The Sheraton brand is owned by Marriott International. Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago The £400 million asylum king who owns the Britannia Hotel and 17 other migrant hotels

The Canary Wharf Britannia Hotel is part of the chain owned by Alex Langsam, the man dubbed the ‘asylum king’

Economics

3 w. ago The 'asylum king' who owns Canary Wharf Britannia migrant hotel

The Canary Wharf Britannia Hotel is part of the chain owned by Alex Langsam, the man dubbed the ‘asylum king’

Events

3 w. ago ICE ‘used popular chain hotel’ to detain migrants despite company pledging not to participate

‘Our hotels are not configured to be detention facilities, but to be open to guests and community members as well,’ the chain declared during Donald Trump’s first term

Events

3 w. ago Ice used Marriott chain to detain immigrants, despite hotel’s 2019 pledge not to cooperate

Sheraton in Louisiana held father and teenage son this month in apparent contradiction of former positionA Sheraton hotel in Louisiana has been used by immigration officials to hold people who are being deported, in what appears to be a contradiction of a position Sheraton’s parent company, Marriott, took in 2019 when it said its properties would not be used in cooperation with Ice.The Intercept first reported that the hotel, located on MacArthur Drive in Alexandria, Louisiana, near a major deportation hub and airport used by Ice, had been used by immigration officials earlier this month to hold a father and his teenage son for four days after their arrest in New York. They were then deported to Ecuador. The Intercept cited phone-tracking evidence that had been shared with the publication and was later seen by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Events