21 h. ago Reeves hints at priority as she says ‘trading relationship with Europe arguably more important’ than US – UK politics live

Chancellor said she understood the focus on possible deal with US, but added the EU remained ‘our nearest neighbours and trading partners’Water company bosses face up to two years in prison if they cover up illegal sewage spills under new laws coming into force, PA Media reports. PA says:The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said no prison sentences have been handed to water company executives since privatisation despite widespread illegal sewage discharges, and the tougher penalties were essential because some firms have obstructed investigations.Environment secretary Steve Reed said: “Bosses must face consequences if they commit crimes. There must be accountability. From today, there will be no more hiding places.”I’m now pretty optimistic that we are moving in a good direction.In the end, I think everybody understands that this is about our security in Europe. It requires cooperation between democracies, friends, allies, countries with the same values.The...

Politics

33 h. ago Polluting water bosses face up to two years in jail for illegal sewage spills

Senior executives will also be banned from accepting bonuses if firms fail to meet Environment Agency’s standards

Events

62 h. ago ‘I spent five days in hospital’: Surge in swimmers falling ill from polluted UK waters

Diseases such as dysentry and Weil’s disease have led to swimmers and surfers becoming seriously unwell

Science

4 d. ago Shocking state of Britain’s waters revealed as bathing spots with potentially deadly bacteria double

Surge in coastlines, rivers and lakes with unsafe levels of E. coli and intestinal enterococci due to sewage spills

Events

4 d. ago Grassroots activists who took on corruption and corporate power share 2025 Goldman prize

Seven winners of environmental prize include Amazonian river campaigner and Tunisian who fought against organised waste traffickingIndigenous river campaigner from Peru honouredGrassroots activists who helped jail corrupt officials and obtain personhood rights for a sacred Amazonian river are among this year’s winners of the world’s most prestigious environmental prize.The community campaigns led by the seven 2025 Goldman prize winners underscore the courage and tenacity of local activists willing to confront the toxic mix of corporate power, regulatory failures and political corruption that is fuelling biodiversity collapse, water shortages, deadly air pollution and the climate emergency. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Judge approves Harvey Weinstein’s request to sleep at hospital during retrial

Ex-media boss moved from Rikers Island jail to Manhattan hospital as he awaits rape and sexual assault retrialHarvey Weinstein has been moved to a New York City hospital after a judge approved the ailing ex-studio boss’s request to stay there rather than in jail when he is not in court for his retrial on rape and sexual assault charges.The judge, Paul Goetz, late on Thursday ordered that Weinstein, 73, be immediately relocated from the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex to the prison ward at Bellevue hospital in Manhattan so he can receive necessary medical treatment. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Harvey Weinstein can stay in hospital during #MeToo retrial, judge rules

Harvey Weinstein has been moved to a New York City hospital after a judge approved the ailing ex-studio boss’s request to stay there rather than in jail when he’s not in court for his #MeToo retrial

Events

8 d. ago Kicking up a stink: row over sewage pollution blighting Cape Town’s beaches

Campaigners say authorities should be doing more to clean up waters around city of nearly 5 million peopleOn a clear summer’s day in Cape Town, the Milnerton Lagoon was serene, reflecting the bright blue sky and Table Mountain. But there was an unmistakable stench, and up close, the water was murky.A few hundred metres away, adults and children played in the water as it flowed into Table Bay. On the boardwalk, a sign read: “Polluted water: for health reasons, swimming and recreational activities are at your own risk.” Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Prison bosses under pressure over fate of Britain's only transgender jail wing after Supreme Court ruling

EXCLUSIVE: Women's rights campaigners are calling for E Wing at Downview women's jail in Sutton, Surrey, to be closed down.

Events

8 d. ago Cage fighting bosses face jail after amateur boxer fatally floored

Joao Victor Penha was just 23 years old when he lost his life during a UFC-style bout in the Brazilian state of Ceara - where prosecutors say the organisers failed to take proper care to keep him safe

Events

9 d. ago Ringleaders of attacks on French jails will be punished, Macron says

Wave of assaults ‘declaration of war’ by drug gangs after crackdown on bosses operating from jail, French media sayEmmanuel Macron has warned that those behind a wave of apparently coordinated attacks on French prisons and staff will be “found, tried and punished”.The president’s comments came after at least a dozen assaults on French jails in the past three days. In one attack, gunmen using automatic weapons fired at the entrance to Toulon prison in the south of France. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Water pollution across UK surged by nearly a third and highest in decade

Only a third of survey respondents believe their supplier will take the necessary steps to address water pollution

Politics

1 week ago ‘I needed heart surgery after swimming in polluted water’: Health warning as sewage spills reach decade

As a result of sewage pollution, 331 people have seen a doctor with chest infections and gastroenteritis and some were hospitalised

Events

1 week ago 2,487 water pollution incidents recorded in 2024, say campaigners

Firms were collectively set a target of a 40% reduction in pollution incidents but instead recorded a 30% increase, Surfers Against Sewage said.

Politics

1 week ago Inmate at jail run by rogue prison boss had chief's name 'tattooed on his face'

Kerri Pegg, 42, has been convicted of misconduct in public office.

Events

2 w. ago ‘Yoda’ for scientists: the outsider ecologist whose ideas from the 80s just might fix our future

John Todd’s eco-machine stunned experts by using natural organisms to remove toxic waste from a Cape Cod lagoon. Forty years on, he wants to build a fleet of them to clean up the oceansJohn Todd remembers the moment he knew he was really on to something: “There was no question that it was at the Harwich dump in 1986,” he recalls. This was in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, close to where Todd still lives. Hidden away from the picturesque beaches was the town landfill, including lagoons of toxic waste from septic tanks, which was being left to seep into the groundwater below. So Todd, then a 45-year-old biologist, decided to design a solution. What he was “on to”, he came to realise, was not just a natural way of removing pollution from water, it was a holistic approach to environmental restoration that was way ahead of its time, and possibly still is.An early eco-machine purifying toxic waste on Cape Cod in 1986. Photograph: John Todd Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Petite blonde jail boss brought down by a pair of Hugo Boss flip

Pegg insisted nothing untoward happened, saying she liked to be 'hands on' with the prisoners, with whom she had an 'open door' policy.

Events

2 w. ago Campaigners find sewage pollution and E coli in Boat Race water

Tests ahead of Sunday’s race revealed E coli levels three times above the threshold for poor bathing waterWater quality along the stretch of the River Thames which will host the iconic Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has been classified as poor by clean water campaigners, as a result of E coli from sewage pollution.Testing carried out along the four-mile route, which the university rowing teams will tackle on Sunday, has revealed E coli levels which are three times above the threshold for poor bathing water status. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago 'Bubbly blonde' prison boss guilty of fling with inmate who gave her a £12k Mercedes

Kerri Pegg was a “rising star” in the prison service, but her career lies in tatters after her relationship with a drug gang boss and she's facing jail herself for misconduct in a public office

Economics

2 w. ago Cornwall beachgoers urged to AVOID swimming after grim 'slurry pollution' washes up

People have been warned against going into a stream in Cornwall after slurry pollution entered the water, which flows into Mawgan Porth beach - a popular spot with surfers

Politics