88 m. ago DWP confirms PIP review could impact Motability and Blue Badge entitlements

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed eligibility for the mobility part of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will be reviewed alongside the daily living element, as part of the UK Government's welfare reforms

Politics

3 h. ago ‘It kept me going’: halt to refugee reunion scheme in UK shatters hopes

Afghan man seeking asylum and permission to bring wife to Britain describes shock at home secretary’s announcementThe hopes of asylum seekers aiming to be reunited with their loved ones in the UK have been shattered after the home secretary announced on Monday that new applications to the family reunion scheme were to be suspended. The prospect of reuniting with spouses and children after reaching safety is often what sustains those trying to reach Britain during their difficult journeys.Immigration lawyers are urgently working to lodge applications while the scheme remains open in cases of people who have been granted refugee status. The suspension will last until the spring and it is likely that any new scheme will be more restrictive than the current one, the Home Office said. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago ‘You need solidarity and consistency’: Pedro Sánchez on the EU, Trump and fighting the far right

Spanish PM insists ‘migration is an opportunity’ and is not afraid to discuss what he considers Europe’s recent failuresWhen Pedro Sánchez and Keir Starmer meet in Downing Street on Wednesday it will be the first such bilateral summit between a Spanish prime minister and his British counterpart for more than a decade, an interregnum explained by Brexit and the now healed sore of Gibraltar.The absence of highest level diplomacy has become more glaring given the two men are the leading social democratic leaders of Europe, facing similar problems of migration, souring populist parties, the climate crisis and divisions over how to minimise the damage caused to the European global influence by Donald Trump’s erratic unilateralism. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Sánchez: Europe’s response to war in Gaza has been a ‘failure’

Spanish prime minister says double standards over Gaza and Ukraine threaten to undermine the west’s global standing‘You need solidarity and consistency’: Pedro Sánchez on the EU, Trump and fighting the far right Europe and the west’s double standards over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza threaten to undermine its global standing, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned, describing the response to Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory as one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.In an interview with the Guardian before talks with UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, in London on Wednesday, the socialist leader also said the US under Donald Trump was trying to end the post-second world war, rules-based global order it had originally created. Continue reading...

Events

6 h. ago ANDREW PIERCE: The knives are out for Rayner from within Labour, but she holds one ace to be next PM

A senior minister was overheard saying to an aide: 'I'm sick to death of going into battle for Ange. How many more times do I have to defend her?'

Politics

8 h. ago Esther Ghey launches campaign to ban mobile phones in classrooms to protect pupils’ safety

Her murdered daughter Brianna had an addiction to her smartphone which had been raised as a concern by her school

Politics

8 h. ago UK does not know exact cost of Afghan data breach, watchdog says

Defence ministry has not demonstrated that an immigration scheme would have a £850mn price tag, NAO finds

Politics

8 h. ago Ministry of Defence does not know how much has been spent on bringing data

Britain’s spending watchdog says it does not have ‘confidence’ in the accuracy of MoD’s estimates

Politics

8 h. ago Cost of Afghan data breach scheme unknown to Government – watchdog

The amount spent on the scheme was not recorded separately to other resettlement activity following the fall of Kabul, the NAO said.

Politics

10 h. ago Nicola Sturgeon made the union 'safe for a long time', claims former Prime Minister Boris Johnson

The former Prime Minister said his old political foe had set back the independence cause with her record in office and leading the SNP through a financial scandal.

Politics

12 h. ago 'Truly fantastic human' Ilkay Gundogan leaves Man City on free transfer

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has said goodbye to the club for the second time in three years

Sport

12 h. ago Update issued on grooming gangs inquiry as ministers face criticism over 'lack of progress'

Sir Keir Starmer committed to a fresh national inquiry in June

Politics

12 h. ago UK still ploughing millions into Putin's war chest through loophole, PM warned

Ministers have been urged by the Lib Dems to close loopholes which analysts say create hundreds of millions of pounds of tax revenue for the Kremlin

Events

13 h. ago The Guardian view on the dental divide: ministers must brush up their policy as well as children’s teeth | Editorial

Gaps in access to dentists mirror other health inequalities. And ‘golden hellos’ won’t solve the problem on their ownDisadvantaged primary school pupils at the government’s first wave of new breakfast clubs can expect to be trained in toothbrushing, as well as fed. Data showing that a fifth of all five-year-olds in England have experienced tooth decay persuaded ministers to make improved oral health part of the early years and reception class curriculum. But the prevalence of decay is not evenly spread across the country. And research showing how much worse the situation is for children in deprived areas is in line with other findings about widening health inequalities.New analysis from the Local Government Association highlights the differing availability of dental care across council areas – a situation sometimes described as a dental divide. It found no specific correlation between the numbers of NHS dentists and young children with tooth decay. But it adds to a body of...

Politics

13 h. ago Science teacher who looked at pictures of naked women and used adult chat sites during lessons is banned

Christian Watkinson, 48, used a 'hotspot' mobile phone internet connection to bypass safety features at The Christian School in Takeley, Essex, and access the content.

Events

14 h. ago No 10 insists Reeves’s authority not dented by reshuffle after market jitters

Downing Street underscored ministers’ continuing commitment to fiscal rules as government borrowing costs surge

Culture

14 h. ago Margaret Atwood releases short story critiquing book bans in Canada

Author quipped she wrote ‘suitable’ piece after Alberta school ban included her novel The Handmaid’s TaleMargaret Atwood has released a new short story critiquing elected officials for a wide-ranging book ban in the Canadian province of Alberta. The controversial decision to remove books purportedly containing “explicit sexual content” has seen numerous works of literature swept up in the dragnet, including Atwood’s, dystopian work The Handmaid‘s Tale.In a social media post, Atwood wrote that since her famed work was no longer permissible in Alberta schools, she had written a “suitable” short work for teens, adding the work was necessary because the province’s minister of education thought students were “stupid babies”. Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago ‘We are dying for no reason’: Israeli reservists face fresh call

Soldiers express doubts about Gaza conflict but few will refuse to fightTens of thousands of reservists in Israel will return to active service in the coming weeks amid an intense debate in their ranks over the war in Gaza, which reflects wider divisions in the country.Some will be forced to make their decision within days. The Israel Defense Forces began mobilising tens of thousands of reservists on Tuesday after calling up 60,000 for an expanded offensive in Gaza City, one of the few places in the devastated territory outside its control. More will be ordered to report to military bases if the fighting continues for many months, as analysts expect. Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago Devolution bill is ‘biggest transfer of power in a generation’, Rayner tells MPs

Deputy Prime Minister says new unitary authorities will get planning, housing and transport powers devolved to them.

Politics

15 h. ago SARAH VINE: Starmer is the Prince Andrew of politics. He not only refuses to acknowledge the mess he's making

New term, new Keir. The Prime Minister was in full shiny new pencil case mode this week, gathering the nation's press to announce 'Phase Two' of his government.

Politics