Month: August 2024

The Metropolitan Police is not managing the risks posed by registered sex offenders and online child abusers “effectively”, a report from the police inspectorate has found. The force’s crime investigations also suffer from “inconsistent decision-making” and arguments, with inexperienced officers trying to manage more than 25 crimes at once, according to the report. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services shared the findings from its 2023-25 inspection […]

Giving women in Africa a malaria vaccine before they get pregnant could protect them against infection for almost two years without the need for a booster, according to scientists. The findings are a “tremendous advance” in protecting women against the potentially deadly disease, researchers said. They estimate severe malaria infection – or plasmodium falciparum – during pregnancy leads to 50,000 deaths and 200,000 stillbirths in Africa every year. For the […]

Train drivers are to vote on a multi-year pay offer aimed at ending their long-running dispute, it has been announced. Their union Aslef said the offer was made in talks at the Department for Transport, which started after Labour won the General Election following months of stalemate under the Conservatives. The offer is for 5% for 2019 to 2022, 4.75% for 2022 to 2024 and a further 4.5% for 2024 […]

The World Health Organisation has declared the mpox outbreaks in Africa a global emergency, with cases confirmed among children and adults in more than a dozen countries and a new form of the virus spreading. Few vaccine doses are available on the continent. Earlier this week, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the mpox outbreaks were a public health emergency, with more than 500 deaths, and […]

The Tory leadership hopeful says 'deep, hard work' is needed to change the situation Tory Party leadership hopeful Mel Stride has said it is “completely untenable” that the average Conservative voter is 63 years old. According to a YouGov poll, the only age groups in which the Conservatives outperformed Labour in the General Election were in the 60-69, and 70 plus age groups. Mr Stride is one of six candidates in the running to become […]

26 year old Connor Whiteley has been sentenced to three years in prison for his actions during the violence in Hull A man who kicked a female police officer to the ground and joined an attack on a garage which left nine cars damaged during riots in Hull has been jailed for three years. Connor Whiteley, 26, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker after playing a “prominent […]

A July inflation figure on which annual rail fare rises have historically been based was 3.6% this year, the Office for National Statistics announced. That was last month’s Retail Prices Index (RPI), which until 2023 was used by Westminster governments to set the cap on annual increases in regulated fares in England. The Department for Transport (DfT) has not revealed whether this will be used to determine changes in the […]

Incidents of sexual harassment against women on British railways have more than doubled since 2021, according to new data. Figures from the British Transport Police Authority’s 2024 annual report showed the number of crimes against women and girls rose from 7,561 in 2021 to 11,357 in 2023. The number of sexual offences jumped 10% over the same period, while sexual harassment reports doubled to 1,908. A separate British Transport Police […]

Workers on Edinburgh’s tram network have backed strike action in a dispute over a lack of toilet breaks. The union Unite said late running services mean drivers are unable to take a break ahead of their next departure, which has led to health issues among members. Unite said 160 staff could strike after a ballot was backed by more than 90% of its members. Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, […]