Month: August 2024

Banksy has unveiled the eighth artwork in his animal-themed collection in London, a silhouette of a rhinoceros which looks as though it is climbing on top of a car. The street artist has been unveiling artwork to his Instagram at around 1pm every day since Monday August 5. His first piece depicted a goat and was followed by silhouettes of elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans, and a cat as well […]

The boss of Sainsbury’s has said the business rates tax system is “no longer fit for purpose” and warned that current planned increases will lead to thousands of high street closures and job losses. The UK’s second-largest supermarket chain also backed calls for a 20% cut in business rates for retail companies. Business rates are the property tax system for businesses, affecting sectors including retail, hospitality and leisure. Labour has […]

More than 700 migrants crossed the Channel on the day two people died attempting the journey – the highest number of daily crossings since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister. The Home Office recorded 703 people arriving in the UK on Sunday in 11 boats, suggesting an average of 64 people per boat. It came as two people died in French waters while trying to cross the Channel, with others […]

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said respect for the police must be restored after they faced “brazen abuse and contempt” during rioting. Attacks on local communities and police are a “disgraceful assault on the rule of law itself,” she said. “As home secretary, I am not prepared to tolerate the brazen abuse and contempt which a minority have felt able to show towards our men and women in uniform, or […]

Elderly and vulnerable residents across England have been urged to put health and safety first on what will likely be the warmest day of the year so far. It comes after West Midlands Ambulance Service said that a child had died after being pulled from a canal in Wolverhampton. Top temperatures could reach 34C-35C in London on Monday in a sharp peak of heat and humidity before an expected return […]

The family of Valdo Calocane say his mental illness was so severe, a psychiatrist warned he could “end up killing someone” three years before he stabbed three people in Nottingham. Calocane’s mother and brother have told the BBC’s Panorama programme they only received the 300-page medical summary containing the warning after his sentencing. He killed 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar as they returned from a night out, before […]

Concern about the state of local roads has reached record levels, new research suggests. More than half of drivers (56%) said the condition and maintenance of roads for which councils are responsible was one of their top motoring concerns, a survey commissioned by the RAC indicated. That is up seven percentage points from 2023, and is the first time the figure has been above 50% since the motoring services company […]

Compensation for customers receiving poor services from water companies who are failing to meet standards could more than double under new Government proposals. As part of the plans, the list of circumstances that can trigger compensation will also be expanded, including automatic payments for those issued boil notices or when water companies fail to conduct meter readings or installations as promised. Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the Government hopes to […]

The proportion of adults who use e-cigarettes in Britain is at its highest level, according to new figures. The percentage of smokers who are using vapes as well as smoking cigarettes has also nearly doubled in the past three years, while ex-smokers who turn to e-cigarettes to quit are using them for longer. Experts said that vaping is less harmful than smoking cigarettes but is “not risk free” and should […]