Freedom Great Britain, City of Westminster (2024)

15/07/2022

Over 1,000 children in Telford were sexually exploited, inquiry finds

More than a thousand children in Telford were sexually exploited over decades amid the failure of authorities to investigate “emboldened offenders”, an independent inquiry into the scandal has concluded.
The three-year independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation (IICSE) found that abuse was allowed to continue for years and children, rather than perpetrators, were often blamed.
Issues were not investigated because of nervousness about race, the inquiry’s final report said, and teachers and youth workers were discouraged from reporting child sexual exploitation.
Tom Crowther QC, who chaired the inquiry, said: “The overwhelming theme of the evidence has been the appalling suffering of generations of children caused by the utter cruelty of those who committed child sexual exploitation.
It followed inquiries into child sexual abuse rings in a number of towns including Rotherham and Rochdale.

14/07/2022

‘Centaurus’: virologists express concern at new Covid subvariant

Virologists have voiced concerns about the emergence of yet another rapidly spreading Omicron variant, which is rapidly gaining ground in India and has already arrived in the UK.
The BA.2.75 variant – nicknamed “Centaurus” – was first detected in India in early May. Here, cases have since risen steeply – and apparently faster than those of the extremely transmissible BA.5 variant, which is also present in India, and is rapidly displacing the previously dominant BA.2 variant in many countries.
BA.2.75 has also since been detected in about 10 other countries, including the UK, US, Australia, Germany, and Canada.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) designated it a “variant under monitoring” on 7 July, meaning there’s some indication that it could be more transmissible or associated with more severe disease, but the evidence is weak or has not yet been assessed.

14/07/2022

Mindfulness in schools does not improve mental health, study finds

Mindfulness has become a popular meditation technique aimed at focusing the mind on the present moment, and involves learning how to pay attention and manage feelings and behaviour, to improve resilience in the face of external stressors.
Prof Mark Williams, the found director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre and co-investigator at the University of Oxford, said the findings confirmed the huge burden of mental health challenges that young people face, and the urgent need to find a way to help.
“They also show that the idea of mindfulness doesn’t help – it’s the practice that matters.” Those students that did engage improved, he said, but most did not. Many pupils were bored by the course and did not practise it at home.

14/07/2022

Schools close in water shortage chaos as families queue up for bottled water in sweltering heatwave

A burst pipe on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent means residents have reportedly been forced to line up in five-mile long queues for bottles of water.
One local Dave Boswell says people on the island are now beginning to panic and things are “getting dangerous”.
Six schools yesterday shut - and Kent County Council have said four more will join them today if the water supply is not reconnected.
Meanwhile several shops, bars, cafes and restaurants have also closed their doors.
It comes as the UK has been hit with sweltering water - with the mercury soaring above 30C.
Dave told The Sun: “Yesterday there were collection points to pick up water but the queues were five miles long. It was pandemonium.
“It's now getting to the stage where it's dangerous. There's not a drop to drink on the island.
“If you don’t have a car then you're stuck on the island with no water. It feels like we’ve been abandoned.

13/07/2022

BBC to publish internal investigation into Tim Westwood allegations

The DJ, who was a BBC radio presenter for almost 20 years, stepped down from his show on Capital Xtra in April after accusations by several women of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour.
The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, had initially insisted that in its records the BBC had “no evidence of complaints” against Westwood, who worked for the corporation between 1994 and 2013. Facing an objection over its handling of a freedom of information request, the corporation then backtracked and admitted it had received six complaints concerning the presenter’s tenure at the BBC relating to allegations of bullying or sexual misconduct – including one that had been referred to the police.
The BBC said that this particular complaint was historical and did not relate to an allegation of physical assault, adding that it would be in a position to say more when its investigation had concluded.

13/07/2022

Demand help to heat the homes of poor people in the UK over 50

📍JOIN US!
https://chng.it/GQ28Y5VX

The UK government's support for the European Union's position on the war between Russia and Ukraine is causing a decline in living standards in the UK. Our poor are the hardest hit. The oil embargo is making fuel more expensive, which means many cannot afford to heat their homes sufficiently.

It is summer, but the government must take care of its poor citizens now. We are offering special assistance to people over the age of 50, who as a result of the crisis are in a difficult financial situation. Our fellow countrymen must not turn into icicles!

13/07/2022

UK school Latin course overhauled to reflect diversity of Roman world

A popular Latin course used to teach generations of British schoolchildren has undergone its biggest overhaul in 50 years to include more prominent female characters and better reflect ethnic diversity in the Roman world.
A fifth edition of the Cambridge Latin Course (CLC), a mainstay of mainly private schools since the 1970s, is being published later this month, in response to concerns from teachers, academics and students about the representation of women, minorities and enslaved people in earlier versions.
Girls studying the course, which is story-based, complained there were not enough female roles, and that those included were passive and undeveloped. There was also criticism that the Roman world was incorrectly depicted as predominantly white, and objections to the way in which slaves and slavery were represented.

10/07/2022

Leaves on railway tracks caused 3,000 hours of delays over the past four years

Train operators have blamed leaves on the line for more than 3,000 hours of delays in the past four years, figures show.
In that same time, the excuse hated by commuters was trotted out nearly 2,500 times, affecting 35,000 journeys.
Network Rail – which is responsible for all tracks and stations in the UK – has been battling the autumn issue of “leaves on the line” for years and regularly sends out special services to wipe the rails clear and fell trackside trees.
It claims leaves on the line are the rail equivalent of “black ice” and trigger a chain of safety issues.
Experts say leaves also cause the company a serious financial headache as it has to compensate train operators who then need to issue refunds to travellers. Since 2018, delays due to leaves amounted to 3,450 hours and affected 34,673 trains, 2,453 of which were cancelled either before they started or partway along their route, the Delay Attribution Board found.

10/07/2022

Pay contaminated blood scandal victims before they die, Boris Johnson urged

The delegation, including people from all four UK home nations, want the prime minister to implement without delay the recommendation for interim compensation made by Sir Robert Francis QC in his government-commissioned report.
About 3,000 people are believed to have died and thousands more infected as a result of the scandal, which has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS. It resulted from haemophiliacs being given factor VIII blood products that were contaminated with HIV and hepatitis C imported from the US in the 1970s and 80s and patients being exposed to tainted blood through transfusions or after childbirth.
The letter says that 419 people died between July 2017, when the inquiry was announced, and February this year and that it has been reported infected people are dying at a rate of one every four days.

08/07/2022

Cancer spending threatened if NHS staff given 3% pay rise without extra funds

The NHS will have to cut investment in cancer care if ministers award frontline staff a pay rise above 3% but refuse to provide extra money to cover it, health service bosses have warned.
The NHS England chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, and Julian Kelly, its chief financial officer, made clear their belief that soaring inflation means the service’s 1.3 million staff deserve a pay award of more than the 3% the government has already given the organisation funding to cover.
But they warned that any increase above that would force it to cut services, including primary care and the planned new nationwide network of centres intended to diagnose killer diseases early – unless the Treasury covers the cost of the higher amount.

08/07/2022

😁

08/07/2022

Threat of BA strike at Heathrow suspended after airline agrees pay deal

The dispute that threatened to cause a walkout of British Airways check-in staff at Heathrow airport during the summer holidays has been suspended, after the airline made a “vastly improved” pay offer.
After a day of talks on Wednesday a package was agreed with the Unite union that sources said in effect met its demand to restore the 10% pay cut introduced during the pandemic.
A one-off bonus payment for 2022 worth 10% of pay had earlier been rejected.
The offer will now be put to a ballot of Unite members but both parties hope that the agreement will resolve the immediate dispute.
A British Airways spokesperson said: “We are very pleased that, following collaboration with the unions, they have decided not to issue dates for industrial action. This is great news for our customers and our people.”
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “We welcome that BA has finally listened to the voice of its check-in staff.

07/07/2022

Boris Johnson to resign as Tory leader but hopes to stay on as PM

Boris Johnson is to resign on Thursday as Conservative leader but will push to stay on as prime minister until autumn after his chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, called on him to go and a string of cabinet ministers walked out.
His resignation brings to an end an extraordinary standoff after multiple cabinet ministers pressed him to resign and more than 50 ministers quit because of his mishandling of a string of scandals.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister will make a statement to the country today.”
However, he is expected to push to stay on as prime minister until the autumn while a Conservative leadership contest takes place.
He is likely to face intense pressure from his cabinet and MPs to go further and resign as prime minister as well, making way for a caretaker leader such as Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, or Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor.

06/07/2022

Michelle Donelan: rewarded for her loyalty and no-nonsense attitude

Michelle Donelan takes over from Nadhim Zahawi as education secretary after just two years as a minister, rewarded for her loyalty and her embrace of the culture wars and curbing of universities that have been a hallmark of Boris Johnson’s administration.
Moving up from her current role of higher and further education minister, Donelan will have to quickly take charge of a mess of unfinished business left by Zahawi in his brief 10-month tenure, most notably the schools bill that last week the new chancellor was forced to gut after opposition from former ministers and supporters in the Lords.
But Donelan has impressed those who work with her for her no-nonsense attitude, and as someone who – unlike Zahawi or Johnson – isn’t interested in the trappings of office or making friends.

06/07/2022

Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak quit – throwing Boris Johnson’s future into doubt

Boris Johnson’s premiership was on the brink of collapse after the chancellor, the health secretary and a string of Conservative aides dramatically quit, dealing a crushing blow to his authority after a slew of self-inflicted scandals.
Publishing damning resignation letters within minutes of each other, Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid pointed to a lack of grip in Downing Street.
The prime minister attempted to recover his authority by swiftly appointing Nadhim Zahawi as his chancellor and Steve Barclay as health secretary. But the credibility of the move was undermined as reports emerged that Zahawi had threatened to quit unless he got the job instead of the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, during a power struggle in No 10.
In his resignation letter Sunak said the public expected government to be conducted “properly, competently and seriously”.

05/07/2022

Fuel price protesters block motorways across parts of England and south Wales

Slow-moving convoys of protesters campaigning against high fuel prices have forced motorways and main roads to grind to a halt with demonstrators vowing to continue with direct action until the government tackles the crisis.
Hundreds of lorries, vans, cars and tractors across England, Wales and Scotland created rolling road blocks on Monday, causing delays for thousands of road users.
Twelve people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences after a protest closed the Prince of Wales bridge, which carries the M4 across the River Severn. A kickabout took place on an empty M4 carriageway.
A man was also arrested in Devon. In other places police also said they would take action against protesters who had put fellow road users in danger or had committed other offences such as using mobile phones while driving.

05/07/2022

Demand greater accountability for the crimes of Ukrainian migrants

The UK government treats Ukrainians as a friendly European nation. However, numerous examples of offences committed by Ukrainian migrants show that they are not fully aware of the norms of behaviour adopted in our country.

Cases of Ukrainian citizens knowingly breaking our laws are regrettable. They destroy families, steal food and things from shops, and refuse to pay in restaurants. It seems that our government has not prepared a programme for their cultural adaptation to British society.

Spare a minute to help out during these times 🙏
https://chng.it/y6Whwg6Y

The subjects of the United Kingdom are suffering from Ukrainian migrants. We propose, not forgetting tolerance, that the procedure for issuing sponsorship visas to Ukrainian migrants should be made more difficult and that they should be doubly punished for knowingly committing offences.

05/07/2022

UK new car sales fall to lowest level in June since 1996 amid chip shortages

New car sales in the UK fell by almost a quarter last month, the worst June since 1996, as global chip shortages hammered the industry, according to industry figures.
Global shortages of components such as semiconductors continue to hamper manufacturers’ ability to keep up with demand, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.
Registrations of new cars were down 24% last month compared with June 2021, according to preliminary figures from the trade body.
Drivers are waiting more than 12 months to take delivery of some models. Only about 800,000 new cars were sold during the first half of the year, down 12% compared with the same period in 2021, and the second-weakest first-half performance since 1992.

04/07/2022

Poor households face having to help foot bill for building Sizewell C

The UK government has been criticised for exposing low-income households to the cost of building the Sizewell C nuclear power plant while letting factories “off the hook” as a crucial planning decision is due this week.
If given the green light, the government hopes to use a regulated asset base (RAB) funding model to finance the project, which is being proposed by the French energy firm EDF.
RAB reduces the risk to investors, who will receive regular payments before the project begins generating power. However, it also means customers pay for the construction costs through higher energy bills.
A consultation on using the RAB model is due to close next month and shows operators in energy-intensive industries would be exempt but households receiving universal credit would have to pay.

04/07/2022

Woke Scout leaders ban the terms ‘man-made’ and ‘dinner ladies’ in fear of hurting anyone’s feelings

A new style guide also outlaws “maiden name” and “Christian name” for fear of hurting anyone’s feelings. And in future, children will be playing “broken telephone” and not “Chinese whispers”, according to the document on The Scout Association website.
The intention, the organisation says, is to avoid causing offence to people of “all genders”, religions, races and those living with a disability.
It comes after it emerged that the body had handed “trans fun”, “bisexual fun” and “gay fun” badges to members.
One bemused dad who has a son in the Scouts told The Sun: “This is beyond crazy.
“I joined him up to learn life lessons and develop, not to be lectured on this woke nonsense. It’s a total joke.”
Tory MP Nigel Mills said: “It’s a real shame that even the Scouts are now getting involved in this woke madness.
"You expect them to let children live their lives — not suffocate them with this PC agenda.”

03/07/2022

Shetland celebrates first ever Pride march

Meanwhile in Scotland, Shetland is celebrating its historic first ever Pride march today, the most northerly celebration of its kind in the UK.
It has drawn interest from across the world and visiting drag queens travelled by ferry from Aberdeen to perform at a sold-out variety show.

03/07/2022

‘They belong here’: Salisbury Cathedral exhibits Grayson Perry’s tapestries

The vibrant colours are bound to attract the eye but the subject matter – from tattooed cage fighters to a celebrity chef reimagined as God – will surprise, challenge, perhaps even anger visitors to one of England’s most historic religious buildings.
Grayson Perry’s work The Vanity of Small Differences – six vivid tapestries, each 4 metres by 2 metres, packed with biblical scenes and themes telling a story of class and social climbing – is being shown in the nave of Salisbury Cathedral this summer. It is the first time the tapestries have been displayed in an ecclesiastical setting.
As the final tapestry was being hung on Tuesday, the Very Rev Nicholas Papadopulos, the dean of Salisbury, accepted that the work might not appeal to all visitors of the Wiltshire cathedral, but said the ancient building was actually the perfect place to view it.

03/07/2022

No 10 considers 50-year mortgages that could pass down generations

Downing Street is exploring the idea of trying to tackle the housing crisis with ultra-long mortgages of up to 50 years that could pass between generations, allowing more people to build up equity rather than pay rent.
Mortgage experts said the idea could bring some benefits but flagged problems, including the potential to saddle children with debt, and the fact it would not tackle the fundamental issue of housing supply.
Under the plan being examined by No 10, a longer mortgage period would allow people to borrow larger sums, with the possibility of passing the debt on, although it remains unclear what government action would make this happen.
Other housing ideas being considered by Downing Street include trying to free up government-owned land for rapid homebuilding, and exploring whether institutions such as schools could build homes for key workers priced out of local areas.

03/07/2022

Halifax customers quit in droves after bosses urge staff to display pronouns on name badges

More than 10,000 protested on social media with hundreds vowing to boycott the bank.
Some cut up cash cards after a Halifax social media boss wrote: “If you disagree with our values, you’re welcome to close your account.”
One woman, 50, who did so said: “I don’t want to be having conversations about gender when I go into my bank.
"I’d rather they be focused on lowering interest rates.”
The row began when Halifax tweeted a snap of a uniform badge with the words “she/her/hers” below the name Gemma.

01/07/2022

UK government to scrap European law protecting special habitats

Environment secretary George Eustice wants to tear up a key piece of European law that environmentalists say protects cherished habitats in the UK.
He went on to say the regulations were “very ambiguous” and bureaucratic, requiring “lots of impact assessments to be drafted”. They contained “well-meaning ambitions to protect the environment” but did not do so, he said.
The directive has provided protections for UK habitats since 1992. It supports a network of areas – known as Natura 2000 sites – where special habitats are protected. There are more than 320 Natura 2000 sites in England, nearly 900 in the UK and more than 25,000 throughout Europe.
The sites offer more protection than the domestic designations, sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs). The regulations have been used in numerous cases to provide more protection for habitats and species.

01/07/2022

Britons seek cheaper food in 'unprecedented' cost of living crisis - Sainsbury's

Cash-strapped Britons are buying more cheap frozen food to help cut waste and cope with "unprecedented" soaring living costs, the boss of supermarket group Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) told Reuters.
Chief Executive Simon Roberts said shoppers were "watching every penny and every pound", visiting stores more often but buying less on each trip, and using technology to monitor their spending to avoid "till shock" at the check-out.
"In many ways there is no playbook for what we're dealing with at the moment, these are unprecedented circumstances," said Roberts, a 30-year veteran of the UK retail sector who has run Britain's second-biggest supermarket since 2020.

30/06/2022

New disruption at Heathrow

Thousands more passengers have had their plans upset by the airports staffing crisis, after Heathrow ordered airlines to cancel flights because it could not handle the numbers due to travel.
The UK’s busiest airport made a rare “schedule intervention” on Wednesday evening, leading to 30 flights being scrapped during the Thursday morning peak.
Some passengers did not find out their flights were cancelled until they arrived at Heathrow.
The travel writer and broadcaster Andy Mossack tweeted: “Total chaos at Heathrow this morning. British Airways flights cancelled and zero customer service!”
Another affected passenger, Andrew Douglas, said he was due to be on a flight but had “spent the last four hours in multiple queues at Heathrow airport because it’s been cancelled”.
He added: “Absolute shambles, complete chaos and only found out at check-in with no prior notification. Horrific service.”

30/06/2022

UK parliamentary committee sets out plan to investigate PM Johnson

The Privileges Committee will look into whether Johnson, who earlier this month just survived a confidence vote brought by his Conservative lawmakers, misled parliament with his various comments on so-called partygate.
If the committee finds he knowingly did mislead parliament, convention dictates he should offer his resignation.
The committee said those who wish to submit evidence would have until July 29 to do so. Veteran opposition Labour Party lawmaker Harriet Harman would chair the committee during its inquiry, the statement said.
The committee said oral evidence sessions would begin in the autumn, and that it would also be willing to take oral or written evidence from people who wish to remain anonymous.

29/06/2022

Low-income households in UK living in ‘year of financial fear’ says charity

About 7 million struggling families in the UK are living through a “frightening year of financial fear”, going without food, heating, toiletries and even showering as they try to cope with the cost of living crisis, a leading charity has said.
Many people are falling deep into debt as they try to stay afloat, using credit cards or cash from loan sharks to pay for food and other basics and building up arrears on energy bills, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).
The extent of the crisis facing low-income households was so serious that more than 2 million households were no longer choosing between “heating or eating” because they had already gone without both, the charity said.
Some households were having up to £130 a month, or a quarter of their entitlement, deducted from their benefits – often for historical tax credit overpayments or advance loans issued to tide them over the five-week waiting period for new claims.

Freedom Great Britain

15/07/2022

14/07/2022

14/07/2022

14/07/2022

13/07/2022

13/07/2022

13/07/2022

10/07/2022

10/07/2022

08/07/2022

08/07/2022

08/07/2022

07/07/2022

06/07/2022

06/07/2022

05/07/2022

05/07/2022

05/07/2022

04/07/2022

04/07/2022

03/07/2022

03/07/2022

03/07/2022

03/07/2022

01/07/2022

01/07/2022

30/06/2022

30/06/2022

29/06/2022

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Nearby media companies

Other Media/News Companies in City of Westminster

You may also like