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Claire O’Neill, a former climate minister, says PM’s move was to ‘try and create political division and dividing lines’The UK government’s decision to weaken some of its climate commitments was a “retrograde step” that will set back vital cross-party action to cut carbon emissions, Claire O’Neill, a former Conservative climate minister has said.O’Neill, who was known as Claire Perry when she served as a...

UK’s blue-chip index reaches 8,076, surpassing previous high of 8,047 in February 2023Business live – latest updatesThe UK stock market hit a record high on Tuesday, as shares were lifted by hopes of interest rate cuts and an easing of geopolitical tensions.The FTSE 100 index of blue-chip stocks listed in London hit 8,076 points on Tuesday, surpassing a previous high of 8,047 in February...

International concern over new law increases as UN high commissioner for refugees says it marks ‘step away from UK’s tradition of providing refuge’Three men, a woman and a child were killed attempting to cross the Channel in the early hours of this morning, according to a French coastguard statement.Enver Solomon, the Refugee Council’s chief executive, said this was “another devastating human tragedy” that should...

French coastguard says small boat was carrying more than 100 people during failed crossing attemptFive people have died in an attempt to cross the Channel near the town of Wimereux, south of Calais, French police have said.A spokesperson for France’s national police told Reuters that five asylum seekers had died, while the French coastguard confirmed there was a failed attempt to cross the Channel...

Shoppers spend more on promotions as Easter lifts sales of chocolate eggs and hot-cross bunsBusiness live – latest updatesGrocery price inflation in Great Britain has slowed to 3.2%, the lowest since November 2021, as the cost of toilet rolls, butter and milk fell and people spent more on store promotions.The decline in the four weeks to 14 April marked the 14th monthly drop in...

Government borrowed £120.7bn in the last financial year, with just under £12bn in MarchBusiness live – latest updatesJeremy Hunt’s scope for a substantial pre-election tax giveaway has been hit after the latest set of official figures showed the UK’s public finances in worse shape than thought at last month’s budget.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the government borrowed £120.7bn in the...

Commissioner expresses grave concern after Rishi Sunak’s asylum policy passes parliamentary stagesThe Council of Europe’s human rights watchdog has condemned Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda scheme, saying it raises “major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law”.The body’s human rights commissioner, Michael O’Flaherty, said the bill, expected to be signed into law on Tuesday after passing its parliamentary stages on...

In today’s newsletter: After months of wrangling, Parliament passed the government’s controversial plan to tackle small boats• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition Continue reading...

International Energy Agency says 17m vehicles will be sold this year, up more than 20% compared with 2023Electric and plug-in hybrid car sales will jump to a new global record in 2024 despite slowing growth in some markets, according to forecasts from the influential International Energy Agency (IEA).The Paris-based forecaster said that 17m battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be sold...

Lawyers prepare for legal battles on behalf of individual asylum seekers challenging removal to east AfricaHow the UK government’s Rwanda deportation plan was fought in courtRishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation bill will become law after peers eventually backed down on amending it, opening the way for legal battles over the potential removal of dozens of people seeking asylum.After a marathon battle of “ping pong” over...

PM pledges equipment including 400 vehicles, 1,600 weapons and 4m rounds of ammunition, plus £500m in fundingRishi Sunak has promised the UK’s largest ever military support package for Ukraine as he warned that Vladimir Putin would “not stop at the Polish border” if Russia won the war.The prime minister will visit Poland on Tuesday to discuss European security and the threat from Russia with...

PM to publicly warn peers to back down but treatment of Afghans remains a concern for the LordsSky News has broadcast a clip of Rishi Sunak addressing a meeting of the government’s illegal migration operations committee in the cabinet room at No 10 this morning. It is almost certainly a preview of what he will say at the press conference, which is due to...

There are signs Labour’s polling lead is a bit soft. But with the Tories trailing in leadership and economy, experts aren’t sure it will matterUK general election opinion polls tracker: Labour leading as election loomsUK politics – latest updatesAs 2014 came to a close, it seemed Ed Miliband would be the next prime minister, with the Labour party leading David Cameron’s Conservatives as the...

Commissioner says failure to explain why police did not pursue case against Matthew White ‘totally unacceptable’The Metropolitan police commissioner has apologised to the mother of Stephen Lawrence for not fulfilling a promise to explain why his force failed to properly handle evidence against one of the suspects in the teenager’s murder.A BBC investigation in 2023 identified Matthew White as the sixth suspect in the...

Embattled water supplier promises to invest up to £3bn more over the next five yearsBusiness live – latest updatesThames Water could raise bills to as much as £627 a year to pay to fix its leaky network, after promising to invest up to £3bn more over the next five years.The embattled water supplier said on Monday that it had updated its spending plans for...

Independent shopkeepers say prices they pay at supermarket’s cash-and-carry arm Booker are often higher than in Tesco storesVillage shopkeepers say Tesco is consistently undercutting them by selling products for less in its stores than via its wholesale business Booker, stoking concerns about the power of the UK’s biggest supermarket chain.Tesco, which has 27% of the UK grocery market, bought the cash-and-carry group in 2017...

High court action will claim US owner allowed access to app users’ private information in breach of UK lawGrindr faces the prospect of legal action by hundreds of users who will allege that the dating app shared highly sensitive personal information, including in some cases their HIV status, with advertising companies.The law firm Austen Hays is to file a claim on Monday in London’s...

Saleh Ahmed Handule Ali, now 33, had indefinite leave to remain in UK, but Home Office failed to keep a recordA refugee who left the UK on holiday as a teenager in 2008 has been stranded in east Africa for the last 16 years in a case that senior judges have described as “extraordinary”.Saleh Ahmed Handule Ali, now 33, arrived in the UK at...

Tory MPs urging government not to restore funding despite UN’s roadmap, published on Monday, to make agency more transparentA plan due to be published today to improve the accountability and transparency of Unrwa, the UN relief works agency for Palestinians, is not expected to lead to a snap British decision to restore funding to the agency.Britain joined 18 other nations in suspending funding for...

Europeans are dying from hot weather 30% more than they did two decades ago, report findsScorching weather has baked Europe in more days of “extreme heat stress” than its scientists have ever seen.Heat-trapping pollutants that clog the atmosphere helped push temperatures in Europe last year to the highest or second-highest levels ever recorded, according to the EU’s Earth-watching service Copernicus and the World Meteorological...

Government auditors must look into claims of complicity in corruption on arms deals with UK, says Labour peerAlleged Ministry of Defence complicity in the “national scandal” of bribery on arms deals in Saudi Arabia must be investigated by government auditors, a senior Labour politician has said.Peter Hain, the antiapartheid campaigner and peer, said in a letter to the National Audit Office (NAO) that a...

Sir Mark Rowley criticised over handling of pro-Palestine protests after antisemitism campaigner threatened with arrestMinisters have called for action to be taken against the Metropolitan police after an officer was filmed suggesting that being “openly Jewish” was a provocation to pro-Palestinian protesters.The incident has prompted calls by the former home secretary Suella Braverman and the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) for the head of the...

Campaigners call for the whole regulatory system to be replaced after Observer analysis finds watchdog spent more than £25m with consultanciesThe water industry regulator has spent £26.7m on business consultants in the past five years, including several companies that have simultaneously worked for private water firms, the Observer can reveal.The findings prompted environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey to call for Ofwat to be abolished as...

Young people feel their internet activity is overwhelmed by betting promotions and similar content, says GambleAware Children are “saturated” with betting promotions and gambling-like content while using the internet, despite restrictions on ad campaigns targeting young people, new research reveals.GambleAware, the charity funded by donations from gambling firms, commissioned research that found the risks of online gambling were not understood by children because of the...