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Aug 15 2023

Dame Priti Patel takes aim at government’s ‘alarming and staggering lack of clarity’ over plans to house asylum seekers at Essex RAF base | Politics News

Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel has accused her former department of being “evasive” and “secretive” over how long it plans to use a former RAF base to house asylum seekers.

In a letter to her successor Suella Braverman and the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, earlier on Monday, Dame Priti wrote that the “lack of clarity” over how long the government plans to house asylum seekers at the former base in Wethersfield, Essex, “has been alarming and staggering”.

The site near Dame Priti’s Witham constituency has been earmarked to house 1,700 asylum seekers by the autumn as part of plans to reduce spending on hotels, with the first residents having arrived in July.

RAF Wethersfield is one of a number of former military sites earmarked for housing asylum seekers, alongside the Bibby Stockholm barge which was evacuated on Friday after legionella bacteria was found in the water supply.

In the letter posted to X, formerly Twitter, the former home secretary said that when it was announced on 29 March that the site would be used for asylum seekers, the length of time it would be used was not stated.

She said reports the site would need to be used for five years to achieve value for money for the taxpayer was “concerning”, and said “no clarity has been provided” in subsequent discussions between Home Office officials and local partners.

Citing three written parliamentary questions on the topic submitted back in June, she said the failure to provide direct answers “gives the impressions the Home Office is being evasive” and “suggests that the government is being secretive about its intentions”.

She added: “Clear answers now need to be provided by the Home Office and the government must be transparent rather than evasive. The lack of clarity has been alarming and staggering.”

Read more:
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Asylum seekers ‘should be moved back on the barge’

A Home Office spokesman said: “Delivering accommodation on surplus military sites will provide cheaper and more orderly, suitable accommodation for those arriving in small boats whilst helping to reduce the use of hotels.

“These accommodation sites will house asylum seekers in basic, safe and secure accommodation as they await a decision on their claim.

“In the case of Wethersfield, the Home Office has obtained planning permission to use the site for 12 months.

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“We understand the concerns of local communities and will work closely with councils and key partners to manage the impact of using these sites, including liaising with local police to make sure appropriate arrangements are in place.”

The department said it intended to reply to Dame Priti’s letter to the home secretary “in due course”.

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Aug 14 2023

Wales’s health minister Eluned Morgan hits back at Steve Barclay’s offer to treat patients in England | UK News

A Welsh government minister has accused the UK’s health secretary of “a cheap political stunt” after he suggested patients in Scotland and Wales could be treated in England to reduce waiting lists.

Steve Barclay said he was “open to requests” for patients who had been waiting a long time for treatment.

Health is a devolved matter and comes under the responsibility of the Labour government in Wales and SNP in Scotland.

Wales’s health minister Eluned Morgan said the offer from her English counterpart seemed “very odd”.

Recent figures showed 5% of patients on waiting lists in England had been waiting more than a year at the end of June.

The Welsh government said it did not have official figures on the number of individual patients waiting to start treatment.

NHS Wales figures show around 18% of patient pathways were waiting more than a year.

Patient pathways is the total number of waits not the number of individual patients on waiting lists and some patients may be on more than one pathway.

“I think it’s a cheap political stunt for the summer and it seems very odd for a man who’s got 7.5 million people waiting on lists in England to be offering this kind of service beyond his borders,” Baroness Morgan said.

“Where on earth he’d find the capacity from I don’t know, but if the offer’s free then I certainly would want to take it up but my guess is this is just a cheap political stunt.”

‘Challenged’

The health minister acknowledged Wales was “challenged” when it came to waiting lists but cautioned against direct comparisons due to the different ways waiting lists are measured either side of the border.

“The fact is that we are challenged in terms of waiting lists in Wales but we count very differently, we include for example the number of people waiting for therapies,” the minister added.

“The number of people waiting for diagnostics. None of that is counted so you do have to compare like with like and we don’t do that when it does come to waiting lists.”

Scotland’s health secretary Michael Matheson suggested Westminster should concentrate on the “many issues south of the border”, such as doctors’ strikes.

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Mr Barclay also suggested he would like to see closer working between governments on health, a suggestion backed by Baroness Morgan.

“We’re more than happy to cooperate,” she said.

“In the past we used to have weekly meetings with UK health ministers, but since Steve Barclay’s been in power since October, we’ve had two.

“So this is a man who suddenly seems very converted to the cause of devolution when he wants to score a political point.”

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Aug 14 2023

Couple whose Siberian husky dog mauled their three-month-old baby Kyra King to death spared jail | UK News

A couple whose Siberian husky dog mauled their three-month-old daughter to death have been spared jail.

Vince King and Karen Alcock’s female dog, named Blizzard, killed Kyra King in woodland on 6 March 2022.

The animal, one of 19 kept by the pair, jumped into the front of the couple’s van and out of the passenger door before mauling Kyra while she slept in her pram, Lincoln Crown Court heard.

King and Alcock had earlier been racing the dogs in Lincolnshire.

The dog, which will be put down, left Kyra with multiple head and neck injuries.

The parents performed CPR on the baby in an attempt to revive her.

Handing the pair suspended sentences on Monday, Judge Sjolin Knight said the incident resulted from a “tragic conjunction of circumstances”.

She said: “This is a tragic case, and I have no doubt that both of you wish every day you could wind the clock back so that incident never happened.

“There was nothing to trigger [Blizzard’s] attack on Kyra, but on this occasion she was dangerously out of control.

“Dog ownership is a privilege and for many a pleasure, but it comes with a heavy burden under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

“[Blizzard] did an awful thing which neither of you expected and will weigh heavily upon you for the rest of your lives.

“I don’t believe that this incident was reasonably foreseeable but believe it was a momentary lapse of an otherwise good system.

“It is appropriate to suspend both sentences.”

Jeremy Janes, prosecuting, told the court that the defendants were experienced dog owners and regularly raced the animals, which were used for sport in sledging teams, rather than being domestic pets.

King, 55, had raced dogs for 20 years after working in the military and also bred huskies.

On the day of the incident he had taken his dogs out for a practice run on a well-known route about three miles long.

Alcock, a 41-year-old veterinary nurse, had been with King since 2019 and accompanied him on the racing runs, with the pair working “as a team”.

Kyra had been taken along for the runs from just five days old and was described by the judge as a “very much wanted and loved baby”.

After racing seven dogs in Ostler’s Plantation, an area of woodland near Woodhall Spa, King returned to his van to swap the sledging teams over, with Blizzard leading the first team.

The dogs were transported in a van, the rear of which had been modified to contain lockable cages, and after her practice run, Blizzard was put inside the van to drink.

The dog attacked Kyra after leaping over the partition separating the cages from the van’s front seats.

Despite the efforts of King and Alcock, Kyra was pronounced dead at the scene and the pair were arrested.

Blizzard had been bought by King six years earlier, had been racing for three years and was pregnant at the time, Mr Janes said.

Alcock later said the dog had escaped two weeks before the incident and called her an “escape artist”, while King described her as “very energetic and eager to run, but not aggressive”.

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Mr Janes said Kyra suffered “horrific” injuries, adding that the incident “could have been reasonably foreseen” and “should have been on the defendants’ minds”.

King pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury resulting in death, on the first day of his trial on 1 June and has no relevant previous convictions.

Alcock admitted the same charge on 23 December last year and has a previous police caution for being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, when a spaniel bit a child’s trousers after it had been sat on.

King was given a 10-month sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

Alcock was given an eight-month sentence, also suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Knight stopped short of banning the pair from owning dogs.

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Aug 14 2023

Bibby Stockholm: Asylum seekers should be moved back on the barge despite row over Legionella, says Steve Barclay | Politics News

Asylum seekers should still be put back on the Bibby Stockholm barge despite the row caused by the discovery of Legionella, the health secretary has said.

Legionella bacteria can cause a potentially deadly lung infection known as Legionnaires’ disease. It is contracted by people breathing in droplets of water containing the bacteria.

None of the migrants on the barge have shown any symptoms of the disease, according to the Home Office.

Asylum seekers were removed from the barge on Friday after Legionella bacteria was found in the vessel’s water system.

It later emerged that people spent four days on board the barge after the bacteria was discovered and before they were removed by the Home Office as a “precautionary measure” – prompting a blame game about what the government knew and when.

Dorset Council has said Home Office contractors were notified about the results last Monday – four days before people were moved off the barge.

The council went on to claim that a Home Office staff member was informed about the bacteria on Tuesday.

However, a government source previously told Sky News that there is no record of this conversation, and claimed the Home Office only received a written notification about the Legionella on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Barclay said ministers were informed about traces of the bacteria only on Thursday.

Asked about claims the Home Office was informed about test results which discovered the bacteria on Tuesday, he said: “This is a standard thing the council had done. There is no reason to suggest there were concerns. As a precaution the tests were done.

“As soon as ministers were notified on Thursday night, there were some concerns with that, they took instant action.”

He added: “It may be the council notified the Home Office, that is an issue for those in the Home Office to respond to, obviously this is a Home Office lead.

“My understanding from colleagues in the Home Office is it was notified to Home Office ministers on Thursday and they then took very quick action as a result.”

And asked whether people should be put back on the Bibby Stockholm despite the controversy, Mr Barclay replied: “Yes, I do, because it’s costing around £6m a day in terms of the cost of hotels.

“It’s important that we both maintain safety standards, but also reflect the pressure on the taxpayer position in terms of that £6m.”

The health secretary also said no migrants had shown signs of illness from Legionella.

“There has been no concerns in terms of anyone that has been on the barge and all those people are being subject to health assessments,” he said.

The barge is one of a number of alternative sites the Home Office is using to end reliance on expensive hotels for asylum seekers, which the government says is costing the taxpayer £6m a day.

Its operation has been mired in controversy after its opening was delayed several times before it finally opened to asylum seekers last Monday.

Charities have warned that those on board the boat have been “re-traumatised” after they were evacuated following the discovery of Legionella.

Conservative ministers have faced calls to resign over the saga, with former Cabinet minister David Davis saying the evacuation “revealed the “startling incompetence of the Home Office itself”.

“The primary thing that’s been revealed has been the startling incompetence of the Home Office itself,” he told BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme:

“Rather famously many years ago, John Reid, when he took over as home secretary, talked about it being not fit for purpose, and I’m afraid you’re seeing that here.

“It’s really, really hard to understand how, at all layers, this could not be caught early.”

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He added: “Even working properly, the Bibby barge would only take effectively one day’s arrivals. So it’s not a solution to the problem and all of this is going to go on until the Home Office is able to process these arrivals more quickly.”

The government believes the existence of the barge will serve as a deterrent to those arriving in England via small boats in the Channel.

However, in a further blow to Rishi Sunak, last week saw the highest daily number of people cross the Channel, with 755 migrants making the journey on Thursday.

It brought the cumulative total since records began in 2018 to over 100,000.

The government was then forced to defend its immigration strategy after at least six people died after a small boat crossing from France to the UK capsized and sank, in what was described as an “appalling and preventable” tragedy.

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Aug 14 2023

CCTV footage shows pedestrians ‘risking their lives’ at level crossings | UK News

Footage shows parents letting their toddlers play on live railway lines, young people doing one-armed press-ups, and dog walkers sitting their pets on the tracks for photos.

Network Rail has released a compilation of CCTV footage showing people “risking their lives” at footpath level crossings in Worcestershire.

Covert cameras captured six instances of “incredibly dangerous behaviour” at crossings.

The company said they were just a handful of examples out of nearly 50 cases of misuse either reported by train drivers or caught on hidden cameras.

In one clip, loud music plays while a teenager does one-armed press-ups in the middle of a crossing – and in another a horn sounds as two dog walkers rush across eight seconds before a high-speed train passes.

One video shows a dog walker encouraging two dogs to sit on the tracks while another takes photos of them.

Footage also shows a primary school aged boy on a scooter rushing over the crossing in front of an oncoming train that arrives seven seconds later.

A man with two little girls playing on the rails can be seen pointing out the “pretty hills” in the distance to them – they were caught on camera on the tracks for over 90 seconds.

In another incident, two boys can be seen placing ballast stones on the track so they are run over by trains.

Alexandra France, Network Rail level crossing safety manager, said: “In so many of the incidents filmed, the difference of just a few seconds could have led to tragedy for those involved.

“I can’t downplay the danger they were in – with serious injury or worse a huge possibility.

“No matter how well you think you know a crossing, all users must obey the rules around using level crossings every time they use it. It just really isn’t worth the risk.”

Network Rail level crossing safety teams are now visiting the problem crossings to directly warn people of the dangers on the railway.

They will be handing out leaflets and explaining to passers-by people using footpath level crossings should: concentrate; stop, look and listen; check both ways before crossing; understand the warnings; and cross quickly, keeping children close and dogs on a lead.

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Aug 13 2023

UK weather: Heavy rain to drench UK before temperatures soar to 30C next week | UK News

The UK will be drenched in heavy rain next week but the deluge could give way to temperatures of 30C, according to the Met Office.

A yellow rain warning has been issued for northern England and Wales on Monday, with risks of flooding and disruption to infrastructure and transport.

However, once the rain subsides temperatures are set to soar in parts of the country, with southern England reaching 30C by the weekend – higher than the 26C predicted in Los Angeles.

UK weather: The latest Sky News forecast

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said the warning runs through the early hours of Monday morning and into the evening, ending at 9pm.

He said temperatures should remain between 18-23C, before becoming drier on Tuesday.

“Temperatures overall similar to the last couple of days really. So, jumping between 18 and 23C so overall an unsettled day,” he said.

“The good news is that low pressure moves out of the way as we go into Tuesday, so it should be a drier day on Tuesday.

“A better chance of seeing some sunny spells particularly across eastern parts of the UK.”

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Temperatures could begin to soar

He said temperatures could then start to soar in southern parts of the UK as the week progresses.

“An area of low pressure to the west of the UK and the Atlantic slowly starts to move towards us,” he said.

“What that allows to happen is for the winds to turn southerly, and we start to import some higher temperatures from the near continent.

“So, staying into Friday, we’re likely to see those temperatures rising, potentially getting towards the high 20s and then possibly by Friday and into the weekend, depending on cloud and shower distribution, we could locally see temperatures around 30C by the weekend.”

It comes after the UK experienced its sixth-wettest July on record, with flooding and strong gusts from Storm Antoni bringing a miserable start to August.

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Aug 13 2023

Pembrokeshire campsite crash: Baby was inside tent that was struck by car which veered off the road and injured nine people | UK News

A baby was inside the tent that was struck by a car after it veered off the road and crashed into a campsite – leaving two people in a serious condition and seven others injured.

Clare Harris, who runs the Newgale campsite in Pembrokeshire, has said the baby is “okay” after the ordeal.

It is not clear if the child is one of those who required hospital treatment.

Two people are in a serious condition in hospital after a blue Ford Fiesta collided with a number of people and the tent shortly after 10.30pm on Saturday.

One person was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales, the Welsh Ambulance Service said.

Four were taken by ambulance to Glangwilli Hospital, while one was taken to Morriston Hospital.

Ms Harris, who runs the campsite with her husband Mike, said: “The car was speeding down the hill, realised it needed to slow down and tried to brake.

“It flipped and rolled several times, and crashed into the tent.

“There was a young child, a baby, in the tent at the time, thankfully they are okay.

“It’s a tragic accident that the police are dealing with, that’s all we can say at the moment.”

The car is believed to have been travelling from the village of Roch towards St Davids when it crashed off the A487.

Dyfed Powys Police said passengers in the car were among those injured.

Police said in a statement: “The road was closed to allow investigations and reopened at around 7.45am today.

“Officers are appealing for any information regarding the vehicle, a blue Ford Fiesta, and its occupants.

“We are especially interested in any dashcam footage or doorbell footage which may have captured the vehicle being driven from Roch to the scene of the collision at Newgale.”

HM Coastguard in Broad Haven said: “The team were paged at 11.23pm last night to assist with multi-agency incident in Newgale.

“We organised a helicopter site and supported paramedics with casualty care.”

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called yesterday at around 22:40 to reports of an incident at Newgale Campsite, Pembrokeshire.

“We sent six emergency ambulances, one duty operations manager, one Cymru high acuity response unit and our crews were supported on scene by the emergency medical and retrieval transfer service and search and rescue helicopter.

“One patient was flown to University Hospital of Wales, four patients were taken by road to Glangwilli Hospital, and one patient was taken by road to Morriston Hospital.”

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Aug 13 2023

Rugby tackle height to be lowered as concerns over concussions and head injuries grow | UK News

From next season, the legal tackle height in community rugby will be lowered from below the shoulders to the base of the sternum in a move to address concerns over injuries and concussion in the sport.

The change will apply across the community game and will be implemented in clubs, schools and universities – at both age-grade and adult levels.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) says the change has been informed by data and is designed to improve player safety by reducing head impact exposure and concussion risk.

“A lot of injuries have occurred, head injuries have occurred, because of the high tackles,” says David Fraser, training workforce manager at the RFU.

“By reducing the tackle height we anticipate seeing a huge reduction in head injury, or possibly up to 4,000 fewer head injuries a year, which will make the game safer,” he said.

But former Wales international Lenny Woodward isn’t convinced.

In 2021, at the age of just 45 years old, he was diagnosed with early onset dementia which he says is caused by concussions sustained by numerous knocks to the head during his career.

“It’s good that they have recognised there needs to be some sort of change,” he said.

However, he is concerned it is being aimed at the wrong players, and questions whether professional participants should trial the new laws before the community levels.

“Personally, I would have liked to see that change being made at the top level so people can see how it could be implemented with players who are training hours and hours a day to get it right – rather than at the lower levels where I am worried we are at risk of losing players to the game.”

Lenny says he would like to see a reduction of tackle training in the sport, as hours can be spent at training trying to perfect a tackle, as well as “better tackle techniques” being taught at early stages of training.

But crucially, he says, anyone suspected of concussion should be removed and automatically be out of the game for at least three weeks.

However, coaches receiving training on the new laws at Battersea Ironsides sport club in southwest London think the step is a move in the right direction.

Read more:
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Kate Digby coaches the under nines who are currently playing tag rugby, but will be learning the contact sport in the new season.

“Hopefully as they are starting young we don’t have to change any bad habits and it will become second nature to them,” she told Sky News.

Angus Phillipson, who coaches children from under fives and up to under 11s, thinks the new laws will help improve inclusivity.

“[What] it will bring about is probably an increase in participation, more diversity in the game,” he says.

“It’s a game that’s maybe became a bit too focused on the hits and physicality,” he added.

“Lowering the tackle height and encouraging people to pass ball and a little more will encourage more people to play the game.”

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Aug 13 2023

Clampdown on gender-neutral toilets planned by the government | UK News

The government has confirmed it is working to reverse the “rise in gender-neutral toilets” as part of its wider efforts to protect single-sex spaces.

Regulations will mean single-sex toilets because the default and minimum for new non-residential buildings and those undertaking major refurbishment.

The guidelines will also encourage the consideration of self-contained toilets, which is a fully enclosed toilet room with a wash hand basin for individual use.

The government has previously clarified that disabled toilet provision will not be affected by the changes.

Kemi Badenoch, minister for women and equalities, said: “It is important that everybody has privacy and dignity when using public facilities. Yet the move towards ‘gender neutral’ toilets has removed this fundamental right for women and girls.

“These proposals will ensure every new building in England is required to provide separate male and female or unisex facilities and publish guidance to explain the difference, protecting the dignity, privacy, and safety of all.”

A previous call for evidence on increasing the accessibility of toilets for men and women had more than 17,000 responses and represented a full range of views.

The government said these responses generally called for greater consideration in the range of toilets to preserve dignity, access, equality and privacy for all.

Parliamentary undersecretary of state for faith and communities, Baroness Scott, said: “It is extremely important women can feel comfortable when using public facilities, so we are taking action to restore dignity and privacy at the centre of all future provision.

“These proposals will mean separate toilets for men and women, as well as self-contained toilets for those that need them, become a requirement for every new building across England.”

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Aug 12 2023

UK weather: Parts of UK could be hotter than California next week with temperatures soaring past 30C | UK News

Tropical air could cause temperatures to soar past 30C in parts of the UK, making it hotter than California by the end of the week, after heavy rain lashes the country.

High pressure is set to build from the middle of next week, meaning southeast England could reach 32C on Friday, according to the Met Office – higher than the 26C predicted in Los Angeles.

However, it will come after most of the country is inundated by heavy and persistent rain from Sunday evening into Monday.

A weather warning could be imposed on parts of north Wales, with two inches of rain set to fall on Monday – about half a month’s worth for the area.

It comes after the UK experienced its sixth-wettest July on record, with flooding and strong gusts from Storm Antoni bringing a miserable start to August.

UK weather: The latest Sky News forecast

Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said: “We are looking at the possibility of reaching the low 30s later in the week, most likely on Friday, probably in and around London, running into East Anglia and other parts of the south and east.

“We’ve got low pressure dominating at the moment, that will eventually give way to another area of heavy rain and cloud which will move up from the south and west into Monday, which will be a miserable and wet day across England and Wales.

“Beyond that, there are tentative signs of an improvement, gradually losing that showery signal during Tuesday and Wednesday, and temperatures will start to climb.

“We’ve got high pressure building from the middle of the week and that will tap into some tropical continental air, which will draw up some very warm, locally hot air that will allow temperatures to climb steadily.

“By the time we get into Friday and maybe into Saturday we stand a chance of breaking into the 30s.”

Read more:
How to stay cool at night during hot weather
Get the latest 5-day forecast where you are

Much of England and Wales set to surpass 25C

Temperatures could also climb in other parts of the country on Friday, with much of England and Wales set to surpass 25C, while Scotland and Northern Ireland could reach the low-to-mid 20s.

Many areas will be dry with sunny spells during the warm period, according to the Met Office, though there may be outbreaks of thunder showers.

But Mr Stroud said the heat will be short-lived as low pressure will move back in, causing more unsettled conditions next weekend.

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