A massive ice sheet in Antarctica – equal to the size of Great Britain – could be all but lost by the 23rd century, experts warn.
The Thwaites Glacier is one of the largest and fastest-moving in the world. Along with the wider region – the Amundsen Sea Embayment – it accounts for 8% of the current rate of global sea level rise, at 4.6mm a year.
Experts from the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC) now say ice loss at the glacier will accelerate through the 22nd century and could lead to a widespread collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 23rd.
If it all melted, experts said the glacier would raise sea levels by 3.3 metres, or close to 10 feet.
Modelling from Climate Central – an independent group of scientists – holds that such a rise in sea level would put large parts of central London, including Westminster, Battersea and Canary Wharf, underwater.
“Thwaites has been retreating for more than 80 years, accelerating considerably over the past 30 years, and our findings indicate it is set to retreat further and faster,” British Antarctic Survey (BAS) marine geophysicist Dr Rob Larter said.
The expert, also of Science Co-ordination of the ITGC, added: “There is a consensus that Thwaites Glacier retreat will accelerate sometime within the next century.
“However, there is also concern that additional processes revealed by recent studies, which are not yet well enough studied to be incorporated into large-scale models, could cause retreat to accelerate sooner.”
Image: Pic: NASA
Thwaites Glacier rests on a bed far below sea level that slopes downwards towards the heart of West Antarctica, leaving it more vulnerable to rising sea temperatures.
It is roughly 120km across, making it the widest in the world, and in some places is more than 2,000 metres thick.
The researchers said they used underwater robots, new survey techniques, and new approaches to ice flow and fracture modelling to investigate the glacier.
While they acknowledge there is a lot unknown about the glacier’s future, their results indicate the rate of ice loss from the retreating glacier will increase in response to climate and ocean changes.
The researchers added the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf – which currently covers around half of the 120km-wide front of the glacier – is likely to disintegrate in the coming decade.
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Last year a group of scientists tasked by the UK Foreign Office to investigate “unprecedented” changes in Antarctica warned the disruption was not being taken seriously enough.
In March, scientists said they were designing a radical 62-mile long curtain to protect the glacier from being nibbled away by warm water beneath it, as it floats on the sea surface.
MPs are calling for a new review into the dangers of the drug Primodos, claiming that families who suffered avoidable harm from it have been “sidelined and stonewalled”.
MPs said the suggestion there is no proven link between the hormone pregnancy test and babies being born with malformations is “factually and morally wrong”.
A report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on hormone pregnancy tests claims evidence was “covered up” and it is possible to “piece together a case that could reveal one of the biggest medical frauds of the 20th century”.
Around 1.5 million women in Britain were given hormone pregnancy tests between the 1950s and 1970s.
They were instructed to take the drug by their GPs as a way of finding out if they were pregnant.
But Primodos was withdrawn from the market in the UK in the late 1970s after regulators warned “an association was confirmed” between the drug and birth defects.
However, in 2017 an expert working group found there was insufficient evidence of a causal association.
But MPs now claim this report is flawed. It’s hugely significant because the study was relied upon by the government and manufacturers last year to strike out a claim for compensation by the alleged victims.
The APPG refers to research by Sky News which found aspects of the expert working group’s report were altered between the draft and completion.
It says: “Any risk of undue influence was confirmed by Freedom of Information (FOI) requests obtained by Sky News… that revealed a significant number of changes made to the draft version of the report.
“The APPG examined the FOIs and notes with alarm that there have been hundreds of alterations and some amount to changing the meaning of the report. This raises concerns that the final report seeks to mislead.”
A subsequent review by a team led by Baroness Cumberlege also questioned the changes made between the draft and final copy saying the revisions “created different impressions in the mind of the reader”.
Image: Nicky Gubbins has long campaigned for recognition that Primodos caused her malformations
When Sky News revealed these changes in July 2020 the Medical and Healthcare Products Regulation Agency (MHRA) told us: “It may not be obvious because of the redactions but the expert working group chair and the Commission on Human Medicines endorsed the changes to the report.”
MPs also note that a team of Oxford academics led by Professor Carl Heneghan obtained the raw data used by the expert working group and produced opposite results, finding “there was an association between Primodos and malformations”, and criticising the approach made by the expert working group.
The MPs also say new studies have added strength to claims of a link including a study in Sweden, revealed by Sky News in December.
They are now calling on ministers to commission an “independent review” review.
Read more: How Primodos campaigners are ‘running out of time’ Primodos campaigners lose legal bid for damages Theresa May calls for Primodos campaigners to be ‘treated fairly’
Image: Members of the APPG including its chair Yasmin Qureshi, middle, and vice chair Jacob Rees-Mogg, front left
The new report said MPs have “heard countless stories of sorrow and anger after a lifetime spent needlessly and irreparably damaged both physically and mentally”.
It added: “Mothers continue to be burdened by the guilt of having taken the tablets.
“Parents of the affected children, now in their 70s and 80s, are deeply anxious about what will happen to their adult children when they are no longer there for them.”
Yasmin Qureshi, chair of the APPG, said the report calls on the government to “finally do the right thing”.
“The report brings together the crucial parts of the historic research that has exposed the scandal that is at the heart of this campaign. This is the evidence that the government chooses to ignore.
“The report sets out the new scientific evidence which was recently published by a team led by Swedish scientist Professor Danielson.
“It asks, why does the government continue to rely so heavily on the expert working group report, when the findings, and how it came to achieve those findings, are so flawed?”
Image: More than 100 claimants lost a bid to sue Bayer for damages in 2023
Marie Lyon, chairwoman of the Association For Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests, said: “I await a positive response to our request for a completely independent review of all evidence.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We remain hugely sympathetic to the families who believe that they or their children have suffered following the use of hormone pregnancy tests.
“It is right that the government is led by the scientific evidence and the government’s position remains that, after reviewing the available evidence, it does not support a causal association between the use of hormone pregnancy tests and adverse outcomes in pregnancy.
“We are not closing the door on those who believe they have been affected and have committed to reviewing any new scientific evidence which may come to light.”
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1:38:34
Watch the Sky News documentary Primodos: A Bitter Pill
The German manufacturer of Primodos, Schering, now owned by Bayer told Sky News: “Since the discontinuation of the legal action in 1982, Bayer maintains that no significant new scientific knowledge has been produced which would call into question the validity of the previous assessment of there being no link between the use of Primodos and the occurrence of such congenital anomalies.
“In 2017, the expert working group of the UK’s Commission on Human Medicines published a detailed report concluding that the available scientific data from a variety of scientific disciplines did not support the existence of a causal relationship between the use of sex hormones in pregnancy and an increased incidence of congenital anomalies in the new-born or of other adverse outcomes such as miscarriage.
“The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency supported that conclusion.”
Purists say it’s the feel of the leather, the smell of the fuel, the growl of the engine that brings a classic car to life.
But on an industrial estate in Newtown, mid-Wales, that growl is silenced.
Three Ferrari Testa Rossas, a Maserati Ghibli and a Land Rover are all getting their old engines ripped out and electric motors put in.
Image: Ferrari Testa Rossas at the Electric Classic Cars plant
At this workshop, or “toyshop” as the owner, Richard Morgan, calls it, they’re bringing vintage vehicles into the 21st century.
“We’re future-proofing classic cars to be able to be used regularly.”
There’s a clear production line, with cars getting their engines gutted by the door and then moving into a fabrication area.
Here, bespoke motors are built.
Apart from the engine, nothing in the original car is changed.
Image: This classic car is getting its original engine fixed up to get back on the road
Instead, a team of fabricators play Tetris with batteries, motors and wires, building bespoke engines for every vehicle.
They weld boxes and supports to fit the new electric engine around the car, then bolt them into place.
Image: A Maserati Ghibli is one of the classic cars getting an electric motors put in
But it’s not just the classic car that is upcycled.
Around 40% of the batteries put into the classics are recycled from other, usually crashed, electric cars.
Image: A Maserati Ghibli
They’ve used so many, they say they’ve exhausted the UK supply of second-hand EV batteries.
But for Richard, the founder of Electric Classic Cars, it’s not actually about saving the planet.
“It’s about being able to have the confidence to get into a classic car, and use it as a daily driver.
“When I started doing this years ago, the reaction was, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe you’d do that to a classic car. You’ve ruined it, you’ve taken out the soul.’
Image: Installing an electric engine
“But as time goes on, and more and more people are driving electric cars, they’re starting to get it.
“They’re starting to understand, ‘Oh, it’s got a bit of poke. It’s quite nice to drive around in a nice, quiet, smooth car’.”
Image: A Ferrari Testa Rossa with an old engine
Image: A Ferrari Testa Rossa with an electric engine
He sees it like modernising a home – and the cost of fitting one of these motors could pay for a house deposit.
It can range between £20,000 and £120,000 to have your old engine replaced by Richard’s team.
“It’s not done because it’s going to save you money. It’s done because you want to future-proof the classic car for future generations.
“If you live in a really old house, you don’t have your original coal fireplace, you put a modern central heating system in, or you put in double-glazing or a sewage system.
“It’s like that for me. You’re improving the internals to make it more enjoyable and easier to live with on a day-to-day basis.”
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Many petrolheads in the classic car community remain unconvinced, including Jason Mills, the founder of Vintage Vehicle Restorations over the border in Ludlow.
“Purists would argue that it came out of the factory with that engine,” Mr Mills said, “so to restore it with an electric motor just doesn’t seem right.”
The mechanics here have been restoring vehicles for decades, and although they can see the value in making them cleaner and more reliable, it’s the old engine experience that they love.
“It is the sound, the speed, the noise, the smells,” Mr Mills said.
Purists aside, future-proofing these old classics could keep them on the roads for longer – a reliable, clean and extremely indulgent ride.
An 80-year-old man has been jailed for manslaughter after strangling a young woman nearly half a century ago.
John Apelgren has been convicted after his DNA was flagged as a match in the historical case when he was cautioned for assaulting his third wife in 2019.
The case of Eileen Cotter’s death had been reopened in 2012 when DNA was extracted from her body and compared with a then-prime suspect who was ruled out.
Apelgren hit Ms Cotter, who was a sex worker, in the face and throttled her before throwing her body out of his car, the Old Bailey heard.
Her partly naked body was found on 1 June 1974 outside garages known to be a sex worker haunt.
The 22-year-old’s death in Islington, north London, came two years after Apelgren sexually assaulted an 18-year-old guest at his own wedding to second wife Ann in October 1972.
Prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC had told jurors the incident only came to light years later when police interviewed Ann Apelgren as part of the re-investigation into Ms Cotter’s death in 2012.
Image: Eileen Cotter
The trail went cold for seven more years until 2019, when former minicab driver Apelgren came to the attention of police for attacking his third wife.
He accepted a caution for the assault and his DNA was flagged as a match to the historical killing, which happened just six weeks after the birth of his first child with his ex-wife Ann.
She went on to reveal to investigators he had mistreated her too – and once applied force to her neck with both of his hands.
Apelgren, from Sydenham, south London, declined to give evidence in his trial.
He was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and indecent assault.
On Friday, Mrs Justice May jailed him at the Old Bailey for 10 years for the killing and a further six months for the earlier assault to run consecutively.
Read more UK news: Man guilty of murdering police officer People smuggler admits killing 39 Vietnamese nationals
Image: The garages in Islington, north London, where the body of Eileen Cotter was found in 1974
Ms Cotter’s death led to the breakdown of her parents’ relationship and her five-year-old brother Patrick Cotter was taken into care.
In his statement, he said: “No-one ever spoke to me about my sister’s death. I have no memory of her funeral.
“I have no idea where she was laid to rest… As a result of the traumatic event during my childhood I shut down emotionally. It’s made it difficult for me to form close relationships.
“I only have very faint memories of my sister but I believe she cared for me.”
He concluded: “To sum it up in simple terms, the impact of Eileen’s killing had on my life: I was not only deprived of a sister I had little time to get to know, the knock-on effect also meant I lost my mother to suicide and my father to mental illness and alcoholism, all brought about because John Apelgren took Eileen’s life.
“I would like to see justice for Eileen whose life was cruelly cut short 49 years ago.”
Tens of thousands of nurses are going on strike today for their first mass walkout in a century across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The action, a bid to secure above-inflation pay rises, is going ahead after talks to avert it ended in a deadlock.
Picket lines are being set up at dozens of hospitals and thousands of NHS appointments and operations have been cancelled, with the health service running a bank holiday-style service in many areas.
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The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said it will still staff chemotherapy, emergency cancer services, dialysis, critical care units, neonatal and paediatric intensive care.
Some areas of mental health and learning disability and autism services are also exempt from the strike, while trusts have been told they can request staffing for specific clinical needs.
When it comes to adult A&E and urgent care, nurses will work Christmas Day-style rotas.
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said agency NHS trusts were “pulling out all the stops” to lessen the impact on patients.
She said: “But it’s inevitable that some operations or appointments will have to be rescheduled, and trusts are pulling out all the stops to minimise disruption.
“The cold snap has ramped up demand that was already at or close to record levels, but on strike day NHS trusts will do everything they can to ensure that essential services are properly staffed and patient safety, always the number one priority, is safeguarded.”
Read More: How strike will impact A&E and other NHS services – and which hospitals are affected
RCN chief executive Pat Cullen has accused Health Secretary Steve Barclay of “belligerence” after he refused to discuss the issue of pay – because the government has already accepted recommendations made by the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) to give below inflation pay rises of around 4%.
This would have seen them get a pay rise of around £1,400.
Image: Health Secretary Steve Barclay has been criticised by the head of the Royal College of Nursing
The RCN has been calling for a pay rise at 5% above inflation, though it has indicated it would accept a lower offer.
When it submitted the 5% figure to the independent pay review body in March, inflation was running at 7.5%.
But inflation has since soared, with RPI standing at 14.2% in September.
‘A tragic first’
Meanwhile, in Scotland, RCN members are being consulted on a revised pay offer from the Scottish government.
Ms Cullen said: “Nurses are not relishing this, we are acting with a very heavy heart.
“It has been a difficult decision taken by hundreds of thousands who begin to remove their labour in a bid to be heard, recognised and valued.
“It is a tragic first for nursing, the RCN and the NHS.
“Nursing staff on picket lines is a sign of failure on the part of governments.
“My plea to patients is to know that this strike is for you too – it’s about waiting lists, treatments that are cancelled year round and the very future of the NHS.”
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7:25
Royal College of Nursing leader Pat Cullen says the government’s ‘turned its back’ on nurses
The RCN has also raised the issue of huge staff vacancies in the NHS, with 47,000 nurse roles empty in England alone. And it has warned strike action may need to continue into January if the government does not re-negotiate on pay.
The health secretary said nurses were “incredibly dedicated to their job” and that it was “deeply regrettable some union members are going ahead with strike action”.
Mr Barclay added: “My number one priority is to keep patients safe – I’ve been working across government and with medics outside the public sector to ensure safe staffing levels – but I do remain concerned about the risk that strikes pose to patients.
“Nevertheless, the NHS is open and patients should continue to seek urgent medical care – and attend appointments – unless they’ve been contacted by the NHS.”
He said paying nurses more “would mean taking money away from frontline services at a time when we are tackling record waiting lists as a result of the pandemic.”
Read more: Who is striking this winter and why?
But pressure is mounting on the government to find a compromise on pay, with former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry saying it “is going to have to improve its offer”.
“We need to find a way as a government, and the union does too, to get to that centre point, that point of agreement straight away,” he told Talk TV.
During the strike, nurses will man picket lines at major NHS hospitals, including Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust in London, Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
Several trusts have already given details of cancelled outpatient appointments and planned treatments.
The Western Trust in Northern Ireland said it had “regrettably taken the decision to cancel some non-emergency services”, with 587 outpatient appointments postponed across Altnagelvin Hospital, Omagh Primary Care and Treatment Centre and South West Acute Hospital.
The trust said there would also be reduced staffing in community nursing services including rapid response nursing, district nursing, community respiratory nursing and continence services.
Image: Pic: AP
In Wales, the Welsh government said non-urgent or routine appointments are likely to be postponed.
On Wednesday, the head of NHS Employers said “real concerns” remain about the level of cover nurses will provide for cancer patients during the strike.
In a letter to NHS leaders, Danny Mortimer said some aspects of talks with the RCN had been disappointing and warned that “unless the government indicates a willingness to negotiate on pay-related matters, further strike dates will be announced by the RCN for January 2023 and beyond”.
A second RCN nurse strike is set for 20 December, while thousands of ambulance workers will go on strike on 21 December.
The RCN has urged agency workers not to cover for striking staff.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) began the first of two 48-hour strikes at Network Rail – and 14 train companies – on Tuesday, which will last until Friday.
There is also industrial action planned in a whole number of UK spheres, including paramedics,postal workers, Border Force agents, firefighters, driving instructors, bus operators, airport baggage handlers and even coffin makers.
