Latest News

UK heatwave: Burnham considers ban on disposable barbecues to prevent wildfires – as it happened

Prime minister suggests possible measure as he prepares to chair emergency Cobra meeting in response to extreme heatHere’s today’s latest Met Office forecast for UK cities:Aberdeen 22CBelfast 24CBirmi...

From grey water to cool spaces: 10 climate crisis policies Britain needs right now

Rejecting North Sea drilling licences and protecting nature are just some measures Andy Burnham must implement to ready countryFrom record-smashing temperatures, wildfires, hosepipe bans and thousands...

Bridget Phillipson condemns Richard Tice’s ‘chilling attempt to silence free press’

Labour chair says Reform deputy leader is trying to harass journalists over reporting on his financial affairsUK politics live – latest updatesRichard Tice has been accused by Labour’s Bridget Phillip...

Andy Burnham to chair emergency Cobra meeting amid extreme heat

PM touts ban on disposable barbecues as areas hit by wildfires – but some Labour MPs will be hoping for more ambitious ideas to tackle crisisJust 20 of 6,600 Defra staff working on climate adaptation...

Just 20 of 6,600 Defra staff working on climate adaptation amid drought and wildfires

Exclusive: England ‘desperately unprepared’ for effects of crisis including water shortages and heatwavesUK heatwave live – latest updatesJust 20 staff are working on climate adaptation within a key g...

Nigel Farage and Count Binface: a visual guide to their electoral careers

Farage was elected to EU parliament five times before becoming Clacton MP, while Binface has been less successful – so farNigel Farage has been standing in British elections since 1994, when he narrow...

Paid police paternity leave to double after fathers reported being ‘ostracised’

Exclusive: Pay increases to two weeks in England and Wales after Guardian revealed officers ‘mocked’ for taking time offPaid paternity leave for police in England and Wales is to double, after the Gua...

UK heatwaves may have cost economy £4.4bn in lost output so far this year, analysis finds

Verdant thinktank says cost could top £25bn a year by 2030 and calls for maximum temperature for working and urban redesign to cool down citiesRepeated debilitating heatwaves this summer are likely to...

British man with dementia told to leave Sweden after losing migration case

Exclusive: Horace Mason, 74, who has lived in Sweden for 25 years, faces being deported after court rulingA 74-year-old British man who has been living in Sweden for 25 years who needs round-the-clock...

More than a dozen asylum hotels closed and returned to public use

Burnham urged by 50 police leaders to prevent early release of PC Harper’s killers

Letter signed by every chief constable in England and Wales warns freeing pair could weaken trust in justice systemAndy Burnham is facing an unprecedented mass call from police chiefs to block the ear...

Richard Tice accused of ‘nasty tactics’ over legal threat to the Guardian

Reform deputy leader condemned for seeking disclosure of documents that could reveal reporter’s sourcesReform’s deputy leader Richard Tice has been accused of using “nasty tactics” in an attempt to in...

How viable are plans to free up prison space in England and Wales?

The PM is proposing three ways of increasing jail capacity – but none offer a quick or straightforward solutionAndy Burnham said on Monday he was “increasingly confident” that PC Andrew Harper’s kille...

Will Andy Burnham’s everyday fixes be enough to get the public on his side?

The prime minister’s money-saving policies are popular but they are yet to convince voters he can take on the big thingsIt was last year that Martin Lewis, the money-saving guru, advised the governmen...

Probation officers vote for strike action after warning early releases will add to excessive workloads - as it happened

Union chief says vote is about staff ‘warning they cannot protect the public properly’In his pooled TV interview, Andy Burnham repeated the point he made in his Facebook post earlier (see 9.58am), say...

Lebanon parliament votes to abolish death penalty

The new law - which next goes to the cabinet for approval - would make Lebanon the first country in the Middle East to end capital punishment.

Hard work or humour? Take the British values quiz

Poll finds consensus on what makes people proud to be British but deep divisions on issues such as immigrationYou may think it’s a commitment to buying a round, the ability to chat at length about the...

Burnham ‘increasingly confident’ PC Harper’s killers will not get early release

Prime minister says he has asked justice secretary to push through measures to increase the number of prison placesAndy Burnham has said he is increasingly confident he can adapt the early release sch...

What could Andy Burnham do to block early release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers?

After widespread outcry, PM is confident he can adapt scheme to exclude Harper’s killers but his options are limitedAndy Burnham is said to be exploring “every option” to block the early release from...

Early prisoner releases mean pledge to cut rough sleeping ‘may fail’

Charity says government must focus on securing housing for ex-prisoners if Burnham is to meet rough-sleeping promiseAndy Burnham’s pledge to end rough sleeping in England is under threat from a failur...