Author: James Carter

Reform UK has secured a second Member of the Senedd through defection whilst announcing a former London borough Conservative council leader will head its Welsh campaign for May’s crucial election. James Evans, sacked as a Tory Senedd frontbencher last month over suspected defection plans, has joined the party alongside Dan Thomas, who led Barnet Council between 2019 and 2022 before it fell to Labour. Thomas defected to Reform last summer and resigned as Finchley Church End councillor in December after returning to Wales with his family following nearly 30 years in London. The dual announcement at a Newport press conference…

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has delivered a damning assessment of the global response to sexual violence in Sudan, stating the international community has failed to protect women and girls during nearly three years of conflict. Speaking during a visit to Adré on the Sudanese border in Chad on Tuesday, Cooper described the world turning its back on “horrendous” stories of brutal attacks, sexual torture and public rape used as weapons against fleeing populations. The Foreign Secretary called for urgent international action to secure a ceasefire and demanded all nations pressure warring parties to halt what she characterised as a war…

Residents of a South Yorkshire town will receive free artificial intelligence courses and enhanced public services after major technology companies pledged support for a government initiative positioning Barnsley as Britain’s AI trailblazer. Microsoft, Cisco and Adobe have committed to providing training programmes and digital skills development following Technology Secretary Liz Kendall’s announcement on Tuesday designating Barnsley as the UK’s first government-backed Tech Town. The corporate backing will enable people of all ages to access training in growing tech industries, with companies promising initiatives to boost AI and digital talent across the community. Microsoft and Cisco’s UK chief executives joined Kendall…

Court documents have revealed the warm tone of correspondence between Sarah Ferguson and Jeffrey Epstein, including messages in which the Duchess of York expressed deep gratitude and affection towards the disgraced financier. Ferguson publicly apologised in March 2011 for accepting £15,000 from Epstein during an interview with the Evening Standard. She stated she would never have any association with Epstein again, describing the acceptance of money as “a gigantic error of judgment” whilst expressing abhorrence for paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children. However, emails from years earlier paint a picture of a close friendship between the pair. Correspondence dated…

UK institutions have until 29 April to secure funding for a rare 18th century terracotta dog sculpture created by Anne Damer, Britain’s pioneering female sculptor, after an export bar was imposed to prevent it leaving the country. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest has set a recommended acquisition price of £635,000, plus VAT of £27,000 which eligible institutions can reclaim. Following the initial deadline, owners will have 15 business days to consider purchase offers before a second four-month deferral period begins after an Option Agreement is signed. The 1795 work, known…

The director of a Syrian detention camp housing over 2,000 people with links to Islamic State has reported increasingly hostile behaviour from residents following a government offensive that weakened Kurdish-led security forces. Hakmiyeh Ibrahim, who oversees the Roj camp near the Iraqi border, stated that camp residents have become emboldened, telling guards they will soon be free whilst Kurdish personnel will be imprisoned instead. The shift in attitude followed territorial gains by Syrian government forces against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces earlier this month. More than 2,300 individuals are housed at Roj, predominantly women and children who have been detained…

A multi-agency investigation into large-scale illegal waste tipping in Kidlington has resulted in two additional arrests, bringing the total number of suspects detained to three since the probe began. Officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit executed warrants at two locations on 29 January, working alongside the Environment Agency, Thames Valley Police, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary and Surrey Police. A 69-year-old man was detained at a property in Andover whilst a 54-year-old man was apprehended in Slough. Both suspects face allegations of environmental and money laundering offences. They have been released on conditional bail pending further…

Anthony Joshua has returned to the gym as part of his mental and physical recovery whilst pledging to help achieve the goals his late friends had set for their families. The heavyweight boxer, 36, has spent recent weeks mourning the loss of personal trainer Latif “Latz” Ayodele and recovery therapist Sina Ghami, both 36, who died in a car accident in Nigeria on New Year’s Eve. Joshua was also injured in the crash and required brief hospitalisation before returning to the UK in early January. Speaking a month after the tragedy, Joshua revealed he has resumed training as a means…

Metropolitan Police officers have analyzed 69 electronic devices as part of one of the force’s most complex child sexual abuse investigations, leading to a former nursery worker admitting 30 additional offences. Vincent Chan, 45, from Stanhope Avenue in Finchley, appeared at Highbury Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where he entered guilty pleas to charges spanning multiple locations and years of offending. The British national admitted 12 counts of taking and making indecent images of children, one count of sexual assault, 11 counts of voyeurism, and six counts of outraging public decency. The crimes relate to 16 victims, including 10 individuals who…

The Department for Work and Pensions has upheld its decision not to provide financial redress to women affected by state pension age changes, citing the inability to justify a compensation bill exceeding £10 billion. Pat McFadden, DWP minister, delivered the confirmation to the House of Commons following a review of the Government’s position on payouts for an estimated 3.8 million women born during the 1950s. The determination followed months of deliberation, which included the discovery of a 2007 internal DWP evaluation during court proceedings. The document revealed officials had ceased sending automatic pension forecast letters to affected individuals. Mr McFadden…