Labour is facing fierce criticism over its plans to overhaul Northern Ireland's Troubles legislation, amid warnings from former Army chiefs and a veterans commissioner that British servicemen could remain vulnerable to repeated investigations decades after risking their lives in the service of their country.
Vicky Richter · 14 October 2026Luke Pollard told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Centrica, the owner of British Gas, has "deep pockets" and that the future of the Rough facility is "a very clear commercial decision for the company". Centrica is seeking a cap-and-floor mechanism to unlock £2bn of investment in the North Sea site, which supplies about half of the UK's gas storage capacity. No formal decision has been taken, and the energy department has not published the full response to its consultation that would determine whether storage operators receive support.
Vicky Richter · 14 October 2026Rape charges carrying a life maximum already exist for cases where prosecutors can disprove consent, but Baroness Casey found cases downgraded where 13 to 15-year-olds were said to have consented. The new offences removing that requirement received royal assent in April yet remain uncommenced, with an impact assessment forecasting 200 to 350 extra prison places at a time when around 4,500 other prisoners are being released early.
Vicky Richter · 13 October 2026Andy Burnham's decision to exempt specified offences from the Sentencing Act's earlier release rules has put prisons back at risk of running out of space, the Institute for Government has warned.
Vicky Richter · 13 October 2026The Prime Minister says he received a "clear answer" that Russia interfered in the 2016 referendum, but has not published the evidence. A Foreign Office minister has since insisted that Russian attempts to influence the vote were unsuccessful.
Vicky Richter · 12 October 2026Kaimhill School described its seasonal cards as 'winter cards' in the name of inclusivity, prompting widespread criticism. The school insists its Christmas fair, festive lunch and carol singing are all going ahead.
Vicky Richter · 9 October 2026The Great British PAC is demanding answers from the Bank of England after it confirmed that Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, JMW Turner and Alan Turing will be removed from Britain's next generation of banknotes, despite never giving the public a direct vote on whether they should go.
Vicky Richter · 9 October 2026New Health Foundation modelling suggests that, if recent trends continue, the waiting-time threshold for 92 per cent of incomplete NHS referral-to-treatment pathways in England could reach almost 35 weeks by 2029, against the 18-week standard. The findings raise questions about whether Andy Burnham's Government can deliver Labour's pledge.
Vicky Richter · 8 October 2026Donald Trump's threatened US diesel export restrictions have receded for now after the G7 agreed to an emergency release of oil stocks. But with four refineries left, more than half its diesel imported and thin reserves, Britain remains exposed to the next supply shock.
Vicky Richter · 7 October 2026Lambeth is set to become the first London council to trial a four-day week, its Green leader has confirmed, putting a borough that is struggling to balance its books at the centre of a national argument over how local government is run.
Vicky Richter · 5 October 2026Four of the British Army's most senior former officers have accused the Government of "duplicity" over its Troubles legislation, alleging that the legacy framework agreed with Dublin and the wider reset with Brussels are being put above the duty owed to soldiers who served in Northern Ireland.
Vicky Richter · 4 October 2026The Prime Minister has put EU membership back on the table and refused to rule out a future referendum, reopening a Brexit argument Labour had spent years trying to close.
Vicky Richter · 4 October 2026Cookies
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