6:58 am, February 19, 2023

Strike action at Calais delays travellers more than six hours

Children and teachers returning to the UK from half-term school trips have been hit by delays of more than six hours at Calais amid strike action by Border Force staff.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union working at French ports began industrial action over pay on Friday, with strikes due to continue until Monday morning.

A number of schools reported issues returning from trips on Saturday as parents complained on social media that their children had been stuck at Calais for hours.

Response to Ukraine conflict ‘demonstrates strength of US-UK relationship’

The transatlantic response to the Ukraine conflict demonstrated the strength of the relationship between London and Washington, according to Rishi Sunak and Kamala Harris.

The prime minister met the US vice president for the first time on Saturday when they entered into talks on the fringes of the Munich security conference.

Ms Harris told Mr Sunak, before sitting down for their bilateral discussions, that the UK was ‘among our greatest of allies’.

Coalition of councils launches legal challenge over Ulez expansion

Five Conservative-led councils said they have started a legal challenge over Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez).

The outer London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, together with Surrey County Council, issued a joint statement announcing they have launched a judicial review into the Labour mayor’s plan.

A spokesman for the mayor said it would oppose ‘any challenge to this vital scheme’.

The Ulez is currently limited to the area within London’s North and South Circular roads, but is due to be extended to cover the whole of the capital from August 29.

Humza Yousaf and Ash Regan announce SNP leadership bids

Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and former minister Ash Regan have announced they will stand to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader.

Mr Yousaf, announcing his leadership bid in the Sunday Mail, said he had been through a ‘rollercoaster of emotions’ since Ms Sturgeon announced her resignation.

He said: ‘You’ve got to put yourself forward if you think you’re the best person for the job. And I do. This is the top job in the country, and it needs somebody who has experience.’

Boris Johnson deals blow to Rishi Sunak’s bid to reach NI Protocol agreement

Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s efforts to break the impasse over Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol have been dealt a blow by Boris Johnson.

The former premier warned that dropping the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill – which would empower the UK to unilaterally scrap parts of the treaty – would be a “great mistake”.

Mr Johnson’s first intervention on Brexit since departing No 10 comes as his successor-but-one has engaged in frantic diplomacy to secure a UK-EU agreement on fixing issues with the contentious post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Saturday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed

TikTok plans two more European data centres

TikTok has said it is planning two more European data centres, as the popular Chinese-owned video sharing app seeks to allay growing concerns about data privacy for its users in the West.

TikTok has been under fire from European and American authorities over concerns that it could scoop up masses of user data and send it to China.

The company’s general manager for European operations, Rich Waterworth, said in a blog post that it is ‘at an advanced stage of finalising a plan’ with a third-party provider for a second data centre in Ireland. It announced its first centre there last year.

More than 1,000 homes still without power as Storm Otto moves away from UK

More than one thousand homes which lost power during Storm Otto had still not been reconnected to the grid late on Saturday afternoon.

The Met Office said the storm has “well and truly cleared” but around 1,300 homes in Aberdeenshire remain without power.

The forecasting body said the storm, which left more than 60,000 homes without power, has moved onto the continent and is now affecting Scandinavia.

Unsettled weather

Today there will be cloud and showers over eastern England, according to the Met Office, but it will be dry and mild elsewhere.

There will be cloud and rain in the north and it will become very windy later.

Tonight, a band of rain will move south across northern Scotland followed by showers in the far north and more cloud in the south.

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