6:45 am, August 2, 2024
Southport: More protests planned as PM launches national response to disorder
More than a dozen protests have been planned for the coming days in the wake of the Southport stabbings, as Sir Keir Starmer announced a new ‘national’ response to the violent disorder linking police forces across the country.
The PA news agency found evidence of at least 15 protests advertised online, some calling for participants to bring England flags and a number contain phrases such as ‘enough is enough’, ‘save our kids’ or ‘stop the boats’.
The protests are being planned for areas such as Southport, Leeds and Bristol. Two counter-protests are also being advertised online.
Seven men charged and child arrested after violent unrest in Hartlepool
Seven men have been charged after violent disorder broke out in Hartlepool on Wednesday, police have confirmed.
Cleveland Police said all seven men were charged with violent disorder. They have remanded in custody and are due to appear at Teesside Magistrates Court on Friday.
An 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight during a violent protest in Hartlepool in the wake of the Southport stabbing.
Culture secretary asks BBC to see if it can recoup money from Huw Edwards
The culture secretary has asked the BBC to look into whether it can recoup money from Huw Edwards’ pay packet after the former broadcaster admitted accessing indecent images of children.
Lisa Nandy spoke with BBC director general Tim Davie on Thursday after Edwards admitted making indecent photographs, with seven of the 41 images being of the most serious type.
Davie has defended his decision to employ the veteran broadcaster until April, five months after he was told of Edwards’ arrest in November over the most serious category of indecent images of children. Davie also said the corporation will ‘look at all options”’ in trying to reclaim pay from Edwards after the revelations.
Starmer and Lammy welcome Russian prisoner swap as two British nationals freed
The prime minister and foreign secretary have welcomed the prisoner swap between Russia and the West which has seen British nationals Vladimir Kara-Murza and Paul Whelan released.
Among those released by Moscow are Mr Whelan, a corporate security executive with joint British nationality from Michigan, who has been jailed since 2018 on espionage charges he and Washington have denied.
Also freed was Mr Kara-Murza, who has joint Russian and British nationality and is a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who was serving 25 years on charges of treason – widely seen as politically motivated.
Five Just Stop Oil activists jailed over protest that caused delays on M25
A judge has jailed five Just Stop Oil activists for their roles in a protest which saw campaigners climb gantries on the M25, causing widespread traffic disruption.
Judge Shane Collery KC said ‘many people suffered hours of delay’ and told the defendants: ‘Your actions were disproportionate to your aims.’
He said their purpose, on November 9, 2022, was to ‘create mass disruption so Just Stop Oil would benefit from the media interest it would create’.
Election week uncertainty helps drive down shopper footfall
Uncertainty around election week helped drive shopper footfall down for the 12th consecutive month, figures show.
Total UK footfall was down 3.3% year on year in July despite the warmer and drier weather, according to British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic IQ data.
Shopping centres were particularly badly hit, with footfall down 3.9% on last July, although high street footfall was up 2.7% in July, a significant increase from the 3.1% fall seen in June.
Thursday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- US giant Group 1 completes £346m Inchcape acquisition, doubling its UK footprint
- Bank of England cuts interest rates to 5% – the lowest for more than four years
- Stellantis rows back on threat to ditch Maserati as part of review of struggling brands
- Toyota apologies over further cases of certification cheating
Tributes to Andy Murray pour in as his career ends with Olympic defeat
Andy Murray has been described as a ‘true British great’ as his tennis career ended with defeat in the quarter-finals of the Olympic men’s doubles.
Twenty-one years after his first professional match, Sir Andy’s hopes of a medal-winning swansong evaporated in a 6-2 6-4 loss to American third seeds Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
He won gold at the London Olympics in 2012, before winning his first of three grand slams at the US Open the following month. He became the first British Wimbledon men’s singles champion in 77 years when he won at the All England Club in 2013, before going on to win the tournament a second time in 2016. He then became the only man to win two Olympic gold medals in the singles when he topped the podium in Rio in 2016.
New Volkswagen Transporter arrives with diesel, plug-in hybrid and electric powertrains
Volkswagen’s new seventh-generation Transporter has been unveiled with a bold new look and a series of efficient engine setups.
Overall, the new Transporter measures 146mm longer than the previous version, while the wheelbase has grown by 97mm – though an extended wheelbase version will be along shortly. It’s accompanied by a maximum payload of 1.33 tonnes and a towing capacity of 2.8 tonnes – up from the 2.5-tonne limit of the older Transporter.
A range of diesel engines will be available, along with plug-in hybrid power and three fully-electric models using a 64kWh battery; a smaller batteried version will arrive later. Panel van, Kombi, Shuttle/Caravelle and even a PanAmericana off-road version will be available.
Weather
The south and east will stay sunny and warm with the odd heavy afternoon shower. It’ll be cooler in the north and west; temperatures will top 27 degrees in the south and 23 further north.
Patchy rain will cover a lot of the UK tonight, bringing muggy temperatures overnight. Clearer skies further north.
