6:41 am, January 29, 2023
Barclays to close 15 high street branches
Barclays has announced the closure of 15 branches across the country in April and May.
The sites scheduled for closure are Gosport, Bedale, Bridgwater (all on April 26), Heywood, Stamford, Oakham, Wymondham (all on April 28), London Fleet Street and Watton (both on May 3), Chislehurst and St Helens (both on May 4) and Radlett, Leyburn, Talbot Green and Oundle (all on May 5).
It comes days after NatWest said it was closing 23 branches, and just over a week since Lloyds Banking Group said it was shutting 40 Halifax and Lloyds sites.
Fresh plan to tackle pressures on NHS
The government is to publish an urgent and emergency care plan tomorrow, as health secretary Steve Barclay admitted there was ‘no quick fix’ to the serious pressures facing the NHS.
It comes as the Department of Health announced plans for tens of thousands of elderly and vulnerable people to receive tailored support at home each month, as part of a strategy to shift some NHS care out of hard-pressed hospitals.
Officials said the plan would standardise and scale up current services to treat falls and frailty, with more services in place for next winter.
More civil service union strikes announced
Fresh strikes have been called by the Public and Commercial Service union (PCS) in its long-running dispute over jobs, pay and pensions.
More than 60 PCS members will start five days of action at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Wales from February 13.
The same day will see more than 100 members of the British Museum’s visitor services and security teams take seven days’ action. PCS members working as legal advisers and court associates in courts across England and Wales have already announced four days of strikes from February 3.
Government’s ‘faulty’ guidance allowed Grenfell Tower tragedy, says Gove
‘Faulty and ambiguous’ government guidance allowed the Grenfell Tower tragedy to occur, housing secretary Michael Gove has acknowledged.
The fire at the residential tower block in west London in June 2017 killed 72 people and triggered a public inquiry, chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, which is yet to deliver its final report.
Inquiry evidence showed official guidance was widely seen to allow highly flammable cladding on tall buildings, prompting The Sunday Times to ask Gove if he accepted the rules were wrong. ‘Yes. There was a system of regulation that was faulty,’ he said. ‘I believe that [the government guidance] was so faulty and ambiguous that it allowed unscrupulous people to exploit a broken system in a way that led to tragedy.’
Downing Street denies Sunak ‘was warned of Zahawi reputational risk’ in October
Downing Street has denied reports that Rishi Sunak received informal advice in October that there could be a reputational risk to the government from Nadhim Zahawi and his tax affairs.
The Observer newspaper, citing sources, said government officials gave the new PM informal advice as he drew up his Cabinet in October regarding the risks from an HMRC investigation settled only months earlier.
Sunak has insisted that ‘no issues were raised with me’ when he appointed Zahawi to his current role of minister without portfolio. Zahawi was chancellor of the exchequer between July and September 2022.
Memphis police disband unit that beat Tyre Nichols to death
Memphis’s police chief disbanded the city’s so-called Scorpion unit yesterday, citing a ‘cloud of dishonour’ from newly released video that showed some of its officers beating Tyre Nichols to death after stopping the black driver.
Police director Cerelyn ‘CJ’ Davis acted a day after the harrowing video emerged, saying she listened to Nichols’s relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.
Her announcement came as the US and the city struggled to come to grips with the violence of the officers, who are also black.
Trump says he’s ‘more committed than ever’ as he begins 2024 White House run
Former US president Donald Trump has started his 2024 White House bid with a stop in New Hampshire before heading to South Carolina.
It marks the first campaign appearances since he announced his latest run more than two months ago.
Trump told party leaders at the New Hampshire Republicans’ annual meeting in Salem: ‘We’re starting right here as a candidate for president. I’m more angry now and I’m more committed now than I ever was.’
Retired army general Petr Pavel wins election to become Czech president
Retired army general Petr Pavel decisively defeated populist billionaire and ex-PM Andrej Babis in a run-off vote yesterday to become the Czech Republic’s new president.
Pavel, 61, will succeed Milos Zeman in the largely ceremonial but prestigious post. His election is expected to cement the country’s western orientation following Zeman’s decade in office.
With all the votes counted by the Czech Statistics Office, Pavel had 58.3 per cent of the ballot versus 41.7 per cent for Babis. The turnout was just over 70 per cent – a record high for a presidential vote.
Mazda6 withdrawn from sale in UK
Falling sales in the estate and saloon sector have led Mazda to withdraw the ‘6’ model from its UK range.
According to Fleet News, the manufacturer will concentrate on its CX-60 and CX-5 SUVs instead.
It quoted a company spokesperson as saying: ‘SUV consumer demand continues to grow and this is where the focus is for dealers and in the UK market. This, combined with declining UK sales in the saloon and estate car sector, mean we have ended sales of the Mazda6 in the UK.’
Saturday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- Car Dealer’s James Baggott gives expert advice as part of BBC One report on scam dealers
- MG names top dealers in glittering awards ceremony
Rare green comet last seen 50,000 years ago to make closest pass by Earth
A rare green comet last seen around 50,000 years ago is due to make its closest pass by Earth.
Called C/2022 E3 (ZTF), this celestial object hails from the Oort cloud at the outermost edge of the solar system and will come closest to Earth on February 1, within about 45 million km.
The icy ball orbits the sun once every 50,000 years, which means the last time it went past the planet was during the Stone Age – when Neanderthals roamed the Earth.
Weather outlook
Rain will move across Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England today, says BBC Weather, while the south will be dry with variable cloud and bright spells. The north-west will have sunshine and showers later on.
Monday will see blustery showers ease early in the north-west, leaving a largely bright and dry day for the UK, with winds easing later on. However, rain and clouds will move into the north-west by the evening.
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