6:38 am, May 31, 2024
Donald Trump found guilty of all 34 charges in hush money trial
Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to an adult movie actress who said the two had sex.
Jurors deliberated for more than nine hours over two days before convicting Trump of all 34 counts he faced.
‘This was a rigged, disgraceful trial,’ he told reporters after leaving the courtroom. ‘The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people. They know what happened, and everyone knows what happened here.’
Bowel cancer patient first in England to have personalised jab to fight disease
A man with bowel cancer has become the first person in England to be treated with a personalised jab for the disease on the NHS.
Health leaders hailed the treatment as ‘a landmark moment’ for patients and the NHS. Officials said thousands more people are expected to be recruited to take part in vaccine trials for various forms of cancer in the coming years as part of a new scheme.
The first patient to receive the vaccine for bowel cancer was Elliot Pfebve, 55, who was diagnosed with the disease after a routine health check with his GP.
National service could lead to renewed sense of pride in Britain, claims Sunak
Rishi Sunak said his national service plan could become a new ‘rite of passage’ which would restore pride in Britain.
The prime minister said he had been looking for ways to ‘restore that sense of patriotism, pride and cohesiveness in our society’. The Tories would make it compulsory for 18-year-olds to give up the equivalent of a weekend a month for a year to do voluntary work or sign up for 12 months in the armed forces.
Sunak told workers at a factory in Milton Keynes: ‘It will become a new rite of passage that everyone goes through and bring us closer together.’
Labour: GB Energy will turn the page on cost-of-living crisis with clean power
Labour is pledging it will get working within months of election victory to build clean power that will ‘turn the page’ on the cost-of-living crisis.
Sir Keir Starmer will warn that ‘family financial security depends on energy security’, accusing the Tories of failing to make Britain resilient, as he launches the logo and website for Great British Energy at an event in Scotland with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Labour’s pledge to set up a publicly-owned company to invest in domestic power sources – part of the party’s six-point ‘first steps’ policy – aims to tackle the cost-of-living crisis by cutting energy bills.
Rayner backs Abbott to stand for Labour and denies ‘purge’ of left
Angela Rayner has backed Labour veteran Diane Abbott to stand at the General Election as the party leadership denied an attempt to ‘purge’ left-wingers.
Abbott’s own future remains uncertain after she said she wants to fight to retain her seat ‘as long as it is possible’ after the party whip was restored following an investigation into controversial comments about racism.
Deputy Labour leader Rayner said ‘I don’t think there’s any reason’ why Diane Abbott should not stand and the row over her future was ‘not a great look’.
Hundreds of householders in Surrey told not to drink tap water
More than 600 homes in Surrey have been told not to drink their tap water after tests carried out by Thames Water.
The company said results on Thursday indicated ‘a possible deterioration in quality’ of drinking water ‘in some areas’.
A total of 616 houses in Bramley have been given the ‘precautionary’ instruction not to use their water supply for drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth – though they can continue to use it to shower and wash hands.
Holyrood passes Bill to quash convictions of Horizon subpostmasters
Holyrood has passed ‘unprecedented’ legislation to exonerate subpostmasters in Scotland who were wrongly convicted as part of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Justice secretary Angela Constance said the Bill, passed by 116 votes to zero at Holyrood on Thursday, will ‘address the horrific miscarriage of justice that has ruined the lives of many’.
She told MSPs the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill will ‘help Scottish subpostmasters clear their names’ and also ensure they are treated in the same way as other Horizon victims in different parts of the UK.
Thursday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Auto Trader Group sees revenue soar 14% and pre-tax profit top £345m in 2023
- Used car sales were Northern Ireland’s most complained about trade sector in 2023
- UK car production falls for second month running as exports suffer major decline
- KGM Motors signs up two new car dealerships as retail network continues to grow
- JLR gives out specialist EV training to dealer partners as firm looks to go all-electric
Shopper footfall remains down on last year despite bank holidays and sun
Retail footfall across the UK remains well down on last year as bank holidays and improving weather failed to lure customers away from online shopping, figures show.
Total footfall was down 3.6% on a year ago but an improvement on April’s 7.2% drop, according to BRC (British Retail Consortium)-Sensormatic IQ data. High street footfall was down 2.7%, while shopping centre visits remained at a subdued 4.5% lower than last May.
All UK nations saw a year-on-year fall despite improving on April’s figures, topped by Scotland at 5.4% and suffered the least by Northern Ireland at 3%.
New Citroen C3 will start at under £18,000
Citroen has revealed prices and specifications for its eagerly anticipated C3 and electric e-C3 models.
The French firm will offer just one trim level for the petrol C3 model in the UK, and two for the electric. The petrol only comes in Plus guise and will start at £17,790. It comes with a 10-inch central touchscreen display, voice recognition and cruise control with speed limiter. The electric version in Plus trim starts at £21,990.
Top spec Max, from £23,690, adds a rear parking camera, automatic air conditioning, LED rear lights, dark tinted windows and a heated steering wheel and front seats. A hybrid version will join the range by the end of the year.
Weather
A dry and settled day for most with sunny spells and patchy cloud, reports BBC Weather. Eastern areas will likely see patchy rain moving southwards during the course of the day. North western Scotland will have the warmest temperatures today at 19 degrees – 16 to 18 elsewhere.
Cloud will linger tonight in south-eastern areas with a few spells of rain, while elsewhere it will be dry and cloudy.
