Day: June 22, 2017

    Councils in England estimate that 600 high-rise buildings have similar flammable exterior cladding to that used on the Grenfell Tower, the government has said. Tests following the disaster had found that a number of other tower blocks have flammable exterior cladding, Theresa May had told the Commons, saying urgent steps were being taken to make them safe. Making a statement to the Commons about the fire last week in which it least 79 people died, the prime minister said the test results arrived immediately before she spoke, and that MPs for the relevant areas would be contacted swiftly. The communities secretary, Sajid Javid, would give more details later, she said. Following the Grenfell Tower fire, which appeared to spread rapidly because the cladding fitted during a re...

    DUP broke off talks with Tories for 36 hours this week as they demand £2billion for Northern Ireland. The Democratic Unionist Party broke off talks with Theresa May this week as it told her to spend £2billion in Northern Ireland if she wants the party to prop up her minority Conservative Government. The DUP demanded the cash which works out as £1,100 per person in the Province - as talks veered dangerously close to breaking down altogether. The talks became so strained in the past few days that the DUP negotiators in Belfast refused to pick up the phone to the Prime Minister’s team for 36 hours, The Daily Telegraph can disclose Westminster sources said they now hoped a confidence and supply deal could be agreed next week, days before Thursday’s key vote on the Queen’s Spee...

    Islamophobic attacks soared more than 500% in Greater Manchester after the suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert last month, police have said. There were 224 reports of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the month after the attack compared with 37 in the same period in 2016, official figures show. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) revealed the 505% rise in Islamophobic incidents as officers said they would take tough action to curb the increase in hate-fuelled incidents. The figures came as police across Britain increased protection for Muslim communities after the Finsbury Park mosque attack in the early hours of Monday. Rob Potts, assistant chief constable of GMP, said hate crime in the region had returned to normal levels in recent days – but warned that the true number of ...