Day: March 28, 2018

    The best friend of Sergei Skripal believes the poisoned double agent and his daughter Yulia are so critically ill they should be allowed to die. Ross Cassidy, a haulage contractor, met Mr Skripal when he moved in next door in Salisbury in 2010, shortly after the Russian arrived in a spy swap with Moscow. He told Sky News: Quite frankly, what future have they got? I don't know the properties of this weapon that was used on them and my guess is they are probably being kept alive by artificial means and what life will they have if they survive? We've already been told they will be severely mentally impaired and I don't think they would want that. I think death would probably be merciful. Mr Cassidy got to know Sergei, his wife Lyudmila, his son Alexandr who was kno...

    British firms are worried about the loss of EU migrant labour after Brexit because their UK counterparts are lazier and take more time off work, an official government report has found. The Migration Advisory Committee found that workers from Europe are a high quality, eager workforce compared to UK-born workers, leading employers to rely on them instead. EU workers, especially those in low-skilled jobs, are also paid less. Businesses fear they will not be able to employ staff from the EU after Brexit, forcing them to spend more on less productive British staff which could drive up prices or force production abroad where it is cheaper. It could also impact the ratio of elderly people to youngsters and would very likely lead to lower growth, although it is unlikely...

    Britain faces at least two more years of heightened terror alert, with risks from state players including Russia as well as the aftermath of the collapse of Islamic State, Whitehall sources have said. Speaking as the government launched its national securitycapability review, the sources said the risk level currently at severe could soon rise to critical, thanks to the possible return of scores of Isis fighters to the UK and the potential threat from states such as Russia, North Korea and Iran. Instability in north Africa, Yemen, Sudan and Syria were also said to be causes of concern. Unveiling a fusion doctrine for tackling national security threats, the prime minister says in the foreword of the review that every part of government and its agencies will have a par...