Day: April 17, 2018

    Emmanuel Macron has angrily confronted critics of last week's Syria air strikes, claiming France, the UK and the US saved the honour of the international community. During a three-hour debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the French President was challenged by MEPs opposed to the bombing raids on chemical weapons plants. Responding passionately, he insisted France, the UK and the US had not declared war on Bashar al Assad, but said Syria could not be rebuilt after its civil war if we turn our backs. After the President's opening speech, outlining ambitious proposals to make the EU more democratic, senior MEP Guy Verhofstadt strongly backed the military action, claiming a country that used chemical weapons was a genocidal and illegitimate regime. But af...

    Sergei Skripal The nerve agent used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury was delivered in a liquid form, it has been revealed. The Department for Environment said one primary location was targeted the Skripal's Wiltshire home. The details emerged as the department announced a major clean-up operation was under way across the city to bring a small number of potentially contaminated sites back into safe use for residents and tourists. Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal were found collapsed on bench in Salisbury The London Road cemetery, the mall where the pair were discovered unconscious, Zizzi and the Ashley Wood compound where the ex-spy's red BMW 3 series was taken after the attack have been handed back over by the police invesigation. The department's ...

    The number of people in work has reached a record high, while earnings have grown slightly above inflation for the first time in almost a year, new figures showed. Employment increased by 55,000 in the quarter to February to 32.2 million, the highest figure since records began in 1971, giving a record rate of 75.4%. Unemployment fell by 16,000 to 1.42 million, the lowest in more than a decade, giving a jobless rate of 4.2%, the lowest since 1975, according to the Office for National Statistics. Average earnings increased by 2.8% in the year to February, unchanged on the previous month and the highest since September 2015. The latest CPI inflation figure is 2.7% and is expected to remain unchanged when new figures are published on Wednesday. Matt Hughes, senior ON...

    Theresa May gave a personal apology to Caribbean leaders today for the treatment of Windrush citizens threatened with deportation and denied healthcare. Earlier, her de facto deputy David Lidington admitted that the Government was still not sure if any people who had come to Britain as children after the Second World War had been wrongfully deported. Mrs May was expected to add that a crackdown on illegal migrants she announced as home secretary in 2014 was not aimed at the Windrush generation, who were valued members of the British community. The Prime Minister’s office had initially declined a meeting on the issue, without telling Mrs May, but after the row threatened to overshadow this week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, she dashed to make amends and...