United Kingdom

    The Health Secretary has accused social media networks of turning a blind eye to a generation of young people by failing to protect them when using their platforms online. Jeremy Hunt says he is disappointed by the lack of progress made in areas such as age verification, screen time limits and cyber bullying. He met with the bosses of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter in November, but in a strongly-worded letter he told the companies not enough progress has been made. I fear that you are collectively turning a blind eye to a whole generation of children being exposed to the harmful emotional side effects of social media prematurely, he said. This is both morally wrong and deeply unfair on parents, who are faced with the invidious choice of allowing chil...

    Government plans that will force people to prove their identities at polling stations in May’s local elections risk disenfranchising members of ethnic minority communities, according to a leaked letter to ministers from the equality and human rights watchdog. In a move that will fuel controversy over the treatment of migrants in the UK following the Windrush scandal, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has written to the Cabinet Office minister David Lidington, raising its serious concern that the checks will deter immigrants and others from participating in the democratic process. The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the plan for compulsory checks was more evidence of the kind of hostile environment that Theresa May’s government wanted to create for peo...

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are attending a reception at the Australian High Commission celebrating the forthcoming Invictus Games 2018. Meghan is getting into the spirit of the summery weather by wearing a floaty green floral dress by Self-Portait teamed with black heels. Harry, closely by her side, is smartly dressed in a navy blue suit and tie. They will also meet a number of UK and Australian servicemen and women, some of who have previously competed. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy, who is wearing a vibrant red outfit, are hosting the reception today. The Invictus Games is the only international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick (WIS) servicemen and women, both serving and veteran. The Games use the power of sport ...

    US president Donald Trump is planning on visiting the UK in the summer, it is reported. Mr Trump has not visited the UK since he was elected to the White House in November 2016, with a potential visit to London to open the US Embassy in January not taking place. The Daily Mail report a visit from Mr Trump has been pencilled in for July, while the Daily Telegraph quoted an unnamed US official saying the president was looking at coming in the late summer. Mr Trump cancelled a visit to the UK to open the new American embassy, criticising its move from Grosvenor Square in the prestigious Mayfair district of central London to an “off location” at Nine Elms, south of the Thames. The president blamed the cost of the new embassy and its location south of the River Thames,...

    The Prince of Wales will one day succeed the Queen to become the next Head of Commonwealth, it was confirmed on Friday night, after leaders reached an agreement to honour Her Majesty’s vision, duty and steadfast service to the institution. The Prince will take on the honorary position in the Commonwealth at the same time he eventually becomes King, following the sincere wish expressed by the Queen this week. I am deeply touched and honoured by the decision of Commonwealth Heads of State and Government that I should succeed The Queen, in due course, as Head of the Commonwealth, he said. Meanwhile, I will continue to support Her Majesty in every possible way, in the service of our unique family of nations. Theresa May, the Prime Minister, announced the decision from...

    Smoke rises in Busra al-Harir town, near Deraa, Syria in March. Academics at some of the UK’s top universities pushing pro-Assad propaganda have been accused by parts of the Syrian community of peddling conspiracy theories and whitewashing war crimes. The Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (WG) has been set up by a number of left-wing professors to examine the role of both media and propaganda and provide reliable, informed and timely analysis for journalists, publics and policymakers. Although in its infancy, the group’s published material as well as public posts by its members have already drawn accusations of circulating islamophobic tropes and wilfully ignoring the depravity of the regime. Two of the academics in particular, Professor Tim Hayward of E...

    The true cost of the Brexit divorce bill could be more than £7bn higher than the £39bn estimated by the government, the official financial watchdog has suggested. The National Audit Office said that "relatively small changes" to Treasury forecasts could lead to a significantly higher exit bill. It warned that the European Union could "skew" future decisions to increase the size of the Brexit divorce bill. Priti Patel, a eurosceptic Tory MP and former Cabinet minister, said: "Ministers must make sure the EU cannot force the financial settlement to be higher and should be working to lower it as much as possible. We’ve already paid hundreds of billions of pounds into the EU and the British taxpayer has had enough of the EU ripping us off." The NAO said that Britain c...

    Meteorologists have recorded the hottest day in April since 1949, with temperatures reaching 27.9C (82.2F) in the capital. The Met Office recorded the highest temperature in Northolt, west London, on Thursday afternoon. The heat could increase still after Wednesday's peak temperature was recorded at around 3pm. After a reading of 25.7C at Heathrow Airport earlier in the day, forecaster Graham Madge said: "We are not expecting that this is the maximum temperature - it will go higher than that. It is already warmer than any April temperature last year. The hottest April day in 70 years was recorded on Thursday Thursday's temperatures follow a high of 25C (77F) on Wednesday afternoon in Gravesend, Kent, and St James's Park in London. The UK is currently seeing tem...

    The Queen today publicly backed The Prince of Wales to succeed her as the next head of the Commonwealth. She told Commonwealth leaders at Buckingham Palace, It is my sincere wish that the Commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations, and will decide that one day The Prince of Wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949. It was a highly significant moment for Prince Charles just back from opening the Commonwealth Games in Australia. Her wishes are expected to be formally ratified by the leaders of the 53 leaders tomorrow when they announce Charles as the Commonwealth’s next Head. The Queen went on: "Having on so many occasions been welcomed to opening ceremonies around the Commonwealth, it is a pleasu...

    Theresa May has suffered an embarrassing defeat in the House of Lords over the issue of Britain’s membership of the customs union, increasing pressure on the government to reopen the issue. An amendment to the EU withdrawal bill tabled by crossbencher Lord Kerr, and backed by several senior Conservatives including Lord (Chris) Patten, as well as Labour and the Lib Dems, was passed by a 348 votes to 225 – a majority of 123. The debate on the government’s key piece of Brexit legislation, in a packed chamber, was watched by the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer. Afterwards, he said: “The passing of this cross-party amendment is an important step forward. Theresa May must now listen to the growing chorus of voices who are urging her to drop her red line on a customs...