United Kingdom

    Theresa May The prime minister has admitted the Home Office made an unfortunate error when it mistakenly sent up to 100 letters to EU nationals living in the UK ordering them to leave the country or face deportation. The Home Office was forced to apologise after one of the letters was publicised on social media by a Finnish academic who believed she was about to be forced to leave. The government admitted it had sent 100 or so letters threatening recipients with deportation, and warning that they could face detention under the Immigration Act. The Home Office could not confirm how many went to EU nationals, but said that all addressees were from within the European Economic Area. Later on Wednesday Theresa May described the situation as an unfortunate error, adding: I unde...

    The proportion of entries gaining at least a C grade or 7 under the new English system - falls to 66.3%, the lowest since 2008. Overall GCSE pass rates have fallen this year after a new grading system was introduced in England in the biggest overhaul in a generation. Traditional A* to G grades have now been replaced with a 9 to 1 system, with 9 being the highest mark. The grade 7 is broadly equivalent to an A under the old system, while a 4 is broadly equivalent to a C. Three core subjects - maths, English language and English literature - are the first to be tested using the new numerical grading. :: New GCSE grades system: All you need to know Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the proportion of C/4 grades or above awarded to 16-year-old pupils is down 0.6% to 6...

    The Home Office is investigating after 100 deportation letters were sent in error to EU citizens living in the UK. A Home Office spokesperson said a limited number of letters were sent by mistake and the department is urgently looking into why this happened. They added: We are contacting everyone who received this letter to clarify that they can disregard it. We are absolutely clear that the rights of EU nationals living in the UK remain unchanged. Dr Eva Johanna Holmberg One of those who received a letter was Finnish academic Eva Johanna Holmberg, who tweeted: "Home Office wants to deport a Finnish academic who is married to a Brit and pays taxes in Britain, i.e. me. She wrote in a Facebook post that the absurd nonsense has aged me at least five years and added the ordeal...

    Theresa May was accused of a climbdown over the future sovereignty of British courts after a newly published government paper appeared to leave open the possibility that the European court of justice would influence UK law after Brexit. The latest of a flurry of Brexit policy papers, due to be published on Wednesday, will repeat the government’s insistence that the direct jurisdiction of the Luxembourg-based ECJ must end when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019. But it will set out a range of options for resolving future disputes between Britain and the EU over the rules of any new trade deal, for example – some of which are likely to involve European judges, or the application of ECJ case law. A UK government spokesperson said: We have long been clear that, in leaving the...

    In any discussion of public profligacy and poor stewardship, one is obliged to consider the record of the foreign secretary Boris Johnson for his two terms as London mayor appear to provide numerous examples of squander in search of grandeur. The garden bridge; the little-used cable car over the east of the Thames; the new Routemaster bus, for which no sound economic case was ever established; the derided ArcelorMittal Orbit fogging the skyline of London’s Olympic park. As the Guardian reported last week, a total of £940m was spent on his vanity projects. Each debacle bears scrutiny, not just to know what has happened to public money, but also in the increasingly important context of Johnson as a senior member of a Brexit-bound government which promises, against all the ev...

    Michael Cremin falsely claimed to have a law degree from the University of London. A fantasist who posed as a barrister to trick a woman with terminal cancer out of her life savings has been jailed for eight years. Michael Cremin conned Sandra Burch out of £92,000 in a property deal and also committed other frauds to buy a fleet of cars worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Cremin falsely claimed to have a law degree from the University of London and was listed on the website of a legitimate barristers’ chambers but in reality had no legal qualifications. The 41-year-old, of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, was found guilty at Bristol crown court of six counts of fraud and one of pretending to be a barrister. The judge Michael Longman said Cremlin had used bluff and bluster ...

    The Queen has no intention of stepping aside for Prince Charles and remains committed to her duty to the nation, it has been reported. The 91-year-old sovereign is the world's longest-reigning living monarch but as she pledged on her 21st birthday, she insists of serving the country for her whole life. After a series of health concerns, 96-year-old Prince Philip would be retired from public life this month. But despite speculation she may step aside to let Prince Charles take the throne, royal insiders told The Sunday Times the Queen as saying it is duty first, nation first, I'm going to be there. What the British royal family looked like the year you were born Three separate senior sources have dismissed claims she will request the Regency Act, which allows the monarch to...

    Theresa May is to unveil five new Brexit negotiating position papers in the coming days amid reports that cabinet ministers privately fear a decision on progressing on to trade talks with the European Union could be delayed until Christmas. In her first full week back in Downing Street following her three week holiday, the Prime Minister will release formal papers on key elements of the talks, including the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), data protection, and goods and services after Brexit. It comes just one week before David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, heads to Brussels for the next formal round of negotiations. But due to a lack of progress made so far and the Government’s failure to publish any formal positions on two key demands from European neg...

    Thousands of pupils to receive 'incorrect' grades on GCSE results day Around 100 firefighters tackled the blaze on Festival Way (AP) A huge fire at a packaging warehouse has been brought under control, Essex Fire Service said. Around 100 firefighters tackled the blaze as it tore through the building on Festival Way in Basildon. The warehouse was “completely alight”, with flames also affecting a neighbouring industrial unit. But officer in charge Neil Fenwick said crews had acted quickly and prevented the spread of the fire. He said: The warehouse, which we believe is used for packaging and distribution, contained a large amount of stock and the fire took hold very quickly. Firefighters have done an absolutely brilliant job here this morning. They spotted the fire had start...