United Kingdom

    Conservative party conference Theresa May has made "one hell of a climbdown" in a bid to prevent a Tory rebellion over her Brexit strategy. The Prime Minister accepted a call to ensure Parliament can properly scrutinise the plan for leaving the EU before Article 50 is invoked, which is likely to take place before March 2017. Labour will make the call for scrutiny during an Opposition Day motion in the House of Commons on Wednesday (12 October). But May has tabled an amendment accepting closer inspection, as long as it does not undermine the negotiating position of the government as negotiations are entered into. The prime minister's move comes amid increasing cross-party pressure for lawmakers to be given a vote on the Brexit strategy before Article 50 is triggered, settin...

    After a disastrous week that saw the pound repeatedly mark new 31-year lows against the dollar, sterling is falling against the greenback again on Monday morning. Here is how it looks at just after 7.10 a.m. BST (2.10 a.m. ET). The red line represents where the pairing started the day, while the black line is where we are now: If you discount Thursday night's "flash crash" — which was reportedly so bad because of low liquidity — there is still a clear downward trend for sterling, with no clear sign of the bottom. Here is sterling against the pound across the last week: HSBC's chief currency strategist David Bloom said in a note last week that he expects the pound to reach $1.20 by the end of the year and warns the currency has become a political football for "vigilante" cu...

    Britain is seeking to shift the frontline of immigration controls to Ireland’s ports and airports to avoid having to introduce a “hard border” between north and south after the UK leaves the European Union, the Guardian has learned. The Northern Ireland secretary, James Brokenshire, has told the Guardian that London and Dublin will work to strengthen Ireland’s external borders in order to combat illegal migration into the UK once it leaves the European Union. In an interview, Brokenshire said there was now a “high level of collaboration on a joint programme of work” between the two states to control immigration. “We have put in place a range of measures to further combat illegal migration working closely with the Irish government,” Brokenshire said. “Our focus is to streng...

    A British glamour model name Kimberley Miners is on an Islamic State terror watch by U.K. authorities after she exchanged messages with a known ISIS recruiter on social media. Ex-model Kimberley Miners, who has modelled for publications such as The Sun, is alleged to have used Facebook under the alias Aisha Lauren al-Britaniya to communicate with Abu Usamah al-Britani in Syria, who has been trying to recruit a new group of jihadi brides from the West. Authorities are investigating the issue following her social media activities of “liking” and sharing ISIS videos. Anti-terrorist police and MI5 have warned her that she could face arrest if she continued her activities. However, she insists that she only cares about the plight of the Syrian children. The model, who has been ...

    PM urged to let Jungle children into UK Religious leaders have called on Theresa May to allow nearly 400 children living in the Jungle migrant camp in Calais to enter the UK. In an open letter to the Prime Minister organised by the charity Citizens UK, senior figures from Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths label the camp a "stain" on the consciences of Britain and France. The letter says the child migrants, the youngest of whom is eight, have fled conflict and persecution, are now stuck in Northern France, deeply traumatized and at great risk as well documented by the anti-slavery commissioner you yourself appointed while Home Secretary". It comes after French president Francois Hollande announced the camp would be bulldozed before Christmas, with its 9,000 inhabitants di...

    We've seen Prince George on a number of occasions now – at public engagements, in official photographs, and most recently during last week's tour of Canada – and there's one thing that royal watchers have noticed about the little royal: he only ever wears shorts. According to an etiquette expert there is a very good reason for this - and it's nothing to do with fashion, but rather royal and aristocratic tradition. It's a very English thing to dress a young boy in shorts," William Hanson told Harper's Bazaar UK. "Trousers are for older boys and men, whereas shorts on young boys is one of those silent class markers that we have in England. Although times are (slowly) changing, a pair of trousers on a young boy is considered quite middle class – quite suburban. And no self-re...

    The process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rock. Fracking under homes in Lancashire by energy firm Cuadrilla has been approved by the Government, overruling the decision of local councillors. Sajid Javid, the Communities Secretary, decided the shale gas explorer should get planning consent to drill and frack horizontal wells at its site at Preston New Road. A final decision on a second site, Roseacre Wood, has been delayed to allow Cuadrilla to give more evidence about the traffic impact. However, if the company can address concerns raised by the planning inspector, Mr Javid has said he is also minded to approve the plans. The four wells Cuadrilla plans to drill at Preston New Road would be the first horizontal shale wells to be fracked in the UK, m...

    Theresa May has vowed that a change is going to come as she set out her plan for the Conservatives to occupy the centre ground of British politics and create a country that works for everyone. In her keynote address to the Tory Party conference in Birmingham, the Prime Minister spoke of her determination to make Britain into a "Great Meritocracy" based on the values of "fairness and opportunity". She said: "Come with me and seize the day." She made a bold bid for traditional Labour territory, branding Jeremy Corbyn's party "the new nasty party" and declaring that the Tories were now "truly the party of the workers, the party of the NHS, the party of public servants". 'The spirit of citizenship' In a sharp break from small-state Conservatives such as Margaret Thatcher, she ...

    Amber Rudd has hinted she could ditch plans to force companies to publish the number of foreign staff they employ. The home secretary had said the proposal was to prevent migrants taking jobs that “British people can do”. Labour said it showed Theresa May is presiding over the return of the “Nasty Party” and accused the Conservatives of becoming “increasingly xenophobic”. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Rudd said it was “not something we’re definitely going to do”. “The purpose if this review is to look at whether they are doing enough to train people locally when they could be able to do that. There are record levels of employment, which is great, but there are still one in ten 18 to 24-year-olds unemployed and I want businesses to think first abou...

    British soldiers will never again face a legal witch hunt, Theresa May will pledge as she says that European human rights laws will no longer apply on the battlefield. In a joint announcement with Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, the Prime Minister will say that UK troops will be protected from the “industry of vexatious claims that has pursued those who served in previous conflicts”. Mrs May and Sir Michael will say that in future conflicts Britain will opt out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), protecting our frontline forces from “spurious” legal claims. Their intervention is a major victory for soldiers, MPs and senior military figures who have fought against the hounding of troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan over allegations that date ...