United Kingdom

    A state school in Greater Manchester is to close early on Fridays from September and charge parents who cannot pick their children up at lunchtime, in what teaching unions said was a sign that schools are at absolute breaking point. Vale View primary in Reddish, Stockport, is believed to be one of at least 25 schools in England to take the drastic measure of shortening the school week in order to cut costs. The chair of governors raised hackles among parents by trying to sell the half-day as a boon for families. With such busy lives, we are sure many families will want to take advantage of their children finishing earlier one day a week; a great opportunity to catch up, tackle homework or just have some quality family time, wrote Dr Ricky van Deursen in a letter to...

    Theresa May has signalled for the first time that Brexit may be delayed if MPs fail to back her own plans for the UK’s divorce from the EU. In a bid to avoid mass resignations from ministers worried about a no-deal exit, the prime minister suggested she would allow a Commons vote to extend the March 29 deadline for leaving the European Union. Keen to head off a possible backlash from hardline Brexiteers, May will also allow a rival vote to let MPs back a no-deal Brexit. Staunch Eurosceptic MP Andrea Jenkyns warned that any delay would “certainly” damage trust in politicians, while DUP leader Arlene Foster said a hard deadline was needed to force the EU into concessions. Speaking in the Commons today, May said a meaningful vote on her deal would be held by Tuesday ...

    The UK’s claim to sovereignty over the remote Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean has been ruled to be illegal by the United Nation’s highest court. Although the majority decision by the international court of justice in The Hague is only advisory, the judges announcement is a further, severe blow to Britain’s prestige on the world stage. The case was referred to the court, which hears rival legal submissions over international boundaries, after an overwhelming vote in 2017 in the United Nations assembly in the face of fierce opposition from a largely isolated UK. In its submission to the ICJ last year, Mauritius argued it was coerced into giving up a large swath of its territory, the Chagos Islands. That separation was in breach of UN resolution 1514, passed in 19...

    Secret plans have been drawn up by Downing Street to delay Brexit for up to two months, it emerged today. The bombshell plan comes hours after Theresa May sparked MPs' fury by delaying their final Brexit vote until as late as March 12. And facing no chance of a deal in the desert at an EU summit in Egypt today, the Prime Minister admitted it's now only "within our grasp" to leave on March 29 not guaranteed. Her comments sparked furious claims she is running down the clock and an angry row among Tory Brexiteers over fears we will no longer leave on time. Now a delay to Brexit is one of three options in a paper being considered by No10, according to the Daily Telegraph. The others are said to be a meaningful vote on the Brexit deal, as planned, or a conditional vot...

    MPs may have to wait until March 12 for a meaningful vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal just 17 days before the UK is due to leave, the Prime Minister revealed today. Her first plan was crushed by a record 230 votes in January, forcing her to rethink. She will update the Commons this Tuesday before her latest test on Wednesday, when MPs will try and force her to take a no-deal departure off the table. But finally confirming what was widely thought in Westminster, she admitted MPs will not get a full, second meaningful vote on a revised Brexit deal this Wednesday. Instead she will kick the can down the road yet again for up to another fortnight while officials negotiate with the EU. My team will be back in Brussels again this coming week, she said. As a result, we...

    Islamic State's bride Shamima Begum's baby son can be British despite her citizenship being removed, Home Secretary Sajid Javid has suggested. Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Mr Javid signalled the 19-year-old's child could be allowed into the UK, despite his mother being barred. Shamima Begum, who is seeking to return to Britain having fled to Syria in 2015, recently gave birth in a refugee camp in the country. However, her hopes of being allowed back into the UK to raise her son appear to have been dashed, after a lawyer representing her family revealed the Home Office have stripped her British citizenship. Yet, despite not commenting directly on the case of Shamima Begum, Mr Javid hinted her child's right to be British would be unaffected b...

    Three Conservative MPs have announced they are resigning from their party to join ex-Labour members in the new Independent Group in the House of Commons. Heidi Allen, Sarah Wollaston and Anna Soubry left Theresa May’s Tories after being heavily critical of her approach to Brexit and the growing influence of eurosceptics in the party. It means the Independent Group now has eleven members, as many as the Liberal Democrats, including the eight MPs who have walked out of Jeremy Corbyn’s party in recent days. In a joint statement, the three MPs leavng the Tories said they had wanted their party to broaden its appeal to young people and reflect the diversity of British communities. In a joint statement, the three MPs leavng the Tories said they had wanted their party to...

    As the clock ticks down on Britain’s departure from the EU with no deal in sight, the country’s car industry is braced for its biggest blow in more than a decade with the closure of a major automobile plant. The decision by Honda to shut its Swindon factory by 2022, expected to be confirmed as early as Tuesday, throws into doubt 3,500 direct jobs, at a site responsible for about one in every 10 cars made in the UK last year. Thousands more jobs are at risk in the supply chain and associated businesses. “It’s a big shock,” said David Bailey, a professor of industrial strategy at Aston University. “But it’s not a surprise. Many of us have been warning for several years of the risks to UK automotive over Brexit, that we needed to nail down the uncertainty as soon as p...

    Meghan Markle and Prince Harry 's wedding was watched by millions around the world. The beautiful Hollywood actress became a princess when she wed the young royal. But it seems moving across the pond hasn't been the only thing Meghan has changed - her accent has altered too. Experts claim the way the Duchess of Sussex now pronounces certain words is much more British. They say it was especially profound during a trip to Birkenhead last month when Meghan told well-wishers I do appreciate that. Assistant professor in linguistics at the University of Toronto, Marisa Brook, told the BBC: I think a lot of it is deliberate on her part. She's developed a style to be used when directly talking with the British public. These are situations where people might be judging h...

    Chuka Umunna led a group of Labour MPs in quitting the party over Jeremy Corbyn's handling of Brexit and claims of anti-Semitism. The MPs, including Luciana Berger, stood down today and formed a new group of Independent MPs in a protest over the future of British politics in a significant party split. The MPs who quit Labour are: Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Ann Coffey, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker and Mike Gapes. Announcing the move, Luciana Berger said: "This morning we have all now resigned from the Labour Party. This has been a very difficult, painful, but necessary decision. We represent different parts of the country, we are of different backgrounds, we were born of different generations, but we all share the same values. From today, we will al...