LIVE Winter fuel payments scrapped for millions of pensioners – watch Commons live
Labour has scrapped the universal winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners, Rachel Reeves has announced.
Speaking in the Commons, the Chancellor said: “The scale of the situation we are dealing with means incredibly tough choices. I repeat today the commitment that we made in our manifesto to protect the triple lock.
“But today I am making the difficult decision that those not in receipt of pension credit or certain other means-tested benefits or no longer receive the winter fuel payment.
“From this year onwards, the Government will continue to provide winter fuel payments worth £200 for households receiving pension credit, or £300 for households in receipt of pension credit with someone over the age of 80.
Let me be clear, this is not a decision I wanted to make, nor is it the one that I expected to make, but these are the necessary and urgent decisions that I must make.”
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LIVE Children among eight stabbed at ‘Taylor Swift themed dance class’- follow latest
Children are among eight people who have been injured in a knife attack in Southport, Merseyside, it has been reported.
Armed police and paramedics were called to the Hart Space Studios on Hart Street following reports of “multiple stabbings” at 11.50 am.
Eye witnesses described seeing children running into the street covered in blood, with one resident describing the scene like “something in a horror movie”.
Merseyside Police confirmed they have arrested a man in connection with the incident and have recovered a knife.
The victims have been taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Aintree University Hospital and Southport and Formby hospital, a spokesman from the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said.
One of the events listed at The Hart Space at the time of the stabbings was a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance class for children in school years two to six, aged between six and 11.
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Huw Edwards charged with making indecent images of children
Huw Edwards has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, the Metropolitan Police has said.
The 62-year-old, who left the BBC last year, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, charged with three offences relating to images shared on WhatsApp.
Mr Edwards, who was one of the BBC’s most highly-paid stars, was arrested last November by detectives from Scotland Yard. He was charged last month.
According to the charge sheet, Mr Edwards is accused of having six category A images, 12 category B pictures and 19 category C photographs on WhatsApp.
The offences are contrary to sections 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978. If found guilty, he could receive a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.
A Met spokesman said: “The offences, which are alleged to have taken place between December 2020 and April 2022, relate to images shared on a WhatsApp chat.
“Edwards was arrested on Nov 8 2023. He was charged on Wednesday, June 26 following authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service. He has been bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 31 July.
“Media and the public are strongly reminded that this is an active case. Nothing should be published, including on social media, which could prejudice future court proceedings.”
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: “Huw Edwards, 62, of south-west London, has been charged with three offences of making indecent images of children. The CPS authorised the charges after a Metropolitan Police investigation.
“Mr Edwards will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday July 31 2024.
“We remind all that proceedings are active, and the defendant has the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
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Prison officer who had sex with inmate on video pleads guilty
A prison officer who was filmed having sex with an inmate inside a jail cell has pleaded guilty to misconduct.
Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, was charged after footage of the activity inside HMP Wandsworth was shared on social media.
A police investigation was launched after officers were made aware of a video filmed inside the south London prison.
De Sousa Abreu, of Fulham, south-west London, was arrested and charged with misconduct in public office. She wore a light-coloured suit and brown top for the short hearing at Isleworth Crown Court.
The charge states that De Sousa Abreu “wilfully and without reasonable excuse or justification misconducted yourself in a way which amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder by engaging in a sexual act with a prisoner in a prison cell”.
It happened at HMP Wandsworth between June 26-28.
De Sousa Abreu was arrested at Heathrow Airport and was due to catch a flight to Madrid, having notified prison bosses of her travel plans.
Tetteh Turkson, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was a shocking breach of the public’s trust. De Sousa was clearly an enthusiastic participant who wrongly thought she would avoid responsibility.
“The CPS recognises there is no excuse for any prison officer who conducts themselves in such a manner, and we will never hesitate to prosecute those who abuse their position of power.
“After working closely with the Metropolitan Police to build the strongest possible case, De Sousa had no option but accept she was guilty. She will now rightly face the consequences of her actions.”
De Sousa Abreu, who holds a Portuguese passport, was granted conditional bail and will next appear at Isleworth Crown Court on Nov 7.
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Watch: Holidaymakers step over Just Stop Oil protesters at Gatwick airport
Just Stop Oil protesters have failed in an attempt to block the entrance to departures at Gatwick airport, with holidaymakers simply stepping over them.
The seven activists had locked themselves onto suitcases at the Southern Terminal at 8am on Monday.
Video showed them sitting on the floor at the entrance to departures, but travellers stepping over them.
It comes after the protest group, which is calling on the Government to establish a “fossil fuel treaty”, vowed last week to use “all means necessary” to disrupt summer holidays.
One of the protesters, Mel Carrington, a 63-year-old former environmental consultant from Dorset, said: “We’ve just had the hottest three days on Earth in recorded history, and possibly for hundreds of thousands of years.
“Innocent people around the world already face extreme weather and deadly heat, and no one is prepared for the societal collapse that unchecked global heating will bring.
“I’m terrified of what it will mean for my family and friends when there are widespread crop failures, food shortages and economic meltdowns. It will mean the breakdown of law and order, the end of the NHS and the loss of everything we depend on.”
Sussex Police said eight people had been arrested over the incident. A spokesman said: “Police responded to a report that protesters were demonstrating near the security entrance at the South Terminal in Gatwick airport at around 8am.
“Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of interfering with public infrastructure, and a heightened police presence should be expected at this time. The airport is functioning as usual, and no disruption has been caused by protest activity.”
An airport spokesman said: “London Gatwick is open and operating normally. There are a small number of protesters at the airport who have now been arrested and are being removed from the airport.”
Last week, 10 Just Stop Oil activists suspected of planning to disrupt Heathrow airport were arrested. None of the activists were able to get into the airport, the Met said.
The latest action was part of what Just Stop Oil calls the “Oil Kills international uprising” at airports around the world.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police said environmental protesters in central London had caused criminal damage and blocked access to an office building on Old Queen Street in Westminster.
One person has been arrested for criminal damage and the incident is ongoing, the force added.
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Netanyahu promises ‘harsh’ retaliation for Hezbollah rocket strike
Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a “harsh” response to the rocket strike that killed 12 children, as he visited the site in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Monday…
Tommy Robinson ‘flees UK’ amid contempt of court case
Tommy Robinson was arrested for refusing a search while trying to leave the country, a court has heard.
The far-Right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was detained by police at the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone after he failed to comply with a “stop and search”.
He was subsequently arrested for “frustration” of Schedule Seven of the Terrorism Act 2000 but left the UK after being bailed at about 10pm on Sunday, the High Court heard.
On Monday, Mr Justice Johnson issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear at the High Court in relation to a separate contempt of court case.
He said the warrant for Robinson’s arrest should not be executed “until early October” to allow him time to indicate that he would attend the next hearing voluntarily, or to apply to “set aside” the order.
‘I am told that he was arrested yesterday’
Addressing the court, Adam Payter, counsel for the Solicitor General, said Robinson’s arrest followed a demonstration in central London on Saturday at which he played a controversial film featuring Jamal Hijazia, a Syrian refugee, after being expressly forbidden to do so at a court hearing in 2021.
Mr Justice Johnson said: “I am told that he was arrested yesterday under Schedule Seven of the Terrorism Act 2000, that may only be exercised at a port.
“I am told that it was exercised at the Euro Tunnel port at Folkstone. The respondent failed to comply with the stop under Schedule Seven, it is alleged, and he was arrested. But he was released at 10pm last night. I am told that he was explicitly reminded of the hearing today before he left the jurisdiction.”
The Solicitor General launched legal action against Robinson in June over an alleged breach of a court order after he lost a libel battle in 2021.
Mr Hijazi sued Robinson after the then-schoolboy was assaulted at a school in Huddersfield in October 2018. After a clip of the incident went viral, Robinson made false claims, including about Mr Hijazi attacking girls at his school, leading to the libel case.
Mr Justice Nicklin ordered Robinson to pay Mr Hijazi £100,000 in damages and his legal costs, as well as making an injunction preventing him from repeating the allegations.
Hope Not Hate, a campaign group, alleged that Robinson had ignored the injunction and repeated the allegations, providing a “dossier of evidence” to the Attorney General’s Office, with the Solicitor General then taking legal action.
The court heard that Saturday’s incident is not currently the subject of contempt of court proceedings, with police saying officers are making further inquiries.
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