Exclusive: Met police say 70 women’s accounts have hallmarks of trafficking, suggesting case numbers could rise Almost half of the women who reported allegations of sexual abuse by Mohamed Al Fayed to the Metropolitan police are potential victims of human trafficking, MPs have been told. In a briefing for the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for the survivors of Fayed and Harrods in July, senior Met officers said a review earlier this year found 70 survivors’ accounts bore the hallmarks of trafficking. Continue reading...

Barbara O’Neill has previously claimed that cancer is a fungus that can be treated with bicarbonate soda A controversial proponent of natural remedies who has been banned from providing any health services in Australia is due to embark on a series of events in the UK and Ireland despite criticism from scientists, health charities and academic bodies. Barbara O’Neill, who describes herself as a naturopath and nutritionist, lectures internationally on “natural self-healing”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Martha Dalton worked closely with Burnham’s team on byelection that secured his return to parliament

Derbyshire county council accused of ‘worst kind of double speak’ as it denied banning local democracy journalist but said his inquiries will be ignored Rows over potholes and a viral story about a garden gate have led to Reform UK’s latest confrontation with local media, after one of its councils announced it would refuse to engage with a reporter behind the stories. Reform-run Derbyshire county council has been accused of setting a “dangerous precedent” after withdrawing all cooperation with Eddie Bisknell, a Derbyshire Live journalist who is publicly funded to cover local democracy. Continue reading...

UK helped Gulf monarchy crackdown on dissidents to keep control over Strait of Hormuz oil route

Officer forced to admit relationship with woman lasting at least six months while working under fake name Dave Evans An undercover police officer who infiltrated leftwing and animal rights campaign groups appears to have lied to the spycops inquiry when he claimed he did not have a sexual relationship as part of his deployment. The officer who used the fake name Dave Evans had originally testified that he did not have any relationships while using his fake identity. Continue reading...

Officer forced to admit relationship with woman lasting at least six months while working under fake name Dave Evans

Officer forced to admit relationship with woman lasting at least six months while working under fake name Dave Evans

Officer forced to admit relationship with woman lasting at least six months while working under fake name Dave Evans

Officer forced to admit relationship with woman lasting at least six months while working under fake name Dave Evans

War, AI disruption and markets in turmoil: the warnings are all there. But lessons from the 2008 crash could help us, says Guardian columnist Larry Elliott

Shabana Mahmood is concerned about length and £144m cost of inquiry into intrusive police surveillance

Shabana Mahmood is concerned about length and £144m cost of inquiry into intrusive police surveillance

Shabana Mahmood is concerned about length and £144m cost of inquiry into intrusive police surveillance Victims of intrusive police surveillance have accused the government of seeking to cut short the spycops public inquiry that has been examining widespread misconduct committed by undercover officers. The independent judge-led inquiry is scrutinising how officers, who spied on tens of thousands of political activists over more than four decades, carried out abuses such as deceiving women into sexual relationships and fathering children. Continue reading...

A group of masked agitators gathered outside a four-star hotel in Portsmouth after reports a group of asylum seekers had been taken there, when it was in fact Pakistan’s under-19 cricket team on a tou...

More than 100 undercover officers spied on tens of thousands of mainly leftwing activists over decades

Doreen Lawrence and other victims of police surveillance have waited decades for justice. Delays and expense due to Met intransigence are no excuse to deny them that, says solicitor Imran Khan

Centre for Economics and Business Research calculates effect of inflation and wage stagnation to end of 2027 UK households will have suffered a £2,400 financial hit, on average, from the Iran war by the end of 2027, new analysis shows. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has calculated that the jump in inflation since the conflict began, and weaker wage growth, will knock £1,100 off the real income of the average UK household in 2026, and by a further £1,300 in 2027. Continue reading...

More than 100 undercover officers spied on tens of thousands of mainly leftwing activists over decades

More than 100 undercover officers spied on tens of thousands of mainly leftwing activists over decades

More than 100 undercover officers spied on tens of thousands of mainly leftwing activists over decades Prosecutors are examining whether to bring criminal charges against 12 former police officers who were involved in spying on political groups. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is examining a file of evidence that the officers may have committed wrongdoing while working in controversial undercover operations. Continue reading...

More than 100 undercover officers spied on tens of thousands of mainly leftwing activists over decades

More than 100 undercover officers spied on tens of thousands of mainly leftwing activists over decades

More than 100 undercover officers spied on tens of thousands of mainly leftwing activists over decades

Undercover officers working for West Midlands’ ‘special projects team’ planted evidence to convict men, lawyers claim

Undercover officers working for West Midlands’ ‘special projects team’ planted evidence to convict men, lawyers claim Lawyers representing four men convicted of terror offences are increasingly hopeful that revelations from the undercover policing inquiry could boost the chances of their case being reopened. Ten years ago, Khobaib Hussain, Naweed Ali, Mohibur Rahman and Tahir Aziz were arrested and later convicted of plotting a terrorist attack in the UK after an elaborate covert police operation. Continue reading...

Joyce Thomas, 78, faces being forced to leave Sweden after 21 years in growing row over country’s approach to EU withdrawal * British widow, 78, told to leave Sweden under Brexit rules The 78-year-old British widow threatened with removal from Sweden after 21 years has said she has been left feeling sick with worry after being told she had lost an appeal against deportation in a growing row over the country’s handling of Brexit. “I am in shock. I feel sick. An individual’s life is at stake at my age. It is hell. I have done nothing wrong. I don’t take anything from this country. I am self sufficient, I put money in this country, have no criminal record,” said Joyce Thomas from her home in Sweden on Thursday. Continue reading...

More than 50 organisations say PM urgently needs to show leadership and prepare British people for scale of change needed as UK struggles through another heatwave * UK politics live – latest updates The UK’s leading climate organisations have accused the prime minister, Andy Burnham, of “remaining silent” on the climate crisis as the country struggles to cope with its fifth heatwave of the year. As widespread droughts and devastating wildfires grip the country, green groups have written to Burnham urging him to “show leadership” and be honest with workers and the public that the climate crisis is driving the extreme conditions they are facing. Continue reading...

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused ‘incalculable harm’ by infiltrating groups that posed no threat An undercover police unit that spied on tens of thousands of political activists had to be shut down amid severe criticisms and recriminations, the spycops public inquiry has heard. Jon Boutcher, a senior police officer who took over responsibility for the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) unit, concluded within months that it had to be wound up because it was conducting unjustified surveillance and was badly run. Continue reading...

Exclusive: ministers and police chiefs examining how cases involving US military personnel on UK soil are handled after Guardian revelations

Suffolk police ceded investigation into James Loubeau to the US military, leading to court martial acquittal A US airman accused of a “spree” of rapes and sexual assaults in England, drugging some women and breaking into the homes of others, was able to avoid British justice after local police handed over part of the case to the American military. Two British women went to Suffolk police in August 2019 to allege that James Loubeau and another US airman had drugged and raped them after they met in a nightclub in Bury St Edmunds, a local market town. Continue reading...

Suffolk police ceded investigation into James Loubeau to the US military, leading to court martial acquittal

Spycops inquiry has revealed how Helen Steel was secretly monitored in her search for undercover officer who deceived her into relationship

Spycops inquiry has revealed how Helen Steel was secretly monitored in her search for undercover officer who deceived her into relationship