Subsidies for healthy food, plain packaging for unhealthy food, and more research into meat alternatives could help the UK’s obesity crisis, according to a new report. The report – Turning The Tables – by social policy think-tank Demos, found that too many people face “significant barriers to eating healthy diets”. It estimated that, before lockdown,
UK
Labour MP Dawn Butler has told Sky News she believes she was the victim of racial profiling after the car she was in was stopped by police. The former shadow equalities minister filmed the incident, which happened in the London borough of Hackney on Sunday afternoon. She said police officers stopped her “black male friend”
The government has said it wants to see migrant boats intercepted at sea and directly returned to France in a bid to curb recent increases in Channel crossings. Home Secretary Priti Patel has appointed a “clandestine Channel threat commander” who will work to make the route “unviable for small boat crossings”. Dan O’Mahoney, a former
The UK is demanding that France crack down on migrants crossing the Channel, amid government plans to make the route “unviable”. Sky News filmed on Saturday morning as another dinghy was intercepted by a Border Force patrol vessel, with there having already been record-breaking numbers of migrants arriving in the UK on small boats in
The national lockdown may have indirectly caused 16,000 excess deaths in two months, according to government analysts. The new report says a reluctance to attend A&E and difficulties accessing medical assistance likely meant that for every three deaths from coronavirus itself, a further two occurred because of the wider impact of the lockdown. The findings
Preston is the latest part of the UK to face a tightening of lockdown measures after rising coronavirus infection rates were reported in the city. The rolling seven-day rate of new cases of COVID-19 in the Lancashire city has risen from 20.3 per 100,000 people in the seven days to 27 July to 32.8 in
The UK could see record-breaking temperatures on Friday – with forecasters warning it could be the hottest day of the year so far. Temperatures are set to rise above 37C (98.6F) in London and the South East today, with the stifling heat expected to continue through Saturday and Sunday. It could be even hotter than
50 million face masks bought by the UK government will not be used in the NHS due to safety concerns. The personal protective equipment (PPE) ordered from Ayanda Capital have ear loops rather than head loops, and there are concerns over whether they are adequate. The Good Law Project and EveryDoctor, which are suing the
Former coronavirus hospital patients are being urged to donate plasma as part of a major trial. Research is being carried out to assess whether convalescent plasma donations can be transfused into patients who are struggling to develop their own immune response. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which is collecting the plasma for the trial, said
An official heatwave could hit the UK on Thursday, with some parts basking in temperatures hotter than top holiday destinations in the Caribbean. Temperatures are expected to soar to 37C (98.6F) by the end of the week, caused by hot air moving in from southern Europe. It means parts of the country will be basking
The Attorney General has been asked to consider whether jail terms given to the three teenagers who killed PC Andrew Harper are unduly lenient. Henry Long, 19, the driver of the car that dragged the 28-year-old officer to his death, was jailed for 16 years for manslaughter at the Old Bailey on Friday. The other
Children should be put “at the heart” of future lockdown plans and schools prioritised over pubs and shops, the children’s commissioner for England has said. As schools in England and Wales prepare to reopen next month, Anne Longfield warned youngsters were too often “an afterthought” during the first – and current – coronavirus lockdown. But
Reopening schools fully in September without an effective test, trace and isolating strategy could result in a second wave of coronavirus more than twice the size of the first, according to a new modelling study. Researchers from UCL and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) examined the possible implications of schools reopening
A “hero” father-of-seven has died after rescuing his children when they got into difficulty in the sea. Jonathan Stevens, 36, died in the incident in Barmouth, northwest Wales on Sunday afternoon, with his partner Laura Burford saying: “I owe this man everything bringing our babies back.” The plasterer was reportedly caught in a rip tide
New rapid coronavirus tests that can detect the virus in just 90 minutes will start to be used in care homes and labs from next week. The two new types of test do not require trained health staff to operate them and can also pick up other winter viruses. Image: The Nudgebox can diagnose COVID-19
New homes, hospitals, schools, shops and offices will get “automatic” permission to be built, under a radical shake-up of planning laws. After Boris Johnson promised to “build, build, build” in order to create more affordable homes, the government is unveiling what is billed as the biggest change to the planning system since it was created