Category: News Story

STORY

Thousands of new homes could be built around train, tram and underground stations in England under changes to national planning policy announced by the Government. The revised National Planning Policy Framework introduces a default presumption in favour of housing within reasonable walking distance of well connected stations, alongside minimum expectations for the density of development in those locations.

The changes are intended to make greater use of land around transport hubs and reduce the scope for local planning policies to block development where they conflict with national decision making policies. The revised framework also strengthens support for development in sustainable locations and introduces a national expectation that 40% of homes on major developments should meet accessible housing standards.

The Government is also reducing some statutory consultation requirements in an attempt to speed up planning decisions. Councils will no longer need to seek sign off from public bodies in cases where specialist advice is not considered necessary, although organisations including Sport England, the Gardens Trust and the Theatres Trust will continue to be involved in relevant applications. The reforms form part of the Government’s wider programme aimed at delivering 1.5 million homes.

STORY

A man has been charged with arson after around ten fires were reported in London Fields in Hackney. Metropolitan Police officers and the London Fire Brigade were called at 5.07am on Saturday 15 August following several reports of a man starting fires near Lansdowne Drive. Firefighters extinguished the fires and no injuries were reported.

Police arrested a man in his 50s on suspicion of arson, setting fires and possession of a Class A drug. Later the same day, Isaac Shozi, 50, of Bodney Road in Hackney, was charged with arson. He was remanded in custody and is due to appear at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court at 10am on Monday 17 August.

Detective Superintendent Liz Cumber, who leads policing in central east London, said even small fires could spread quickly, particularly following the recent hot weather and heightened wildfire risk. Police said they were working closely with the London Fire Brigade and urged anyone who witnesses a fire or behaviour that could create a fire risk to call 999 immediately.

STORY

The Financial Conduct Authority has fined and banned two former senior executives of Blue Horizon Asset Management after finding that false and misleading information was used during attempted acquisitions. Former chief executive Paul Taylor was fined £489,000 and banned from working in financial services, while former managing director Esmeralda Toni was fined £121,200 and also banned.

The FCA said Taylor falsified, or arranged for the falsification of, documents claiming that he owned a bond portfolio worth about €200 million during an attempt to acquire a UK bank. Toni knowingly assisted by making misleading statements and helping to falsify documents. The regulator said the information was intended to be relied upon by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority when assessing the proposed acquisition.

Taylor later attempted to acquire Reading Football Club and again made misleading statements claiming ownership of the same €200 million bond portfolio. The FCA found that both executives had acted dishonestly and breached the individual conduct rule requiring people working in financial services to act with integrity. Both settled their cases and received a 30% reduction in the financial penalties that would otherwise have been imposed.

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Former University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday has been found dead at an address in Battersea, south London, aged 41. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called by the London Ambulance Service at 3.12pm on Friday 14 August after he was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his next of kin have been informed and are being supported by officers.

Police said Arday’s death is being treated as unexpected but is not believed to be suspicious. Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Central South Command Unit are investigating the circumstances and a file will be prepared for the coroner. No further details about the cause of his death have been announced.

Arday had been Professor of Sociology of Education at Cambridge and became the youngest Black professor in the University’s history when he took up the position in 2023. He resigned from Cambridge and Jesus College earlier this month following intense public scrutiny and allegations concerning plagiarism and aspects of his academic record, which he disputed. In his resignation statement he spoke of the toll that the controversy had taken on him and his family and asked for privacy and compassion.

STORY

The Government has launched a review of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, asking manufacturers, suppliers, charge point operators, dealers, consumers and communities for views on the annual sales targets that apply to electric vehicles. The consultation opened on 14 August and will run until 23 October 2026, while the Government says its longer term commitment to phase out sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 remains unchanged.

Under the current policy, all new cars and vans must be fully zero emission by 2035. The review will consider whether the existing annual targets for manufacturers remain appropriate in light of market conditions, supply chain pressures, tariffs and wider trade uncertainty. The Government said manufacturers are currently on track to meet their targets and that the mandate already includes flexibilities intended to help companies comply.

More than one in four new cars sold in the UK are now electric, according to figures cited by the Department for Transport, with electric vehicle sales in July up 45% compared with the same month last year. More than two million electric vehicles are registered on UK roads. The Government has also committed £600 million towards additional charge points and says the Electric Car Grant, worth up to £3,750 on qualifying vehicles, has supported more than 160,000 purchases since its launch last year.

STORY

The UK has called on Iran to end its support for the Houthis after warning that recent attacks have caused a serious escalation of violence in Yemen and the wider region. The statement was delivered by Ambassador Kate Foster, the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at a UN Security Council meeting on Yemen.

The Government said recent incidents had included Houthi drone and missile strikes against Saudi Arabia, attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and violations of Yemeni airspace by Iranian aircraft. It said Iran’s longstanding support for the Houthis threatened Yemen’s stability and called for the group to focus on peace efforts rather than drawing the country into a wider regional conflict.

The UK also warned that the escalation was worsening an already serious humanitarian crisis. More than 22 million people in Yemen require humanitarian assistance, over 18 million face food insecurity and more than 2.2 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished.

The Government said Yemen remained particularly vulnerable because of its dependence on food and fuel imports, while humanitarian funding was under pressure and drought threatened to increase food insecurity. It warned that a return to large scale conflict could turn the existing humanitarian situation into a catastrophe. The UK provided more than $180 million in humanitarian assistance to Yemen last year.

The statement also raised concerns about the continued detention of 73 UN employees and other humanitarian and civil society workers by the Houthis. Britain called for all those detained to be released immediately and unconditionally and said aid organisations must be allowed to operate safely and without obstruction.

The UK welcomed the appointment of Dr Afrah Al-Zouba as Yemen’s first female Foreign Minister and said it would work with the Yemeni Government on reforms and security. Britain also reaffirmed its support for the UN Special Envoy and for a UN-led political process aimed at reaching a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

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Nigel Farage is once again facing an active parliamentary standards investigation following his victory in the Clacton by-election. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has restored the Reform UK leader to its list of MPs currently under investigation after the inquiry was suspended when Farage resigned from Parliament in July.

The investigation was originally opened on 13 May 2026 and concerns an alleged failure to register an interest under Rule 5 of the House of Commons Code of Conduct. Parliament stresses that the opening of an investigation does not mean that an MP has broken the rules.

The inquiry followed reports that Farage had received a £5 million gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing that he would stand in the 2024 general election. The Commissioner is examining whether the money should have been registered after Farage entered Parliament.

Farage has maintained that the money was a personal and unconditional gift which did not fall within parliamentary disclosure requirements. He has said that it was intended to help pay for his personal security. Reform UK has previously said that no parliamentary rules were broken and that Farage’s office was cooperating with the Commissioner.

The investigation had to be suspended after Farage resigned as MP for Clacton on 8 July, triggering the by-election. His successful return to the House of Commons means the Commissioner is now able to continue examining the case.

If the Commissioner concludes that there has been a breach which cannot be resolved through the Commissioner’s own procedures, the case can be referred to the House of Commons Committee on Standards. Parliament states that cases remain listed as being investigated by the Commissioner until any subsequent Standards Committee report is published.

A sufficiently serious sanction could ultimately have consequences for Farage’s membership of the House of Commons. A suspension of at least 10 sitting days could potentially lead to a recall petition and, if enough constituents signed it, another by-election in Clacton. No finding has yet been made against Farage and there is no fixed timetable for completion of the investigation.

STORY

More than 150 Government funded 4G mast upgrades have gone live across rural parts of the United Kingdom as part of the Shared Rural Network programme. The upgrades are intended to improve mobile coverage in areas where commercial rollout is more difficult and expensive, including parts of the Scottish Highlands, Northumberland, Cumbria, North Wales and Dyfed Powys.

The Government said the additional coverage now extends across more than 5,684 square kilometres and includes areas of the Lake District, Eryri and Exmoor. New figures show 42 Shared Rural Network sites have been activated across national parks, while the Yorkshire Dales and Eryri have each seen mobile coverage increase by around seven percentage points.

The Shared Rural Network has already met its target of extending 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK landmass, a year ahead of schedule. The programme will continue until January 2027, with up to 40 further Government funded mast upgrades expected to go live and up to 44 new publicly funded masts planned in Scotland.

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Up to 70 young people aged between 16 and 21 are taking part in a new Government backed artificial intelligence bootcamp in the North West aimed at helping those who are out of work or at risk of becoming unemployed. Participants from areas including Wigan, Blackburn and Blackpool have started three weeks of AI and workplace skills training.

The pilot forms part of the Government’s TechFirst AI Apprenticeship Pathway and is being delivered by IN4 Group with businesses and public sector organisations across the region. Participants will learn how to build and use AI tools responsibly, alongside workplace skills including professional communication, teamwork, organisation and problem solving.

Companies including JD Sports and Heinz are among the employers expected to have apprenticeship opportunities available at the end of the programme. The Government said the results of the pilot will be used to inform an England wide AI skills and early careers scheme planned for next summer, building on the wider £200 million TechFirst programme.

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A row has developed over Nigel Farage’s decision not to attend the declaration of the Clacton by-election result after Reform UK said Essex Police had advised him to stay away because of a credible threat. Farage instead attended a private Reform event while the result was announced at the Clacton count.

Essex Police disputed the suggestion that it had advised Farage not to attend. The force said there had been a full policing operation surrounding the election, that there were no incidents or issues and that decisions over whether candidates attended the count were matters for individuals and their security teams.

Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson defended Farage during an appearance on BBC Breakfast. Anderson acknowledged that he had spoken neither to Farage nor Essex Police about what had happened, but said some police forces were “about as honest” as the BBC. He added that if Farage said he had been advised not to attend, he would believe Farage above the police and the BBC.