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STORY

Norwich Airport will close to all air traffic on Friday 28 August because of a 24 hour strike by air traffic control staff. The airport has confirmed that no flights will operate to or from Norwich during the closure and has advised passengers due to travel that day to check directly with their airline for information about cancellations and alternative arrangements.

The strike has been called by Prospect as part of a dispute over pay, terms and conditions. The union said air traffic control employees are seeking pay and employment conditions comparable with colleagues elsewhere in the country. Action short of a strike began on 17 August and includes staff working strictly to contract, refusing non contractual overtime, declining shift swaps and withdrawing goodwill.

The dispute has already caused disruption at Norwich, including a five hour closure on 21 August and the cancellation of flights to Amsterdam and Aberdeen. Norwich Airport said it apologised for the disruption caused by the planned full day closure and remained committed to negotiations with Prospect aimed at reaching an agreement.

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Serious violent and sexual offenders released from prison are to face new geographical restrictions limiting them to designated areas, with GPS technology used to monitor their movements. The Government plans to introduce the tighter restriction zones from September, allowing probation services to confine some offenders to areas only a few miles across where the restrictions are considered necessary and proportionate.

The measures go further than existing exclusion zones, which prevent offenders entering particular locations such as a victim’s home or workplace. Under the new approach, an offender can instead be prohibited from leaving a defined area. Victims will be able to contribute to decisions about boundaries, while the zones must still allow offenders to attend appointments and access services intended to reduce the risk of reoffending.

The Sentencing Act 2026 provides powers for additional licence conditions including restriction zones, bans on driving, prohibitions on attending public events and restrictions on entering pubs, clubs and bars. Offenders who breach licence conditions can be recalled to prison. Justice Secretary Alex Norris said the changes were intended to reduce the risk of victims unexpectedly encountering the people who harmed them.

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The Government has briefed energy company executives on measures to protect infrastructure following reports that hackers linked to Iran forced a small British energy generator offline for four days. The incident was reported to have taken place in July, although the Government has not confirmed who was responsible or disclosed the location or identity of the affected facility.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the Government and industry had taken the incident seriously and were working with regulators and the National Cyber Security Centre to assess threats and strengthen protection. He said the generator involved was very small compared with what would normally be regarded as a power station and stressed that there had been no threat to the wider electricity grid.

The Department for Energy said nobody lost power as a result of the incident and described the UK energy network as highly resilient. The reports were published by the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph, which attributed the attack to hackers linked to Iran. The Iranian embassy in London had not commented on the allegations when approached by Reuters.

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The UK Government has agreed that defence company MBDA can release classified information about British components used in the SCALP long range missile as part of plans to establish assembly lines in Ukraine. Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the move during a visit to Kyiv on 24 August, his first overseas trip since becoming Prime Minister, as Ukraine marked the 35th anniversary of its independence.

SCALP is the French produced version of the UK’s Storm Shadow missile and the two systems use shared British and French technology. The Government said releasing the information would allow France and Ukraine to move forward with plans for Ukrainian assembly of the weapon. The measure will sit alongside Project Brakestop, the UK programme intended to develop lower cost advanced long range strike weapons for Ukraine.

Burnham was also due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and co chair his first meeting of the Coalition of the Willing while in Kyiv. The Government said the UK has committed £25 billion in support to Ukraine since Russia’s full scale invasion, including £16 billion in military assistance and £5.6 billion in non military support.

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Chris McDonald MP has been appointed as the Government minister with responsibility for intellectual property. The Intellectual Property Office confirmed the appointment following McDonald’s move in July 2026 to become Minister of State for Science, Innovation and Investment, a role held jointly across the Department of Health and Social Care and the newly formed Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

The new responsibilities will see McDonald take ministerial oversight of intellectual property policy, including the framework through which businesses, creators and innovators protect their work and ideas. The Intellectual Property Office is the Government body responsible for intellectual property rights including patents, trade marks, designs and copyright.

Intellectual Property Office chief executive Adam Williams welcomed the appointment and said intellectual property was central to the UK’s creative and innovative strengths. He said the system helped individuals and businesses protect ideas, attract investment and bring new products, services and content to market, adding that he looked forward to working with McDonald in his new role.

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The UK, Australia and Canada have condemned Israel’s decision not to pursue criminal investigations into the 2024 strikes on a World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza which killed seven humanitarian workers. In a joint statement, the three countries described the decision as “shameful” and said the victims and their families deserved justice and accountability.

The convoy was struck by the Israel Defense Forces on 1 April 2024 while delivering food to civilians in Gaza. Seven aid workers were killed, including nationals of the UK and Australia and a dual Canadian-US national. The IDF subsequently described the incident as a serious mistake and failure. The three governments said they had spent more than two years pressing Israel to consider the case thoroughly and hold those responsible to account.

Israel announced on 19 August 2026 that it would not pursue criminal investigations into the strikes, a decision the UK, Australia and Canada said had been made without further explanation. The governments also called on Israel to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law and do more to ensure humanitarian workers can operate safely in Gaza. The statement said 186 humanitarian workers were killed in Gaza during 2025 and added that the three countries would continue seeking answers on behalf of those killed in the World Central Kitchen attack

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A former director of an NHS waste disposal company has been banned from running companies for nine years after transferring assets worth almost £3 million to connected businesses as major NHS contracts were being lost. Garry Pettigrew, 59, was director of Healthcare Environmental Services Limited, which entered liquidation in April 2019 owing more than £15 million. The Court of Session imposed the disqualification on 20 August, preventing Pettigrew from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company without court permission.

The Insolvency Service said Pettigrew began transferring equipment just days before Healthcare Environmental Services lost 17 NHS England contracts in October 2018, with further transfers continuing as additional NHS contracts were terminated that December. Assets valued at £2,979,383 were transferred to HEG Sustainable Solutions Limited and Starryshaw Consultants Ltd, two connected companies of which Pettigrew and his wife were then the only directors. The transfers were made without the consent of the company’s bank, despite advice from accountants and solicitors that consent was required.

An attempt to sell Healthcare Environmental Services collapsed in December 2018 and all staff were made redundant before the company entered liquidation the following April. Lord Lake described Pettigrew’s conduct as a “flagrant” breach of his duties and said a nine-year disqualification was appropriate. Pettigrew had also been fined £1,000 in June 2025 after being found in contempt of court for taking photographs of witnesses and later misusing them on social media. Separate criminal proceedings concerning allegations of illegally stored medical waste were dropped in October 2023.