Tag: News Story

STORY

English whisky has been awarded protected Geographical Indication status, legally recognising it as a distinct category of spirit. The designation restricts use of the name to products meeting an agreed specification and is intended to protect legitimate producers from imitation. The Government announced the decision on 11 September.

More than 70 distilleries are now producing whisky in England, compared with 46 in 2023, while English whisky is exported to more than 30 countries. Industry estimates suggest that maturing stocks held in English casks are worth approximately £1 billion. Producers wishing to use the protected name must be verified through HMRC’s Spirit Drink Verification Scheme.

The application was submitted by the English Whisky Guild following several years of development and consultation. Previous proposals generated disagreement with the Scotch Whisky Association over production rules and the use of descriptions such as single malt. The final designation does not suggest that English and Scotch whisky are made to identical specifications, but gives each category separate legal protection.

STORY

The UK Government has said its position on Irish unity remains unchanged after US President Donald Trump expressed support for a united Ireland during a visit to Dublin. A Downing Street spokesperson reaffirmed that the Government does not currently believe there is sufficient evidence of public support in Northern Ireland to justify holding a border poll.

Under the Belfast Agreement and the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the Secretary of State must call a referendum if it appears likely that a majority of voters in Northern Ireland would support joining a united Ireland. The decision about whether that legal threshold has been reached rests with the UK Government rather than the Irish or US Governments.

Trump said he would “love” to see a united Ireland and believed it would eventually happen, but his comments do not alter the constitutional process. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously said a referendum should not be held unless clear evidence emerges that public opinion has shifted. Assessments of that support remain contested and individual opinion polls do not automatically trigger a vote.

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Reform UK is set to receive a second £36 million donation from a cryptocurrency investor, taking the party’s newly announced funding to £72 million within 48 hours. Christopher Harborne said he would match the record contribution announced by BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo on Friday.

Harborne has previously provided substantial financial support to Reform and said he had intended to donate approximately £1 million for each month remaining before the next general election. He said Delo’s announcement had prompted him to make the entire £36 million contribution immediately. Reform leader Nigel Farage described the funding as providing the party with the resources needed to prepare for Government.

The contributions will be subject to checks and reporting requirements under electoral law. They have also renewed political calls for a limit on the amount that an individual may donate, although the Government has not announced that it will introduce such a cap. The donations should not be described as formally verified by the Electoral Commission until they appear in its published records.

STORY

A Devon taxi driver who fraudulently obtained £100,000 through the Government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme has been ordered to repay £63,790. The confiscation order was made against Murat Dogantekin at Exeter Crown Court following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Dogantekin secured two loans of £50,000 from separate banks in 2020 after claiming that two taxi businesses had annual turnovers of £200,000 and £205,000. Investigators found that he had declared earnings of £16,500 for the relevant tax year and had overstated his combined turnover by £388,500. He was jailed for two years and seven months in February 2025 after being convicted of fraud offences.

The Insolvency Service said £48,000 of the money was used to purchase a flat in Turkey, while Dogantekin also bought a Peugeot car for £2,840 and a pizza oven for £800. He has been given three months to pay the confiscation order and could face a further five years in prison if he fails to do so, although the debt would remain payable

STORY

Seven men have been arrested after four men were stabbed during an altercation in Bromley town centre. Metropolitan Police officers were called to Bromley High Street at approximately 14:15 on Thursday 10 September and attended alongside the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.

All four injured men were taken to hospital. Police said one remained in a critical condition, while the injuries sustained by the other three were not believed to be life threatening. A cordon was established on the High Street while forensic examinations and other inquiries were carried out.

The seven arrested men remained in police custody as the investigation continued. No charges have been announced and police have not confirmed the circumstances leading to the violence or the relationship between those involved. The Metropolitan Police said it did not believe there was a wider threat to the public and asked anyone with information to contact officers on 101.

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Mayors and other strategic authority leaders in England will be given the power to introduce a levy on stays in hotels, bed and breakfasts and short term rented accommodation. The charge will be optional and calculated as a percentage of the accommodation price, meaning that people choosing cheaper places to stay would pay less.

The money will be retained locally and could be invested in public transport, high streets, cultural attractions, events and other services used by visitors and residents. The Government said temporary accommodation, shelters and refuges would be exempt, while local leaders could create additional exemptions for places such as campsites. Accommodation providers will be responsible for paying the levy to the relevant strategic authority.

The Government intends to introduce legislation establishing the scheme, with local leaders expected to publish spending plans by early 2028. The proposal had been welcomed by mayors seeking additional investment but opposed by parts of the hospitality industry, which argue that higher accommodation costs could discourage visitors. No levy has yet been introduced under the new powers, and its rate and local application will depend upon decisions taken after the legislation is approved.

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Nearly 7.3 million people attended accident and emergency departments in England between June and August, making 2026 the busiest summer recorded by the NHS. The total was approximately 240,000 higher than during the same period last year and almost one million above the figure recorded in 2022.

Ambulance services responded to approximately 2.46 million incidents during the three months, while NHS 111 received more than three million calls. Despite the increased demand, hospitals treated more emergency patients within four hours than during any previous summer. The figures were published alongside NHS England’s regular emergency-care statistics.

NHS leaders said five periods of exceptionally hot weather contributed to admissions and argued that summer was increasingly becoming a second period of intense pressure alongside winter. The waiting list for planned hospital treatment also rose to approximately 7.3 million cases in July. Although extreme heat can worsen respiratory, cardiovascular and other medical conditions, the emergency-care figures alone cannot establish how many attendances were caused directly by the weather.

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The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has strengthened security after volunteers and staff received threats and abuse connected with rescues of people attempting to cross the English Channel. Personnel have been advised to consider avoiding branded clothing in places where they feel it could place them at risk.

The charity has also told teams that shops or lifeboat stations may be closed when necessary and they have increased security at some locations. The RNLI said that it had issued precautionary advice following unacceptable abuse directed at its personnel. The guidance is not a nationwide prohibition on wearing RNLI uniforms.

Protests have taken place outside RNLI facilities, while individual volunteers have reportedly been identified and targeted online. The charity has also rejected false claims that it secretly provides accommodation for asylum seekers. It said its crews would continue assisting anyone in danger at sea irrespective of nationality or immigration status, in accordance with their longstanding lifesaving role.

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Israel has strongly criticised Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband after he accused the Israeli Government of allowing the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar described the accusation as an “outrageous lie” and called the British sanctions against settlement activity “morally distorted”. Miliband made the comments while announcing the measures in the House of Commons.

The UK measures include prohibiting imports from Israeli settlements and restricting services connected with their construction, infrastructure, financing and sale. Israel maintains that the sanctions unfairly target the country and amount to interference before its forthcoming general election. The UK regards Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as unlawful and says their continuing expansion threatens the possibility of a Palestinian state.

Israel has responded by ordering the closure of the British Consulate General in Jerusalem, removing Britain from a United States led Gaza coordination mission and ending British involvement in training Palestinian security personnel. It has also announced entry bans against 12 British nationals, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Miliband said he regretted the Israeli response but defended the sanctions, arguing that the Government could not ignore rising settler violence and displacement.

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The BBC could face industrial action as staff consider their response to a proposed pay increase and plans for substantial job reductions. Director General Matt Brittin acknowledged that strikes were a genuine possibility during a call with employees.

The corporation has offered an average pay increase of 2.1 per cent while seeking approximately £500 million of savings by 2028. As many as 2,000 posts could be affected by the reductions, although the eventual number and location of compulsory redundancies have not been confirmed. Staff representatives argue that the pay proposal does not adequately reflect living costs or the pressure created by restructuring.

BBC management says its financial options are severely constrained after a prolonged decline in licence fee income and pressure upon its commercial revenue. Brittin reportedly told employees that every additional one per cent awarded in general pay would cost approximately the equivalent of 180 jobs. No strike has yet been called and any industrial action would require the relevant union procedures and ballots.