Tag: News Story

STORY

Millions of women in England are to be offered free home testing kits for the virus that causes almost all cervical cancers as the NHS attempts to increase screening rates.

Women aged between 30 and 65 who are not up to date with cervical screening will be able to carry out a vaginal swab themselves before returning the sample to an NHS laboratory. Kits will be available through the NHS app and website, while some eligible women will receive invitations by text, email or letter.

Around four million eligible women are currently not up to date with cervical screening and uptake is below the NHS target. The programme is intended to remove some of the practical and personal barriers associated with attending a conventional screening appointment and forms part of the NHS ambition to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2040.

STORY

Young people are being prevented from taking up jobs because of lengthy waits for driving tests, according to new research from the Centre for Social Justice. Analysis of Department for Transport data by the think tank found that learners in England faced an average wait of 20.8 weeks for a practical car test in July 2026, compared with around five weeks in 2020. The CSJ said test availability remained extremely limited, with only 7.7% of slots across English test centres available on average during 2026.

The organisation said the backlog was particularly significant for young people who are not in employment, education or training because many jobs require applicants to hold a driving licence. Research cited by the CSJ found that 17.4% of job vacancies required applicants to be able to drive, rising to 34% of roles in care and social work and 68% of plumbing vacancies. Nearly one in five unemployed people also reported having turned down a job or decided not to apply because of transport difficulties. The proportion of 17 to 20 year olds in England holding a full car licence has fallen from 48% in 1994 to 29% in 2024.

The CSJ has called for accredited employers to be allowed to conduct car driving tests for employees who require a licence for their work, through an expansion of the existing Delegated Examiner Scheme. It also proposed regional testing hubs involving employers and further education colleges and allowing vocational and apprenticeship funding to help cover the cost of driving tests. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has been recruiting additional examiners and changing booking rules in an attempt to reduce waiting times, with 1,604 full time equivalent examiners in post by April 2026, its highest level since March 2018.

STORY

A 24-year-old Afghan man is due to appear before Manchester Crown Court on 25 August 2026 after being charged in connection with the reported rape of a 17-year-old girl in Manchester city centre. Greater Manchester Police confirmed the charges following an investigation into an incident that occurred in the early hours of last month.

Abdul Shinwari, of no fixed abode, faces two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault, non-fatal strangulation and possession with intent to supply. The charges follow reports that the teenager was attacked on Hope Street, located near Piccadilly Gardens, at around 1.30am on Tuesday 14 July 2026.

Following his arrest and subsequent charging, Shinwari was remanded into custody ahead of his crown court appearance. Police have confirmed that specialist safeguarding officers are continuing to provide dedicated support to the victim.

STORY

A man has been charged with murder following the fatal shooting of 42 year old Masum Miah in Newham. Sergiu Leahu, 40, of no fixed address, was charged on Monday 24 August with Mr Miah’s murder and was due to appear before Bromley Magistrates’ Court.

Police were called to St Bartholomew’s Road at around 3am on Tuesday 18 August following reports of a shooting. Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service and found Mr Miah suffering from gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of emergency services, he died at the scene. His family are being supported by specially trained officers.

Detective Chief Inspector Dan Whitten, who is leading the investigation, said officers were continuing to appeal for information and were particularly interested in anyone who saw a black Nissan Juke near St Bartholomew’s Road between the evening of 17 August and the early hours of 18 August. Police have also asked anyone with CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage which could assist the investigation to come forward, quoting reference CAD 797/18AUG.

STORY

Transparency International UK has launched a three part documentary series examining the growing role of wealthy donors in British politics and arguing that tighter controls are needed on political funding. Going, Going, Almost Gone: How the Super Rich Are Buying UK Democracy, produced with Democracy for Sale, looks at who provides large political donations, the access and potential influence associated with them and proposals to reform the system.

The organisation says political parties have become increasingly dependent on a relatively small number of wealthy donors. Its analysis found that in 2015 just 1% of private political donations came from individuals and companies giving £1 million or more, rising to 35% by 2024. Separately, Electoral Commission figures show that political parties, candidates and non party campaigners spent a record £94.5 million during the 2024 general election, compared with £72.6 million in 2019. Transparency International argues that the increasing cost of campaigning is creating pressure on parties to seek ever larger individual donations.

The documentary series features contributions from figures including author Oliver Bullough, Transparency International UK chief executive Duncan Hames, Spotlight on Corruption executive director Susan Hawley and Tax Justice UK executive director Faiza Shaheen. It is being released as Parliament considers the Representation of the People Bill, with Labour MP Stella Creasy proposing an amendment that would introduce a £100,000 annual cap on most political donations. The Government has already announced a separate £100,000 annual limit on donations from overseas electors and a moratorium on cryptocurrency donations as part of measures intended to protect elections from foreign financial interference.

STORY

More than one in ten dental practices that provided NHS treatment in England in 2017 have since stopped doing so, according to new analysis from the Nuffield Trust. The proportion of dental practices offering general NHS dentistry fell from around 65% in 2017 to 56% in 2026, with nearly 600 practices withdrawing from NHS provision. Over the same period, the number of practices without an NHS general dental contract, largely private or specialist providers, increased by almost 1,000.

The decline was recorded in 41 of England’s 42 integrated care board areas, with particularly large reductions in parts of the South West and East of England. The Nuffield Trust said NHS dental activity also remains below its pre pandemic level, while its wider data shows that in June 2025 only 40% of adults had seen an NHS dentist within the previous two years. The think tank warned that the continuing movement of practices away from NHS work risked creating an increasingly two tier system in which access depended on patients’ ability to pay and where they lived.

The Government said it recognised that too many people were struggling to obtain dental treatment but argued that it was rebuilding NHS dentistry through contract changes, additional treatments and an expansion of the workforce. Reforms introduced from April include changes to payments for urgent and complex treatment, while ministers have also said newly qualified dentists will be required to work in the NHS for at least three years. The Nuffield Trust said the recent contract changes could improve urgent access but argued that more fundamental reform would be needed to reverse the decline in practices willing to provide NHS care.

STORY

An illegal waste site in Sheffield has been cleared after a prosecution by the Environment Agency led to its owner and director being ordered to remove the material. Concept Investments Limited and its director Austin Fitzgerald had admitted offences connected with allowing an illegal waste operation to take place at the former Stanley Works site on Rutland Road.

The Environment Agency first visited the site in July 2022 and found a large quantity of mixed waste. Despite repeated instructions and a formal notice requiring the land to be cleared, further inspections found that waste remained and additional material had accumulated. Complaints were later received about waste being burned at the site, with Sheffield City Council advising the operator to stop because of the impact on nearby residents. The site has now been completely cleared of material including fridges, electrical equipment, soil and stones.

At Sheffield Magistrates’ Court in April, Concept Investments was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and £5,442 in costs. Fitzgerald received a 12 month community order requiring 140 hours of unpaid work and was ordered to pay £5,442 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge. A 38 year old Sheffield man has separately pleaded guilty to operating the illegal waste site and is due to be sentenced on 16 September. Environment Agency official Ben Hocking said the case should serve as a warning that action would be taken against landowners who allow illegal waste activity on their property.

STORY

Amnesty International UK has backed calls for the Government’s Prevent counter terrorism programme to be abolished, describing discussion about its future as “long overdue”. The human rights organisation was responding to reports that the Green Party’s Crime and Justice Working Group has proposed scrapping Prevent as part of a wider package of criminal justice policies being considered ahead of the party’s autumn conference.

Rebecca Barnes, Racial Justice Campaigner at Amnesty International UK, claimed Prevent was ineffective and discriminatory and disproportionately affected Muslim and racialised communities, as well as children and neurodiverse people. Amnesty said figures released last year showed that despite record numbers of referrals to Prevent, around 80% of cases were not considered to require intervention through Channel, the programme which provides support to people considered vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. Barnes said she hoped the Greens would adopt the proposal and that other political parties would follow.

The Government continues to defend Prevent, describing it as a critical part of the UK’s counter terrorism strategy and an early intervention programme intended to stop people becoming involved in or supporting terrorism. The Home Office said earlier this month that more than 6,000 people had received interventions intended to steer them away from violent ideologies since 2015. It said the programme allows professionals, families and members of the public to raise concerns about people who may be susceptible to radicalisation and argued that Prevent remains necessary because the terrorist threat facing the UK is continuing to evolve.

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Women’s Aid has warned that new restriction zones for offenders could give victims a false sense of security unless they are backed by effective monitoring and properly resourced probation and police services. The charity said it supported measures which restrict the freedoms of offenders but cautioned that the zones should never be used as an alternative to an appropriate prison sentence.

The new powers allow offenders to be required to remain within specified geographical areas, with restriction zones available as part of community and suspended sentences and as licence conditions following release from prison. The Government has said the approach is intended to place restrictions on offenders rather than victims, with electronic monitoring used to identify breaches. Under wider sentencing reforms, restriction zones can be imposed alongside measures including bans from pubs, public events and driving.

Ellie Daniel, Head of Policy and Survivor Services at Women’s Aid, said effective use of the zones would require robust risk assessments involving victims and specialist support services. She warned that probation services were already stretched and that police responses to breaches would not necessarily be immediate, meaning monitoring could record a breach without preventing it. Women’s Aid said inadequate safeguards could have potentially fatal consequences and called for wider changes to the criminal justice system if the Government is to meet its commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.

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The UK has reaffirmed its support for Ukraine and its right to defend itself against Russia as the country marks the 35th anniversary of its independence. Speaking at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Arron Newble, the UK’s Counsellor for Politico-Military Affairs, said Ukrainians were continuing to defend the sovereignty they chose when the country declared independence on 24 August 1991.

Newble said Russia’s invasion had sought not only to seize Ukrainian territory but also to undermine the country’s identity, sovereignty and culture. He referred to an OSCE Moscow Mechanism report which documented the indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, as well as attacks on cultural and religious sites and pressure on communities living under Russian occupation. The UK representative said Russia had failed to achieve the political submission or rapid military victory it had sought.

The statement also condemned recent Russian missile and drone attacks, including strikes on 19 and 20 August which the UK said killed at least 17 civilians, followed by a drone attack on a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih which it said killed another 16 people and injured more than 130. Newble said the UK would continue supporting Ukraine’s legitimate self-defence and efforts to secure what he described as a just and lasting peace, arguing that Ukrainian resistance was also defending wider European principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the right of countries to determine their own future.