UK news

Britain's intelligence expertise may be "too precious" to use as a bargaining tool in the upcoming Brexit talks, experts said, after a terror attack in London highlighted the need for continued European security cooperation.

The suggestion that Britain could use security to negotiate with Brussels came following US President Donald Trump's election and his calls for a more isolationist foreign policy.

"If the US does adopt a more isolationist stance, then ongoing security cooperation with the UK becomes more valuable," the Institute for Government said in November.

"This could strengthen the UK?s negotiating hand in Brexit talks, as it could use the promise of ongoing cooperation on security measures to extract a more favourable deal from the EU," the think tank said in a report.

Published: 29 March 2017

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Britain's new £1 coin with the symbols of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland goes into circulation from Tuesday on the eve of the launch of a Brexit process that has put national unity in doubt.

The 12-sided coin is the first change to the shape of the £1 coin since its introduction in 1983. Britain's finance ministry said the new coin would be "the most secure of its kind in the world" to prevent a rise in counterfeits.

About three percent of the current round-shaped coins are fakes.

The new pound coins will be thinner, lighter and slightly bigger than the old ones and will have a hologram-like image that changes from a "£" symbol to the number "1" when viewed from different angles.

Published: 28 March 2017

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British police said Monday they had found no link between the man behind last week's terror attack outside the British parliament and the Islamic State group, which had claimed him as one of its "soldiers".

The statement came as 52-year-old Muslim convert Khalid Masood's mother spoke out for the first time, saying she was "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed, and relatives of the US victim voiced their grief.

"Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with IS or AQ (Al-Qaeda), there is clearly an interest in Jihad," Neil Basu, deputy assistant police commissioner, said in a statement.

Masood was shot dead after ploughing through a crowd of pedestrians and fatally stabbing a policeman just inside the gates of the British parliament in a frenzied attack lasting just 82 seconds on Wednesday.

Four people were killed and dozens more injured.

Basu said Masood's low-tech methods appeared to be "copied from other attacks and echo the rhetoric of IS leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others".

He also said there was "no evidence that Masood, who was born as Adrian Elms, was radicalised in prison in 2003" as suggested in some media reports.

Basu said he changed his name to Masood in 2005.

Masood served two stints in prison for a knife attack in 2000 and again for knife possession in 2003.

"His last criminal offence was in 2003 and he was not a current subject of interest or part of the current domestic or international threat picture," Basu said.

The police commander said Masood's communications on the day of the attack were "a main line of inquiry" and he asked for anyone who had heard from him to come forward so as to establish "his state of mind".

The government has confirmed that Masood used the WhatsApp messaging service shortly before the attack, saying it was crucial that the security services be allowed to access the heavily encrypted app.

Twelve people have been arrested since the attack and two men remain in custody after nine were released without charge and one woman was let out on bail.

- 'Do not condone' -

Masood's mother Janet Ajao also on Monday released a statement saying: "Since discovering that it was my son that was responsible I have shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident".

Published: 28 March 2017

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The British government said Sunday that its security services must have access to encrypted messaging applications such as WhatsApp, as it revealed that the service was used by the man behind the parliament attack.

Khalid Masood, the 52-year-old Briton who killed four people in a rampage in Westminster on Wednesday before being shot dead, reportedly used the Facebook-owned service moments before the assault.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd told Sky News it was "completely unacceptable" that police and security services had not been able to crack the heavily encrypted service.

"You can't have a situation where you have terrorists talking to each other -- where this terrorist sent a WhatsApp message -- and it can't be accessed," she said.

Police said Saturday that they still did not know why Masood, a Muslim convert with a violent criminal past, carried out the attack and that he probably acted alone, despite a claim of responsibility by the Islamic State group.

Published: 26 March 2017

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Britain and the United States have announced bans on laptops and tablet computers from the cabin of flights from several Middle East and North African nations.

The restrictions are different in the two countries and only Britain has specified the maximum size of electronic device allowed -- 16 by 9.3 centimetres (6.3 by 3.7 inches).

Canadian and French officials are considering whether to impose similar measures, but Germany, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand said they are not currently mulling a ban.

Published: 23 March 2017

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A man suspected of slashing an 18th century painting at Britain's National Gallery which featured in a James Bond film is due to appear in court on Monday.

Keith Gregory, 63, was arrested on Saturday after allegedly damaging Thomas Gainsborough's painting "The Morning Walk" in the prestigious London museum.

Published: 20 March 2017

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British Prime Minister Theresa May will seek to rally her party faithful Friday after a week in which her political honeymoon abruptly ended, laying bare her weaknesses over Brexit.

The Scottish government’s call for a second independence vote has left May fighting on two fronts as she prepares to start the process of leaving the European Union later this month.

She was also forced to drop a planned tax rise after pressure from backbench MPs, revealing how she could become a hostage to factions in her Conservative Party as the complex Brexit negotiations progress.

At a party conference in Cardiff she will seek to regain the initiative, setting out plans to deliver “a brighter future” after exiting the EU.

May’s centre-right Conservatives are ahead by as much as 19 points in some polls, but much of the lead is because of a weak Labour opposition.

Published: 19 March 2017

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Scotland will begin the process next week for making a request to the British government to hold a new independence referendum between late 2018 and early 2019, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday (March 13).

Her announcement came as British Prime Minister Theresa May was set this week to trigger the process of leaving the European Union after last year’s Brexit vote.

“Next week I will seek the authority of the Scottish parliament to agree with the UK government... the procedure that will enable the Scottish parliament to legislate for an independence referendum,” Sturgeon said.

Published: 13 March 2017

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Chelsea's plans to build a new £500 million ($610mn, 580mn euros) 60,000-seat stadium cleared another major hurdle on Monday when they received approval from London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

"London is one of the world's greatest sporting cities and I'm delighted that we will soon add Chelsea's new stadium to the already fantastic array of sporting arenas in the capital," Khan said in a statement.

The Premier League leaders plan to build the new arena on the site of their current Stamford Bridge home in west London, which seats 41,631 fans.

The proposals received planning permission from local authorities in January and the new ground could be completed in time for the 2021-22 season.

"Having taken a balanced view of the application, I'm satisfied this is a high-quality and spectacular design which will significantly increase capacity within the existing site, as well as ensuring fans can have easy access from nearby transport connections," Khan added.

"I'm confident this new stadium will be a jewel in London's sporting crown and will attract visitors and football fans from around the world."

The new stadium has been designed by Herzog and de Meuron, the architects behind the "Bird's Nest" stadium used at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena.

Published: 09 March 2017

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Red Nose Day is back! And colleagues and customers from Sainsbury’s Nine Elms Point will be fundraising and making their laugh matter for Red Nose Day. Over the next few weeks, Sainsbury’s colleagues all over the UK will be working hard to raise money for Red Nose Day which takes place on Friday 24 March. Fundraising activities at the Nine Elms Point store include wearing silly wigs and disguises, rowing/cycling challanges at the front of the store foyer area, wearing funky funny customes and much more all taking place to raise as much money as possible for Red Nose Day. Andy Robins, Store Manager at Sainsbury’s Nine Elms Point, said: “Our colleagues love getting involved with Red Nose Day fundraising and we’re all really proud to support such a great cause. There are some brilliant activities planned this year and we look forward to inviting customers to join in with the fun.”

Published: 09 March 2017

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