UK news

Captain Eric Brown, a legendary Royal Navy pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft and survived 11 plane crashes, died in hospital on Sunday at the age of 97.

Brown, known as "Winkle", was a world record holder, flying more types of aircraft than anyone else in history and making 2,407 landings on aircraft carriers.

He was also the most decorated pilot of the Fleet Air Arm, the Royal Navy's airborne wing, earning the British royal honours MBE, OBE and CBE.

British Astronaut Tim Peake tweeted a tribute from space: "So sad to hear that Capt Eric 'Winkle' Brown has died - to my mind the greatest test pilot who has ever lived. A true inspiration."

Published: 22 February 2016

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London's mayor Boris Johnson on Sunday threw his weight behind the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, in a blow for his old friend and rival Prime Minister David Cameron, who had appealed for his backing.

"After a great deal of heartache... I will be advocating vote 'Leave'," Johnson said, making his long-awaited announcement to a large crowd gathered outside his home in north London.

Johnson, a popular politician from Cameron's Conservative Party who is seen as a potential successor to the British prime minister, said he wanted ties with Europe based on "trade and cooperation" and not "a political project".

He said Cameron had done "fantastically well" in negotiating concessions from European Union leaders at a summit last week that paves the way for a membership referendum on June 23.

But he added: "I don't think anybody could realistically claim that this is fundamental reform of the EU or of Britain's relationship with the EU".

- 'Better off inside the EU' -

The declaration will be seen as a key victory for supporters of a British departure from the EU -- or "Brexit".Compared to other anti-EU politicians, the mayor of London is popular even with those who do not share his political views, thanks to his witty soundbites and shambolic appearance.

"I'm really disappointed that he's backing leave because I think we should stay," said Andy Burton, 36, a director at a healthcare company who watched Johnson make his statement alongside around 70 other passers-by.

"He's just got a real presence, he's very popular, he will sway Londoners".

Published: 21 February 2016

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Every night Andrew, Cristian and Shafiqul visit a church in the wealthy central London district of Westminster to share a meal and get a place for the night sleeping off the cold and wet streets.

Currently homeless, the three are among 15 people given places to sleep by six churches and a synagogue, alternating on a daily schedule, as part of the "Westminster Winter Night Shelter" programme.

The network has grown to encompass more than 90 such shelters across Britain, including 24 in London, compared to just a handful in the early 2000s.

"There's 50 percent more people sleeping rough now than there were five years ago in London," said Jon Kuhrt, executive director of social work at the West London Mission, a Methodist group that helps the homeless in central London.

There were 7,581 homeless people in the British capital in 2014-2015, compared to 3,673 in 2009-2010, according to official estimates.

"In the last 10 years, we've seen more and more ordinary people on the street," said Peter Mwaniki, a coordinator at the Mission

"That's been the biggest shock to the system. The churches have stepped in where the government was not able or not willing to do it," he said.

Kuhrt added: "Rents are ridiculously high in London and we have a real problem with affordable housing".

"When that's combined with relationship breakdown, with refugees, with people coming from Eastern Europe for work, it puts a huge amount of pressure on all the systems and more and more people end up sleeping rough."

Poverty rates have remained broadly stable during years of budget austerity under Prime Minister David Cameron's governments, even though economic growth and employment levels have recovered.

The use of food banks has risen sharply, with one of the main charity providers, the Trussell Trust, reporting a 19 percent increase between 2014 and 2015.

- Community atmosphere -

The shelters are particularly suitable for people who find themselves unexpectedly homeless, without suffering from problems like addiction, and just need temporary support to allow them to find housing and, for those without employment already, a job.

Shafiqul, 37, lived in Westminster for 15 years before he found himself on the streets just before Christmas, following an argument with his wife.

A British citizen originally from Bangladesh, Shafiqul was able to join the shelter in mid-January.

Published: 21 February 2016

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British Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday embarked on a daunting challenge to persuade ministers in his own cabinet and the country at large to vote for Britain to stay in the European Union.

Cameron will hold a cabinet meeting -- the first on a Saturday since the Falklands War in 1982 -- and will announce the date for a membership referendum after striking a deal in Brussels that gives Britain special concessions.

"The cabinet will this morning discuss the UK's new special status in the EU -- afterwards I'll announce the planned referendum date," Cameron tweeted following a gruelling two-day summit with EU leaders.

The announcement of the date -- widely expected to be June 23 -- sounds the launch of a campaign that will be bitterly contested, with opinion polls showing Britons fiercely divided on the question and the media pouring cold water on Cameron's claims to have won substantial concessions from his EU peers.

Following the cabinet meeting, ministers who want Britain to become the first member state to leave the EU will be allowed to speak out for the first time.

Justice minister Michael Gove is expected to be one of around five or six ministers who will declare their support for a British EU exit or "Brexit".

Much of the political suspense is over whether Mayor of London Boris Johnson, a popular politician from Cameron's Conservative Party, will join them.

"I will be campaigning with all my heart and soul to persuade the British people to remain in the reformed European Union that we have secured today," Cameron told a press conference on Friday evening.

He said the deal contained a seven-year "emergency brake" on welfare payments for EU migrants and meant Britain would be "permanently out of ever closer union" -- one of the EU's key objectives.

Published: 20 February 2016

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday threw her weight behind Prime Minister David Cameron's reform demands as EU leaders readied a make-or-break summit on Britain's future in the bloc.

"These are not just about Britain's individual interests on some issues or questions, rather it is about several points that are justified and understandable," Merkel told parliament in Berlin.

Cameron has four key demands -- welfare restrictions to help curb immigration, safeguards for non-euro Britain, increasing competitiveness plus an opt-out from closer EU integration -- and they have all exposed sharp differences over what direction the European Union should take.

Up to now, Merkel, the European Union's undoubted power-broker, has offered polite support with the caveat that any changes must not compromise fundamental EU values and achievements, such as free movement of people.

Now, she said, Germany shared Britain's concerns.

"Like David Cameron, I believe that it is necessary for the EU to improve our competitiveness, transparency and (reduce) bureaucracy. Germany has shared these concerns for many years," she said.

Published: 17 February 2016

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EU officials thrashing out a deal to keep Britain in the bloc want to ring-fence any accord for fear other member states may use it as a precedent to demand changes they want, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

"This negotiation is meant to be a UK specific exercise and it should stay like that," one of the sources said ahead of a two-day EU leaders summit in Brussels beginning Thursday which will be dominated by the 'Brexit' issue.

"If we extend the possibilities and facilities we are creating now for the UK to other member states, then it is a completely different discussion," said the source, asking not to be named.

Prime Minister David Cameron has demanded four key reforms -- on welfare, the euro single currency, closer EU integration and competitiveness -- in return for backing Britain's continued membership of the bloc.

The key sticking point is his demand that EU citizens working in Britain not be allowed to claim welfare benefits for four years while payments of child support in their home countries should be cut.

Published: 17 February 2016

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Londoners are getting desperate over rising rents, with residents and students taking to the streets and social media over the cramped conditions tenants are forced to accept.

With house-building lagging well behind the population increase in western Europe's biggest city, prices are soaring beyond anything affordable.

"The situation is becoming untenable," said retired teacher John Ford, 60, who joined a 2,000-strong protest this month against the government's new housing bill, which would radically alter public housing and the rights of its tenants.

Published: 16 February 2016

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Europe's largest bank HSBC informed the financial markets on Monday it would remain headquartered in Britain, rejecting a move to Hong Kong despite concerns about increased regulation in the UK.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation said in a note to the London Stock Exchange following a board meeting on Sunday that London's many advantages meant it was "ideally positioned" to provide a home base.

"Having our headquarters in the UK and our significant business in Asia Pacific delivers the best of both worlds to our stakeholders," group chairman Douglas Flint told BBC radio.

It made no reference to growing fears in Hong Kong that the city's freedoms are being eroded by an increasingly influential China, a trend observers say could damage its status as a freewheeling finance hub.

The bank began its review of where to put its headquarters in April last year, two weeks before a British general election, amid growing calls for a crackdown on a sector seen by many voters as feckless.

It also cited as a reason for the review the British bank levy introduced in 2010 -- a tax based on the size of any British-based banks' global balance sheet which has since been scaled down.

Published: 16 February 2016

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European and US shares mostly firmed Thursday despite another drop in oil prices ahead of Friday's eagerly anticipated US jobs report for January.

Stocks in London outperformed other bourses, rising 1.1 percent after the Bank of England slashed its economic forecast, kept ultra-low interest rates in place and hinted at a slower time-frame for lifting rates.

In the US, the S&P 500 finished up 0.2 percent despite veering into negative territory a couple of times in a choppy session, as oil prices closed lower and US data showed a drop in fourth-quarter productivity and a rise in weekly jobless claims.

"Things are mixed but the stock market is actually performing surprisingly well, given the downbeat economic news we received this morning," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.

"The market seems pretty resilient."

Investors were looking ahead to Friday's US employment report, which is expected to show the US economy added 188,000 jobs, down from a December surge of 292,000. A weak report will be seen as further denting the prospects for the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates.

Published: 05 February 2016

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The British government announced £1.2 billion (1.6 million euros, $1.74 billion) in aid for war-torn Syria and its neighbours on Thursday, ahead of a donors' conference in London.

"More money is needed to tackle this crisis and it is needed now," Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement announcing the pledge, which will fund education, jobs and humanitarian relief in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

The promise amounts to an extra £1.2 billion, to be spent between 2016 and 2020, to address "the world's biggest humanitarian crisis", Cameron's office said. Britain has already agreed to spend £1.12 billion on the region.

It comes as world leaders are due to gather in London to try to raise $9 billion for the millions of Syrians affected by five years of civil war and to address an acute refugee crisis.

Published: 04 February 2016

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