News 02/09/25

A driver has appeared in court accused of failing to stop after a crash that killed two children riding an e-scooter in Essex.

Sixteen-year-old Roman Casselden and his nine-year-old sister Darcie died at the scene in Ashlyns, Pitsea, on the first of February. Twenty-one-year-old Deimante Ziobryte appeared before Basildon Magistrates’ Court and will return in January. Police say she is charged in connection with the fatal collision.

A US judge has ruled that Google will not be forced to sell its Chrome web browser, despite a long-running antitrust case.

The tech giant has been accused of unfairly maintaining its dominance in online search. Last year, a judge found Google had broken the law by ensuring it remained the default search engine on products like Android, Chrome, and Apple devices. The ruling is seen as a setback for the US government’s efforts to reduce the company’s market power.

Epping Forest District Council has been denied permission to appeal a ruling over asylum seekers being housed at The Bell Hotel.

The council confirmed the Supreme Court refused its request without giving reasons, but it can still apply directly for permission to appeal. Local leaders have consistently opposed the use of the hotel, arguing it breaches planning rules and is against the interests of residents and businesses in the area.

A man has been jailed for life with a minimum of forty-five years for the revenge killing of a former prison officer.

Thirty-five-year-old Elias Morgan shot father-of-three Lenny Scott six times outside a gym in Skelmersdale in February last year. The court heard Morgan blamed Mr Scott for recovering a mobile phone from his cell in 2020, which exposed his affair with a prison guard. The judge described the attack as a ruthless execution.

A protester has been arrested after scaling a clock tower at King’s Cross station in London while carrying a dog.

The man displayed a banner reading “Iran belongs to its people” and wore a shirt with the slogan “no to war.” Firefighters spent three hours persuading him to come down, eventually bringing the dog safely to the ground to cheers from onlookers. British Transport Police confirmed he was detained after being spotted in what they called a precarious position.

Santander has scaled back its outlook on how quickly interest rates will fall.

For the past two years, the assumption had been that rates were heading steadily toward a neutral level of around three percent by 2026. That view is shifting as inflation edges higher, fuelled by rising food costs and additional pressures on business. Economists now believe it will be harder for the Bank of England to continue cutting rates, after reducing the base rate to four percent over the last year.

Lower rates typically boost spending, but with inflation still lingering, the central bank faces a difficult balance.

The pound has fallen sharply as the cost of long-term government borrowing hit levels not seen in more than twenty-five years.

Thirty-year gilt yields surged to their highest since 1998, pushing sterling down to one dollar thirty-three point eight, compared with one dollar thirty-five earlier this morning. That marks its steepest one-day drop since April, when US President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs rattled global markets.

While today’s fall is significant, the pound is still stronger than it was a year ago, when it stood at one dollar thirty-one.

Zack Polanski has been elected leader of the Green Party after a lengthy contest.

He secured a landslide victory with eighty-four percent of the vote, though turnout was just thirty-five percent. The London Assembly member, who has been deputy leader since 2022, has pitched himself as offering what he calls an “eco-populism” to challenge Labour and Reform.

He replaces Adrian Ramsay, who had co-led the party with Carla Denyer, steering the Greens to their best-ever result at last year’s general election with four MPs elected.

In Beijing, Vladimir Putin has rejected Western fears that Russia might attack other European countries if it defeats Ukraine.

Speaking alongside Slovak prime minister Robert Fico, Putin dismissed the idea as either provocation or incompetence. He said Russia has never had, and will not have, any intention of launching such an assault.

The comments come amid ongoing concern in Europe that Moscow still views parts of the former Soviet Union as belonging to Russia.

Tens of thousands of foreign students are being contacted directly by the government and warned they will be removed from the UK if they overstay their visas.

The Home Office has launched a new campaign in response to what it describes as an alarming rise in the number of students arriving legally, then claiming asylum once their visas expire. For the first time, students are being contacted directly by text and email.

Around one hundred and thirty thousand students and their families will be told: “If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, you must leave.”

The government is changing the law to prevent the Sentencing Council from issuing new guidelines without the explicit approval of the justice secretary.

Under the reforms, Shabana Mahmood will have veto powers over any sentencing guidance from the independent body. The move follows a dispute earlier this year over pre-sentence reports for offenders from minority groups. Mahmood said policy must be set by parliamentarians who answer to the people.

A mother who took her teenage daughter to hospital for a so-called “virginity test” has been accused of preparing her for a forced marriage, a court has heard.

Slough Borough Council brought the case after learning she planned to take the girl to Bulgaria for a wedding. The girl, who cannot be identified, also told her school about plans to marry, sparking safeguarding concerns. The mother denies intending to force her daughter into marriage but has not explained why she arranged the hospital visit.

Sir Keir Starmer will chair his first cabinet meeting of the parliamentary term today, following a reshuffle of his Downing Street team.

The prime minister faces pressure after a summer dominated by asylum hotel disputes, talk of possible tax rises, and poor polling numbers. Sir Keir will meet with Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, and other senior ministers. Among the changes, Labour MP Darren Jones has been moved from the Treasury to Number 10 to oversee government priorities, with James Murray stepping into his former role at the Treasury.

Train passengers in Scotland no longer have to pay more for peak time tickets on ScotRail.

The move has prompted debate over whether the rest of the UK could follow suit. The peak and off-peak system was designed to reduce overcrowding, but travel patterns have shifted since the pandemic, with commuter rush hours no longer as busy. Critics warn the change could drive up overall ticket prices or overcrowd services, while passengers welcome cheaper fares.