News 10/09/26

All ten of Labour’s metro mayors have agreed to cap any new tourist tax at five per cent in their regions, while mayors from other parties have ruled out introducing the levy altogether.

In a joint letter to the Chancellor and the Local Government Secretary, the Labour mayors called the Overnight Visitor Levy a critical step towards fiscal devolution. Responding to concerns from the hospitality industry, they promised the modest tax will directly support local business economies.

Seven men have been arrested after four people were injured, one critically, in a stabbing on a London high street.

Emergency services were called to an altercation in Bromley High Street, southeast London, just after two o’clock on Thursday afternoon. The Metropolitan Police confirmed one victim remains in a critical condition, while three others suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Forensic officers have been examining a crime scene around a local restaurant.

The price of oil has surged to one hundred and five dollars a barrel amid growing fears that intensifying conflict in the Middle East will fuel global inflation.

Crude oil and gas costs have risen sharply as the ongoing confrontation between the United States and Iran effectively closes the Strait of Hormuz, halting vital energy exports. The disruption has also pushed long-term government borrowing costs in the UK and US to multi-decade highs.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has told police chiefs that lessons must be learned following anti-migrant demonstrations in Dover and Portsmouth last weekend.

During a meeting on Thursday, Ms Mahmood demanded assurances that officers will act swiftly to prevent far-right groups from intimidating local communities. The Home Office condemned the protests, which saw masked activists block traffic in Dover and attempt to obstruct transport in Portsmouth, as unacceptable disorder.

Four people have been injured in a reported stabbing on a high street in southeast London.

Emergency services were called to Bromley High Street just after two o’clock on Thursday afternoon. The London Ambulance Service confirmed that paramedics treated four patients at the scene before taking them all to hospital.

A woman has died following a crash on the M4. The crash happened at around 9pm on Wednesday, September 9, westbound between junctions 8/9 and 10, involving a white Mercedes 220 and a white Scania HGV.

A second crash happened eastbound, involving a grey Kia Sorento. The Mercedes driver, a woman in her 30s, died at the scene.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants have advanced their efforts to control the coastline along the Bab el Mandeb Strait.

The rebels reached the Red Sea islands of Hanish after capturing the coastal city of Mocha, two Yemeni government sources told Reuters. Yemeni officials warned this second arena of the Iran war could threaten the Bab al Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping routes for crude oil.

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service, the Metropolitan Police said.

A 42-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man were detained at addresses in London by Counter Terrorism Policing London. The arrests form part of an investigation into suspected offences under the National Security Act. Both are suspected of assisting a foreign intelligence service. The arrests follow searches in north-west London on 24 June and 9 September.

A former PE teacher has been found guilty of sexual activity with a 16-year-old pupil.

Bronwen James, 30, was convicted at Winchester Crown Court of three counts involving the pupil while working at Bitterne Park School in Southampton. She was found not guilty of one count. The court heard she flirted with the student in class before they exchanged Snapchat messages.

A Household Cavalry soldier who plotted to rape a young girl and a ten-month-old baby has been jailed for twelve years.

Graham Jarvis, aged thirty-eight, agreed online to sexually abuse a woman’s children, planning to travel from his London barracks to Wales. However, he was communicating with an undercover police officer posing as the mother. Jarvis was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday for attempting to arrange child sex offences.

The Conservatives’ former director of campaigning and his wife have pleaded guilty to cheating at gambling over the 2024 general election date.

Anthony Lee passed confidential information about former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans to his wife Laura, a parliamentary candidate at the time, who then placed bets. Both admitted the charges at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday and will be sentenced in October.

The RNLI is reviewing security procedures to protect members following anti-migrant protests in Dover and Portsmouth.

Volunteers have been advised to consider not wearing branded clothing when representing the charity in certain circumstances. The decision follows an incident where crew members brought around one hundred and twenty migrants to Langstone Harbour, prompting road blockades. Chief executive Peter Sparkes condemned the abuse as wholly unacceptable after photos and names of volunteers were shared online accusing them of treason.

Primark plans to launch a home delivery service across Britain, four years after first entering e-commerce.

The retailer has purchased a fulfillment facility in Sheffield to handle home shipments. Having relied exclusively on a click-and-collect service introduced in 2022, Primark believes online delivery offers opportunities for profitable growth following subdued high street sales during recent warm weather.

Donald Trump has promised to issue a $5,000 dividend to every adult American citizen if the Republican party wins both houses of Congress in the November midterm elections.

Speaking at the party’s first midterm convention, Mr Trump stated that the payout would be made possible by economic strength, subject to the condition that the money must be spent within the United States.

Last month was the world’s joint hottest August on record, according to climate scientists.

The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that temperatures reached one point six five degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, matching the record previously set in July 2023. The extreme heat led to severe drought conditions across several European countries, including the UK, France, Hungary, Serbia, and Romania.

Plans to give English mayors the power to introduce a local tax on tourists are expected to be outlined today.

Under the proposed legislation, local leaders could choose to levy a charge on overnight stays, calculated as a percentage of accommodation costs rather than a flat fee. The government says the percentage-based system will protect budget holidays, with all revenues raised being reinvested locally.

An inquest has concluded that a private hospital’s failure to provide preventative medication contributed to the death of Sir Richard Branson’s wife.

Lady Joan Branson died aged eighty after suffering a cardiac arrest at the Lister Hospital in Chelsea last November. Senior Coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox ruled that the failure to administer anticoagulants, despite a very high risk of deep vein thrombosis, probably contributed to her death.