Exclusive: Ukrainian president says ‘small mistake can break a big friendship’ in wide-ranging interview with Guardian
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the decision by some Reform UK councils to take down the Ukrainian flag was the kind of “small mistake that can break a big friendship”, as he underlined the significance of strong bilateral relations.
The Ukrainian president tempered his rare foray into UK domestic politics by stressing how much the two countries “need each other” in the battle against Russia, which he said posed a threat not only to Ukraine but to Britain too.
Molly Rose Foundation says government should instead set strict safety standards for apps
A rushed under-16s social media ban in the UK could unravel and families would be left to count the cost, a leading child safety charity has warned.
The Molly Rose Foundation (MRF) said an age limit on the use of tech platforms could unravel, after it was reported that the prime minister, Keir Starmer, would announce a ban on under-16s accessing “harmful” social media apps.
Paul Quinn will serve at least 14 years for the 2003 rape in Salford and could spend less time in prison than Malkinson
The government’s most senior law officer has been asked to review the “unduly lenient” prison sentence handed to a rapist who evaded police for nearly two decades in one of Britain’s biggest miscarriages of justice.
Debbie Crosbie receives £3.2m in bonuses after mutual building society’s takeover of Virgin Money
Nationwide building society has nearly doubled the pay packet of its chief executive, Debbie Crosbie, a year after the board pushed through a controversial bonus scheme for its top boss.
The mutual, which is owned by its members, released its annual report on Monday, showing Crosbie was handed £3.2m in bonuses – a combination of payouts for annual and longer-term performance – up from £1.1m a year earlier.
It pushed her overall pay packet to £4.7m for the year to March 2026, marking an 88% jump on the near-£2.5m she earned for the previous year.
Move comes months after the FCA announced plans to ban the former investment star from holding senior City roles after collapse of popular equity fund
The UK financial regulator is taking legal action against the former investment star Neil Woodford for allegedly offering unauthorised investment advice online, months after announcing plans to ban him from the City.
The Financial Conduct Authority said it was seeking an injunction against Woodford and W4.0, a United Arab Emirates-registered company, to stop them carrying out “potentially unlawful activities”.
Valdo Calocane was protected at expense of public safety in years before June 2023 stabbings, families of victims say
The parents of a victim of the Nottingham attacks have said medical staff have a duty to breach patient confidentiality if the person they are treating is a risk to others.
The families of the victims of the June 2023 attacks spoke at a news conference in London on Monday after evidence concluded in a 14-week public inquiry into the attacks.
Keir Starmer says he will fight on as prime minister, but behind the scenes he is said to be thinking about his legacy. He’s talking this week about tech companies and the shape of a social media ban, but he is also focussed on resetting the UK’s relations with EU and defence. Pippa and Kiran discuss what his legacy might be and the role Andy Burnham has to play
Annual killing of infant gannets has been carried out on a remote Scottish island for at least 400 years
Animal welfare campaigners have called for talks on phasing out the “inhumane” hunt for infant gannets known as guga, which are killed by hunters on a remote Scottish island once a year.
OneKind and the League Against Cruel Sports said it should be slowly phased out in dialogue with the Hebridean islanders who see the hunt, which has been carried out for at least 400 years, as a cultural pursuit and as sustainable food harvesting.
Trade unions have called for the government to intervene to speed up Tata Steel’s connection to the electricity grid in south Wales, after the company said its new furnace would be delayed by up to a year.
Tata Steel last month told investors that National Grid had said it would face a six- to eight-month delay. That could stretch to 12 months amid unexpected engineering difficulties.
Singer-songwriter Talay Riley worked on tracks for stars including Tinie Tempah, Britney Spears and Craig David
Stormzy and Oritsé Williams are among the artists who have paid tribute to the singer-songwriter Talay Riley, who was stabbed to death in Silvertown, east London.
The 35-year-old musician, whose real name was Mark Orabiyi, was found with stab wounds by paramedics on the morning of 5 June and pronounced dead at the scene.
Tate & Lyle has agreed to a £2.7bn takeover by its US rival Ingredion, in a deal that could put hundreds of jobs at risk and represents yet another loss for London’s struggling stock market.
The FTSE 250 business, which makes artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, has agreed to a deal that values it at 615p a share, about 60% above its price before news of a possible takeover emerged.
Former safeguarding minister says if ban came into force properly it could ‘basically eliminate’ problem
The government has highlighted work done by the internet safety firm SafeToNet as showing that the technology is already in place that would allow tech companies to stop children using phones to take naked pictures of themselves, or other people. The Home Office says:
Measures to protect children already exist within smartphones and tablets, but are applied inconsistently, often switched off by default and only blurring content rather than blocking it. But the government is working closely with technology companies — some of whom, like Apple, have already taken steps to implement protective features — to make this goal a reality.
Companies must introduce these measures without threatening privacy or collecting any data. The device should simply block harmful content across all apps and services. Over-18s will still be able to view adult content by providing proof of age.
The government is right to act. Children have been failed for too long. This news will be welcomed by parents across the UK and hopefully, will inspire other countries to follow the UK’s lead.
We can put an end to so much online misery with this approach. SafeToNet’s HarmBlock technology is a proven example that it is possible to make the device safe by default and not as some optional add-on.
The changes will apply to UK devices, including both existing and newly sold smartphones and tablets. Legislation could cover operating system providers and others in the supply chain, such as retailers, and will not affect the use of devices owned and used by adults who verify their age …
Apple recently introduced age checks for iPhone users, making it the first company to activate safety features by default for those who are not verified as over 18. This is a significant step forward following the government’s commitments to work with industry, and one this announcement builds on.
Apple and Google have been given until September to install software that blocks explicit images on children’s mobile phones or face legislation enforcing its requirement, Keir Starmer said on Monday.
The prime minister said tech companies must activate nudity-detection algorithms or other technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to prevent users taking photos or sharing images of genitalia unless they are verified as adults.
A year after government pledge to regulate sector, ECB criticises ‘lack of visible progress’ and ‘no clear plan’
The UK government has been accused of dragging its feet over plans for the mandatory regulation of bailiffs amid concerns about harmful practices in an industry that collects more than £1bn a year from indebted Britons.
A year on from an announcement by the Ministry of Justice that it would legislate to make independent regulation of bailiffs mandatory, the body that now oversees the industry, the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB), criticised the lack of “visible progress”.
Record numbers linked to warming waters is mixed news for fishers, with shellfish catches down but octopus catches booming
Record numbers of octopuses found off the south-west coast of England last year have now spread as far as Scotland and Wales and are transforming the fishing industry and the marine ecosystem, according to a study.
The surge in sightings of one of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates was first recorded in 2025 off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall.
Senior medical staff call for solutions to tackle root causes of excess deaths amid tenfold increase in a decade
More than 1,300 patients a month in England are dying needlessly due to long A&E waits, a tenfold rise in a decade, figures suggest.
There were more than 300 deaths linked to long waits every week in 2025, up from 30 a week in 2015, according to analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
More than £3bn is due to be spent on the proposed road tunnel between Kent and Essex, which is estimated to have higher costs per mile than HS2
Ministers have earmarked more than £170m extra to help build the Lower Thames Crossing road tunnel, fuelling concerns over the “spiralling” costs of one of the UK’s largest planned infrastructure projects.
The proposed £11bn route under the Thames between Kent and Essex is already estimated to cost more each mile than the HS2 high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham. It was given the funding boost as part of a plan to spend £3.1bn of public money on the project, before a hoped-for injection of £7.5bn by a private sector firm.
Investigation reveals more than 4.4 million people live in ‘news deserts’ that lack dedicated local reporting
Local social media groups are fuelling misinformation in areas with no reliable sources of news, according to an investigation that reveals the scale of fake news flowing to vulnerable communities across Britain.
Misinformation was nearly three times more common in areas with little or no recognised local journalism, according to a study of tens of thousands of posts seen by the Guardian. Immigration and Islamophobia were the most common topics of misinformation across Facebook and X.
Tom Kerridge says ‘whole of hospitality’ should get behind Burnham who has called for VAT cut from 20% to 10%
Chefs and restaurateurs have said they hope Andy Burnham becomes prime minister after he backed calls to cut VAT tax for hospitality businesses.
Burnham, who is standing as the Labour candidate in the Makerfield byelection and is expected to launch a challenge to Keir Starmer’s leadership if he wins, has called for the rate to be cut from 20% to 10% to be in line with European rates.
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