Far-right port protests: police told to improve intelligence gathering 08. September 2026 (21:13) Whitehall officials ask why laws meant to clamp down on mask wearing at demonstrations were not usedPolice have been told by the government they expect better intelligence gathering after masked far-right groups took to the streets at the weekend, the Guardian has learned, as the Kent force admitted mishandling warnings of potential trouble.Police in Kent on Saturday and then Portsmouth, Hampshire, on Sunday said they were taken by surprise when hundreds massed to oppose what they say is illegal immigration via small boats. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ed Miliband has overturned decades of Foreign Office inertia on illegal Israeli settlements 08. September 2026 (20:34) Foreign secretary ends UK’s feigned helplessness with sanctions and condemnation of ‘ethnic cleansing’Will UK sanctions have any impact on ‘settler terrorists’? The indefatigable ability of UK Foreign Office ministers over decades to issue boilerplate statements of concern about the extension of illegal settlements in Israel has long been a matter of ridicule.Even some of the Conservative ministers who issued them, notably Alan Duncan and Alistair Burt, have agreed. Duncan described the UK stance towards settlements as weak and naive, while Burt wondered at the ability of the Foreign Office to find new forms of diplomatic condemnation that never amounted to any specific action. Margaret Thatcher, often torn as prime minister between her natural sympathy for Israel and her fear of the Gulf states falling under the sway of the Soviet Union, similarly expressed her anger at the settlements. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK to force Apple and Google to block explicit images on children’s smartphones 08. September 2026 (20:25) Lisa Nandy says government will introduce legislation after talks end without breakthroughApple and Google will be forced to block explicit images on children’s smartphones by law in the UK after talks failed to produce a breakthrough, the government has said.The legislation commitment puts ministers on a collision course with two of the biggest players in Silicon Valley, months after the government announced a social media ban for under-16s. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
United Utilities fined £1m after discharging raw sewage into Lancashire coast 08. September 2026 (20:04) Sewage plume reached seven bathing waters and significantly affected water quality in June 2023United Utilities has been fined nearly £1m after illegally discharging raw sewage into the Lancashire coastline and polluting seaside holiday locations including Blackpool.The water company pleaded guilty to five environmental permit offences relating to a pollution incident along the Fylde coast in June 2023, and was ordered by Preston magistrates court on Tuesday to pay £964,225 in fines and costs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Smithsonian Institution secretary to retire amid Trump attacks on museum independence 08. September 2026 (19:44) ‘I have to be honest, it has been stressful,’ Lonnie Bunch III saysThe Smithsonian Institution’s secretary, Lonnie Bunch III, will retire at the end of the year amid Donald Trump’s attacks on the museum’s content and independence.Bunch, who was appointed in 2019 as the first African American to lead the museums, cited personal reasons for departing, while acknowledging the pressure that the president’s attacks on the Smithsonian’s depictions of US history had taken. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
