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Whether or not Rishi Sunak will attend COP27 is “under review”, Downing Street has confirmed – as the PM faces mounting calls to attend the climate conference in Egypt.

Asked if the prime minister will be attending the summit, a Number 10 spokesperson said that “any attendance at COP would depend on progress on preparation for that fiscal event – and that work is ongoing”.

Last week, Downing Street said the PM would not be attending the conference in Sharm el Sheikh next month as he would be preoccupied with “other pressing domestic commitments, including preparations for the autumn budget”.

The spokesperson added: “The prime minister fully recognises the importance of the COP summit and is fully committed to addressing climate change.”

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Probed on whether this decision could change, the spokesperson continued: “I think that the prime minister set out that the public would rightly want him to focus on the domestic issues, particularly on restoring fiscal credibility and delivering on a budget that works for the British people.

“There is substantial progress being made on that and so we are keeping the position on COP under review.”

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Speaking to broadcasters on a visit to Croydon University Hospital on Friday, Mr Sunak reiterated this, insisting that he must focus on the “depressing domestic challenges” rather than head to the climate conference in Egypt.

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Sunak of displaying a “failure of leadership”.

“Britain showing up to work with world leaders is an opportunity to grasp. Not an event to shun,” he posted on social media.

Rebecca Newsom, head of politics at Greenpeace UK, accused Mr Sunak of not taking climate change “seriously enough”.

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PM defends decision not to attend COP27

While, over the weekend, the president of last year’s summit Alok Sharma suggested the PM risks undermining Britain’s position as a world leader on green issues if he shuns the conference.

“I’m pretty disappointed that the prime minister is not going. I understand that he’s got a huge in-tray of domestic issues that he has to deal with,” the government’s climate tsar told The Sunday Times.

“But I would say that going to COP27 would allow for engagement with other world leaders. And I think it does send a signal – if the prime minister was to go – about our renewed commitment on this issue.”

Mr Sharma, who lost his cabinet seat in the latest reshuffle, will also be there, along with US president Joe Biden and America’s special envoy on climate change, John Kerry.

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A spokesperson for the Scottish government last week confirmed First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is planning to attend COP27.

“Given the vital importance of governments working together to tackle climate change, it is the first minister’s intention to attend COP27,” the spokesperson said on Friday.

“Details of the ministerial programme are currently being finalised.”

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Prime Minister should be at COP

Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss had been due to attend the summit which is due to take place from 6 to 18 November.

New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn budget – in which he will set out his government’s tax and spending plans – will be delivered on 17 November.

It has been reported that former PM Boris Johnson is planning to attend the summit to show his support for international efforts to tackle climate change.

Last week, Environment Secretary Therese Coffey defended Mr Sunak’s decision not to go to COP27, insisting that protecting the planet was “absolutely a priority for the government”.

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Environment secretary defends Sunak’s COP snub

While former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said the PM was right not to go to the summit, saying: “The cost of living won’t be solved in Sharm el Sheikh where each hotel room for the conference is £2,000 a night.”

But signalling a potential U-turn earlier on Monday, environment minister Mark Spencer told Sky News that Mr Sunak would go to COP27 “if he’s got time”, adding that the prime minister has “an inbox which is full to the brim”.

Meanwhile, on Sunday it was announced that King Charles will host a reception for key COP27 figures at Buckingham Palace on Friday, despite not attending the conference himself.

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The King, who has been a passionate campaigner on environmental issues, will host the event which will bring together over 200 international business leaders, decision makers and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to mark the end of the United Kingdom’s presidency of COP26 and look ahead to the COP27 summit in Egypt.

The King has attended the UN climate conference for a number of years and delivered one of the keynote speeches at the opening ceremony for COP26 in Glasgow – but will not be going to Sharm el Sheikh.

Guests at the King’s Buckingham Palace reception will include Mr Sunak, who is expected to speak briefly at the event.

Watch the Daily Climate Show at 3.30pm Monday to Friday, and The Climate Show with Tom Heap on Saturday and Sunday at 3.30pm and 7.30pm.

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Child dies and another injured after car driven on to sports pitch

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Child dies and another injured after car driven on to sports pitch

A child has died and another has been injured after a car was driven on to a sports pitch in Cumbria.

Police say they were called at 4.58pm to reports of a collision involving a BMW i40 and two children on a pitch at Kendal Rugby Union Football Club on Shap Road, in Kendal.

Cumbria Police say one child died, while the second is being treated by paramedics.

A man aged in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said: “Specialist investigators are at the scene and the area has been cordoned off as initial investigation enquiries take place.”

The force said the incident was not believed to be terror-related. Immediate family members of both children have been informed, it added.

In a post on its Facebook page, the club said it was “deeply saddened to confirm that an incident occurred today at Kendal Rugby Club.”

The post, attributed to club chairman Dr Stephen Green, continued: “Our thoughts are with their family and friends and we kindly ask for privacy for all involved at this difficult time.”

The club and its facilities are now temporarily closed while it cooperates “fully” with authorities, it added.

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Tim Farron MP, whose constituency includes Kendal, posted on X: “This is devastating, utterly heartbreaking news. I’m praying for the children and for their families and friends.

“Our community in Kendal is stunned and in mourning.”

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PhD student guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China

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PhD student guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China

A man has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China between 2019 and 2023.

Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, jurors in his trial were told.

Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences

He was accused in court of drugging and raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023.

Jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 11 charges of rape against 10 women, including two who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.

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Moment police arrest student guilty of rape

The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.

He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence.

***ONLY USE IF HE IS CONVICTED OF AT LEAST TWO RAPES*** The trial heard Zou kept a 'lost property box' full of women's belongings. Pic: Met Police
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The trial heard Zou kept a ‘lost property box’ full of women’s belongings. Pic: Met Police

The jury has not reached verdicts on four counts of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Zou – who first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 – showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court.

Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial that Zou “presents as a smart and charming young man” but is “also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.

***ONLY USE IF HE IS CONVICTED OF AT LEAST TWO RAPES*** A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police
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A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police

Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China, the court heard.

The jury heard how he would secretly film his attacks using a mobile device and hidden cameras, and was shown evidence found on SD cards at his accommodation of him raping unconscious women in London and in China.

Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Saira Pike thanked the “incredibly strong and brave” women who came forward to report his “heinous” crimes.

“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women,” she said.

“In some instances, we have not been able to identify Zou’s victims. Without knowing who these women are, we have not been able to support them through a deeply distressing period of time.

“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case.”

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James Scott Rhys Anderson: British man who ‘fought for Ukraine’ jailed for 19 years in Russia

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James Scott Rhys Anderson: British man who 'fought for Ukraine' jailed for 19 years in Russia

A British man has been jailed for 19 years after a Russian court found him guilty of fighting for Ukraine in the country’s Kursk region.

James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, had been charged with terrorist and mercenary offences and was found guilty after a closed trial.

The court said he was to serve the first five years of his sentence in prison and the remainder in a penal colony.

In the trial, a Ukrainian soldier from the same unit was questioned as a witness.

Ukrainian troops broke across the border into Kursk region on 6 August last year.

They still hold some territory there seven months later, despite attempts by Russian forces to force them out.

Investigators accused Anderson of illegally crossing into Kursk in November as part of an armed group that committed unspecified “criminal acts against civilians”.

Russian state media published video showing him being led in handcuffs and locked in a cage of the kind where defendants in Russian court cases are placed.

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It apparently showed Anderson saying he had served in the British army from 2019-2023 before deciding to join the foreign legion of Ukraine’s armed forces.

Early on in the war, Ukraine’s authorities said more than 20,000 people from 52 countries came to Ukraine’s aid.

Since then, the number of foreign fighters in Ukraine’s military has been classified.

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