UK weather: Freezing fog warning across much of England – as conditions trigger air pollution alert for London
Freezing fog will create dangerous driving conditions in England on Sunday, the Met Office has said, as the London Mayor warned the weather would exacerbate air pollution in the capital.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for fog covering much of England, including Yorkshire, the South East and the Midlands.
Travellers should plan for slower journey times by car, possible disruption to bus and train services and a chance of delayed or cancelled flights, forecasters said.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan warned pollution would intensify on Sunday as cold, foggy conditions trap in emissions from cars and vans that burn fossil fuels.
The warning tops off a cold week across the UK, including in London’s Bushy Park…
and the Brecon Beacons in Wales. Pic: AP
“On Sunday, alongside the extreme cold temperatures we’ve been experiencing, we are also expecting moderate to high levels of air pollution,” he said.
The mayor has issued a “moderate” air pollution alert.
Air pollution increases the risk of respiratory infections, heart disease and lung cancer and tends to hit those who are already ill, children the elderly and poor people, according to the World Health Organisation.
Check the five-day forecast for where you live
Pic: Met Office
The mayor urged Londoners to “look after each other by choosing to walk, cycle or take public transport, avoiding unnecessary car journeys, stopping engine idling and not burning wood or garden waste, all of which contributes to high levels of pollution”.
“This is particularly important in order to protect those who are more vulnerable,” he added.
The warning tops off an extremely cold week, when temperatures plunged below -10C in parts of the UK amid snow and icy conditions.
But Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said the worst of the cold snap is over, with warmer temperatures on the way next week across the whole of the UK.
Snow grounded flights at Manchester airport this week
Mr Snell said: “Next week, looking at the severe front, it’s looking pretty benign.
“We’re starting to lose the risk of fog and temperatures are generally around where they should be.
“We’ll probably lose the really hard frosts. In terms of ice and snow, it certainly looks like we’re over the worst.
“We’ve got to keep an eye on risk of fog generally this cold spell, although the main hazards from it look like they are beginning to diminish.”
The change will come as the Arctic blast that swept across the UK in the past five days gives way to warmer air from the Atlantic, but will take longer to reach southern areas.
UK
Teachers’ strike to go ahead after education secretary ‘squandered the opportunity’ to avoid action, union says
Rishi Sunak has insisited he acted “decisively” in sacking Nadhim Zahawi as chairman of the Conservative Party after a row over his tax affairs.
Speaking in Country Durham at the launch of his government’s emergency care plan, the prime minister defended his handling of situation and stressed his commitment to “integrity” and the need to follow proper processes.
“What I have done is follow a process, which is the right process,” he said.
“Integrity is really important to me – all of you guys want to see that government is run properly, that it is run with integrity and there’s accountability when people don’t behave in the way that they should or if something doesn’t go right, and that’s what we’ve done.”
Labour asks if Tories can be ‘trusted’ with UK defence – politics latest
Mr Sunak also promised he would “take whatever steps are necessary to restore the integrity back into politics”.
“The things that happened before I was prime minister, I can’t do anything about,” the prime minister said.
“What I think you can hold me to account for is how I deal with the things that arise on my watch.
“And as you’ve seen, you know, when it came to Nadhim Zahawi, I asked the independent adviser to look at it straight away, acted on his findings straight away.
“That should give you some confidence that these things matter to me, and that I will take whatever steps are necessary to restore the integrity back into politics, and you can have confidence that the process works.”
Mr Zahawi was sacked as Tory party chairman on Sunday after an ethics inquiry into the handling of his tax affairs found a “serious breach” of the ministerial code.
Mr Sunak had resisted earlier calls from opposition parties to fire Mr Zahawi following reports that he had paid a penalty as part of an estimated £4.8m settlement dispute with HMRC.
But following the conclusion of an inquiry into the matter by his new ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus – which found that Mr Zahawi had “shown insufficient regard for the general principles of the ministerial code” – Mr Sunak swiftly removed the former Tory chairman from his post.
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Zahawi sacked over tax row
Critics of Mr Sunak have said he should have acted sooner in dismissing Mr Zahawi.
But the prime minister said it was on the basis of the facts contained in Sir Laurie’s report released on Sunday morning that he was “able to make a very quick decision that it was no longer appropriate for Nadhim Zahawi to continue in government”.
The PM’s official spokesperson reiterated to reporters on Monday that Mr Zahawi’s tax penalty was not disclosed to Mr Sunak upon his appointment.
Read more:
Who is Nadhim Zahawi? The politician sacked over his tax affairs?
Rishi Sunak: From Zahawi and Raab to seatbelt gaffe – the U-turns and scandals of his first months as PM
Yesterday, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner and chairwoman Anneliese Dodds wrote to Mr Sunak asking him to give the public “full transparency” about what he knew about the investigation into Mr Zahawi’s tax affairs and when.
Ms Dodds described Mr Sunak as “weak” for not sacking Mr Zahawi “when this murky affair first surfaced”.
Ms Rayner added: “Rishi Sunak shouldn’t have needed an ethics adviser to tell him that Nadhim Zahawi’s position was untenable, but instead he continued to prop up the man he appointed to cabinet.”
Speaking to Sky News earlier today, shadow international trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds suggested the PM could have been lying about what he knew about Mr Zahawi’s tax affairs.
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‘PM must come clean on Zahawi’
Asked whether he believed Mr Sunak has lied about what he knew of the matter, Mr Thomas-Symonds replied: “How could the prime minister not have known about the fact of the investigation when Mr Zahawi declared it in July?”
The row surrounding Mr Zahawi had centred on a tax bill over the sale of shares in YouGov – the polling firm he founded worth an estimated £27m – which were held by Balshore Investments, a company registered offshore in Gibraltar and linked to Mr Zahawi’s family.
Mr Zahawi had insisted he was “confident” he had “acted properly throughout”.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has called on Mr Sunak to withdraw the Conservative whip from Mr Zahawi “if he refuses to stand down as an MP” as he is “simply not fit to represent his constituents”.
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In a letter to Mr Sunak following his sacking – in which he made no apology for his actions – Mr Zahawi told the PM he can be “assured of my support from the backbenches in the coming years”.
Speaking to Sky News on Monday, health minister Helen Whately said she thought the PM followed a “fair” process when deciding to sack the former Conservative party chairman.
A major search is under way to find a 45-year-old woman from Inskip, Lancashire, who vanished while walking her dog.
Nicola Bulley was last seen three days ago – on Friday 27 January – at around 9.15am on a towpath by the River Wyre off Garstang Road in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre.
Police say her mobile phone was found on a bench near the riverbank and they are “extremely concerned” about her, and have urged anyone with information to get in touch.
Emergency crews including Lancashire Police, Lancashire Fire and Rescue, Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue team and the North West Underwater Search Team have joined the search.
Police dive teams, fire service drones, search dogs, helicopters and mountain rescue volunteers have been sent to the area.
Ms Bulley was walking her dog near the River Wyre when she disappeared
Lancashire Police earlier said Ms Bulley’s dog – a brown Spaniel – was also found close to where she was last seen and hope this might help jog the memory of anyone who saw her and may have information relating to her whereabouts.
She is described as white, 5ft 3ins tall, with light brown shoulder-length hair and she speaks with an Essex accent.
Ms Bulley was last seen wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive green ankle wellies. Her hair was tied into a ponytail.
As well as Inskip and St Michael’s on Wyre, she also has links to Thornton Cleveleys.
In an update on Monday, Superintendent Sally Riley appealed for motorists who may have been driving through the area where Ms Bulley was last seen to come forward with any dash cam footage that could help officers.
The force said it is keeping an open mind about where she may be, and detectives investigating the circumstances around her disappearance are following a number of lines of enquiry.
A major search is under way to find the missing 45-year-old
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Chief Inspector Chris Barton said on Sunday: “Nicola has now been missing for two days and we are extremely concerned about her.
“Firstly, if anybody saw her on Friday morning and has not yet been spoken to by police, or if anybody has any other information about where she might be, please get in touch with us straight away.
“Enquiries are very much ongoing and we have a team of detectives working tirelessly to establish the circumstances around her disappearance, in addition to a large team of police officers, partner agency and volunteer groups on the ground searching the area around where she was last seen.”
He added officers are aware a large number of people from the local community have organised a search of the area, and urged them to stay safe.
The River Wyre and its banks are extremely dangerous and searching these areas presents a genuine risk to the public, the force said.
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