Snow and ice warnings extended across UK as country braces for big freeze

Published

4 months ago

January 14, 2024

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Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across the UK from today until the end of this week.

Snow is set to hit parts of Scotland today before spreading south next week as cold air from the Arctic brings freezing temperatures.

The Met Office issued new snow and ice warnings covering the whole of Scotland and parts of Wales and England, including Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester, on Tuesday. The whole of Northern Ireland is also under a yellow warning.

Yellow warnings also cover northern Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland and parts of the northwest of England and Wales on Wednesday and Thursday.

Across the days there are warnings for possible travel delays on roads stranding some vehicles and passengers, the occurrence of power cuts and possible delays or cancellations to rail and air travel.

The Met Office says parts of northern Scotland could see around 10cm of snow over the two days.

Up to 5cm of snow is expected in places by the end of Sunday, causing disruption on the roads and railways.

A yellow cold-health alert remains for the North East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, East of England, South East of England and London for much of the incoming week.

Check the five-day forecast where you are

Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said: “It is going to be feeling pretty chilly in the north of Scotland.

“Throughout the week we are going to see more and more snow showers and warnings, towards the end of the week we will probably see an accumulation.

“The warning is of 2cm to 5cm of snow, throughout the week there is the possibility we will see a build-up of snow.”

He added: “On Tuesday, we are going to see more rain turning to snow moving east across the country, with more prolonged snow and more accumulations at low levels in the north of Scotland and northern England.

“That’s where we could see 5cm or 10cm of snow in low-lying areas.

“There’s a very low chance the south might see a bit of it.”

Earlier this month, Storm Henk caused widespread flooding and two deaths, and more than 170 flood warnings remain in place.

UK

King and Queen attend royal honours service at St Paul’s Cathedral

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2024

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King and Queen attend royal honours service at St Paul's Cathedral

The King and Queen have arrived at St Paul’s Cathedral in central London for a service of dedication for the Order of the British Empire.

Established by King George V in 1917 to reward outstanding contributions to the war effort – it now recognises the work of people from all walks of life.

Around 2,000 people who are holders of the royal honours such as MBEs and OBEs – from the UK and Commonwealth – formed part of the congregation.

The King is the Sovereign of the Order of the British Empire, and the Queen is the Grand Master of the Order of the British Empire.

It comes after the King carried out his first investiture in five months – and his first since his cancer diagnosis – at Windsor Castle yesterday.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who conducted the service for the coronation, was one of the 52 recipients of an investiture – and was given the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.

Awards of the Royal Victorian Order are in the King’s gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the monarch or the Royal Family in a personal way.

He said the King seemed in “very good spirits indeed” and was “looking very well” as they spoke during the ceremony.

The monarch, who is receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, was given permission by his doctors to return to public duties last month.

Dean of Westminster Abbey Dr David Hoyle was among the other people honoured at the ceremony, as he was made a Knight Commander for his own role in the coronation.

He revealed there were plans for a building in the King’s honour to be built on the side of Westminster Abbey.

“We have already done the archaeology, so the site is prepared. We have plans which the King has seen. We hope we might have it built in the next two to three years,” he said.

The King has invested a handful of people with honours over the past few months.

However, these ceremonies took place in private during individual audiences at royal residences.

UK

‘If I go, I know they will detain me’: Asylum seekers consider skipping Home Office meetings over Rwanda fears

Published

3 hours ago

May 15, 2024

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'If I go, I know they will detain me': Asylum seekers consider skipping Home Office meetings over Rwanda fears

In June 2022, Kidus, 30, from Eritrea, came to the UK in a small boat with around two dozen other people.

He still has the video on his phone showing everyone – including some women and children – clinging on to the dinghy wearing identical red lifejackets.

Back then, the government had already announced plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Despite being sent a letter warning he’s being considered for removal, he’s never thought it could really happen until now.

Kidus – not his real name – says before he left France, one of the people smugglers reassured him the government wouldn’t go through with it: the Rwanda policy simply wouldn’t affect him.

But earlier this month, one of his friends from Eritrea, who was on the same boat across the Channel, was detained when attending a routine appointment with the Home Office at a site in Liverpool.

As a result, Kidus is now considering not going to his next fortnightly meeting, even though attending the appointments is a condition of his immigration bail.

“If I didn’t go there, I know they’ll drop my case,” he tells us, concerned his asylum application will be cancelled.

But he adds: “If I go I know they will detain me. So, I’m just confused what I’m going to do.”

A document drawn up by Home Office officials revealed only 2,143 of the 5,700 asylum seekers Rwanda has agreed to accept actually attend check-ins and “can be located for detention”.

If people like Kidus stop attending, they will join the remaining 3,557 migrants who are currently missing.

The shared house Kidus lives in is paid for by the Home Office – so his address makes it almost impossible to disappear. But this means he knows he could be detained at any time.

“I’m always just frightened here. So, they might come at night or day and I’m always thinking that they’ll come and they’ll take me to detention. I’m not feeling safe here,” he says.

Kidus has stopped attending college where he was learning English and carries the phone numbers of legal firms with him at all times.

He speaks to his friend on the phone – who is now being held in a detention centre near Heathrow.

Nahom, not his real name, 26, estimates he’s among around 40 asylum seekers there who’ve been told they’ll be sent to Rwanda.

“It’s like a nightmare, it’s like a prison and I don’t like it here. I’m really stressed and panicked about the situation,” Nahom tells us from the site almost 100 miles away.

He admits he has been able to meet his solicitor but says he’s feeling increasingly desperate about being faced with the prospect of being sent to Rwanda.

“They can send my body, but not me alive,” he says. “I’m just giving up.”

In west London, we meet Nura, in her 20s, whose real name is withheld and who has made the decision to keep attending meetings with the Home Office because she doesn’t want to be kicked out of her taxpayer-funded hotel.

But each time she goes to sign in she’s terrified of being detained.

“Sometimes I say ‘why me’?” she asks tearfully, looking at her “notice of intent” letter warning her she’s being considered for removal to Rwanda.

“It’s not a safe country,” she adds. “What is the difference from Eritrea? It’s the same.”

Nura says when she came to the UK by small boat, she believed women wouldn’t be sent to Rwanda. She says she wouldn’t have come if she’d known she was at risk.

Kidus says the same thing: “If I’d have known this I’d have never come here.” He added he’d have instead gone to “Belgium or France, or Germany maybe”.

Now they’re here, their only hope is they won’t be chosen for detention.

The government remains determined to get the first flights to Rwanda within weeks.

Ahead of a general election, the plan has become a clear dividing line between the Conservatives and Labour, which has vowed to scrap the scheme if it comes to power.

UK

Schools won’t be allowed to teach children that they can change their gender ID, reports say

Published

3 hours ago

May 15, 2024

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Schools won't be allowed to teach children that they can change their gender ID, reports say

Teachers in English schools will not be allowed to teach children that they can change their gender identity, according to reports.

Age limits are also set to be imposed for the first time on when children can be taught sex education.

The Times reports that education ministers will warn schools in England today that gender identity is “highly contested” and that teaching the issue could have “damaging implications”.

If asked, school staff should teach the “biological facts” about sex, the government will say, The Times adds.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has become concerned gender identity is becoming “embedded” in schools as an uncontested fact, the newspaper says.

Under other proposals, schools will be told not to teach children any form of sex education until year 5, when pupils are aged nine.

The plans will also rule out any explicit conversations about sex until the age of 13, The Times report also says.

Thirteen would also be the age threshold for pupils to be taught about contraception, sexually transmitted infections, and abortion.

The new guidance is reportedly part of the government’s response to concerns children are receiving age-inappropriate relationships, sex and health education (RSHE).

Schools will reportedly be required to provide parents with samples of the material their children will be taught.

RSHE became compulsory in all English schools in September 2020.

The existing guidance outlines broad lesson modules, stating primary school children should be taught about alternative types of families and healthy relationships.

Secondary-school-aged children are taught more complex topics, including puberty, sexual relationships, consent, unsafe relationships, and online harms.

The Department for Education said it could not confirm the newspaper reports, and that it would not speculate on leaks.