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As the latest reduction in the energy price cap takes effect, households are being warned of a big lift in bills ahead due to higher wholesale gas prices.

The cap, which limits what suppliers can charge per unit of energy, fell by 7% overnight in the wake of the latest three-month review by industry regulator Ofgem.

The reduction meant that typical 12-month bills will be around £500 cheaper than a year ago.

It left the average bill at £1,568 – a figure that will apply until the result of the next review takes effect in October.

However, a report by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said on Monday that consumers should brace for an additional hit of up to £600 over the coming winter, largely due to higher wholesale prices.

It pointed to a possible £200 price cap hike from October on the back of some analyst calculations, suggesting it was plausible the total could remain around that level until June.

One calculation, by experts at Cornwall Insight and released on Friday, predicted a 10% – or £155 – increase from 1 October to £1,723 a year but said there remained uncertainty on the market path ahead.

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Party energy plans compared

Consumer groups say there is an alternative to the price cap, pointing to a growing number of fixed-rate deals on the market following a dearth of competition in recent years.

European wholesale costs are again elevated for the time of year based on pre-energy shock norms.

Recent pressures have included strong competition from Asia, particularly China, for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

That has replaced some of the Russian natural gas volumes that were stripped away in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A planned extension of the European Union’s sanctions regime against Russia will see its LNG exports targeted for the first time – potentially placing further pressure on supply across the continent.

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UK household costs for both gas and electricity stood at an average of just below £1,090 ahead of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The ECIU report said: “By September 2025, the average household could have paid an extra £2,600 on energy bills during the ongoing gas crisis.

“With the government also spending £1,400 per home earlier in the crisis, the total extra costs could be £4,000 per home, and counting.”

Energy has been among the big battlegrounds of the election.

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The price of going green? Unions say it’s workers’ jobs

Much of the debate has centred on costs but the impact of gas use in particular has fuelled argument too on the UK’s climate commitments.

Dr Simon Cran-McGreehin, head of analysis at ECIU, said: “The UK’s high dependence on gas for electricity generation and heating has cost bill payers £2,000 so far during the gas crisis and the economy as a whole tens of billions of pounds.

“Common sense measures like investing in insulating the poorest homes, switching to electric heat pumps and fast-tracking British renewables will leave us less vulnerable to the whims of the international gas markets.

“North Sea gas output is declining so unless we make the switch we’ll be ever more dependent on foreign imports.

“The maths is clear, when it comes to energy independence, new drilling licences are a side show making a marginal difference compared to the immense quantity of homegrown energy that offshore wind and other renewables can generate.”

Read more:
EU sanctions on Russian LNG could have gone much further

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Emily Seymour, the editor of Which? Energy, said: “Consumers will be relieved to hear that the price cap is dropping by around £122 for the typical household from 1st July.”

She added: “With the price cap predicted to rise again in October, many consumers will also be wondering whether to fix their energy deal.

“There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach but the first step is to compare your monthly payments on the price cap to any fixed deals to see what the best option is for you.

“As a rule of thumb, if you want to fix, we’d recommend looking for deals as close to the July price cap as possible, not longer than 12 months and without significant exit fees.”

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Weight loss jab warning from health watchdog over unborn babies

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Weight loss jab warning from health watchdog over unborn babies

Women taking weight loss jabs must use contraception, and wait up to two months after stopping the medication before trying to get pregnant, the government’s health agency has warned.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a warning around the use of GLP-1 medicines, which are used both for weight loss and to treat diabetes.

It says the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 or GLP-1 RAs) must not be taken during pregnancy, while trying to pregnant or while breastfeeding. Women who are attempting to get pregnant have been warned to stop using the medicine for two months before trying to have a baby.

It is because there is not enough safety data to know whether taking the medicine could cause harm to the foetus.

The MHRA said it has received 40 reports relating to pregnancy among women taking the jab.

Mounjaro has also been found to reduce the effectiveness of oral contraceptives in those who are overweight. This means anyone using the jab should also use condoms, particularly during the first four weeks and after any dose increase.

The weight loss jabs have been linked with a “baby boom”, with women reporting online they have surprise pregnancies, despite using contraception – nicknaming them ‘Ozempic babies’ or ‘Mounjaro babies’.

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MHRA data found 26 pregnancy-related reports for women taking Mounjaro. Women do not have to specify in the report if the pregnancy is unintentional, but one did say as such.

There were eight reports relating to people taking Ozempic and Wegovy and a further nine for Victoza or Saxenda, with one woman saying her pregnancy was accidental.

Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer said the “skinny jabs” were medicines, and “should not be used as aesthetic or cosmetic treatments”

“They are not a quick fix to lose weight and have not been assessed to be safe when used in this way,” she said.

She urged patients to read in the information leaflet, or have a conversation with a healthcare professional as part of the prescribing process.

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Electric bike, pedestrian and car collision leaves teen dead and another seriously injured

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Electric bike, pedestrian and car collision leaves teen dead and another seriously injured

A collision between an electric bike, a pedestrian and a car has left a teenager dead and another in hospital with serious injuries.

Emergency services responded shortly after 4.50pm on Wednesday to reports of an accident on Staniforth Road in the Darnall area of Sheffield.

A 16-year-old pedestrian was taken to hospital. Despite emergency treatment, he died as a result of his injuries. The boy’s family has been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

An 18-year-old man, who was the rider of the electric bike, is also in hospital with serious injuries.

It is reported that the car involved, a grey Audi, failed to stop at the scene. Police say an investigation into the collision is underway and a man and woman in their forties have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. They remain in custody.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Knowles said: “We know that this incident will have caused significant concern in the local community, and tonight our thoughts are with the boys loved ones following this tragic incident.

“Our investigation into what happened is continuing at pace and we currently have a scene in place on Staniforth Road as we continue to piece together the circumstances.

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“We are aware of speculation being shared online, as well as footage of the incident, and we ask members of the public to withhold from speculating or sharing footage which may cause distress to the boy’s family.

“If you have any footage, imagery or information that may assist our investigation then please share this with us – it may form an important part of our investigation.”

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New miscarriage of justice watchdog chair calls leadership ‘unimpressive’

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New miscarriage of justice watchdog chair calls leadership 'unimpressive'

The watchdog that examines potential miscarriages of justice has “unimpressive” leadership and is “incompetent”, said its new chair as she takes up her role.

Dame Vera Baird has been appointed to head up the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC), which currently has serial child killer Lucy Letby’s appeal in its inbox.

The CCRC is an independent public body that reviews possible miscarriages of justice in the criminal courts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and refers cases to the appeal courts.

The commission has had four critical reviews in the last 10 years, which Dame Vera said “all find the same thing”.

Andrew Malkinson
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Andrew Malkinson. Pic: PA

Speaking to Sky News after her appointment was announced, she said: “They don’t communicate with applicants, are reluctant to challenge the Court of Appeal, they look for reasons not to refer rather than to refer and are quite often incompetent.”

Dame Vera is now charged with turning things around. She cites the example of Andrew Malkinson who was wrongly convicted of rape and spent 17 years in jail, when for most of that time DNA evidence had emerged that could have cleared his name.

He had applied three times to the CCRC but was rejected twice on cost-benefit grounds.

It’s one of several cases leading to calls for “root and branch” reform of the CCRC from the Justice Committee, which said the watchdog “has shown a remarkable inability to learn from its own mistakes”.

An inquiry by Chris Henley KC also found that case workers missed multiple opportunities to help Malkinson.

The previous chair, Helen Pitcher, was forced to resign in January and chief executive Karen Kneller told the committee of MPs they needed a strong replacement.

Ms Kneller said in April: “We don’t have that figurehead and without that figurehead I think it is difficult for the organisation.”

But that replacement did not think much of her evidence to MPs.

“I didn’t find her impressive,” said Dame Vera, who will be meeting her new colleague next week.

“I was really quite concerned about, first of all, the kind of fairly sketchy way in which she even allowed that they got it wrong in Malkinson, and these assertions that she was sorry that people only judged them by the mistakes, and they all took them very seriously, but actually they were otherwise doing a very good job.

“My fear is that the attitude in the case of Malkinson and others, points to there being an attitude that’s not positive, that’s not mission-driven, that is not go-getter in other cases. So, are they getting it done properly?”

A month later, a committee of MPs said Ms Kneller’s position was no longer tenable.

Committee chairman Andy Slaughter said: “As a result of our concerns regarding the performance of the CCRC and the unpersuasive evidence Karen Kneller provided to the committee, we no longer feel that it is tenable for her to continue as chief executive of the CCRC.”

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Why do medical experts think Lucy Letby is innocent?

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In February, the CCRC received an application from Lucy Letby, the former nurse convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others. It’s a high-profile, complex case, arriving at a significant moment of flux.

Serial child killer Lucy Letby
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Serial child killer Lucy Letby

Asked if she thought the CCRC could deal with it, Dame Vera said: “Remember I’m quite new to it. It will need complexity. It will need a team. It will need the readiness to commission reports, I would guess from what’s been said about the lack of scientific value in some of the things that were asserted.

“So it’s going to be a very complex task.”

In the Baird Inquiry into Greater Manchester Police last year, Dame Vera strongly criticised the force. She has a reputation for exposing hard truths to institutions, but now she is the institution. She will need to drive the changes.

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