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History of the far right in Britain
English Defence League (EDL), which took to the streets of Woolwich after Wednesday's atrocity, has had a short but violent history and is led by a second-generation ...
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Letters Uniting to help Ed Miliband transform Britain
o Perhaps Progress should be flattered by Len McCluskey's ongoing attention, but perspective is required. We understand it is daunting, difficult and time-consuming for people putting themselves forward for parliamentary selection, particularly when they don't come from the political class of advisers or full-time union officials. That is why our work around selections, overseen by our ...
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Government ready to hit football with bill to push through reforms
The government has issued a stark final warning to football, making it clear that it is already drawing up legislation in an effort to force the game into long overdue reforms, including becoming more diverse and involving fans in the running of clubs.In a letter to the culture, media and sport select committee, which published its initial report on the game's governance failings in July ...
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British soldier killed in brutal attack identified
A framed picture of Drummer Lee Rigby of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers who was killed yesterday, lays with flowers outside Woolwich Barracks on May 23, 2013 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood, Getty ...
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Rolf Harris bailed again over historic sexual offence claims
Rolf Harris has been bailed again over allegations of historic sexual offences.The TV entertainer, who is being investigated by detectives from Operation Yewtree, was told told he must answer bail again in August.Mr Harris, 83, did not have to attend a police station today, a Met Police spokesman said.A woman who answered the intercom at his gated home in Bray, Berkshire, said the star had ...
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April Jones murder trial Mark Bridger denies hes a paedophile despite child porn on computer
The man accused of murdering April Jones today insisted he was not a paedophile, despite the "library" of child porn found on his computer.Mark Bridger, 47, was asked five times in court if he had viewed the sick images before he admitted he had but insisted the photos were to check on the development of his children.He said he made a typing error when he searched for "naked ...
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Worcestershire nursery child abuse probe Five men arrested over toddlers sex assault claims
Police today raided three nurseries and arrested five male staff over claims of a sex assault on a toddler. Officers swooped on the private nurseries after the child told their mother they were attacked at playgroup last week. Det Supt Kevin Purcell said the allegation was being taken "extremely seriously" but reassured parents there was no evidence of a child sex ring. He said the ...
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800000 Nissan Micras recalled over fears steering wheels could come off
Nissan is recalling 133,000 Micras in Britain because their steering wheels could come off. Micras made in Sunderland between December 2002 and May 2006 are part of a global recall of 841,000 Micras, 576,00 of which were built on Wearside. A spokesman for the Japanese car giant said: "There is a very, very small risk that models require attention but safety is our upmost priority." ...
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Woolwich attack victim Lee Rigbys family pay tribute All he wanted to do was be in Army
Lee Rigby had dreamed of being a soldier since he was a young boy.Now his "unimaginable" murder in a London street in broad daylight yards from a primary school has left his two-year-old boy without a dad.Tonight Drummer Rigby's family issued the following tribute: "Lee was lovely. "He would do anything for anybody, he always looked after his sisters and always protected ...
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Oldest man to climb Everest Japanese mountaineer breaks record aged 80
A former extreme skier today became the oldest person to climb Mount Everest - at the age of 80. Japanese Yuichiro Miura also conquered the 29,028ft peak at 70 and 75. But his record may not last, his old rival Min Bahadur Sherchan, 81, is hot on his heels. In a phone call to daughter Emili from the summit, Yuichiro said: "I made it! "I never imagined I could make it to the top of ...
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Queen catches bus in Cambridge and ends up 15 minutes late for event
The Queen shows she's just like the rest of us - by turning up late for an event after taking a bus. Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived in Cambridge by scheduled train today before boarding the single decker to travel though the city. Locals were delighted at the royal gesture - but the magic didn't rub off on public transport timekeeping. The monarch arrived 15 minutes ...
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Lee Rigby an ordinary soldier who died in extraordinary circumstances
A picture of Drummer Lee Rigby is displayed with flowers left by mourners outside an army barracks near the scene of his killing in Woolwich. Photograph: Toby ...
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Letters Woolwich UK foreign policy and integration
Islam - have brought further opprobrium to practising Muslims. This terrible scourge of child abuse and terrorism within some strains of British Islam is sadly reflective of the broader incapacity of the Muslim community to fully integrate with the general mainstream. British Muslims must disassociate themselves from all variants of imported religious fundamentalism so that far-right ...
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Jeremy Hunts blundering blaming of GPs makes for bad politics | Polly Toynbee
Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for health: his 'attempt to blame the GP contract is, even by his standards, an eye-watering, breathtaking economy with the truth'. Photograph: Stefan ...
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Country diary Allendale Northumberland Hedgehogs have everything they need in this garden
Honesty is flowering all around the dark pile of leaves. Hellebores, fading from burgundy to antique pink, are creating a screen. Under the leaves a hedgehog is sleeping out the daytime, here in the same place that it spent the winter. This is its hibernaculum made from leaves that I heaped on this border last autumn. Perhaps thanks to my feeding it in November, it has survived the lengthy ...
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High street blight are pound shops better than empty shops
The north-west of England has the highest number of empty shop units in the UK, and as big retailers leave our town centres, the kind of businesses that thrive in hard times are moving in.Town centres across the region are becoming swamped with payday lenders, pawnbrokers and pound shops. As our high streets become increasingly geared towards making money from people who don't have any, ...
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Titanic struggle to prove violin’s authenticity resolved
The violin thought to have been played by the band leader on the Titanic as the ship sank has been declared genuine following a computerised scan at a ...
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Exclusive Suspect was inspired by cleric banned from UK after urging followers to behead enemies of Islam
One of the suspected killers who attempted to behead and disembowel a young soldier in the horrific Woolwich attack had listened to the preachings of a radical Muslim cleric banned from Britain over extremist activities, including alleged links to ...
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Woolwich attack police seeking source of suspects extremism
Among the questions for counter-terrorism officials after the Woolwich attacks is how the alleged attackers became radicalised to the point where they decided to carry out violence on Britain's streets.Part of that radicalisation can be tracked to extremist groups such as the now-banned al-Muhijaroun. Its former UK head, Omar Bakri Mohammad told the Guardian that he had known Michael ...
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David Blunkett We are living in a climate of very nasty and angry politics
David Blunkett said he believed that the perpetrators of the Woolwich incident were not part of the al-Qaida network. Photograph: Martin Argles for the ...
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Nursery reforms could cut childcare costs by 28 DfE calculates
children to staff in nurseries.Government plans are currently stalled due to a disagreement within the coalition between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.The new calculations released by the Department for Education under a freedom of information request said parent costs could be cut from 4 an hour to 3.49 an hour (a 12% cut) while teacher salaries could go up. Alternatively, if the ...
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As temperatures plummet government unveils heatwave advice
With Britain enduring hailstones, temperatures below 10C and records revealing the UK's "worst" spring for 30 years, Public Health England has, with impeccable timing and without irony, published its heatwave strategy for 2013.The report, published annually since 2004, possibly takes the precautionary principle to an unattained level.The first chapter of the 46-page strategy asks ...
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Jeremy Hunt proposes a rewriting of GPs’ contracts - video
Jeremy Hunt discusses proposals to rewrite GPs' contracts on Thursday in a speech at the King's Fund in London. The health secretary claims GPs are not rewarded for putting patients first, but instead they are rewarded for ticking biomedical boxes. Hunt wants GPs to be championed for their patients' care and hopes his new plans will lead to 'bold experimentation with ...
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HSBC faces court threat as deal on money laundering charges stalls
HSBC 's controversial $1.9bn (1.6bn) settlement deal with the US authorities over money laundering charges has stalled after a row between the justice department and the judge overseeing the case.The deal - known as a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) - meant HSBC was exempt from prosecution and triggered a storm of criticism. Judge John Gleeson is now believed to be considering ...
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GPs threaten to quit commissioning to concentrate on patients
NHS organisations that control 65bn of treatment budgets, to help their surgeries cope with the sharply rising workloads, medical leaders are warning.A few GPs have already pulled out of involvement with their local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) because they could not spend enough time with patients while also helping run the groups. The growing demand for GP services is also making ...
Edinburgh Feature
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Edinburgh's tram of indefinite delays
The development of a new tram system for Edinburgh has not been without controversy. Since the project was first proposed as far back as 1999 it took until 2006 for work to actually begin. Since then, there has been one failing after another, with many Edinburgh residents now wondering whether the new tram system will ever see the light of day and, more to the point, whether it is in fact necessary.
Edinburgh had a tram system up until the 1950s and, like many developed cities, it did away with the network in favor of other forms of public transport, mainly buses. Increasingly heavy traffic jams in the capital, however, have prompted city leaders to reconsider and in 2006 two bills went through parliament and were approved. Read more
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