Sunak ‘committed’ to Rwanda scheme
Rishi Sunak said of the Government’s plans to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda: “I am still committed to the timeline that I set out previously, which is we aim to get a flight off in the spring.
“It’s important that we get the Rwanda scheme up and running because we need to have a deterrent.
“We need to make it clear that if you come here illegally you won’t be able to stay and we will be able to remove you. That is the only way to properly solve the issue of illegal migration.
“We’ve made good progress. Boat numbers were down by a third last year. That shows that our plan is working, but in order to finish the job, we need the Rwanda scheme through.”
Sheffield student film chosen for national miners’ strike exhibition
A former Sheffield student’s film will be included in a national exhibition to mark 40 years since the miners’ strike.
Jake Dannatt created the film Wath Main Colliery – Then and Now: A Miner’s Memories as part of his undergraduate studies in History and Politics at the University of Sheffield, where he graduated with First-Class Honours last year.
Mr Dannatt said he initially produced the film to help preserve the legacy of Wath Main Colliery, which he feels is being forgotten. The colliery closed in 1988 and a man-made lake now sits on the former pit top.
“The younger generation can’t even picture a society that had coal-mining,” said Mr Dannatt, 23. “There’s no sign at all around the lake that there used to be a mine there.”
After being released last May to positive reviews, the National Coal Mining Museum for England selected the film for their exhibition, 84/85 – The Longest Year, on the 1984 miners' strike, an industrial action which led to massive pit mine closures. The exhibition opened on 6 March and runs until 3 March 2025.
The film follows his grandfather, Adrian Hughes, who was a deputy at the Wath Main Colliery at the time of the strikes in 1984. Although his grandfather's union did not strike, he refused to cross the picket line. He talks of his memories of the strike and the colliery itself in the film.
Mr Dannatt, who is from Wath-upon-Dearne near Rotherham but lives in Sheffield, said it was vital these stories were platformed in such a poignant year for South Yorkshire.
“The generation affected by strikes won’t be around forever,” he said. “While their stories are there to be told and we can record them, we need to.”
The exhibition’s opening date coincided with the 40-year anniversary of the National Coal Board announcing 20 colliery closures, essentially galvanising the year-long strike. According to BBC News, about 75% of Britain's 187,000 miners went on strike to fight against these closures but were unsuccessful.
The film formed part of his ‘Making History Public’ project at the university, which he made alongside a dissertation also focusing on the strike.
The dissertation allowed him to speak to other families impacted by the strikes, where he learned of some heart-wrenching experiences. This included one family who were unable to hold a funeral for their two-week old baby because they could not afford it.
Mr Dannatt’s film will run until the end of June.
Star Wars Millennium Falcon coins coming to a purse near you
The Millennium Falcon has landed on a 50p coin, as the Royal Mint has unveiled its latest collectable Star Wars coins and bullion bars.
Following the success of an initial Star Wars coin series, the second series is dedicated to the franchise’s vehicles.
Collectors and fans will enjoy a feature on the coin depicting a silhouette of the Millennium Falcon and the Rebel Alliance Starbird symbol, the Mint said.
Rebecca Morgan, director of commemorative coin at the Royal Mint, said: “We are delighted to celebrate the Star Wars franchise’s numismatic return with a series of coins dedicated to its iconic vehicles.
“We are excited to enthuse new and existing coin collectors across the world and capture the imaginations of Star Wars’ thriving fan base.”
Fans will also soon be able to purchase Royal Mint bullion bars inspired by the Star Wars galaxy.
The Millennium Falcon coin, which comes in a 50p and ounce range, will be available to purchase from the Royal Mint’s website at 9am on Monday March 18.
Customers will also be able to secure all four coins on Monday and they will be sent out as and when the coins in the range are released.
Prices range from £11 for a brilliant, uncirculated Millennium Falcon 50p and £20 for a colour version to £2,770 for a gold proof coin.
The Mint said that the bullion bars will launch in time for Star Wars Day on May 4 and prices will depend on live, precious metal prices.
Sir Stephen House will not face disciplinary action for allegedly describing rape complains as ‘regretful sex’
Former Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House will not face disciplinary proceedings following allegations that he had described the bulk of rape complaints as “regretful sex”.
Academic Professor Betsy Stanko had accused the senior officer of making the comments during a meeting in January 2022, which he denied and suggested that he had been misheard or there was a misunderstanding.
Watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said no minutes were kept of the meeting, and that one person in attendance who had kept notes had no record of the comments alleged to have been made.
The professor first made the allegations a year after the meeting during a television interview, and the IOPC said investigators had to rely on the recollections of the people present more than a year later because of the lack of written documentation.
IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: “Both Professor Stanko and Sir Stephen are of impeccable good character and have served long and esteemed careers in the public service for which they have been awarded the highest honours.
“This meeting involved robust challenges between professionals with differing styles and there may have been an element of a personality clash. Professional discussions on sensitive matters will rarely amount to breaches of the standards of professional behaviour.
“We found evidence that indicated Sir Stephen did use the phrase ‘regretful sex’, but the recollections of those present do not indicate it was used in the context alleged, and in our view there has been a degree of misunderstanding.
“We also considered Sir Stephen’s career history, previous actions and public remarks about combatting violence against women and girls and sexual offences, which supported his assertion that the alleged comments did not reflect his stance on the issue.”
Sheffield woman left traumatised after attempted break-in
An attempted break-in that felt like a “horror movie scene" left a Sheffield resident shaking, as the culprit hid from the police on her roof.
The victim, who has asked to remain anonymous, first noticed something was wrong in the early morning on Wednesday, 13 March, after returning from an evening out.
She said: “I heard a loud bang, and then another one. I thought it was my cats playing in the wardrobe.
“I opened the blind and saw a man and his hands on my window. It was like a horror movie scene. A man was at my window which is very difficult to get to.
“As a woman, this was terrifying.”
The resident called the police and asked a neighbour to come to her flat. Her and the neighbour assumed the intruder had climbed over the roof to the abandoned building next door, where the police searched for him.
It was then that the neighbour realised he could hear someone breathing, and spotted the intruder hiding on the roof near the window.
The victim said: “The police said he was a regular and had lots of issues. I get things are really hard right now, but I will say as a woman this whole thing was disconcerting.
“There are much easier places to sleep than scouring a roof next to a window by a bedroom. That’s what I didn’t like and what unsettles me. This was a breach of privacy no one should have to experience ever, let alone in their own bedroom.
“It was deeply concerning and traumatic for me as a tenant. I was shaking until at least 2:45 am, and I couldn’t sleep.”
The resident said she has ordered more ring motion sensors and a motion detector for peace of mind, with her feeling unsafe in her own home after the ordeal.
Sunak has ‘confidence for the future’ as Tory leadership rumours swirl
Rishi Sunak said he has “confidence for the future” as he battles to shore up his position as Prime Minister.
He insisted the UK economy has turned the corner and people will see the benefits of “significant” tax cuts.
His comments came as Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch told plotters seeking to oust the Prime Minister to “stop messing around” and end the “Westminster psychodrama”.
Mr Sunak’s failure to turn around the Tories’ opinion poll deficit has fuelled speculation about Conservative MPs considering replacing him with Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt in an attempt to avoid a general election disaster.
Rishi Sunak has said “all Conservatives are united in wanting to deliver a brighter future” for Britain.
Asked during a visit to the West Midlands why he did not let one of his “disloyal colleagues” have the “poisoned chalice” of being Prime Minister, Mr Sunak said: “I’m not interested in all Westminster politics. It doesn’t matter.
“What matters is the future of our country. And that’s what I am squarely focused on.
“That’s what I get up every morning, working as hard as I can, to deliver – whether it’s cutting people’s taxes, increasing the state pension… today increasing the number of apprenticeships and talking to small businesses.
“Those are the things that matter to people. And as we have seen over the last few weeks, our plan is working. Inflation is coming down, wages are growing and the economy is back to growing again.”
Friends band together to run the Sheffield Half Marathon in memory of an ‘inspirational’ racing driver
The death of an “inspirational” Rotherham racing driver by suicide has led a group of friends from Sheffield to raise money for mental health in his memory.
Jake Cook, a father of two, had competed in a variety of competitions, including the Formula Ford EuroCup and British Formula Renault Championship. His death led to 14 of his school friends coming together to honour his memory by raising money for the mental health charity, MIND.
His friend, Jojo Quattrocchi, 32, said: “It’s been something so tragic but we’ve managed to try and spin that into something positive by running for Jake’s family, for MIND, and just sharing our solidarity for mental health and how we can maybe break these stigmas.”
Sheffield friends are running the half marathon to raise money for @MindCharity in memory of racing driver, Jake Cook.
— Sheffield Wire (@Sheffield_Wire) March 18, 2024
Read more here: https://t.co/hRYv2XG6WN
Indie rock band bdrmm return to Sheffield for their huge 2024 UK and Europe tour
The Leeds-Hull indie rock band bdrmm will be returning this spring to Sheffield as part of their UK and Europe tour to promote their new album ‘I Don’t Know’.
The band will be performing at Yellow Arch Studios on 19 March.
Speaking of their Sheffield gig, the lead singer said: “We played our first Sheffield show at Yellow Arch and the day we’re going back is actually my birthday, and it’s the end of the tour so it’ll be the best day.
“Yellow Arch is gonna be a pretty special one.”
Banksy confirms new mural in north London
A tree mural in north London that appeared on a residential building overnight is the work of Banksy, the anonymous street artist has confirmed.
The artist claimed the mural as his own in an Instagram post on Monday, following a morning of speculation after it appeared on a building on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park overnight.
Residents told the PA news agency they were “proud and delighted” at the thought of the anonymous artist choosing their street for his latest mural.
Wanja Sellers, a Hornsey Road resident who lives a few doors down from the mural, said: “We’re so proud and delighted that Banksy chose our road and chose Finsbury Park for his work.
“The bright green colours represent Islington which is lovely and also, of course, St Patrick’s Day which is nice and festive.
“Choosing the colours of our borough just makes it feel like a personal message to us residents. We just feel so proud.”
Bright green paint has been sprayed on the building, in front of a cut-back tree, creating the impression of being its foliage.
A stencil of a person holding a pressure hose has been sketched onto the building as well.
The vivid paint colour matches that used by Islington Council for street signs in the area.
Neighbours gathered to take photographs and selfies with the mural on Monday morning, and to speculate on its creator.
Lidia Guerra, another Hornsey Road resident, said: “The way it’s been done with the paint spraying down reminds me of a weeping willow, so there’s perhaps a message about the struggle of nature with the dead tree in front.
“It’s just great – when we read about it last night, we knew we to come and see it as soon as possible.
“We feel so proud to think he chose our street.”
Banksy usually confirms his artwork via his Instagram and website.
Before this piece, his last confirmed work was in December, when he painted military drones on to a stop sign in Peckham, south London.
That work removed less than an hour after it was confirmed to be genuine on the artist’s social media, with witnesses reporting it was taken down by a man with bolt cutters.
Two men were later arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage.
West Midlands police commissioner wins legal challenge against powers transfer
The police and crime commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands has won a High Court challenge against Government plans to transfer his powers to the region’s mayor.
Simon Foster, a Labour politician, took legal action against the Home Office’s move to scrap his role in time for local elections in May.
His powers over the local police force are set to be merged with those of the West Midlands mayor – a role currently held by Conservative Andy Street.
On Monday, a judge ruled in Mr Foster’s favour, concluding the Home Office had not provided sufficient information when consulting over its plans.
Sheffield priest in court to face 34 sexual abuse charges
A priest who led an evangelical movement in the 1980s and 1990s has appeared in court to face multiple allegations of sexual offences against former members of a church congregation.
The Reverend Christopher Brain led the movement called the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield between 1986 and 1995.
Brain appeared at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court for a four-minute hearing on Monday where he faced a total of 34 charges in relation to 11 women.
The charges relate to allegations of sexual offences committed against women who had joined the movement, police have said.
Brain, now 66, of Park Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, is charged with one count of rape and 33 counts of indecent assault, alleged to have been committed between 1981 and 1995.
The Nine O’Clock Service was initially held at St Thomas’s Church, in the Crookes area of Sheffield, before moving to Ponds Forge sport complex in the city centre.
Bearded Brain stood in the glass-fronted dock for the short hearing wearing a grey suit and black open-necked shirt.
He spoke to give his name, date of birth and address.
District Judge Marcus Waite granted him unconditional bail and told him to appear again at Sheffield Crown Court on April 15.
Only the rape charge was read out in full in court on Monday.
The judge explained to Brain that this allegation was so serious it needed to be dealt with by a crown court judge and that the other 33 counts will also be transferred.
The 33 indecent assault charges include some which cover multiple different alleged incidents, including a number involving allegations of assault during massages.
Brain left the court building with his solicitor, wearing a surgical mask.
Copy sourced from Dave Higgens, PA
Indie rock band bdrmm return to Sheffield for their huge 2024 UK and Europe tour
The Leeds-Hull indie rock band bdrmm will be returning this spring to Sheffield as part of their UK and Europe tour to promote their new album ‘I Don’t Know’.
The band will be performing at Yellow Arch Studios on 19 March.
Speaking of their Sheffield gig, the lead singer said: “We played our first Sheffield show at Yellow Arch and the day we’re going back is actually my birthday, and it’s the end of the tour so it’ll be the best day.
“Yellow Arch is gonna be a pretty special one.”
The band’s second album, released in June last year, showcases hazy, opaque melodies, bounding electronic sounds, and an overall euphoric and dystopian feel.
The name bdrmm nods to the creation of the band, which started out as a bedroom project. Lead vocalist, Ryan Smith, said: I just started writing some demos on my iPhone in my room just out of boredom and then I created a couple of EPs, put them on a BBC Introducing Upload and one of them got played.
“Then I thought, 'I should get a band together.'”
The dream-pop band is composed of Ryan Smith, his brother Jordan Smith (vocals and bass), Joe Vickers (guitar and bass), and Conor Murray (drums). Ryan said: “We’ve been writing music and performing as much as we can ever since.”
After touring, releasing two self-recorded demo EPs, and a few singles, the band was signed to Sonic Cathedral in 2019. Their official debut EP ‘If Not, When?’ was released later that year.
Speaking of his favourite moment with the band so far, the lead vocalist said: “The past two days have been pretty special with DIIV. We also supported Mogwai last year. That was unreal, and then we signed with them. Also holding the first vinyl - that was a real hangover cure moment.”
Their 10-track debut album ‘Bedroom’ was released in early 2020 and showcased an elevation of their previous singles, both musically and lyrically. It entered the Official UK Charts on three separate occasions, ended up in Rough Trade’s Top 10 albums of 2020 and was declared by The Guardian, “one of the underground hits of lockdown."
In 2023, the band signed with Mogwai's Rock Action Records, and released their second album. When asked to describe their new album in three words, Ryan said: “It’s much more electronic. The music comes from things that have happened to me but I wanted to try and create a feel from somebody else.
“It's almost like coming from someone else's mind and it’s just like their diary entries of how they're surviving in this world now. So it’s a bit more of a dystopian take rather than personal.”
Described as a “modern day shoegaze classic,” four-piece band are collectively inspired by the likes of Radiohead, but also have hints of The Cure and RIDE in their music.
Their favourite touring moment so far is when they performed at Alexandra Palace with Mogwai last year. Ryan said: “We were playing in probably one of the biggest venues in England. It was just a proper pinch me moment.”
Interestingly, Ryan's favourite thing about touring is the service station stops. He said: “There’s just so much variety and it’s nice when you’re in a van all the time. Subway is my go-to when we’ve got money, but I’m currently on a sausage roll kind of budget.”
Since hitting the road this spring, the band have so far performed in London, Manchester, and Norwich, as well as many other cities around Europe.
Find out more about the Sheffield event here.