Summary
- Updates on the Rwanda Bill with a vote expected today.
- The dangers of Smart Motorways will be the focus of tonight’s Panorama on BBC1.
- South Yorkshire Police officer to appear in court charged with common assault.
- Police Appeal for indecent exposure in Endcliffe Park.
- Rishi Sunak calling on more effort to rebuild the trust among Jewish community.
- Margaret McKeich saying that justice has finally been made after the murderer of her child has been jailed.
- UK is about to become the first country to ban extreme right-wing online terror group
- A Sheffield teacher heard for exchanging over 1,000 chats with student.
- The Crucible theatre selling iconic outfits in order to raise money for their costume department.
- Updates on Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield United
- Guinness World Records for Lloyd Martin at the London Marathon.
- Train strikes expected during May.
- Newsreader Huw Edwards resign from BBC.
Live Reporting
Edited by Esme Kenney and Marie Koehl
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.”
Sunak has ‘confidence for the future’ as Tory leadership rumours swirl
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
Friends band together to run the Sheffield Half Marathon in memory of an ‘inspirational’ racing driver
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.”
Indie rock band bdrmm return to Sheffield for their huge 2024 UK and Europe tour
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.
Banksy confirms new mural in north London
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.
West Midlands police commissioner wins legal challenge against powers transfer
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.
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.
Sheffield priest in court to face 34 sexual abuse charges
Five programmes on GB news featuring politicians acting as news presenters broke broadcasting rules, media regulator Ofcom has said.
Two episodes of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State Of The Nation, two episodes of Friday Morning With Esther And Phil, and one episode of Saturday Morning With Esther And Phil, broadcast during May and June 2023, were the episodes in question and broke broadcasting due impartiality rules, Ofcom said.
Five episodes of GB News programmes presented by Tory MPs found to have broken Ofcom rules
The London mayor accused the Conservatives of an “abject failure” to grasp the gravity of the housing crisis.
He said: “We saw it when the last home secretary claimed homelessness is, quote, a lifestyle choice. We saw it last week when the latest housing minister said housing is never really the problem.
“And I’m under no illusion about the scale. The challenge has been decades in the making, but with political will, it can be overcome.”
Sir Keir Starmer said Sadiq Khan would be able to achieve more if there was a Labour government.
The Labour leader said all Mr Khan’s achievements as London Mayor had been “in the teeth of a Tory government.”
As Mr Khan seeks a historic third term, Sir Keir said the mayor had spent eight years “fighting for London with a government that is hostile to progress because of the mayor.”
With a general election later this year, Sir Keir said: “Imagine the transformation if we had a Labour mayor in London, working alongside a Labour government, how much more we could do – at much greater pace – for all of our communities.
“We know that, nationally, the country wants change, you can feel it everywhere you go. Fourteen years of failure and the country wants the chance to say ‘let’s change’.
“They know the Tories can’t deliver that change. Look around you, is there anything now working better than it did 14 years ago? The answer to that question is no.”
Sadiq Khan said London could have gone “much further, much faster” without a Tory government “holding us back”
Vladimir Putin wins a fifth term as Russian president by a landslide of 87%, according to Russian exit polls.
He faced no credible opposition candidate as the Kremlin tightly controls Russia’s political system, media and elections.
Germany called it a “pseudo-election”, while the US said the vote was “obviously not free nor fair”.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky said Putin was “drunk with power and is doing everything to rule forever”.
In a post-election news conference, Putin vowed to press on with the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin wins a fifth term as Russian president by a landslide
Tom Burton, 27, a masters student at the University of Sheffield won a staggering £5,667 on ITV’s the Chase on Friday afternoon.
As part of a trio that built up £17,000 and advanced to the final round, Tom and his team beat out the chaser in nail-biting fashion, as the Dark Destroyer failed to answer the final question in time.
Watch the moment he saw his victory on TV, surrounded by his friends:
Round up: Wire’s own chases away competition
Sheffield is ‘top of the hops’ after it retained its title as the real ale capital of the world.
With four breweries per 100,000 people, the steel city blew away competing cities in their bid to become the winners.
We spoke to people in Sheffield about their favourite beers. What’s yours?
Round up: Sheffield claims crafty crown
Ministers have faced continued calls to reveal whether they believe MP Lee Anderson’s claims the Mayor of London is controlled by Islamists were Islamophobic.
SNP MP Peter Grant said: “An extreme right wing Conservative MP was allowed to go on an extreme right wing Conservative-funding TV station and make a series of vile, Islamophobic remarks.”
Communities minister Felicity Buchan reassured members of the House the comments made by Mr Anderson, according to the Government, were not appropriate and that any form of religious hatred is not acceptable in our society.
Ms Buchan assured MPs the Government planned to “appoint a new independent adviser on anti-Muslim hatred”, but SNP frontbencher Anum Qaisar continued to press the minister on Mr Anderson’s comments.
She asked: “Can the minister clarify what is the line between being wrong and being Islamophobic?”