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
A Sheffield YMCA worker is aiming to raise £40,000 for human trafficking victims before his 40th birthday by running four half marathons in a month, reports Marti Stelling.
Jonathan Buckley 39, will be fundraising for Sheffield modern slavery support charity The Snowdrop Project.
Jonathan has raised £2,000 of his £40,000 target so far.
He completed the Sheffield Half Marathon on 7 April and the Rugeley Half Marathon on 14 April. Coming up, he will also run in the Roche Abbey Half Marathon and East Yorkshire (Hull) Half Marathon.
Sheffield man fundraising £40k for victims of human trafficking
Sophie Wingate, PA Media
Lord David Cameron urged invitees to attend a Downing Street Eid reception and “put aside political differences” amid reports some are planning to boycott the event in protest against the Government’s support of Israel.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to host Muslim figures for the annual celebration on Monday.
But the BBC reported that some Conservative politicians and business and charity leaders are shunning the reception because of their opposition to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Asked about the reported boycott, Lord Cameron told Times Radio on Monday: “I had an Eid celebration at the Foreign Office a few days ago and I think ambassadors from every Arab country turned up to that celebration, as did the ambassador from Israel.
“So I think all these religious festivals are a time to put aside political differences and think of the things that bring us together.
“And one of the things that brings us together in Britain is that we’re a country with an established church, but also a country that respects other faiths and respects other celebrations, and I think that’s the right thing to do.”
Cameron urges invitees to attend Downing Street Eid event amid boycott reports
A second person has been charged with attempted murder at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court for the attack of a 21-year-old man in Darnall.
Adil Mohammed, 24, is held in custody and is set to appear before Sheffield Magistrates’ Court today.
Mr Mohammed is being charged with attempted murder in relation to a stabbing in Staniforth Road on Tuesday evening, according to South Yorkshire Police.
Darnall stabbing: Second person charged with attempted murder to appear in Court today
Lord David Cameron has urged Israel to be “smart as well as tough” by not escalating the conflict with Iran, reports PA Media.
Israel should recognise Tehran’s attack on the weekend as an “almost total failure” and “think with head as well as heart” in its response, the Foreign Secretary said.
He confirmed that British RAF jets shot down “a small number” of drones fired by Iran in what was its first direct military assault on Israeli soil.
The unprecedented attack by Iran, which it said was in retaliation against a strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria earlier this month, has raised fears over the Israel-Hamas war spiralling into a wider regional conflagration.
Speaking ahead of a Commons statement by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the matter, Lord Cameron on Monday echoed US President Joe Biden’s comment that Israel should view the successful defence against around 350 drones and missiles launched by Iran as a victory.
The Foreign Secretary told Times Radio: “The best thing to do in the case of Israel is to recognise this has been a failure for Iran.
“And so they should, as President Biden has said to them, as it were, take the win and then move on to focus on how to eradicate Hamas in Gaza and how to get those hostages free.”
Middle East crisis: David Cameron tells Israel to be “smart” by not escalating tensions with Iran
University staff in Sheffield are to vote on strike action after cuts have put 225 academic jobs at risk, with up to 80 staff facing compulsory redundancy, according to the University College Union.
The UCU at Sheffield Hallam University labelled the cuts by university management a scandalous attack on staff and students while the UCU’s general secretary, Jo Grady, said “they would see teaching research, and academic standards torn to shreds.”
Sheffield Hallam representatives expressed disappointment with the decision.
The university said it had initially sent 120 redundancy letters in March, but have since ring-fenced new roles for people at risk.
Voting will be open until 22 May
University and College Union strike vote today at Sheffield Hallam University
To mark the 35th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, Liverpool will mark a minute’s silence in memory of those who died.
During an FA Cup semi-final on 15 April 1989, 97 people died in a crowd crush at Hillsborough stadium.
The silence, led by Liverpool Lord Mayor Councillor Mary Rasmussen, will be held at 15:06 BST at the Exchange Flags near Liverpool’s Town Hall.
Flags will be flown half-mast and a bell will be rung 97 times to remember the 97 victims.
An inquest in 2016 determined that the disaster, which took place during a game between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest, was caused by “gross negligence” from the game’s match commander, who should be held “responsible for manslaughter.”
Liverpool FC said: “April 15 is a significant and poignant date in the club’s history and one which brings LFC together in remembrance and thought to remember the 97 who lost their lives and to share love and support for their families, the survivors and all those impacted by the tragedy.”
Hillsborough disaster: Minute’s silence to mark the 35th anniversary
Seven men have been jailed following a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers.
Thomas Mills, 47, Brian McPadden, 61, Paul Lafferty, 42, and Jonjo O’Donoghue, 21, were found guilty of violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court in January after the demonstration outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside, on February 10 last year.
The four defendants had all admitted being present at the demonstration but denied being part of the violence which resulted in three police officers being injured and a police van being set alight.
A fifth defendant, Daniel Fulham, 39, who told the court he was in the area walking his Jack Russell dog, was found not guilty of violent disorder and of a lesser offence of abusive or threatening behaviour with intent to provoke violence.
The four defendants, all from Kirkby, Merseyside, apart from O’Donoghue, who is from Liverpool city centre, were part of a larger group who threw missiles and paving slabs at police and set fire to a police van during the incident, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Seven men jailed after violence outside asylum seeker hotel
On its 30th anniversary, Sheffield’s iconic Supertram will return to being under control of the local authority.
South Yorkshire Future Trams Limited will officially take over all tram services from Stagecoach on Thursday 21 March.
In the future, there are hopes of expanding services. In the short term, this handing over of power will have little effect on people’s journeys, but residents will see a few changes, including a new Supertram logo, a brand new app, and some fares being discounted by 10% for the first 100 days of operation.
Sheffield’s Supertram comes back under public control on its 30th anniversary
Sheffield’s Supertram comes back under public control on its 30th anniversary
A Doncaster MP has rebuffed calls for him to follow his “great friend” Lee Anderson and defect to Reform UK.
Speaking to GB News last week, Nick Fletcher, MP for Don Valley, said he would continue to stand by the Conservative Party.
When asked about his political future, Mr Fletcher said: “My constituents voted for a Conservative candidate and they will keep a Conservative candidate until the next election.”
“I have been very fortunate to have known Lee Anderson for four years,” Mr Fletcher said on X, “he is a great friend and not a racist.”
Doncaster MP rules out crossing the floor amid Anderson switch
Barack Obama left No 10 after around an hour following a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The former US president said “I’m tempted” when asked questions by the media as he re-emerged and got into a Range Rover car with Jane D Hartley, the US ambassador to the UK, just after 4pm.
No 10 said the visit to Downing Street was a courtesy call as Mr Obama was already in London.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “He was making an informal courtesy drop-in as part of his trip to London, where he is conducting work of the Obama Foundation.”
The two men met in the Number 10 study at 3pm on Monday.
The spokesman added: “I think President Obama’s team made contact and obviously the Prime Minister was very happy to meet with him and discuss the work of the Obama Foundation.”
Barack Obama paid a “courtesy visit” to Downing Street to discuss the work of his foundation with Rishi Sunak, Number 10 said
Former environment minister Zac Goldsmith has been banned from driving for a year after he was caught speeding seven times last year.
The Conservative peer, 49, broke speed limits in his hybrid electric Volkswagen Golf on London roads in Paddington, Chelsea and Twickenham between April and November 2023.
He was also caught speeding on two motorways, most recently in December, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
As he disqualified the Tory environmentalist from driving, District Judge Daniel Sternberg warned that drivers who speed “emit more harmful emissions” even in hybrid and electric cars.
The court heard that in April last year, Lord Goldsmith was caught driving at 29mph in a 20 zone on Chelsea Embankment, and in July he drove at 28mph in a 20 zone near Kensington Gardens.
In May, August and November of the same year, he broke the 40mph limit on the A316 in Twickenham by twice driving at 46mph and once at 47mph.
He was also caught driving at 62mph in a 50 zone at the M25 intersection with the M3 in December, and at 73mph between junctions 20 and 19 of the M4 in September – breaking a 50mph temporary speed limit.
Lord Goldsmith had been banned from driving since January, when an interim disqualification was imposed.
The former MP for Richmond Park, who unsuccessfully ran to be London mayor in 2016 before serving as a minister in Boris Johnson’s cabinet, did not attend the hearing.
Benjamin Waidhofer, defending, said Lord Goldsmith had shown “remorse” for his offending and is “not someone who is manifestly defying the usual speed limits”.
Having pleaded guilty to all of the offences, the peer was fined £5,500, and ordered to pay a surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £700.
Zac Goldsmith banned from driving for 12 months after speeding
South Yorkshire Police shut down over £50,000 worth of criminal activity last week as part of a national crackdown on county line crime, including thousands of pounds worth of illegal vapes.
As part of County Lines Intensification Week, police seized over £15,000 worth of cash and Class A drugs between 4 and 10 March.
Vapes and counterfeit cigarettes totalling £6,500 in value were also seized from four premises believed to be linked with organised crime in the Sharrow, Highfield, and Abbeydale areas of Sheffield.