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 has set out plans to support female entrepreneurs, cut red tape for businesses, and boost apprenticeships.
The Prime Minister said he wants the UK to be the “best place in the world” for women to start a business.
He also pledged to create up to 20,000 more apprenticeships with plans to fully fund training for young people.
PM sets out plans to support women entrepreneurs and boost apprenticeships
Two men have been arrested in connection with fraudulent banking schemes in Glasgow and Manchester.
The pair, aged 36 and 45, were charged and will appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court at a later date.
The arrests were part of a Police Scotland investigation into several frauds, with victims reporting information being used to bypass bank security to access their accounts.
The total value of the frauds being investigated is about £2 million, police said.
Two men charged in connection with alleged fraudulent banking schemes
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.”
Miss Parker detailed why they had chosen a marathon to raise money and pay tribute to their friend: “He had competed as a Formula racing driver for his whole life. He was an extremely sporty and inspirational person and I think we thought what more could we do in his honour than a sporting challenge?”
The group decided to start a fundraiser for the mental health charity, MIND, to help increase awareness of men’s mental health. Men make up 80% of suicides that happen in the UK each year.
Friends band together to run the Sheffield Half Marathon in memory of an ‘inspirational’ racing driver
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.
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.
Sheffield woman left traumatised after attempted break-in
Santander has launched a new offer of £185 to switch to an eligible current account, as banks’ battle to attract customers heats up.
The offer is open to new and existing Santander UK customers, using the Current Account Switch Service (Cass) to switch to either an Everyday Current Account, Santander Edge Current Account, Santander Edge Up Current Account, or Private Current Account (v2).
To qualify for the payment, customers must complete the switch in 60 days, pay in at least £1,500 within 60 days of requesting the switch and set up two direct debits within 60 days.
Money Saving Experts compares the top bank accounts that pay free cash for switching.
Santander UK launches new £185 offer to switch current accounts
The former glamour model, who was previously declared bankrupt in 2019, owes £761,994.05 to HM Revenue and Customs.
At a short hearing at London’s Rolls Building, Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Sebastian Prentis said Ms Price had not responded to HMRC over the debt and declared her bankrupt.
He said: “There has been no response from the debtor. The papers are in order.
“There is substantial debt due from Ms Price to HMRC and therefore I will make a bankruptcy order.”
Ms Price did not attend the hearing on Monday.
This follows a Daily Mirror article published earlier today in which reporter Katie Wilson writes “Tory MP James Wild has called for tougher punishments for repeat driving offenders like Katie Price, who has been banned six times and has convictions dating back 20 years.”
Katie Price has been declared bankrupt for a second time over an unpaid tax bill worth more than £750,000.
A mother accused of murdering her three-year-old son has told a jury he was starved of oxygen during his birth.
Christina Robinson, 30, is on trial for murdering her son, Dwelaniyah, at the family home in Bracken Court, Ushaw Moor, Durham, in November 2022.
She denies losing her temper and violently shaking the boy on the day he collapsed, never to recover, as well as a series of child cruelty offences said to have happened in the weeks before he died.
The jury at Newcastle Crown Court has been told they can consider an alternative manslaughter charge, plus four child cruelty charges, all of which she denies.
The prosecution said she deliberately burned him by immersing him in hot water; that she used slaps, or the back of her hand, hit him with a bamboo cane, spoons and other implements; that she failed to get him medical treatment; and that she abandoned him by leaving him alone at home.
Mother accused of murdering son says he was oxygen-starved during birth
EasyJet has said its first new UK base in more than a decade will give passengers additional flight options and could reduce fares.
The airline’s new operation at Birmingham Airport will also create 140 direct jobs for pilots and crew, and support a further 1,200 indirect jobs, according to the carrier.
It is easyJet’s first new UK base since it launched at Southend Airport in 2012.
EasyJet opens first new UK base in 12 years
Ofcom ruled against Tory MP presenters on their channel “acting as newsreaders” earlier today.
GB News will meet with the media watchdog to raise concerns.
The broadcaster added: “Ofcom is obliged by law to promote free speech and media plurality, and to ensure that alternative voices are heard.
“Its latest decisions, in some cases a year after the programme aired, contravene those duties.
“Extraordinarily, Ofcom has determined that a programme which it acknowledges was impartial and lacking in any expression of opinion, still somehow breaches its impartiality rules just because an imaginary viewer might think otherwise.”
GB news claimed that Ofcom has “arbitrarily changed the test” and this ruling was a “chilling development for all broadcasters, for freedom of speech, and for everyone in the United Kingdom”.
It said it “takes its obligations very seriously” and is committed to having politicians as presenters on the channel.
GB News said it is “deeply concerned” by Ofcom’s ruling
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.”
Sunak ‘committed’ to Rwanda scheme
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.
Star Wars Millennium Falcon coins coming to a purse near you
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.”