News of the last 24 hours

Regulators lift block on supplier, enabling it to install meters in homes of people unable to afford energy bills British Gas has resumed force-fitting prepay meters in the homes of people unable to afford their energy bills months after paying the largest settlement on record for sending debt collectors into the homes of vulnerable customers. The industry regulator has lifted a block going back almost four years that prevented British Gas from clawing back unpaid bills by fitting such meters in customers’ homes after extracting a settlement worth more than £100m from the supplier for its role in the prepay scandal at the height of the Russian gas crisis. Continue reading...

Ukraine is set to move up to €1bn of its EU loan into the Ukraine Support Instrument to integrate its defence industry with its European partners. The move is part of a Defence Industrial Pact that should remove regulatory hurdles for industrial cooperation and to encourage member states to destock.

British PM Andy Burnham said the UK had "lost control of immigration" following Brexit. "This Home Secretary is gripping this problem, and she has my full support in doing so."

Douglas DePodesta says he was made ‘scapegoat’ after collapse of case against Broadview Six anti-ICE protesters The former head of the FBI in Chicago has accused the Trump administration of pressuring him to investigate the president’s political opponents and making him a “scapegoat” after a major federal case against anti-ICE protesters fell apart. Douglas DePodesta, who served as FBI special agent in charge from 2024 until July 2026, alleged in a federal lawsuit filed on Monday that the Department of Justice (DoJ) had engaged in “misconduct” and “malfeasance” in its pursuit of unjust prosecutions – and that he was wrongly blamed for the DoJ’s missteps and unlawfully forced out of his job. Continue reading...

After a second apparent cyber-attack in as many weeks, we examine possible culprits and their motives Shop fridges and freezers across Europe hit by fresh suspected cyber-attack Supermarket fridges and freezers in seven European countries have malfunctioned, their thermostats remotely cranked up in some cases to 50C (122F). The EU has condemned what it said was “a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumers’ confidence in it”. Continue reading...

Executive director of external affairs at the Refugee Council called the proposals ‘unfair and unworkable’ Downing Street has declined to say how much it cost for the plane carrying Andy Burnham and UK delegates to a Commonwealth leaders’ summit to stop in Manchester to pick him up (see 10.28am), the Press Association reports. At the morning lobby briefing, asked if this was an appropriate use of public money, the PM’s spokesperson said: The prime minister’s travel arrangements are made on the basis of security, operational requirements, and value for money for the taxpayer. The prime minister’s travel arrangements reflect where he was carrying out official government business at the end of last week. Continue reading...

Trust admits Danielle Brown’s baby would have survived had she not been sent home from RVI days earlier A woman whose unborn baby had died was sent home from hospital with a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth. Danielle Brown, 31, was seven months pregnant when she was first discharged from hospital with pre-eclampsia, a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication. She returned to hospital days later, when scans revealed that her daughter, Maisie, had died. Continue reading...

Minister warns weeks without lessons are putting exams at risk as unions plan nationwide strike on Thursday Dozens of high schools across France were blockaded again on Monday as the government braced for another tense week of protests over school conditions and the high cost of living. The protests come amid warnings that weeks without lessons are putting some pupils’ school year and final exams at risk. Continue reading...

Simon Richardson hit Michael Mullins, dragged him for more than a mile under his Volvo XC90, and ran him over A driver who ploughed into a headteacher who was cycling home from school and dragged him, trapped under his car, for more than a mile has been jailed for life. Simon Richardson, who ignored give-way signs at a junction before the collision, was told he must serve a minimum of 25 years after a jury last week found him guilty of murder. Continue reading...

As its pending $22 billion merger with Fox Corp. inches continues to wind its way through the regulatory process, Roku delivered strong third-quarter results Monday. Total revenue in the July-to-September period surged 24% from the prior-year period to hit $1.5 billion, with earnings per share zooming to $1.20 from 16 cents in the same frame […]

Brent crude drops by more than 6% to $105.55 a barrel, the lowest level in more than two weeks The oil price has fallen to its lowest level in more two weeks amid new hopes of a breakthrough to end the Iran war. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped by more than 6.5% to as low as $105.55 a barrel on Monday, the lowest since 16 October, sending shares in airline companies higher and pushing down government borrowing costs. Continue reading...

Exception for care workers will allow an estimated 280,000 people and their dependants to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years Shabana Mahmood rowed back on her most hardline plans to make care workers wait 15 years for settlement in the UK, but told MPs on Monday that many migrants would still face retrospective rule changes to make them wait a decade. Under pressure from a cabinet backlash and health unions, the home secretary has offered a carve-out for care workers to allow them to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years. Continue reading...

Climate negotiators head to Turkey next month for the United Nations annual climate summit, just two months after an alarming U.N. report said the world has a vanishing chance of limiting global warming to safe levels. The report’s projections will likely ripple through discussions at the event, known as the Conference of the Parties or […]

Airline also weighs up reducing crew on flights and increasing use of AI as part of cost-cutting measures Business live – latest updates Ryanair has said it is considering implementing pay freezes, setting the scene for a confrontation with unions as the airline tries to offset soaring fuel costs driven by the Middle East conflict. The airline is also considering reducing crew numbers on flights and increasing the use of AI, in a cost-cutting drive. Continue reading...

Watchdog writes to Nigel Farage’s party to ask what action it is taking to comply with the Equality Act The official equalities watchdog has written to Reform UK to raise concerns after an undercover TV documentary showed councillors and candidates for the party expressing racist and misogynistic views, with one of the party’s MPs complaining about ingrained sexism. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it had written to Nigel Farage’s party in the wake of revelations in ITV’s Undercover: A Year in Reform, which was broadcast in October. Continue reading...

Supermarkets across Europe have experienced temperature-control meddling The fake nuclear threats to Ukraine came as Russia resumed its attacks on the southern city of Kherson, just hours after the end of a ceasefire during which hundreds of people were evacuated from the nearby Kremlin-controlled town of Oleshky. Kherson’s military administration said a Russian drone hit a hospital at 7.40am. Video footage showed wrecked rooms, with windows blown out, doors broken, and debris on the street. Nobody was hurt, officials said. Continue reading...

Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign reportedly recruited a second Dan Sullivan in the race in what Republicans call a ploy to split votes Republican officials have called for an investigation into an alleged ballot-stacking scheme in Alaska’s competitive Senate race by Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign. For months, Donald Trump and others accused Peltola and Democrats of recruiting candidates with the same name as her Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan, to purposefully confuse voters when they cast their ballots in November’s midterms. Continue reading...

Deals with six Green council groups that have condemned the motion are to remain in place, says Labour UK politics live – latest updates Labour is to stop cooperating with the Green party in 11 councils across England following an ultimatum for Greens in local government to disown a new policy stating that “Zionism is racism”. A statement from Labour said coalitions or other deals with Greens would stop in all local authorities where they had refused to condemn the policy motion passed at their party conference last month, which also called for a single Palestinian state in place of Israel. Continue reading...