Northern Irish group say charge is ‘political policing’ to stop them speaking out about ‘genocide in Gaza’

The Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap have claimed a campaign is being mounted to prevent their performance at Glastonbury this summer, at a surprise gig staged a day after one of its members was charged with a terror offence.

The group told the crowd at the 100 Club in central London on Thursday night that they were being used as a “scapegoat” because they “spoke about the genocide [in Gaza]” at Coachella in April.

Research also shows deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent high streets

The number of vape shops on high streets across England has increased by almost 1,200% over the past decade, while deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent ones, according to research.

In 2014, only 33.8% of 317 local authorities in England had a vape shop, rising to 97.2% in 2024. Similarly, in 2014 less than 1% of local authorities in England had 10 or more vape shops, rising to 28% in 2024.

Committee says Karen Kneller’s position no longer tenable in damning report on miscarriage of justice watchdog

The miscarriage of justice watchdog for England, Wales and Northern Ireland has continually failed to learn from its mistakes and its chief executive should follow the organisation’s chair out the door, MPs have said.

In a damning report on the leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the House of Commons justice committee said Karen Kneller had provided it with unpersuasive evidence and her position was no longer tenable.

Popular stop on M5 tops Which? survey with Tebay second, while Bridgwater is judged the worst with one-star rating

There are less than 80 miles between them, but the gulf in quality is massive, according to a Which? survey that ranked Gloucester services top of the stops, and Bridgwater bottom.

For many people motorway service stations are a place to take a break, grab a snack and use the toilet, but the rankings from the consumer recommendation group, which surveyed users of nearly 100 service stations across Great Britain, highlight the best and worst.

G7 finance ministers and central bank governors pledge to address ‘economic imbalances’, without naming China

Top finance officials from the world’s seven wealthiest democracies set aside stark differences on US tariffs and agreed to counter global “economic imbalances”, a swipe at China’s trade practices.

In a communique issued on Thursday, the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors, meeting in the Canadian Rockies, left out their traditional defense of free trade and toned down their references to Russia’s war in Ukraine compared with last year. But they did agree that further sanctions on Russia could be imposed if the two countries do not reach a ceasefire.

Conservationists say part of bill allowing developers to avoid environmental laws by paying into nature fund should be ditched

Leading wildlife charities are calling on Labour to scrap a significant section of the planning bill that they say is a “licence to kill nature”, as new data reveals bats and newts are not the main reason planning is delayed in England.

The RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts, whose membership is more than 2 million, said Labour had broken its promises on nature. They called for part three of the bill, which allows developers to avoid environmental laws at a site by paying into a national nature recovery fund to pay for environmental improvements elsewhere, to be ditched.

St Michael’s hospital was reopened at 7pm after the fire was extinguished and its cause will be investigated

Firefighters have been called to a maternity hospital in Bristol after a blaze broke out.

Emergency services were called to the scene at St Michael’s hospital at about 4.30pm on Thursday.

Shadow defence secretary attacks PM’s assertion that opponents of the deal were on the side of Russia and China. This blog is now closed. You can read our report here

The Conservatives are taking the credit for the near-50% fall in net migration. They say it is the changes to visa rules that they introduced that brought the numbers down.

This is from Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary.

Net migration has halved - dropped by 430,000 - in 2024 compared to 2023

This is thanks to measures put in place by the last Conservative Government

This drop is because of the visa rule changes that I put in place.

Labour will try to claim credit for these figures but they criticised me at the time, and have failed to fully implement the changes.

Starmer says there’s ‘no alternative’ and defends cost, saying it is ‘part and parcel of using Britain’s reach to keep us safe at home’

The UK has signed a £3.4bn agreement to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after an 11th-hour legal challenge failed.

Keir Starmer told a press conference on Thursday afternoon he had signed the deal and that it was “one of the most significant contributions that we make to our security relationship with the United States”.

Office for National Statistics estimate shows fall from 860,000 in 2023 to 431,000 last year

• UK politics live – latest updates

Net migration to the UK has nearly halved over the year to 431,000, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said, publishing figures that will bring some relief to Keir Starmer.

The drop from 860,000 in the year to December 2024 follows a series of policies implemented by the last Conservative government that have been continued by the present Labour government.

Experts say delay from October to January after lobbying by food industry is huge setback for public health

Ministers are to delay introducing a ban on junk food adverts targeting children until 2026, sparking outrage among health campaigners.

Labour made new rules prohibiting unhealthy food ads online and before 9pm on television a key election manifesto pledge, and after winning power it promised the ban would come into force across the UK on 1 October.

Whoever leaked deputy PM’s memo to the Telegraph, some believe it will have helped her leadership chances

What is Angela Rayner up to? To every Labour MP reading the leaked memo in the Daily Telegraph setting out the deputy prime minister’s alternative tax-raising measures, it felt like firing the starting gun on a race to succeed Keir Starmer as leader.

It has infuriated Starmer loyalists because of long memories of the breakdown in relations after Labour lost the Hartlepool byelection just a year into Starmer’s leadership, when he considered quitting and allies of Rayner encouraged her to stand against him. Starmer then attempted to demote her, leading to a fierce standoff and Rayner emerging with a clutch of new job titles.

David Gauke said the suggestions in his review should solve the prison crisis. Here’s what he recommended

• Experts ‘would refuse to take part’ in mandatory castration for sex offenders

A series of “radical” proposed reforms to criminal sentencing have been submitted to ministers by the former justice secretary David Gauke, who has said that, if implemented, they should solve the UK’s prison overcrowding problem. The government has confirmed that most of his recommendations will be accepted. But what are they?

As pressure grows on chancellor to rethink constraints she imposed on herself, No 10 adds to her problems

• UK borrowing rises to £20.2bn
• Business live – latest updates

There is mounting pressure on Rachel Reeves to relax her budget rules and to prepare the ground by telling voters in the next few weeks.

The latest public borrowing figures for April, which show a rise above most City forecasts, indicate that the chancellor will struggle to stay within the constraints she imposed on herself at last year’s budget.

Disruption to online shopping could derail retailer’s successful pivot to cater to fashion-focused customers

In September 2019, as Marks & Spencer fell out of the FTSE 100 for the first time, its then chief executive, Steve Rowe, described the retailer as having a “reputation for frumpiness”. Just six years later, thanks to clever campaigns, unexpected collaborations and a focus on catwalk-influenced pieces, the retailer has transformed itself into the go-to fashion destination for high street shoppers.

Annual results, released on Wednesday, showed a 22% rise in pre-tax profits in the year to 30 March. Overall sales were up 6% to £13.9bn with fashion and homeware increasing 3.5% to £4.2bn.

Pop star recognised for sharp yet candid songcraft on Brat, but loses best album category to Berwyn at awards honouring songwriting excellence

Charli xcx continues her victory lap after the success of her zeitgeist-grabbing 2024 album Brat, winning songwriter of the year at the Ivor Novello awards, which honour the best in British and Irish songwriting and screen composition.

Brat marked a career high for the British pop artist, topping the UK charts and reaching No 3 in the US, and earning huge praise for Charli’s sardonic yet soul-baring lyrics. She won five Brit awards earlier this year, the second-highest number of wins in one night in the awards’ history, as well as three Grammys.

Exhibition will showcase her entire career, from French surrealism to fashion and war photography

The UK’s largest retrospective of the American photographer and photojournalist Lee Miller, who produced some of the most renowned images of the modern era, will take place at Tate Britain this autumn.

The exhibition will showcase the entirety of Miller’s career, from her participation in French surrealism to her fashion and war photography.

Show re-enacting ancient and unashamedly sexual rituals is most ambitious to date, says artist

Marina Abramović is an art world superstar well known for challenging visitors’ awkwardness at sex and nudity by, for example, asking them to squeeze through a doorway between a naked couple.

This year, she will take it to a new level in what she is calling the most ambitious work of her long career – an immersive erotic epic featuring performers re-enacting ancient and unashamedly sexual rituals.

Hambling says she has been able to adapt to injury – and saw funny side when her plumber asked if her work was now half-price

Maggi Hambling’s morning routine involves making one drawing with her non-dominant left hand as soon as she gets up – a practice that has come in particularly useful lately, after having her little finger on her right hand amputated.

“On November the 17th, I fell down the stairs, and I had a glass in my hand. And it’s cut through the hand and cut through the little finger,” she told the audience at Charleston festival in East Sussex, holding up her four-fingered hand.

Children’s commissioner joins Kyiv in asking DfE to create new qualification to cope with ‘immense upheaval’ of fleeing war

The children’s commissioner has joined Kyiv in lobbying the UK government to introduce a new GCSE in Ukrainian to help child refugees cope with the “immense upheaval” of fleeing war in their country.

In December, the Guardian revealed that Ukraine was “deeply concerned” to discover many Ukrainian teenagers are being pressed into learning Russian in British schools because no GSCE in Ukrainian is available.

Charities say more should be done to support girls who experience prolonged bleeding and severe menstrual pain

Heavy, prolonged periods and severe menstrual pain are linked with lower school attendance and poorer GCSE scores, according to new research.

The England-based study found that more than a third of girls (36%) who participated experienced heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding, which was associated with missing an additional 1.7 days of school every year.

Uinversity students’ mental health and wellbeing must be ‘prioritised alongside their studies’, argue campaigners

A review of student suicides in England dodged “the real issues” with universities, the parents of a student who killed herself before a class presentation have said.

The national review of higher education student suicide deaths, commissioned by the Department for Education, heard that families suffered “distressing experiences” at the hands of university administrators, and concluded that universities owed a “duty of candour” to relatives, including greater transparency and involvement.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

New study found a drop in enjoyment, trust and feelings of safety after year 7 and a largely positive primary experience

One in four pupils in England “disengage” when they move up to secondary school, with enjoyment, trust and a sense of feeling safe declining sharply, according to a new report.

After a largely positive experience at primary school where children report high levels of enjoyment, there is a “steep and lasting” drop in engagement after year 7 when pupils transfer to secondary at the age of 11, the survey of 100,000 pupils in England reveals.

Leading figures say compulsory program is ‘ethically unsound’ and would be challenged in courts

• Explainer: What are the ‘radical’ proposed reforms to UK criminal sentencing?

Leading experts on the use of chemical castration for managing sexual offenders have said they would refuse to be part of any programme in the UK that makes the intervention compulsory.

Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, confirmed in the Commons on Thursday that she was examining whether she could force offenders, including paedophiles, to take pills or injections to suppress “problematic sexual arousal”.

Justice secretary expected to back radical sentencing reforms, including use of libido-suppressing drugs in England and Wales

Shabana Mahmood, the lord chancellor, is considering mandatory chemical castration for the most serious sex offenders, according to government sources.

The minister’s department is planning to expand a pilot to 20 regions as part of a package of “radical” measures to free thousands of prisoners and ease prison overcrowding in England and Wales.

Judge says it is not in best interests of children subject to ‘humiliating’ physical, emotional and verbal abuse to name couple

A primary school teacher smashed their adoptive children’s heads together, forced them to swallow soap and called one of them a “black bastard”.

Their partner – a barrister who also sat as a deputy district judge in the family courts – repeatedly failed to protect the children from their campaign of abuse.

Adoption UK says families at breaking point and cuts to support fund are ‘morally and economically nonsensical’

• ‘It broke my heart’: the adopters forced to return their child to care

A growing number of adopted children are at risk of returning to the care system as funding cuts and lack of support pushes England’s families into crisis, charities have warned.

Adoption UK said cuts to funding were already having a “devastating” effect on children who have been adopted, describing them as “morally and economically nonsensical”.

The photographer Sarah Lee has made her annual visit to the RHS Chelsea flower show in south-west London to revel in the floral delights

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Shabana Mahmood told MPs she would expand a pilot scheme using medication to manage 'problematic sexual arousal' in offenders across 20 prisons in two regions. She said she was exploring making the approach mandatory for the most serious sex offenders. In response to a question, she said that studies had found chemical castration could lead to a 60% reduction in offending

• Shabana Mahmood considers chemical castration for serious sex offenders