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Councillor announces plan to withdraw from government-funded programme in run-up to May electionsUK politics live – latest updatesThe Reform-led Lancashire county council will withdraw from the government’s refugee resettlement scheme, one of its cabinet members has said.Councillor Joshua Roberts announced plans for Lancashire to leave the scheme, which would make it the first local authority to do so. Continue reading...

The prime minister is backing the deal as it would allow British firms to access the contracts funded by the loanGood morning. In the UK many MPs will be spending the bank holiday campaigning for the elections on Thursday, but Keir Starmer is in Armenia, where he has announced that he wants the UK to join the EU’s €90bn (£78bn) loan for Ukraine.Starmer is attending a European Political Community summit in Yerevan. The EPC is the group set up four years ago comprising all the EU countries, plus almost all the other European countries that are not EU members. Mark Carney, the Canadian PM, is also attending (on the grounds, presumably, that in the light of the geopolitical upheavel caused by Donald Trump, the Canadians now count as honorary Europeans.)In relation to the EU loan that we are discussing participating in, that is very good for Ukraine, because it will give Ukraine capability that is desperately needs in year five of this conflict.It’s very good for the UK, because of the capability that leads to jobs in the United Kingdom.The extra funding to Ukraine could unlock opportunity for British businesses to fill urgent capability needs for Ukraine as part of the initiative and give British defence industry access to major contracts.The move is a significant step towards a new ambitious relationship between the UK and EU – building on the prime minister’s calls at the Munich Security Conference in February to deepen defence and security cooperation to match the rapidly evolving threats faced by both sides. It also comes ahead of the UK – EU summit, expected to be held this summer, where both sides will discuss further economic and security cooperation. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Resistance to equity, diversion and inclusion drives affects hiring chances of people with convictions, says charityMore than a third of HR decision-makers in the UK said they have faced pushback against equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives over the past year, according to new research.The new YouGov poll, carried out for the national employment charity Working Chance, surveyed 565 HR decision-makers and found that resistance towards EDI was on the rise. Continue reading...

Kurdish Syrian man, 26, said he fled forced conscription by YPG militia because he ‘didn’t want to kill people’An asylum seeker sent back to France under the controversial “one in, one out” scheme faces being returned to Syria after authorities in Paris ruled it was safe to do so, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind.When the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced the “groundbreaking” deal in July 2025 to stop small boats crowded with asylum seekers from crossing the Channel – by forcibly returning one small-boat asylum seeker to France in exchange for bringing one in northern France legally to the UK – they emphasised that France was a safe country for returnees. Continue reading...

Watchdog says legal challenges from Consumer Voice and three lenders ‘create fresh uncertainty for millions of consumers’Business live – latest updatesThe UK financial watchdog is facing four legal challenges against its £9.1bn compensation scheme for victims of the motor finance scandal.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that it will defend the scheme “robustly” as the “fastest, simplest route for consumers and the most efficient way for firms to put things right”. Continue reading...

Man, 45, who has been arrested on suspicion of murder after London stabbings, was known to anti-radicalisation schemeGolders Green attack – latest updatesThe suspect in the Golders Green double stabbing was referred to Prevent, the official counter-extremism scheme, in 2020.The Guardian understands his case was closed within six weeks by the deradicalisation scheme, which has faced previous criticism. Continue reading...

Warmer weather has benefited some species in Britain, but others that rely on specific plants or habitats have struggled“Insectageddon” has not occurred, but there has been a loss of butterfly diversity over the past half a century, according to the world’s largest insect monitoring scheme.More than 44m butterfly sightings scientifically collected in Britain since 1976 show that of the 58 native species recorded, 33 species have declined and 25 have increased in number. Continue reading...