#campaigners

#campaigners

Scotland Yard has apologised to the LGBTQ+ community for past failings, in what campaigners have hailed as a historic first they hope other police forces around the UK will follow.The Met police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, made the admission in a letter to Peter Tatchell, a prominent British LGBTQ+ activist.

A government scheme to support the natural regeneration of trees has in two years created an area of new woodland smaller than Regent's Park in London.Just 192 hectares (474 acres) of natural colonisation have been established in England through the woodland creation offer, a financial support package launched by the government in May 2021 after natural regeneration was hailed as one of the cheapest, efficient and most wildlife-friendly ways of increasing tree cover and capturing carbon.

Campaigners are calling on the Government to extend paid paternity leave from two to six weeks in the UK after research found it could reduce the gender pay gap.A report from the Centre for Progressive Policy think tank (CPP) and charity Pregnant Then Screwed (PTS) analysed Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data to explore the economic and health impacts of extending the statutory entitlement to paternity leave and pay.

U.K. abortion rights groups are planning large demonstrations on Saturday outside London's Royal Courts of Justice, after a woman was controversially jailed on Monday under an 1861 law for using drugs to induce a medical abortion past legal term limits.The case has sparked outcry and calls for an overhaul of reproductive justice laws in the U.K., as well as the full decriminalization of abortion.

P arents at the most strike-hit group of schools in London spoke of their relief on Tuesday after more looming walkouts were called off at the eleventh hour.Children at the Prendergast group of schools in Lewisham have already lost 15 days of school to strikes in a row over the group becoming a multi academy trust, and more were planned for this week.

Rishi Sunak's government has vowed to end the windfall tax on oil and gas companies if prices continue to fall, in a move branded premature while millions across Britain continue to struggle with the cost of living.Ministers said the tax has raised 2.8bn and will soon have saved a typical household 1,500 on their energy bills since it was imposed last May to fund support for consumers and businesses, as prices skyrocketed following the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Millions of people across the UK continue to struggle with soaring bills as the cost of living crisis persists.With inflation still in double digits at 10.4 per cent having risen unexpectedly in March the cost of goods in supermarket aisles and on high street shelves remains high, stretching household budgets after a long winter of expensive energy bills.

One in five fathers are not taking any paternity leave, mainly because they cannot afford to reduce their income, damning new research suggests.A study by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) also found half of families struggle with money when fathers go on paternity leave.Another half said they did not feel able to take enough time off work to support their families.

Fifa made false statements about the reduced environmental impact of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a Swiss regulator has said.Football's world governing body the tournament would be the first "fully carbon-neutral World Cup".Advertising regulator the Swiss Fairness Commission (SLK) has upheld complaints from five European nations.

It would take almost 4,700 years for England to build enough onshore windfarms to help meet the UK's clean energy needs unless the government lifts an effective block on new turbines, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).Only 17 small-scale onshore windfarms have been approved in England since 2015 when the government changed planning laws to create a de facto ban on onshore windfarms, according to the thinktank.

If you've spent much time on Facebook or Twitter lately, it's pretty likely you'll have seen adverts featuring mournful caged puppies posted by Labour and the Liberal Democrats.The opposition parties appear to have decided to try to make puppies the next big wedge issue, as they accuse the Conservatives of giving the green light to puppy smuggling after the Tories dropped a suite of animal welfare legislation, which included a crackdown on intensive dog breeding practices.

Closing the employment gap between Black, Asian and minority ethnic people and the wider population could provide a 36bn boost to the UK economy, new analysis suggests.Analysis of Office for National Statistics Labour Market data found that the current employment rate of these groups was 69.4 per cent, eight percentage points below that of the white population (77.2 per cent).

Today the Conservatives officially outlast New Labour, with a Tory prime minister in Downing Street for the last 13 years and a week or so.After so long in power, and after so many dramas, the Tories might be forgiven for simply lying down and waiting for the inevitable.Weirdly, though, I remain optimistic.

Campaigners have long called for the Garrick's outrageous male-only policy to be scrapped, but have issued a fresh plea for patrons to be allowed a vote after fellow members-only club Pratt's overturned its 166-year ban on women.Situated in Old Covent Garden and known for its popularity with actors, broadcasters and lawyers, the Garrick has allowed only male members since it was founded in 1831, although female guests are allowed in some areas.

The disparity between men and women honoured by the London blue plaques scheme is so great that it would take 300 years, at current rates, to reach equality between the sexes, English Heritage has said, as it called for people to continue nominating more women.Despite significant progress having been made in recent years in recognising more notable women from history, Anna Eavis, the charity's curatorial director, said the scheme would welcome many more diverse nominations, to fully recognise the capital's extraordinarily rich history.

A Deliveroo rider who said he is paid as little as 2.90 per delivery is among fast food riders rallying outside Deliveroo's annual general meeting (AGM) in London.Riders protested on Wednesday for better pay and working conditions outside 100 Bishopgate.The company's chief executive Will Shu was holding the company's AGM inside while riders held banners reading Shame on Shu and chanted Deliveroo, you're no good, pay your riders like you should.

C limate change protesters have again clashed with drivers as they staged marches on three bridges in central London.Forty-five Just Stop Oil (JSO) activists blocked the roads on Blackfriars, London and Tower bridges on Tuesday morning by walking slowly in the road.One man was handcuffed by police after he appeared to push two JSO supporters in a bid to clear the road.

The British public are being ripped off by Shell, which made record profits of 32 billion last year while paying the equivalent of 22p per UK citizen in tax, campaigners have said.In a new comedy sketch released in time for Shell's AGM on Tuesday, satirist Jolyon Rubenstein pretends to be a representative of the fictional charity We're Richer Because You're Poorer and hands out 22p to members of the British public.

More than half of the world's large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s chiefly because of the climate crisis and human consumption intensifying concerns about water supply for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study has found.A team of international researchers reported that some of the world's most important freshwater sources from the Caspian Sea between Europe and Asia, to South America's Lake Titicaca lost water at a cumulative rate of about 22 gigatonnes a year for nearly three decades, equivalent to the total water use in the US for the entire year of 2015.

The Government is continuing to point families in the direction of ultra-processed foods via a healthy eating app, leading to thousands signing a petition calling for the advice to be revised, campaigners have said.The Soil Association said it was deeply concerned about the influence of the food and drink industry on UK health policy as the NHS Food Scanner app continued to recommend biscuits, cakes, crisps, chocolate puddings and fizzy pop as good options for a healthy diet.

Slovakian MPs are under mounting international pressure to reject a bill that would see the country follow Hungary in effectively putting a stop to decades of legal gender recognition for transgender people.A vote is expected in parliament within days on a law proposed by conservative and far-right parties that would require someone to have the correct set of chromosomes to match their legal gender.

Sir Keir Starmer has indicated Labour will back long-promised Government plans to abolish no-fault evictions after a minister insisted the proposals strike the right balance despite critics arguing loopholes could see the rules side-stepped.The Opposition leader said the Renters' (Reform) Bill introduced by Housing Secretary Michael Gove to allow tenants to challenge poor landlords without losing their home was broadly right.

A Labour government will try to get house prices falling by boosting supply, Sir Keir Starmer has said as he revealed his party is open to building on green belt land.The Labour leader said his party would give local areas the ability to build on the greenbelt where it would not spoil the beauty of the countryside.

Sir Keir Starmer is thought to be considering plans to allow millions of EU citizens to vote in general elections under a Labour government.Labour is mulling whether to expand the vote to 16 and 17-year olds and around 3.4 million EU nationals who have settled status in the UK after Brexit.The Tories quickly lashed out at the prospect of change accusing Sir Keir of trying to rig elections by handing votes to those more likely to vote Labour.

By Alex Forsyth & Becky Morton

The leasehold system will not be abolished in England and Wales this year, despite Housing Secretary Michael Gove previously promising to scrap it.Mr Gove has described the system - where the owner of a property pays maintenance charges and often ground rent - as unfair and outdated.