UK government to extend controversial Palantir NHS contract as it draws up plan for British alternative – UK politics live
Özet haber: The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has caused “profound anger, hurt and disbelief” among many black voters with her comments about transatlantic slavery, according to the chair of Operation Black Vote (OBV), who urged the prime minister, Andy Burnham, to apologise for Britain’s involvement without delay.
The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has caused “profound anger, hurt and disbelief” among many black voters with her comments about transatlantic slavery, according to the chair of Operation Black Vote (OBV), who urged the prime minister, Andy Burnham, to apologise for Britain’s involvement without delay.
David Weaver, a former government adviser, said the Labour and Tory leaders risked alienating black voters with their handling of the issue of a state apology for slavery, while saying Badenoch’s remarks showed a “troubling absence of moral leadership”.
In a week in which the UK political agenda was dominated by postcolonial legacies, Badenoch said Burnham should not apologise for Britain’s historical role in slavery “because it is a lever to wedge open the door to ask for cash”, while criticising Commonwealth leaders on X. Burnham, while saying he was open to making a formal apology on behalf of the British state, has ruled out reparations.
A Scottish government official warned there were “clearly significant impacts and risks” from plans to site a number of hyperscale data centres in Scotland, documents released under freedom of information (FoI) laws have revealed.
The deputy director for domestic climate change said there were “various concerns about the way forward”, citing concerns about possible impacts on energy bills and on water usage, PA reported.
The official, whose name was redacted in the documents that were released, said that depending on the location of data centres “there is a clear risk here that locals bear the brunt of increased electricity prices – or even a shortage of energy, or unreliable power – while seeing little direct benefit from ‘hosting’ the data centre”.
In the document, which dates back to March, they added that to mitigate against this “there needs to be a really clear system for protecting locals from increased energy prices and power shortages, as part of a deal to host the centre”.
Andy Burnham has joked that he was a bad driver after getting a quiz for primary-age children about braking distance wrong. During a visit to Siemens Rail Technology Centre in Chippenham on Friday, the prime minister was invited to take part in a lesson hosted by TV presenter Maddie Moate with year five and six pupils from the town. The host asked Burnham and the children a series of questions about the braking distance of moving vehicles, with the prime minister making light of his incorrect answers. “That shows why I’m a bad driver, doesn’t it,” he joked.
He visited the manufacturing company in Wiltshire to highlight his plans to create more work experience opportunities for young people and tackle barriers to employment.
The EU is seeking a firmer pledge from the British government to guarantee European students discounted rates on university tuition fees before a much-anticipated summit this month. At a meeting of senior EU diplomats on Wednesday, at least six member states called for a clear commitment from the UK by the time of the summit that EU students will pay the lower domestic rate of university tuition fees.
