Shingles vaccine hope for elderly
Millions of people in their 70s could be vaccinated against shingles after the government backs the stance of expert advisers.
Ed Miliband declares war on climate change sceptics
If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Climate secretary Ed Miliband warns against listening to ’siren voices’, in an interview with the ObserverThe climate secretary, Ed Miliband, last night warned of the danger of a public backlash against the science of global warming in the face of [...]
London risks becoming ‘brothel’ for bankruptcy tourists
Foreign firms are coming to the UK to take advantage of favourable insolvency laws, a restructuring expert has warnedBritain is at risk of becoming the “insolvency brothel of Europe” as foreign companies are moving to the UK to go bust in order to take advantage of our insolvency system.Richard Nevins, a restructuring partner at the [...]
Audio: Observer debate: the ethics of assisted suicide
Debbie Purdy, Dr Evan Harris, Baroness Warnock, Baroness Finlay and David Morris discuss the right to die. Should our loved ones be able to help us end our lives? Chaired by Anushka Asthana
“It appeared he had the panel just where he wanted them”
When Tony Blair appeared at the Chilcot inquiry last week, the families of some of the British soldiers killed in Iraq were there to hear him defend his decision to go to war. Here Reg Keys, whose son was one of six military policemen brutally killed in 2003, writes about the mix of fierce anger [...]
The Chilcot inquiry will be seen as one of Brown’s bigger blunders
It has become increasingly clear that the PM was fully signed up to the overall Iraq war planGordon Brown was in meetings for most of Friday and only caught glimpses of Tony Blair’s televised appearance before the Chilcot inquiry. But with his own appearance only a few weeks away, he will have read the reaction [...]
‘Gap narrows’ between DUP and Sinn Féin on sixth day of talks
Negotiations to save power-sharing agreement go on late into Saturday night and will continue this weekThe sixth day of talks between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party ended last night with the parties agreeing to hold further discussions early this week.So far no one has pulled out of the negotiations, which are aimed at [...]
Irish officer attacks ‘tribal’ Afghan police
Army captain condemns conflicting loyalties and mistakes in war on heroinAn army officer who won the Military Cross in Afghanistan has branded many local police in the war-torn country tribal militias rather than a national crime fighting force.Captain Douge Beattie, who once fought off Taliban fighters with his bayonet in Helmand province, also said the [...]
William Hague’s Cuba trip raises new questions on Lord Ashcroft’s Tory role
Calls to clarify Lord Ashcroft’s position after revelation that he provided flights for William Hague’s visit to Havana last year, and then accompanied him to top-level meetingsIt was a scene that Graham Greene would surely have enjoyed: our men in Havana, a billionaire peer and a top Tory politician, sipping drinks on a 150ft yacht [...]
Tories backtrack on spending cuts with pledge to freeze council tax
Labour says Treasury figures show the cost of the council tax freeze is already higher than Conservatives claimDavid Cameron’s policy of slashing government spending was thrown into confusion last night after his party suddenly promised to spend more on annual grants to local authorities, allowing them to freeze council tax while maintaining local services.The pledge [...]