British Isles

Covid: school disruption worsening

15 Oct 2020
The number of secondary schools in England sending home pupils because of Covid is increasing rather than diminishing. 21% of secondary schools are not fully open - up from 18% the previous week…

Church anti-racism taskforce pressing for urgent action

15 Oct 2020
The co-chair of the new anti-racism taskforce, the Revd Sonia Barron, has said that the Church of England must not just ‘pay lip-service’ to issues of racism. On 13 October the Church announced…

Migrant dinghies could be disabled with nets

15 Oct 2020
A plan to use nets to stop dinghies carrying migrants across the English Channel is being considered by the Government. Dan O'Mahoney, who leads the Home Office's efforts to tackle illegal crossings outlined…

Hope for the countryside

08 Oct 2020
Late summer has seen our hedgerows laden with fruits and berries, and ancient oaks bowed under the weight of acorns. Their deep roots have stood the test of time and enabled them to…

Churches call for 'urgency and generosity' in Brexit negotiations

08 Oct 2020
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Church of Ireland, the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Irish Council of Churches, and the Roman Catholic Church have insisted it is in everyone’s interests to achieve…

Mother of autistic daughter challenges gender clinic

08 Oct 2020
A mother is taking a gender clinic to court to prevent it giving sex-change drugs to her autistic daughter. She wants to prevent youngsters making 'catastrophic' decisions that they live to regret. The…

PM’s ‘New Jerusalem’ party speech

08 Oct 2020
In a virtual Conservative conference speech in which Boris Johnson’s gaze extended over the horizon, to the time when our national conversation is no longer dominated by coronavirus. He said he wanted to…

‘Big Winter Sleepout’ is back

08 Oct 2020
You may be apart but you can sleep out together. London City Mission are inviting people to spend the night of Saturday 21 November sleeping outside to raise money and awareness of those…

New Covid-19 restrictions likely next week

08 Oct 2020
Covid restrictions will be tightened with pub and restaurant closures in some areas. Overnight stays away from home in these areas could also be banned. A three-tier lockdown system is being planned. The…

New environmental prize announced

08 Oct 2020
Prince William and Sir David Attenborough have joined forces to launch what they hope will become the ‘Nobel Prize for environmentalism’. They say the search is on for fifty solutions to the world's…