Commons leader denies allegation and says government ‘not trying to break bodies’ after doctor said prisoners were dying The government is “not trying to break the bodies” of Palestine Action protesters on hunger strike, a minister has said, after a doctor said eight of the activists were dying. The prisoners on hunger strike are facing charges related to alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of Palestine Action before the group was banned under terrorism legislation in July, charges which they deny and have called to be dropped. Continue reading...

Report on handling of pandemic contains stinging criticism of ‘toxic and chaotic’ culture inside Boris Johnson’s No 10 * UK politics live –latest updates The UK’s response to Covid was “too little, too late”, a damning official report on the handling of the pandemic has concluded, saying the introduction of a lockdown even a week earlier than happened could have saved more than 20,000 lives. The document also has stinging criticism of a “toxic and chaotic” culture inside Boris Johnson’s Downing Street – which it said the then prime minister actively embraced – in which the loudest voices held sway and women were sidelined. Continue reading...

Trump's failure to grasp 'math' makes his latest proposal 'very unlikely' to pass: report

Human safari probe widens after reports that rich Westerners paid to gun down civilians during the Sarajevo siege