British Isles

Farmers alarmed by Australia trade talks

20 May 2021
UK farmers have sounded the alarm over reports the Government plans a trade deal with Australia which might make its food and farming imports cheaper. The move would be part of a free…

Northern Ireland: Brexit challenges

20 May 2021
Brexit minister Lord Frost has said that if Brussels continues to insist on checks on goods arriving from UK’s mainland the Government could trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol (which gives…

Education catch-up

20 May 2021
Connect, Scotland’s largest independent parents’ group, is challenging assessments which replaced Covid-hit exams. Schools are taking ‘different approaches’ across Scotland and they are alarmed that tests and answers are being widely shared on…

Football and religious affiliation

20 May 2021
Many more arrests will follow after Rangers supporters shouted anti-Catholic slogans and songs and damaged property in Glasgow. Violent clashes led to five police officers being injured and thirty rioters arrested. Thousands of…

UK cannabis factories

20 May 2021
In Leicestershire two men were arrested when police uncovered a £2.2m cannabis farm in a former bingo hall on 18 May. They were growing 2,188 plants which generated ‘essential’ income for organised crime…

Sadiq Khan impressed by Christian prayers

13 May 2021
Sadiq Khan has won another four years as London's mayor. He said in an interview that the church ‘does a lot of good for all Londoners’, and he finds the prayers for him…

National Day of Prayer and Worship

13 May 2021
We are approaching Virtual Pentecost, at 2.00 pm on Sunday 23 May, for an online gathering. Momentum towards this is building as more leaders, churches and individuals sign up to join the event…

Queen’s Speech: PM to implement manifesto promises

13 May 2021
On 11 May the Queen set out the government's priorities at the state opening of Parliament. She said her government would ‘deliver a national recovery from the pandemic that makes the UK stronger,…

Conversion therapy ban: bishop’s comment

13 May 2021
Following the announcement in the Queen’s Speech that the Government will ban conversion therapy, the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, chair of the Living in Love and Faith Next Steps Group, said: ‘The…

County lines: child criminal exploitation

13 May 2021
Children as young as six are being forced to carry and sell drugs far away from their homes. They are made to skip school, sleep in drug dens, and keep secrets from their…