Labour loses flagship council
LABOUR is to lose control of Britain’s biggest local authority and second city after more than 20 years because of a new pact between Liberal Democrats and Tories to share power. Birmingham will become the biggest casualty to date of the government’s policies in Iraq and at home. Tony Blair’s party has already lost control of seven councils after the local elections earlier this month.
Israeli troops ‘fired over British MPs’
ISRAELI soldiers fired over the heads of a group of British politicians visiting Gaza, the Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Northover said yesterday. The group, including the Labour MP Huw Irranca-Davies and the Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, were travelling under United Nations supervision when the shots were fired from an observation post near the Rafah refugee camp.
Church to relax marriage regulations
Advertisement
THE Church of England will take a step towards relaxing its marriage regulations when the General Synod meets at York next month. At present church weddings can be held only in a parish where either the bride or the groom live or worship, unless they apply for a special licence. Bishops support the changes because they want to arrest the decline in church weddings that has brought a 40% drop since 1994.
Man abducts son
POLICE were last night searching for a drug addict who snatched his week-old son from the boy’s mother at a house in Gloucester. Rodney Wallace, 31, took the child at about 6.30am yesterday.
Boy shot dead
A BOY aged 16 was shot dead in the Dingle area of Liverpool early yesterday. He was hit in the chest as he talked to three men in a car. Police do not believe the shooting was linked to recent attacks in the city.
Advertisement
Pensions protest
THOUSANDS of people marched through central London yesterday to protest against cuts in pensions. The TUC, which organised the rally, said more retired workers would face poverty because of the crisis.
Puppy starts fire
A PUPPY ignited a gas cooker when it jumped onto the hob, starting a blaze that destroyed its owners’ home. The couple, from Bowthorpe, Norfolk, were out at the time. The dog, a labrador, died in the fire.