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Sir Keir Starmer has appointed one of Labour’s rising stars to a new role at the heart of Government, in a shake-up of his Downing Street operation as MPs return from their summer break. Darren Jones will be chief secretary to the Prime Minister, a new ministerial role in which he will attend Cabinet. Mr Jones, who had been chief secretary to the Treasury, will be based at No 10 […]

The new chief constable of Merseyside Police has said he will use technology, including facial recognition, to allow police officers to spend more time on the beat. Rob Carden, who takes up the role on Monday, said forces needed to keep pace with technology – including by being “more agile” in providing information so they could compete with social media. Mr Carden spent most of his career with the Merseyside […]

A clay sculpture by comedian Johnny Vegas called Just Be There is to be unveiled at the British Ceramics Biennial. Made in collaboration with sculptor Emma Rodgers, it will go on display at Spode Works in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, when the event opens on September 6. Just Be There, which is an avenue of hugs captured in clay running along a wall, was made with the help of Stoke residents. Vegas, […]

Sir Keir Starmer has hailed the expansion of funded childcare in England amid warnings nurseries may not have enough staff to deliver the plan. From Monday, eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours a week of free childcare for children older than nine months under the full rollout of the scheme. This expansion will benefit more than half a million children and save parents £7,500 […]

Protesters have again gathered outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping. They stood behind metal barriers across the road from the Bell Hotel, holding Union flags and waving at passing cars that sounded their horns. Police officers watched on, with more waiting in vans in surrounding roads. The Bell Hotel became the focal point of several demonstrations and counter-protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker housed there was […]