UK News

Published: 29 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Survivors of sexual abuse allegations involving former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed are calling for an investigation into the General Medical Council over claims that concerns about doctors linked to him were not acted upon when they were first reported almost a decade ago. The survivors say the medical regulator should form part of any public inquiry into...

Published: 29 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to announce that his government will move forward with plans to examine major electoral reform, potentially beginning a process that could eventually replace Britain’s first-past-the-post voting system with a form of proportional representation. The announcement is expected during Burnham’s first Labour conference speech as prime minister and would form part of a...

Published: 29 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to signal that the government is prepared to reconsider the pension triple lock as part of a wider effort to establish a national care service, opening one of the most sensitive funding debates facing the Labour government. Burnham is due to use his first Labour conference speech as prime minister to argue...

Published: 28 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online The average price of diesel at UK forecourts has reached a new record high, adding further pressure to motorists and businesses as disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East continues to push up energy costs. Diesel is now averaging 199.18p a litre across the UK, surpassing the previous record of 199.09p recorded in June 2022 following...

Published: 28 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Three people, including a 10-year-old child, have died and dozens more have been injured after an inflatable boat carrying more than 100 people got into difficulty while attempting to cross the English Channel from northern France to the UK. French maritime authorities said they received a distress call during the early hours of Monday after the inflatable vessel...

Published: 28 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online The managing director of family-owned jeweller Beaverbrooks has called on the UK government to give businesses “a bit of a break”, warning that rising employment costs and continued economic uncertainty are putting pressure on retailers at a crucial time of the year. Anna Blackburn made the comments after Beaverbrooks reported broadly flat sales and a decline in underlying...

Published: 28 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Avanti West Coast is set to return to public ownership in March 2027, marking another major step in the UK government's programme to bring passenger rail services under state control. The operator, which connects London with Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh and other destinations, will transfer into public ownership when its current contract ends on 7 March. The...

Published: 28 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online British counter-terrorism investigators are examining whether Iran could be connected to a suspected bomb plot near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, after five men were arrested and explosives were reportedly discovered in three vans close to the military airbase. The incident has triggered a major security operation in the surrounding countryside, with bomb-disposal specialists examining the vehicles and dozens...

Published: 28 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online For savers across the UK, the latest rise in fixed-rate savings returns has created an increasingly difficult question: is now the time to lock away money, or would it be better to wait in the hope that banks and building societies offer even more attractive rates? Fixed-rate savings accounts are currently offering some of their strongest returns in...

Published: 28 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Freedom of speech is emerging as an important issue for voters ahead of the next UK general election, with new polling indicating that a large proportion of the public could consider political parties’ positions on free expression when deciding how to vote. The research, commissioned by civil liberties organisation Liberty and conducted by More in Common, found that...