Al Jazeera reports social media creators are fact-checking Farage days before Clacton votes, as a standards inquiry into a £5m gift continues.
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The Conservative Party pledged on Thursday evening to restrict social housing entitlement to British citizens, saying around 230,000 homes would be freed up. The party has not published the methodology behind the figure, nor said whether the policy would apply to existing tenants or only future applicants. Ministers said nearly nine in ten social homes are let to UK nationals, and Crisis chief executive Matt Downie said such policies would increase homelessness.
The 24-hour parking charge at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham rose from £9.20 to £15 on 1 August, following a 20% cut to bank shift rates in May. Staff say they are taking second jobs, including pub shifts, to cover costs, with one midwife saying her monthly travel bill would rise from about £150 to £250. The trust said the income funds repairs, lighting, CCTV, security and new payment machines and barriers, and that eligible staff can apply for permits.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission's revised Code of Practice on single-sex spaces came into force at midnight on Wednesday in England, Scotland and Wales. Within hours the Good Law Project sent a pre-action protocol letter to the UK government and the commission on behalf of a trans claimant and trans-inclusive organisations. Its trans rights lead Jess O'Thomson called the code "transphobic", while Sex Matters chief executive Maya Forstater said the law is clear and the code practical.
Foreign ministers from Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the UAE issued a joint statement condemning Israeli strikes on hospitals and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and calling on the UN Security Council to take "effective measures" to enforce international law. They said the attacks jeopardise the second phase of the plan to end the war. Israel's army and Shin Bet said they destroyed five Hamas weapons depots, one near Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Claim: Reform UK, senior Conservatives and Donald Trump say the UK should “drill” the North Sea to bring down energy prices and boost security. Reality: UK oil and gas prices are largely set on international markets, so extra UK extraction would only marginally affect what households pay—especially in the near term. New exploration takes years (often decades) to turn into production, so it won’t change the next price-cap periods.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid at the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe ordered Meta to pay a further $567m over its failure to warn the public about risks its platforms posed to children, adding to $375m in civil penalties imposed by jurors in March for a total of $942m. He found Meta created a public nuisance and imposed five years of design changes. Meta said it disagrees with the ruling and will appeal.
HMRC figures show 758,000 matured Child Trust Funds were unclaimed as at 5 April 2025, with an average balance of £2,242 for holders aged 18 to 23. HM Treasury put the total at more than £1.6bn in June 2026. HMRC said 27,000 accounts hold at least £10,000, and that holders can trace accounts free via GOV.UK using a National Insurance number and date of birth.
