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Brexit divorce bill jumps by £10 billion, government quietly admitsNew figure of £42.5bn slipped out by Treasury as MPs head home for summer recess The Brexit divorce bill negotiated by Boris Johnson has increased by nearly £10bn compared to the official estimate when the UK left the EU, ministers have admitted.The Treasury slipped out an “updated government estimated of the financial settlement” in a written ministerial statement on Thursday as MPs headed back to their constituencies for summer recess.But the timing of the Treasury’s statement at the start of the summer recess means MPs will be unable to hold ministers to account for the increase in the Commons, because it will not be sitting.
'This is so awkward': Liz Truss gets brutally honest feedback from children on the campaign trail Liz Truss might be leading in the polls in the race to become the next prime minister, but she didn't prove to be a hit with some children on a recent campaign visit. The Foreign Secretary toured the children's charity Little Miracles in Peterborough on Thursday and it got off to a rocky start. After she asked one child his name, he quickly summed up the mood, declaring: "This is so awkward."When Ms Truss asked the same pupil to give her a tour of the facilities, he declared: "Why was I selected for this?" Another child asked Ms Truss where Boris Johnson was, before saying: "Do me a favour, when you become prime minister - evict him."
Watch: Starving polar bear approaches humans for help with tin can caught on tongue
Pine martens to be reintroduced - and red squirrels could return tooConservation groups hope the nocturnal mammals are released in the South West of England as soon as autumn 2024Pine martens are set to be reintroduced in the South West - and could pave the way for red squirrels to return too.Conservation groups hope the nocturnal mammals could be released as soon as autumn 2024 in Exmoor and Dartmoor, after disappearing from the region 150 years ago.
Doctors could earn more by retiring and pocketing 10pc pension pay riseIf they stay in work and take a 4.5pc pay bump they could get hit by a £20,000 pensions tax billA third of senior doctors are considering retiring early because NHS pension rules have made it more financially attractive to quit work than continue practising.
NHS waits force patients to pay for private opsLong NHS waiting times appear to be pushing people into paying thousands of pounds for private treatment.There were 69,000 self-funded treatments in the UK in the final three months of last year - a 39% rise on the same period before the pandemic.Experts said it was a sign of how desperate people had become.The BBC has seen evidence of people taking out loans and resorting to crowdfunding to pay for private treatment.The figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) do not include those who have private insurance - instead they are the people paying the full cost of treatment themselves, leaving them liable for huge bills.For common operations like hip and knee replacements, the costs can top £15,000.
Greece Expecting More Than 1 Million Visitors in First Week of August
More than 40,000 rail workers to go on strike next week, RMT union announcesMore than 40,000 workers at Network Rail and 14 train operating companies will go on strike next Wednesday after no breakthrough in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union announced.
Man wakes up after night on sleeper train to find it never left the station‘They tweeted that the service was on last night, let people board, and just left us sitting here all night,’ marvels passenger After a bedding down for the night on the Caledonian Sleeper train on Tuesday - expecting to sleep through a 345-mile journey - passengers woke up to find it had never left the station.
Paddy Hopkirk, racing driver who had a celebrated victory in a Mini Cooper at the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally – obituary
Ukraine and Russia sign UN-backed deal to restart grain exportsShipping of millions of tonnes from blockaded Black Sea ports could avert global food crisis
EU launches four more legal cases against UK over Northern Ireland protocolThe EU has expressed its anger over the backing given by MPs for legislation overriding post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland by launching a further four legal cases against the UK government.The claims concern past failures to implement the 2019 deal agreed with Boris Johnson but the EU has been spurred to act by the passage through parliament of a bill that would rip up current arrangements.On Wednesday, the Northern Ireland protocol bill cleared the House of Commons at its third reading – the final stage in the Commons – by 267 votes to 195, and will arrive at the Lords in the autumn.The four new legal cases – which cite a failure to enforce EU customs and VAT, and excise rules – come on top of three other cases already in motion that are heading to judgment by the European court of justice.The EU court has the power to impose multimillion-euro daily fines on the UK and its judgments could be the first step towards the bloc taking punitive action through mechanisms within the Brexit deals.Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s Brexit commissioner, has not ruled out tariffs being imposed on British goods sold into the EU, describing the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol bill as “illegal”.
Outrage after beach litter spooks seal colony into stampedeFemale animals may abandon young if scared, conservationists warn Conservationists are furious after a seal colony stampeded in fear after being spooked by litter on a UK beach.Video shows a shopping bag whirling across Waxham beach, in Norfolk, scaring a large group of the marine mammals which then charge into the ocean.The charity Friends of Horsey Seals has issued an urgent appeal following the incident on 17 July, saying people should not leave rubbish on the beach.