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DWP benefit claimants forced to wait more than three months for reviews as backlog bites

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DWP benefit claimants forced to wait more than three months for reviews as backlog bites

Benefit claimants are being forced to wait over three months for reviews on decisions, DWP figures reveal, as a senior minister says there is no hard deadline on processing claims.

Departmental data shows the time for reconsideration on benefit decisions rose to 71 working days in 2024, more than doubling between December 2023 and July 2024. With weekends factored in, this is a wait of 99 days on average.

The delay means pensioners who are reliant on the winter fuel payment to heat their homes, or sick or disabled people assisted by benefits like PIP, face long waits on payment disputes as cost of living pressures bite.

DWP minister Sir Stephen Timms has now told MPs that the department is aiming to address the backlog of claims by March 2025. However, the Labour MP did not give a target average timeframe for delays to be processed, saying there is “no time limit.”

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“This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision and not the speed of clearance,” he said.

“Decisions should always be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct.”

Welfare recipients are being forced to wait over three months for reviews on benefit decisions, DWP figures reveal

Welfare recipients are being forced to wait over three months for reviews on benefit decisions, DWP figures reveal (PA Wire)

Under current rules, the main way a benefit claimant can challenge a decision is by asking for a mandatory reconsideration. This can be sought within a one month deadline if the claimant feels there was an error in the way their claim was processed, or disagrees with the reasons given for the decision.

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Decisions for most benefits can be challenged in this way, including personal independence payments (PIP), universal credit, and the winter fuel payment.

Welfare experts say a long wait for mandatory reconsideration can be detrimental to applicants, who have very little idea of how long they will need to wait for a decision. If the appeal is ultimately successful, then payments will be backdated to the time of the original claim. If not, then they will receive nothing but can appeal further.

Rachael Walker, research director at Policy in Practice said: “It is essential that the government bring mandatory reconsideration processing times down – the longer mandatory reconsiderations take, the longer people are missing out on financial support they need and have a right to claim.”

“While the government technically has no limit on these processing times, it is the personal cost to claimants that should be the focus of their responsibility when aiming to reduce backlogs – claimants who themselves are subject to strict time limits as part of the MR process.”

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Ms Walker says implemention a fixed reconsideration target a “double edged sword” as it could lead to rushed decision making which would be liable to cause further errors.

“The wider issue here is the number of MRs we see in benefits – using data and systems more proactively can help reduce error and rejection, as can giving people the tools and the support they need to claim in the first place,” she adds.

DWP secretary Liz Kendall (Lucy North/PA)

DWP secretary Liz Kendall (Lucy North/PA) (PA Wire)

The success rate for mandatory reconsiderations varies between the benefit type claimed. In 2024, 52 per cent of ESA work capability assessment decisions that went to mandatory consideration were revised. Meanwhile, just under a quarter of personal indepedence payment (PIP) claims were revised after reconsideration.

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And while the DWP grapples with mandatory reconsideration waits, its staff are also working to reduce the backlog of PIP award reviews and pension credit claims following changes to the winter fuel payment. In December, The Independent revealed that many pensioners were waiting over 100 days for a decision.

A DWP spokesperson said: “The focus of Mandatory Reconsideration is to ensure the right decision is reached, and we are clearing the backlog as well as recruiting additional staff to meet our aim of making decisions without delay.

“Reconsideration is a key element of the department’s decision-making process, and offers customers an opportunity to challenge decisions and provide any additional information which may be relevant to their claim.”

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Birmingham tribute to ‘adored’ boy, 12, killed in stabbing

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Birmingham tribute to 'adored' boy, 12, killed in stabbing
West Midlands Police Leo looking straight at the camera. Ten-pin bowling is behind him with an alley leading to a set of pinsWest Midlands Police

His head teacher paid tribute to the “lovely and bright” youngster

Tributes have been paid to a 12-year-old boy stabbed to death in Birmingham who has been named as Leo Ross by police.

The West Midlands force said he was stabbed in the stomach and found near Scribers Lane in Hall Green at about 15:40 GMT on Tuesday and died in hospital later.

Leo, a pupil at Christ Church C of E Secondary Academy, was a “lively and happy young man” and “had many very good friends”, executive head teacher Diane Henson said.

A 14-year-old boy was earlier arrested on suspicion of murder. Police said the teenager had also been arrested in connection with an unrelated assault on a woman in her 80s on 19 January.

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Ms Henson said Leo was “just a lovely and bright member of the school community”.

“We’re supporting the children at school and are opening a book of condolence with the family’s permission,” she added.

The executive head teacher stated the boy had many good friends “who he absolutely adored and they adored him”.

The family said he had been walking a 10-minute route home when the attack happened and described him as “funny, sweet and had not one aggressive bone in his body”.

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Bus driver killer loses appeal against four-year sentence

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A teenage boy who killed a bus driver in an attack that saw him headbutting and “raining punches” on to his victim has lost an appeal against his sentence.

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SAS veteran blasts ‘imbecilic’ Rachel Reeves as Labour target war heroes with inheritance tax raid: ‘I am absolutely fuming!’

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An SAS veteran has hit out at Labour’s decision to hit grieving families of military workers with inheritance tax from April 2027.

The money given to families of deceased Armed Forces members, called death in service payments, may be subject to a hefty cut after Labour MPs voted in favour of a raid.


The lump sum of money will be subject to death duties from 2027 for children or partners of servicemen and women who are not married.

Death in service payments are normally a one-off figure issued to named beneficiaries of a military worker who dies while on duty.

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Matthew Hellyer and Rachel Reeves

Matthew Hellyer erupted into a furious rant on GB News

GB NEWS

Speaking on GB News, Matthew Hellyer erupted into a furious rant as he spoke to Martin Daubney.

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“I am absolutely fuming. As a grieving father, my son died 18 months ago”, he said.

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Rachel Reeves

Rachel Reeves backed the controversial tax

PA

“I know the pain that these people are going through now. This imbecilic Government are now taxing the very people that have given us our freedom.

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“They are ruining us. This applies to the children and widows of soldiers that have been killed on the battlefield.

“They get a final payment. They get the money, a death in service payment. This has always been seen as tax free. Something to lift the spirits and give the soldiers’ families something to look forward to because they don’t have a husband or wife to support them anymore.

“They need this money more than anything. The pain they are going through is immense.

Hellyer joined Martin Daubney on GB News

Hellyer joined Martin Daubney on GB News

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“Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have no compassion. They’re killing our pensioners, ridiculing our pensioners and persecuting our soldiers.

“Where does it end?”

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He added: “This Government is waging war on our military. We have an attorney general that supported the IRA and is refusing to stand down.

“They are after our military, lock stock and two smoking barrels. They’re never giving up. It’s relentless and we’re getting beaten. We have to stand up for our rights.”

The payments will now go into probate if not left to a spouse or civil partner, potentially reducing the compensation by up to 40 per cent in inheritance tax.

Major General Neil Marshall, chief executive of the Forces Pension Society, has written to HMRC urging them to reverse the decision.

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In his letter, he warned: “Given the high-risk nature of military service… a policy that discriminates against those who are not married or in a civil partnership poses a serious threat to morale, team cohesion and ultimately operational effectiveness.”

The Treasury has confirmed existing exemptions will continue for active service deaths.

“If a member of the Armed Forces dies from a wound inflicted, accident occurring or disease contracted on active service, they will be exempt,” a Treasury spokesman said.

Military personnel cannot avoid this tax through trusts, as the payments are part of the Armed Forces pension scheme.

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Has Prince Harry really won his tabloid battle?

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Has Prince Harry really won his tabloid battle?
Sean Coughlan

Royal correspondent

Reuters Prince Harry, head and shoulders picture, taken in New York in Sept 2024Reuters

Has Prince Harry achieved “accountability” with his settlement?

The settlement between Prince Harry and News Group Newspapers is a dramatic, high stakes, turnaround. But it’s courtroom drama without the court.

Prince Harry’s team hailed the deal that stopped the trial as a “monumental victory”, receiving an undisclosed amount of “substantial damages” and an “unequivocal apology”.

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They say he’s been vindicated – but will there also, deep down, be some mixed feelings. Was this really “slaying dragons” of the tabloid press, as he’d celebrated after a previous win when he’d given evidence in court against Mirror Group Newspapers?

While on the other side of the scrapped case, NGN says the agreement “draws a line under the past” and they reject the claims that would have been made in court about a corporate cover-up.

When NGN has spent £1bn on previous claims, they might think any extra spent on staying out of court was a win for them too.

PA Media Princess Diana in a photo rfom 1996PA Media

The apology for Princess Diana would have been very important for Prince Harry

Why did Prince Harry strike a deal now?

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It seems a change from Prince Harry being adamant that this was about “accountability”.

“The goal is accountability. It’s really that simple,” Prince Harry told a media event in New York last month, about why he was taking on the Murdoch press.

“The scale of the cover up is so large that people need to see it for themselves,” he said.

He was fully aware of the financial risks built into such civil disputes, but seemed determined to press on, not just for himself but for 1,300 claimants who he said had settled but had “no justice”.

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Reuters Lawyer David Sherborne read a statement outside court where the case would have been heldReuters

Lawyer David Sherborne read a statement outside court where the case would have been held

“Accountability” was mentioned again in a statement read out on behalf of Prince Harry and his co-claimant Lord Watson.

“The time for accountability has arrived,” but it meant in terms of calling on Parliament and the police to pursue what they called the “unlawful activity now finally admitted” and “the perjury and cover ups along the way”.

There was a similar call for a follow-up when Prince Harry won against the Mirror group newspapers, but there has been no imminent sign of action.

Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise that there was a deal.

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There has always been immense pressure for a settlement, because the curve of civil law bends so strongly in that direction.

Even if a claimant wins a case, they could end up paying the costs of their opponents, if the damages award is less than they have been offered.

The legal costs and damages at stake in this case could have been £10m. That’s a big poker hand decision for anyone. Plus the unknown jeopardy of what might happen in the court case and what questions Harry might have faced on the witness stand. He might have had his case ruled out of time or had his claims rejected.

The psychological cards would all have been stacked towards doing a deal. Does everyone have a price? Even when they’re seen as the last man standing?

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In terms of the amount of damages paid to Prince Harry, or what he might do with the money, that hasn’t been made public.

But what Prince Harry’s team have seized upon is the skyscraper scale of the apology – seeing it as a “collapse” of the NGN’s denials.

They might argue that even if he had fought the court battle and won, there wouldn’t be any more to be gained.

This has always been a very personal battle for Prince Harry, the battle with the tabloids touching on his childhood as well as his adult life. So it’s significant that the apology includes an admission of a “serious intrusion” into the “private life of Diana, Princess of Wales”.

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That could mean more to him than any financial deal.

EPA Media gathered outside the court to hear David Sherborne reading out a statementEPA

Media gathered outside the court to hear details of the agreement

Prince Harry’s team also repeated the claim that “the Sun, the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices”.

This references the apology’s mention of “unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for the Sun”.

NGN’s statement emphasises that this applies to the activities of external private investigators, “not by journalists” on the Sun.

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But it narrows some of the fastidious distancing that there’s between what had happened at the shut down News of the World and the Sun.

While the statement from Prince Harry’s team lambasts those presiding over a “toxic culture” in parts of the media, past and present, and repeats its claim about a corporate cover-up, these are attack lines from a court case that will now never happen.

NGN rejects the claims of a cover-up and the destruction of evidence. But the overall tone of the response is relief at the end of arguments over old battles, and that this now draws a line under all these disputes over front pages from decades ago.

“Indeed the judge made it clear in remarks in court at the end of the hearing that these cases are likely to be the last liable to go to trial,” said NGN.

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The bombshell case that was going to see Prince Harry giving evidence against his tabloid tormentors is over before it began. Who, in the end, will be more pleased about that?

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Man jailed after downloading 3D printing gun instructions

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The first Islamist extremist to be found with plans for 3D-printed firearms has been jailed for seven years after using a far-right internet channel to download the instructions.

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Elon Musk pours cold water over Trump’s $500bn ‘Stargate’ plan with cheeky jab

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Elon Musk has poured cold water on Donald Trump‘s half-a-trillion-dollar Artificial Intelligence initiative – marking a potential first rift between the pair since Trump took office.

The President declared on Tuesday that several tech giants including Oracle, MGX and OpenAI would be pledging $500billion (£406billion) to fund the construction of data centres in the US over his four-year term.


He said that the project, called Stargate, would be “the largest AI infrastructure project by far in history”, adding: “It’s big money and high-quality people.”

Trump said the mega funding drive would be “a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential”, but now, tech tycoon Musk – himself a major player in AI – has warned that the investment may not be all it seems.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk has poured cold water on Donald Trump’s half-a-trillion-dollar Artificial Intelligence initiative Stargate

REUTERS

An OpenAI press release had talked up its funding for Stargate, including an initial investment of $100billion.

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But Musk prodded: “They don’t actually have the money.”

And in a swipe at Japanese partner investors SoftBank, he said he “has it on good authority” that the firm “has well under $10B secured”.

Musk has endured a long-standing feud with Sam Altman, with whom he jointly founded OpenAI, the firm behind Artificial Intelligence behemoth ChatGPT.

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Donald Trump

Trump has said the mega funding drive would be ‘a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential’

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Musk, who resigned from OpenAI in 2018, has since labelled his former colleague Altman “Swindly Sam”.

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Meanwhile, Altman has called Musk a “bully” in response.

In the face of the X owner’s condemnation, construction on one of Stargate data centres has already begun in Texas, according to Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, who launched the project in the White House to alongside Trump, Altman and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son.

“We wouldn’t be able to do this without you, Mr President,” Altman said.

Elon Musk

Though Musk and Trump appear to be at loggerheads over AI, the Tesla owner has been vocal in his support for the President on cracking down on DEI

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REUTERS

Though Musk and Trump appear to be at loggerheads over AI, the Tesla owner has been vocal in his support for the President on cracking down on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Reacting to the news that Trump had signed an executive order repealing Lyndon Johnson’s establishment of affirmative action, Musk said simply: “Massive”.

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Musk, who now leads the new administration’s drive to cut costs across the federal government, took a swipe at DEI initiatives on social media in a reply to the news of Coast Guard chief Linda Fagan’s termination.

“Undermining the US military and border security to spend money on racist/sexist DEI nonsense is no longer acceptable,” Musk said.

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Trump to meet with Republican key to tax negotiations

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Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), a leader in the effort to lift the limit on a state and local tax deduction some key House Republicans are demanding, said at a POLITICO Playbook event on Wednesday morning that he will be meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

New York, New Jersey and California Republicans made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago recently to reiterate their demands to lift the so-called SALT cap, which limits the deduction to $10,000, in negotiations over a large tax bill. The lawmakers say the cap is harming constituents in their politically competitive, high-tax districts.

Their votes will be crucial to passing a major tax bill GOP lawmakers are assembling.

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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni at odds over It Ends With Us outtakes

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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni at odds over It Ends With Us outtakes
Ian Youngs

Culture reporter

Sony Pictures/Everett/Shutterstock Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni facing each other in the slow dance scene from It Ends With UsSony Pictures/Everett/Shutterstock

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s accounts of the slow dance scene differ

Actor and director Justin Baldoni has released out-takes from a romantic scene in his film It Ends With Us, which he says is evidence that his co-star Blake Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment are unfounded.

However, she has responded by saying the footage of the pair filming a slow dance is “damning” and corroborates her claims.

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The two stars played a couple in the hit film, which came out last year, but have since become embroiled in an increasingly bitter legal battle.

Lively, 37, sued Baldoni, 40, in December, accusing him of engaging in “inappropriate and unwelcome behaviour” and a smear campaign to “destroy” her reputation. He countersued last week, claiming she had made a “duplicitous attempt to destroy” him.

On Tuesday, Baldoni’s team released almost 10 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage to outlets including the Daily Mail and Variety.

It includes three takes from a scene set in a bar, and starts with a caption saying they “clearly refute” Lively’s allegations of inappropriate behaviour, and show both actors “clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism”.

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Lively’s lawyers said it showed him “repeatedly leaning in toward Ms Lively, attempting to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lip with his thumb, caressing her, telling her how good she smells, and talking with her out of character”.

Every moment “was improvised by Mr Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy co-ordinator present”, they said.

“Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognise Ms Lively’s discomfort.

“They will recognise her attempts at levity to try to deflect the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent.”

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Releasing the video was “another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public”, they claimed.

Baldoni’s lawyer told the Hollywood Reporter his client was exercising “his right to publicly defend himself by putting forth actual facts and evidence”.

“Ms Lively wants very different standards to apply to her but fortunately, truth and authenticity apply to everyone and can never be wrong,” he said.

What did she say about the scene?

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Lively’s lawsuit cited the scene as an example of how Baldoni “ignored well-established industry protocols in filming intimate scenes, and exploited the lack of controls on set to behave inappropriately”.

Her legal documents said he wasn’t speaking in character and that no sound was recorded.

“At one point, he leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘it smells so good.’

“None of this was remotely in character, or based on any dialogue in the script, and nothing needed to be said because, again, there was no sound – Mr Baldoni was caressing Ms Lively with his mouth in a way that had nothing to do with their roles.

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“When Ms Lively later objected to this behaviour, Mr Baldoni’s response was, ‘I’m not even attracted to you.’”

What did he say about the scene?

His legal documents said Lively was “consistently unable to take direction” and that she “insisted” she wanted the characters to constantly talk, which he disagreed about.

When he tried to “encourage her to take his direction, Baldoni offered up that he and his wife often just look into each other’s eyes silently, to which she responded, ‘Like sociopaths,’ and laughed.”

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Lively “continued arguing” and “continued to break character”, which was “extremely confusing for Baldoni”.

He said Lively apologised for the smell of her spray tan and body make-up. “Baldoni responded, ‘It smells good,’ and continued acting, slow dancing as he believed his character would with his partner, which requires some amount of physical touching.”

Lively joked about Baldoni’s nose, and that he should get plastic surgery, he said.

“Any suggestion that this scene was filmed in any manner other than pure professionalism by Baldoni is unequivocally countered with actual evidence,” his documents added.

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“Her allegation of sexual harassment is a documented and knowingly fabricated lie.”

What does the video show?

Lively and Baldoni, who was also the film’s director, are slow dancing in a bar and their audio was recorded. After an initial exchange in which she questions whether they are in the correct position, they dance and smile silently.

He kisses her forehead then goes to kiss her on the lips before she apparently hesitates and they continue dancing. She then seems to turn her head with their faces close together and he kisses her cheek.

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She tells him: “I think we should be talking. I think it’s more romantic if we’re like… dancing and talking.” He agrees and says “the whole montage is us talking”.

She continues: “Cause it’s like the moment they kiss, then you give them the thing that they want to see.”

He replies: “That’s why almost kissing is also good.” She responds: “Yeah. But we’re still talking.”

They continue dancing affectionately, laughing and discussing the scene. He nuzzles her neck. She tells him talking is “more romantic”. He says he “just got lost” and there’s “no issue with talking most of the time” because viewers will “never know [what’s being said] in slow motion”.

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He tells her “I know you and Ryan [Reynolds, her husband] talk all the time”, but he and his wife Emily like to stare at each other, joking that “you would find it terrifying”. She laughs and jokes that “I’d be like, ‘Oh no I found a sociopath’”.

He asks the camera operator to film their lips “super close”, to which she agrees but adds that they should “start talking” and “don’t give it [the kiss] to them”. He agrees they should “keep restraint”.

They keep dancing with their foreheads and noses touching, upon which she starts laughing because she feels “so nosey”. He jokes that “my nose is so big” and she laughs that the film would have to “shut down” and “deal with that”, adding: “Just kidding.”

In the next take, he appears to kiss her neck then says “Am I getting beard on you today?” She laughs and responds: “I’m probably getting spray tan on you.” He nuzzles the other side of her neck and says: “It smells good”. She adds: “Well, it’s not that, it’s my body make-up”. They continue dancing and he shouts cut.

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A third take shows their feet and bodies as they dance. The opening caption says “these are all three takes filmed of the sequence”.

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Environmental bodies to be stripped of powers to delay building | Politics News

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner during a visit to a construction site in Cambridge, as the government announces major planning reforms to get Britain building. Pic: PA

Environmental bodies will be stripped of their powers to delay major infrastructure projects in a bid to “get Britain building” again.

In changes aimed at speeding up 150 road, rail and energy schemes, regulators will no longer be able to demand that developers mitigate environmental harm before construction can begin.

Instead they will be asked to contribute to a new Nature Restoration Fund, which will pool the money to fund larger strategic interventions to protect habitats and wildlife, rather than on a site-by-site basis.

Politics Live: Badenoch brands Starmer’s school reforms an ‘act of vandalism’

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The new law is also aimed at unblocking housebuilding in areas affected by controversial nutrient neutrality rules.

The water pollution restrictions have been blamed on preventing tens of thousands of new homes being built, with critics arguing houses have a minimal impact on nutrient levels in rivers compared with water companies and agriculture.

Former housing secretary Michael Gove sought to scrap the EU-derived rules in 2023, but this was prevented by a Labour-led rebellion in the House of Lords.

However, it is understood Labour ministers are not worried about a repeat of this scenario because they believe the impact will be offset by the Nature Restoration Fund, which could be used to clean up rivers.

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A source close to the plans said the government consulted with nature groups to find “a practical solution that works as a win-win” for the environment and building.

Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside link, stopped short of criticising the announcement but called on Labour to honour its manifesto commitment to “restore the natural world”.

He told Sky News: “Under no circumstances should the government’s proposals open the door to unsustainable developments in return for vague promises of future gains.

“But done well, there’s a real opportunity here to improve the way developers fulfil environmental rules while multiplying investment and protection for nature recovery.”

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What are Labour’s housing plans?

The government is under pressure as it seeks to deliver on its manifesto pledge for 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliament, and 150 decisions on infrastructure projects, to help achieve its mission of economic growth.

Pro-building campaigners have expressed concern over the feasibility of the plans, given problems with the UK’s clogged-up planning system.

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At present, infrastructure projects have to secure mitigation for environmental harm to protected sites and species before being granted permission to build, adding costs and delays to the process.

£100m for HS2 bat shed

The issue was highlighted by the recent news that the beleaguered HS2 project had to spend £100m on at bat shed on a section of the line.

Undated handout artist's impression image issued by HS2 of the Sheephouse Wood bat protection structure which will run for around one kilometre (0.6 miles) alongside the wood, creating a barrier allowing bats to cross above the high-speed HS2 railway without being affected by passing trains. Issue date: Thursday November 7, 2024.
Image:
Artist’s impression of the HS2 bat protection structure

Sir John Thompson, the company’s chairman, said there was “no evidence that high-speed trains interfere with bats” and the cover was being built to appease the Whitehall advisory body, Natural England.

He called it a “genuine problem” with completing major infrastructure projects in the UK, with HS2 required to obtain over 8,000 planning consents from public bodies after legislation was passed to approve the project by central government in 2017.

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Thames crossing delayed after planning it cost more than world’s longest road tunnel
Property developers could bypass planning committees in bid to ‘overhaul’ process

Reforms to speed up projects

Undated handout artist's impression image issued by HS2 of the Sheephouse Wood bat protection structure which will run for around one kilometre (0.6 miles) alongside the wood, creating a barrier allowing bats to cross above the high-speed HS2 railway without being affected by passing trains. Issue date: Thursday November 7, 2024.
Image:
The HS2 bat protection structure has cost £100m

Ministers said the reforms announced on Wednesday will help to speed up 150 projects, including new wind farms, railways and roads, gigafactories and data centres across the country.

The current rules mean developers are required to identify and meet environmental obligations on a project-by-project basis, which misses opportunities to find strategic solutions, the government said.

The new approach removes the need for individual site-level assessments and mitigation, with development able to proceed after a single payment to the Nature Restoration Fund in most cases.

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The fund is expected to be managed by Natural England, which will look at overall actions needed to protect sites and species in the country. This could include using the money to reduce water pollution or securing nesting habitats to increase the population of a certain species, for example.

It is hoped the fund will help developers to meet their environmental obligations faster and at greater scale by pooling contributions for larger interventions.

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The changes will be included in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is expected to be introduced early this year.

Campaign group Britain Remade welcomed the announcement, saying that for “far too long” environmental agencies “have been able to hold up and delay the growth boosting infrastructure projects our economy desperately needs”.

Chief executive Sam Richards said: “From bat tunnels to fish discos these measures add huge delays to projects, cost hundreds of millions of pounds and do little to protect or enhance nature.”

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “Nature and development have been unnecessarily pitted against each other for too long. This has blocked economic growth but done nothing for nature’s recovery.

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“These reforms will unblock infrastructure projects while protecting the natural environment we all depend on.”

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Southport attack: Labour MP blasts ‘damning failures’ of social services to stop Axel Rudakubana

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Labour MP James Frith has issued a scathing critique of Britain’s social services, describing their failure to prevent the Southport attack as a “damning” indictment of the system.

Speaking during PMQs Live on GB News, Frith highlighted what he called “a failure of a joined up social services system that has repeatedly been warned and failed to act”.


The attack, carried out by Axel Rudakubana at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last summer, resulted in the deaths of three young girls.

Frith emphasised that while individual judgments should be measured, the systemic failures were clear.

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James Frith, Axel Rudakubana

James Frith has hit out at social services failings in the case of Axel Rudakubana

GB News / CPS

“Whether it’s an under-investment or a lack of scrutiny and oversight, a number of the social services have systemically failed to pick up this issue, and the worst has happened for these three girls and their families,” he said.

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The Labour MP stressed that while knife access was a crucial issue, the broader failures of social services demanded urgent attention.

“It’s not complicit in the act, but is certainly unintentionally given permission for such acts to happen,” Frith added in what he termed a “damning statement on our social services”.

The Southport attacker had purchased the murder weapon from Amazon without significant barriers, when he was 17-years-old.

u200bAxel RudakubanaAxel Rudakubana pleaded guilty to all 16 charges he faced in court on Monday CPS

Frith warned that the Southport attack highlighted broader concerns about evolving terrorism risks in Britain.

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“There’s a changing face of the risks of terrorism in this country, and the online hate, the radicalisation that is also being accessed by some of these loners and monsters,” he said during the GB News discussion.

The Labour MP called for a comprehensive review of existing protective measures.

He acknowledged the complexity of predicting such attacks, stating: “We shouldn’t cast too much judgment, given that you can never know for sure as somebody that is reported will go on and do such an appalling act.”

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However, Frith insisted that both knife access restrictions and social service reforms needed urgent attention.

James Frith

Frith told GB News there is a ‘changing face of the risks of terrorism in this country’

GB News

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In response to the attack, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced stricter measures for online knife purchases, requiring two forms of identification.

The new requirements will mandate that buyers provide documents such as a passport or driving licence, along with a live video verification of their age.

Amazon has responded to the incident by launching an urgent investigation, stating they take their responsibility around age-restricted items “extremely seriously.”

The online retailer confirmed they use ID verification services to check personal details and require age verification upon delivery.

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