Princess of Wales challenged during royal visit to Northern Ireland - Sky News

The Princess of Wales was accused of not being in her "own country" during a visit to Northern Ireland.

It happened when Kate and Prince William were meeting people on a walkabout in north Belfast.

A woman who shook hands with the princess said: "Nice to meet you, but it would be better if it was when you were in your own country."

The woman, who appeared to be videoing the exchange on a phone, added: "Ireland belongs to the Irish."

The prince and princess have been on a day-long trip to Northern Ireland, beginning at a suicide prevention charity in Belfast.

PIPS says it has experienced a significant increase in demand since the start of the COVID pandemic - including a 500% rise among young people.

It was founded in 2003 after 14 young people took their own lives over a short period the previous year.

Image: The princess with a volunteer at the charity

Prince William and Kate, both 40, spoke to staff about their work helping people at risk of suicide and self-harm.

They also took part in an art therapy session, painting pumpkins with vulnerable children who have been supported by PIPS.

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And the couple joined a group of volunteer counsellors as they packed up the charity's Little Boxes of Hope.

As well as assisting children, the packages are designed to help parents and guardians, too.

Image: The Princess of Wales in Carrickfergus on Thursday

Read more:
Prince William's first speech as heir honours his 'much-missed grandmother'
Princess of Wales meets mothers and babies at maternity unit during solo visit
No plans for William to have formal investiture ceremony as Prince of Wales

William, now heir to the throne, and Kate also visited a new outdoor street food and retail market in the city centre.

Trademarket, which opened its doors in July, offers artisan food, drinks and products from local, independent vendors.

The royals were pictured trying cocktails at one of the stalls.

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William and Kate race as they make cocktails

Cheering crowds later lined the streets as they arrived in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, to visit a youth charity.

They have been learning about the work of Carrick Connect, which offers support services to local young people experiencing social or emotional difficulties.

William and Kate met some of the young people who have benefitted and their mentors.

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2022-10-06 15:47:50Z
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Three people stabbed after intervening in suspected robbery near Liverpool Street station in central London - Sky News

Three people have been stabbed after bystanders tried to stop a phone robbery in central London.

Witnesses described seeing lots of blood and people lying on the floor after violence broke out near Liverpool Street station on Thursday morning.

A local office worker said he saw a group of masked knifemen on bicycles attempt to snatch a mobile phone from a middle-aged man.

The group, who he described as "teenagers", were watching the smartly dressed man on the pavement before grabbing hold of him in a struggle that left him stabbed and lying on the ground.

Two pedestrians and a passing motorcyclist then got embroiled in the fight to try to help the man, but the knifeman continued his attack, injuring all of them.

The office worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "Things escalated so quickly. Pedestrians got involved and they were trying to help the middle-aged man.

"I heard lots of screams and shouts. The next minute, a man on a white moped saw what happened and jumped off, and got himself involved.

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"There was a fight with these teenagers. Out of nowhere, the guy on the moped got stabbed.

"The middle-aged man was already on the floor at this point after he got stabbed and another pedestrian got hurt too, his head was hurt. The teenagers then just took off."

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Three victims were taken for treatment at a nearby hospital and officers cordoned off the area.

Sayeed Dukanwala, who owns a shop right next to the scene, and also saw the incident unfold said: "I saw some guys running past my shop and shouting 'Oi oi oi'. "After a few minutes I saw a fight break out... and people running away.

"Then some people came in and told me there was a stabbing. They said there was a man and a lady on the floor, and there was blood."

He went on to describe the area as "very unsafe" saying that he was assaulted with a bottle inside his shop last weekend.

Afterwards, the scene was said to be littered with used medical kits in an area of Bishopsgate that had been taped off.

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Police say that the victims are being treated at a local hospital.

City of London Police officers and London Ambulance Service (LAS) paramedics attended the scene.

In a tweet, the City of London Police said it had received reports of three stabbings and a person pushed to the floor at around 9.45am on Thursday and that "officers arrived at the scene at 9.51am."

The force said: "This... is not being treated as terror-related," and that the incident was a suspected robbery.

London Ambulance Service said its crews treated four patients, adding that three were taken to hospital and one discharged.

Footage on social media showed several emergency services vehicles near to the 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper, London's second tallest building.

Nickie Aiken, MP for the cities of London and Westminster, tweeted her concern about the incident and said she was in contact with City of London police for updates.

She added that her thoughts were with all those involved.

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2022-10-06 13:52:30Z
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Three people stabbed in suspected robbery near Liverpool Street station in central London - Sky News

Three people have been stabbed in a suspected robbery near Liverpool Street station in central London, police have said.

City of London Police officers and London Ambulance paramedics were both at the scene.

In a tweet, the City of London Police said it had received reports of three stabbings and a person pushed to the floor on Bishopsgate at 9.46am on Thursday.

Three victims were taken for treatment at a nearby hospital and officers have cordoned off the area.

A City of London Police statement said: "We received reports of three stabbings and a person pushed to the floor on Bishopsgate at 9.46am and officers arrived at the scene at 9.51am.

"Three victims were taken by LAS to a nearby hospital to be treated.

"This is an ongoing situation, but is not being treated as terror-related."

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Police say that the victims are being treated at a local hospital.

The force later added that the incident was being treated as a suspected robbery.

Sayeed Dukanwala, who owns a shop right next to the scene, saw the incident unfold.

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"I saw some guys running past my shop and shouting 'Oi oi oi,'" he said. "After a few minutes I saw a fight break out over there (at the scene) and people running away.

"Then some people came in and told me there was a stabbing. They said there was a man and a lady on the floor, and there was blood."

He went on to describe the area as "very unsafe" saying that he was assaulted with a bottle inside his shop last weekend.

"It's very scary," he added.

The London Ambulance Service also issued a statement saying: "We sent a number of resources - three ambulance crews, two adv paramedics, two incident response officers and our tactical response unit.

"Our crews treated four patients. Three were taken to hospital and one discharged."

Footage on social media showed several emergency services vehicles near to the 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper, London's second tallest building.

Later police could be seen standing guard along the 50 metre long cordon with medical kits visible on the ground behind the police tape.

Nickie Aiken MP for the cities of London and Westminster tweeted her concern about the incident and said she was in contact with City of London police for updates.

She added that her thoughts were with all those involved.

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2022-10-06 11:23:17Z
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Scotland's papers: Truss goes 'on attack' and nurses strike threat - BBC

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2022-10-06 07:05:11Z
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Nurses to vote on strike action in Royal College of Nursing's first ever UK-wide ballot - Sky News

Nurses are set to start casting their votes on whether to strike over pay in the first ever UK-wide ballot by the industry's largest union.

For the first time in its 106-year history, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will ask 300,000 of its members if they want to mount a campaign of industrial action.

It comes amid warnings that record numbers of nurses are leaving the profession.

The RCN said new analysis by London Economics has found that pay for nurses has declined at twice the rate of the private sector in the last decade, with their real-terms earnings falling by 6%.

The union wants nurses to be given a pay rise in line with the rate of inflation, which is currently 10.1%.

In July, the government awarded most NHS staff a pay rise of at least 4.5%, which it said gave many workers a £1,400 salary increase.

The RCN has been urging its members to vote in favour of industrial action, with the union's general secretary saying it is a "once-in-a-generation chance" to improve pay and combat staff shortages.

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"Governments have repeatedly neglected the NHS and the value of nursing. We can change this if together we say 'enough is enough'," said RCN Chief Executive Pat Cullen in a message to members.

"Record numbers are feeling no alternative but to quit, and patients pay a heavy price. We are doing this for them too.

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"It's clear we need urgent change. Nursing is the best job in the world. Protect it with your vote."

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Working in NHS 'absolutely terrible'

Public urged to co-sign letter to PM

Members of the public are also invited to get involved in the union's demands by co-signing a letter to Prime Minister Liz Truss.

The letter asks the government to "see sense" and "protect nursing to protect the public".

Read more:
What does the NHS need before winter?
'NHS broken beyond repair'
Medical students cutting back on food and heating

Polling carried out by YouGov has suggested two-thirds of the public would support nurses taking strike action, while three-quarters of respondents said there were too few nurses to provide safe NHS care.

The vote comes amid months of strike action from across several sectors, including rail staff, postal workers and refuse employees.

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2022-10-06 04:09:02Z
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Benefits: Who receives them and how much do they cost? - BBC

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Prime Minister Liz Truss's reluctance to raise benefits to match the rising cost of living is causing a rift within the Conservative Party. Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt says it "makes sense" to increase them in line with inflation.

So what are the main benefits and have they kept up with rising prices?

How much is spent on benefits?

In February, 22 million people were claiming some form of benefits, in England, Scotland and Wales.

In 2019-20, the year before the Covid pandemic, the government spent about £94bn on benefits.

In the same year, £99bn was spent on the state pension.

By comparison, the government spends almost £200bn per year on health and social care.

How much do benefits usually increase by?

Most working-age benefits usually increase every April, in line with the previous September's inflation rate.

But between 2016 and 2020, most benefit increases were frozen.

If the government decides against raising benefits in line with inflation next year, it could instead increase them by the same proportion as average wages.

But this would represent a cut compared with the rising cost of living - and not apply to non-means-tested disability benefits, which under current law must rise in line with prices. This includes Personal Independence Payment.

When it comes to the state pension, Ms Truss has indicated she will maintain the triple lock, which ensures an annual rise to keep up with the rising cost of living - of either 2.5%, the rate of any increase in average earnings, or inflation, whichever is highest.

• Liz Truss refuses to rule out real-terms benefit cuts
• What is inflation and why are living costs rising?

Universal credit

At £18.4bn, universal credit (UC) was the government's joint-highest benefit spend in 2019-20.

Claimed by 5.7 million people - about 41% of whom have jobs - UC is a monthly payment to help with living costs.

It was introduced to replace a number of existing benefits, including:

• child tax credit
• housing benefit
• income support
• income-based jobseeker's allowance

During the Covid pandemic, UC claimants received a temporary £20-a-week increase.

• What is universal credit and who qualifies for it?

Housing benefit

In 2019-20, £18.4bn was spent on housing benefit, which helps people pay their rent.

In May 2022, there were 1.5 million working-age recipients and 1.1 million of pension age.

Housing benefit is gradually being replaced by UC.

Disability allowances

The main allowances for disabled people are:

• £13.9bn - employment-and-support allowance (ESA), which helps with living costs
• 12.5bn - personal independence payment (PIP), which helps with daily living costs and getting around
• £7.2bn - disability living allowance (DLA), which is in the process of being replaced, by PIP in England and Wales and adult disability payment in Scotland
• £5.9bn - attendance allowance which helps with extra costs to cover carers

In February there were:

• 1.7 million people claiming ESA
• 3.8 million people claiming either PIP or DLA
• 1.5 million attendance allowance claimants

Child benefit

The government spent £11.1bn on child benefit in 2019-20.

Since 2013, claimants earning more than £50,000 gradually have the benefit reduced the more they earn.

At £60,000 and above, child benefit is fully withdrawn.

And that figure has not been adjusted to reflect rising prices since then, meaning it now affects many more people.

In August 2021, 7.1 million families were receiving child benefit.

Personal tax credits

Child tax credit and working tax credit are being replaced by UC.

In 2019-20, the government spent £17bn on them but that is expected to fall to £7.5bn this year.

Pension Credit

Separate from the state pension, pension credit helps people over state-pension age with low incomes with living costs, at a cost of £5bn in 2019-20.

More than 1.4 million people currently receive pension credit, although the government says there are significantly more eligible pensioners who do not claim.

How does UK benefit spending compare with other countries?

The UK spends 3.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) - the total value of goods and services produced in the country - on working-age benefits, according to the latest data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

In a number of European countries, this proportion is higher.

Belgium tops the OECD list, at 6.4%, followed by Norway and Finland.

"The UK has one of the least generous out-of-work benefits systems for workers on average earnings in the OECD," the Institute for Fiscal Studies says.

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2022-10-05 11:24:54Z
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Liz Truss's speech disrupted by Greenpeace protesters at Tory party conference — follow latest - The Times

Liz Truss has said she is determined to “step up” and lead Britain through the “tempest” as she sought to revive her faltering leadership in her speech to the Conservative Party conference.

The new prime minister told party members in Birmingham: “In these tough times we need to step up. I’m determined to get Britain moving, to get us through the tempest, and to put us on a stronger footing as a nation.”

The country, she said, was dealing with a “global economic crisis caused by Covid, and by President Putin’s appalling war in Ukraine”. Britain was facing “stormy days”.

• Brace for more change, says Truss the disruptor
• Pedestrian, pained but delivered with aplomb — our writers’ verdicts on the speech

The protesters unfurled a banner during the speech and were hastily removed

TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS

After a

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2022-10-05 13:55:00Z
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