UK news archive

30.11.2004 The Soil Association has reported a 10% increase in organic food sales in the UK over the last year. The fastest growing sector is poultry.

30.11.2004 The government has introduced new legislation to get tough with illegal ivory traders. But police cannot make arrests until the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) finds time to produce the appropriate regulations.

29.11.2004 As newspapers launch their Christmas Charity appeals, the Department for International Development has published The Rough Guide to a Better World, providing useful ideas for UK citizens who want to be proactive in the fight against world poverty, all year around.

29.11.2004 Gordon Brown is rumoured to be abandoning an increase in fuel tax announced only 8 months ago, such is the electoral power of the motorist lobby. This new call for higher taxes on 4X4 vehicles may be optimistic.

26.11.2004 With gaps emerging in UK energy needs and in greenhouse gas emission commitments, there are inevitable signs of life from the pro-nuclear lobby. But of course nothing too forceful until after the election.

26.11.2004 Even the Financial Times concedes today that big business has "had a good run in the past few months of campaigns to influence government proposals". In this latest example of corporate reporting, Friends of the Earth suggests that the DTI has "cut and paste" the regulations from the CBI website.

25.11.2004 As UK mainstream media continues to downplay environmental issues, the Guardian has deservedly gained recognition in the British Environment and Media Awards announced yesterday

24.11.2004 The Queen's Speech confirms government plans to merge existing discrimination bodies into a single Commission for Equality and Human Rights. Black groups remain concerned about the loss of independence of the Commission for Racial Equality.

23.11.2004 VAT charged for using energy in the home is 5%; the rate for saving energy through domestic purchases is 17.5%. Can a rational man like Gordon Brown live with a legacy of such fiscal nonsense? The pre-budget statement on December 2nd may be his last chance.

22.11.2004 A substantial majority of Muslims in the UK have no problem in practising Islam and being a good British Citizen at the same time. If only the general public understood this.

19.11.2004 Scotland has wind and waves in plenty. Does this mean leadership on renewables and climate change? A mixed picture says Friends of the Earth Scotland.

18.11.2004 A Guardian health report on sexually transmitted infections in the UK echoes similar reports from developing countries. Inadequate education of young people, underfunded treatment clinics, and sharply rising rates of infection.

17.11.2004 Health Secretary Dr John Reid and CRE chairman Trevor Phillips are both reluctant to speak of "institutional racism", concerned that senior management can deny responsibility for abstract concepts of organisational culture. Private sector directors might find this surprising.

16.11.2004 A new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation highlights the low conviction rate for child sex offenders. Criminal checks therefore provide inadequate protection for children.
From: Joseph Rowntree Foundation

15.11.2004 Remember the 2002 scandal when the government refurbished Whitehall offices with timber purchased from unsustainable forests? It has taken over two years to tighten up the regulations.

12.11.2004 The Environment Minister has failed a random blood test for banned chemicals conducted by WWF. Fuelled by a cocktail of 33 industrial pollutants including DDT residues, Alun Michael will find consolation only in that his European colleagues are in even worse condition.

12.11.2004 The Metropolitan Police have cleared the 7 officers involved in the death of Roger Sylvester without waiting for the verdict of a judicial review into the case.

11.11.2004 2007 marks the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery in the UK. The government shows little enthusiasm for the lessons of history.

10.11.2004 Alan Milburn, architect of Labour's election strategy, sets his sights on universal childcare to restore the government's flagging dream of a classless society

09.11.2004 The northeast rejects the idea of greater regional powers. The southeast protests that housing plans are imposed by central government. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott juggles with his hot potato.