UK news archive

30.04.2004 The government must put in place transitional arrangements for asylum seekers being made homeless this weekend as a result of the accession of 10 new countries into the European Union, the Refugee Council has urged.

30.04.2004 The government looks set to miss one of its key recycling targets after new government figures published reveal that only 14.5 per cent of household waste in England was recycled in 2002/3. The Government's Waste Strategy 2000 for England and Wales set a target to recycle or compost at least 25 per cent of household waste by 2005.

29.04.2004 A Home Office minister has revealed that the number of children held in Dungavel and Oakington detention centres has risen from ten at the end of last year to 24.

29.04.2004 More than 280 UK charities – under the umbrella of British Overseas NGOs for Development (BOND) – have warned the government it risks falling behind leading EU donors on meeting internationally agreed targets on development aid.

28.04.2004 Nuclear submarine HMS Trafalgar should be brought back to port and withdrawn for urgent safety checks with all other Trafalgar and Swiftsure class “hunter killer” submarines, Greenpeace has warned the government. HMS Trafalgar is reportedly suffering up to 270 different safety defects.

28.04.2004 Tony Blair must do more to show he is serious about tackling climate change Friends of the Earth has said. He should start by ensuring that the government stands firm on setting tough caps on industrial emissions of carbon dioxide.

27.04.2004 Activists from Action for South Africa, the National Union of Students and UNISON will be lobbying parliament today to put pressure on the Treasury to urgently increase funding for the fight against AIDS in Africa.

26.04.2004 The UK government is in talks with its allies about how to cope with the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq - a move which may lead to an expansion of British troop deployment, Aljazeera reports.

26.04.2004 The legislation to introduce the first national identity card scheme for Britain for 50 years is to be introduced to parliament in the autumn and will be on the statute book before the general election, David Blunkett has predicted.

26.04.2004 Tribal peoples around the world are under threat if the UK government’s decision not to recognise collective human rights becomes official policy, Survival International has warned.

23.04.2004 Unemployment in the UK among black and Asian people is two and a half times greater than that of the white population, says the TUC, which is calling on the government to introduce extra measures to reverse this trend, including legally requiring all employers in the private and voluntary sectors to promote good race relations in their organisations.

23.04.2004 More than two-thirds of all MPs, including cabinet ministers, will be going back to the classroom to discuss the global education crisis with an estimated 150,000 children in 1,500 schools across the UK. The event is part of the Global Campaign for Education.

22.04.2004 The UK government is at risk of undermining its arms policy by pushing for the lifting of the EU arms embargo on Libya, Oxfam has said. The embargo lift is part of a package of measures designed to reward Libya for abandoning its WMD programmes.

22.04.2004 Risks of flooding are growing to "unacceptable levels" because of climate change with up to 4 million Britons facing the prospect of their homes being inundated, according to a report to be published today by the government.

21.04.2004 British American Tobacco has been slammed for its appalling health, environmental and development record in advance of its AGM on 21 April in a new report (pdf) published by Action on Smoking and Health, Christian Aid and Friends of the Earth. The report demands that the UK government should change the law to require companies and their directors to take account of social and environmental issues in all their activities.

20.04.2004 The government has backed down on its plan to begin deportations to Baghdad this month after nationwide protests by Iraqi asylum seekers. Home Office officials have told the Observer that the repatriation scheme, which could have affected thousands of Iraqi asylum seekers, has been put on hold.

19.04.2004 Tesco, Asda and Safeway are importing substantial amounts of organic food rather than buying from UK farmers, even when UK supplies are available, according to a survey by the Soil Association.

06.04.2004 Migratory British waterbirds are increasingly moving eastwards due to the effects of climate change, scientists at an international forum in Edinburgh claim. The Scotsman reports.