SAFEGUARDING arrangements at Blackburn Cathedral are “inadequate” and require immediate action, an independent audit has concluded. “There is a view that safeguarding is not being driven or influenced by a safeguarding professional but by the opinion of senior leadership,” the audit states. Interviews and a review of other material revealed that neither the part-time Cathedral Safeguarding Advisor nor the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer appears able to effectively challenge the Dean on safeguarding matters. It also recommends that consideration be given to establishing a dedicated safeguarding directorate responsible for the delivery of safeguarding across both the diocese and the cathedral. Its audit of the diocese is largely positive, identifying a “strong commitment to safeguarding” and a “genuine willingness to listen and learn”.

The second year is already shaping up to be just as challenging. On Tuesday, the Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent watchdog, said Britain’s public finances were in a “vulnerable position” after a series of major global economic shocks. Those include President Trump’s volatile trade policies as well as rising geopolitical conflict, which is increasing pressure on European governments to divert more of their budgets to military spending. Amid this instability, the British government is on a collision course with self-imposed limits on debt and deficits. Mr. Starmer and Ms. Reeves might have to address this by instituting policies that are likely to be unpopular among the public, or face the wrath of investors who are on edge about the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline.

Act now to keep your subscriptionWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.

A moment for moral reckoningMarketed as a golden gateway to opportunity, the UK’s Skilled Worker visa route was designed to attract global talent to bridge labour shortages in critical sectors. At its core, the Skilled Worker visa ties employees to a single employer, a framework that breeds dependency and weakens the bargaining power of migrants. The promise of a better life is too often exchanged for exhaustion, low pay, and poor housing.Instead of integration and growth, many skilled workers face isolation and stagnation. For many, debt incurred to secure the job adds to the emotional and financial toll.The current Skilled Worker visa framework is in urgent need of recalibration. Here’s what a more humane, functional system should prioritise:The UK’s need for foreign workers is undeniable.

In a new list published by The Times on June 30, Brickell’s Scoop Hut, Bath was named one of the best ice cream shops in the UK. A spokesperson for The Times said: “If you love ice cream, you’ll surely have bought a tub of Somerset’s famous all-natural ice cream from Brickell’s. The base of their ice cream consists of milk from their family farm Westcombe Dairy, fresh double cream from Gloustershire, free range egg yolk from Clarence Court and British beet sugar. Next to their production site, in Westcombe, Somerset, the Brickell’s team have also been restoring their 1-acre Georgian kitchen garden and have put down over 50 new mint plants for new seasonal flavours. A spokesperson for The Times said: “Everyone knows the best way to finish a day by the seaside, or an afternoon picnic is with an ice cream.

Act now to keep your subscriptionWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.

When Hide opened in London’s exclusive Mayfair district in 2018, the restaurant made headlines for its twisting bespoke timber staircase, its lavish wine menu and its rapidly won Michelin star. Last year, it drew attention for another reason. A group of small-time criminals in Britain were directed by Russian operatives to kidnap Hide’s Russian owner, Yevgeny Chichvarkin — a vocal critic of President Vladimir V. Putin — and to burn the restaurant and a linked wine shop to the ground. The men were arrested before they carried out those orders, but not before they had completed a separate mission: setting fire to a Ukrainian-owned warehouse in East London in March 2024. Thousands of messages discovered by the police after the group’s arrest, and made public during a monthlong trial at the Old Bailey courthouse in London, provide extraordinary insight into the workings of Russian operatives paying criminal gangs to conduct espionage and sabotage operations in Europe.

Independent retailers protesting outside News UK’s Glasgow office over retail margin cutsIndependent news retailers gathered this morning (Wednesday, July 9) outside News UK’s Glasgow office to protest about the newspaper publisher’s plan to raise the cover prices on The Times and Sun but cut the retail percentage margin. From Monday, July 14, the price of UK weekday editions of the Times will increase to £3.20. However, the new retail margin paid for each copy sold will not take effect until January 2026 and, even then, will drop 1 per cent. The protest, organised by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed), stems from the Fed’s belief that the cuts could lead to more stores delisting its products and cutting off customers from newspapers. Independent retailers are operating under intense financial pressures.

As return visitors to Florida, we save thousands on our family trip every year with these clever holiday hacks. People don’t believe our last trip to Florida cost me £268 per person for return flights and car rental for seven days. Melbourne airport is on the Atlantic coast of Florida, just below Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach, where you can find the NASA Space Facility and Kennedy Space Center. The rest of the week was spent exploring the coast, playing on the beach and watching surfers ride the waves at Cocoa Beach. Plus, our Florida trip felt like a little adventure.

The highlight of a tennis fan’s summer is here, with the 138th edition of Wimbledon now into the second week. Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his title at SW19 last year after beating rival Novak Djokovic in straight sets on Centre Court. In the women’s singles, No.31 seed Barbora Krejcíkova beat Jasmine Paolini to surprisingly win her first title at Wimbledon last year. Wimbledon 2025: Dates and start timesWimbledon began on Monday, June 30. 4 Alcaraz is now aiming for a third-straight Wimbledon title Credit: AFPWimbledon 2025: How to followThe entirety of Wimbledon is being broadcast free-to-air on the BBC.

Somerset ice cream shop named one of the best in the UK by The TimesTHE Times have released a new list of the 41 best ice cream places in the UK with a “famous” Somerset ice cream parlour being named in the top twenty. In a new list published by The Times on June 30, Brickell’s Scoop Hut, Bath was named one of the best ice cream shops in the UK. A spokesperson for The Times said: “If you love ice cream, you’ll surely have bought a tub of Somerset’s famous all-natural ice cream from Brickell’s. The base of their ice cream consists of milk from their family farm Westcombe Dairy, fresh double cream from Gloustershire, free range egg yolk from Clarence Court and British beet sugar. A spokesperson for The Times said: “Everyone knows the best way to finish a day by the seaside, or an afternoon picnic is with an ice cream.

Act now to keep your subscriptionWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.

Act now to keep your subscriptionWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.

Act now to keep your subscriptionWe've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.

THE Episcopal diocese of West Texas has set up an emergency fund to support flood-relief efforts in Kerr County, where 27 children and counsellors at a long-established Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadeloupe River are confirmed to have died in flash floods on Sunday. Around 750 girls were evacuated from Camp Mystic as the floods hit with a force that saw the river rise 22 feet in 45 minutes. “As a parent and long-time camp counsellor, I grieve especially with the parents and camp communities now facing unfathomable loss,” the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Revd Sean Rowe, told the Episcopal News Service (ENS). The executive director of Episcopal Camps and Conference Centres, Jess Elfring-Roberts, told ENS: “We are profoundly aware that in our community, camp is family. The death toll on Wednesday was estimated to have risen to more than 110, with 173 still missing.