Ministers put surrogacy reforms on back burner
Children born through surrogacy urgently need 'better and clearer laws', lawyers say as they criticise ministers for shelving much-needed reforming legislation.
The UK permits 'altruistic', as opposed to 'commercial', surrogacy — but the arrangements are unenforceable and critics argue that the continued uncertainty created by the law will drive more couples abroad to unregulated companies that exploit women in poverty.
Surrogacy — where a woman bears a child on behalf of another person — has become more common over the past decade, as the age of women at childbirth increases and same-sex couples want children. Last year there were 592 applications for parental orders for children born to surrogate mothers, up almost 25 per cent from 2014. The number of applications regarding children born abroad
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
English court bars jailed Russian tycoon from appealing in Transneft case
MOSCOW, June 5 (Reuters) - The English Court of Appeal has refused jailed Russian tycoon Ziyavudin Magomedov permission to appeal against a decision that threw out his $14 billion lawsuit against Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft and other firms, the company said. Magomedov sued the company and several others at London's High Court, alleging his 2018 arrest on embezzlement charges prompted a Russian state-supported scheme to strip him of his holdings in valuable port operators. In January, Transneft, as well as U.S. private equity firm TPG (TPG.O), opens new tab and other companies, won their bid to block Magomedov's London lawsuit. Transneft said late on Wednesday that the English Court of Appeal denied Magomedov permission to appeal the ruling. "It is clear from the English process that there are massive losses which Mr Magomedov has suffered as a result of wrongdoing against him. He will continue to seek justice and a fair outcome wherever he can," a spokesperson for Magomedov said. Magomedov once controlled an empire ranging from port logistics to oil and gas through his Summa Group conglomerate, which he founded with his brother Magomed. But the brothers were arrested on embezzlement and organised crime charges in one of the most high-profile prosecutions of its kind in years. Magomedov was sentenced to 19 years in jail in 2022. He says the charges against him are unfounded and unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction.
Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Should you invest in care villages that pay YOU an income? Belong's social bonds promise a 7.5% return
Care village operator Belong has issued a second 'social bond', this time offering investors the chance to earn a 7.5 per cent income. The charity runs eight communities for elderly residents, two thirds of whom have dementia, and has a new one under construction. It plans to buy up its last bonds and use any surplus generated in the new bond issue for charitable activities, including building more villages. Belong is giving holders of its older bonds, issued in 2018 with a 4.5 per cent return, the option of exchanging them for its new one, as well as seeking new investors. Although 7.5 per cent-plus is a much better rate than you can get from a savings account, people should always tread with care when buying debt via bonds like this. That is because the money you make back depends on the issuer - whether a charity or a business - being able to pay you back. A retail bond or a mini-bond from a business, or a social bond like Belong's, is an investment only for those willing to take a risk and do their research on the issuer's financial strength - find out how below. Individual investors can also buy bonds known as 'gilts' from the UK government - which has never defaulted - or spread their risk in a bond fund rather than lending to a single borrower. Last month, the Treasury issued a new gilt paying investors 5.375 per cent interest until January 2056. Belong's bond will be tradeable on the London London Stock Exchange's Orb market. Bonds which can be traded on Orb allow investors to make money early if you sell when they trade higher than the offer price, but you can also lose if the price is lower. The Orb market offers an exit route for investors who want to get out. This differentiates Belong's bond from 'mini-bonds', which must be held to maturity and have fallen out of favour after a series of scandals. But all standalone bonds, including ones from charities like Belong which want money for a good cause, have always come with serious risk warnings, including from This is Money whenever we write about them. - Unlike with a savings account, you are not protected by the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which guards against losses of up to £85,000. - The varying interest rates on retail bonds and mini-bonds reflect the amount of risk attached to them - generally speaking, the higher the rate on offer, the higher the risk. - You should beware of putting too much of your money into one or just a handful of bonds. - It's worth considering a corporate bond fund, which will lend to large firms and spread your risk. - Bonds held in an Isa can deliver tax-free income, but investors should investigate the potential tax liabilities on individual investments. Scroll down to find a checklist on how to research the prospects of individual bonds. What do you need to know about the new Belong bond Belong runs villages with a mixture of accommodation, community and hospitality venues, which serve more than 1,000 people across north east England. They include a children's nursery, and a village centre open to the public, plus a full range of care and nursing facilities to look after people until they die. Belong says: 'The model is a positive evolution on traditional, clinical and institutional care settings, instead promoting wellbeing through homely, smaller group living arrangements, surrounded by amenities.' Some 65 per cent of its customers are private self-funders, with the rest funded by local authorities and the NHS, and the occupancy rate is 96 per cent. The charity says it has almost doubled revenues over the past five years to £51million. The last bond issued in 2018 with a 4.5 per cent return raised £50million, and matures in 2026. Its latest bond requires a minimum investment of £500, and purchases of at least £100 a time thereafter. The issue price is 98 per cent, which means for the minimum investment of £500 you pay £490, and for each further £100 you pay £98 (not including broker fees). This means that if you hold the bonds to maturity, and you get your capital back, the return on investment or 'yield' would be 7.99 per cent rather than the headline 7.5 per cent rate. Holders of the previous bonds can sell them for £98 per £100, and buy the new ones at £98 per £100, allowing them to switch without investing any more cash. The first interest payment - or coupon - is due in January 2026, and bi-annually after that. The bond is expected to mature in July 2030, though the final legal maturity date is in July 2032. The official purchase deadline is 30 June, and the new bond is expected to start trading on London's Orb market on or around 8 July. If you are considering investing, you should read Belong's prospectus here. What to check before buying social, retail and mini-bonds * Any investor buying individual shares or bonds would be wise to learn the basics of reading a balance sheet. When looking at bonds, research all recent reports and accounts from the issuer thoroughly. You can find official stock market announcements including company results here. * Check the cash flow is healthy and consistent. Also look at the interest cover - the ratio which shows how easily a firm will be able to meet interest repayments on its debt. This is calculated by dividing earnings before interest and taxes (known as EBIT) by what it spends on paying interest. Read our guide to doing investment sums like this here. * It is very important to find out what the bond debt is secured against, and where you would stand in the queue of creditors if the issuer went bust. This should be included in the details of the bond offer but contact the issuer direct if it is unclear. * Consider whether to spread your risk by buying a bond fund, rather than tying up your money with just one company or organisation. * Inexperienced investors who are unsure about how retail or mini-bonds bonds work or their potential tax liabilities should seek independent financial advice. * If the interest rate is what attracts you to the bond, weigh up whether it is truly worth the risk involved. Generally speaking, the higher the rate on offer, the higher the risk. * If the issuer is a listed company, before you decide whether to buy it is worth checking the dividend yield on the shares to see how it compares with the return on the bond. Share prices, charts and dividend yields can be found here.
Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Conspiracy theorists share bizarre claims over Meghan Markle's twerking video saying baby bump is FAKE and it wasn't filmed inside hospital
Social media conspiracy theorists have weaponised Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's twerking hospital video to spread wild and groundless speculation that she wasn't pregnant at all and was wearing a 'moonbump '. A group of Twitter critics of the Sussexes have even made the extraordinary claim that the dancing video was faked and made on a film set - or could be AI-generated. Meghan Markle yesterday posted a video of her and Prince Harry twerking in a hospital room in an attempt to induce Lilibet's birth. The Duchess of Sussex shared the throwback clip on her Instagram to mark her daughter's fourth birthday saying 'there was only one thing left to do' when the princess was overdue and spicy food, walking and acupuncture failed to kickstart labour. But conspiracy theorists have pored over the film in order to make wild and even unhinged claims about her including that her pregnancy was faked and she wore a prosthetic fake pregnant belly known as a 'moonbump'. Several claimed, without credible evidence, that her bump was too high or the wrong shape to be real. Others said her ability to dance that way at nine months meant she was either 'superhuman' or not pregnant at all. Others have sought to back the incredible and baseless claim that the Sussexes used a surrogate by claiming the equipment in the background suggested it was not on a labour ward. Trolls have also claimed that Meghan would have been wearing a gown and would have had her jewellery removed. Others have questioned why she wasn't hooked up to an IV drip containing induction medication. One person claiming to be a nurse said that she should have had a canula in her hand. Another alleged that she would not have one fitted while in her own clothes. Some Twitter users crudely marked the pictures with what they considered inaccuracies, using child-like scribbles. MailOnline has asked a spokesman for the Sussexes to comment. The video has sparked baseless claims on social media that it was faked The video has sparked a social media frenzy. In it, Harry is seen coming into view of the camera as Starrkeisha's viral Baby Mama song begins to play. A heavily pregnant Meghan then starts twerking in front of a hospital bed before she gyrates around the room. 'Four years ago today, this also happened. Both of our children were a week past their due dates… so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn't work - there was only one thing left to do!,' Meghan wrote on her Instagram. The Baby Mama dance was a social media craze in 2018 with celebs Shay Mitchell, and Chloe and Lauryn Goodman all previously posting videos of themselves taking part in the trend. Meghan had earlier shared two previously unseen photos of Lilibet with Harry. One of the pictures showed the Duke of Sussex holding his daughter's hand as they walked along a sandy road barefoot in the sunshine, while he held his shoes and a cap. The other image was of Harry holding Lilibet as a baby while they looked at each other. Meghan wrote in a post accompanying the pictures: 'The sweetest bond to watch unfold. Daddy's little girl and favorite adventurer. Happy birthday Lili!' The post was made at 7.40am California time (3.40pm UK), just under eight hours after Meghan earlier posted two other intimate family photos of her with Lilibet. In that post, the Duchess shared a black-and-white snap of herself cuddling Lili, who was sat on her lap, with the pair both sporting windswept hair, seemingly on a boat. The second image in the first post showed Meghan tenderly cradling newborn Lilibet as she enjoyed skin-to-skin time with the new addition to her family in 2021. Meghan wrote in the first post: 'Happy birthday to our beautiful girl! Four years ago today she came into our lives - and each day is brighter and better because of it. 'Thanks to all of those sending love and celebrating her special day!' The duchess usually only shares photos of her daughter pictured from behind to protect her privacy. But in the more recent photo, Lili's eyes and the top half of her face could be seen, with her nose and mouth and the rest of her face covered by Meghan's arms as she hugged the princess. Lili - the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's youngest child - was born on June 4 2021 and was named Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. She only became entitled to be a princess when her grandfather the King acceded to the throne, because of rules set out by King George V in 1917. Harry and Meghan started using prince and princess for Archie and Lili after the princess's christening in 2023, following correspondence with Charles about the matter. Yesterday, Meghan expressed her dream of launching a future business with Lili as she chatted to Beyonce's mother Tina Knowles on her podcast. 'I wonder if one day I'll be in business with Lili and we'll be building something,' the duchess said, with Knowles adding: 'That's the best.' Last week, the Duchess shared a clip of her and her daughter beekeeping in matching protective suits, writing: 'Harvesting honey with my little honey. (Like mother, like daughter; she's even wearing my gloves).' Lilibet is named after her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. Princess Elizabeth had difficultly pronouncing her own name as a toddler and her grandfather George V would affectionately call her Lilibet, imitating her own attempts to say Elizabeth. The sweet nickname stuck and she became known as Lilibet to her family from then on. But the late Queen was reportedly 'as angry as I'd ever seen her ' after Harry and Meghan claimed they had her blessing to use the name for their daughter Lilibet, a royal aide said. Royal author Robert Hardman, in his biography of the King, told how a member of staff recounted Elizabeth II's fury following Harry and Meghan's announcement in 2021 over the use of her childhood family nickname. The BBC later reported a Palace source said the Queen was not asked by the Sussexes whether they could use Lilibet. But the Sussexes' lawyers fired off legal letters to the broadcaster and other publishers, saying the claim was false and defamatory. A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan insisted at the time that the duke spoke to his grandmother in advance and would not have used the name had the monarch not been supportive. Hardman wrote however: 'One privately recalled that Elizabeth II had been 'as angry as I'd ever seen her' in 2021 after the Sussexes announced that she had given them her blessing to call their baby daughter 'Lilibet', the Queen's childhood nickname.'
