
Runnymede Borough Council to make £18k eco upgrades to offices
A Surrey council is washing its hands of paper towels in favour of electric hand driers for staff. Runnymede Borough Council will replace 22 hand towel dispensers at its Addlestone Civic Hall site on Station Road, Addlestone, with 18 standard driers to reduce "carbon and costs".Last year the authority spent £12,000 on paper towels but said the £18,000 spend on new driers would save money in the long run. The idea was initially raised in July 2024.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service , Councillor Isabel Mullins described the move as a "welcome idea from staff" and added that cost savings were "very much there". The existing system was described as producing "large amounts of unrecyclable waste".However, questions have been raised over why the authority was making the changes ahead of its potential dissolution. Devolution plans, which would merge some boroughs and districts within the county to create new unitary authorities, are due to take place in 2027.
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Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Every time Nigel Farage has fallen out with his colleagues
Nigel Farage's bust-up with Zia Yusuf is only the latest in a string of extraordinary sackings, resignations and break-ups in his political career. Mr Yusuf, the former Reform UK chairman, quit on Thursday following a disagreement over a Reform MP's call for a burka ban. But Mr Farage has fallen out with multiple senior figures in the party and its predecessors, Ukip and the Brexit Party. Godfrey Bloom Nigel Farage was forced to suspend the Ukip party whip from economist Godfrey Bloom after he described women at a party conference in 2013 as 'sluts'. Mr Bloom also hit journalist Michael Crick over the head with the conference brochure. Mr Farage, furious that one of his conference speeches had been overshadowed, said: 'We can't put up with it. We can't have any one individual, however fun or flamboyant or entertaining or amusing they are, we cannot have any one individual destroying Ukip's national conference and that is what he's done today.' Douglas Carswell Douglas Carswell was Ukip's first MP after defecting from the Conservatives in 2014. He won the Clacton seat twice for the party but soon fell out with Mr Farage, who accused him of trying to block efforts to put him in the House of Lords. The party leader branded Mr Carswell a 'Tory party posh boy' and accused him of trying to 'undermine everything we've stood for for a very long time'. Mr Carswell quit Ukip at the 2017 election to stand as an independent, but he lost to the Conservatives. Suzanne Evans Suzanne Evans was the most senior woman in Ukip but fell out with Mr Farage over his leadership style in 2015. She called for two of the Ukip leader's advisers to resign and praised Patrick O'Flynn, economy spokesman, after he accused Mr Farage of being 'snarling and aggressive'. Ms Evans later went on TV to say Mr Farage was seen as 'very divisive' – a move that saw her sacked and party officials told not to have any further contact with her. Diane James Diane James was elected leader of Ukip in 2016 after Mr Farage quit in the wake of the Brexit referendum victory. But within three weeks, he was back, after senior party figures refused to accept her as leader. The story of Mr Farage's role in Ms James' departure is not fully understood. Ben Habib After leaving Ukip in 2018, Mr Farage set up the Brexit Party, which campaigned for a final ending of ties with the EU, and later Reform UK. Its co-deputy leader was Ben Habib but he was sacked soon after last year's general election. He later quit Reform, saying Mr Farage needed to learn that the party 'should not be controlled by one man'. Asked what impact his departure would have, Mr Farage said: 'None whatsoever.' Rupert Lowe Businessman Rupert Lowe was one of five Reform MPs elected last year – but his ego clashed with that of Mr Farage. After he accused Mr Farage in an interview of acting like a 'messiah', Mr Lowe lost the party whip and was reported to police over allegations he had physically threatened Zia Yusuf, then party chairman. Mr Lowe said at the time: 'I am 67 years old, and I have a 67-year-long unblemished record with the law. These are false allegations, designed to maliciously smear my name and ruin my reputation after I dared to bruise [Nigel] Farage's ego.' A party source told The Telegraph: 'This is what happens when you mess with Nigel.'


Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: 'Love cheat' Navy chief Sir Ben Key's affair with junior female officer was 'exposed after her husband reported them to the MoD'
An affair involving the suspended head of the Royal Navy and a junior female officer was exposed by her husband, sources have revealed. Admiral Sir Ben Key, 59, was told to 'step back from all duties' last month over claims the married father of three had an affair with a female officer. At the time, allies of the former First Sea Lord claimed the allegation was part of a 'dirty tricks campaign' against Sir Ben following months of fierce in-fighting at the top of the Armed Forces. But now it has emerged the 'consensual' relationship came to light after the officer's non-serving husband filed a complaint with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), The Telegraph reported. It is understood the husband believed Sir Ben should be held accountable to the same standards as those beneath him. He stands accused of breaching regulations barring sexual relations between commanders and those below them in rank, while endangering the marriage of a comrade is also forbidden. A source said: 'The husband was upset, because this is a man who prides himself on his Christian values and how he was raised by missionaries – but was doing this with someone else's wife.' Sir Ben, who was formerly in the running to become the next Chief of the Defence Staff, now faces a misconduct probe. Admiral Sir Ben, pictured with his wife Elly, is the subject of a misconduct probe following a complaint to the Ministry of Defence about the affair It is the first time in the 500-year history of the Navy that its First Sea Lord has come under such scrutiny. Insiders understand that he had attempted to retire 'quietly' once the affair was exposed, but General Dame Sharon Nesmith, the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, and John Healey, the Defence Secretary, insisted on an investigation. Many female officers particularly are understood to have felt 'let down' by Sir Ben's double standards. The source said: 'The female naval workforce feels shockingly let down by his moral high stance and hypocrisy.' In March, Sir Ben appeared in Parliament to provide oral evidence on the treatment of women in the armed forces and commented on 'unwelcome sexual behaviours'. He told the defence select committee: 'We are absolutely determined to create a Royal Navy in which people are judged for their professional conduct, welcomed for the contribution that they make, and accepted for who they are. 'Behaviours that run counter to that will not be accepted, and particularly those around unwelcome sexual behaviours. 'We have removed people from the service, including those who have commanded, where we have discovered that their behaviours were not appropriate, or we have removed people from positions of responsibility before situations have got out of hand.' In March, Sir Ben appeared in Parliament to provide oral evidence on the treatment of women in the armed forces and commented on 'unwelcome sexual behaviours' Those close to Sir Ben previously told MoS that they were 'shocked' by the news of an affair. A senior Navy source said: 'Across the board he is very popular, very competent and the majority of the naval service are extremely shocked and really sad to see it potentially end like this.' Another insider added: 'He is a stand-up bloke and treats everyone well.' His wife Elly has previously told of the 'burden' being in the Navy can place on family members. Last week Sir Gwyn Jenkins became the first Royal Marine to be appointed as head of the service. An MoD spokesman said it would be inappropriate to comment while the investigation into the matter continues.


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
UK government signals it will not force tech firms to disclose how they train AI
Campaigners have accused ministers of lying to parliament and the creative industries after the government signalled it would not force AI companies to disclose how they train their models. Ministers are holding firm in a standoff with the House of Lords, which has called for artists to be offered immediate copyright protection against artificial intelligence companies. Peers voted by 221 to 116 on Wednesday to insist on an amendment to the data bill that would force AI firms to be transparent about what copyrighted material they use to train their models. In an amendment tabled on Friday, the government dismissed the Lords' request and reiterated its promise to publish an economic impact assessment and technical reports on the future of AI and copyright regulation. Beeban Kidron, the cross-bench peer and film director who has campaigned on behalf of the industry, said during Wednesday's debate that she would 'accept anything that the Commons does' after this week. 'I will not stand in front of your Lordships again and press our case,' she said. But the News Media Association (NMA), which represents publishers including the Guardian, said peers could table further amendments to the data bill when it returns to the Lords next Wednesday. Industry figures said the government was acting in bad faith by not addressing the Lords' concerns and called for it to make further amendments of its own before MPs vote on it on Tuesday. Kidron said: 'The government has repeatedly taken all protections for UK copyrights holders out of the data bill. In doing so they have shafted the creative industries, and they have proved willing to decimate the UK's second biggest industrial sector. They have lied to parliament, and they are lying to the sector.' She said the government's action 'adds another sector to the growing number that have an unbridgeable gap of trust with the government'. Owen Meredith, chief executive of the NMA, said: 'the government's refusal to listen to the strong view of the Lords … risks undermining the legislative process. 'There is still time for the government to do the right thing, and take transparency powers in this bill. This would be a key step towards rebuilding trust with a £126bn industry.' Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion The government's approach to copyright has drawn the ire of major creative artists and organisations including Paul McCartney, Kate Bush and the National Theatre, with Elton John describing the situation as an 'existential issue' this week. Opponents of the plans have warned that even if the attempts to insert clauses into the data bill fail, the government could be challenged in the courts over the proposed changes. The consultation on copyright changes, which is due to produce its findings before the end of the year, contains four options: to let AI companies use copyrighted work without permission, alongside an option for artists to 'opt out' of the process; to leave the situation unchanged; to require AI companies to seek licences for using copyrighted work; and to allow AI firms to use copyrighted work with no opt-out for creative companies and individuals. Kyle has said the copyright-waiver-plus-opt-out scenario is no longer the government's preferred option, but Kidron's amendments have attempted to head off that option by effectively requiring tech companies to seek licensing deals for any content that they use to train their AI models.