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Brigitte Macron: Schoolteacher to France's first lady

Brigitte Macron: Schoolteacher to France's first lady

Sky News4 days ago

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Emmanuel Macron has played down a video of him being pushed in the face by his wife Brigitte, as the couple prepared to leave their plane to begin their tour of South East Asia.
The French president said he was just joking with the first lady and the incident was "nothing". But the footage has put the pair and their relationship in the global spotlight.
In today's episode, Niall Paterson talks to France 24's international affairs editor, Philip Turle, about who Brigitte Macron is, how the couple are viewed in France and the online rumours that have dogged them.

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Rail firms taking ‘disproportionate action' against passengers over ticket rules
Rail firms taking ‘disproportionate action' against passengers over ticket rules

The Independent

time44 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Rail firms taking ‘disproportionate action' against passengers over ticket rules

Train operators are taking 'disproportionate action' against passengers who do not hold a valid ticket, according to an inquiry which criticised Britain's 'complex' fares system. The regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), published a report that found travellers face 'inconsistent treatment and outcomes' for similar ticketing issues across the railway. It was commissioned by then-transport secretary Louise Haigh in November last year to review how the industry handles revenue protection and fare evasion, after cases where passengers were being prosecuted over small amounts of money were highlighted in the media. The ORR noted one case where a passenger was threatened with prosecution for accidentally selecting a 16-25 railcard discount when they held a 26-30 railcard, which provides the same discount. The case was eventually dropped after their MP became involved. The ORR found there are 'a range of circumstances' in which passengers may innocently travel without a valid ticket, such as forgetting their railcard or simply making a mistake. But the regulator warned the same reasons can be used by passengers who 'deliberately choose' to underpay or avoid their fare, and it can to difficult for rail staff to determine their intent and decide how to handle the situation. The report stated: 'Making this more challenging is the railway's complex fares and ticketing framework. 'This has grown more complicated over time.' The inquiry found that rail staff described how 'fare evasion is becoming normalised among certain passenger groups', and it is becoming 'increasingly more challenging to tackle'. The ORR noted that under railway byelaws, it is an offence not to be able to present a valid ticket for a journey, regardless of the passenger's intent, which means 'disproportionate action can end up being taken against some passengers'. The inquiry made a series of recommendations to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and the Department for Transport, such as ensuring passengers have 'clearer information' about tickets, and creating consistency in how passengers are treated when ticket issues arise, particularly in relation to prosecutions. ORR director of strategy, policy and reform Stephanie Tobyn said: 'Effective revenue protection is essential for a sustainable railway, but it must be fair and proportionate for passengers. 'Our recommendations aim to protect both industry revenue and support passenger confidence. 'Our evidence shows a system that has evolved over time where the legal framework and enforcement processes are increasingly complex and appear weighted towards industry, leaving some passengers who make innocent errors vulnerable to disproportionate outcomes. 'But meanwhile, fare evasion remains a significant problem, and rigorous action should be taken against those who intentionally seek to defraud the railway.' Rail minister Lord Hendy said: 'This report shows that decades of failed privatisation have created a mess of deep-rooted issues across our railways, which have been left unchallenged and are now causing chaos and frustration for passengers. 'Through the creation of Great British Railways, we're bringing operators together to establish oversight and better standardise practices, putting an end to inconsistent prosecutions and making sure passengers are treated fairly. 'Deliberate fare-dodging costs the taxpayer up to £400 million annually – money which could be better spent on improving passenger experience – and must be dealt with, but ham-fisted prosecutions that punish people who have made an innocent mistake is not the way to do this. 'We will look at this report in detail and set out what we'll be doing to address the issues raised in due course.' A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators, said it welcomed the ORR's 'sensible recommendations'. She continued: 'The rail industry will work on implementing the recommendations in line with our plans to create a simpler, better-value fares system. 'We need to strike the right balance addressing genuine, honest mistakes made by customers and taking firm action against those who deliberately and persistently seek to exploit the system.' Last week, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick posted a widely-viewed video on social media in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at Stratford station in east London.

UK's most hazardous building still leaking radioactive water, MPs warn
UK's most hazardous building still leaking radioactive water, MPs warn

The Independent

time44 minutes ago

  • The Independent

UK's most hazardous building still leaking radioactive water, MPs warn

Britain's most hazardous building could leak radioactive water until the 2050s as clean-up operations at Sellafield struggle to progress quickly enough, MPs have warned. In a report published on Wednesday, the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticised the speed of decommissioning work at the former nuclear power plant, citing examples of 'failure, cost overruns and continuing safety concerns'. Although the committee noted there were 'signs of improvement', PAC chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said Sellafield continued to present 'intolerable risks'. He said: 'As with the fight against climate change, the sheer scale of the hundred-year timeframe of the decommissioning project makes it hard to grasp the immediacy of safety hazards and cost overruns that delays can have. 'Every day at Sellafield is a race against time to complete works before buildings reach the end of their life. Our report contains too many signs that this is a race that Sellafield risks losing.' The PAC said those risks were underlined by the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS), which the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) described to the committee as 'the most hazardous building in the UK'. The MSSS has been leaking radioactive water into the ground since 2018, releasing enough water to fill an Olympic swimming pool every three years, and is likely to continue leaking until the oldest section of the building has been emptied in the 2050s, around a decade later than previously expected. Pointing to the fact that Sellafield Ltd had missed most of its annual targets for retrieving waste from buildings, including the MSSS, the committee warned: 'The consequence of this underperformance is that the buildings are likely to remain extremely hazardous for longer.' The NDA has acknowledged that the leak is its 'single biggest environmental issue', and a spokeswoman said managing it and retrieving waste from the MSSS was 'our highest priority'. She added: 'As the report says, the leak in the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo is contained and does not pose a risk to the public. Regulators accept that the current plan to tackle the leak is the most effective one.' Sir Geoffrey said: 'It is of vital importance that the Government grasp the daily urgency of the work taking place at Sellafield, and shed any sense of a far-off date of completion for which no-one currently living is responsible. 'Sellafield's risks and challenges are those of the present day. 'There are some early indications of some improvement in Sellafield's delivery, which our report notes. Government must do far more to hold all involved immediately accountable to ensure these do not represent a false dawn, and to better safeguard both the public purse and the public itself.' Sellafield ceased generating electricity in 2003 and, in addition to work cleaning up the site, now processes and stores nuclear waste from power plants around the UK. In the longer term, the Government plans to create an underground geological disposal facility (GDF) to store nuclear waste for the thousands of years it will take to become safe. But the committee said delays in creating the GDF, which is now not expected to be done until the late 2050s, meant more costs for Sellafield as it required more storage facilities. NDA chief executive David Peattie said he welcomed the PAC's scrutiny and would consider how best to address its recommendations. He said: 'We take the findings seriously and the safety of the site and the wellbeing of our people will always be our highest priorities. 'As the committee has noted, Sellafield is the most complex and challenging nuclear site in the UK. We are pleased they recognise improvements in delivering major projects and that we are safely retrieving waste from all four highest hazard facilities. 'With the support of our employees, their representatives, community and stakeholders, we remain committed to driving forward improved performance and continuing to deliver our nationally important mission safely, securely and sustainably.' As well as criticising delays in clean-up operations and calling for an overhaul of how the site functions, the PAC expressed concern that there was a 'sub-optimal culture' at Sellafield. The committee pointed to the 16 non-disclosure agreements signed by Sellafield Ltd in the last 16 years, and called on the NDA to publish information about the prevalence and perception of bullying in its annual report. The NDA spokeswoman said: 'We're committed to an open and respectful culture and we've taken decisive action to enable this, including strengthening our whistleblowing policy. 'Evidence shows the improvements are working and the report acknowledges the improvement in staff survey results over recent years, but we are never complacent and will continue to strive to ensure the NDA group is a place where everyone feels respected and empowered to raise issues, knowing that they will be acted upon appropriately. 'As the report notes, it is one of the conditions of Sellafield's nuclear site licence to have a robust process for reporting safety issues and the independent nuclear regulator has given the site a green rating of compliance.' A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: 'We expect the highest standards of safety and security as former nuclear sites are dismantled, and the regulator is clear that public safety is not compromised at Sellafield. 'We continue to support the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in its oversight of Sellafield, while driving value for money. 'This is underpinned by monthly performance reviews and increased responsibility for overseeing major project performance, enabling more direct scrutiny and intervention. 'We have zero tolerance of bullying, harassment and offensive behaviour in the workplace – we expect Sellafield and the NDA to operate on this basis, investigate allegations and take robust action when needed.'

Government would struggle to cope with severe animal disease outbreak
Government would struggle to cope with severe animal disease outbreak

The Independent

time44 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Government would struggle to cope with severe animal disease outbreak

The Government is not properly prepared for the growing risk from animal diseases and would struggle to cope with a major outbreak, the spending watchdog has warned. Animal diseases such as bird flu, bluetongue and African swine fever can pose serious threats to England's farming sector, food security, human health and wildlife, and costs associated with an outbreak can spiral into the billions of pounds, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. The 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth cost an estimated £13.8 billion in today's prices, with farming businesses devastated, thousands of animals slaughtered and the countryside shut to recreation and tourism. And 7.2 million birds have been culled in avian flu outbreaks since 2020, which have also devasted wild seabird colonies across the UK. But while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has worked hard to tackle recent outbreaks, the NAO said it is likely the public bodies would struggle with a more severe outbreak or concurrent serious outbreaks. A report from the NAO warned that long-term resilience to disease in livestock was being undermined by officials having to focus on increasingly frequent outbreaks – and there was no long-term strategy for improving the situation. There are significant gaps in contingency plans for outbreaks, and plans for specific diseases have not been updated with the latest findings, with its strategy for coping with foot and mouth disease not updated since 2011. Just 5% of live animal imports are undergoing physical checks, all taking place at the final customer destination, against a target of 100% checks at border control, raising the risk of 'exotic' diseases arriving from abroad. A fifth of vet roles are vacant at the APHA, and there is a 'very high' risk of site failure at the Government's key animal science lab at Weybridge, the report said. The report said that while a £2.8 billion redevelopment programme at Weybridge was now on track, the main new laboratory facilities will not be delivered for another 10 years. The report found Defra thought there was a 'very high' risk of an outbreak to which it would be unable to respond effectively, but it lacks a long-term strategy and action plan for improving resilience to animal disease, and many of its activities are reactive rather than part of a coherent plan. A comprehensive livestock movement tracing system – crucial once infection is detected – is lacking, with the costs of an upgraded scheme now estimated at £563 million amid concerns over delivering it in the face of rising costs and funding constraints, while there are also issues with vaccine supplies. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: 'Defra has assessed that the risk of an outbreak to which it would be unable to respond effectively is above the level it considers tolerable, but it has not determined a way to reduce this risk. 'A long-term strategy and action plan are urgently needed, to protect national economic resilience as well as food security, human health and rural communities.' Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the parliamentary Committee of Public Accounts, said: 'Despite some good work to identify new threats, Government's preparations for a future major outbreak are being hampered by a lack of capacity, skills and long-term strategy. 'Government's failure to carry out checks on animal imports is also threatening biosecurity at the border. 'Resilience to a severe outbreak has not been tested in recent years, but the threat remains ever increasing as our livestock become more susceptible to disease. 'Without changes to the current operating system, there is a very real risk that Government would not be able to respond effectively.' Biosecurity Minister Baroness Hayman said: 'This Government's commitment to maintaining the country's biosecurity in the face of the mounting risks of disease is unwavering – we will do whatever it takes to protect our farmers and economy. 'We took immediate action to ban personal imports of meat and dairy from Europe after a wave of foot and mouth cases on the continent and, after years of underinvestment, we are investing £200 million into a new National Biosecurity Centre.'

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