Author: Jessica Murray Social affairs correspondent

CommunitiesEnglandGrenfell Tower fireGrenfell Tower inquiryHousingLocal governmentLondonPoliticsSocial housingSocietyUK news

Director who oversaw Grenfell cost-cutting given senior council housing role

Fire survivors and bereaved urge Barnet Group to ‘reconsider’ appointment of Laura Johnson, who pushed for cheaper contractorGrenfell survivors and bereaved relatives have criticised the “outrageous decision” to hire a director who oversaw cost-cutting…

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BristolDepartment for EducationEducationPoliticsSchoolsSpecial educational needsUK news

‘Alarm bells were going off’: parents tell of ordeal at Send school closed down after abuse allegations

Annette and Kevin Maxwell say children with special needs have become moneymaking tool for private companiesAnnette and Kevin Maxwell were nervous about sending their son Jonah to a residential home for children with special educational needs and disab…

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Angela RaynerCommunitiesConstruction industryGreater LondonGrenfell Tower fireHousingLabourLeaseholdMoneyPropertySocietyUK news

Two years in limbo: the residents still paying mortgages on flats destroyed in east London fire

Spectrum Building leaseholders awaiting payouts after freeholder, Arinium, went bankrupt shortly after 2024 blazeSarah Williams vividly remembers the night in 2016 when she camped overnight in a car park to put down a deposit on a flat in the newly com…

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Domestic ViolenceEnglandFemicideLabourLawPolicePoliticsPrisons and probationSocietyUK criminal justiceUK newsViolence against women and girlsWales

More women will die if domestic abusers leave prison early, victim’s parents warn

Parents of Michaela Hall, whose partner killed her after he left prison in 2021, say Probation Service cannot cope with mass releaseMore women will die if ministers include domestic abusers in the early prison release scheme, the parents of a woman mur…

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