UK British News Megathread - aka CWCissey's news thread

  • Want to keep track of this thread?
    Accounts can bookmark posts, watch threads for updates, and jump back to where you stopped reading.
    Create account
https://news.sky.com/story/row-over-new-greggs-vegan-sausage-rolls-heats-up-11597679 (https://archive.ph/5Ba6o)

A heated row has broken out over a move by Britain's largest bakery chain to launch a vegan sausage roll.

The pastry, which is filled with a meat substitute and encased in 96 pastry layers, is available in 950 Greggs stores across the country.

It was promised after 20,000 people signed a petition calling for the snack to be launched to accommodate plant-based diet eaters.


But the vegan sausage roll's launch has been greeted by a mixed reaction: Some consumers welcomed it, while others voiced their objections.

View image on Twitter


spread happiness@p4leandp1nk
https://twitter.com/p4leandp1nk/status/1080767496569974785

#VEGANsausageroll thanks Greggs
2764.png


7
10:07 AM - Jan 3, 2019
See spread happiness's other Tweets
Twitter Ads info and privacy


Cook and food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe declared she was "frantically googling to see what time my nearest opens tomorrow morning because I will be outside".

While TV writer Brydie Lee-Kennedy called herself "very pro the Greggs vegan sausage roll because anything that wrenches veganism back from the 'clean eating' wellness folk is a good thing".

One Twitter user wrote that finding vegan sausage rolls missing from a store in Corby had "ruined my morning".

Another said: "My son is allergic to dairy products which means I can't really go to Greggs when he's with me. Now I can. Thank you vegans."

View image on Twitter


pg often@pgofton
https://twitter.com/pgofton/status/1080772793774624768

The hype got me like #Greggs #Veganuary

42
10:28 AM - Jan 3, 2019
See pg often's other Tweets
Twitter Ads info and privacy


TV presenter Piers Morgan led the charge of those outraged by the new roll.

"Nobody was waiting for a vegan bloody sausage, you PC-ravaged clowns," he wrote on Twitter.

Mr Morgan later complained at receiving "howling abuse from vegans", adding: "I get it, you're all hangry. I would be too if I only ate plants and gruel."

Another Twitter user said: "I really struggle to believe that 20,000 vegans are that desperate to eat in a Greggs."

"You don't paint a mustach (sic) on the Mona Lisa and you don't mess with the perfect sausage roll," one quipped.

Journalist Nooruddean Choudry suggested Greggs introduce a halal steak bake to "crank the fume levels right up to 11".

The bakery chain told concerned customers that "change is good" and that there would "always be a classic sausage roll".

It comes on the same day McDonald's launched its first vegetarian "Happy Meal", designed for children.

The new dish comes with a "veggie wrap", instead of the usual chicken or beef option.
Click to expand...

It should be noted that Piers Morgan and Greggs share the same PR firm, so I'm thinking this is some serious faux outrage and South Park KKK gambiting here.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Click to expand...
What the wonks are proposing is probably a better guide to what will happen than what the public actually wants. It's clear that Starmer doesn't believe in anything - if he wins the election, I fully expect him to cave to all the crazies in his party, and adopt any ridiculous idea going.
 

Rishi Sunak scraps home energy efficiency taskforce

A taskforce to speed up home insulation and boiler upgrades has been disbanded, the BBC can reveal.

The group - which included the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission Sir John Armitt and other leading experts - was only launched in March.

But it appears to be a casualty of Rishi Sunak's decision to scrap energy efficiency regulations for landlords in an overhaul of green policies.

Members were informed in a letter, seen by the BBC, that it was being wound up.

Energy efficiency minister Lord Callanan told the group its work would be "streamlined" into ongoing government activity.

Energy analyst Jess Ralston at non-profit group the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit told the BBC: "This appears to be yet another U-turn that could lead to higher bills just like the prime minister's decision last week to roll back landlord insulation standards that could leave renters paying an additional £8bn on energy bills."

The UK is often described as having some of the oldest and least energy efficient housing in Europe.

In 2020, BBC research found 12 million UK homes were rated D or below on their Energy Performance Certificates, which means they do not meet long-term energy efficiency targets.

This year a BBC investigation found six out of 10 recently inspected UK rental homes failed to meet a proposed new standard for energy efficiency.

The prime minister has now pledged to scrap policies that would force landlords to upgrade energy efficiency in their homes, after pressure from landlords about the costs of doing so, but said the government would "encourage" households to carry out the work.

'Accelerating insulation'

The old policy was that from 2025, new tenancies would only be possible on properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of C or higher - from 2028, this would apply to existing tenancies as well. Both have been scrapped.

The government's energy efficiency taskforce was first announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt at his last Autumn statement.

It was asked by ministers to come up with a plan to reduce energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030 across domestic and commercial buildings.

When it was announced, the government said this would cut bills and help push down inflation and would include "accelerating household insulation and boiler upgrades."

It was chaired by Alison Rose, who was chief executive of Nat West bank at the time (she was forced out of the bank in July after a row over Nigel Farage's bank account).

'Immediate impact'

The taskforce's membership included Sir John Armitt; head of leading housebuilder Barratt Developments, David Thomas; and leading experts from the University of Salford, the UK Green Building Council and National Energy Action.

Lord Callanan wrote to members of the group on Friday saying co-chair Dame Alison Rose would not be replaced and the group would be dissolved.

The minister said the ideas and discussions that had come from the group had been "hugely valuable in supporting the ambition to reduce total UK energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030."

He adds that the work to date had not been "wasted" and that "draft recommendations will be instrumental in driving forward this important agenda."

A spokesperson for the Energy Security and Net Zero department said: "We would like to thank the Energy Efficiency Taskforce for its work in supporting our ambition to reduce total UK energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030.

"We have invested £6.6bn in energy efficiency upgrades this Parliament and will continue to support families in making their homes more efficient, helping them to cut bills while also achieving net zero in a pragmatic, proportionate and realistic way."

Energy analyst Jess Ralston told the BBC that the "gas boiler and petrol car phase-out weren't set to have any impact on cost of living for struggling families for more than a decade".

"Insulation programmes could have a more immediate impact, yet the prime minister ditched that policy last week and now the government seems to be turning its back on experts and ideas that could help boost energy efficiency," she said.

She added: "Is government giving up on energy efficiency and those living in leaky homes unable to make the improvements that would keep them warmer?

"Experts like Citizen's Advice are clear if you want to bring down bills you do energy efficiency, you help people to stop wasting heat through rooves, windows and walls."

The group also said the government "could have easily replaced Alison Rose, there are lots of business people who feel they have a stake in how homes can be improved."

Mr Sunak's decision to water down some commitments, while retaining the overall aim of decarbonising the UK economy to "net zero" was welcomed by many in his party.

The PM insisted he was being "pragmatic" and that moving too fast on green policies would "risk losing the consent of the British people".

But Labour's shadow net zero secretary Ed Miliband said the change of direction showed Mr Sunak "doesn't give a damn about the climate crisis".
Click to expand...
 
Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian's Wall 'felled overnight'
(a)

1695908992827.png

Police are investigating the deliberate felling of one of the UK's most iconic trees, which appears to have been cut down in an act of vandalism.

The large tree at Sycamore Gap, next to Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, was apparently cut down overnight.

Northumberland National Park Authority officials believe the tree, known as Robin Hood's Tree, was "deliberately felled" and asked people to stay away.

Photographer Ian Sproat said his "heart was ripped out" when he saw the damage.

The Sycamore Gap featured alongside Kevin Costner in the film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves

The tree, which featured in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, sits in a natural dip in the landscape in Hexham and was awarded Tree of the Year in 2016.

Mr Sproat said he "drove straight over" from North Shields when he found out it had been felled.

"I was gobsmacked, anger set in and now sadness," he said.

"My heart was ripped out."

"They have just destroyed a part of the North East," the 42-year-old continued.

"It's like cutting down the Tyne Bridge or the Swing Bridge - it's just as monumental

"It's a living thing. I keep asking myself, 'why would anyone do this?'."

The National Trust said it was "shocked and saddened" to hear what "appears to be an act of vandalism".

General manager Andrew Poad said the sycamore had been "an important and iconic feature in the landscape for nearly 200 years".

Northumbria Police said inquiries were ongoing to establish whether any criminal offences had been committed.

Hexham MP Guy Opperman said everybody he had spoken to was "utterly stunned" and "devastated" at the damage.

He described the tree as a symbol of the North East that was "revered and loved across the world".

Conservative MP Mr Opperman said it was "unquestionably a criminal act", but added that "even if police did catch the perpetrator, the tree is still gone".

Anna Charlton, who runs a tourist business within Northumberland National Park, described the tree as "an emblem".

"I'm weeping. This isn't just vandalism, it's an attack on nature," she said.

"It's a terrible, terrible day for the North East. I'm devastated."

In the past people have been known to leave decorated memorial pebbles by the tree.

"Those memories, belonging to generations of people, have now been destroyed," Mr Sproat said.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness said she was "incandescent that this looks like a deliberate act of vandalism".

"I'm devastated that the famous sycamore is gone. It was an iconic North East landmark standing tall in our beautiful Northumberland," she added.
 
That was a sad story, about the tree. They've arrested a 16 year old. Interesting to hear what the motives were for doing that, it took would've taken too much organisation to be a random attack on nature like that - apparently a mile walk from the road and a hefty chainsaw would've been required.

In this instance, the parents should be required to decide which of the child's hands should be removed as punishment. A live streamed amputation event on the site of the felled tree would be appropriate.
 
BBC Radio 4: Shouldn’t you just not allow the show to air if it offensive?
Offcom: No. that would be censorship
R4: If BBC was like GB News would you step in
Offcom: Well, it’s a case by case basis and people would obviously expect better from the BBC.

At least they know what people think of things and are cautions.

Also certain people that do certain shows can no longer talk politics, Liniker et al, which prob why the left media heads are so mad. They got so much shit for being bias that they had to setup rules, although I don’t expect people to enforce it on them.

And then the BBC R4 has someone from Wapo to say Republicans have found nothing impeachable on Biden.

The irony.
 
Last edited:
teriyakiburns said:
"I was gobsmacked, anger set in and now sadness," he said.

"My heart was ripped out."

"They have just destroyed a part of the North East," the 42-year-old continued.

"It's like cutting down the Tyne Bridge or the Swing Bridge - it's just as monumental

"It's a living thing. I keep asking myself, 'why would anyone do this?'."
Click to expand...
Plant another tree. Fucking Geordies. If it was a fat 16 y/o who's not pregnant they'd sort it themselves.
 
teriyakiburns said:
Police are investigating the deliberate felling of one of the UK's most iconic trees, which appears to have been cut down in an act of vandalism.

The large tree at Sycamore Gap, next to Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, was apparently cut down overnight.

Northumberland National Park Authority officials believe the tree, known as Robin Hood's Tree, was "deliberately felled" and asked people to stay away.

Photographer Ian Sproat said his "heart was ripped out" when he saw the damage.

The Sycamore Gap featured alongside Kevin Costner in the film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves

The tree, which featured in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, sits in a natural dip in the landscape in Hexham and was awarded Tree of the Year in 2016.

Mr Sproat said he "drove straight over" from North Shields when he found out it had been felled.

"I was gobsmacked, anger set in and now sadness," he said.

"My heart was ripped out."

"They have just destroyed a part of the North East," the 42-year-old continued.

"It's like cutting down the Tyne Bridge or the Swing Bridge - it's just as monumental

"It's a living thing. I keep asking myself, 'why would anyone do this?'."

The National Trust said it was "shocked and saddened" to hear what "appears to be an act of vandalism".

General manager Andrew Poad said the sycamore had been "an important and iconic feature in the landscape for nearly 200 years".

Northumbria Police said inquiries were ongoing to establish whether any criminal offences had been committed.

Hexham MP Guy Opperman said everybody he had spoken to was "utterly stunned" and "devastated" at the damage.

He described the tree as a symbol of the North East that was "revered and loved across the world".

Conservative MP Mr Opperman said it was "unquestionably a criminal act", but added that "even if police did catch the perpetrator, the tree is still gone".

Anna Charlton, who runs a tourist business within Northumberland National Park, described the tree as "an emblem".

"I'm weeping. This isn't just vandalism, it's an attack on nature," she said.

"It's a terrible, terrible day for the North East. I'm devastated."

In the past people have been known to leave decorated memorial pebbles by the tree.

"Those memories, belonging to generations of people, have now been destroyed," Mr Sproat said.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness said she was "incandescent that this looks like a deliberate act of vandalism".

"I'm devastated that the famous sycamore is gone. It was an iconic North East landmark standing tall in our beautiful Northumberland," she added.
Click to expand...
They should take the wood from that tree and build a gallows to hang whoever did it.
 
Snekposter said:
They should take the wood from that tree and build a gallows to hang whoever did it.
Click to expand...
I thought that at first but revised it to stocks.

More amusingly Suella's rustled the jimmies again

Around a dozen Tory MPs, including ministers, have complained to the chief whip about Suella Braverman's recent speech on immigration and refugees. Some have told the BBC her remarks were offensive, divisive and inaccurate.
As first reported by The Times, they raised concerns after the home secretary said being gay or a woman should not entitle people to protection as a refugee.
She later said some people "purport" to be gay, to try to "game the system".
A source close to Ms Braverman said: "The home secretary speaks for the concerns of the majority of the British people about uncontrolled, illegal migration - and as someone who works on this issue day in, day out and was a lawyer on well over 100 immigration and asylum cases."

The MPs have spoken to the BBC on condition of anonymity.
"Why do you need to single out one section of people?" asked one.
It is not the first time, MPs say, that there have been concerns about the home secretary's tone.
It is unclear exactly what will happen as a result of the complaints but it is expected government Chief Whip Simon Hart - who is in charge of party discipline - will relay the concerns to the prime minister.
Sources have also suggested Ms Braverman may speak personally to some of those who are unhappy.
Downing Street has said it signed off the home secretary's speech to a Washington DC think tank on Tuesday.
Earlier this week, one Conservative MP told the BBC: "The danger is that unless the PM deals with her [sacks her], it reflects poorly on him."
Home Office figures show 1,334 asylum applications were lodged in the UK in 2022, where sexual orientation formed part of the basis for the claim.
This represented 1.5% of the 74,751 asylum claims made last year.

​

Meanwhile, former defence minister Tobias Ellwood has told the BBC Ms Braverman does not represent the Conservative Party with her comments on multiculturalism.
In a BBC interview on Thursday, Rishi Sunak repeatedly declined to say if he agreed with his home secretary that multiculturalism had "failed" in the UK.
In her speech in Washington, Ms Braverman argued that multiculturalism was a "misguided dogma" which had allowed people to "live parallel lives".
Asked if she was wrong, the prime minister said the UK had "done an incredible job of integrating people into society".
In an interview with Politics South, to be broadcast on Sunday, Mr Ellwood said that, in the lead-up to the Tory conference which opens in Manchester on Sunday, Ms Braverman was "making noises in a particular direction for a particular audience, which I think are unhelpful".
"We've had a turbulent couple of years, let's be honest about it, and we're starting to things calm things down. Statecraft is returning to No 10.
"And I just wish we'd recognise there is an election approaching. We're starting to do better in the polls... Let's focus on supporting this prime minister."Our party does well when we approach from the centre right, that's where we do well. When we go to the extremes, in the same way when the Labour Party goes to the extremes, you never win."
In a separate development, the Independent Press Standards Organisation has ruled that a claim by the home secretary that UK child grooming gangs were "almost all British-Pakistani men" was misleading,
The press regulator instructed the Mail on Sunday to publish an online correction to an opinion piece written by Ms Braverman in April. The correction now links the claim to high-profile cases like the Rotherham abuse scandal.
A source close to Ms Braverman described the IPSO ruling as "perverse".
Click to expand...
 
Overly Serious said:
It was even a plot point in the frankly brilliant TV show The Thick of It. The MP is told that she has to remove her child from the private school and send her to a state school.

(Highly recommend the series as an insight into British politics. But recommend that people skip the film 'In the Loop' which preceded it not because it's bad but because it kind of conflicts with the show)
Click to expand...

The Thick Of It was very good, but I think I still preferred Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.
 

A bitter legal battle could blow a hole in the Green Party of England Wales's general election campaign funds.
The BBC understands courts could force the party to pay between £200,000 and £400,000 if it loses a case against former deputy leader Dr Shahrar Ali.
The party's financial auditors note the case has left "uncertainty" about its ability to keep running normally.
The Greens are proposing a 50% increase in membership fees to build funds.
If voted through at the Green Party Conference next week, the cost of being a member will rise from £3.33 a month to £5 a month, with a £6 a year fee for concessions.
Dr Ali, an academic who was joint deputy leader of the party between 2014 and 2016, is a prominent critic of the Green Party's official stance on gender issues.
He has stood unsuccessfully for the leadership three times, but claims senior Green Party figures "collaborated" to force him out of his post as policing spokesman for the party, due to his "gender critical" views.
The Green Party claim he was removed because he had become a "divisive force" in the party.
A spokesperson for the party declined to give a figure on how much the court case is expected to cost. But the court documents say the party has said it will take every action available to recover the legal costs it has and will continue to incur from Dr Ali.
The BBC understands several other Green Party activists who hold similar views are planning legal action against the party off the back of Dr Ali's case.
Click to expand...
Lol. LMAO even.
 
I realise this was first reported on back on the 20th, but I would still like to reiterate that Jon Venables and Robert Thompson should never have left prison, and honestly should have simply been executed in 1993. I really don't care that they were "Only ten", and I do not believe for a moment that Robert Thompson has been a model citizen since his release. Thompson is simply smarter than that retard Venables, and has almost certainly just been more successful at concealing his nature.

Our "Justice" system is joke. Imagine releasing two torture-murderers, and subsequently re-releasing one of them multiple times after he repeatedly gets arrested for noncery. Imagine doing this while going out of your way to protect these creatures' identities, and criminalising anyone identifying them.
 
Rusty Metal Skull Gun said:
I can't see him winning that, much as I'd like him to. Political parties are surely allowed to discriminate against people based on their political views...
Click to expand...

Not when 'Gender Critical' views are a protected belief under the Equality Act as a result of Maya Forstater winning her case against her employer earlier this year.
 
wtfNeedSignUp said:
So is the UK approaching Chinese level of infrastructure, or is the arabs dindu nuffin again
Click to expand...
Worse.

1696278169141.png


serious edit: There's a solar power plant, Southill Solar, about 20 miles north-west of Oxford, in roughly the direction reported. Beyond that, there's a battery solar plant at Green Frog Northwick (I said gas peaker becuase I'm an idiot). If it's a power station going up, then that's likely to be it.

News update says it's a biogas digester closer to the city. It produces biodiesel and biogas.
 
Last edited:
ApeBass said:
Not when 'Gender Critical' views are a protected belief under the Equality Act as a result of Maya Forstater winning her case against her employer earlier this year.
Click to expand...
Doesn't apply, as political beliefs are an essential part of being a member of a political party. In the same way that religious discrimination is illegal, but a church can still insist that its priests believe in God.
 
Babblers on the box are saying lightning strike. Thought we'd retired those things decades ago.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom