Author: Loveworld UK

Tony Blair has warned David Cameron’s promise of an EU referendum is an “unacceptable gamble” with Britain’s future. The former Labour prime minister also told Sky News the current party leader Ed Miliband had his “100%” support, and said he had showed “real leadership” in resisting calls to back an in/out vote. Speaking in his former constituency of Sedgefield, Mr Blair claimed the PM did not believe the UK should quit Europe, but had committed to a referendum in 2017 as a “sop” to the right wing of his party and UKIP. But he warned the vote would be a “huge…

The country basked in the highest temperatures of the year so far on Easter Sunday, with 20.7C (69.3°F) recorded in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. And while not everywhere has experienced the sunshine, many parts of the UK and Ireland have seen some unseasonably warm and mainly dry spells. The generally settled conditions have been the result of high pressure over the British Isles – and with some help from further afield. At the beginning of the week, high pressure centered to the west of the UK brought warm air from the Azores, although that was modified somewhat by going around the north…

A Russian nuclear submarine has caught fire in a shipyard but there were no weapons on board, according to Russian news agencies. The 155m (508ft) 949 Antei was reportedly being repaired in Zvyozdochka shipyard in Russia’s northern province of Arkhangelsk, when the blaze broke out. The ship reportedly caught fire as welding works were being carried out, with rubber insulation catching fire. A shipyard source told the Interfax news agency: “There is a fire on the submarine. “We are fighting the fire now.” The emergencies ministry has so far refused to comment. The United Shipbuilding Corporation, which runs the shipyard,…

FA chairman Greg Dyke has returned a watch worth £16,000 he had been given as a gift during the World Cup, FIFA has announced. Mr Dyke was given one of the limited edition Parmigiani watches by the Brazilian FA during a FIFA Congress meeting in Sao Paulo. Sixty-five of the watches were handed out in goodie bags worth more than £1m collectively. The FA boss initially refused to hand his back after the watches were recalled, having promised to donate it to the FA’s official charity partner, Breast Cancer Care, so it could be sold at auction. But with the prospect…

A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be launched into the crash, although no legal action will be taken against 58-year-old Harry Clarke. The driver of a bin lorry that crashed in Glasgow, killing six people, will not face any charges, Sky News has learned. A decision has also been made not to charge Glasgow City Council, which owned the vehicle involved in the tragedy, although a Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held. Scotland’s prosecuting body, the Crown Office, has been studying a police report into the tragedy which occurred on 22 December. The incident saw the vehicle career out of control…

HSBC has taken out adverts in national newspapers offering “sincerest apologies” over past activities at its Swiss operations. In the open letter to its customers, shareholders and colleagues, HSBC’s group chief executive Stuart Gulliver described recent media coverage about practices at the Swiss Private Bank eight years ago as a “painful experience”. However, the Business Secretary has said he wants greater assurances about tax transparency. Vince Cable told Sky’s Murnaghan programme that what emerged is “striking and unacceptable” – and he has called on former HSBC boss Lord Green to answer specific allegations about the business. The full-page HSBC advert states:…

A ceasefire appears to be holding in Ukraine – although both sides have accused each other of violating the deal in the hours after the truce deadline passed. Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko ordered government forces to stop firing at 10pm UK time on Saturday, under a plan agreed in Belarus this week. The military said Ukrainian armed forces immediately fulfilled Mr Poroshenko’s order and guns fell silent in Donetsk and some other parts of the country’s east. Under the peace agreement, both Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatist rebels were to hold their fire, before pulling back their heavy weaponry to form a wide…

One of Germany’s biggest carnivals has been cancelled at the 11th hour following a “specific threat of an Islamist attack”. More than 250,000 people were expected to attend the street parade in the northern city of Braunschweig. But shortly before it was due to start, police told people to stay at home after receiving credible information that an attack was imminent. Police spokesman Thomas Geese said the event was cancelled 90 minutes before its scheduled start time, adding: “Many people arriving at the train station from out of town were already dressed up and very disappointed – but we didn’t…

A man has been charged in connection with an explosion in a town in the Forest of Dean. Kenneth Brown, 43, from Park Road, Gloucester, will appear before magistrates in Cheltenham on Monday on charges of committing arson with intent to endanger life, and criminal damage. He is currently being held in custody. Police say a blast occurred in the town of Coleford, Gloucestershire, on Saturday morning and a man was rescued by fire fighters and taken to hospital with serious injuries. A car is also alleged to have been damaged in the blast.