Centuries-old pottery firm Denby set to call in administrators

Denby has called in administrators, putting the 217-year-old Derbyshire pottery at risk of closure with the loss of almost 600 jobs.The company, which was rescued from administration in 2009 by the restructuring experts Hilco and also owns the Burleigh brand, produced by Burgess and Leigh based in Stoke-on-Trent, is understood to have struggled with the surging cost of gas, higher labour costs, tighter financial markets and softening consumer demand for its premium homeware.Earlier this month, Sebastian Lazell, the chief executive of Denby, told BBC News he was “trying to move heaven and earth” to save the business.A #SaveDenby campaign was launched in an attempt to encourage people to buy more products and to lobby the government to provide support.Denby Group said on Tuesday that “the outpouring of support” in response to the campaign had been “overwhelming and deeply moving” but it had been unable to secure “strategic investment partners” to help the business continue

Palantir’s UK boss criticises ‘ideological’ groups as ministers move to scrap NHS contract

Palantir’s UK boss has urged the government not to give in to “ideologically motivated campaigners” as government ministers explore a way out of a £330m NHS contract with the tech company.Ministers have sought advice on triggering a break clause in Palantir’s deal to deliver the Federated Data Platform (FDP), amid questions over the company’s presence in the public sector.The FDP is an AI-enabled data platform designed to connect disparate health information across the NHS, while Palantir also has contracts with the Ministry of Defence, several police forces and the UK’s financial watchdog.Louis Mosley, the executive vice-chair of Palantir in the UK, told the Times the government should resist calls to eject the company from NHS England’s data systems.“Having a review clause in a contract is good and normal practice

‘Should never have been prescribed’: private UK cannabis clinics face call for tighter regulation

Oliver Robinson felt he had exhausted conventional therapies when he left the Priory, a private mental health facility where he was treated for depression and addiction between 2019 and 2022. Initially he found relief from a new kind of prescription elsewhere. But by the time he took his own life in November 2023, aged 34, his family believe his medicine was making him worse.In January, an inquest concluded that Robinson’s prescription for medicinal cannabis had “probably contributed to his death”. Catherine McKenna, the coroner for Manchester North, also ruled that his continued use of the prescription, first issued to him in May 2022 by Curaleaf Clinic, a private cannabis provider, “acted as an obstacle” to him receiving appropriate psychiatric and addiction care

Karl Turner has Labour whip suspended after criticism of Starmer and No 10

The MP Karl Turner has lost the Labour whip after making a series of interventions criticising Keir Starmer and No 10, especially on changes to jury trials.A Labour source said Turner had been informed by the chief whip, Jonathan Reynolds, that he had had the whip suspended because of his conduct. Turner denied he had been informed by the whips and said he had learned about his suspension from journalists.The decision is understood to have been prompted in part by an interview given by Turner, the MP for Hull East, to Jody McIntyre, a campaigner who stood at the 2024 elections against Labour’s Jess Phillips.Turner wrote on X: “I am being told that I have had the whip suspended but I have not had any notification from the whips about this

UK parents: what do you think about the government’s advice on screen time for children under five?

Children under five should spend no more than an hour a day on screens and under-twos should not be watching screens alone, according to UK government advice.The guidance was developed by a panel led by the children’s commissioner, Rachel de Souza, and the children’s health expert Prof Russell Viner.Keir Starmer said the guidance would help families keep children safe and ensure they built healthy habits with screens.The prime minister said: “Parenting in a digital world can feel relentless. Screens are everywhere, and the advice is often conflicting

A gleaming tribute to Mary Rand’s gold | Brief letters

As a schoolboy, I was fascinated by coverage of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. A few years later, on a family holiday, we visited Wells Cathedral. Outside the grounds lay a gleaming brass strip in the pavement marking the distance that Mary Rand long-jumped to create her world record. A lovely tribute to this remarkable person (Mary Rand, first British woman to win Olympic athletics gold, dies aged 86, 27 March).Anil BhattSunderland Your review of the fourth instalment of Alan Bennett’s diaries, Enough Said (24 March), says he nearly always notes the anniversary of the beginning of his national service: “8/8/52