David Batty

Stella Gollovena, 47, has been charged with four counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon after four men were stabbed on Endell Street in Covent Garden. The victims, aged between 34 and 56, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, were taken to hospital and later discharged. Gollovena was arrested at the scene and is due to appear at Highbury magistrates’ court.

The UK government’s formal apology for the historical forced adoption of an estimated 185,000 babies from unmarried mothers in England and Wales between 1949 and 1976 is welcomed, but survivors need more than symbolic recognition. David Batty argues for comprehensive redress, free high-quality therapy, improved access to complete adoption records and inherited-health screening, and the right for adoptees to reclaim their original identities. He also criticizes the limited £4m support package, the failures surrounding reunion, and the continuing crisis in adoption and family-support services. The legacy of shame, institutional coercion and idealized white middle-class family models, he concludes, must be confronted in both historical accountability and current child-welfare decisions.

Guardian news editor David Batty recounts his search for his birth family and the difficult reunion with his birth mother, who had been forced to relinquish him for adoption. Their relationship became strained, complicating the expected fairytale narrative, while meeting his half-brother brought joy. The podcast examines how coerced adoptions, often justified by claims about a child’s moral welfare, continue to affect adoptees and birth families. The Church of England has apologized for its involvement, and the UK government has indicated that it may do the same.

David Batty recounts being adopted in 1974 after his unmarried mother, Susan Barras, was pressured by an adoption agency to relinquish him. Their reunion in 2005 initially offered shared memories and family connections but became strained as Susan’s unresolved trauma and resentment dominated their relationship, eventually leading Batty to end contact. He later traced his Iranian birth father, Monti, in Los Angeles; that reunion was complicated by Monti’s alcoholism and decline, although Batty formed a lasting bond with his half-brother Bryan. The deaths of both birth parents left Batty confronting unresolved grief, family estrangement and the lasting effects of forced adoption and cultural erasure. He argues that therapy, access to heritage and a possible UK government apology may help adoptees, though no apology can undo the losses endured by birth parents and children.

The Wellcome Collection exhibition Tenderness and Rage examines how people affected by HIV and AIDS—including gay men, women of colour, refugees and mothers—used protest, mutual care and creative expression to challenge stigma and improve dignity and rights. It revisits London activism in the 1990s, including ACT UP’s campaign that helped reduce the price of AZT, and documents supportive spaces such as the Landmark drop-in centre and Middlesex Hospital’s HIV wards. Contemporary projects highlight ongoing inequalities and the consequences of cuts to HIV funding, including the loss of services in Johannesburg, underscoring the continued urgency of AIDS activism.

A British crew member and a Dutch colleague requiring urgent medical care are being evacuated from the MV Hondius via Cape Verde to the Netherlands as the ship travels toward Spain’s Canary Islands. The vessel has seven suspected hantavirus cases among 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries, including three deaths and two confirmed infections. The WHO suspects limited human-to-human transmission among close contacts, while testing and disinfection continue. Spanish authorities plan to examine, treat and repatriate passengers and crew, with international agencies and the UK government coordinating assistance.

The assisted-dying bill for terminally ill adults in England and Wales failed after passing the House of Commons and facing extensive debate and amendments in the House of Lords. Supporters, including Dignity in Dying and terminally ill campaigners, accuse a small group of unelected peers of deliberately delaying or blocking the bill. Opponents argue that the legislation was poorly drafted, lacked safeguards against coercion, and left major questions about procedures, drugs and potential effects on disabled people unresolved. Peers and disability-rights campaigners defend the amendments as necessary scrutiny, while supporters contend that the bill had already undergone unprecedented examination.

A Guardian investigation found that 241 UK museums, universities and local authorities hold more than 263,228 human-remain items, a figure likely to be an underestimate because of incomplete records and inconsistent cataloguing. The collections include remains from the UK and overseas, many acquired through colonial-era practices such as grave removal, coercion, trade and unlawful taking. The Natural History Museum and University of Cambridge hold among the largest collections, while Cambridge’s Duckworth Laboratory contains thousands of remains originating from Africa. Most recorded items originated in the UK, but nearly 38,000 came from overseas and more than 16,000 have an unknown origin. UK law permits some national museums to return certain remains, though legal restrictions prevent several institutions from deaccessioning much of their collections; universities and local authorities face fewer such restrictions.

Descendants of Zimbabwean resistance leaders have asked the Natural History Museum and the University of Cambridge to help locate and identify the remains of six ancestors executed during the first chimurenga against British colonial rule in the 1890s. They offered DNA samples and proposed a joint Zimbabwe-UK taskforce to investigate disputed remains and archival records. The institutions say they have found no evidence linking their collections to named resistance fighters, although the Natural History Museum has committed to repatriating 11 unidentified Zimbabwean remains. Descendants and experts argue that insufficient research has been conducted, while a parliamentary group says little progress has followed the museum’s 2022 repatriation decision.

A Guardian investigation based on freedom-of-information responses found that UK museums, universities and councils hold more than 263,000 items of human remains, including at least 37,000 known to originate overseas and thousands from former British colonies. Many institutions cannot identify the number of individuals represented or the provenance of remains, which critics say were often acquired through colonial violence, looting and racial pseudoscience. MPs and archaeologists condemned the storage and display practices as disrespectful and sacrilegious, urged a national register and called for timely repatriation. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the University of Cambridge declined to comment, while the Museums Association backed updated guidance and legislation; the Natural History Museum said it maintains high care standards and has not refused established repatriation requests.

Experts and a child safeguarding review have called for trauma-informed, coordinated support for parents whose children are taken into care, arguing that removal alone does not address the underlying problems and may increase risks to future children. The review into the death of baby Victoria Marten found that successive removals, lack of support for her parents and their persistent avoidance of authorities contributed to a repeating cycle of harm. It recommended national guidance on safeguarding unborn and newborn babies, including concealed pregnancies and pre-birth planning, and proposed requiring registered sex offenders to notify police about new partners and pregnancies. Victoria’s parents, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, were convicted in 2025 in connection with her death.

Unions and legal experts say England’s NHS sexual safety charter, launched in 2023, has failed to substantially improve protection for female staff. Rights of Women reported that NHS-related calls to its workplace sexual-harassment advice line rose from 11% in 2023 to 22% in 2025, while freedom-of-information responses from 212 trusts recorded only about 1,200 staff-on-staff sexual-harm incidents over three years. The gap with the NHS staff survey, in which 3.7% of workers reported unwanted sexual behaviour from colleagues, suggests widespread underreporting and distrust in existing processes. The Royal College of Nursing and British Medical Association called for standardized reporting, stronger enforcement and clearer accountability, while the government and NHS said new standards and anonymous reporting routes were being introduced.

Great Western Hospital in Swindon has relaunched its Never OK campaign after NHS staff survey results showed that many workers experienced abuse but did not report it. Staff describe verbal abuse, threats, physical attacks and sexual assault as psychologically damaging, while a culture of acceptance leads many to regard violence as part of working in A&E rather than as misconduct or crime. Wiltshire Police is helping train hospital staff to identify offences and support victims, while the hospital’s seven-point action plan aims to improve immediate assistance, data collection and reporting. The hospital will continue de-escalation where possible but may involve police or security, issue sanctions and ban perpetrators who act intentionally, while ensuring patients without the capacity to understand their actions can still receive care.

NHS trusts in England recorded at least 295,711 alleged incidents of physical violence and aggression against staff between 2022-23 and 2024-25, with reported cases rising to 104,079 in the latest year. Staff surveys suggest the official figures substantially understate the problem: roughly one in seven workers reported physical violence, while tens of thousands reported unwanted sexual behaviour. Mental health and learning-disability trusts recorded the highest levels, and the reported abuse carries an estimated annual cost of £1.4bn. NHS England has introduced violence-prevention standards and a sexual-safety charter, but unions and safety experts say trusts may still be failing to protect workers and meet their legal duties.

Doctors, nurses, paramedics and hospital managers in England describe a sharp rise in physical violence, threats and sexual abuse by patients and relatives, including assaults involving knives and other weapons. Staff attribute the problem to overcrowded hospitals, shortages of beds and personnel, inadequate mental-health services, budget pressures and weak police and NHS responses. Many incidents go unreported because staff lack time or believe perpetrators will face few consequences, while some workers have left the NHS or taken extended sick leave after being injured or traumatised.

Guardian analysis of freedom-of-information data found more than 295,000 physical-violence and aggression incidents against NHS staff across 212 trusts in England from 2022 to 2025, reaching about 285 cases a day in 2024–25. Nearly 24,000 alleged sexual-assault or harassment incidents were also recorded. Nurses, doctors and managers describe attacks, racist abuse, sexual misconduct, ward closures caused by violent patients with complex mental-health needs, and substantial underreporting. Unions attribute the rise to long waits, staffing and funding pressures, distrust linked to Covid conspiracy theories, and inadequate specialist mental-health capacity. The Royal College of Nursing calls the situation a national emergency, while officials promise stronger reporting, training and penalties; however, past inspections found many trusts breaching workplace-violence laws.

Pelham Spong, who alleges that Mohamed Al Fayed sexually assaulted and trafficked her from Paris to London in 2008, criticised the Metropolitan Police for not treating her case and related allegations as sex trafficking. French investigators are examining whether Fayed's assistants and Ritz Paris staff helped recruit and transfer women, while trafficking expert Bridgette Carr said accounts from alleged victims showed patterns of power, control and systemic involvement. The Met says 146 people have reported crimes in its investigation of Fayed and associates, but no charges have been brought; the force has referred itself to the police watchdog over complaints about earlier investigations. Ritz Paris said it was alarmed by the allegations and would cooperate with French authorities.

The UK performers’ union Equity has threatened coordinated mass subject access requests against technology companies and producers suspected of using members’ images, voices or personal data in AI content without consent. The campaign follows Scottish actor Briony Monroe’s allegation that her likeness and mannerisms were used to create Tilly Norwood, a synthetic actor developed by Xicoia, though Particle6, Xicoia’s parent company, denies using her data. Equity says voice-replica complaints are increasingly common and is negotiating with Pact over copyright, data protection, compensation and performers’ rights. Pact supports AI adoption for commercial reasons but acknowledges that foundation-model training lacks transparency and may have used creative works without permission.

The UK government will appeal a High Court decision concerning the Bell hotel in Epping, where asylum seekers are accommodated, arguing that asylum-hotel closures must be managed nationally rather than determined through piecemeal court rulings. Yvette Cooper reaffirmed Labour’s pledge to end hotel use, while Conservatives accused ministers of ignoring local residents and the courts. Protests and counter-protests took place or were planned across England. Foreign secretary David Lammy condemned the confirmed famine in Gaza City, blamed Israel’s aid restrictions for a preventable humanitarian catastrophe, called for an immediate ceasefire and criticised Israeli settlement plans in the West Bank. The government also took control of Liberty Steel’s collapsed South Yorkshire operations, promising workers August wages and unpaid pension contributions. Other developments included concerns about unreliable Office for National Statistics data ahead of the budget, new voluntary standards for baby food, a crackdown on overseas child-benefit claims, Scottish water-supply warnings, and political changes in Surrey and Scotland.

The UK government has given baby food manufacturers 18 months to follow voluntary guidance reducing sugar and salt and improving labelling in England. The measures respond to research finding that products from leading brands can be nutritionally poor and marketed with misleading health claims. Researchers, including Diane Threapleton of the University of Leeds, say the guidance is too narrow because it does not address the low energy and nutrient content of many purées and pouches or introduce mandatory standards. The government says it may impose tougher requirements if manufacturers fail to act, while health officials argue clearer labelling will help parents make healthier choices amid concerns about childhood obesity.