Prolific UK graffiti artist Helch dies

1 September 2026 at 14:44

Artist rose to prominence in 2018 by painting his eponymous tag in public spots across southern England

The street artist Helch, known for murals and tags across England, has died, his gallery has said.

He rose to prominence in 2018 by painting his eponymous tag in capital letters across a string of public spots in London as well as bridges on the M4, M1 and M25.

Prolific UK graffiti artist Helch dies

The Guardian

By: Jamie Grierson

1 September 2026 at 14:44

Artist rose to prominence in 2018 by painting his eponymous tag in public spots across southern England

The street artist Helch, known for murals and tags across England, has died, his gallery has said.

He rose to prominence in 2018 by painting his eponymous tag in capital letters across a string of public spots in London as well as bridges on the M4, M1 and M25.

Keir Starmer to stand down as MP to focus on world affairs

World news | The Guardian

By: Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor

1 September 2026 at 14:22

Former PM says it is right time to go, which will trigger byelection that Greens’ Zack Polanski could target

UK politics live – latest updates

Keir Starmer is to quit as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras, saying it is the right time for him to leave the Commons.

Starmer, who resigned as prime minister in July, told the Camden New Journal he wanted to focus on international affairs and “pass the baton to a successor”.

Keir Starmer to stand down as MP to focus on world affairs

The Guardian

By: Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor

1 September 2026 at 14:22

Former PM says it is right time to go, which will trigger byelection that Greens’ Zack Polanski could target

UK politics live – latest updates

Keir Starmer is to quit as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras, saying it is the right time for him to leave the Commons.

Starmer, who resigned as prime minister in July, told the Camden New Journal he wanted to focus on international affairs and “pass the baton to a successor”.

Keir Starmer to quit parliament, triggering byelection in north London seat – UK politics live

World news | The Guardian

By: Andrew Sparrow

1 September 2026 at 16:43

Former PM announces he will no longer represent Holborn and St Pancras on the day his successor, Andy Burnham, is to give first Commons address as prime minister

My colleague Richard Partington, the Guardian’s senior economics correspondent, grew up, like Andy Burnham, in the Warrington suburb of Culcheth. He has been home to find out what people there are saying about the new PM.

Yesterday, Kemi Badenoch announced a reshuffle, replacing Mel Stride with Andrew Griffith as shadow chancellor and Priti Patel with Tom Tugendhat as shadow foreign secretary.

Costumed carnival-goers in Notting Hill – in pictures

The Guardian

31 August 2026 at 17:10

People hit the streets of west London as Europe’s largest street carnival marks its 60th year, celebrating Caribbean history and culture

Uber driver takes TfL to court over ‘pain‘ caused by licence renewal delay

World news | The Guardian

By: Diane Taylor

31 August 2026 at 12:01

Julius Mugabo launches landmark case as union says thousands in capital lost incomes due to ‘broken system’

An Uber driver who got into thousands of pounds of debt and feared losing his home due to delays in Transport for London renewing his licence to pick up passengers is taking on the organisation in the high court in the first challenge of its kind.

Julius Mugabo, 55, has been an Uber driver licensed by TfL since 2016. Under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, all minicab drivers cannot work lawfully unless TfL has carried out checks on them and issued or renewed their licences. These licences must be renewed every three years.

British Museum hosted Palantir founder Peter Thiel in private viewing of Bayeux tapestry

The Guardian

By: Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent

31 August 2026 at 11:50

Concern among staff that fragile artwork’s scarce ‘light hours’ given to someone with no known interest in museum

The British Museum privately hosted the Donald Trump-supporting tech billionaire Peter Thiel in the exhibition space of the Bayeux tapestry earlier this month, the Guardian understands.

The museum’s director of development, Charlotte Appleyard, hosted the PayPal founder at a VIP viewing of the tapestry, which is yet to open to the public, on 18 August.

British Museum hosted Palantir founder Peter Thiel in private viewing of Bayeux tapestry

World news | The Guardian

By: Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent

31 August 2026 at 11:50

Concern among staff that fragile artwork’s scarce ‘light hours’ given to someone with no known interest in museum

The British Museum privately hosted the Donald Trump-supporting tech billionaire Peter Thiel in the exhibition space of the Bayeux tapestry earlier this month, the Guardian understands.

The museum’s director of development, Charlotte Appleyard, hosted the PayPal founder at a VIP viewing of the tapestry, which is yet to open to the public, on 18 August.

Cleverly avoids culture war issues in pitch to be next London mayor

The Guardian

By: Alexandra Topping Political correspondent

30 August 2026 at 19:25

Conservative hopeful says Sadiq Khan has ‘lost passion for the job’ and Andy Burnham is ‘very anti-London’

James Cleverly has pledged to run a “classically Conservative” campaign to become the mayor of London, insisting that his victory in the capital would be a stepping stone for Kemi Badenoch to become prime minister.

The former home and foreign secretary denied he had resigned from the shadow cabinet to run for mayor following a shift to the right under Badenoch’s leadership.

Cleverly avoids culture war issues in pitch to be next London mayor

World news | The Guardian

By: Alexandra Topping Political correspondent

30 August 2026 at 19:25

Conservative hopeful says Sadiq Khan has ‘lost passion for the job’ and Andy Burnham is ‘very anti-London’

James Cleverly has pledged to run a “classically Conservative” campaign to become the mayor of London, insisting that his victory in the capital would be a stepping stone for Kemi Badenoch to become prime minister.

The former home and foreign secretary denied he had resigned from the shadow cabinet to run for mayor following a shift to the right under Badenoch’s leadership.

James Cleverly resigns from shadow cabinet to run for mayor of London

The Guardian

By: Sammy Gecsoyler

29 August 2026 at 19:24

Shadow minister for housing, communities and local government to resign with immediate effect

James Cleverly has resigned from the shadow cabinet to run for mayor of London.

The Tory heavyweight, who was once home and foreign secretary and is shadow minister for housing, communities and local government, told the Sunday Times he will resign with immediate effect.

James Cleverly resigns from shadow cabinet to run for mayor of London

World news | The Guardian

By: Sammy Gecsoyler

29 August 2026 at 19:24

Shadow minister for housing, communities and local government to resign with immediate effect

James Cleverly has resigned from the shadow cabinet to run for mayor of London.

The Tory heavyweight, who was once home and foreign secretary and is shadow minister for housing, communities and local government, told the Sunday Times he will resign with immediate effect.

London Science Museum cuts links with BP after decades of partnership

The Guardian

By: Pippa Neill Environment reporter

28 August 2026 at 19:57

Campaigners say ‘seismic shift’ follows years of pressure to sever ties with oil and gas firm

The London Science Museum has ended its decades-long partnership with the oil and gas company BP in what has been described as a “seismic shift” for the museum.

The Science Museum Group academy, which was established in 2018 to provide training and resources, announced on Friday that it would be ending its partnership with BP. In a statement, the director and chief executive of the Science Museum Group, Sir Ian Blatchford, said the partnership had “drawn to a close at the end of the current contract term”.

Canada Hires U.S. Scholars From Harvard and Other Top Universities

NYT > Top Stories

By: Vjosa Isai

27 August 2026 at 21:39

A crackdown on American academia by the Trump administration has handed Canadian universities a rare opportunity to lure some top researchers north.

McGill University in Montreal is one of the schools that has benefited from the Canada-bound brain drain from U.S. institutions.

Inherent, founded by DeepMind alumni, says its AI ‘teammate’ just outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI at replicating research

TechCrunch

By: Anna Heim

22 August 2026 at 22:00

Built by DeepMind alumni, British AI lab Inherent released Faraday, an AI agent whose ability to replicate scientific papers could be a stepping stone for innovation.

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