UK migrant families face giving up vital in-work benefits to avoid being ‘punished’

Families claiming in-work benefits face giving them up and enduring hardship to avoid being “punished” under a planned government migration crackdown, experts have said.More than 200,000 people living legally in the UK are on the 10-year route to settled status, which requires legal migrants to renew 30-month visas four times – at a cost of £3,908.50 including healthcare costs per renewal – before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR).Under proposals by the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, if people have used public funds, even in work, the wait would double to 20 years.The migration charity Ramfel has spoken to families who would be affected by the change and say they would have “no choice” but to stop using public funds – such as child benefit, universal credit, tax credits and disability benefits – if the government proposals go ahead

‘Very dangerous’: a Mind mental health expert on Google’s AI Overviews

A year-long commission has been launched by Mind to examine AI and mental health after a Guardian investigation exposed how Google’s AI Overviews, which are shown to 2 billion people each month, gave people “very dangerous” mental health advice.Here, Rosie Weatherley, information content manager at the largest mental health charity in England and Wales, describes the risks posed to people by the AI-generated summaries, which appear above search results on the world’s most visited website.“Over three decades, Google designed and delivered a search engine where credible and accessible health content could rise to the top of the results.“Searching online for information wasn’t perfect, but it usually worked well. Users had a good chance of clicking through to a credible health website that answered their query

Local reporter ‘shocked’ over picture of his face on punchbag at UK town hall

A local newspaper journalist has said he was “shocked” after a picture of his face was printed out and attached to a punchbag at a town hall.Joe McCann, who has worked for the Melksham News for 10 years, was tipped off by a contact that a print-out of his face had been attached to a freestanding punchbag inside the building.As first reported by the Melksham News, McCann raised the issue at a full council meeting on Monday, where councillors “appeared shocked”.“It has recently come to my knowledge that within this council building, there is a punchbag with my face cut out and stuck to it, with the word ‘punch me’ written at the bottom of the punchbag,” McCann told the meeting in the Wiltshire town. “I have a photo of it

Tech firms must remove ‘revenge porn’ in 48 hours or risk being blocked, says Starmer

Deepfake nudes and “revenge porn” must be removed from the internet within 48 hours or technology firms risk being blocked in the UK, Keir Starmer has said, calling it a “national emergency” that the government must confront.Companies could be fined millions or even blocked altogether if they allow the images to spread or be reposted after victims give notice.Amendments will be made to the crime and policing bill to also regulate AI chatbots such as X’s Grok, which generated nonconsensual images of women in bikinis or in compromising positions until the government threatened action against Elon Musk’s company.Writing for the Guardian, Starmer said: “The burden of tackling abuse must no longer fall on victims. It must fall on perpetrators and on the companies that enable harm

NHS to spend more to settle lawsuits over negligence during childbirth after court ruling

The NHS will have to spend more money settling lawsuits involving negligence during childbirth after a supreme court ruling that lawyers said puts right a “historic injustice”.The court ruled on Wednesday that children in England who suffer catastrophic injuries while they are being born can claim damages for future earnings they would otherwise have had.The ruling on “lost years damages” means that children whose life expectancy is shortened can recover compensation for being unable to work.It comes amid mounting concern at the rising cost of medical negligence to the NHS in England – its liabilities have hit £60bn – much of which is due to errors made during childbirth.“The supreme court today has put right an historic injustice which set injured children’s rights in negligence cases at a lesser level than those of an adult,” said James Drydale, the lawyer for a girl known only as CCC

Health support needed to tackle joblessness | Letter

The alarming rise in economic inactivity highlighted in your report (UK sleepwalking into joblessness epidemic, Tesco boss warns, 10 February) underlines a public health issue as much as an economic one. It is increasingly clear that millions of working-age people are drifting out of the labour market not through choice but because of long-term health problems and inadequate support systems around them.Tackling worklessness requires proactive, health-centred approaches that help individuals stay in or return to work. We also know that time out of work is corrosive. Good-quality work improves physical and mental wellbeing, providing income, social connection and purpose, and protects against social exclusion