Latest news with #Essex
CTV News
3 hours ago
- Health
- CTV News
Swimming is not recommended at two Windsor-Essex beaches: WECHU
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit report said swimming is not recommended at two Windsor-Essex beaches after weekly water testing. Swimming is not recommended at the following beaches as counts are 200 or higher: Cedar Beach Holiday Beach Lakeshore Lakeview Park West Beach, Point Pelee Northwest Beach, Seacliff Park Beach, Cedar Island Beach, Cedar Beach, and Colchester Beach are all open for swimming. Sandpoint Beach is closed to swimming while the city reviews next steps for the area. The Health Unit monitors beach water quality at public beaches once a week on Wednesdays, from May to August to test for bacteria ( levels to determine if the water is safe for swimming. Water samples are sent to the public health lab in London, Ontario for E. coli bacteria count analysis. This season's sampling results are posted on and available by calling the beach hotline at 519-258-2146, extension 1490.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Who were the Windrush generation and what is Windrush Day?
Windrush Day has been held on 22 June since 2018, to celebrate the contribution Caribbean migrants and their families have made to the Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, Essex, in 1948, bringing hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean to the 2018, it emerged that the government had not properly recorded the details of people granted permission to stay in the UK, and many were wrongly mistreated. What is the Windrush generation? HMT Empire Windrush became a symbol of a wider mass-migration in the Caribbean were invited to the UK to help rebuild post-war to the National Archives, which holds the ship's passenger list, there were 1,027 people on board. More than 800 gave their last country of residence as somewhere in the hundred passengers were Jamaican, but others arrived from islands including Trinidad, St Lucia, Grenada and travellers - and those on other ships which came to the UK until 1971 - became known as the Windrush had served in the British armed forces in World War Two. Why did the Windrush generation come to Britain? In 1948, the British Nationality Act gave people from colonies the right to live and work in government needed workers to help fill post-war labour shortages and rebuild the countries were also struggling economically, and job vacancies in the UK offered an of those who came became manual workers, drivers, cleaners, and nurses in the newly established NHS. What is Windrush Day? Commemoration events have been held on 22 June every year since 2023, the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Windrush was marked with a series of concerts, exhibitions and seminars across the Charles, who held a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the anniversary, hailed the Windrush generation's "profound and permanent contribution to British life".This year will see events taking place around the country, including a number sponsored by the government's Windrush Day Grant Scheme. Where are the Windrush generation now? It is unclear how many people from the Windrush generation are still in the UK, but the number is thought to be in the are among more than 500,000 UK residents who were born in a Commonwealth country and arrived before 1971, according to University of Oxford estimates. What was the Windrush scandal? The 1971 Immigration Act gave Commonwealth citizens living in the UK indefinite leave to remain - the permanent right to live and work in the included the Windrush generation, but also people from other former British colonies in South Asia and Africa. However, in April 2018, it emerged that the UK Home Office had kept no records of those granted permission to stay, and had not issued the paperwork they needed to confirm their had also destroyed landing cards belonging to Windrush migrants, in affected were unable to prove they were in the country legally and were prevented from accessing healthcare, work and were also threatened with deportation.A review of historical cases also found that at least 83 people who had arrived before 1973 had been wrongly deported. What did the government do about the Windrush scandal? In April 2018, then-Prime Minister Theresa May apologised for the treatment of those affected. An inquiry was announced and a compensation scheme inquiry, which reported in March 2020, said that the scandal was both "foreseeable and avoidable", and criticised "a culture of disbelief and carelessness" in the Home made 30 recommendations, including:a full Home Office review of the UK's "hostile environment" immigration policyappointing a migrants' commissionerestablishing a race advisory boardInquiry author Wendy Williams warned there was a "grave risk" of similar problems happening again without government Secretary Priti Patel accepted the recommendations in full. But in January 2023, then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced the Home office was dropping three of the commitments:to appoint a migrants' commissioner responsible for "speaking up for migrants and those affected by the system directly or indirectly"to give the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration new powersto hold events with people affected to "listen and reflect on their stories"The High Court later ruled that Ms Braverman acted unlawfully by dropping the measures relating to a migrants' commissioner and the chief inspector of borders and June 2025, the Reverend Clive Foster was appointed as the first Windrush Commissioner - seven years after the scandal was first exposed.A top priority will be looking at how to improve the Windrush Compensation Scheme which has been described by campaigners as "torturous". How does the Windrush Compensation Scheme work? The Windrush Compensation Scheme was established in April 2019, and about 15,000 people were thought to be the scheme has been consistently criticised for processing delays, low offers, and unfair rejections reversed on 2021, MPs found the scheme had itself become a further trauma for those eligible. The Home Affairs Committe said many of those affected were "still too fearful of the Home Office to apply".In April 2023, Human Rights Watch said the scheme was "failing" victims, and repeated calls for it to be removed from the Home Office's response, the Home Office said it was "committed to righting the wrongs of Windrush".In October 2024, Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced an additional £1.5m of funding to help victims apply for of April 2025, the scheme had paid out more than £110m.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Nick Knowles and his new wife Katie pack on the PDA as they are seen for the first time since their wedding at Royal Ascot day four
Nick Knowles and his wife Katie packed on the PDA as they were seen for the first time since their wedding as they led the glamour at Royal Ascot day four on Friday. The presenter, 62, exchanged vows with his lingerie brand boss bride, 34, during a six-figure wedding at Braxted Park, Essex, earlier this month. At Ascot Katie wore a blue and white dress very similar to her wedding dress as she planted a kiss on her husband. She added a smart navy hat to her look and boosted her height with strappy nude heels while beaming for the camera. By her side Nick cut a smart figure in a black suit and light blue silk waist coat as the pair proved they were very much still in their honeymoon period. Also at the racing event was regular Georgia Toffolo who looked the epitome of chic in a red dress with statement sleeves. Royal Ascot, the jewel in the crown of the UK racing calendar, kicked off on Tuesday with the Queen Anne Stakes and will run until Saturday. King Charles and Camilla are likely to arrive in the famous carriage procession along the course and past the stands that will welcome hundreds of thousands of punters during the five-day meet. It is a royal tradition that has reached its 200th anniversary this year after it was first held in 1825 during the reign of King George IV. The festival was founded by Queen Anne in 1711 after she declared Ascot ideal for 'horses fit for kings' and it is now a major social event and sporting attraction. Last week newly-weds Katie and Nick shared a glimpse into their lavish wedding on social media as they partied into the night. The fun continued into the early hours, as the couple shared a series of sweet photos and clips on Instagram from their happy day. Katie wowed in a stunning second white bridal dress for the reception while Nick looked dapper in a pink blazer. The couple showed off their fun side as they posed in a photo booth wearing costume hats and Katie held a wired telephone. In another clip, the couple danced while Katie jokingly shook her head at her new husband's moves as he whipped off his pink suit jacket flinging it around his head. As guests made their arrival for the nuptials, they were greeted with a cheeky nod to Nick's TV success, as a huge sign boasted the words: 'Welcome to Katie's wedding... ft TV's Nick Knowles.' Earlier in the evening, Katie wore her quirky floral print wedding dress, which she wore for the ceremony, for the couple's first dance and cutting their huge cake. The couple pulled out all the stops for their guests with a live band providing the music whilst a carnival dancer bedecked in feathers took to the floor at one point. The couple began dating in 2021 after they met when their children became friends at a play centre and got engaged in 2023. The couple are said to have spared no expense on their special day, which was reportedly attended by a whole host of celebrity guests, including Nick's Strictly co-stars. Last month, Katie kicked off the wedding celebrations with her hen do at luxury boutique hotel Karma Sanctum, where she was joined by close friends Kirsty Shaw-Rayner and Sherene Fuller. The group arrived on a beer bus and then headed through party district Soho wearing Nick Knowles face masks, much to the amusement of Katie, ahead of partying at Karma Sanctum. Katie was later entertained by two buff men dressed as a fireman and policeman as the party carried on into the early hours. Katie and the TV star have been subject to cruel trolling during their relationship, with critics mocking their age difference and financial setup. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, about the 'gold digger' jibes, Katie admitted they don't get to her as much as they used to because she and Nick know it's not true. She said: 'I think at the start, it was probably more irritating, especially for my family. But now those comments kind of just pass over me because we both know it's not true. 'Nick works hard, he has what he has. I work hard, I have what I have and then we buy each other stuff.' Katie continued: 'We're both really comfortable with where we are with that and you will always get it because there's an age gap. 'I know plenty of people who are together and the same age where someone's using the other one for money and they're not happy. 'So as long as I know it's not true and he knows it's not true, I think that's, that's pretty much all that matters.' Nick has an estimated £7.5 million net worth but Katie has built up an impressive lingerie brand, having launched Boa Boa in 2022. She has proved to be her own best advert for the brand, modelling the skimpy looks to her 102,000 Instagram followers.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Councillor suspended from Labour over 'offensive' social media
A Labour councillor has been suspended by his local party over social media posts he made more than a decade ago that were deemed racist and supportive of far-right activist Tommy UK highlighted "offensive" posts that they claimed had been made by Ben Westwick - a councillor at Basildon Council in leader Gavin Callaghan said he took the action against Westwick "after I was made aware of social media posts made... before he was elected in 2024".Westwick, who now sits as an independent councillor for Pitsea South East, has been contacted for comment by the BBC. A Twitter/X account belonging to Ben Westwick, which has not had any new posts since 2014, included posts such as one with a sexually explicit image and another that was racist against black people and that included a monkey 2012, his account tweeted "@EDLTrobinson tommy Robinson for prime minister". Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a far-right activist who founded the English Defence League (EDL) and has just been released from prison having served a sentence for contempt of said in a statement: "Whilst I accept that Ben was a young man when he posted these comments and that he has changed his views on a number of issues, I do not believe it is right for him to represent the Labour Party on the council at this time."The local Reform UK party has called for Westwick's "immediate resignation" based on what they call his "numerous offensive, racist, and deeply inappropriate comments made across his social media accounts".Having the whip removed means a politician is no longer obliged to vote with his party at council meetings. It also usually means an individual is suspended from the political party they are a member has been contacted by the BBC about Westwick's party there are two by-elections for Basildon Council due to take place over the next is in Wickford Park ward next Thursday, following the death of Wickford Independents' Dave Harrison, and one in St Martins ward on 17 July after Labour's Maryam Yaqub stood down earlier this month. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
7 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Major repairs at Grade I listed hall in Colchester completed
Restoration work to make a Grade I listed hall safe for visitors again has been assessments in 2022 found serious concerns with the ceiling at Moot Hall, on the second floor of the town hall in Colchester.A £350,000 project to repair and preserve the ceiling had been a success and the public would be able to return to the hall from July, the city council leader David King said: "To see it restored with such care is inspiring. It has taken thousands of hours of craftsmanship, and the result is something our city can be proud of." "My thanks go to the skilled and dedicated team who brought this beautiful space back to life. Thanks to their efforts, the Moot Hall will once again serve as a civic, cultural, and community landmark," he Hall is renowned for its high ceiling, stained glass windows, and custom-built Norman and Beard Town Hall was built in 1898 by architect John Belcher but surveys carried out in 2022 uncovered critical issues in the plaster's support system, evidence of water damage and condensation, structural weaknesses, debris build-up, and added loads from of the hall had taken almost 9,500 hours of skilled craftsmanship over a six-month period, the council began following a formal application to Historic England, along with comprehensive bat and owl surveys to safeguard protected species. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
