SNP hunting for new leader in the wake of Humza Yousaf’s resignation

The SNP is beginning the search for a new leader after a day of drama in Scottish politics saw Humza Yousaf announce his resignation as the country’s first minister.

Facing two votes of no confidence at Holyrood, and without the support of the Greens whom he had angered when he terminated the powersharing agreement between the two parties, Yousaf came to the conclusion his time was up.

While he will stay on as first minister until a successor can be found, the SNP now has to begin the process of finding a leader to succeed him. That comes just 13 months after he took over the post from Nicola Sturgeon – who had been Scotland’s longest serving first minister.

Thousands of migrants eligible for Rwanda scheme not reporting to Home Office

Thousands of asylum seekers earmarked by the Home Office for deportation to Rwanda have lost contact with the department, a government document suggests.

Out of 5,700 people identified for removal, 2,145 ‘continue to report to the Home Office and can be located for detention’, the impact assessment says.

The document, updated on the Home Office’s website on Monday, also acknowledges there could be further delays to deportations caused by MPs making last-minute representations to suspend removals.

Subpostmasters step closer to ‘hard-won exoneration’ after MPs back law change

Hundreds of wrongfully convicted subpostmasters are a step closer to achieving ‘hard-won exoneration’ after MPs backed a law change.

The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill, which received an unopposed third reading on Monday, proposes to quash convictions and pay compensation to those affected by the Horizon IT scandal.

Business secretary Kemi Badenoch told the Commons that ‘a wrong is finally being put right’.

King returns to public duties after positive cancer treatment

The King is returning to public duties after the positive effect of his cancer treatment.

Charles has been receiving care as an outpatient since early February, and sources have said that despite the welcome news the King still has cancer and will continue to be treated for the undisclosed form of the disease.

Charles and Camilla will visit a cancer treatment centre on Tuesday to meet medical specialists and patients.

Blinken urges Hamas to accept new ‘extraordinarily generous’ ceasefire proposal

The United States has stepped up pressure for a ceasefire deal in Gaza as the secretary of state said a new proposal had been put to Hamas, whose officials were in Cairo talking to Egyptian mediators.

It came as Israeli air strikes killed 26 people in Gaza’s southern town of Rafah, according to hospital records.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken, ahead of a new visit to Israel this week, urged Hamas to accept the latest proposal, calling it ‘extraordinarily generous’ on the part of Israel.

Monday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed

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• Family-run Swansway group sees pre-tax profit plummet despite turnover nearing £1bn
• New car market forecast to top over TWO million in 2024 but ZEV mandate could hamper supply
• ‘We Won’t Buy Any Car’: How a witty URL allowed dealer to set up successful car buying service
• Elon Musk meets Chinese premier as new EVs are revealed in Beijing

Shop price inflation ‘normalising’ one year on from peak, figures show

Shop price inflation is showing signs of normalising one year on from its peak in long-awaited relief for households, new figures show.

Prices in April were 0.8% higher than a year earlier, the lowest growth since December 2021, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index. The figure is down from 1.3% in March and below the three-month average of 1.4%.

Products other than food actually entered deflation, at 0.6% lower than a year earlier, down from 0.2% inflation a month earlier, as clothing and footwear prices in particular fell where retailers ramped up promotions to encourage consumer spending.

Polestar and StoreDot develop record breaking charging time for EVs

Polestar and extreme fast charging company StoreDot have developed battery technology that enables a charging time of 10 minutes.

In a recent experiment, a Polestar 5 with a 77 kWh battery pack was charged using StoreDot’s extreme fast charging high energy silicon-dominant battery cells.

The four-door coupe went from having a 10% charge to 80% in 10 minutes. A consistent charge rate of 310kW – alongside a peak rate of 370kW – made it one of the fastest charges ever for an EV – with all temperatures, voltage and charged capacity monitored throughout the process.

Weather

A band of rain, occasionally heavy, will stay in western areas of England and Wales today. Central, eastern and south-eastern parts of England will be dry and sunny, though, with highs of 19 degrees.

The rain in western parts will ease overnight, leaving a clear night. Eastern coasts will have showers and fog for some time.

 

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