Six emergency personnel have been attacked with petrol in Leicester, leading to a man being charged with six counts of attempted murder. Police said that five officers and one firefighter were targeted with a flammable liquid in Oxford Street, though they escaped injury as the flames were extinguished immediately. Ako Faraji appeared in court on Monday, charged with the attempted murders, as well as arson and the administration of a harmful substance with intent to cause harm. The 27-year-old was remanded in custody.
Elsewhere, the UK government has won a legal challenge over the immigration status of EU citizens. A group of EU citizens had protested that the government’s system was making it hard for struggling EU nationals to achieve settled status in the UK, and also putting their personal information at risk. The test case, which was heard by the High Court, was brought by the charities, the Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants and the3million. The court ruled that the Home Office’s EU Settlement Scheme was legal, as it provided comprehensive support to those applying, even assuming they were unable to provide documents – which the test case had not shown.
Finally, the energy regulator Ofgem has revealed that it will devote £450m ($622m) to upgrading gas networks across the UK, making them more environmentally friendly and reducing leaks. The plan includes extending the life of networks, making them more resilient to extreme weather, and ensuring that hydrogen and other low-carbon gases can be transported. The investment will be made over the next five years, and is expected to lead to a 17 million tonne reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 – equivalent to taking 3.5 million cars off the road annually
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