MEMBERS of the Asian community gathered in London to mourn Payal Patel, daughter of Hemu and Sandhya Patel, proprietors of Club 2000 Restaurant in Rayners Lane. She was 43.
More than 800 people gathered to pay their respects at the Satavis Patidar Centre in London on Monday (2).
The funeral will take place on Thursday (5) at 1 pm at Chilterns Crematorium, Whielden Lane, Amersham HP7 0ND
General view of a McDonald's restaurant on Market Street on July 20, 2023 in Manchester. (Photo: Getty Images)
MORE than 700 young workers have filed a lawsuit against McDonald's UK, alleging harassment, law firm Leigh Day announced on Tuesday.
The claims follow a 2023 media investigation that exposed widespread issues within the company.
The law firm is pursuing compensation for current and former employees who were under the age of 20 while working at McDonald's.
Leigh Day stated in a press release that the allegations involve more than 450 restaurants across the UK.
“Clients have described experiences of discrimination, homophobia, racism, ableism, and harassment,” the law firm said. The lawsuit builds on a BBC investigation in July 2023 that highlighted testimonies from affected employees.
McDonald's, one of the largest employers in Britain with approximately 170,000 staff, has faced significant scrutiny over the allegations. Many of its workers are young, including teenagers.
“These allegations described are abhorrent, unacceptable, and there is no place for them in McDonald's,” Alistair Macrow, CEO of McDonald's UK and Ireland, told MPs on Tuesday during a hearing on employment rights.
Macrow revealed that 29 workers were dismissed over sexual harassment allegations in the past year and stated that the company had created a specialist unit to investigate such cases.
Speaking to a parliamentary committee in November 2023, he said he was “absolutely determined to root out any of these behaviours.”
Despite these measures, unions informed the same committee that the situation has not improved. McDonald's also said it has implemented a confidential online reporting system for employees at both company-owned and franchised restaurants.
A 19-year-old employee quoted in Leigh Day’s statement shared their experience: “I’ve had to deal with homophobic comments from managers and crew members. My manager said if I can’t deal with it, I should just leave the job.”
The law firm also cited other incidents, including one worker being repeatedly pestered for sex and another alleging inappropriate physical contact by a manager during shifts.'
McDonald's faced similar allegations in 2019, when the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union claimed that over 1,000 female employees had experienced sexual harassment and abuse.
(With inputs from AFP)
A car is driven along the snow-covered Woodhead pass between Woodhead and Homlfirth, in the Peak District in northern England on January 7. (Photo: Getty Images)
THE COUNTRY is experiencing a spell of wintry weather, with temperatures expected to drop significantly over the next two days, potentially reaching as low as -20 degrees Celsius in some areas.
The BBC reported that weather forecasters predict the coldest nights of the year, following heavy snowfall over the weekend.
Yellow weather warnings for ice are in place for parts of northern Wales and central and northern England until 12:00 on Wednesday.
A separate yellow warning for snow covers southern counties of England from 09:00 to midnight on Wednesday, with up to 10 cm of snow expected in some areas, including Exmoor and Dartmoor.
Hundreds of schools across the UK have also been closed due to the extreme weather conditions, reported the Independent.
Flood-hit regions in central England are seeing some relief as no further rainfall is predicted in the coming days. However, flood warnings remain in effect, with 102 warnings and 199 alerts active across England as of Wednesday morning. Wales has one flood warning and six flood alerts in place.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an amber cold health alert, the second-highest level, until midday on Sunday.
Dr Agostinho Sousa from UKHSA advised people to check on vulnerable individuals, warning that freezing conditions could lead to increased health risks, including heart attacks, strokes, and chest infections, the BBC reported.
On Tuesday night, temperatures fell widely below freezing, with the lowest recorded at -7 degrees Celsius in Tulloch Bridge, Scotland. In Northern Ireland, Katesbridge experienced its coldest night of the winter at -6.6 degrees Celsius. England saw -6.3 degrees Celsius in Shap, Cumbria, while Bala in Wales recorded -3.7 degrees Celsius.
Severe flooding has disrupted travel, with road closures, rail delays, and temporary airport shutdowns earlier in the week. While flooding is expected to subside, the focus now shifts to the sharp overnight frosts forecast for Wednesday and Thursday nights.
Temperatures could plunge further in areas with snow cover, with lows between -14 and -16 degrees Celsius expected on Wednesday night, and as low as -20 degrees Celsius in parts of Scotland’s snowfields by Thursday night.
The report noted that these conditions could surpass the cold experienced last weekend, when temperatures fell to -13.3 degrees Celsius in the Highlands, and even those of February 2021, when Braemar recorded -23 degrees Celsius.
A PROMINENT British Asian campaigner against forced marriages and abuse, has spoken out about her recent work tackling two major British institutional abuse cases, while reflecting on her own journey from surviving honour abuse to becoming a national advocate for victims.
Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, who currently serves as an independent advocate for nearly 300 people who have accused former Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed of abuse, says the department store case reveals a pattern of enablers.
"This is not about one man. This was enabled... And the survivors are certainly saying to me that the HR department allowed it, different people allowed it," she told the Telegraph.
Before her Harrods role, Sanghera worked on the Church of England's Independent Safeguarding Board until June 2023, when her contract was terminated.
She claims she faced resistance while investigating abuse cases within the Church, describing "a culture of silence and denial" that hindered proper scrutiny of safeguarding issues.
"People are still being harmed in the Church of England," Sanghera warns, suggesting the cases she handled were "just the tip of a very deep iceberg." She particularly criticises the Church's handling of information, saying her team struggled to access crucial details needed for investigations.
Sanghera's understanding of abuse stems from personal experience. At 16, she fled her Sikh family in Derby to escape a forced marriage, leading to her being shunned by her community.
Her sister Robina later died after setting herself on fire while trapped in an abusive marriage. These experiences led Sanghera to establish Karma Nirvana, a charity supporting honour abuse victims, in 1993.
The campaigner has also faced institutional abuse herself. In 2018, she reported sexual harassment by a House of Lords peer who had offered her a peerage in exchange for sleeping with him. The case led to changes in the Lords' conduct rules.
Looking at current challenges, Sanghera expresses concern about honour-based offences, which have increased by 60 per cent in the past two years.
She criticises authorities' reluctance to address cultural aspects of abuse, saying: "The perpetrators will use culture to hide behind: 'What do you know, you're white. You don't understand my culture.'"
Despite facing opposition throughout her career, Sanghera remains determined to fight for victims. She continues to support Church abuse survivors voluntarily after her dismissal and is working to ensure Harrods provides psychological support to Fayed's alleged victims while they await a compensation scheme.
Now a grandmother preparing to receive her damehood at Buckingham Palace, Sanghera has set her sights on joining the House of Lords.
"I have got the courage of my convictions, and isn't that what the House of Lords is about?" she says, hoping to continue her advocacy work from within the institution.
India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, in Delhi. (Photo: ANI)
THE UNITED STATES is finalising steps to clear hurdles for civil nuclear partnership with Indian firms, US national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said on Monday (6), seeking to give fresh momentum to a landmark deal between the two countries.
Washington and New Delhi have been discussing the supply of US nuclear reactors to energy-hungry India since the mid-2000s.
But a longstanding obstacle has been the need to bring Indian liability rules in line with global norms which require the costs of any accident to be channelled to the operator rather than the maker of a nuclear power plant.
The deal was signed by then president, George W Bush in 2007, a major step toward allowing the United States to sell civilian nuclear technology to India.
"United States is now finalising the necessary steps to remove long-standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India's leading nuclear entities and US companies," Sullivan said in New Delhi on Monday.
He was on a two-day visit to the Indian capital, days before president-elect Donald Trump is due to be sworn in.
The two countries agreed in 2019 to build six US nuclear power plants in India.
The South Asian nation's stringent nuclear compensation laws have previously hurt deals with foreign power plant builders, subsequently deferring India's target to add 20,000 MW of nuclear power from 2020 to 2030.
(With inputs from agencies)
TREASURY minister Tulip Siddiq has asked the prime minister's ethics watchdog to examine claims about her use of two London flats, amid growing questions about property arrangements linked to her family's connections in Bangladesh.
The minister, who oversees anti-corruption efforts in Britain's financial sector, has stepped back from a planned China visit to assist with the inquiry.
The investigation will be led by Sir Laurie Magnus, who advises prime minister Sir Keir Starmer on ministerial conduct, reported the Telegraph.
At the heart of the matter are two properties: a flat in central London and another in Hampstead. The central London property was reportedly gifted to Siddiq's family by Abdul Motalif, who has ties to Bangladesh's Awami League party.
The Hampstead flat was transferred to her younger sister Azmina by Moin Ghani, a lawyer with connections to Bangladesh's former government.
These revelations follow news that Bangladesh's anti-corruption body is investigating Siddiq and several family members over alleged embezzlement. Siddiq's aunt is Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's former prime minister who lost power in 2024 following public protests against her leadership.
Addressing the concerns, Siddiq wrote to Sir Magnus: "I am clear that I have done nothing wrong. However, for the avoidance of doubt, I would like you to independently establish the facts about these matters."
The property arrangements have raised eyebrows, particularly regarding the Hampstead flat's transfer to Azmina when she was just 18 and about to start university at Oxford. Land Registry records show no money changed hands for this transfer.
Starmer has backed his minister, telling reporters, "Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, and that's why we brought into being the new code. Yes, I've got confidence in her."
However, the opposition has criticised the prime minister's response. Shadow Home Office minister Matt Vickers said: "It is disappointing that Keir Starmer has allowed scandal in his Government to overshadow today's announcement. There are clear questions for his friend and anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq to answer."
While Sir Magnus will investigate whether Siddiq has broken ministerial rules, the final decision about her future rests with the prime minister. The case presents a test for Starmer, who campaigned on a promise to clean up British politics.
Questions have also emerged about inconsistencies in Siddiq's explanations. She initially said her parents purchased the central London flat, but Labour sources later clarified it was given as a gift from "an acquaintance".
The minister's connection to Bangladesh's former government has drawn particular attention. During Hasina's leadership, her administration faced accusations of suppressing opposition through arrests, attacks and secret detentions.
