Last updated: 19 Apr 2026, 08:21 
                        UK news | The Guardian                        

TITLE: Carmakers scramble to plug £3bn shortfall for UK loan scandal payouts
PUBLISHED: 19 Apr 2026
Filings suggest manufacturers’ lending arms have massively underestimated bill from FCA’s £9.1bn redress schemeCarmakers are under pressure to drum up £3bn to cover payouts for motor finance scandal victims after failing to adequately prepare for a UK-wide compensation scheme that is due to begin...
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/19/carmakers-uk-loan-scandal-payouts

TITLE: MoD has lost track of veterans on recall list, says defence adviser
PUBLISHED: 19 Apr 2026
Exclusive: George Robertson calls on officials to identify the ‘fit and willing’ in UK’s 95,000-strong strategic reserveThe Ministry of Defence has lost track of military veterans they intend to recall at a time of national danger, according to a key government adviser.About 95,000 former soldier...
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/19/mod-has-lost-track-of-veterans-on-recall-list-defence-adviser

TITLE: Queen Elizabeth II’s official biographer named as historian Anna Keay
PUBLISHED: 18 Apr 2026
The author, who will interview members of royal family for book, says being chosen for role is a ‘profound honour’Anna Keay, a historian whose most celebrated book is about Britain’s republican period, has been confirmed as Queen Elizabeth II’s official biographer.Keay will interview members of t...
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/19/queen-elizabeth-ii-official-biographer-anna-keay

TITLE: Kensington Gardens reopens after police deem suspicious items non-hazardous
PUBLISHED: 18 Apr 2026
Officers responded after group claimed to have targeted nearby Israeli embassy with ‘dangerous substances’Kensington Gardens in London has reopened after the discovery of several suspicious items including two jars containing a powdered substance that was deemed to be non-hazardous, police said.O...
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/18/kensington-gardens-reopen-after-police-deem-suspicious-items-non-hazardous

TITLE: Starmer would have blocked Mandelson role over vetting failure, says Lammy
PUBLISHED: 18 Apr 2026
Deputy prime minister says it is ‘inexplicable’ top civil servant kept Downing Street in darkKeir Starmer would have blocked Peter Mandelson from serving as the UK’s ambassador to Washington had he known he failed security vetting, David Lammy has said, as he attempted to shore up the prime minis...
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/18/starmer-would-have-blocked-mandelson-role-over-vetting-failure-says-lammy