UK POLITICS

Will mayors’ tourist tax powers have ‘damaging’ effect?

Andy Burnham’s Government is setting out plans to give English mayors new powers to introduce a local tourist tax.

Tourist tax for mayors

• Plans for a tourist tax for English mayors follow similar schemes introduced in Scotland and Wales.
• Charges of a similar nature already exist across Europe, with the revenue used to fund local services.
• The levy will be charged to overnight visitors as a percentage of the cost of accommodation, rather than a flat fee.
• The levy would have – but the Government hopes mayors are unlikely to make it too costly.
• It is thought a tourist tax in London won’t be more than five per cent of the cost of accommodation.
• Local leaders would decide how to invest the money raised from the levy.

Tourism bodies have warned the tax will hit Britons on staycations who are struggling with the cost of living.

UK Hospitality claimed the levy introduced in Edinburgh was “already having damaging effects” and said thousands of jobs in the sector were at risk.

UK Hospitality wants Burnham to consider a “holiday bonus” instead, with revenues devolved to areas based on visitor numbers.

What the Tories say

Hugely limiting for the chances of young people who might be employed in tourism.

Conservative Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said Labour was trying to prop up “dodgy town hall finances on the back of even higher youth unemployment”.

A Labour Government source said it “will be up to local leaders and local voters to decide what is right for their area”.

Citing independent economic analysis by Oxford Economics, UKHospitality’s chief executive Allen Simpson, said: “The 33,000 people who could lose their jobs as a result of this tax, during an employment crisis, will be rightly furious.

Downing Street has insisted that the “overwhelming majority” of hospitality businesses will not be “directly affected”.

Why Apple’s historic folding iPhone could be a gamble

A foldable iPhone is set to be launched with a UK starting price of £1,999.

The new iPhone Duo is set to cost , depending on storage.

Acts as an iPad

Marketed as both a the screen is 7.6 inches .

Big cost increase

It marks an eye-catching jump in starting price, with previous new iPhone models starting well under £1,000.

• The iPhone Duo has a folded display size of 5.4 inches.
• In its folded state, it is shorter and wider than a traditional iPhone.
• When unfolded, it is Apple’s thinnest-ever iPhone.
• The unfolded 7.6-inch screen, meanwhile, is just shy of the 7.9-inch display on the first iPad mini.

The iPhone Duo is . Market intelligence firm IDC forecasts that Apple will sell 10 million units in the first year, generating £20bn.

Foldables make up less than five per cent of the smartphone market, but some experts think the iPhone Duo could spark a boom.

Why it could be a gamble

• Several of Apple’s rivals, like Samsung and Huawei, are ahead when it comes to foldable phones.
• However, John Ternus, Apple’s new chief executive, said the US tech giant was “redefining” the product.
• Ternus claimed rival foldables “feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together” while the Duo should offer the smooth feel of iPad.
• Still, regular iPhone users would need to adapt to the new style.

The foldable risks becoming a premium-priced ornament in the portfolio, imparting badge value but not meaningful growth.

Dipanjan Chatterjee, principal analyst at Forrester Research, told the BBC that the iPhone Duo could flounder like the pricy Vision Pro headset, but may also become a hit like the iPhone adjacent Apple Watch.

What we know about Philippines ferry fire

At least five people are dead and dozens more were missing on Thursday after a fire broke out on a ferry in the Philippines.

86 people still missing

• The MV June Aster was carrying 117 passengers and 17 crew members from Manlia to tourist resort Coron when it caught fire.
• Five people were killed and 86 passengers are still missing, said the Philippines’ coast guard. Some 43 people have been rescued so far.
• The 6.45pm local time on Wednesday (11.45am BST) and was still burning by 11am on Thursday but has since been put out.

Some passengers weren’t wearing life vests, said the coastguard. Rescue workers were seen throwing vests to those stranded in the water. One passenger told the BBC he floated for two hours before being rescued.

Families anxiously await news on loved ones, as search and rescue operations continue.

What caused the fire?

• The cause is still to be determined, but coastguard officials said a survivor reported hearing an explosion in the hold area.
• Sea accidents are common in the Philippines, a nation of 7,100 islands where ferries offer cheap transport and weather can be severe.
• But with 86 missing persons, this incident may end up being among the nation’s most severe.

How the King’s pointed letter ‘surprised’ Harry and Meghan

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were “surprised” by the release of a letter on behalf of King Charles this week clarifying their status as “akin to private citizen”, according to a spokesperson for the couple.

Here’s what we know.

No titles, little warning

• A top Buckingham Palace official sent the letter to military officials and Government departments on Monday.
• It stated that as non-working royals, the Sussexes will not use the titles of “His and Her Royal Highness”.
• The couple “were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance,” their spokesperson said.
• Their team was still seeking guidance when it was released, The i Paper understands.

No chance for clarification

The Sussexes did not have enough time to clarify any points before the guidance was issued to the media, it is understood.

• The letter’s contents were reportedly shared with their team at 1:59pm.
• Team Sussex replied to Buckingham Palace at 2:19pm, seeking clarification on one or two points.
• The letter was revealed to the media at 3:06pm on Monday.
• Harry was in a meeting and could not be contacted until 3:09pm.
• Team Sussex received confirmation at 3:11pm that the letter had been sent to the media.

Why are the titles important?

The reference to the HRH title was seen as an attempt to slap the Sussexes down amid concerns that the couple may want to monetise their royal status, including via Meghan’s lifestyle products brand, As Ever.

The title was seen in a video Meghan posted accompanying a podcast last year.

Watch more from The i Paper

• The letter clarified that “in short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests”.
• But a friend of the couple previously told The i Paper that Harry, as the King’s son, could never be an entirely private citizen.
• “Some people will say, ‘But they’re private citizens.’ Nonsense. Utter nonsense. They are two of the most high-profile people in the world,” the friend added.

Not a quiet word in your ear, not a private memo; no, this was a formal, blunt statement of fact sent to Harry on his father’s orders. Ouch!  There is to be no doubt: the King is not going to be bounced into accepting any change in the Sussexes’ status just because they have chosen to return to the UK.

Charles and Prince William are said to be worried that family members doing business deals alongside official duties for the state opens themselves up to the sort of abuse of position accusations facing the King’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

• This led to them clarifying that Harry and Meghan won’t be attending state functions or official engagements.

The couple returned to the country for what they called an extended period on 26 August, after quitting royal duties in 2020. Their children have reportedly been enrolled in English schools.

The row over who will pay for their security is ongoing, with the couple currently paying for it but lobbying the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) – which is set to meet this week – for taxpayer-funded police protection.

How hot drinks can raise cancer risk

Frequently consuming drinks at very high temperatures increases the risk of oesophageal cancer – cancer of the food pipe or gullet – UK research suggests.

A three times higher chance

The study, from Oxford Population Health at the University of Oxford, included nearly a million people and found those who drank “very hot” drinks had about a three times higher risk of oesophageal .

Hot liquid may damage the cell lining of the food pipe as it travels down to the stomach, which could increase the risk of cancer developing, though the overall risk is low.

How hot is too hot?

The research, published in the , did not record the temperature of drinks. But the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified drinking beverages above 65°C as “probably carcinogenic”.

Drinking six or more hot beverages a day also increases the risk, data from 977,282 middle-aged men and women in this latest study shows.

The researchers said that one or two in every 10 oesophageal cancers could be avoided if people stopped consuming hot drinks.

The cancer is rare, though, with only around 1 per cent of the UK population at risk of being diagnosed with this type of cancer.

• Other factors, such as smoking, pose a comparatively bigger risk for developing oesophageal cancer.

What to do

• Letting drinks cool down before drinking or adding cold milk can negate the risk, experts agreed.
• Researchers said the temperature at which coffee and tea is drunk in Western populations is estimated to be .
• “More research is needed to identify the exact drink temperatures linked to increased risk,” the researchers added.

August was world’s joint hottest month on

August was the joint hottest month ever recorded, with global temperatures soaring 1.65C above pre-industrial times.

Scientists say it is another “warning siren” for climate change. Here’s what you need to know.

Record temps

August 2026 tied July 2023 for the planet’s hottest month on record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Fossil fuels impact

Last month was 1.65°C above the average for the period 1850-1900, before humans burned fossil fuels at scale.

Warmer seas

Sea surface temperatures hit 21.07C, a joint high mark with March 2024.

The impact of record heat

Heatwaves in August continued a run of extreme heat that began in May, with severe drought hitting the UK, France, Hungary and Serbia. Major rivers from the Rhine to the Danube saw exceptionally low flows.

Under 2015’s Paris Agreement, countries agreed to limit global warming to “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels.

Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at ECMWF, said the latest temperature data shows how “climate change is driving extremes across both the atmosphere and the oceans”.

Gareth Redmond-King, of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said a “warning siren” was sounding two months before the COP 31 summit.

GO DEEPER ON THIS TOPIC

How El Niño could impact UK weather

The United Nations says the world is in a “danger zone of extreme weather”, with warnings that aeroplane turbulence and food shortages could affect Britons.

The new illnesses pharmacists can treat under NHS scheme

Pharmacists will be able to treat people with migraines, acne and several other conditions as the NHS’ “Pharmacy First” scheme is expanded this autumn.

Pharmacy scheme

The NHS scheme allows people to receive care for common illnesses from pharmacists without seeing a GP.

New conditions

From autumn, people can get help for acne, migraines, scabies, certain ear infections and allergic rhinitis.

Expanded offering

It adds to the seven conditions pharmacies can already treat.

• Pharmacies can already treat seven conditions under the Pharmacy First scheme.
• They are impetigo, infected insect bites, shingles, sinusitis, earache, sore throat and .
• Once fully rolled out, the scheme’s expansion means pharmacies will now be able to treat 12 conditions.

What the NHS says

The NHS expects between two and three million consultations for the new list of five conditions that can be held in pharmacies. It is hoped this will take pressure off the NHS.

Dr Amanda Doyle of NHS England said people can get treatment “quickly and conveniently on local high streets”.

Burnham’s thoughts

People are fed up with the scramble for routine appointments

The Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Treating people closer to home means catching problems earlier, easing pressure on GPs and A&E and giving people back precious time.”

Hospital waiting lists spike

It comes as the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has risen to its highest level for nine months. An estimated 7.33 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of July, relating to 6.21 million patients, according to NHS figures. The numbers are the highest since October 2025, when the list stood at 7.40 million treatments and 6.24 million patients.

‘Penises and nuns’ – The Bayeux Tapestry’s curious history

The legendary woven record of the Norman Conquest has been unveiled to the public in the UK for the first time. As it goes on display at the British Museum, here’s what we know about its extraordinary history.

Back in Britain

The tapestry recording the Norman Conquest of 1066 is back in the UK for the .

Deal with France

It is as part of a special deal between the UK, France and the British Museum.

Medieval wonder

Considered one of the wonders of the medieval world, it offers insight into 11th-century England.

Watch more from The i Paper

Tapestry’s curious history

• It is believed to have been commissioned by the half-brother of William the Conqueror.
• The consensus now is that it was made not in France but by nuns near Canterbury.
• The soldier with the arrow through his eye might not be King Harold, but historians are uncertain.
• The may be random comic irrelevances or commentary on the story.

How to get tickets

• The tapestry is on show at the British Museum from 10 September until 11 July 2027.
• Tickets are sold out until a release on 21 October, with details on the museum’s website.