Jessica Murray

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Jessica Murray

Two couples are taking the government to court over its failure to legalise humanist marriage in England and Wales five years after a ruling that the lack of recognition was discriminatory. Engaged couples Terri O’Sullivan and Edd Berrill, from Coventry, and Nicole Shasha and Rory Booth, from Leicester, are preparing to go to court in their fight to be married in line with their humanist beliefs.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Andrew Sparrow |Jessica Murray

Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureCooper says five local grooming gang inquiries still set to go ahead, after Tories claim they've been dropped in 'cover-up'During her BBC Breakfast interview Kemi Badenoch claimed that the government has dropped the plans for five local inquiries into grooming gang, or child rape scandals, that were announced in January.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Hannah Moore |Jessica Murray |Alex Atack |Priya Bharadia |Joel Cox |Elizabeth Cassin

“It’s been absolutely unbelievable,” William Timms, a pest controller, tells Hannah Moore. “Since March, calls have gone up 50%. Usually, I’m dealing with about three or four rodent jobs a day this time of year. And then I’ve got my insect jobs on top. “But I’ve had to put my insect jobs on the back burner, because I’m just being inundated with rat calls. I’m doing about nine or 10 a day at the moment.”Birmingham’s rubbish collectors have been on an all-out strike since early March.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Jessica Murray

The wait for family-size social housing has risen to more than 100 years in parts of England, which charities have condemned as “ludicrous” and a “national scandal”. Analysis from the National Housing Federation (NHF), Crisis and Shelter found that in 32 local authority areas across England, the wait for a home with at least three bedrooms was longer than 18 years – the duration of an entire childhood.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Jessica Murray

More than 100 relatives of people who have died after contact with the policein the UK since 1971 have joined plans for a class action lawsuit in pursuit of compensation and justice. The plan for group legal action was announced at the People’s Tribunal on Police Killings, a two-day event in which bereaved families presented evidence to a panel of international experts on how their relatives died and the long-term impact this has had on them.