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Rare tornado sweeps through Northampton
A tornado tore through Northampton, lifting tiles from rooftops, overturning sheds and pulling down power lines. The twister is thought to have caused thousands of pounds’ worth of damage to homes and allotments in just 30 seconds.
In footage taken by residents around 8pm on Saturday the tornado can be seen tearing along the ground and chucking debris into the air.
High winds and storms were battering the area when the black column started moving across fields towards the town. For a funnel cloud to be classified by the Met Office as a tornado, it has to touch the ground, and many witnesses said they saw it doing so.
High-profile parents call for green coronavirus recovery
More than 100 high-profile parents have urged Boris Johnson to ensure the recovery from the coronavirus crisis tackles climate change. An open letter asking the prime minister to ensure the response to the Covid-19 emergency takes climate change into account has been signed by the actors Julie Walters and Lily Cole, the musician Paloma Faith and Chris Packham, the TV naturalist, among others.
Parents were set to gather outside Downing Street yesterday where they planned to create a real-life wind farm with handheld bamboo turbines to signify the low-carbon recovery they say is required “to create jobs for our children today and help ensure a safe climate tomorrow”.
The demonstration was organised by Mothers Rise Up and Parents for Future UK, two parent-led campaign groups coordinating the open letter which are demanding low-carbon investment.
‘Must act faster’: Patel on Wiley’s antisemitic posts
Priti Patel has questioned why social media firms did not act immediately to remove antisemitic posts by grime artist Wiley, in which he shared conspiracy theories and insulted Jewish people on both his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
The home secretary said she has asked for a “full explanation” from Twitter and Instagram about why the rapper’s offensive comments were allowed to remain on his accounts for 12 hours after they were first posted.
Ms Patel said in a tweet yesterday: “The antisemitic posts from Wiley are abhorrent. They should not have been able to remain on Twitter and Instagram for so long, and I have asked them for a full explanation. Social media companies must act much faster to remove such appalling hatred from their platforms.”
Some of Wiley’s tweets have now been removed, with a note saying they violate Twitter rules.
Five hospitalised after being rescued from Welsh beach
Five people have been taken to hospital after being caught in a rip current off the coast of a popular beach in north Wales, the ambulance service has said. A total of eight people were pulled from the water after being dragged out to sea at Aberdovey Beach in Gwynedd, north Wales, yesterday afternoon, the RNLI said.
An RNLI spokesperson said a multi-agency response was launched at around 2.20pm following reports of people in trouble in the water.
The Welsh Ambulance Service said a total of five people were taken to hospital. Their condition is not thought to be life-threatening, a spokesperson for the service said.