According to The Times, the British independent inquiry into child sexual abuse was told that the Vatican deemed the requests to be inappropriate.

It’s been reported that Jacqueline Carey, counsel to the inquiry, told a preliminary hearing that the Vatican had been asked to give written evidence about sexual abuse cases in Britain and provide a senior official to present the evidence.

Carey said: “The Holy See confirmed that it would not be providing a witness statement or a witness to attend the hearing. The Holy See considers that the ‘domestic laws and internal proceedings of a foreign sovereign entity are not the proper object for a British inquiry’.”

She added that the Vatican said Archbishop Edward Adams, the papal nuncio to Britain, had diplomatic immunity and could not be forced to testify.

The inquiry has investigated behaviour by some priests in Ealing Abbey in west London, and in the diocese of Birmingham.

Gabrielle Shaw from the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, told The Times: “This is a really disappointing missed opportunity for the Vatican to show its commitment to Catholic survivors in the UK.

“The Vatican has a real chance here to set an example for all faiths by working with and supporting survivors across borders.”

Pope Francis has recently spoken out against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. In February the Vatican held a…

The Windrush generation refers to people who were encouraged to come to the UK from mostly Caribbean countries after 1948 to fill the work shortage after World War Two. Years later many were then denied work opportunities and not recognised as citizens because they were never given the correct paperwork or were told they wouldn’t need it.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme by the government aims to contribute to rebuilding trust with communities affected.

Bishop Dr Desmond Jaddoo, deputy presiding bishop at Vision Temple of Praise Church in Birmingham and Chair of the Windrush Movement UK, attended a meeting with Home Office officials on Thursday. 

He told Premier: “Many people have lost their jobs, they’ve lost homes, they’ve lost businesses, they’ve suffered health issues, it’s impacted immensely upon families and some have been deported as well.

“People have died as well over the period of time and it’s really to redress some of the impact that the Windrush scandal has had upon people.”

He added that there was a deeper problem other than the more obvious losses: “I want to just make it crystal clear right now, no amount of compensation will ever replace the hurt that people have suffered. So, it is not going to be a quick fix but the compensation does seek to redress, particularly financial, losses that many people have suffered.”

Dr Jaddoo explained that many…

It’s been responding to a new report which should children as young as seven are accessing adult material.

In the largest ever study of its kind, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) also found over half of 11 to 13 year olds have seen it at some point.

David Austin, chief executive of the BBFC, said: “Pornography is currently one click away for children of all ages in the UK, and this research supports the growing body of evidence that it is affecting the way young people understand healthy relationships, sex, body image and consent.

“The research also shows that when young children – in some cases as young as seven or eight years old – first see pornography online, it is most commonly not on purpose.”

The government has agreed to implement plans for age verification tools for online pornography but is yet to carry it out.

CARE’s Communications Manager, James Mildred said: “In this context, age-verification on pornographic sites is an absolute must.

“We need to make sure our young people are given the same level of protection online as they are offline.

“Of course, we know age-verification is not a silver bullet and needs to be complemented by other measures and parents have a particularly important role to play in making sure they are aware of the dangers and the steps to take to protect children online.

“The Digital Economy Act made provisions for an…

Rt Rev Nick Baines, who represents the Church of England on Brexit, issued a statement after Boris Johnson batted away questions about his use of language in the House of Commons.

Labour’s Paula Sherriff initially criticised Mr Johnson for his repeated use of “surrender act” when describing legislation designed to prevent ministers forcing through a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

She warned against using such language and mentioned murdered MP Jo Cox before highlighting that many of her colleagues are subjected to death threats and abuse.

But Mr Johnson labelled her remarks “humbug”, which prompted an angry response in the chamber – with shouts of “shame” emerging.

The Prime Minister later suggested the best way to honour Jo Cox was to get Brexit done and unite the country.

Speaker John Bercow said the culture in the Commons on Wednesday was “toxic”, adding it was “worse than any I have known in my 22 years in the House”.

Addressing the scenes in parliament, Bishop Nick said: “The language used in the House of Commons last night is probably unprecedented. Drawing the name of a murdered MP into the fight was, at the very least, questionable. To describe the contribution of female MPs, pleading with the PM to moderate his language in the light of violence and death threats, as ‘humbug’ is appalling.

“The Prime Minister has…