Writers of the much loved British soap will be introducing a shocking story-line on Friday evening to help highlight the practice of human trafficking in the UK.

The charity was approached by the show’s researchers to assist them in telling the story of a young girl, Alina, who runs a nail salon and is being held against her will.

The Salvation Army has held the UK government contract to support adult victims of modern slavery in England and Wales since 2011.

As experts in the field of human exploitation, it has helped the show to accurately display how victims might find themselves in these situations and the realities facing them.

The Salvation Army’s director for anti-trafficking and modern slavery, Cathy Betteridge told Premier more about the new Corrie character: “[Alina] is petrified of her boss, she’s anxious to leave the salon for any length of time.

“It’s all in relation to the fact that she’s tied up and held in this situation where she is free to come and go, but actually is being held by an organised crime group.”

When asked why it’s important for this story to be told on the popular TV programme, Betteridge said: “Coronation Street are very good at taking up issues that people experience and are living through. And this is one of those issues that is relevant and happening in our society.

“So it’s actually going to bring it into the homes of people to…

Lord Bourne has been a member of the Lords since September 2013 and is responsible for departmental business in the House of Lords, faith, community cohesion, gypsy and traveller equality policy and the race disparity audit. 

The minister worked with religious and community leaders to promote faith, religious tolerance and stronger communities within the UK, such as by doing a tour of faith communities earlier this year (pictured). 

Lord Bourne wrote on Twitter: “I have resigned for the first time in my life and it is from a job which I really love and enjoy and which I had just been offered once more; but I cannot accept a no deal on Oct 31st and so I go, 

“I have immense respect for my private office,the civil service and for my colleagues and the Lords as well as the vast number of great people that I have met and who have helped me in #Faith, in #MHCLG and in #Wales. Thank you”.

Lord Bourne previously said in 2017 that he would be unable to welcome Donald Trump to the UK on a state visit following his retweeting of videos posted by far-right group Britain First.

He previously served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, was Assembly Member for Mid & West Wales from 1999 to 2011 and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly for Wales between 2007 and 2011.

I have resigned for the first time in my…

Mr Barr announced in a statement that the death penalty would be implemented in order to bring justice to the families of victims, and that the five death-row inmates have all been convicted of murder.

In some cases, the individuals have also been convicted of the torture or rape of children and the elderly.

Mark Mullins is from the campaign group Christian Watch and advocates for the death penalty.

Speaking to Premier he said he believes it is a biblical principle: “I believe scripturally it is justified.”

“I support it because it’s in Genesis chapter nine. At the same time that we were given the rainbow as a promise by God that he would not visit the same flood judgement on the nations of the world, he imposed a death penalty.”

“The Law of proportionality – An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, a life for life. And I believe that in justice and in other areas of the law we impose the lex talionis, proportionate punishment for the crime.”

When asked how capital punishment can be justified within the Christian teachings of forgiveness and redemption he said that the state has been given the authority to take life by God and argued that many Christians would participate in a just war without any moral conflict.

“What is the difference between a just war where life is taken and imposing the death penalty when somebody is found guilty of taking another person’s life…

The signatories include 28 Church of England bishops, members of the Methodist Conference, Baptist Church and United Reformed Church.

They start by welcoming the allowance of 5,000 refugees to resettle in the UK in 2020-21 but add that they would like to see 10,000 resettled a year.

It reads: “we are writing to ask for your assurance that as prime minister you will ensure this recent announcement is not a one-off, but rather the start of a lasting commitment by the UK to welcome its share of people seeking sanctuary globally.

“We believe that the UK can and must resettle more refugees. The Refugee Council, British Red Cross and others recently called for resettlement to be expanded to at least 10,000 refugees each year. Meanwhile Safe Passage International have been campaigning for the UK to welcome at least 1,000 children annually from Europe and conflict zones, and have already secured pledges from local authorities amounting to nearly 1,300 places if the government makes a commitment to child refugees.”

The faith leaders call this a “small ask” for one of the world’s richest countries.

They cite the record of the previous government, reminding Mr Johnson that in the first two years of the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme, tailored to help children from the Middle East who had been affected by conflict, only 20 unaccompanied children were brought to…

The Communist Party of China has been cracking down on religion in recent months and has intensified its measures by ordering local governments to closely supervise and monitor its residents who believe in God.

Officials are expected to report to the government on a regular basis. The consequences are severe if the numbers appear to have been doctored.

A local official from Henan province told Bitter Winter, a magazine on religious freedom and human rights in China, “the government is taking the matter of religion very seriously now. Every day, they ask us how many people in our village believe in God.

“If we say there aren’t any believers, they claim that we’re concealing what we know and failing to report it. If it is determined that we didn’t report the situation truthfully, we will be punished.”

Local officials are expected to report back to local government twice a day. Another local official said: “It’s like our lives are being threatened. After reporting someone, we have to restrict their movements and report their situation every day.”

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.