UK residents will no longer be able to buy free-range eggs in the supermarket from today due to a huge outbreak of bird flu that has required egg-laying hens to be kept indoors.
A spike in cases has caused free-range eggs to vanish from shelves, as farmers have been required to keep their hens indoors for the past 16 weeks under government advice intended to stop the spread of avian flu cases.
Before Christmas, the UK’s chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss instructed farmers to keep their birds housed inside following the “largest-ever outbreak of bird flu”, but now, after four months indoors, their eggs can no longer legally be branded as free-range.
Instead, from Monday 21 March free-range eggs will be rebranded in supermarkets as ‘barn eggs’ – the name given to eggs produced by birds that are permanently kept indoors.
Whilst the UK has one of the largest flocks of free-range eggs in Europe, there are typically four different types of eggs sold in supermarkets here: organic, free-range, barn-reared and caged.
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Hens laying free-range eggs must, by law, have unlimited daytime access to open enclosures with at least 4 sq m space per bird.
In the barn system, by comparison, there can be as many as 9 hens housed indoors per square metre, whilst organic hens housed indoors are allowed a maximum of 6 in the same amount of space.
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Image: Rawpixel
EU law permits free-range laying hens to be kept indoors for up to 16 weeks before their eggs must be renamed as barn eggs.
That time period has now passed and, with orders to keep birds indoors now being extended, the indoor confinement looks set to continue for some time still.
So in response, the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) has decided to relabel all commercial boxes of free-range eggs – for now, at least – to help level the playing field for farmers, the majority of whom are still allowed to let their birds outside if they follow “strict disease prevention measures”, says DEFRA.
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Prices are not affected, and farmers hope consumers will be supportive as they say the relabelling is just a technicality – adding that their hens are still free-range, just being temporarily housed inside.
Feature image – Pxhere
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Michelin-recommended rooftop restaurant Climat has closed its doors with immediate effect
Daisy Jackson
One of Manchester’s top-rated restaurants has announced its shock and immediate closure.
Climat, which is set way up high in Blackfriars House with staggering views of Manchester city centre, has said that the Michelin-recommended restaurant is now permanently closed.
In a heartbreaking statement, founder Christopher Laidler said that Climat is ‘yet another casualty of the times we’re living in’.
Laying out the brutal reality of running a hospitality business, Chris wrote about ‘rampant food inflation’, an ‘ever-increasing tax burden’, and ‘the persistent cost of living crisis’, describing it as a perfect storm against hospitality.
Then delving deeper into the numbers, he shared that Climat has faced an eye-watering £112,000 electricity bill for its first 13 months in business – that’s 400% more than they’d budgeted.
That was chased by a 33% increase in staff wages, then a jump in business rates from £12,000 a year to £38,000 a year.
Couple that with reduced footfall and it’s ‘spelling disaster for so many’.
Climat has closed its doors with immediate effectClimat has laid their finances bare in their closing statement
He wrote: “Whilst I wanted to highlight these reasons for closure, in the naive hope the Government will start to listen before it’s too late for others, I want to acknowledge the fantastic work of our team over the last 3.5 years.
“The closure does not do justice to their efforts and dedication. I’d also like extend a huge debt of gratitude to our guests for their support, enabling us to build a nationally recognised wine list – our raison d’être.”
Signing off, he said: “I wish everyone the very best of luck in these challenging times. Bye for now, Christopher.”
Climat opened in late 2022, with an impressive wine list and a beautiful restaurant space overlooking Manchester.
It didn’t take long before it was added to the Michelin Guide, which wrote: “An open kitchen is the focus of the room, with its aromas filling the air, and the concise fixed-price menu includes well-executed dishes such as halibut with spinach and sorrel velouté, where the ingredient quality shines through.
“Wine is a feature with one side of the room acting as a bar and the carefully curated list deftly mixing traditional and modern styles.”
Claire’s is closing down stores in the UK and Ireland with more than 1,300 jobs set to be lost
Danny Jones
In another hit to domestic shoppers, Claire’s Accessories is closing down en masse across the UK and Ireland after entering into administration once again.
Falling into an unfortunate financial status for the second time in less than a year, Claire’s will be shutting down all of their standalone stores across Britain, along with their IE branches.
A total of 154 stores will soon disappear, with more than a thousand people set to be put out of work.
Once a mainstay of British high streets up and down the country, the accessory shop known for all things jewellery, piercings and more has ceased trading effective immediately.
Announced at the start of the week and the end of the first full month of Q2, it was confirmed that Claire’s closed their final locations on Monday, 27 April.
With administrators, Kroll, appointed to wrap up business proceedings, an estimated 1,300 English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh workers have now lost their jobs.
Founded way back in 1961 over in the United States, Claire’s has operated across the Atlantic for more than three decades.
However, with various other contemporaries and cheaper online options having appeared over the years, they’ve struggled not just to remain profitable but to compete full stop.
They most recently filed for bankruptcy in the US this past August (2025), with their Belgian, Spanish, and Dutch divisions having already called it quits.
Manchester location(s) have changed a lot over time, but now they’re on the way out (Credit: Arndale)
For many, the outcome isn’t all that surprising, but it will nevertheless be a sad loss for many who have seen multiple generations visit these venues over the years.
Georgina Pellant -
21st March 2022 
