Radio News Hub

Thousands of people are being relocated to the UK as part of a secret £850 million scheme set up after a personal data leak of Afghans who supported British forces, it can now be reported. A dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) was released “in error” in February 2022 by a defence official. The breach resulted in […]

Troubled Thames Water has revealed it slumped to a £1.65 billion annual loss and saw its mammoth debt mountain balloon higher. The utility tumbled to the pre-tax loss in the year to March 31 from profits of £157 million the previous year after it booked a £1.27 billion bad debt provision on intercompany loans and set aside £122 million for fines from Ofwat, among other costs. Results from Britain’s biggest […]

First-time buyers are set to see an “instant impact” from the drive to kickstart economic growth, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to say. More mortgages will be available at more than 4.5 times a buyer’s income following recent Bank of England recommendations that some lenders can offer more high loan-to-income mortgages if they choose to. This will create up to 36,000 additional mortgages for first-time buyers over the first year, […]

Grants for new electric cars are being reintroduced after being scrapped in June 2022, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. Drivers will be able to reduce the purchase cost of a new electric car by up to £3,750. Officials hope the measure – restricted to vehicles priced at up to £37,000 – will encourage more drivers to switch to electric motoring. The DfT said 33 new electric car models […]

Recent overspend by councils in England on their adult social care budgets was the highest in a decade, according to a major survey. The annual report from care leaders warned that due to the current state of the sector – which campaigners have long argued has not been prioritised or had adequate investment – the Government’s aim to shift more care into the community could be undermined. The Association of […]

Carlos Alcaraz expects another blockbuster final against Jannik Sinner when they bring their gripping rivalry to Wimbledon. Two-time defending champion Alcaraz beat Taylor Fritz to reach his third consecutive SW19 final, where he will face world number one Sinner in his first. The two dominant players in men’s tennis over the past two years finally met in their first grand slam final at the French Open last month, where Alcaraz […]

The third heatwave of the summer is set to peak on Saturday, forecasters said, with highs of more than 34C possible in parts of the UK. Amber heat health alerts are in place for the Midlands and southern and eastern England until 9am on Monday, warning of the potential for a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. Temperatures reached 34.7C at Astwood […]

Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Blair, who was in charge of the force during the July 7 bombings, has died at the age of 72. Ian Blair, who ran the force from 2005 to 2008, took a seat as a crossbench peer in 2010 when he became Lord Blair of Boughton. He had been knighted in 1999. Lord Blair, who had been an often controversial top officer, “continued to be […]

Two elderly residents have died after a stolen BMW which was being pursued by police crashed into a care home, a force has said. Highcliffe Care Home in Witherwack, Sunderland, had to be evacuated following the serious collision which caused structural damage to the building at around 9.40pm on Wednesday. On Friday morning, Northumbria Police said: “Sadly, two care home residents – a woman in her 90s and a woman […]