UK News

More pensioners will receive the winter fuel allowance this winter – but payments will not be universal, the Government has said. Chancellor Rachel Reeves told reporters that “more people will get winter fuel payment this winter”, adding that further details will be announced “as soon as we possibly can”. She said: “People should be in no doubt that the means test will increase and more people will get winter fuel […]

Searches for Madeleine McCann are to resume in Portugal, near where the little girl was last seen in 2007. On Tuesday, fresh searches for Madeleine began, as teams drained a well and cleared areas of dense vegetation near abandoned buildings in countryside a few miles from Praia da Luz. Madeleine, then aged three, vanished while on holiday with her family in the Algarve resort, after her parents went out to […]

Rachel Reeves is set to tear up Treasury rules as she announces billions of pounds of investment in public transport in the North and Midlands. The £15.6 billion package for mayoral authorities is expected to include funding to extend the metros in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, along with a renewed tram network in South Yorkshire and a new mass transit systems in West Yorkshire. Announcing […]

Top universities have pledged more support for care leavers – including contextual admissions and bursaries – to get more disadvantaged young people into higher education. The Russell Group, which represents many of the most selective universities in the UK, has also set out a plan to improve the transparency and consistency of policies for contextual offers. In a report, the group of 24 research-intensive universities made a series of commitments […]

Scotland has the best access to culture of any part of the UK, according to a survey, but statistics indicate a class divide still exists. Research by National Galleries of Scotland shows 49% of people in the UK feel they have easy access to cultural space, such as museums and art galleries, compared to 64% of people in Scotland – even more than in London, at 54%. The lowest figures […]

A man has been arrested on suspicion of breaking into the grounds of Windsor Castle. Thames Valley Police said the man allegedly entered “restricted grounds” at the royal residence at just after 1pm on Sunday. The force added that he was “quickly challenged” by Metropolitan Police officers and did not enter the inner grounds of the castle. The Metropolitan Police said the man, aged in his 30s, was arrested on […]

Prison officers will be told to wear body armour in high-security prisons, the Government has announced, days after a staff member was seriously injured in a stabbing. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said prison officers would be told to wear body armour in settings at the highest categories of prisons in England and Wales, telling MPs it would apply to close supervision centres, separation centres and segregation units. It came as […]

Search teams have been seen draining a well and clearing areas of dense vegetation near abandoned buildings as the latest search for Madeleine McCann continues in Portugal. German investigators along with Portuguese police officers and firefighters are working in a little-developed area of countryside a few miles from Praia da Luz where Madeleine was last seen in 2007. Then aged three, she vanished while on holiday with her family in […]

Former glamour model Jodie Marsh can keep lemurs at her Essex animal sanctuary, a judge has ruled. Media personality Ms Marsh appealed against the local council’s decision to refuse her application for a wild animal licence to keep the primates at her sanctuary in Lindsell, nine miles north west of Braintree. In a ruling on Tuesday, District Judge Christopher Williams said: “On the basis of the evidence available I am […]