UK News

Don't scare workers, urges Cable

The business secretary condemns proposals to make it easier for firms to sack under-performing staff as "the wrong approach" to boosting the economy....

Widow 'disgusted' at sentence

Two men will serve minimum sentences of 25 and 14 years before being considered for release for the murder of Constable Stephen Carroll in Craigavon in 2009....

Parkinson's man walks with torch

The Olympic torch has been carried by a man with Parkinson's Disease, who managed to get out of his wheelchair and walk the last few paces....

Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb dies

Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb has died aged 62 following a lengthy battle with cancer, his family say....

Hunt investigated over donations

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to be investigated over claims he failed to register donations from media firms while an opposition MP....

Girl 'saw parents murder sister'

The sister of a Cheshire schoolgirl who was last seen alive in 2003 saw their parents kill her, a court is told....

Body parts kept by police forces

Police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have stored almost 500 body parts and human organs, a report says....

Book GP visit online 'by 2015'

Patients in England will be able to book GP appointments and get test results online within three years, ministers are promising....

Fire officer cleared over deaths

A fire service officer is acquitted of the manslaughter of four of his colleagues who were killed in a blaze in 2007....

UK childcare 'needs an overhaul'

Childcare in the UK needs to be overhauled to make it more affordable, a report by MP Elizabeth Truss, for the CentreForum think tank, suggests....

Queen to tour Chelsea Flower Show

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are set to embark on a private tour of this year's Chelsea Flower Show....

Clegg warns of Europe 'extremism'

A collapse in the eurozone would create the "ideal recipe for an increase in extremism and xenophobia", the UK deputy PM says....

Miliband: End education snobbery

Labour leader Ed Miliband attacks the "snobbery" which downgrades vocational qualifications and training in favour of university degrees....

Pre-1960 cars exempted from MoT

Classic and historic vehicles are to be exempted from the annual MoT test, the government announces....

Jowell describes phone hacking

Tessa Jowell tells the Leveson Inquiry how having her phone hacked made her feel as if she was going "slightly mad"....

Modified wheat trial vandalised

A man has been charged with criminal damage following a break-in at the Rothamsted Research centre where a trial of GM wheat is being held....

Pet dog swallows two-inch needle

A dog needs life-saving surgery after a two-inch needle ended up lodged in her throat....

Trio thrown out of royal tearoom

A royalist County Durham teashop owner throws three women out after they refuse to stand for the national anthem....

'No assent' to destroy body parts

Some body parts retained by police in Northern Ireland were disposed of "without the consent or knowledge" of their families, according to the justice minister....

Man remanded over fatal shooting

A 26-year-old man is remanded in custody charged with murdering his ex-partner's sister and attempting to murder her....

Plan for private landlord licence

Private landlords will effectively need a licence under reforms drawn up by the Welsh government as part of an attempt to tackle homelessness....

Missing man's body found in sea

A body discovered off Gwynedd is confirmed as that of 24-year-old Simon Jones, who had been missing for six weeks....

Lockerbie bomber's funeral held

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi has been buried in a private ceremony in the Libyan capital, Tripoli....

Prosecution ends in Fraser case

The Crown case in the trial of Nat Fraser, who is accused of murdering his wife Arlene, finishes....

Couple locked boy in coal bunker

A Blackpool couple who admitted locking up a boy in a converted coal bunker are due to be sentenced....

Worker dies on heritage railway

A rail worker dies after becoming trapped between two trains on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway....

England v West Indies as it happened

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell steer England to a five-wicket victory over West Indies in the opening Test of the summer at Lord's....

Unhappy Torres considers future

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres wants talks with the club about his future after suffering the 'worst moments' of his career....

Daley wins gold ahead of Olympics

Tom Daley marks his return to the scene of his first European title with a personal best score to seal his second continental crown in Eindhoven....

A Point of View: The European dream has become a nightmare

It may be time to give up on the European project in its current form, laments Will Self....

How do you insult someone legally?

Campaigners want to overturn laws targeting "insulting words and behaviour". Just how safe is it to scorn others?...

Quiz of the week's news

The Magazine's weekly quiz of the news, 7 days 7 questions....

US-Pakistan rift hits Nato summit

A US-Pakistan row over supply routes to Afghanistan is casting a cloud over the Nato summit in Chicago, as leaders discuss troop withdrawals....

Salmond: Remember Lockerbie dead

First Minister Alex Salmond says the victims of the Lockerbie bombing should be remembered, after the death of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi....

Greens' concern for energy bill

Environmentalists fear the UK government's draft energy bill to be published on Tuesday will end in a new "dash for gas"....

VIDEO: House of Commons

Labour's Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna has asked an urgent question on the leaked publication of the Beecroft report...

VIDEO: How to broadcast a torch relay

Covering a continuously moving object is no easy task and involves some new broadcasting ideas, as technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones has been finding out....

VIDEO: Skipper frees 40ft humpback whale

The skipper of a sight-seeing boat in Orkney is being hailed for his bravery after jumping into the water to save a humpback whale....

VIDEO: Chopper bike was designer's 'favourite'

The widow of the creator of the Raleigh Chopper has said the bike was one of his favourite designs for the Nottingham company....

VIDEO: North-west 'poorest' area of England

A church charity has found that the ten poorest parishes in England are all in the North, and nine of them are in the North West....

AUDIO: 'We had to fight our way out'

Former British Army Captain David Blakeley discusses his new book about a secret mission to Iraq in 2003....

VIDEO: What cuts can the police forces take?

The head of the Police Federation accused the Home Secretary of being "on the precipice of destroying" the service, but some claim it should take its share of public sector cuts....

AUDIO: How has child care changed?

A report published today suggests that Britain should change its regime on child care, and allow more people to become childminders. In the first of two reports, Sanchia Berg looks at how the system in Britain has developed over the last 15 years....

VIDEO: 2012 Chelsea Flower Show 'water-wise'

Exhibitors at this year's Chelsea Flower Show have delivered more water-friendly gardens in response to drought conditions and hosepipe bans....

Is it OK to celebrate next to a losing fan?

Is it OK to celebrate next to the defeated?...

Spaghetti Junction's 40th birthday

People speak of living and working by the famous M6 junction...

Garden designers weather worries

How drought, floods and cold snap hit Chelsea Flower Show...

Why are locked room mysteries so popular?

The appeal of the locked room mystery...

Megrahi death resolves little

Why Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's death resolves little...