News

A litre of unleaded petrol now costs 142.57p on average at the pumps Petrol prices are at their lowest in more two years, the RAC has said. A litre of unleaded petrol now costs 142.57p on average at the pumps, a price not seen since the end of October 2021. It is around 10p a litre cheaper than in the run-up to last Christmas, but diesel prices have not fallen. […]

The Duke of Sussex has been awarded £140,600 after bringing a phone hacking claim against a tabloid newspaper publisher at the High Court. Mr Justice Fancourt concluded there was “extensive” phone hacking generally by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) from 2006 to 2011, “even to some extent” during the Leveson Inquiry into media standards. The judge also ruled that the Duke’s phone was probably hacked “to a modest extent” by the […]

Rebecca Welch will make history as the first woman to referee a Premier League match later this month, while on Boxing Day Sam Allison will become the first black man to officiate a top-flight game in 15 years. The 40-year-old Welch will take charge of the Fulham v Burnley match on December 23, while Allison will be the man in the middle for Sheffield United’s home game against Luton three days later. Uriah Rennie […]

Police are concentrating their search efforts on the River Wensum in Norwich Detectives are continuing the search for mother of three Gaynor Lord as her family mark a week since her disappearance. Officers said there is a “high probability” that Ms Lord went into the River Wensum in Norwich, where a huge search is being conducted by specialist divers. Police said they have not been able to establish her state of mind when she went […]

Levels of homelessness in England this Christmas are likely to be 14% higher than last year, according to analysis by Shelter, which blamed a housing emergency it said is out of control. The charity estimated that on any given night in 2023 there were 309,550 people in some form of homelessness, the majority of whom were in temporary accommodation. This is up from its estimate of 271,421 in its 2022 […]

A downward trend in house sales and new home buyer inquiries appears to be easing, according to surveyors. A net balance of 14% of property professionals reported new buyer inquiries falling rather than rising in November, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said. While this signals that buyer demand is continuing to fall, it is the least negative figure since April 2022. Across the UK, feedback is mixed regarding […]

The UK Government is going to miss its 2030 decarbonisation targets without “an immediate step change” in policy, the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has said. A lack of consistent messaging, U-turns and watered down targets mean the Government has to “close the gap” within the next five years. The UK is committed under the Paris Agreement to lower its emissions by 68% compared to 1990 levels by the end […]

Manchester United’s European campaign is over after Kingsley Coman fired already-qualified Bayern Munich to a victory that meant Erik ten Hag’s men finished bottom of their Champions League group. A wild, error-strewn continental group stage left the Red Devils’ last-16 hopes hanging by a thread, with progress only possible if they beat the German champions at Old Trafford and Copenhagen and Galatasaray drew. But the Danes’ victory and Coman’s finish […]

The size of the UK economy contracted in October as the manufacturing and construction sectors were hit by poor weather. Gross domestic product (GDP) is thought to have fallen 0.3% during the month, down from 0.2% growth in September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It came as all three of the main sectors that the ONS tracks fell into negative territory for the first time since July. Economists had expected […]