News

Alfie Boe has said the British national anthem would “wipe the floor” with the Sex Pistols in a chart battle ahead of the Platinum Jubilee. The tenor, 48, has teamed up with soprano Sarah Brightman, 61, to release a version of God Save The Queen, featuring the NHS Voices of Care Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, in celebration of the milestone. The Sex Pistols, meanwhile, are reissuing their once-banned […]

Lester Piggott, whose Classic haul included nine Derby victories, has died at the age of 86. Unquestionably one of the greatest jockeys of all time, Piggott rode his first winner, The Chase, at Haydock in 1948 when just 12 years of age and his last win came with Palacegate Jack at the same Merseyside track in 1994, a few weeks short of his 59th birthday. He retired for a final […]

Former Love Island stars Jamie Jewitt and Camilla Thurlow have announced the birth of their second child, calling her a “beautiful early bird”. The couple, who met on the ITV dating series in 2017, already had one daughter, Nell Sophia, who was born in October 2020. In a post on Instagram, the couple revealed they had had a second baby girl on May 27, named Nora Belle. Alongside a video […]

Claims that details of an alleged Downing Street flat party were removed from Sue Gray’s investigation into coronavirus rule breaking has been denied by No 10 sources. The Sunday Times reported that the senior civil servant, who on Wednesday delivered her 37-page report into events held in Downing Street and Whitehall during England’s lockdowns, had pressure placed on her by senior members of Boris Johnson’s team to remove certain details […]

A new £3 million fund to upgrade and renovate England’s village halls has been announced by the Government to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Over a three-year period, the Platinum Jubilee Village Hall Improvement Grant Fund will provide money for projects such as installing wifi, extending buildings and modernising facilities. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said village halls are at the heart of rural life, hosting […]

Councils across England have received “a huge number” of applications from residents eager to celebrate More than 16,000 street parties are expected to be thrown over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend. Councils across England have received “a huge number” of applications from residents eager to celebrate the monarch’s 70-year milestone, according to the Local Government Association (LGA). Many councils have waived administration fees for road closures, of which […]

More than one in 10 Scottish homes have still not returned their census, new figures have revealed, weeks after the original deadline to fill out the form passed. Some 86% of homes have returned the form, the National Records of Scotland (NRS) said on Saturday, with more than two million filling the once-in-a-decade census online and around 250,000 posting a paper copy. Paul Lowe, chief executive of the NRS, urged […]

Airport delays could get worse during the summer holidays because of staff shortages, a leading trade union has warned. Unite said delays at some airports over Easter will be repeated during next week’s half-term holidays and will be worse during the summer. General secretary Sharon Graham said: “During the pandemic, when airline operators, and others in aviation, slashed jobs to boost corporate profits, we warned this corporate greed would cause […]

Rishi Sunak has insisted he did not time handing out £21 billion worth of cost-of-living support to deflect from the controversy over Downing Street lockdown parties. The Chancellor bowed to demands for the UK Government to step in and help households to deal with ballooning energy bills and rising shop prices, which are being fuelled by 40-year-high inflation, by revealing an emergency package of extra cash for millions of people. […]