News

Renters, single people and the “squeezed middle” generation are particularly likely to have lost confidence in recent months in their ability to cover their housing costs, a survey suggests. The research was released as HSBC UK and housing charity Shelter announced a new partnership to support the financial health of people and communities during the cost-of-living crisis and “help break the vicious circle of homelessness”. One in five (20%) people […]

The Prime Minister is to kick off a conference that will look to increase opportunities for the private sector to boost economic growth. The Business Connect event on Monday will gather industry leaders and investors together with Government ministers for “direct and detailed discussions”, according to Downing Street. No 10 said the London gathering of 200 of the UK’s highest-profile chief executives was about recognising that the UK Government cannot […]

Sifan Hassan only entered the London Marathon to see if she could finish it. Yet despite stopping twice, once through injury and once as she tried to grab a drink, the 30-year-old track specialist won it. On the day the capital said farewell to Sir Mo Farah, who finished ninth in his final crack at the famous race, two new distance stars emerged. Ethiopian-born Dutch athlete Hassan’s remarkable victory, in […]

Mobile phone users are being hit with “shocking” mid-contract price hikes by the country’s biggest networks when they could be getting better deals and strong service elsewhere, according to an influential survey. The “big four” network giants O2, EE, Vodafone and Three were outperformed by smaller firms in the annual survey of best and worst mobile phone providers by consumer group Which?. Consumers could be finding better value and good […]

Australian entertainer Barry Humphries has died at the age of 89, a spokesman for the hospital where he was being treated has confirmed. During a seven-decade career, the stage and screen veteran entertained generations with satirical characters including Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. Humphries died on Saturday evening, according to David Faktor, a spokesman for St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. He told the PA news agency: “I can […]

The Government has issued a “blatant threat” by taking legal action over a planned 48-hour strike by nurses in the long-running dispute over pay, a union leader has said. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members working in the NHS in England at workplaces with a strike mandate are preparing to take industrial action from 8pm or the start of the night shift on April 30 until 8pm or the start […]

Two Just Stop Oil protesters who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing, causing gridlock when police closed the bridge to traffic, have both been jailed as the judge stressed he wanted others to be deterred from copying them. Morgan Trowland, 40, and 34-year-old Marcus Decker used ropes and other climbing equipment to scale the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 in Essex and Kent. Prosecutor Adam King […]

The world’s fastest marathon runner has said Tower Bridge is his favourite landmark in the London Marathon and that the race “is like my home”. Speaking to children at Cubitt Town Primary School in east London ahead of this year’s event on Sunday, Eliud Kipchoge also said listening to Kelly Clarkson’s hit Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) motivates him to run faster. The 38-year-old Kenyan athlete won the TSA London […]

England captain Leah Williamson will miss this summer’s World Cup after rupturing her anterior cruciate knee ligament. Arsenal confirmed the worst fears around the injury the 26-year-old suffered during Wednesday’s Women’s Super League defeat by Manchester United. The Gunners said in a statement: “Leah will now begin a period of rehabilitation and is set for an extended spell on the sidelines. She will undergo surgery in due course. “Everyone at […]