UK News

Rachel Reeves has squeezed the welfare budget further and boosted defence spending in a Spring Statement aimed at kick-starting the faltering economy. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – the government’s financial watchdog – halved its growth forecast for this year to 1%. The chancellor blamed global instability, arguing that the world was “changing before our eyes” and promising a ...

There is no evidence to suggest the substation fire that shut down Heathrow airport was suspicious, police say. The fire, which broke out in Hayes on Friday, resulted in the closure of Britain’s busiest airport for a day. Counter-terrorism officers were briefly drafted in to investigate. However, the Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday that the incident was no longer being ...

The lives of British servicemen and women have not been put at risk by a major security breach in the United States, the UK armed forces minister has told MPs. Luke Pollard said he had “high confidence” that British operational security remains “intact”. It comes after after a US journalist was inadvertently added to a secret group chat where senior ...

A lawyer investigating former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe has found “credible evidence” he and his staff mistreated two female team members in ways that “seem to amount to harassment”. Jacqueline Perry KC, employed by Reform to investigate after complaints were raised in February, found evidence of “victimisation, constant criticisms and discriminatory behaviour”. Parliamentary officials have launched a separate bullying ...

The government will end a contract with a provider of hotel places for asylum seekers after an audit identified concerns about the firm’s performance. Stay Belvedere Hotels (SBHL) provides around a quarter of Home Office asylum accommodation in 51 hotels in England and Wales. It also operates Napier Barracks in Kent, which houses people awaiting asylum decisions and is due ...

Dozens of military leaders from countries interested in supporting Ukraine’s security during a potential ceasefire with Russia will gather in the UK on Thursday to discuss plans for a peacekeeping force. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is co-leading efforts to form a “coalition of the willing” alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, is set to address the meeting, which will ...

His father, Ershad Ali, was killed while serving in the Merchant Navy during World War II Sylhet resident Ataur Rahman has made a “request” to remove his father’s name from Tower Hill Memorial, a World War II memorial in London. He applied for a UK visa in December last year to visit the monument and pay respect to his fallen ...

The UK government is ending funding for Islamophobia reporting service Tell Mama, The Guardian reported on Saturday. The project, founded in 2012, is now facing closure weeks after it reported a record number of anti-Muslim hate incidents across the country. Since its launch, Tell Mama has been wholly funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The ministry ...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer greeted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with a warm embrace on Saturday after the Ukrainian leader flew to London for talks following his clash at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump, reports Reuters. In an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on Friday, Trump threatened to withdraw support for Ukraine, three years after Russia invaded its smaller ...

The number of people claiming asylum in the UK in 2024 has reached its highest level since records began in 1979, Home Office figures show. According to data published on Thursday, 108,138 people claimed asylum in the year to December 2024 – an increase of 18% on 2023 and almost twice the number in 2021. The Home Office said the ...