British Defence Minister John Healey yesterday compared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In doing so, he commented on US President Donald Trump's words that the Ukrainian leader is a ‘dictator without elections’.more

London is set to enjoy unseasonably warm weather as other parts of the UK is battered by gusts of up to 70mph. Weather warnings have been issued for wind and rain just as temperatures are increasing after a cold spell earlier this month. more

Taxpayers who failed to meet the January 31 self-assessment deadline could soon face escalating penalties and interest. However, there may be some respite, following an interest rate adjustment by HM Revenue & Customs. more

There are a record number of patients in hospital with Norovirus in England. Data from NHS England showed 1,160 patients a day were in hospital with the vomiting bug on average last week – double the level at the same period last year.more

Anti-Muslim hate in the UK surged to record levels last year, an organisation tracking Islamophobia has found. Almost 6,000 reports to Tell Mama were confirmed by it as anti-Muslim incidents, more than double the number two years ago, with men targeted more than women for the first time since the body was founded in 2012.more

The plan for Ukraine after a possible truce with Russia is to deploy up to 30,000 troops from Europe there, overseeing the ceasefire and US protection of the contingent, the UK's Daily Telegraph reported.more

About 500 London Underground passengers were injured last year after falling into the gap between Tube trains and the platform or getting caught in closing doors. A total of 1,893 “passenger-train interface” (PTI) incidents were reported to Transport for London in 2024, in which 522 people suffered injuries.more

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday during a conversation between the two politicians, the British head of government's office said in a statement.more

UK households who've financially supported family members with a large cash gift in the past seven years could be hit with an inheritance tax bill. The warning has come as HMRC reveals inheritance tax receipts soared to £5 billion from April to October 2024.more

UK inflation jumped sharply in the year to January, driven by rising food prices, air fares and an increase in private school fees. The higher-than-expected jump to 3% from 2.5% in December, means prices rose at the fastest pace for 10 months.more

Sir Sadiq Khan has given the green light for parking fines in London to increase to up to £160. The mayor has approved a request from the capital’s 33 boroughs to hike the cost of penalty charge notices (PCNs) in a bid to create more of a deterrent to “anti-social and obstructive parking”.more

A landlord has been ordered by a court to pay £37,000 after 18 people were found living in a terraced house in north London. Charles Egbiremolen, 57, was operating eight bedsits without a licence in a converted three-bedroom terraced house in Fairmead Crescent, Edgware.more

Millions of households face a greater than expected increase to their energy bills of about 5% from April after a slump in Europe’s gas storage levels caused market prices to climb, according to analysts.more

Plans have been revealed that could see Slough borough becoming part of London under the Government's devolution scheme. Options for the borough include Slough merging with a West London council or joining the Greater London Authority.more

Sadiq Khan will tell EU diplomats “Brexit was a mistake” and renew his backing for a youth mobility scheme as he argues strengthened ties with the bloc would help offset Donald Trump’s threatened tariff regime.more

London household face an average increase in council tax bills of almost £100 from April, according to research by The Standard. Total bills will range from almost £2,500 for a benchmark band D bill in Kingston, which will remain the capital’s most expensive borough for council tax, to just £990 in Wandsworth and just over £1,000 in Westminster.more

Companies are planning to cut jobs or recruit fewer people ahead of rises to National Insurance payments and wages, according to a survey of UK employers. Businesses questioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) also said they would raise their prices to cover increasing employment costs.more

Iranian authorities have charged a British tourist couple with espionage, the Iranian judicial portal Mizan reported today. The couple, Craig and Lindsay Foreman, were said to have ‘collected information in several provinces of Iran’ - the portal reported.more

Merton now has the worst roads in London, with four in 10 'unclassified' roads rated as 'poor' according to the borough's MP. This marks a dramatic increase from last year, when just 23% of roads were in poor condition, according to a study by the Liberal Democrats locally.more

The first of up to 390 prisoners are being released early in the latest attempt to ease overcrowding in Scotland's jails. Emergency legislation was passed last year which allows eligible inmates sentenced to less than four years to be freed after 40% of their term, rather than 50%.more

School attendance rates are being affected by parents working from home after the pandemic, the head of Ofsted has said. The chief inspector of the schools watchdog in England, Martyn Oliver, told the Sunday Times that the widespread change in working habits after the pandemic had led to a shift in attitudes among pupils.more

Smell loss was a defining symptom of Covid, and for some people, a curse. Most people regain their sense of smell as their infection fades, but some never recover. It means not being able to tell if milk is off, if there’s a gas leak or what your newborn baby smells like.more

Met Office says snowfall may continue briefly in parts of UK before milder conditions well above February average. The UK will have warmer weather this week and sunshine in a number of areas on Monday, forecasters have said. After snow and torrential rain in parts of the country over the weekend, rising temperatures will bring a welcome respite.more

The rapid decline in the number of pharmacies across London has been laid bare by a new map. Nearly 9 in 10 (87 percent) of London boroughs have seen at least one pharmacy close permanently in the last two years due to unprecedented funding cuts, according to data from the National Pharmacy Association. more

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington next week, a Downing Street spokesman said today. The politicians are expected to discuss trade, investment and security.more