Royal Mail has been fined more than £10m by the postal regulator for missing its delivery targets, with more than a quarter of first-class mail arriving late. Ofcom, which fined the company £5.6m for the same failure of its regulatory obligations last November, said Royal Mail took “insufficient and ineffective steps” to improve its performance this year.more

Plans for the City’s tallest tower were given the go ahead today. The building known as 1 Undershaft will rise to 306.9 metres (1008ft) will exactly equal the height of the Shard across the river at London Bridge.more

Dulwich Park is the kind of place that manages to offer a little bit of everything—whether you’re a seasoned jogger, a dog walker, a family on a day out, or just someone looking to escape the frenetic pace of city life.more

Residents in wealthier London boroughs live a decade longer in “good health” than those in poorer areas, analysis shows. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that men in Richmond lived to 69.5 in good health between 2021 and 2023, compared with 57.8 in Lewisham.more

British police arrest environmental protesters at nearly three times the global average rate, research has found, revealing the country as a world leader in the legal crackdown on climate activism.more

Strikes that were due to take place in the build up the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day have been called off, as well as a further day of action that was planned for December 29more

A majority of Britons who voted to leave the EU would now accept a return to free movement in exchange for access to the single market, according to a cross-Europe study that also found a reciprocal desire in member states for closer links with the UK.more

The UK economy shrank for the second month in a row in October as concerns about the Budget continued to weigh on confidence. Official figures showed a 0.1% drop, despite expectations that the economy would return to growth after a fall in September.more

Tube and rail fares in London will rise by an average of 4.6% in 2025, while bus and tram fares will again be frozen, the mayor has announced. The increase in Tube and rail fare rises will come into effect from 2 March 2025 with daily caps increasing by between 40p and 70p depending on what zones are travelled through.more

Children in England are being set up to live "shorter and unhealthier" lives because there is so much easily available junk food in cities, the country's health chief has warned.more

The British government said yesterday that the first of thousands of victims who were infected with HIV in the 1980s will receive compensation in the coming days. It said the first 10 people will receive a total of more than £13 million.more

The government is concerned that Christmas train services could be disrupted by staff shortages, the rail minister has said. Lord Hendy said that the transport department was going to "keep a close watch on staffing" throughout the holidays.more

The NHS is forced to spend a “staggering” £14.7bn a year treating people who have been harmed by mistakes made during their care, a report reveals. And a stark north/south divide on patient safety has opened up across England, with double the amount of death and disability caused by medical negligence in the north-east than in London.more

Choosing where to live can come down to a number of factors. For many, living in the best places in the capital is a must, and some of the best places in London to live have been named by Muddy Stilettos.more

The energy price cap could rise another 1% in April to £1,762 a year for a typical dual fuel consumer, Cornwall Insight has said.more

Numbers of hungry and malnourished households in the UK are on the rise because of climate breakdown and inflation, government figures show, with poorer, younger and disabled people hit hardest. Many households worry about food running out, cannot afford balanced meals, experience hunger and have missed meals in the past 30 days, the figures reveal.more

The justice secretary has said even under the government's plans to open 14,000 more prison places, they could still run out of space over the next few years. Shabana Mahmood told the BBC that "building alone is not enough" to deal with the critical lack of space in UK jails.more

Heathrow airport said it is preparing for its busiest Christmas Day. The west London airport expects the number of passengers travelling through its terminals on December 25 to be 21% higher than on the same day last year.more

The father and stepmother of 10-year-old Sara Sharif have been found guilty of her murder after subjecting her to "horrific suffering" for more than two years. Sara was hooded, burned and beaten during a campaign of abuse before her body was found with dozens of injuries at the family's home in Woking, Surrey, last year.more

The Northern Ireland assembly has voted to continue with the special Brexit trading arrangements for another four years. It means Northern Ireland will retain some EU trade laws as a means of maintaining an invisible border on the island of Ireland, despite continued opposition in some unionist quarters.more

Labour should build 12 new towns in England that are not car-dependent or built on flood plains, a former government adviser has said in a report.more

Renting a newly let property is on average £270 per month more expensive than at the end of the coronavirus pandemic, according to figures from Zoopla. Rent began to soar in 2021 because of high demand from tenants after lockdowns were lifted and limited numbers of available properties.more

A white Christmas could be a possibility this year for some in the UK after the Met Office predicted snow between Christmas Eve and January 7. In its long-range forecast for the festive period, meteorologists said sleet and snow was “likely at times”, particularly on higher ground in the north.more

Asylum seekers will be housed in disused care homes and student digs under a Home Office plan to find 800 new accommodation sites and cut a bill that has risen to £8m a day.more

Government departments have recommended a pay rise of 2.8% for millions of public sector workers including teachers, NHS staff and senior civil servants next year. Unions responded by saying the proposed pay increase was too low, with one threatening strike action. more