General news

• EU Referendum: Why Lamont Is Backing Brexit

  02-03-2016 23:03
  
  Former chancellor Norman Lamont has officially declared he is in favour of leaving the European Union. His support for Brexit ahead of June's referendum comes on the day Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond issued the third Government report backing staying in. Mr Hammond said "every alternative to remaining in a reformed EU would leave Britain weaker, less safe and worse off".
  
  Read more

• Britain puts green bank up for sale

  02-03-2016 22:34
  By Freya Berry and Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday will set in motion a process to sell off its Green Investment Bank that invests in renewable energy projects, with a potential total price tag of around 4 billion pounds. The sale process, announced by business secretary Sajid Javid on Wednesday, aims to give greater access to funding for the bank, which was set up in 2012 and is the world's first bank dedicated to green infrastructure investments. The government will consi
  
  Read more

• NHS 'Scandal' As UK Pays Millions To EU

  02-03-2016 22:31
  
  New figures show the NHS is paying out millions more for EU healthcare than it is claiming back from EU countries. In what one MP described as a "scandalous failure", it has emerged that the UK pays more than £670m to EU countries for Brits' healthcare abroad, while claiming back less than £50m from the EU, even though there are significantly more EU citizens in the UK than UK citizens in the EU. Under the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) - countries can claim back health c
  
  Read more

• Green Energy Investors 'Spooked' By Government

  02-03-2016 21:36
  
  The Government is risking higher energy bills for families in the long term as investors have been "spooked" by "sudden and unexpected" policy changes, MPs have warned. The Energy and Climate Change Committee said the self-styled policy "reset", which included cuts to solar, onshore wind and biomass subsidies, had resulted in renewable and greener energy projects being placed on hold. It cited mixed messages - Government deciding that coal-fired power stations were to be phased out by 2025 on th
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Hooligans Stopped From Travelling To Euro 2016

  02-03-2016 20:59
  
  Up to 2,000 known football hooligans across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be prevented from travelling to Euro 2016. It is part of a crackdown aimed at helping the French authorities concentrate on the more important task of keeping the event safe from terrorism. Sky News has seen latest figures which show football-related disorder in England and Wales has increased significantly in the last year.
  
  Read more

• Adam Johnson Convicted Of Child Sex Charge

  02-03-2016 20:57
  
  Footballer Adam Johnson could face up to 10 years in jail after being found guilty of one charge of sexual activity with a child. Johnson, who was convicted of touching a 15-year-old girl intimately, was told by a judge a "significant custodial sentence" was highly probable and he would not see his one-year-old baby for some time. The footballer had exchanged hundreds of social media messages with the girl which he encouraged her to delete, Bradford Crown Court heard.
  
  Read more

• 'Bullied' Tory activist subjected to 'inhumane and degrading treatment' before suicide

  02-03-2016 20:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A YOUNG Conservative who took his own life was subjected to "inhumane and degrading treatment", it has been claimed.
  
  Read more

• Dad grilled by school after son, 8 said he wanted to ‘fight terrorists’

  02-03-2016 20:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A BOY aged eight sparked a social services probe after he told teachers he wanted to “fight terrorists”.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Sports Direct Relegated In FTSE 100 Reshuffle

  02-03-2016 20:35
  
  Sports Direct has officially been relegated from the FTSE 100 after its market value tumbled by more than £1.5bn in just three months amid weak trading and allegations about its treatment of staff. Confirmation came from the FTSE Russell Group following its latest quarterly review of the market capitalisation - or total share value - of each member of the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indexes. It's a bitter blow to the company's founder Mike Ashley, who also owns Newcastle United, the Premier Leag
  
  Read more

• Two Charged Over Hit-And-Run Death Of Boy, 11

  02-03-2016 20:23
  
  Shahzaib Hossain was crossing the road after attending prayers with his family on Monday afternoon. Greater Manchester Police on Wednesday charged Henry Barker, 19, and Aaron Ward, 23, in connection with Shahzaib's death. Barker, of Failsworth, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, causing death while driving uninsured, driving without insurance, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident.
  
  Read more

• Dragonfly stakes claim for animal kingdom's top long-distance traveller

  02-03-2016 20:00
  A small dragonfly that migrates thousands of miles between continents could be the animal kingdom's most impressive long-distance traveller, scientists believe.
  
  Read more

• Adam Johnson faces 'substantial' jail term over child sex conviction

  02-03-2016 19:52
  
  Former England footballer Adam Johnson has been told he will received a "substantial prison sentence" after he was found guilty of sexual activity with a besotted 15-year-old fan.
  
  Read more

• EU cities will pounce on London business in event of Brexit - Hammond

  02-03-2016 19:35
  Rival European financial centres are already looking at how to take business from London if Britain votes to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Wednesday. In a speech setting out the alternatives to EU membership, Hammond, who is backing an 'In' vote, said none of the outlined options were better than remaining in the bloc under a deal agreed by Prime Minister David Cameron and other EU leaders. "Let's be blunt, there will be people in Pari
  
  Read more

• UK watchdog says won't let pension freedoms become next mis-selling scandal

  02-03-2016 19:34
  By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - New rules allowing people to cash in their pension pots must not give rise to the next mis-selling scandal after banks have paid out billions of pounds on loan insurance compensation, Britain's financial watchdog said on Wednesday. People aged 55 years or above can take cash from their pension schemes in a step policymakers hope will spur better retirement provisioning. Tracey McDermott, acting chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said the ref
  
  Read more

• FTSE slips lower as ITV's gloomy advertising outlook overshadows profit growth

  02-03-2016 19:24
  Broadcaster ITV saw its shares take a hit despite posting its sixth straight year of double-digit profit growth.
  
  Read more

• Rare Brideshead Revisited first edition sold at auction

  02-03-2016 19:23
  A rare first edition of Brideshead Revisited, given to Deborah Mitford by its author and her good friend Evelyn Waugh, has fetched more than £50,000 at auction.
  
  Read more

• Stephen Lawrence suspect Neil Acourt admits drugs supply charge

  02-03-2016 19:22
  A man arrested in connection with Stephen Lawrence's murder has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs worth around £4 million.
  
  Read more

• Adam Johnson's Victim Says She Feels 'Used'

  02-03-2016 19:16
  
  The 15-year-old victim of footballer Adam Johnson released a statement following the verdict which was read out by police. "I was talking to Adam Johnson, it was surreal for me. As a Sunderland fan I absolutely idolised Adam.
  
  Read more

• Adam Johnson facing jail after child sex conviction

  02-03-2016 19:11
  English football player Adam Johnson, who was sacked by Premier League club Sunderland last month, was facing jail after being found guilty on Wednesday of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. A jury at Bradford Crown Court in northern England cleared him of one of these charges but convicted him of the other. "In our football-obsessed region Adam Johnson had a responsibility as a professional footballer to be a role model, a role he did not fulfil," Detective Inspector Aelfwynn Sampson told
  
  Read more

• New Bride Denies Stabbing Husband To Death

  02-03-2016 19:06
  
  Mother-of-four Sharon Edwards said she loved her husband David, a solicitor, and did not stab him intentionally. Mrs Edwards said her husband, whom she married in Las Vegas on 28 June, 2015, was "jealous" and would call her names. Mr Edwards was found dead in bed at the couple's home in Chorley, Lancashire, on 23 August, 2015, soon after they returned home from a holiday in Majorca.
  
  Read more

• Human Y chromosome 'apes' gorilla rather than chimp

  02-03-2016 19:00
  
  If the man in your life has gorilla-like tendencies, this could be why.
  
  Read more

• England football player Johnson facing jail after child sex conviction

  02-03-2016 18:58
  English football player Adam Johnson, who was sacked by Premier League club Sunderland last month, was facing jail after being found guilty on Wednesday of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. The 28-year-old winger, who has played 12 times for England, had admitted kissing and grooming the teenager at the beginning of his trial but had denied two more serious accusations of sexual activity. A jury at Bradford Crown Court in northern England cleared him of one of these charges but convicted
  
  Read more

• Stephen Lawrence Suspect Admits Drugs Charge

  02-03-2016 18:57
  
  A man arrested in connection with Stephen Lawrence's murder has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs worth around £4m. Neil Stuart, also known as Neil Acourt, 40, admitted the offence at Kingston Crown Court. Jack Vose, 62, of Backworth in Newcastle, and Daniel Thompson, 27, of South Shields in Northumbria, also pleaded guilty to the drugs offence.
  
  Read more

• Fashion Chain Whistles Hunts For New Owner

  02-03-2016 18:55
  
  A retail executive who has been dubbed the most powerful woman in British fashion is seeking a new owner for Whistles, the high street chain. Sky News understands that Jane Shepherdson, the former boss of Top Shop, is in talks with prospective buyers eight years after being installed as Whistles' chief executive. Key details of the planned sale were unclear on Thursday, including the size of the stake available to potential buyers and Whistles' current financial performance.
  
  Read more

• Stephen Lawrence murder suspect admits £4m drug dealing charge

  02-03-2016 18:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A FORMER suspect in the Stephen Lawrence murder case has admitted conspiring to deal drugs worth £4million.
  
  Read more

• Storm Jake batters UK as Met Office issues snow and ice warnings

  02-03-2016 18:25
  
  Storm Jake has hit parts of the UK bringing with it 77mph winds, snowfall and difficult driving conditions.
  
  Read more

• MoD Failures Caused Deaths Of SAS Recruits

  02-03-2016 18:19
  
  The Ministry of Defence is to be censured over the deaths of three recruits on an SAS training exercise in the Brecon Beacons. It is the maximum penalty that can be imposed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on the MoD, which is exempt from prosecution due to its Crown status. Lance Corporal Craig Roberts died during the march and Lance Corporal Edward Maher and Corporal James Dunsby collapsed and died later.
  
  Read more

• Passion spent, Scots yet to be fired up by Britain's EU vote

  02-03-2016 18:08
  
  STIRLING, Scotland (Reuters) - If Prime Minister David Cameron is to win a June 23 referendum on membership of the European Union, he will need the passion of the Scots, who turned out in droves two years ago to decide the fate of the United Kingdom. But this time around, they just aren't that fired up.
  
  Read more

• SHAMEFUL: 40 per cent of British adults 'WON'T buy their mum a Mother's Day present'

  02-03-2016 18:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A SHAMEFUL 40 per cent of British adults will not bother to give their mum anything on Mother’s Day, a new survey revealed.
  
  Read more

• Heartless woman caught on CCTV dumping bag of cats and kittens

  02-03-2016 18:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A HEARTLESS woman was caught on CCTV carrying a bag of eight cats and kittens – before dumping them to face a "slow and painful death".
  
  Read more

• Mushroom fossil is oldest-ever example of a land-based organism, scientists say

  02-03-2016 17:52
  A mushroom dating back 440 million years is the oldest fossil of a land-dwelling organism ever found, say scientists.
  
  Read more

• MoD censured over soldiers death on SAS training exercise but avoids prosecution

  02-03-2016 17:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  THE Ministry of Defence will be officially censured after three soldiers died on an SAS training exercise.
  
  Read more

• Increase in UK deaths in 2015 lifts profit at funeral firm

  02-03-2016 17:44
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - A sharp increase in the number of deaths in Britain in 2015 compared with the previous year helped funeral services firm Dignity post a 16-percent profit increase, the firm said on Wednesday.
  
  Read more

• Doctors call for ban on rugby tackles in British schools

  02-03-2016 17:35
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Doctors, academics and health experts have called for tackling to be banned in rugby played in schools in Britain and Ireland to reduce the risk of children suffering serious injuries but have faced a backlash from the game's administrators.
  
  Read more

• Adam Johnson: arrogant, spoilt and philandering, the epitome of the top-flight footballer

  02-03-2016 17:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  ADAM Johnson has been portrayed in court as the epitome of the top-flight footballer stereotype - arrogant, spoilt and philandering.
  
  Read more

• Migrants sew lips together in Calais 'Jungle' camp protest

  02-03-2016 17:19
  
  Migrants facing eviction from the camp in Calais known as the Jungle sewed their lips together to protest at their treatment by France.
  
  Read more

• Truck driver ‘speared’ by migrant camp thugs in organised attack – and they’re BRITISH

  02-03-2016 17:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  BRITISH thugs posing as migrants are attacking terrified lorry drivers in Calais as the French authorities try to clear the notorious Jungle camp.
  
  Read more

• Adam Johnson Not Guilty Of One Sex Charge

  02-03-2016 17:07
  
  Footballer Adam Johnson has been found not guilty of one charge of sexual activity with a child. A jury at Bradford Crown Court is still considering another similar charge against the former Sunderland winger. Judge Jonathan Rose has said he will accept a majority verdict.
  
  Read more

• 'Say goodbye to daughter' Johnson told by judge as he faces 10 years after guilty verdict

  02-03-2016 16:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  FORMER England football star Adam Johnson has been found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child and faces "significant" time behind bars.
  
  Read more

• British military rapped over deaths of three soldiers on exercise

  02-03-2016 16:20
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - British health and safety officials said on Wednesday they would give the Ministry of Defence (MoD) a "Crown Censure" over the deaths of three soldiers during a gruelling cross-country selection test for the elite Special Air Service (SAS).
  
  Read more

• Ex-police boss 'would have faced misconduct probe' over Stephen Lawrence case

  02-03-2016 15:41
  
  A former police boss who controversially met an undercover officer during the Stephen Lawrence inquiry would have faced disciplinary proceedings if he had not been allowed to retire, a watchdog has said.
  
  Read more

• EU cities will pounce on London business in event of Brexit - minister

  02-03-2016 15:35
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Rival European financial centres are already looking at how to take business from London if Britain votes to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Wednesday.
  
  Read more

• Watching BBC iPlayer without TV licence loophole to close 'soon'

  02-03-2016 15:31
  
  The TV licensing iPlayer loophole will be closed "as soon as practicable", the Culture Secretary has said.
  
  Read more

• UK steel industry drowning in flood of Chinese imports, union leader warns

  02-03-2016 15:31
  The UK steel industry is "drowning" in a flood of cheap Chinese imports, which will get worse after the United States decided to impose new tariffs, a union leader has warned.
  
  Read more

• Man convicted of raping five women from match.com dating site

  02-03-2016 15:31
  A father-of-three has been found guilty of raping five women after meeting them on internet dating site match.com.
  
  Read more

• Appeal court to review footballer Ched Evans's rape conviction

  02-03-2016 15:31
  
  Footballer Ched Evans's conviction for raping a 19-year-old woman is to be reviewed by leading judges on March 22.
  
  Read more

• Pay for top teaching roles 'should be publicised to attract good candidates'

  02-03-2016 15:30
  School leaders' pay should be publicised to help attract good candidates into teaching, the head of Ofsted has suggested.
  
  Read more

• MoD censured over soldiers' training exercise heat deaths

  02-03-2016 15:30
  
  The Ministry of Defence is to be censured over the deaths of three soldiers on an SAS training exercise in the Brecon Beacons in 2013.
  
  Read more

• Firefighters Contain Major Warehouse Blaze

  02-03-2016 15:24
  
  A "significant amount of smoke" billowed from the building owned by Global Hygiene LLP on Drummond Street - and more than 50 firefighters were involved in bringing the blaze under control. A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: "Following treatment from medics the man was discharged and did not require hospital treatment. In a statement, Global Hygiene said the building which caught fire had been under construction, and added it was too early to comment on what caused the blaze.
  
  Read more

• Match.com Attacker Guilty Of Raping Five Women

  02-03-2016 15:12
  
  A father-of-three has been found guilty of raping five women and sexually assaulting two others after meeting them on Match.com. Jason Lawrance, described as a "sexual predator" who had contacted thousands of women online, committed several of the attacks months after marrying someone he had met on the dating website. The 50-year-old had joined the internet dating service in 2009 - and although four of his victims complained to Match.com, one of the women was told the company could not do a
  
  Read more

Follow @GeneralnewsUK on Twitter!