General news

• Don't sabotage Brexit, David Davis warns Tory rebels 

  11-03-2017 23:41
  
  David Davis has issued a last-minute warning to Tory rebels not to sabotage the Article 50 Bill amid fears any change could see Brexit end up in the courts.Writing exclusively for the Telegraph, the Brexit Secretary says that putting promises over leaving the EU into law creates a “greater risk of legal action".
  
  Read more

• Labour MPs demand Corbyn backs post-Brexit membership of single market

  11-03-2017 23:34
  
  A group of 29 Labour MPs criticised their leader Jeremy Corbyn on Saturday for failing to take a stronger line on Brexit and demanded that he back continued full membership of the single market.The statement by the group, led by Chuka Umunna, said any other form of trading arrangement would make working people worse off and mean higher costs for business, fewer jobs and inflated prices.Others in the group included the shadow minister for transport Daniel Zeichner, serving whip Thangam Debbonaire
  
  Read more

• Arguments against single market membership illustrate a lack of ambition

  11-03-2017 23:33
  
  In his budget statement on Wednesday, the chancellor mentioned Britain’s exit from the European Union – the biggest issue in the government’s in-box – just once.The government has announced its intention to pull Britain out of the single market, discarding our membership of the largest and most sophisticated trading zone in the world before negotiations have begun.
  
  Read more

• MPs slam Theresa May over lack of a plan if Brexit talks collapse

  11-03-2017 23:30
  
  Theresa May preparing to address a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels last Thursday.Theresa May has been accused by a powerful parliamentary committee of putting the national interest at risk by failing to prepare for the “real prospect” that two years of Brexit negotiations could end with no deal.The criticism – and warnings of dire consequences – is levelled at May by the all-party foreign affairs select committee only days before she is expected to trigger ar
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Revealed: The blunders that led to Budget 'shambles' as blame game erupts in Westminster

  11-03-2017 23:22
  
  When Cabinet ministers gathered at No 10 on Wednesday morning for their 8am Budget briefing there was much cause for optimism. 
  
  Read more

• Brexit bill: David Davis tells MPs to reject House of Lords' changes to EU exit laws

  11-03-2017 23:16
  
  The Government’s Brexit secretary is urging MPs to reject outright the House of Lords' proposed changes to the Brexit bill.David Davis has insisted he will ask the Commons to kick out the two amendments to the bill which were voted through by peers in recent weeks.The Lords' two amendments guarantee the rights of EU nationals living in Britain and demand a parliamentary vote on Theresa May’s final exit deal.
  
  Read more

• Government orders MPs to scrap Lords plan to let EU nationals stay in Britain

  11-03-2017 23:13
  
  The Government will instruct MPs to reject House of Lords amendments giving them a “meaningful vote” on the Brexit deal and letting EU nationals stay in Britain, David Davis confirmed on Saturday night.Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union said the Government wanted to move ahead on triggering Article 50 “with no strings attached” and that no amendments added by the Lords would be accepted.Ministers are however coming under increasing pressure to give Conserva
  
  Read more

• Leaked Treasury report warns of painful 'economic shock' if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal

  11-03-2017 23:02
  
  Theresa May’s “Plan B” if she fails to reach an exit deal with the EU would be “the alternative to membership with the most negative long-term impact”, according to an unpublished Treasury document leaked to The Independent.It warns that reverting to World Trade Organisation (WTO) tariffs would cause “a major economic shock to the UK, with serious consequences for companies, consumers, jobs and prices” – including a 2.9 per cent rise in food prices
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Tory backlash over plans to lower 11-plus standards for poor students

  11-03-2017 23:00
  
  Leaked Government proposals that would see grammar schools being forced to offer lower 11-plus pass marks to poorer children has provoked a backlash among Conservative MPs.Tory backbenchers have told The Sunday Telegraph that such a policy would be a "mistake" and threatens to undermine the ethos of selective education.Earlier this week it emerged that under new plans, grammars could be compelled to increase their intake of deprived children, as part of a new offensive to counter criticism that
  
  Read more

• Emma Bridgewater: Pottery tycoon says UK skills crisis fuelled by university courses geared towards overseas students

  11-03-2017 23:00
  
  As one of the biggest ceramics manufacturers to be based entirely in the UK, Emma Bridgewater has become a champion for British industry and an advocate for the need to inspire future generations of leaders in manufacturing.“A lot of vocational courses around manufacturing are evaporating - we are not training to future captains of industry,” she told The Telegraph.
  
  Read more

• Emma Bridgewater: Pottery tycoon says UK skills crisis being fuelled by university courses geared towards overseas students

  11-03-2017 23:00
  
  As one of the biggest ceramics manufacturers to be based entirely in the UK, Emma Bridgewater has become a champion for British industry and an advocate for the need to inspire future generations of leaders in manufacturing.“A lot of vocational courses around manufacturing are evaporating - we are not training to future captains of industry,” she told The Telegraph.
  
  Read more

• Beware the Ides of March, ministers warn Number 10 as date is chosen to trigger Brexit 

  11-03-2017 23:00
  
  It is a date famous for treachery when Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by friends who turned out to be enemies. 
  
  Read more

• £2bn more to be paid in inheritance tax than previously thought as house prices soar 

  11-03-2017 23:00
  
  The change in numbers was buried in the body's twice-yearly analysis of the economy released this week alongside the Budget. We will take the family home out of inheritance tax.Inheritance tax is levied on property and financial gifts that are passed on when someone dies, with 40 per cent being the standard rate.
  
  Read more

• Tory war over Budget 'shambles' as it emerges Cabinet was never briefed about manifesto breach 

  11-03-2017 22:45
  
  A furious row over who was to blame for the Budget “shambles” erupted last night after it emerged that the Cabinet was never briefed that the Tory manifesto was being breached.Philip Hammond’s hour-long briefing to Cabinet colleagues failed to mention that a tax rise on the self-employed clashed with a Tory election promise, it can be revealed.Cabinet sources have blamed the subsequent damaging headlines on the Treasury’s failure to detect the political danger and warn mi
  
  Read more

• We cannot allow Parliament the chance to veto Brexit

  11-03-2017 22:44
  
  At 137 words, the Bill that enables the Prime Minister to notify the European Union of our withdrawal is one of the shortest on record.MPs passed the Bill quickly and unamended.The reasons for the Bill’s simplicity are important and, disappointingly, have been overlooked in the House of Lords.
  
  Read more

• Second major 2015 Tory manifesto pledge dropped in a week

  11-03-2017 21:51
  
  The Conservatives have been accused of dropping a second manifesto pledge in the space of a week after ministers rowed back on plans to build hundreds of thousands of “starter homes” for first-time buyers.Chancellor Philip Hammond sparked negative headlines after the Budget on Wednesday when he raised National Insurance for self-employed people, ditching a Conservative manifesto promise not to raise the tax.Despite dozens of announcements about the homes over the last few years, none
  
  Read more

• Actor John Forgeham, star of The Italian Job, dies after falling out of bed

  11-03-2017 21:31
  
  The actor John Forgeham, who starred in The Italian Job, has died aged 75 after falling out of bed at his East Sussex home.The West Midlands-born actor played Frank in the 1969 classic Michael Caine film and became known to a younger audience when he starred in the ITV series Footballers’ Wives, playing manager Frank Laslett.Speaking to the Daily Mirror, his daughter said: "Dad was a very talented actor and a charismatic and wonderful man.
  
  Read more

• Tory backbenchers alarmed over 'death tax' probate hike

  11-03-2017 21:26
  
  A massive increase in probate fees for estates worth over £50,000 has prompted fierce criticism from Tory MPs who called it a £300 million stealth death tax.The sliding scale of fees is being introduced starting at £300 for estates worth between £50,000-£300,000 and ending at £20,000 for those above £2 million.Plymouth MP Oliver Colvile said he was “concerned” over what he likened to a “death tax”, and said he was h
  
  Read more

• 'Iceberg basement' plans for Kensington Palace to make extra space as William and Kate plan move back to London 

  11-03-2017 21:11
  
  Officials from Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) have applied to build a two-storey basement beneath the Orangery in the grounds of Kensington Palace.The 50m-long basement will be needed to free up the palace suites which HRP currently uses to make way for members of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry’s own staff.William and Catherine are returning to Kensington Palace in the autumn and their staff will need room to work as part of the wider duties being taken on by the three Ro
  
  Read more

• Malala Yousafzai to study at Oxford University if she achieves AAA offer

  11-03-2017 21:02
  
  Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl activist who survived an attempted murder by a Taliban gunman, has revealed that she intends to study at a British university.If she achieves the grades for the AAA offer, she is likely to take up a place to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, whose alumni include one of her heroes, the former Pakistani president Benazir Bhutto.There was speculation that Yousafzai, who is the youngest ever Nobel prize laureate, was conside
  
  Read more

• Malala Yousafzai likely to study at Oxford University if she achieves AAA offer

  11-03-2017 21:02
  
  Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl activist who survived an attempted murder by a Taliban gunman, has revealed that she intends to study at a British university.If she achieves the grades for the AAA offer, she is likely to take up a place to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, whose alumni include one of her heroes, the former Pakistani president Benazir Bhutto.There was speculation that Yousafzai, who is the youngest ever Nobel prize laureate, was conside
  
  Read more

• Diamonds lose their sparkle as couples prioritise weddings, housing and children over expensive rings

  11-03-2017 21:00
  
  Diamonds, in the words of one of the world’s most famous marketing slogans, are supposed to be forever.
  
  Read more

• White House security breaches: A brief history

  11-03-2017 20:57
  
  Attempts to get into the White House are far from uncommon. Here is a history of some of the more high-profile recent breaches of White House security.Jonathan Tran, 26, jumps the White House fence wearing a rucksack, while President Donald Trump was inside. Jesse Olivieri, 31, from Pennsylvania, turned up at the White House security checkpoint holding a handgun and telling guards he was there "to shoot people".
  
  Read more

• Headteachers sound alarm on budget’s boost for grammar schools

  11-03-2017 20:51
  
  The chancellor announced an additional £320m for free schools and grammars in his budget.Headteachers have insisted that expanding the number of grammar schools would do nothing to increase social mobility or lift standards of education, as they demanded that Theresa May consult them urgently before legislating to expand selection.After the chancellor, Philip Hammond, announced an additional £320m for free schools and grammars in his budget last Wednesday, teachers and some Tory MPs
  
  Read more

• Autistic boy hoping Crufts will honour his 'guardian angel'

  11-03-2017 20:51
  
  A 13-year-old who suffers from autism is hoping the Labrador Retriever he calls "my guardian angel" will be hailed Crufts dog hero champion today.Joel Sayer told how faithful Caddie "calms me down and keeps me safe" as he accompanies him everywhere from the cinema and swimming pool to the dentist and even the bathroom.The teenager, who also has sleep apnoea, ADHT and a speech impediment, struggled to leave home or speak to people before Caddie partnered him four years ago.
  
  Read more

• Hotels and restaurants will need 10 years to replace EU workers because 'Brits don't want the jobs'

  11-03-2017 20:12
  
  Restaurants in the UK will need a decade to replace their EU staff with British employees after Brexit because not enough home-grown workers want the jobs, the head of the British Hospitality Association (BHA) has warned.BHA chair Ufi Ibrahim estimated that the UK’s hotel and restaurant chains would go bankrupt, landing a heavy blow to the economy, unless EU nationals were permitted to keep working in low-skilled jobs after Britain exited the bloc.The association chief’s comments com
  
  Read more

• Wales' first all-female brass band leads national anthem

  11-03-2017 19:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Wales' first all-female brass band leads the rendition of Land Of My Fathers ahead of Wales v Ireland match in the Women's Six Nations.
  
  Read more

• Ugandan man faces deportation after 'failing to prove he’s gay'

  11-03-2017 19:37
  
  A gay Ugandan-born asylum seeker is facing deportation to his place of birth, where homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment.Abbey Kyeyune, who has been living in the Manchester since 2014, told The Independent Home Office officials decided he had failed to sufficiently “prove” his sexuality.After leaving Uganda, Mr Kyeyune was told that the Ugandan authorities had issued a warrant for his arrest.
  
  Read more

• Prince Harry delights rugby fans at Twickenham... while girlfriend Meghan Markle is seen in Canada

  11-03-2017 19:04
  
  Prince Harry was spotted in the Twickenham stands today cheering on England in their Six Nations clash against Scotland - as girlfriend Meghan Markle was seen in Canada.
  
  Read more

• Prince Harry delights rugby fans at Twickenham... while girlfriend Meghan is seen in Canada

  11-03-2017 19:04
  
  Prince Harry was spotted in the Twickenham stands today cheering on England in their Six Nations clash against Scotland - as girlfriend Meghan Markle was seen in Canada.
  
  Read more

• New York's prosecutor Preet Bharara fired after refusing Donald Trump's order to resign

  11-03-2017 19:00
  
  One of America’s most high-profile prosecutors has been fired after refusing an order from the attorney general to resign.Preet Bharara, the 48-year-old US attorney for the southern district of New York, has made a name for himself taking on Wall Street corruption, terrorism and political malfeasance – famously sending to prison both the Democrat speaker and the Republican majority leader of New York state.
  
  Read more

• New York's prosecutor 'considering refusing order to resign' to force President Trump to fire him

  11-03-2017 19:00
  
  One of America’s most high-profile prosecutors is considering refusing an order from the attorney general to resign, and instead demand that President Donald Trump fire him.Preet Bharara, the 48-year-old US attorney for the southern district of New York, has made a name for himself taking on Wall Street corruption and political malfeasance – famously sending to prison both the Democrat speaker and the Republican majority leader of New York state.
  
  Read more

• Nine MPs use parliamentary expenses to fund Amazon Prime subscriptions

  11-03-2017 18:33
  
  A number of MPs have claimed for their Amazon Prime subscription in their Parliamentary expenses.SNP’s Lisa Cameron said: “With the opening of my constituency offices, on a number of occasions equipment was ordered through Prime membership offering longitudinal savings on timeous delivery costs.The subscription affords members access to unlimited next day delivery and a range of blockbuster movies and TV shows, including 50 Shades of Grey, The Lego Movie and I, Daniel Blake.
  
  Read more

• Hackney attack: Man fighting for life after being ambushed in violent Haggerston street attack

  11-03-2017 18:32
  
  A man is fighting for his life in hospital after being ambushed in a violent street attack in Hackney.One of the men, a 35-year-old, suffered a serious head injury and is in a critical condition, police said on Saturday afternoon.Taz Johnston said the road was still taped off by police on Saturday afternoon - more than 12 hours after the attack.
  
  Read more

• Daughter's outrage as care worker avoids jail for stealing from her elderly Parkinson’s sufferer father

  11-03-2017 18:29
  
  Mr Skerritt’s daughter Joanne Martinez told The Independent that after discovering what had happened, her frail father felt betrayed and terrified that associates of Stratton would come to his home and beat him up for having contacted the Police.After Stratton, of Dorset Close, Littlehampton, West Sussex, was convicted of theft at Chichester Crown Court on March 1, Judge Christopher Parker QC told her she would “almost certainly” face a prison sentence.
  
  Read more

• Thieves come away from 'sophisticated' jewellery heist with nothing but sandwiches

  11-03-2017 18:26
  
  A trio of robbers were jailed after executing a “sophisticated” jewellery heist only to discover they had in fact stolen sandwiches.Qasim Hussain, 28, Hassan Mahmood, 26, and 27-year-old Naheem Hussain were sentenced to more than 20 years behind bars after they mugged the owners of a jewellery shop.Punching the man in the face, the group grabbed the holdalls they were carrying thinking they contained expensive jewellery.
  
  Read more

• Labour Party's policy on schools giving shadow education secretary Angela Rayner 'sleepless nights'

  11-03-2017 18:14
  
  The Labour Party lacks coherent policies on education, the Shadow Secretary has admitted, as she revealed that she has suffered "sleepless nights" worrying about it since her appointment to the shadow cabinet last July.Angela Rayner MP, a staunch supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, hinted at her frustration with the Labour leader who has failed to outline in any detail how the Party will reform the sector.Ms Rayner, the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, responded: “I can tell you that this has been someth
  
  Read more

• Met Police officer sacked for lying about 'on-duty' late-night parking on red route

  11-03-2017 18:12
  
  AMetropolitan Police Service officer has been sacked after allegedly lying about his late-night parking ticket.Pc Lee Wilson, who was based in Greenwich, was dismissed for parking an unmarked police vehicle on a "red route" without a "policing reason".A two-day hearing this week heard he applied to have a £65 penalty charge, for parking on the red line, withdrawn, and dishonestly claimed he was engaged in official police duties.
  
  Read more

• Police called to North Yorkshire school after toilet breaks 'limited to two a day'

  11-03-2017 17:35
  
  Police were called when a protest erupted at a school in North Yorkshire after students were limited to two toilet breaks a day.Officers were forced to be called in after up to 40 students took to the playing fields on Friday morning protesting the controversial new rule at Bedale High School.The decision was criticised as "breaching human rights", but the 11-16 comprehensive school maintains the toilets are accessible on request and to those who held a 'medical card'.
  
  Read more

• Newly restored Spitfire to pay tribute to the men who risked all to protect Britain

  11-03-2017 17:30
  
  Nearly three quarters of a century ago a group villagers risked their lives to rescue Canadian pilot Jimmy Jeffrey from the clutches of the Nazis after his Spitfire crashed in Normandy, one of hundreds of allied airmen assisted by the French during the war.The flight will be the result of an extraordinary £3 million project to recover and rebuild Jeffrey’s Spitfire NH341.Gerry Abrahams, 94, a former Lancaster pilot who served in the 75 squadron between 1944 and 1945, was among those
  
  Read more

• Grammar schools to offer lower pass marks to poorer pupils

  11-03-2017 17:19
  
  Grammar schools could be forced to lower the 11-plus pass mark for children from lower-income families in order to end the stranglehold middle-class pupils have on places, Government sources have said.The proposed reforms, to be announced next month, came as Prime Minister Theresa May revealed she is poised to allow the creation of new grammar schools for the first time since 1998.Government insiders told The Times that rules governing social mobility requirements for new selective schools could
  
  Read more

• Man arrested for entering White House grounds while Donald Trump was inside

  11-03-2017 17:09
  
  An intruder wearing a backpack entered the White House grounds on Friday night, managing to traverse the area until he was arrested shortly before midnight.The unnnamed man was detained by the secret service.President Donald Trump was in the building at the time, and was informed of the incident after the arrest. They said on Saturday afternoon in a statement that the backpack did not contain any hazardous material.
  
  Read more

• Frozen Spice: Synthetic drug 'turning addicts into Walking Dead'

  11-03-2017 17:09
  It's called "frozen spice", and it's becoming a problem of almost epidemic proportions among Manchester's homeless.Spice is a chemically made synthetic marijuana, and like many of the drugs categorised as New Psychoactive Substances, or NPS, it used to be sold as a so-called legal high.Since May 2016 drugs such as spice have been illegal, but that doesn't mean that, in Manchester at least, it can't be easily obtained.
  
  Read more

• Jeremy Corbyn 'absolutely fine' with second Scottish vote

  11-03-2017 16:54
  
  Jeremy Corbyn said Labour would not block any Commons vote on whether Scotland should hold another referendum.Jeremy Corbyn has said it is “absolutely fine” for Scotland to hold a second referendum on independence, signalling Labour would campaign again for Britain to remain united.
  
  Read more

• Marines commander appeals for victims of nude photo sharing scandal to come forward, saying: 'Trust us'

  11-03-2017 16:45
  
  The commander of the US marines has called on women whose intimate photos have been shared on marine-run social media sites to come forward, amid a widening scandal which threatens to engulf the entire US military.Four branches of the military - army, air force, navy and marines - have opened investigations so far.Last week a Facebook page, Marines United, was revealed to be sharing images of naked female marines among its 30,000 users.
  
  Read more

• TV-bombing children's granny says their father should have locked the door

  11-03-2017 16:24
  
  In the wake of the star appearance by the children of a South Korean expert during an interview he was giving live on BBC, their grandmother has stepped forward to take the blame.“Life happens,” said Ellen Kelly.Mrs Kelly, 72, who lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her husband Joseph, explained that the children may have thought their father was talking to her, as they are familiar with using Skype to stay in touch with their grandparents.
  
  Read more

• Sixty swans rescued after dumped oil deluges three miles of town river

  11-03-2017 16:24
  
  Sixty swans were rescued after hundreds of gallons of oil deluged more than three miles of a town centre river.The Environment Agency (EA) is now using "absorbent booms" to soak up the oil streak in the River Kennet, in Reading, while they try to track down the culprit.It mirrored a similar incident from 2007 when 60 swans were rescued after a school accidentally dumped cooking oil.
  
  Read more

• Jeremy Corbyn says a second Scottish independence referendum would be 'absolutely fine'

  11-03-2017 16:22
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has said a second Scottish independence referendum would be "absolutely fine" and that it "should be held" if there was demand for it.The Labour leader indicated that he did not believe Westminster should seek to block a second vote if Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon brought one forward."If a referendum is held then it is absolutely fine, it should be held," Mr Corbyn told the Press Association news agency after he was asked whether a second plebiscite was inevitable.
  
  Read more

• Owen Jones quits social media over 'torture and murder threats'

  11-03-2017 16:15
  
  Political commentator Owen Jones today quit social media with a lengthy statement detailing how he was subjected to menacing death threats.The 32-year-old, who has over 500,000 Twitter followers and more than a quarter of a million likes on Facebook, said he believes social media is "no longer" a useful tool for political debate.The Guardian columnist said he will continue to post articles and videos, but will not undertake in discussion with people "denouncing my motives while sending abuse".
  
  Read more

• 40 Iraqis killed in suicide bombing near Shia shrine in Damascus

  11-03-2017 15:58
  
  A double bomb attack targeting Shi'ite pilgrims in Damascus killed at least 40 Iraqis and wounded 120 more who were going to pray at a nearby shrine, the Iraqi foreign ministry said.It has also been a magnet for Shi'ite militiamen in Syria.
  
  Read more

Follow @GeneralnewsUK on Twitter!