Month: February 2025

The King and Queen are to pay state visits to Italy and the Vatican, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. The major spring tour, which has long been trailed in the media, will take place in early April and coincides with Charles and Camilla’s 20th wedding anniversary. They will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican and celebrate the Catholic Church’s Pilgrims of Hope jubilee year. In Italy, the couple will visit Rome […]

Hospitals in England are “close to full” as a significant number of beds are occupied by people who are medically fit to be discharged, health officials have said. It comes as medics are dealing with a rising tide of people suffering with the winter vomiting bug. NHS England said pressure on hospital capacity remained high last week with an average of 96% adult beds occupied and a total of 98,101 […]

The majority of school leaders are opposed to Ofsted’s proposed report card grading system for inspecting schools, a survey has suggested. More than nine in 10 (92%) said they disagreed with Ofsted’s plans to grade schools across at least eight areas of a provision using a five-point scale, according to the snap poll by school leaders’ union NAHT. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, has called on the watchdog […]

UK interest rates have fallen to 4.5% after the Bank of England voted to cut borrowing costs, as it also slashed short-term growth forecasts for the economy. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted for a quarter-point reduction after similar cuts in August and November last year, bringing the base rate to its lowest point since June 2023. Governor Andrew Bailey said the cut will be “welcome news to many” […]

Members of a specialist British military unit who shot dead four IRA men in an ambush in Co Tyrone in 1992 used lethal force which was not justified, a coroner has ruled. Northern Ireland’s presiding coroner, Mr Justice Michael Humphreys, found that the SAS soldiers did not have an honest belief in the necessity of using lethal force and that it was unjustified and not reasonable. Four Provisional IRA members […]

A dog treat made from cultivated meat has gone on sale at Pets at Home in a move the retailer claims is a world first. The treat, called Chick Bites, is made from plant-based ingredients combined with cultivated meat, which is produced by growing cells and does not require the raising or slaughter of animals. Meatly said the chicken was produced from a single sample of cells taken from one […]

Two in five parents who have sought help for their child’s mental health said they did not get the required support, according to a survey. The Children’s Society said the polling showed the “barriers and delays” parents and children are facing in the current system. The charity said its survey of 3,000 parents in England and Wales whose children are aged between four and 17 “reveals a system struggling to […]

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will chair a summit on smartphone theft after the Metropolitan Police seized more than 1,000 stolen devices in one week. The force targeted those involved in stealing, handling and supplying stolen phones in a week of “co-ordinated activity” across London. It said 230 people had been arrested in the clampdown on the “£50 million-a-year trade in stolen phones”. Hotspots include the West End and Westminster, and […]

Bereaved families of the Grenfell fire are understood to have been told the tower block will be demolished. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also Housing Secretary, met with relatives and survivors on Wednesday evening. The Government has previously said there will be no changes to the site before the eighth anniversary of the disaster – which claimed 72 lives – in June. A spokesperson for Grenfell Next Of […]