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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 […]

Yorkshire are set to become the first county to sell an entire 100 per-cent stake in their Hundred team, after agreeing a reported £100million deal with the owners of Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Group, which also owns Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the South Africa’s T20 league, saw off rival bidders for an initial 49 per cent of the Headingley-based outfit. It is understood the group […]

The Prince of Wales has spoken to teenagers about dealing with bereavement during a visit to a charity. William travelled to Widnes, Cheshire, on Wednesday to see the work done by Child Bereavement UK, of which he has been a patron since 2009. William spoke to teenagers from the charity’s group for young people, which meets monthly. He asked: “Did you find it quite hard at the beginning to talk […]

Ozzy Osbourne is to reunite with all his original Black Sabbath bandmates for his final performance. The Back To The Beginning show on July 5 will see the 76-year-old singer deliver his own short set before Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward play together for the first time in 20 years. The all-day event at Villa Park in Birmingham, the city where the heavy rock pioneers formed in 1968, […]