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A man who is running 2,684 miles (4,320km) across Australia hopes to break a new British record by completing the challenge in 60 days. Jack Pitcher, 28, from Bracknell, Berkshire, has faced extreme conditions while covering the distance from Perth to Sydney. The ultra-marathon runner was hoping to complete the challenge alongside fellow runner Joshua Smith, but after a recent injury the 21-year-old from Reading must complete the remaining 1,620km […]

Mental health waiting time targets have been breached more than 168,000 times since they were introduced a decade ago, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has said. Figures obtained by the party through freedom of information requests show the 18-week waiting time target for two types of treatment was missed 168,128 times since it was introduced in 2014. Performance against the target is meant to be at 90%, although this […]

Sir Keir Starmer will set out a “plan for change” with milestones set in key policy areas to achieve the targets laid out in Labour’s manifesto, Downing Street has said. The Prime Minister will this week kick off what he has called the “next phase” of Government, as he announces the markers for his “missions” that Number 10 say will allow the public to hold Sir Keir and his team […]

Temperatures are expected to plunge on Monday after the UK enjoys a mild weekend, the Met Office has said. Sunday will see highs of 16C before temperatures drop to as cold as minus 7C on Monday night, spokeswoman Becky Mitchell said. Despite the mild weather on Sunday, it will be quite “wet and windy” in parts of the UK, including Wales and north-west England. “The rest of the weekend is […]

There is a heavy police presence in central London as a pro-Palestine march and counter-protest are held in the midst of Christmas shopping and Winter Wonderland festivities. Bemused Christmas shoppers took photos as the streets around Piccadilly Circus in central London were flooded with pro-Palestine demonstrators. Counter-protesters from Stop the Hate gathered on Coventry Street near Piccadilly Circus, on the route of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) march, to urge […]

Further accusations have been made against TV presenter Gregg Wallace in the wake of him stepping away from hosting hit BBC show MasterChef while a review into complaints is carried out. On Thursday, the cooking programme’s production company Banijay UK said the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to “historical allegations of misconduct” while working with Wallace. He is “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process”, the company also […]

Informal tallying of votes in count centres for Ireland’s General Election have suggested the potential for new breakthroughs and trouble for some established incumbents, after an exit poll put the three main parties nearly neck and neck. The tallies, carried out by party activists and volunteers as boxes opened at 9am, give a more localised sense of the potential result than Friday night’s exit poll. The largest opposition party Sinn […]

More than a hundred dogs dressed in Christmas jumpers joined a festive parade in central London in support of rescue charities. An estimated 130 pets made their way from St James’s Park, down the Mall towards Buckingham Palace with their owners on Saturday morning. The event was organised by Rescue Dogs Of London And Friends to raise funds for Hungary Hearts Dog Rescue and ZEM Rescues, which rehome dogs from […]

Political leaders will gather on Saturday to pay tribute to Alex Salmond at a public memorial service in Edinburgh. The former first minister died last month in North Macedonia at the age of 69. First Minister John Swinney, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar are all expected to attend the service at St Giles’ Cathedral in the Scottish capital. Former prime minister Gordon Brown is […]