Tuesday, November 09, 2010

The Independent - UK RSS Feed

The Independent - UK RSS Feed

Cameron hopes public 'business plans' will open up Whitehall's corridors

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

Plans detailing the policies the Coalition intends to pursue in every government department over the next four years were published by David Cameron yesterday.

UK debt will hit families by up to £2,700 a year

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

Britain's debt mountain of £10,000bn represents a "time bomb" for families, who face a loss of as much as £2,700 a year each if interest rates return to more normal levels, according to analysis by accountants PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Designers, socialites... and now trade envoys

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

Tamara Mellon, the socialite who founded upmarket shoe designer Jimmy Choo, has been recruited by David Cameron to bang the drum for British companies around the world.

Rail commuters face 'intolerable' overcrowding by 2014, warn MPs

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

Overcrowding on some of Britain's busiest train services is set to become even worse because crucial targets for increasing capacity on the nation's creaking rail network will be missed, an official parliamentary inquiry warns today. A £9bn investment programme designed to double the number of places on trains was launched three years ago. But a failure to deliver enough extra seats will mean that efforts to keep overcrowding at current levels will fall well short over the next four years, despite annual fare increases of 3 per cent above inflation.

7/7 Inquest: 'There was a flash, the carriage expanded and I was blown off my feet...'

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

AMID THE bloodshed and carnage, it was the tiny mundane details that proved so striking. One passenger was busy listening to his iPod. Another was reading a text. A third was scouring a newspaper, a fourth was daydreaming.

Hacker compromised Royal Navy security

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

Computer details of current and former defence staff, including a former Royal Navy head, were posted on the internet after a hacker broke into a military website and shut it down.

Phil Woolas legal challenge sees election put on hold

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 10:25 AM PST

A by-election to replace a former minister stripped of his Commons seat for lying about an opponent was put on hold today pending a legal challenge which has been fast-tracked by a judge.

Anglican bishops to join Catholic church

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 10:00 AM PST

Advocates for women bishops last night welcomed the resignation of five Anglican bishops to the Catholic Church saying their departure should help quicken the arrival of full equality within the Church of England.

Roads and ferries hit by early snowfall

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 09:39 AM PST

Early snowfall and high winds brought disruption to parts of the UK today, affecting roads and ferry services.

Worst injured 7/7 victim watched ringleader detonate bomb

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 08:55 AM PST

The most seriously injured survivor of the July 7 bombings relived today how he watched the terror plot's ringleader detonate his suicide bomb.

Tube driver cleared of jihad charge

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 08:37 AM PST

A Tube driver was today cleared of planning to travel to Afghanistan or Pakistan with the intention of taking part in a "violent jihad", a Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said.

Woman jailed over Roma community benefits scam

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 07:52 AM PST

A mother-of-one who exploited members of the Roma community she claimed to be helping was jailed for her part in a multimillion-pound benefits scam today.

Contempt proceedings launched against BNP leader Nick Griffin

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 07:02 AM PST

More than 100 members and supporters of the British National Party demonstrated outside the Royal Courts of Justice today as contempt of court proceedings were launched against party leader Nick Griffin.

Lord Hesketh quits Babcock over aircraft carrier comment

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 06:38 AM PST

Lord Hesketh has resigned from his post as deputy chairman at engineering group Babcock International after branding the Royal Navy's aircraft carrier programme a "disaster".

Warning over prison reduction 'difficulties'

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 06:34 AM PST

Plans to treat more mentally ill offenders and drug users in the community rather than sending them to jail are admirable but "fraught with difficulties", the probation union Napo warned today.

Elderly sisters fight off would-be attacker

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 06:33 AM PST

Two elderly sisters who fought off an attacker who attempted to rob them in a residential street were praised today by police.

Hacker attacks Royal Navy website

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 05:29 AM PST

The Royal Navy Website has been taken offline after it was "compromised" by a hacker, the Ministry of Defence said today.

Police officer and wife acquitted of sex charges

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 05:28 AM PST

A police officer and his wife were today found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman after the prosecution offered no evidence against them.

Sham marriage pair jailed

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 05:15 AM PST

A bride and groom who were arrested at their sham wedding were jailed today.

Gay man and woman in court battle over children

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 05:07 AM PST

A gay man and woman are fighting a bitter court battle over their two children born by artificial insemination.

Legal aid withdrawn from epilepsy drug families

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 03:33 AM PST

Families who blame an epilepsy drug for causing defects in their children are to have legal aid to sue its maker withdrawn, it was confirmed today.

Ed Miliband announces birth of second child

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 02:25 AM PST

Labour leader Ed Miliband and his partner today announced the birth of their second child.

Foreign prisoners face transfer under new plans

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 02:12 AM PST

Thousands of foreign prisoners will be sent back to serve their sentences in their own countries under Government plans, it emerged today.

Cameron pledges more power for the people

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 02:10 AM PST

Prime Minister David Cameron promised a shift in power from government to the people today as Whitehall departments published business plans setting out what they intend to do and how voters can hold them accountable for it.

Man in court over £3m cocaine haul

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 02:01 AM PST

A man arrested after police seized a haul of cocaine, believed to have a street value of up to £3 million, will appear in court today.

Parents attack judge over daughter's murder

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 01:29 AM PST

The parents of a nurse who was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend while he was on bail for alleged rape called today for the judge who granted the killer his freedom to be investigated.

Online guidance on squatters launched

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:23 AM PST

An online guide offering advice to people wanting to stop squatters from entering their properties was published today.

No 10 asks for business chiefs' help to cut jobs

Posted: 07 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

Britain's most senior civil servant is to call in a group of key private sector businessmen to advise permanent secretaries on how to make thousands of job cuts in the public sector. Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, wants the civil service to learn from private companies how to reduce in size and reform without cutting services and important functions.

Archbishop of Canterbury attacks manual labour plan

Posted: 07 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

Plans to make the long-term unemployed do unpaid manual labour for their benefits could push vulnerable people into a "downward spiral of despair", the Archbishop of Canterbury warned yesterday.

posted by Greg Shaw at Tuesday, November 09, 2010