2 h. ago Inheritance tax changes under consideration amid spending gap concerns – reports

Government U-turns over winter fuel payments and welfare reform have left Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a multibillion-pound fiscal shortfall.

Economics

5 h. ago Treasury ‘considers inheritance tax reforms’ to fill £50bn spending gap in budget

The Treasury is reportedly drawing up options on inheritance tax ahead of the autumn Budget

Economics

9 h. ago Now Rachel Reeves plots inheritance tax raid on Middle England to plug huge gap in public finances as Tories blast Labour's 'politics of envy'

The Chancellor is said to be looking at tightening rules on gifting of money and assets before someone passes away to address an estimated £50billion spending hole at the next Budget .

Politics

13 h. ago Treasury targeting inheritance tax reforms to help plug UK deficit

Exclusive: Chancellor also looking at tweaks to capital gains tax to try to bridge £40bn-plus spending gap before budgetThe Treasury is looking at ways to raise more money from inheritance tax amid growing pressure on the country’s finances ahead of the autumn budget, sources have told the Guardian.Officials have been tasked with examining whether tightening rules on the gifting of money and assets could be one way of addressing a gap between revenue and spending that is estimated to reach more than £40bn. Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago Families of people dying too young to access pensions not spared in inheritance tax raid

Taxing pensions of anyone who dies before 55 - the minimum age to access private pots - has been decried as 'unbelievably unfair' and 'abhorrent' by some money experts.

Economics

50 h. ago China diplomat tipped as next foreign minister detained by authorities – report

Liu Jianchao, the envoy in charge of managing ties with foreign political parties, was reportedly detained in late JulyLiu Jianchao, a senior Chinese diplomat widely seen as a potential future foreign minister, has been detained by authorities for questioning, the Wall Street Journal has reported.Liu was taken away after returning to Beijing in late July from an overseas work trip, it reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump reportedly considers reclassifying marijuana as less dangerous drug

President told people at a fundraiser last month he was considering changing marijuana’s Schedule I classificationDonald Trump is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.At a $1m-a-plate fundraiser at his New Jersey golf club earlier this month, Trump told attendees he was interested in making such a change, the people, who declined to be named, told the newspaper. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump news at a glance: President reportedly orders military to target drug cartels; plans to meet Putin on Ukraine

Directive reportedly gives Pentagon a basis to operate against cartels on foreign soil; Trump to meet Russian president in Alaska next week – key US politics stories from 8 August 2025Donald Trump has reportedly given a secret directive to the Pentagon to use the military to target Latin-American drug cartels that his administration has designated terrorist organisations.The order “provides an official basis for the possibility of direct military operations at sea and on foreign soil against cartels”, according to the New York Times, which first reported the directive, citing people familiar with the matter. A US official later confirmed the signing of the directive but said military action did not appear imminent and it was unclear exactly what type of operations they would carry out. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago More than 25,000 sign petition demanding answers on 1994 Chinook disaster

Families of the 29 people who died on the Mull of Kintyre crash have accused the Ministry of Defence of a ‘cover-up’.

Events

6 d. ago Drivers warned over 'age limit' for Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons car parks

Parent and child bays are fitted in most supermarket car parks, allowing extra space for families to manoeuvre and load their vehicles, but some people get caught out by their rules

Events

7 d. ago Pensioner who ran seedy brothel inside Edinburgh spa spared jail

Ian Douglas Haig ran an illegal brothel from the Scorpio Leisure sauna in Edinburgh between 2016 and 2022.

Events

8 d. ago Pensioners race to cash in pots to beat Rachel Reeves's inheritance tax raid

The amount taken out of retirement funds jumped by almost a quarter to £5billion in the first three months of this year, according to the latest HMRC figures.

Economics

3 w. ago Pregnant woman is among at least five dead after ferry carrying hundreds of people bursts into flames in Indonesia

The KM Barcelona 5 was headed to Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, from Talaud, an island district in the province, when it caught fire in waters near Talise.

Events

3 w. ago Atlanta journalist fights deportation from Ice jail despite dropped charges: ‘I’m seeing what absolute power can do’

A Salvadorian reporter with an audience of millions, Mario Guevara was arrested while livestreaming a protest against Trump in June – and is still struggling for freedomProsecutors dropped the last remaining charges against Atlanta-area journalist Mario Guevara last week after he was arrested while livestreaming a protest in June. But the influential Salvadorian reporter remains penned up in a south Georgia detention center, fending off a deportation case, jail house extortionists and despair, people familiar with his situation told the Guardian.Donald Trump’s administration has been extreme in unprecedented ways to undocumented immigrants. But Guevara’s treatment is a special case. Shuttled between five jail cells in Georgia since his arrest while covering the “No Kings Day” protests, the 20-plus-years veteran journalist’s sin was to document the undocumented and the way Trump’s agents have been hunting them down. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago The innocent inheritance tax blunder that can cost your family dearly

Some 220 estates last year received a tax bill on £61 million worth of gifts given away incorrectly, according to HMRC data.

Economics

3 w. ago Lanarkshire theatre group Ups and Downs celebrate Pride of Scotland award

The group for young people with Down's syndrome and their families earned the P&O Cruises inspiration award in their 30th anniversary year

Events

3 w. ago Warning over double inheritance tax trap if you move to Spain

My wife and I are approaching retirement, and we are considering whether we want to stay in the UK. We've been told that it could be a good way to reduce our son's inheritance tax bill too.

Events

3 w. ago More than 60 die in fire at newly opened shopping mall in Iraq

Survivor says the blaze, which killed at least 61 people in the eastern city of Kut, started after an air conditioning unit explodedA fire has torn through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut, killing at least 61 people, as desperate families searched for missing relatives.Officials said many people suffocated in bathrooms, while one person said his five relatives died in a lift. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Maurene Comey: prosecutor in Jeffrey Epstein case reportedly fired by DoJ

AP reports daughter of former FBI director James Comey terminated – but no specific reason given for decisionThe justice department has fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a prosecutor in the federal cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, two people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Wednesday.There was no specific reason given for her firing from the US attorney’s office in the southern district of New York, according to one of the people who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Justice Department fires Maurene Comey, prosecutor on Epstein case and daughter of ex

The Justice Department has fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a prosecutor in the federal cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press

Events