51 m. ago McCall plays down talk of Owen Farrell leaving Racing to make Saracens return

Director of rugby said rumours ‘not worth answering’Leicester prop Dan Cole to retire at end of seasonThe Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, has declined to comment on reports that the former club captain and England fly-half Owen Farrell is considering a Premiership return.Farrell left Saracens at the end of last season after a 16-year stint with the Premiership club. He moved to Paris-based Racing 92, but it has proved a testing campaign for him in terms of injuries and Stuart Lancaster left as head coach in January. Continue reading...

Politics

66 m. ago The Guardian view on Farage’s cynical pitch: Labour must be bolder to see off the threat | Editorial

The Reform UK leader spies a route to power through appealing to blue collar voters. His speech is another wake-up call for Sir Keir Starmer’s governmentLast July, concluding his election victory speech after winning in Clacton, Nigel Farage announced that after inflicting grievous damage on the Conservative party that night, Reform UK would now “be coming for Labour”. Since then, on issues such as the nationalisation of Britain’s beleaguered steel industry, Mr Farage has carefully positioned his party as sympathetic to working-class concerns and fears. His heavily-trailed speech on Tuesday, in Westminster, was the most direct attempt yet to present himself as a new spokesperson for Labour’s traditional blue-collar voters.The most talented and cynical political opportunist of his generation, Mr Farage knows where the openings lie. Labour has tied itself in unedifying knots over its deeply unpopular cuts to the winter fuel allowance, and agonised over reversing the Tories’ ...

Events

71 m. ago Full list of Scots Santander branches closing in summer as 95 UK stores to shut

The major bank has revealed the list of its branches set to close this year- including 10 Scottish branches to close in June and July.

Politics

76 m. ago Met Office verdict on when hot weather will return to Manchester after bank holiday washout

Temperatures could soon rise again after a wet bank holiday weekend

Society

87 m. ago King Charles hails ‘strong and free’ Canada in speech to open parliament

Monarch makes no direct mention of Trump amid US president’s threats to make Canada ‘51st state’King Charles has said Canadians can “give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away” as he gave a rare speech in the country’s parliament that served as a rebuke of the US president, Donald Trump, and his threats to annex the country.Charles, who serves as Canada’s head of state, is the first monarch since 1957 to preside over the opening of a new Canadian parliament. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Israel and Syria hold direct talks to curb spiralling tensions

Dialogue with new leadership in Damascus follows spate of Israeli air strikes

Politics

3 h. ago DWP benefit cuts to PIP planned by Government could be 'tweaked' amid backlash

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is said to be considering 'tweaks' to welfare cuts estimated to be worth £5 billion planned by his Government amid a backlash from backbench MPs over PIP cuts

Politics

3 h. ago Why Tottenham could get MORE money than Arsenal for being in next season's Champions League

Arsenal and Tottenham will both compete in the Champions League next season, but Spurs could pocket slightly more cash than their rivals despite finishing well below them in the Premier League

Sport

3 h. ago IMF lifts UK growth forecast for 2025; markets welcome US delay to EU 50% tariffs – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as IMF releases latest healthcheck on UK economyRachel Reeves should ease fiscal rules to prevent emergency spending cuts, IMF saysEU hopes for quick deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffsToyota to move some GR Corolla production to UK from JapanOuch! Germany’s economy is on track for its worst performance in post-war history, a new report shows.The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) predicted this morning that Europe’s largest economy will contract by 0.3% this year, Reuters reports. That would be the third annual contraction in a row, although not as bad as the 0.5% fall in GDP which the DIHK predicted back in February.“A mood of cautious relief is spreading after the long weekend, amid hopes for more fruitful trade negotiations between the United States and its global partners. There are no post bank holiday blues for the London market, with the Footsie in striking distance of the record ...

Economics

3 h. ago Couple gut classic car from 1950s and make extraordinary find worth hundreds

Sharon Tapson took to TikTok after her husband had finished renovating their 1954 Riley, which had been sat in their barn untouched for two decades.

Politics

5 h. ago Top Tech: Our favourite tablet deals including a £10.50 Apple iPad and free Samsung Galaxy

Tech writer Jake Hackney has pulled together his top pick of Apple, Amazon and Samsung tablets that won't break the bank, with deals from the likes of Sky and Mobiles.co.uk

Economics

5 h. ago KFC to open 500 new restaurants in UK as part of major expansion plan

KFC estimates that the UK fried chicken market is worth £3.1bn annually, and it expects it to continue to grow, with new entrants in recent years including Popeyes, Wingstop, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Slim Chickens

Politics

5 h. ago NatWest customers urged to 'act fast' and close their accounts over new change

NatWest customers have been urged to 'act fast' and close their accounts this week as the high street bank is cutting the interest rates on some of its popular savings accounts

Economics

6 h. ago The moment Liverpool carnage began after driver 'tailgated ambulance to get into parade' before leaving four seriously hurt including a child

Up to one million Liverpool fans had jubilantly gathered to celebrate the club winning the Premier League title with a 10-mile trophy parade through the city centre on Bank Holiday Monday.

Society

6 h. ago Ninja slushi created one of the best drinks I’ve ever made, but is it worth the money?

Until another brand makes a good domestic slushy maker, this is really the only option on the market

Politics

6 h. ago Exact date mini heatwave set to hit UK as Caribbean jet stream to bring 25C heat blast

Many Brits suffered a bank holiday weekend washout but weather maps show we are soon set for temperatures to rise again into the mid-20Cs for some areas of the country

Sport

6 h. ago Trump administration reportedly set to cancel last Harvard contracts – US politics live

Federal contracts worth an estimated $100m set to be pulled, according to media reports Donald Trump wants to “dictate” policies like those of far-right regimes in the 1930s, a leading billionaire investor has warned.Ray Dalio writes in a new book that the US president is acting like a chief executive without a board as he seeks to expand executive power even more aggressively than predecessors Andrew Jackson and Franklin D Roosevelt. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Liverpool crash driver 'tailgated ambulance to get through bollards on closed road' before ploughing into football fans

Up to one million Liverpool fans had jubilantly gathered to celebrate the club winning the Premier League title with a 10-mile trophy parade through the city centre on Bank Holiday Monday.

Events

7 h. ago Mapped: UK weather to see off bank holiday rain with temperatures to soar up to 25C

London will be even hotter than Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, and Palermo in Sicily on Friday

Politics

7 h. ago IMF lifts UK growth forecast for 2025; markets welcome US delay to EU 50% tariffs – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as IMF releases latest healthcheck on UK economyRachel Reeves should ease fiscal rules to prevent emergency spending cuts, IMF saysEU hopes for quick deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffsToyota to move some GR Corolla production to UK from JapanOuch! Germany’s economy is on track for its worst performance in post-war history, a new report shows.The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) predicted this morning that Europe’s largest economy will contract by 0.3% this year, Reuters reports. That would be the third annual contraction in a row, although not as bad as the 0.5% fall in GDP which the DIHK predicted back in February.“A mood of cautious relief is spreading after the long weekend, amid hopes for more fruitful trade negotiations between the United States and its global partners. There are no post bank holiday blues for the London market, with the Footsie in striking distance of the record ...

Economics