78 m. ago ‘Honest folk are paying for this’: the fight against Britain’s billion

From raids on marijuana farms to illegal bitcoin miners, suppliers are finding new ways to tackle the rise in gas and electricity theftMore British households struggling with bills will resort to energy theft, campaigners sayBy the time a team of police officers and engineers stormed a disused office block in Wigan, Greater Manchester, on a November morning last year, the building had been abandoned.Left behind were rooms filled with thousands of cannabis plants: a nursery on the first floor, the growing crop on the second, and leaves drying out on the third. The criminal gang behind the marijuana farm is thought to have fled after the grid operator cut off the stolen electricity used to power scores of LED lamps. Continue reading...

Economics

28 h. ago Mystery as dozens of ordinary homes and businesses across Britain are covered in red paint

Take a walk down Chingford Road and you'll find an unremarkable street of terraced family homes and shared flats. Unremarkable, that is, except for one feature.

Politics

28 h. ago Our high street was voted the BEST in Britain... but four years later we've been invaded by 'dodgy' businesses we don't want and surrounding towns have been 'overrun'

EXCL: A tiny Welsh town which holds the coveted title of the UK's best 'High Street' has revealed their secret to keeping their area vibrant and healthy - but warned that they too are feeling the pressure.

Politics

43 h. ago Ordinary family home on sale for £599k mocked for its 'very tacky' feature in back garden

A homeowner has been mocked online after listing their four-bedroom detached Tamworth property on rightmove due to an 'unusual' feature.

Economics

59 h. ago Miliband in blistering attack on Farage’s UK net zero ‘nonsense and lies’

The energy secretary has accused Reform UK’s leader of peddling dangerous falsehoods about renewable power• Tories and Reform use the steel crisis to knock clean energy. They’re wrong: it will secure all our futuresEd Miliband has torn into Nigel Farage and the Tories for peddling dangerous “nonsense and lies” by suggesting the UK’s net zero target is responsible for destroying Britain’s businesses, including its steel industry.Cabinet ministers are determined to fight back against the way Reform UK and the Conservatives have unceremoniously lambasted the climate crisis agenda for what they believe are nakedly political reasons before important local elections next month. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago 'Ross was just an ordinary guy doing what he loved. He never came home'

Father of motorcyclist killed in crash supports safety campaign

Politics

4 d. ago Easter travel mayhem as Bank Holiday travellers are blighted by hundreds of rail engineering works and warnings in place for torrential rain ruin weekend getaways

Nearly 20million people are hitting the road today, while 19million more are set to travel tomorrow - meaning many motorists could face snaking queues along some of Britain's busiest motorways.

Events

7 d. ago LIVE: Office smashed and covered in red paint as police launch investigation

It comes after a protest took place last month

Events

8 d. ago After this, what more proof does Britain need that it cannot ‘cosy up’ to Trump? | William Keegan

With the US disengaging from its traditional relationship with Europe, we need to abandon our ‘red lines’ and rekindle ties with our neighboursAlas: that the infantile wrecker in the White House has “blinked” may be some relief; but the damage he is wreaking on his own country and the rest of us persists.Amid the chaos, conspiracy theories abound. Is Trump a “useful idiot” of even darker forces? What has Putin got on a president who succeeds a long line of (mostly) admirable predecessors, who saw Russian leaders as enemies with whom they had to coexist, not as friends? Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Tycoon Vijay Mallya loses appeal against UK bankruptcy order

Fugitive Indian businessman is fighting bankruptcy and extradition proceedings in Britain

Economics

1 week ago 'Look like a villain' – Paul Scholes makes honest admission about Man United punditry

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes’ punditry duties have admittedly been limited to covering the Red Devils, but the former midfielder says that criticising his old employers comes at a price

Events

2 w. ago Starmer wants Britain at front of electric car ‘revolution’ as reforms unveiled

The Prime Minister said the ‘new era of global instability’ will push the Government to go ‘further and faster’ to support businesses.

Politics

2 w. ago How Donald Trump's tariffs and a trade war will hit YOU... and echo around the world as map shows Britain's business links with the US

The US President announced that all imports into the US will be subject to a minimum tariff of 10 per cent.

Events

2 w. ago ‘America is a friend’, minister insists despite Trump slapping tariffs on UK

The business secretary stressed the strength of Britain’s relationship with the US, distancing himself from Australian PM Anthony Albanese, who said Donald Trump’s tariffs were ‘not the act of a friend’

Politics

2 w. ago Global cost of Trump trade war ‘could reach $1.4tn’; Goldman Sachs cuts UK growth forecast over tariff spillovers – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as UK business secretary warns Britain will be hit by ‘Liberation Day’ tariffsTrump prepares to unveil reciprocal tariffs as markets brace amid trade war fearsTrump’s new tariffs could backfire if they are set too high, explains Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management:“Wednesday’s reciprocal tariffs could push the effective tariff rate another 4 percentage points higher. Anything further than that could move tariffs beyond a revenue-raising ‘sweet spot,’ in our view.Globally, the risk of high tariffs disrupting trade and economic activity would potentially offset any US federal revenue gains that the Trump administration seeks to use to further domestic policies.”“It appears tomorrow there’ll be no country in the world exempt from the initial announcements”.I tihnk that our trading relatinship is a very strong, and fair and balanced one, so I don’t think there is the need to do this. Continue ...

Economics

2 w. ago Global cost of Trump trade war ‘could reach $1.4tn’; tariff fears hurt UK factories – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as UK business secretary warns Britain will be hit by ‘Liberation Day’ tariffsTrump prepares to unveil reciprocal tariffs as markets brace amid trade war fearsTrump’s new tariffs could backfire if they are set too high, explains Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management:“Wednesday’s reciprocal tariffs could push the effective tariff rate another 4 percentage points higher. Anything further than that could move tariffs beyond a revenue-raising ‘sweet spot,’ in our view.Globally, the risk of high tariffs disrupting trade and economic activity would potentially offset any US federal revenue gains that the Trump administration seeks to use to further domestic policies.”“It appears tomorrow there’ll be no country in the world exempt from the initial announcements”.I tihnk that our trading relatinship is a very strong, and fair and balanced one, so I don’t think there is the need to do this. Continue ...

Economics

2 w. ago Gold at record high as markets brace for Trump tariffs ‘to affect every country’ – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as UK business secretary warns Britain will be hit by ‘Liberation Day’ tariffsTrump prepares to unveil reciprocal tariffs as markets brace amid trade war fearsTrump’s new tariffs could backfire if they are set too high, explains Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management:“Wednesday’s reciprocal tariffs could push the effective tariff rate another 4 percentage points higher. Anything further than that could move tariffs beyond a revenue-raising ‘sweet spot,’ in our view.Globally, the risk of high tariffs disrupting trade and economic activity would potentially offset any US federal revenue gains that the Trump administration seeks to use to further domestic policies.”“It appears tomorrow there’ll be no country in the world exempt from the initial announcements”.I tihnk that our trading relatinship is a very strong, and fair and balanced one, so I don’t think there is the need to do this. Continue ...

Economics

3 w. ago Minister rejects call for Britain to adopt ‘Churchill Time’ in the summer

Labour MP Alex Mayer used a Commons debate to make the case for double British summer time, which was adopted during the Second World War.

Politics