88 m. ago London leaver: 'My £400k Glastonbury home cost a third what I sold for in Camberwell'

Katie Young says swapping south London for Somerset offered an affordable new start post divorce

Economics

89 m. ago I was warned my children would be ripped in half when we divorced. But I had no idea just how brutal custody cases can be

My experience of court was eye-opening. And when I sat in on other cases, I realised how often mothers are vilifiedIt’s 1836 and the French writer George Sand is swimming in the River Indre with her clothes on, weighed down by layers of ankle-length fabric. To anyone passing by, she must look mad or worse – driven by a death wish. But for her there is the relief of cool water sluicing hot skin, after walking for hours in 30C heat. She’s been moving all day because if she stops she’ll remember how frightened she is: she’s about to go to court to fight for her children against a husband driven by punitive anger.Custodire. To care. To look after. To guard. To restrain. Maternal care is, we are constantly told, the most natural of functions. But for century after century, women who transgress the expected norms of what a mother should be have battled for their children and been found wanting. Maternal care comes at a price when the law is involved. And all too often custody can be more ...

Events

89 m. ago Poor transport a 'significant barrier' facing 230,000 disabled rural Scots

Watchdog calls for urgent improvements

Politics

89 m. ago Departure(s) by Julian Barnes: Love, sex and a real sense of an ending

Julian Barnes will be 80 on January 19, an anniversary he is celebrating with the publication of this book, which he says will definitely be his last, although he’ll continue journalism, plus a sold-out conversation with his old mucker Ian McEwan at the Union Chapel next week.

Politics

89 m. ago How the actions of two passionate sisters have helped hundreds of missing people

As The Independent’s SafeCall campaign hits its target of £165,000 alongside Missing People, it heard from those who witnessed the charity’s modest beginnings

Events

89 m. ago 'I drove 19,000 miles on world’s longest road – one moment tested me like nothing else'

Australian overlander Dan Grec has revealed how a two-year, 40,000-mile drive along the Pan-American Highway pushed him to his physical limits

Politics

2 h. ago Dream cottage in one of Wales' most spectacular landscapes is only £90,000, so what's the catch

What a bargain and exciting renovation project if you could secure it for somewhere near the £90,000 auction guide price

Economics

2 h. ago Elephant seals return to Año Nuevo State Park. Visitors watch battling bulls and 75

Every winter, about 10,000 elephant seals make their way to California’s Año Nuevo State Park, to fight, mate and give birth

Events

2 h. ago SNP ministers 'spending half of what is needed' to tackle housing emergency

A £4.1bn pledge for affordable housing in the Scottish Budget is not enough, campaigners say, with 50,000 Scots and 10,000 kids currently homeless.

Politics

3 h. ago Cardiff's most expensive suburbs where homes cost £750,000 as you've never seen them before

Cardiff's Cyncoed and Lisvane through the ages will take you back to childhood

Economics

4 h. ago Man paralysed after freak cold water dip might now walk again thanks to AI

Dan Richards has gone to huge effort and expense to try and get his life back on track, but has now found a way forward in a different country that he hopes will be a complete game changer

Politics

6 h. ago Dad doused in unknown substance during pub fight told by doctors 'he could have died'

Adam Tickner has been left with severe PTSD following the incident at Ye Arrow in Rochester, Kent and has spoken out after his attacker was given a suspended prison sentence

Sport

7 h. ago Australia news live: NSW dog owners face jail time for leaving pets in cars; flood warnings issued for Sydney

Under the proposals, offenders could be fined a maximum of $44,000 and sentenced to a year in prison. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast‘Brazen’ judge comments highlight family court failuresLegal experts have criticised the handling of abuse cases in family court, after a woman and alleged survivor of domestic abuse alleged a judge suggested she be taken to a park to “fight it out” with her former partner.The judge has evidence before them of family violence, which by definition is a pattern of violence, control and abuse of power, and yet has opted to collude with the alleged perpetrator, emboldening this person to continue his offences.The fact that these attitudes permeate the justice system does not surprise me but it is shocking how brazen (these comments) are.” Continue reading...

Events

7 h. ago Museums and libraries boosted with major new funding package to save them from closure

The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will next week unveil funding for more than 1,000 arts and cultural organisations across England, including £114 million for local museums outside London

Politics

8 h. ago UK travel company closes down after going bust  – as Brits face cancelled holidays

A BRITISH travel firm which sold package holidays to Europe and South East Asia has ceased trading after going into liquidation this week. Many Brits will have their travel plans ruined as the company lost its Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL). According to Companies House, Regen Central Ltd, founded in 2011 in Hertfordshire went bust on...

Transport

8 h. ago NHS admits hospital water infections caused deaths of four Scots with cancer including tragic schoolgirl

A CHILD cancer patient who died after contracting an infection at an £842 million hospital got them from its tainted water supply, health chiefs have finally admitted. NHS bosses say Milly Main, 10, acquired a killer bacterial bug from a contaminated catheter while undergoing leukaemia treatment at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. They spent years...

Events

9 h. ago MoD staff pocket £57million in bonuses despite new defence chief's £28BILLION black hole warning

The revelation comes just weeks after Britain's Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, is said to have warned Sir Keir Starmerabout a £28billion military funding black hole.

Economics

9 h. ago One cool cat! Man pays £16,000 to have dead pet feline cryogenically frozen at Swiss clinic

Finance worker Mark McAuliffe, from Newcastle, was so grief-stricken by Bonny's deteriorating health that he paid the eye-watering sum to have her frozen once she died.

Economics

9 h. ago Gordon Brown 'regrets' not opposing Iraq War as former PM claims he was misled on WMD in new book

Mr Brown has said former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook 'had a clearer view' than the rest of the Government of the claims, which led to Britain's involvement in the Iraq War.

Events

9 h. ago Families could save 17% on energy bills after smart meter pledge

An accelerated rollout of the digital gas or electricity meters will put an end to estimated bills and allow accurate tracking of people’s usage to cut bills, and save water

Science