2 h. ago 'Blackout' alert for 26 areas as Met Office issues new Christmas Day warnings

The Met Office has issued a yellow wind warning for winds of up to 65mph on Christmas Day affecting 26 areas across South West England and Wales from 4am to 11.59pm

Events

3 h. ago Met Office Christmas Day weather warning with 'blackout' alert for 26 areas

Residents were warned that 55-65 mph winds could bring power cuts during Christmas Day, sparking fears of a Christmas blackout for millions of homes in Wales and the south west of England

Events

9 h. ago Converts by Melanie McDonagh review – the road to Rome Catholicism’s unlikely 20th

A thought-provoking examination of the literary stars who became Catholic – from Evelyn Waugh to Muriel SparkIn the five decades between 1910 and 1960, more than half a million people in England and Wales became Catholics. Among them were a clutch of literary stars: Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh, Muriel Spark and Graham Greene. But there was a whole host of poets, artists and public intellectuals less known to us today, whose “going over to Rome” provoked envy and dismay.In this thoughtful though brisk book, Melanie McDonagh, a columnist for The Tablet, gives us 16 case histories of Britons who went “Poping” during the scariest decades of the 20th century. At a time when reason and decency appeared to have been chased out by political extremism and global warfare, it was only natural to long for something solid. Writing in 1925, Greene confided to his fiancee “one does want fearfully hard for something firm and hard and certain, however uncomfortable, to catch hold of in the g...

Politics

9 h. ago New Year's Honours for England football and rugby stars as Kevin Sinfield banned

The New Year's Honours list will be officially announced this week

Sport

13 h. ago UK snow: Weather maps show New Year's Eve blizzards as mercury to feel like

The Met Office says it will "feel cold with a notable wind chill across England and Wales" during the Christmas period and weather maps support this forecast — even showing snow

Politics

22 h. ago Cold, windy and sunny Christmas Day forecast with a frosty start

Brisk winds picking up from Christmas Eve will make the weather feel close to freezing for much of the country, the Met Office said.

Politics

25 h. ago Gibraltar’s chief minister made ‘sinister’ interventions to protect friend from police

Inquiry finds Fabian Picardo was ‘grossly improper’ to protect James Levy from a search warrantThe chief minister of Gibraltar made a series of “grossly improper” and “sinister” interventions to interfere in a live criminal investigation in order to protect his friend, mentor and business partner from the consequences of a search warrant, a public inquiry has found.The retired England and Wales high court judge and inquiry chair, Sir Peter Openshaw, concluded that Fabian Picardo acted to protect James Levy KC when police were at Hassans law firm, where Levy was a senior partner, on 12 May 2020 with a search warrant from “a legitimate police investigation and operation”. Continue reading...

Politics

25 h. ago Wales prospect signs deal in England as Ospreys star spotted at English club

The latest rugby news from Wales and around the world

Economics

39 h. ago Rob Key to investigate England’s ‘stag do’ drinking habits after Noosa mid

England team director has ‘no issue’ with trip after second TestBut tourists will investigate claims some players spent six days drinkingRob Key has defended England’s mid-tour break in Noosa but confirmed he will look into reports that excessive drinking by players in between the second and third Ashes Tests turned it into a “glorified stag do”.Sitting 3-0 to Australia, the Ashes having gone, team director Key has followed head coach Brendon McCullum in stating that his future now rests in the hands of senior figures at the England and Wales Cricket Board. Continue reading...

Events

39 h. ago Rob Key to investigate England’s ‘stag do’ drinking habits on Noosa mid

Team director has ‘no issue’ with trip after second TestEngland will investigate claims of excessive drinkingRob Key has defended England’s mid-tour break in Noosa but confirmed he will look into reports that excessive drinking by players in between the second and third Ashes Tests turned it into a “glorified stag do”.Sitting 3-0 down to Australia, the Ashes having gone, the team director, Key, has followed the head coach, Brendon McCullum, in stating that his future now rests in the hands of senior figures at the England and Wales Cricket Board. Continue reading...

Events

42 h. ago Prosecutions for strangulation in England and Wales increase sixfold in three years

CPS says new law marked ‘significant shift in recognising serious nature’ of offence, often linked to domestic abuse and sexual assault The number of suspects charged for strangulation and suffocation in England and Wales has increased almost sixfold in the three years since the offence was first introduced, Crown Prosecution Service data has revealed.Brought in under the Domestic Abuse Act, which came into force in 2022, the legislation closed a gap in the existing law, giving courts much greater sentencing powers. Continue reading...

Politics

44 h. ago UK faces New Year's Day snow storm with just one area spared

The UK is set to face up to 14cm of snow around New Year's Day with northern England facing the deepest accumulations while the south west of England and Wales are spared the flurries

Events

54 h. ago UK weather maps show exact date 16 cities set for minus 6C Arctic blast or colder

A new forecast show parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are set for a sudden Artic blast with temperatures dropping to at least minus six

Politics

2 d. ago Mass clearout of England leadership not in ECB plans after Ashes failure

McCullum’s position likely to come under scrutinyECB believes mass sackings would be a mistakeThe England and Wales Cricket Board is eager to avoid a mass ­clearout of England’s senior leadership in the wake of another humiliating away Ashes series defeat.England’s hopes of winning the urn were expunged inside 11 days for just the fourth time in the contest’s 143-year history with Sunday’s 82-run defeat in Adelaide, and a fourth Ashes whitewash is on the cards in Melbourne and Sydney, unless the tourists can arrest a dismal 18-match run without a win in Australia that stretches back to 2011. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago UK asylum seekers not widely abusing modern slavery rules, report finds

Exclusive: Thinktank’s findings undermine successive home secretaries’ statements about misuse of system in England and WalesAsylum seekers are not abusing the modern slavery system in a widespread manner, according to a report from a centre-right thinktank that undermines statements from successive home secretaries.The report from Bright Blue finds limited evidence that asylum seekers are falsely claiming to have been the victims of modern slavery to stay in the country, despite several home secretaries blaming the system for stopping them deporting more people. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Revealed: ‘Frightening’ surge in police officers convicted of sexual offences since Sarah Everard’s murder

Data obtained from police forces in England and Wales show the scale of sexual convictions for police officers, with the Home Office describing the figures ‘shameful’

Events

3 d. ago Jeremy Guscott lays out plan to fix Welsh rugby as he tells players to ditch social media

The former England and Lions centre turned his focus to Wales ahead of Steve Tandy's first Six Nations in charge

Sport

3 d. ago Major free bus passes for over 60s in England plan update as date set

A massive campaign has been pushing for the change as people in Wales, Scotland and NI get the benefit but those in England don't - now MPs will debate the plan

Politics

5 d. ago New head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales is appointed by Pope Leo

The new Archbishop previously served as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Southwark in south London

Politics

5 d. ago XL bully ban upheld after campaigners lose Court of Appeal challenge

Owning an XL bully without an exemption certificate is a criminal offence in England and Wales

Events