Politics
Richard Tice’s property investment company broke the law after failing to pay £91,000 in tax
More than £91,000 that should have gone directly to HMRC was not paid at the time.
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Fried foods such as chicken nuggets and fish and chips are set to be removed from school menus as part of efforts to tackle childhood obesity.
Keir Starmer has abandoned plans to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after Donald Trump pulled his backing
Wireless Festival cancelled after Home Office refuses Kanye West's UK travel authorisation
Cyber attack alert: NHS says hackers can take control of networks
Panama Papers at 10: Leak linked to $1.3bn in tax recoveries; campaigners say loopholes remain
Five Met officers removed from frontline duties after firearms bag found outside Sadiq Khan’s home
Pope Leo criticises linking Christianity to military force as Hegseth invokes faith over Iran war
Politics
MORE →Britain finalises US pharmaceuticals deal with tariff-free access and higher NHS drug prices
Britain has finalised a pharmaceutical trade agreement with the United States that gives UK-made medicines tariff-free access to the US market for at least three years, while requiring higher NHS payments for new drugs. The deal raises the net price paid for medicines launched after April 2026 by 25% and commits the UK to increase medicines spending to 0.35% of GDP by 2028 and 0.6% by 2035.
UK minimum wage rises to £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over
Starmer says Iran war means UK will seek closer EU ties
The Metropolitan Police has said it will resume arresting people for showing support for Palestine Action despite High Court ruling
Police say fire that destroyed four Hatzola ambulances in London is suspected arson and antisemitic hate crime
Labour calls on Richard Tice to explain Quidnet tax arrangements
NHS
MORE →Government withdraws planned 1,000 resident doctor training posts as six-day strike goes ahead
The government has withdrawn plans for 1,000 additional specialty training posts for resident doctors in England after the BMA did not call off a six-day strike running 7–13 April. Ministers had linked the posts to the latest offer, which Health Secretary Wes Streeting said includes an average 4.9% uplift this year. NHS England and hospitals are preparing for disruption, with some non-urgent care expected to be postponed.
NHS hospitals urged to reject £330m data platform part-owned by Trump ally
Medical royal colleges chair warns anti-migrant rhetoric is deterring overseas NHS staff
Resident doctors in England begin five-day strike as NHS warns of delays during flu surge
England resident doctors reject government offer, confirming five-day NHS strike from 17–22 December
Streeting warns of patient harm risk as resident doctors plan five-day strike from 17–22 December in England
Elections
MORE →Ipsos poll: Britons pick Starmer over Farage head-to-head, but more expect Reform to be largest party
An Ipsos poll of 2,283 adults in Great Britain found 40% would choose a Keir Starmer-led Labour government over 32% for a Nigel Farage-led Reform UK government in a forced choice. But 28% said they expected Reform to win a majority government or be the largest party in a hung parliament at the next general election, compared with 19% for Labour, and both leaders had net negative favourability ratings.
Lisa Nandy says Andy Burnham should have been allowed to stand in Gorton & Denton by-election
Modelling warns Labour could be left controlling as few as two London councils at May borough elections
YouGov poll puts Greens second on 21% ahead of Labour as Reform leads on 23%
Labour plans to repeal ministers’ power to direct Electoral Commission strategy
Omnisis poll puts Greens ahead of Labour in Gorton and Denton days before by-election
Middle East
MORE →US officials say American F-15E went down over Iran; search under way for crew
US officials cited by NBC said an American F-15E went down inside Iran on Friday, and the US military launched a search-and-rescue operation for the two-person crew. Reuters separately reported that an American official said the aircraft had been shot down, while Iranian media also claimed Iranian forces downed a US warplane; the crew’s fate was unclear and the US military had not issued a detailed public account.
Iranian state TV urges civilians to capture US aircrew after Tehran claims US jet downed; UK sends defences to Kuwait
Starmer says Iran war means UK will seek closer EU ties
Israel says it will keep a security zone in southern Lebanon up to the Litani River
Iran launches new missile volleys at Israel as Tehran denies direct US talks
Lebanon's state agency alleges Israeli shelling Naqoura with white phosphorus
World
MORE →Email attributed to Ghislaine Maxwell says Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor & Virginia Giuffre photo was taken at her London home
A 2015 email attributed to Ghislaine Maxwell, released in a new tranche of US Department of Justice files, says Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor visited her London home, met a woman widely reported to be Virginia Giuffre, and that a photograph was taken that day. The thread shows Maxwell drafting a statement denying wrongdoing and rebutting allegations. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing, said he does not recall meeting Giuffre, and previously cited being at Pizza Express in Woking as an alibi.
