2024

The National Audit Office says a £35m pilot to test the expansion of free childcare in a few areas was cancelled.

5 hours ago About sharing Palestinian workers are exhuming bodies at Nasser hospital with shovels because they have no heavy machinery By David Gritten BBC News The UN’s human rights chief has said he is “horrified” by the destruction of Gaza’s Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals and the reports of “mass graves” being found at the…

Big names and rising stars win at a new ceremony celebrating music from the north of England.

34 minutes ago About sharing Ukraine has recently passed a new law to lower the minimum conscription age from 27 to 25 By James Waterhouse in Kyiv & Paul Kirby in London BBC News Ukraine is suspending consular services for male citizens aged 18 to 60 abroad as part of a drive to beef up…

5 hours ago Comments About sharing Petrol prices across the UK have hit an average 150.1p a litre, reaching the highest level since last November, according to the AA motoring group. Data also showed that average diesel prices rose to 158.3p a litre on Monday. Experts blamed a rise in oil prices because of tensions…

23 minutes ago About sharing By Sean Coughlan Royal correspondent Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales have all received historic royal honours, Buckingham Palace has announced. Prince William becomes Great Master of the Order of the Bath. Catherine is now a Companion of Honour, which recognises achievement in arts, medicine, sciences and…

1 hour ago About sharing The husband of Paula Vennells (pictured) suggested the wording change The Post Office changed how it described problems with its Horizon IT system based on a suggestion by the husband of former boss, Paula Vennells. The inquiry into the scandal has revealed that following advice from John Vennells, the Post…

4 minutes ago About sharing By Paul Seddon Politics reporter Rishi Sunak has promised billions more for defence in the coming years, saying the world is the most dangerous it has been since the Cold War. The prime minister said UK military spending would rise to 2.5% of national income by 2030, in a move…

1 hour ago About sharing Many children are among the more than 360,000 displaced by the violence By Vanessa Buschschlüter BBC News Three million children in Haiti are in need of humanitarian assistance as continuing gang violence hampers aid delivery, the head of the UN children’s agency, Unicef, has said. Catherine Russell said the situation…

Minutes of a board meeting held on 16 July 2013 are being shown, with Alex Perkins and Paula Vennells among the attendees listed in the document. Crichton did not attend this meeting and inquiry counsel Julian Blake asks why she was absent from the meeting. “Because I was waiting outside to be called in,” Crichton…