A fire broke out Tuesday night into Wednesday at a shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness in northwestern Britain, where nuclear-powered submarines are being built, local police said. Two workers were taken to the hospital with suspected smoke poisoning.more

The bus fare cap in England will be raised to £3 in the upcoming Budget, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced. It is an increase on the current limit of £2 which was introduced under the previous Conservative government to help with the cost of living. The existing cap was due to expire at the end of December.more

Food firms should be forced to reveal how healthy or unhealthy their products are, to help people consume a better diet, an industry boss has said. Ministers should compel companies to publish an annual report so consumers can see how much of their sales is made up of dishes that contain too much fat, salt and sugar, Stéfan Descheemaeker also said.more

Rent in London is consuming between one and two-thirds of tenants incomes, significantly more than the rest of England and Wales.more

The chances of a fresh cut in interest rates from the Bank of England next week have been boosted by a report that shows shop prices falling at their fastest pace in more than three years.more

The Budget will embrace the "harsh light of fiscal reality" but "better days are ahead", Sir Keir Starmer has said in a speech ahead of Wednesday's announcement. Speaking in Birmingham, the prime minister said his government would take "tough decisions", opting to raise taxes in order "to prevent austerity and rebuild public services".more

British Airways has cancelled all flights between London Gatwick and New York until next year, it has emerged. Around 103 transatlantic trips are scrapped due to delays in Rolls-Royce delivering their Trent 1000 engines fitted to BA’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft.more

Britain targeted a Russian disinformation network with sanctions against six entities and individuals involved in creating fake news websites targeting Ukraine.more

Women in England and Wales had an average of 1.44 children between 2022 and 2023, the lowest rate on record. Only 591,072 babies were born in 2023, fewer than in any year since 1977 and a fall of more than 14,000 on the previous year, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.more

There are loads of ice rinks around London and there is one West London ice rink that is open all year round where tickets can cost just £8. That one is Queens in Bayswater is said to be the oldest ice rink in the capital and has welcomed many world and Olympic champions to it since it opened in the 1930s.more

When CD sales took off in the late 80s, many believed it sounded the death knell for the old-fashioned vinyl album. Fast forward 40 years and records are the in thing again, so much so that the high street retailer WH Smith is bringing them back after a three-decade hiatus.more

Despite a fairly mild October, November could take a radical turn for the worse. As winter approaches, temperatures are set to gradually plummet. According to the BBC, average temperatures in London will be 11C early next month. And they could fall much lower as November progresses, with the Met Office warning that a snowy spell could hit the country. more

Pubs face widespread closures unless the chancellor announces an extension to business rates relief in next week's Budget, the UK's biggest pub company has warned.more

A prison is so "dilapidated" an inmate was able to remove his own cell door, an inspection has found. A watchdog has called for Winchester prison, a category B jail in Hampshire, to be put into emergency measures over concerns of "very high levels of violence" and drug problems.more

People are being told not to ignore an itchy rash, with GPs in England reporting a spike in scabies - the highly infectious skin infestation. The condition is caused by a mite which burrows under the skin to lay eggs and is spread through close physical contact, bedding and clothes.more

MP Mike Amesbury has been suspended from the Labour Party after CCTV footage emerged appearing to show him punching a man to the ground. He has also had the Labour whip withdrawn, meaning he will now sit as an independent MP in Parliament.more

London black cab taxi fares could increase as Transport for London (TfL) seeks to stem the tide of falling driver numbers. The authority regularly reviews the price, and normally makes changes once a year.more

King Charles is expected to return to a "normal" schedule of overseas trips next year after his visits to Australia and Samoa proved a "perfect tonic", a Buckingham Palace official has said.more

Conservative MP Neil O'Brien has set out a list of policies to make Britain "vaguely civilised again" including "large and instant fines" for passengers playing music on public transport and a "crackdown on spitting".more

The value of the UK’s private healthcare market rose to a record £12.4bn last year as long NHS waiting lists fuelled demand from individuals and the health service paid for nearly £3.5bn of procedures to help ease the care backlog.more

Neal’s Yard Dairy delivered 22 tonnes of artisan cheddar after scammer posed as distributor for French retailer. Artisan cheesemakers have been dealt a blow by fraudsters who stole more than £300,000 worth of award-winning clothbound cheddar in a sophisticated scam.more

From the beginning of 2024 to Friday 25 October inclusive, 29,578 illegal immigrants have crossed the English Channel into the UK on 556 boats, which is more than in the whole of 2023, according to statistics published yesterday by the British Home Office.more

David Bowie’s shape-shifting abilities will be celebrated in a new attraction from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, featuring more than 90,000 items of Bowie memorabilia.more

Crime experienced by individuals and households in England and Wales increased 10% over the past year, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).more

The noisiest section on the Victoria line is southbound between Finsbury Park and Highbury & Islington. BBC London recently measured the noise levels on an app, which peaked at 112.3 decibels. A typical music concert has a sound level of 110dB while a chainsaw operates at about 120dB.more