Rishi Sunak has vowed to "fight for every vote" as he called an early UK general election for Thursday 4 July. The PM made the announcement in a rain-soaked speech outside 10 Downing Street, as he bids to win a fifth term in office for the Conservatives. The surprise move overturned expectations of an autumn poll, which might have given the Tories a better chance of closing the gap with Labour.more

Craig Mackinlay MP, who almost six months ago had both arms and both legs amputated due to sepsis and was given a 5 per cent chance of survival, returned to the UK House of Commons yesterday - greeted by a standing ovation.more

The annual rate of inflation in the UK was 2.3 per cent in April. - the UK's statistics office ONS announced today. This is a significant drop from March, when it was 3.2 per cent, and the lowest level since July 2021.more

Water companies in England and Wales want bills to increase by between 24% and 91% over the next five years, according to figures compiled by the consumer watchdog.more

British and US intelligence have evidence that China is already supplying, or will supply, lethal weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine, British Defence Minister Grant Shapps announced today.more

Police should pay more attention to far-left extremists; and new laws are needed to restrict the right to protest, the UK Government's independent adviser on the prevention of political violence wrote in a report published yesterday.more

German writer Jenny Erpenbeck's novel 'Kairos', translated by Michael Hofmann, was last night awarded the Booker International Prize for Fiction, one of Britain's most important literary prizes.more

One of three men arrested in early May in the UK and subsequently charged with spying for Hong Kong has been found dead, British police said yesterday.more

Compensation payments to people who have been given tainted blood as a result of gross negligence in the UK health service, and to the families of those who have died, will begin within 90 days, the government announced yesterday. The value of individual compensation is expected to range from £1m to more than £2m.more

Industry bosses have cast doubt on new plans for skills "bootcamps" for unemployed Britons as part of government efforts to plug gaps in the jobs market left by overseas workers.more

The arrears of diplomatic missions in London from unpaid charges for moving cars around the city center have exceeded £143.5 million (about PLN 715 million), according to Transport for London (TfL), which manages transportation in the British capital. More than 10 percent of that amount is attributable to the US Embassy.more

More than half of the 100 or so cars donated by Londoners for failing to meet emissions standards allowing them to drive around the city free of charge have already been delivered to Ukraine, the charity British-Ukrainian Aid has reported.more

There has again been a fatal bite of a man in the UK by American XL Bully dogs, which have been banned from owning without a licence since February. The victim is a woman in her 50s who was bitten at home by two of her dogs.more

A record number of Debt Relief Orders (DROs) were taken out in April, as the £90 fee for the insolvency option was scrapped. DROs are available to those on low incomes and clear existing debt on everything from council tax to energy bills and rent. Some 3,436 DROs were taken out in April - the highest monthly number since they were introduced in 2009, figures from the Insolvency Service, externamore

Julian Assange has been granted leave to mount a fresh appeal against his extradition to the US on charges of leaking military secrets and will be able to challenge assurances from American officials on how a trial there would be conducted.more

The Met Office is shutting down suggestions that the UK could be in for scorching weather later this month. We’ve had a wild start to May so far, with the hottest days of the year so far followed by heavy thunderstorms and then followed again by warm weather and sunshine (in places).more

A retired 74-year-old Ghanaian man who has lived in the UK for nearly 50 years must wait a decade before the Home Office will let him stay permanently. Nelson Shardey, from Wallasey in Wirral, had for many years assumed he was officially seen as British.more

Nearly 40% of the dirty money in the world is going through the City of London and other crown dependencies, the UK’s deputy foreign secretary has said. Andrew Mitchell added the crown dependencies and overseas territories will face fresh demands from the Foreign Office to comply with UK laws setting up public registers of beneficial share ownership.more

The public inquiry into the infected blood scandal, known as the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history, is due to publish its findings. More than 30,000 people were infected with HIV and hepatitis C from 1970 to 1991 by contaminated blood products and transfusions. About 3,000 of them have since died - many haemophiliacs given infected blood products as part of their treatment. more

Domestic energy bills are predicted to fall by a further 7% in July, offering some relief to households struggling with their budgets. The bill for a home using a typical amount of gas and electricity could drop from £1,690 a year to £1,574, according to consultancy Cornwall Insight.more

British Defense Minister Grant Shapps on Sunday called on European NATO members for greater involvement in defense issues because, as he said, "we are fighting an existential battle" for the shape of global order and for democracy.more

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski gave an interview to the British daily "Daily Telegraph" in which he raised the issue of Donald Tusk's controversial words in the UK that Poland will soon be richer than Great Britain. He also said that thanks to Brexit, the British government could react faster to Russian aggression and take a leadership role in aid to Ukraine.more

The number of illegal immigrants who have entered the UK across the English Channel since the beginning of this year - a 4.5-month period - is already higher than in any full five months in previous years, according to the latest figures.more

The number of billionaires in Great Britain has fallen for the second year in a row, although the wealth of the Hinduja family, which tops the list of the richest inhabitants, has increased to a level never achieved before in its history - according to the annual ranking of "The Sunday Times Rich List".more

King Charles will take part in commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day next month, says Buckingham Palace. He will travel to Normandy in France for ceremonies marking the landings which took place in 1944 during World War Two.more