The number of employers expecting to increase staff numbers in the next three months has fallen to a record low outside of the pandemic, new research suggests. One in four employers plan to make redundancies in the next three months, the report added.more

Ever thought about becoming a Tube, bus, tram or train driver and earning up to £100,000 a year? It's not as straightforward as you might think, with the journey known for being notoriously challenging. Tube driver roles are typically only advertised internally. more

A London council has proposed banning garden bonfires in a drive to reduce harmful pollution caused by outdoor waste burning. The plan by Hammersmith and Fulham Council involves creating a new by-law to prevent residents from burning household or garden waste outside at commercial sites, allotments, and private gardens.more

Food retailers have seen a “massive” increase in pensioner shoplifters over the last year, according to a leading store security firm, amid the rising cost of living. John Nussbaum, director of service for retail at Kingdom Services Group, has said his staff were seeing a “different sort of shoplifter now” as the cost of living “pushes people to something they’ve never done before”.more

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised in London today that net immigration to his country will fall "significantly" by 2029.more

The cost of sending a child to a state school in the UK has “significantly increased” since 2022, outstripping both inflation and earnings growth, a new report has found.more

The BAFTA TV Awards were handed out last night at London's Royal Festival Hall. The award for Best Limited Drama Series went not to the favourite "Reindeer" but to "Mr Bates vs. The Post Office". "Mr Loverman" also enjoyed success.more

Hospitals in England are cutting staff, closing services and planning to ration care in order to make “eye-watering” savings demanded by NHS bosses. Rehabilitation centres face being shut, talking therapies services cut and beds for end-of-life care reduced as part of efforts by England’s 215 NHS trusts to comply with a “financial reset”.more

Dozens of new coach services will launch for London, including services from London Heathrow Airport. Better yet, the FlixBus services cost just £4. Services will begin for the first time between London, Heathrow Airport, and Bournemouth, as well as Southampton, the University of Southampton and Poole as of May 15, bringing greater connections to the South.more

A number of flights have been delayed as a result of the IT problems faced this morning at London Stansted Airport, the British capital's third largest airport by passenger numbersmore

Right-wing Reform UK's win in UK by-elections and local elections is not due to radical opposition to the system, but to the party's great adaptation to the conditions in which political debate takes place, assessed political scientist and far-right expert Dr Aaron Winter of Lancaster University.more

London's hot air balloon festival has been rescheduled for the 5th year in a row due to weather concerns, the organising committee has announced. Dozens of hot air balloons were due to sail across London's skyline this weekend in aid of charity. more

Employers wishing to recruit engineers, IT workers and telecommunication staff from abroad will have to show they are investing in domestic workforce training under plans to reduce net migration to the UK.more

German detectives have begged British police to reopen their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann before the prime suspect ‘walks free’. The Metropolitan Police’s Operation Grange could unearth vital evidence before Christian Brueckner is released from jail after serving a separate sentence for sexual assault.more

Free public transport for every Londoner has been suggested by community activists as a way “to open up the city”. The campaign group Fare Free London (FFL) believes that free transport - already available to children under 11 and Londoners over 60 via the 60+ Oyster or Freedom Pass - should be extended to all ages.more

Migrants may have to learn a higher standard of English to work in the UK and wait for longer before they can settle permanently, reports have suggested. An immigration White Paper due to be published next week is expected to set out the reforms, as Sir Keir Starmer gets tougher on migration in the wake of Labour’s local election losses to Reform UK.more

Eighteen-year-olds will be allowed to drive trains amid concerns over driver shortages. The minimum age to take on the role in Britain is to be lowered from 20, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.more

Prisons minister James Timpson has told the BBC more criminals could be tagged in future instead of being sent to prison - but insists he's not "soft on crime". More than 30 companies, including Microsoft and Google, will meet the government today to explore how technology could help monitor offenders in the community more effectively and tackle violence in prison.more

Bank of England policymakers have cut interest rates by a quarter point to 4.25% to cushion the UK economy against the impact of rising economic uncertainty.more

WeightWatchers has filed for bankruptcy in the US as it struggles with debt and fierce competition from fat-loss jabs like Ozempic and Mounjaro. The legal process will see $1.15bn (£860mn) of the 60-year-old diet brand's debt written off while it agrees new terms for paying back its lenders.more

The root cause of a fire which led to the shutdown of Heathrow Airport and affected hundreds of thousands of journeys worldwide "remains unknown", an interim report says. Heathrow was closed to all flights for much of 21 March after a fire at a nearby electrical substation, which started the previous night, caused a power outage at the airport.more

England is heading towards a drought this summer unless there is significant rainfall soon, as reservoir water levels dwindle. The government will on Wednesday convene the National Drought Group of water companies, farming groups and other experts to prepare for what is expected to be a dry summer with potential water shortages.more

Britain is secretly preparing for a direct military attack by Russia amid fears that it is not ready for war. Officials have been asked to update 20-year-old contingency plans that would put the country on a war footing after threats of attack by the Kremlin.more

Rafał Trzaskowski would win 39% of the votes in the presidential elections if they were held next Sunday – according to an online survey conducted among Poles living in Great Britain by the portal MyPolska.UK. Second place went to Sławomir Mentzen with 15% support, and third to Grzegorz Braun with 9%. Karol Nawrocki was off the podium with 8%.more

Visa applications from nationalities thought most likely to overstay and claim asylum in the UK could be restricted under a new government crackdown. Under Home Office plans, first reported in the Times, external, people from countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka may find it more difficult to come to the UK to work and study.more