There appears to have been a rise in the proportion of middle class and wealthier women under the age of 45 smoking in England, research from University College London suggests. The percentage of women in this group who smoked rose from 12% to 15% between 2013-2023, the study estimates.more

An employee who had worked for Sainsbury's for almost 20 years has been sacked for taking some "bags for life" without paying for them. Niamke Doffou worked at the Romford Sainsbury's store as a night shift assistant.more

GP’s will soon be stripped of the ability to sign people off work as part of a major government inititive to crack down on ‘sicknote culture’. Rishi Sunak today claimed that a surge in people signed off sick with mental health conditions is placing ‘unsustainable’ pressure on the welfare budget.more

Only four out of 10 people in England say they trust the police, with the UK’s biggest force, the Metropolitan police, getting the lowest confidence score, research has found.more

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health is urging ministers to end the "reasonable chastisement" defence as most adults now see physical punishment of children as unacceptable.more

Motorists could be charged nearly 40% APR (annual percentage rate) when paying for their insurance monthly, according to new analysis. And some home insurers are charging nearly 35% APR on monthly payments, Which? said.more

The Scottish government is to ditch its flagship target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030. The final goal of reaching "net-zero" by 2045 will remain, but BBC Scotland News understands the government's annual climate targets could also go.more

British growers and sellers fear government measures starting on 30 April could result in delays and plants being damaged.more

The ruling Conservative Party in the UK is losing to the opposition Labour Party even in areas that have traditionally been its strengths, such as defence, law and order, the fight against illegal immigration and taxation, according to a poll published yesterday.more

A couple were divorced by mistake after solicitors at a leading law firm made a computer error but a senior judge has said it cannot be overturned. The couple, referred to as Mr and Mrs Williams by the high court, were married for 21 years until they separated in 2023.more

A Home Office case worker has been arrested on suspicion of trying to sell UK residency to an asylum seeker living in Northern Ireland. BBC News NI can reveal the official allegedly contacted a vulnerable man and asked for £2,000 in return for approving his refugee application.more

Nearly 1 million people aged over 66 in the UK are living in deprivation, according to government statistics, the highest number since comparable records began.more

Britain's Prince Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, has officially changed his primary residence address to the United States, according to the British Companies Register, Sky News reported today.more

A woman who called 999 more than 2,000 times in a campaign of abuse against emergency workers has been jailed for 22 weeks. Sonia Nixon, 56, is one of the worst offenders in London for making nuisance emergency calls, and has been dubbed a “massive drain” on police resources. more

The opening of this museum is the culmination of 14 years of our efforts and I hope that it will help to make the history of Polish airmen in the United Kingdom better known," said Geoff Burton, initiator of the RAF Ingham Heritage Centre, the only museum in the world dedicated to the Polish bomber squadrons.more

All of the UK’s native breeds of chicken, duck, geese and turkey are under threat because of bird flu, a report from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) has found.more

There was an explosion at a munitions plant belonging to the UK's largest defence company, BAE Systems, in south Wales yesterday. The company reported that no one was injured and production was not interrupted.more

British tourists planning trips to Egypt and Morocco are being alerted to rapidly changing situations in the Middle East, following serious events over the weekend. The UK government has issued fresh travel guidance for those visiting these increasingly popular holiday spots known for their value resorts and hot climates.more

One Tesco store has taken an extreme new security measure to combat shoplifting and enhance worker safety. The supermarket branch is now requiring customers to be vetted via CCTV before they can enter the store.more

The number of workforce dropouts claiming to suffer long-term sickness has surged to a record high as Britain’s labour crisis deepens. More than 2.8 million people say they are too ill to work, the highest number since records were first collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).more

Inflation has fallen to its lowest level in two-and-a-half years, driven largely by slowing food price rises. Prices rose by 3.2% in the year to March, down from 3.4% the month before, according to official figures.more

There are over 3 million dwellings in London – but surprisingly, not all of them are occupied. There’s one London borough where a lot of the properties lie empty, a ridiculous feat amid the fact that 1 in 51 people in the capital are homeless, according to statistics from Shelter England.more

Creating a sexually explicit “deepfake” image is to be made an offence under a new law, the Ministry of Justice has announced. Under the legislation, anyone who creates such an image without consent will face a criminal record and an unlimited fine. They could also face jail if the image is shared more widely.more

Alliances should work both ways; if the UK is helping Israel to defend itself, it has a right to expect Israel to help Ukraine too, wrote former British Defence Minister Ben Wallace in a piece published yesterday in the "Daily Telegraph".more

MPs have backed a plan to ban anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes, effectively ensuring it will become law. The measures, championed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, survived despite opposition from several leading Tory figures - including two ex-PMs.more