Bed bug callouts have soared by a fifth in London in the past year, new figures have revealed, with councils spending more than £270,000 to deal with infestations.more

British man John Tinniswood, 111, is the oldest man in the world, Reuters reported yesterday. In his own words, his longevity is "just luck" as he has no secret when it comes to his diet. He admits that he likes to eat fish and chips.more

Workers will see their National Insurance (NI) payments cut from Saturday but frozen thresholds mean many are paying more in income tax. The NI rate is falling from 10% to 8% for 27 million employees across the UK - the second such cut this year. It is worth about £450 a year to an employee on an average salary of £35,000.more

House prices fell in March for the first time in six months, according to the latest data from Halifax. The lender said prices dropped by 1% last month, with higher mortgage rates affecting affordability for prospective buyers.more

British Gas customers who wrongly argue their smart meter is faulty could be at risk of a penalty charge. Customers who request an engineer callout over concerns their bills could be incorrect face a £175 bill if no fault is found, The Telegraph understands. If an error is identified, the meter will be replaced free of charge.more

The UK is violating international law by continuing to sell arms to Israel, warned more than 600 British judges and legal experts in a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak published yesterday. They argue that the current situation in Gaza is catastrophic.more

Snow, rain and strong winds have started to hit Scotland with two days of disruption expected as Storm Kathleen arrives in the UK. It is the 11th storm to be named in the 2023-24 season, making it the joint stormiest period since storm naming began in 2015.more

At least 12 people associated with the British Parliament - an incumbent member of the government, MPs and former MPs, MPs' assistants and journalists - were the targets of a spear phishing attack most likely carried out by hackers linked to an enemy state, media outlets have revealed.more

Delivery app riders pedalling through cities and tailbacks at drive-throughs were familiar signs of Britain’s hunger for takeaway food at the peak of the Covid pandemic. Now a study suggests it became an enduring habit.more

Buckingham Palace’s famous centre room where the royal family gather before appearances on the balcony is to open to the public for the first time. Visitors will be able to take guided tours of the royal residence’s east wing, the front facade which faces The Mall where crowds assemble on major occasions to see the monarchy.more

Cheap foreign labour will no longer be an option for British companies, James Cleverly has said as new salary thresholds for skilled workers come in. The Home Secretary said it was “time for employers to play their part” in investing in and recruiting British workers as the Government sought to reduce record levels of net migration.more

A planned relaxation of rules around airline passengers carrying liquids in hand luggage has been delayed by a year. The Government announced it has granted extensions to several large UK airports unable to meet its June 1 deadline to fully install new scanning technology.more

Farmers are calling for the government to grant them a universal basic income, saying the post-Brexit agriculture subsidy scheme has left many poorer.more

Thousands of people across the UK who are worried about their memory will receive blood tests for dementia in two trials that doctors hope will help to revolutionise the low diagnosis rate.more

Controlling immigration is more important than “membership of a foreign court”, the Prime Minister has said in his strongest hint yet that he could back leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).more

The owner of Royal Mail has asked the industry regulator to let it reduce deliveries of second-class letters to just two or three days a week, cutting nearly 1,000 jobs and saving £300m a year in the process.more

Homeless people should not be arrested just because they smell, a minister has said. A bill in the Commons could criminalise rough sleepers if they cause a nuisance, including "excessive" smells.more

£150, or around £750, will have to be paid by those who wish to have tea at the legendary Balmoral Castle. However, this is a unique opportunity, as it has never before been possible to visit the chambers of Elizabeth II's beloved residence, where the Queen spent the last days of her life. By decision of King Charles III, Balmoral Castle, located in Scotland, was opened to the public.more

The UK has had no comprehensive plans for what to do in the event of war for a dozen years; there is no precise plan for the defence of the country, no mobilisation plan, no plan to convert the economy to war, Sky News revealed today.more

A string of supermarkets have issued recall warnings on a number of foods. Sainsbury's is asking customers to return packs of by Sainsbury’s Flaked Almonds because Salmonella has been found in packs. Elsewhere, is recalling own-brand packs of Taleggio cheese and Aldi is asking customers to not eat packs of Village Bakery 8 Tortilla Wraps White because of a possible presence of metal. more

The three suspects in the stabbing death of a journalist from the London-based Iran International TV station, which is critical of the authorities in Tehran, left the UK within hours of the attack, London's Metropolitan Police said today.more

The man accused of stealing a £4.8 million gold toilet from an exhibition held at Blenheim Palace in 2019 has pleaded guilty, the British prosecution service said yesterday. The toilet has never been found.more

Landlords could be banned from raising rents for as long as five years under radical SNP plans. Humza Yousaf’s SNP-Green government has have published legislative proposals to implement long-term market controls which could give local authorities powers to create rent caps as low as 0pc.more

Sadiq Khan on Tuesday proposed to extend the Superloop express bus network to provide an alternative to the unfunded £10bn Bakerloo line extension. The mayor promised to bring forward a “Bakerloop” limited stop service that would link Elephant and Castle and Lewisham - the proposed first section of the long-envisaged Tube extension - if he is re-elected on May 2.more

The south London borough of Croydon has been named the beauty capital of the UK. One in 32 people work in the beauty industry there, new research by Oxford Economics shows. This is more than four times the national average of one in 150.more