London

    Families should take advantage of the current period of falling petrol and food prices "while it lasts", the Governor of the Bank of England has said, as he urged employers to ignore temporary low inflation and raise pay.  British households are on course to enjoy the biggest increase in their take-home pay in more than a decade, the Bank's latest evaluation of the economy showed on Thursday, with real post-tax income expected to rise by 3.5pc this year. This is more than double its estimate of 1.25pc just three months ago and would represent the biggest increase since 2001. The Bank also signalled that it was on course to raise interest rates next year, as it raised its growth projections and lowered unemployment forecasts. In an interview with the Telegraph, Mark C...

    David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband have signed a joint pledge to tackle climate change, which they say will protect the UK’s national security and economic prosperity. The agreement of the three party leaders is highly unusual and comes amid a general election campaign that is becoming increasingly bitter. The prime minister, deputy prime minister and leader of the opposition have all clashed over green issues, but the joint declaration states: “Climate change is one of the most serious threats facing the world today. It is not just a threat to the environment, but also to our national and global security, to poverty eradication and economic prosperity.” “Acting on climate change is also an opportunity for the UK to grow a stronger economy, which is more effici...

    A menu, order of service, invitations and pictures from Britain's Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding will be auctioned off next week. The memorabilia from the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Duchess Catherine, who was then known as Kate Middleton, is one of several royal lots going under the hammer next week, with two cheques written by the Queen Mother, a signed photo of Queen Victoria and handwritten letters penned by Princess Diana are among the items in the sale. The collection of royal memorabilia, which spans almost 200 years, was amassed by Devonshire royal 'ephemera expert', Jim Hanson and is said to be "extraordinary". Auctioneer James Grinter said: "Jim Hanson was an extraordinary collector. "He started from an early age collecting cheese labels, bef...

    In a lively interview on an anarchic late-night chat show, the Deputy Prime Minister also said Boris Johnson was more of a "twat" than a statesman. During the appearance on The Last Leg, he was asked how many times in the last five years he had wanted to give the Prime Minister a slap. "A few times, yes, and, I think, likewise," he replied. Pressed on whether it was more than 10 or 20 times, he said: "Oh, more than that." During a "showdown" with p resenter Alex Brooker, who deployed a "bull**** buzzer" when he was unhappy with the quality of the Liberal Democrat leader's answers, Mr Clegg faced a barrage of tricky questions. Asked if the London mayor was a statesman or a twat, he replied: "A bit more of the latter." Mr Clegg repeatedly refused to choose whether h...

    The House of Commons' home affairs select committee, chaired by Keith Vaz MP, made four victims' names public on its website as part of its inquiry into the Home Office's handling of the issue. Some of the victims named in the documents have been approached by their abusers and claimed they had even received death threats. In a letter to Theresa May, the Home Secretary, a group of abuse survivors said: "It has exposed us as individuals, making us feel vulnerable, and is having a huge impact on our work." Earlier this week Mr Vaz said he was aiming for "transparency" by publishing the 96 page dossier, which is believed to have been leaked by Sharon Evans, a member of the Home Office's abuse panel. The documents included email discussions between officials working on th...

Reacting to sedition charges against him, BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman has said that a sedition case should be filed against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for being the president of Bangladesh after returning home with Pakistani passport, Bangla daily Prothom Alo reports. He claimed that he was charged with sedition for what he said "upholding the real history". Tarique, also the elder son of BNP chief and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, was addressing a discussion in East London yesterday, according to the Prothom Alo report. He claimed again that his father was "not only the first proclaimer of independence but also the first elected president of the independent Bangladesh. On October 18, Advocate Moshiur Rahman Malek, president of Bangabandhu Foundation, filed the sedition cas...

Crackdown on London borough’s ‘partisan approach to politics’ represents one of his biggest interventions in local government Eric Pickles, secretary of state for communities, says his direct intervention in Tower Hamlets contradicts everything he believes in.  The communities secretary, Eric Pickles, is to take over the administration of Tower Hamlets council, in east London, for two years after an inquiry commissioned by his department found evidence of a crony culture in which grants and properties were handed to favoured groups, and proper procedures were ignored. Pickles is to dispatch three commissioners to oversee grant-giving, appointments, property deals and the administration of future elections in the borough. The inquiry, conducted by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, ...

News Desk: An adviser to BNP senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman was arrested in London yesterday on charges of fraudulence. MA Sayem, the newly-appointed human rights advisor to Tarique, was arrested from Uzma Law Centre, his law firm in East London, for forging papers to help a client, Bangla daily Prothom Alo reports quoting an officer of an adjacent law firm. The officer talked to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, the newspaper adds. Tarique appointed a few lawyers as his human rights affairs advisers recently.

The Telegraph © John Stillwell - PA Wire Prince George A tiny primary school has been saved from closure after pupils wrote to Prince George and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appealing for help.Chirton village school in Wiltshire was under threat because not enough families were enrolling their children as pupils.But the 'Prince George effect' was given as the reason behind the school being saved from closure. In their letter to the royal couple, the children said how much they love their school and even invited the Duke and Duchess to enrol George, now fifteen months old, as a pupil when he is old enough. The letter to the Duke and Duchess was written after eleven children, aged from seven to 11, took part in an exercise on 'persuasive writing'. Staff and children were shocked to...