United Kingdom

    Theresa May was warned not to grimace when asked about Donald Trump’s groping comments, it was revealed today. The Prime Minister was given the instruction by Number 10 communications director Katie Perrior ahead of her first interview of the New Year. There were fears that Sky News host Sophy Ridge could hit the PM pull a stunt by asking a question about the recently unearthed video of the then-President elect boasting his celebrity status allowed him to sexually assault women. A new book about the election campaign, Betting the House, by Tim Ross & Tom McTague, reveals the conversation that took place to prepare the PM for the moment. In the car taking the Prime Minister from her Sunday church service to the Sky News studios, Perrior reminded her of the quote and of ...

    Hailed by Brexiteers as a triumphant symbol of a return to the days of independence from the EU, the new-style blue British passports could be made in France or Germany, it has been claimed. Two foreign firms have reportedly been shortlisted alongside British company De La Rou by the Home Office to manufacture the new passports ahead of the UK’s departure from the EU in March 2019. The £450 million contract was tendered out by the Government immediately after Article 50 was triggered in March, with the winner expected to be announced by this Christmas. Navy blue British passports were first produced in 1920, and for many from the older generations, the true British passport will always be blue. Younger people, however, have no memory of the blue-style ones, as the burgundy...

    Wales and Scotland will formally lay down a challenge to Theresa May’s Brexit plans this week, warning she risks a constitutional crisis if changes are not made. Governments in both nations are expected to officially submit documents confirming their intention to withhold consent for the Prime Minister’s approach to EU withdrawal unless it radically alters. Conservative ministers have admitted to The Independent that pushing on without their backing could hold up Brexit, while politicians outside England warn it will strain the UK at the seams. The devolved governments claim Ms May’s key piece of Brexit legislation will see London snatch authority over key policy areas and give Conservative ministers unacceptably-strong powers to meddle with other laws. It comes as MPs are...

    Amir Khan files for divorc. The boxer and his wife of four years recently had an acrimonious split and although she recently announced she is pregnant with her husband's baby, Amir says he is going ahead with a divorce. Speaking in a new Snapchat video, he said: So me and Faryal are not together. I have filed for a divorce. I hear that she has just announced that she is pregnant. She didn't tell me. I had to read it on social media. I'm always going to be there for my kids [if] we're not married. We're not together but my kids are everything to me. I don't know if it's true that she is pregnant or not, time will tell, but in the meantime I'm there for Lamaisah. She's everything to me. If there is another kid then I am going to be there to show my support and be there for F...

    A police chief who took the controversial decision to use a child rapist as an informant against a grooming gang says he has received hundreds and hundreds of supportive messages from the public. Northumbria Police's decision to pay the unnamed convict almost £10,000 had made headlines when the details emerged last month. But after all but one member of the grooming gang was sentenced for their roles in recruiting vulnerable young women, giving them drugs and then persuading or forcing them into sex, Chief Constable Steve Ashman described the outpouring of public support for his force's decisions. Carolann Gallon Mr Ashman said: When reflecting upon the morality of the decision, I think it's important to take account of public opinion. If the moral compass was spinning whe...

    Theresa May Downing Street is asking Britain’s biggest companies to give public support to the Government’s approach to its Brexit negotiations, a move which has provoked fury in a string of blue-chip boardrooms. Sky News has obtained a letter being circulated in FTSE 100 and other company boardrooms which praises ministers' commitment to securing a transition period after the UK leaves the European Union (EU). It also expresses confidence in the future of a global Britain" and says that the Government's Repeal Bill will "make Britain ready for life outside the EU. Executives in sectors including financial services, manufacturing and technology are among those approached about signing the letter, which is expected to be published as early as Thursday. Sources at some of th...

    With modern cars becoming increasingly powerful, it's easy to achieve speeds where you need to pay particular attention to the prevailing limit. Many driving locations, particularly in urban areas or near accident black spots, now have average speed monitoring equipment in action. But how does it work? And is there a hard and fast rule to avoid being caught? Fixed single speed cameras such as the famous Gatso (named after Maurice Gatsonides, their Dutch rally-driving inventor) have been a familiar sight on Britain's roads for many years. They're commonly employed in specific locations where dropping the speed of passers-by is of utmost importance, such as outside schools and on steep downhill inclines where drivers might be tempted to drift over the limit. However, once sa...

    The top two universities in the world are to be found in the UK, according to a new league table. Oxford held on to first place in the latest annual Times Higher Education World University Rankings, with Cambridge rising from fourth place to take second. It is the first time that the two prestigious institutions have taken the top two spots in the 13-year history of the rankings. Out of 31 UK universities to make the top 200, 16 have seen a fall in their position, compared to last year. Phil Baty, editorial director of the THE global rankings, said UK higher education is facing "intense political pressure", but that the data shows that the nation has "many of the very best universities in the world. Overall, the rankings show Oxford in first place, followed by Cambridge an...

    A Conservative MEP has secured himself an Irish passport following the vote to leave the European Union, because he is a passionate remainer who wanted reassurance he would stay an EU citizen. Hampshire-born Charles Tannock, whose grandmother born in Dublin in 1895, said he deeply regretted the Brexit outcome. A member of the European Parliament for London, he said had always been interested in his Irish heritage but became more passionate following the referendum. It has been awakened by Brexit because, to be honest, I am quite ashamed to be British in many ways, he told the Irish Times. Mr Tannock said he felt more Irish than ever and planned to go on a pilgrimage with his mother to Ireland, as she had also received an Irish passport. The number of Britons applying for I...