United Kingdom

    Theresa May is outraged by North Korea's reckless provocation in firing a missile over Japan but will not allow it to affect her travel plans when she sets off for a three-day visit to Japan later today. Mrs May will arrive in Kyoto on Wednesday morning on an overnight flight from London and will be greeted by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, before taking a bullet train to Tokyo with him. She will carry out a series of discussions on trade, defence and security and will also discuss North Korea with Mr Abe before returning home on Friday. A Downing Street spokesman said: The Prime Minister is outraged by North Korea's reckless provocation and she strongly condemns these illegal tests. From our perspective, we are willing to continue to work with out international p...

    A gas cloud that affected hundreds of people along the East Sussex coast appears to have dissipated, police say. Residents were being urged to keep their windows and doors closed after the unknown haze emerged, but this advice has now been withdrawn. Holidaymakers were left with streaming eyes, sore throats and nausea - with about 150 people seeking treatment at Eastbourne District General Hospital. Police are now trying to determine what type of gas caused the irritation, as well as the source of the chemical haze. It is believed that the gas had been swept in from the sea by onshore breezes - but weather models suggest that an onshore source in northern France is "very unlikely". Public Health England is urging anyone who is still suffering the effects of irritation to i...

    In a dramatic policy shift, Labour is pledging to continue UK membership of the EU single market and the customs union during a transitional period following Brexit in March 2019. The party's shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, has also not ruled out negotiating the possibility of a new single market and customs arrangement on a permanent basis. Effectively, a Labour government would try to keep Britain inside an economic union while leaving the political union with the European Union. At the general election, Labour promised to seek to retain the benefits of the single market and customs union as part of a jobs-first Brexit. But party leader Jeremy Corbyn has so far stopped short of committing to continued membership beyond the date of Brexit. However, writing in T...

    The first victim of a devastating motorway crash which left eight people dead has been named as a father-of-two who was killed when the minibus he was driving collided with two lorries. Cyriac Joseph, 52, was one of eight adults six men and two women killed when the minibus they were travelling in from Nottingham was involved in the pile-up on the M1 in Buckinghamshire on Saturday. Indian-born Mr Joseph was driving a group of two or three families to Wembley coach station, north west London, when the crash happened, the Sunday Mirror reported. His wife of 20 years Ancy is in hospital, where a man, a woman, a five-year-old and another passenger all remain in a serious condition, neighbours told the newspaper. The couple, who celebrated their 20th anniversary last year have ...

    Theresa May has pencilled in Friday, August 30, 2019 as the day she will quit as Prime Minister. That gives her exactly two years to see Britain through Brexit before handing over to her successor. Mrs May is on a charm offensive with her MPs entertaining small groups of 15 plus partners to a day out at her Chequers country retreat. Each MP is emailed personal invitations until they accept. She greets each guest in person at the door, offering them prosecco, canapés and homemade chocolates with husband Philip to persuade them to give her the time to complete the withdrawal from the EU. One Tory MP who was a guest said: “It’s clear she won’t lead us into another election and will be gone by September 2019. She invited MPs to Chequers to ensure there isn’t a -leadership cont...

    The number of EU nationals applying for British citizenship has nearly doubled in the wake of the Brexit vote, official statistics reveal. They show the figure jumped by 80% as thousands originally from other countries in the bloc sought naturalisation. There were 28,502 applications for citizenship from EU nationals in the year ending in June 2017 up from 15,871 in the previous 12 months. The rise is in contrast to a general downward trend in the overall numbers seeking citizenship, with total applications falling by 8% to 135,912. Jonathan Portes, professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London, said: Historically immigrants from outside the EU have been much more likely than EU migrants to apply for UK citizenship for example the vast majority of long ...

    A mother-of-two who was deported despite living in Britain for 30 years has been granted a reprieve by the Home Office after reversing their decision. Irene Clennell, 53, who was the main carer for her British husband John, was placed in an immigration detention centre before being deported to Singapore earlier this year. Clennell, who lived in County Durham and has two sons and a granddaughter, had just £12 in her pocket and no change of clothes when she was removed from the country, the Press Association reports. At the time she accused the Home Office of treating her like a terrorist and said despite promising to send someone to meet her in Singapore, they never did. But in a statement, the Government said she has now been granted a visa. It said: Mrs Clennell has been ...

    Silicon Valley firms are facing unprecedented scrutiny about the way they handle sexual harassment, after a slew of cases from woman claiming discriminiation, inappropriate behaviour, and even assault. In 2015, there was Ellen Pao, who launched a landmark but unsuccessful suit against her former employer, investment firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. Earlier this year, former Uber employee Susan Fowler alleged harassment and discrimination and claimed her former manager had propositioned her. And then there were the dozen female founders and venture capital partners who came forward to allege harassment from vaunted Silicon Valley names like 500 Startups founder Dave McClure, Binary Capital cofounder Justin Caldbeck, and Lowercase Capital founder Chris Sacca. All in ...

    Police have confirmed eight people have died following a major collision on the southbound M1 motorway near Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire. The accident happened at 3:15 a.m BST and involved two lorries and a minibus, according to a police statement. Four other people were injured and taken to hospital. Thames Valley Police said on Twitter the vehicles were all traveling in the same direction and it's thought the minibus had come from the Nottingham area. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and both are currently in custody. The southbound carriageway between junction 15 and junction 14 is currently closed and is likely to remain closed for a significant amount of time, the force said Police are appealing to anyone who witnesse...

    Tens of thousands of EU citizens left in the year to March 2017, driving net migration down to its lowest level in three years. Net migration to the UK has fallen to the lowest level for three years as thousands of EU citizens have left the country after the Brexit referendum. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics showed net migration stood at 246,000 in the year ending in March 2017 down 81,000 compared to the previous 12 months. The figures were the first to be released since the General Election in June. More than half the drop was due to an increase in the number of EU citizens leaving Britain and fewer arriving. Net migration of EU citizens fell by 51,000 to 127,000 its lowest lever since December 2013. The number of EU citizens leaving the country in...