United Kingdom

    Jim Fraser A tiny Scottish village is showing solidarity with EU nationals, who face an uncertain future thanks to Brexit. Jim Fraser, a 59-year-old market researcher who has lived in Pencaitland, East Lothian for around a decade, was in shock in June at the referendum result. Fraser, who is pro-EU and pro-independence, took his nine-year-old daughter Cissy to a pro-EU demonstration in nearby Edinburgh the day after the vote, where she carried a placard saying This Is Europe. He spoke to his French neighbour, who has lived in Scotland for 20 years, had three children there, and feared what Brexit would mean for her. Feeling the issue was still unresolved and under-discussed eight months later, Fraser set up a Facebook group at the start of March and circulated a statement ...

    Jeremy Corbyn was presented with an unexpected bonus in the shape of the chancellor’s confirmation, half an hour before PMQs began, of the government’s budget reversal on increased national insurance contributions for the self-employed. He accused Theresa May of leading a “government in chaos” having presented a budget that unravels in seven days. May said she didn’t usually heed lectures from Corbyn, but that when it came to chaos he’d be the first person I’d turn to. Corbyn suggested she should apologise for the stress caused to 4.8 million self-employed people in the UK and asked what measures she would take to fill the budgetary black hole following the NICs U-turn. Jeremy Corbyn stuck to his prepared questions when he should have focused on NICs. May responded with he...

    Philip Hammond is fighting to save his career after being forced into the most humiliating Budget U-turn in a generation. Theresa May scrapped the Chancellor’s headline policy a hike in National Insurance contributions for the self-employed after a backbench rebellion over what amounted to a broken manifesto pledge. Tory MPs said the fiasco had been hugely damaging to Mr Hammond’s authority, with one saying he was now on probation. With Mr Hammond now looking increasingly isolated from Number 10, a Conservative source said the Prime Minister had “dug her stiletto in and told him, We are reversing this – I don’t care how bad it is for you. Mr Hammond admitted in a letter to Conservative MPs that the NI rise had broken the spirit of the manifesto. He said: In light of what h...

Her Majesty's palatial pads The news that Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II's London bolthole, is set to undergo a major makeover comes as no surprise. The crumbling palace hasn't been renovated since the 50s and is in dire need of a facelift. As UK taxpayers mull over the expense of the $456 million (£369m) 10-year refurb, which is scheduled to begin next April, we take you through the keyhole and into the Queen's official and private residences. Buckingham Palace The Queen's official London home dates from 1703 when the Duke of Buckingham built a fine townhouse in the capital's fashionable St James's district. The townhouse was acquired by King George III in 1761 and lavishly enlarged in the 19th century. Buckingham Palace The 830,000-square foot palace comprises a total of 775 rooms...

    Theresa May’s Brexit bill has cleared all its hurdles in the Houses of Parliament, opening the way for the prime minister to trigger article 50 by the end of March. Peers accepted the supremacy of the House of Commons late on Monday night after MPs overturned amendments aimed at guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens in the UK and giving parliament a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal. The decision came after a short period of so-called ping pong when the legislation bounced between the two houses of parliament as a result of disagreement over the issues. The outcome means the government has achieved its ambition of passing a straightforward two-line bill that is confined simply to the question of whether ministers can trigger article 50 and start the formal Brexit p...

    Scottish govt Nicola Sturgeon said Scots would be given a choice about whether to follow the UK into a ‘hard Brexit’ or become independent. Theresa May has faced down Nicola Sturgeon’s demand for a second referendum on Scottish independence, accusing the SNP leader of  tunnel vision and rejecting her timetable for a second vote. The prime minister said that the Scottish leader’s plan to hold a second referendum between the autumn of 2018 and spring 2019 represented the worst possible timing, setting the Conservative government on a collision course with the administration in Holyrood. The first minister’s intervention had been timed a day ahead of when May had been predicted to trigger article 50, but No 10 later indicated that it would not serve notice to leave the EU unt...

    Theresa May ’s travel diary was left behind in a public train carriage in a major security breach. The highly sensitive document contained precise details of the Prime Minister’s plans, including times and locations of her future movements. It set out exactly when Mrs May would be visiting a named Cheshire hotel away from cameras as well as attending a dinner at a private house. Former royal bodyguard Inspector Ken Wharfe slammed the serious security breach, saying it was just inexcusable. A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: We have been made aware of claims around a government document and will investigate accordingly. No 10 refused to reveal whether the papers were reported lost at the time or if the person who forgot them had been identified. According to MI5, the UK te...

    Nicola Sturgeon will threaten to derail Brexit by setting out plans for a second independence referendum unless Theresa May offers Scotland a special deal. The Scottish First Minister could name the date she intends to hold a new referendum as early as this week, The Telegraph understands, if Mrs May does not bow to her will. Ms Sturgeon has previously hinted that autumn 2018 would be a suitable time to call a referendum. The ultimatum is expected to be delivered on Monday morning with the intention of influencing a Commons vote on Monday on MPs being given a meaningful say on the final deal offered to Britain by the EU. She also wants to pile pressure on Mrs May just 24 hours before t he Prime Minister hopes to be in a position to formally trigger Article 50. If the Artic...

    George Michael has left his £10 million north London home to his favourite sister, it's been claimed. The pop icon, who passed away on Christmas Day from natural causes, and sister Melanie Panayiotou, 55, are said to have always been very close. And following his death, she has reportedly moved into his Highgate property while she plans his funeral with other family members. The Wham! star's other sister, Yioda, 57, is also believed to be getting a large chunk of his estimated $105 million fortune. A source told The Sun: George was very close to his whole family but he had a particularly special bond with Melanie, who was by his side at the height of his fame. She adores the Highgate house, one of the first he bought. They shared some wonderful times there and it has a spe...

    Imams are to be encouraged to deliver their sermons in English under measures being prepared to rid Britain of hate preaching. The Telegraph has been told that the counter-extremism taskforce is working on the plans amid concern that preaching in foreign languages enforces divisions between Islam and mainstream British society and can foster radicalisation. Ministers have been inspired by some Middle Eastern countries that have begun urging that sermons be published in English online. A senior Government source said: If imams are speaking in another language it makes it far harder to know if radicalisation is taking place. Measures are being prepared for the long-awaited counter-extremism proposals after an initial strategy was published in October 2015. Exact measures are...