United Kingdom

    An Indian Summer is on its way with an unusually hot start to October forecast on the back of one of the warmest Septembers of recent years. The Met Office said people across most of England can expect to enjoy the first week of the month without a coat as temperatures are likely to climb above 20C. Tuesday, September 13 was the hottest September day in Britain for more than a century when the mercury soared to a blistering 34.4C in Gravesend, Kent. The average UK temperature for September over the last 30 years is 6.5C, which September this year is expected to beat comfortably by several degrees. And October will also begin with a warm spell, according to forecasters. Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples said: "There will be warmer than normal weather for the beginning of ...

    The passengers at airports in the UK travel up to a kilometre to from check-in desks to departure gates, new research has found – causing real problems for those who have difficulty walking. The travel organisation Abta conducted the study and collated the furthest distances people needed to travel at different airports. Here’s the furthest distances they found: Stansted airport – 1,165m (3,822ft) Luton airport – 900m (2,952ft) Manchester airport – 822m (2,697ft) Glasgow airport – 750m (2,461ft) Birmingham airport – 530m (1,739ft) Abta warned many travellers with walking difficulties request assistance after they have arrived at the airport, which could even cause them to miss their flight. “For most, travelling through airports is a fairly straightforward process, but for...

    Theme park owner Merlin Attractions admits health and safety breach in crash that left two girls needing leg ampuation. The owner of the Alton Towers theme park has been fined £5m ($6.4m) after pleading guilty to breaching health and safety standards following the Smiler roller coaster crash which left 16 people injured, including two teenage girls who each needed to have a leg amputated. Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd admitted that failings on their part caused the crash on 2 June 2015 which was described in court as being the equivalent to a family car crashing at 90mph. During a two-day hearing at Stafford Crown Court, Judge Michael Chambers QC said "human error" was not the cause of the horrific crash, but added it was still "needless and avoidable accident" caused ...

    The Telegraph Britain’s finance firms did increasing amounts of business over the summer but remain worried by ultra-low interest rates and the Brexit vote, according to a study by the Confederation of British Industry and PwC. By contrast manufacturing businesses are undergoing “an industrial renaissance” according to industry group the EEF. Profits grew at 37pc of finance firms and fell at only 13pc over the three months to September, the CBI’s study found, indicating growing prosperity in the financial services industry . Similarly 48pc said business volumes increased over the past three months, outnumbering the 13pc which suffered a fall in work levels. Despite that apparent growth, financiers remain downbeat and expect the improvements to slow down in the coming quart...

    A majority of UK chief executive officers are considering moving their headquarters or operations outside the country, a KPMG survey has revealed, directly linking the sentiment to the Brexit vote and the uncertainty surrounding it. 69% of the CEOs are confident the British economy will grow over the next year. The KPMG survey was based on answers from 100 UK CEOs. These bosses run companies that earn between £100m ($129.8m) and £1bn in annual revenues. The survey found that 72% of the CEOs interviewed had voted in favour of "Remain" at the 23 June referendum. Now, 76% of them said they would look at some form of relocation post-Brexit. "CEOs are reacting to the prevailing uncertainty with contingency planning....Over half believe the UK's ability to do business will be di...

    The plan had been touted by some MPs as a potential way for the leader to repair relations within the party, but after the National Executive Committee put them on hold one senior Labour figure said it doesn't look good for them. A meeting of Labour's ruling executive has failed to agree on proposals allowing MPs to elect members of Jeremy's Corbyn shadow cabinet. Others claimed there could still be hope for the proposals, which leading moderate MPs urged Mr Corbyn to adopt after his convincing leadership contest victory. The plan, proposed by deputy leader Tom Watson, would have seen MPs given a say on who from among their ranks would sit with Mr Corbyn in the shadow cabinet. One senior backbencher said: "The PLP [parliamentary Labour party] offered to return to an electe...

    Cameron's ex-spin doctor reveals crisis talks between Cameron and May in the days leading to Brexit. Former PM David Cameron was prepared to stay on as Tory leader, but decided against it for fear of being led to the "slaughterhouse", a top aide has claimed. Cameron's former director of communications Sir Craig Oliver also suggests that the current UK prime minister, Theresa May, was seen by some members of the Remain campaign as an "enemy agent". In Oliver's book, Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit, the former Tory aide says that May reluctantly "came off the fence" to support the Remain campaign during the EU referendum campaign, after Cameron became "visibly wound up" and rebuked her in tense phone conversations. "Suddenly he picks up his mobile and calls May...

    The bitter divisions between David Cameron and Theresa May over Brexit have been revealed in two books about the EU referendum campaign, in which May is described as lily-livered and an enemy agent by Cameron and his allies. Cameron’s director of communications, Sir Craig Oliver, says in his exposé of Downing Street that the former prime minister’s advisers used the nickname “Submarine May” because she never came to the surface to support his efforts. In extracts from Oliver’s book, Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of the EU Referendum, published in the Mail on Sunday, Cameron’s chief spin doctor says the prime minister pleaded with May to “come off the fence” about Brexit. Oliver also describes how Boris Johnson “flip-flopped” between Leave and Remain before finally de...

    Deloitte said the gap between full-time working men and women was closing at a rate of just £0.025 every year. The gender pay gap in the UK will not close until 2069, according to research by financial services firm Deloitte. It said the findings were based on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics. Achieving this 53 years from now translates to 99 years from 1970, the year when the UK introduced The Equal Pay Act 1970. This was enacted to prohibit any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. Deloitte's report said that progress towards achieving pay parity has been slow. It said the hourly pay gap between full-time men and women employees was redu...

    Jeremy Corbyn has confounded his critics by winning a Labour leadership contest for the second time in two years. His victory, announced in Liverpool, was broadly expected following a exhausting contest that has tested Labour's unity to its absolute limits. But the result, greeted with cheers of jubilation from his supporters, now leaves Mr Corbyn with a huge choice over whether to use his mandate to stamp his authority on the party's direction or strike a more conciliatory tone. His approach could become clear later this afternoon when he is due to attend a meeting of Labour's ruling National Executive Committee, where MPs have tabled plans to give the parliamentary party more say in selecting his team of shadow ministers. Mr Corbyn has said he will try to build a new rel...