United Kingdom

    Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, is understood to be considering a detailed proposal to return the yacht to the seas. Sources said he sees it as a great symbol of global Britain. The Royal Yacht Britannia should be recommissioned and used to secure trade deals after the Brexit vote, dozens of MPs, former ministers and a senior former aide to the Queen say. The politicians back a campaign and call for the return of the incredible vessel, which was put out of service in 1997 by Tony Blair’s government. Lord Jones of Birmingham, a trade minister in Gordon Brown's Government and former director general of the CBI, told the Telegraph: When I was Trade Minister I was amazed how many overseas contacts asked me why we ever got rid of Britannia. It was such a useful weapon i...

    Mohammed Syeedy, 21, and accomplice Mohammed Abdul Kadir followed their victim Jalal Uddin as he walked home from evening prayers at his mosque in Rochdale, northern England, in February and bludgeoned him to death in a park. Photo: Greater Manchester Police A British Muslim was found guilty on Friday of being inspired by the militant Islamic State group to help murder a respected local imam who he believed was practising black magic. Mohammed Syeedy, 21, and accomplice Mohammed Abdul Kadir followed their victim Jalal Uddin as he walked home from evening prayers at his mosque in Rochdale, northern England, in February and bludgeoned him to death in a park. Police said Syeedy was believed to have acted as the getaway driver while Kadir, who is now thought to be in Syria, at...

    Housing Minister Simon Coveney said the grant would only be paid to those buying new homes and said the Help to Buy package, to be announced in the budget, would help tackle the housing crisis in Cork and Dublin. It is unlikely that the State will take equity in homes under the buyer aid scheme, as operates in Britain. However, the property experts have warned the first-time buyers’ grant will simply drive up the price of new houses. Mr Coveney, speaking at the close of the party’s pre-Dáil conference in Kildare, said the package would help kickstart the stalled property market. The grant will be targetted at purchasers buying homes valued at between €250,000 and €300,000. However, statistics from estate agents Sherry Fitz Gerald show the average home price sale value is c...

    The value of goods exported by Irish businesses fell by €1.15bn in July from June as the effects of Brexit began to be felt across the Irish Sea. Exports decreased by 11.5% to €8.92bn on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, with analysts pointing to the impact of Brexit for weaker than expected trade data released by the CSO yesterday. While the initial impact of Brexit has been largely contained, economic confidence has taken a hit as businesses and consumers assess the likely outcome on their personal positions. Merrion Stockbrokers chief economist Alan McQuaid said that while trade activity has been relatively robust in the first half of the year, the statistics released yesterday suggest a slowdown is on the cards in the latter part of the year. “Business and consumer ...

    Theresa May The Prime Minister will consider setting up an independent panel to investigate the historic blood contamination scandal that left thousands of people infected with diseases. Mrs May said she recognised concern over the tragedy that one MP described as the "biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS". During the 1970s and 1980s some 5,000 people were infected with Hepatitis C and 1,200 with HIV during NHS treatment for haemophilia or blood transfusion. While victims in England have received discretionary payments from the Government, no body or organisation has ever admitted liability or paid compensation over the affair. Mrs May made her comments after being asked whether she would consider setting up an inquiry panel like that established to get to ...

    The Hinkley nuclear power station deal will go ahead after months of doubt, the Government has announced but there will be new conditions. A new agreement has been reached with French energy firm EDF which the Government says guarantees significant new safeguards for foreign investment in critical infrastructure. It stipulates EDF must remain controlling partner in the £18bn project during the construction phase - and the Government will be able to intervene in the sale of EDF's stake once the plant is built. This follows national security concerns over Chinese involvement in the project that are understood to have prompted Theresa May to put the brakes on the deal at the beginning of the summer. The Hinkley C plant in Somerset is to be built by EDF but a third of the cost...

    The proposals, echoing a plan put forward this week by France and Germany, are part of a broader attempt to rally EU nations after Britain's vote to leave the bloc. The European Union’s chief executive called on Wednesday for a joint command headquarters for EU military missions and greater defence cooperation, reviving long-running efforts to reduce reliance on the United States. In his annual speech to the European Parliament, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said no single EU government had a military big enough to deal with security challenges on Europe’s doorstep, from Islamic militants to a more hostile Russia. The proposals, echoing a plan put forward this week by France and Germany, are part of a broader attempt to rally EU nations after Britain’s ...

    Ambitious new plans are being drawn up by GCHQ to create a Great British Firewall to block malicious websites countrywide and combat a doubling of serious cyber attacks threatening national security over the past year. Though still in its infancy, the scheme is intended to be a flagship project for the new National Cyber Security Centre a public-facing arm of GCHQ which will open next month to better co-ordinate the UK’s digital defence efforts. The NCSC plan envisions private-sector internet service providers, such as BT, Sky or Virgin Media, voluntarily complying with its proposals, circumventing any need for legislation. Consumers will be able to opt out of the censorship should they wish in order to allay concerns over civil liberties. Malicious websites which automati...

  Jeremy Corbyn, George Osborne and Boris Johnson are among high-profile politicians who will see their seats redrawn in a dramatic shakeup of the country’s electoral map that will alter the constituencies of more than 500 MPs. Overall, Labour is worst hit by the shifting boundaries, which are part of an effort to cut the number of politicians in parliament from 650 to 600, with significant changes for MPs including Yvette Cooper, Tristram Hunt and Owen Smith. Many opposition politicians will fear that local members will take the opportunity of a shakeup to try to deselect them if Corbyn retains the leadership later this month. Some of the party’s MPs described the plans – which analysts said could result in the opposition losing 23 sitting MPs – as a “barefaced gerrymander” and a “...