United Kingdom

    Major banks are preparing for two days of unprecedented uncertainty by stuffing cash machines full of money, placing senior bankers on high alert in emergency war rooms around the City and switching off computer-driven “black box” trading systems to avoid incurring huge losses in violent swings in shares, bonds and currency markets. With uncertainty about the precise moment the outcome of the EU referendum will be known, dealing rooms are opening across the City on Thursday night and into Friday morning to allow trades to be executed for customers needing to respond to the results of the 382 polling areas as they start to be announced. Unlike a general election, no exit polls have been commissioned by broadcasters and the first results are expected at 12.30am on Friday and...

    Boris Johnson has pledged to apologise in public if leaving the EU triggers a recession. The former Mayor of London has rejected claims by the Remain camp and several economic experts that Britain would be plunged into an immediate recession if it votes to leave the EU on Thursday. Chancellor George Osborne claimed Brexit would create a "DIY recession" and said he would be forced to introduce an emergency “Brexit budget” full of swingeing cuts. Full EU referendum coverage on our dedicated page But speaking on LBC Mr Johnson denounced the warnings had been “induced by Project Fear” and said the Remain campaign were “talking the country down”. When he was asked whether he would apologise he said: “Of course I will. “This is far more important any individual political career ...

    It is a small place for the big hitters. The Prime Minister, his two immediate predecessors and the Chancellor have all campaigned in Northern Ireland. The smallest part of the UK is the only part to share a land boundary with another member state of the European Union - the Republic of Ireland. There has been much debate about whether or not the soft Irish border would have to be hardened but the truth is no one knows. It would not be a decision for the UK alone but also for Ireland and the rest of the EU for they share the border. The armoured police checkpoints and customs posts are long gone but Ireland has been exploring the cost of having to re-instate at least some controls. Until now, the Common Travel Area - an informal agreement - between the two countries has al...

    Tom Bradbury, a 26-year-old events organiser, described how he witnessed the "perfect" moment a niqab-clad woman was defended from a man who confronted her for not speaking English. In a post on Facebook, Bradbury said the Muslim woman was sat playing with her toddler son, speaking to him in another language while on a rail replacement service between Newport and Cwmbran, in south Wales. As she chatted to her child, an aggrieved fellow passenger sat in front of them turned around to challenge her. "When you're in the UK you should really be speaking English," he demanded. The response from another woman passenger would have certainly come as a shock - as she revealed the lady was in fact speaking...Welsh. Bradbury told The Huffington Post UK after his post went viral that ...

    David Cameron has said he has four days left to make a better case to keep Britain in the EU as many voters remain confused about the referendum that will decide the fate of his leadership. The prime minister invoked the memory of Winston Churchill as he delivered an impassioned plea for Britain to be fighters, not quitters, when it comes to the EU. During a special edition of the BBC’s Question Time, he urged voters to listen to him and economic experts on the dangers of leaving the EU and argued that it would be “crazy” if people voted to leave in the belief that Turkey will join. The UK would not support Turkish accession in the next few years and it was unlikely to happen for decades, Cameron said. News and in-depth analysis on our dedicated EU referendum page With the...

    Leave campaigner Boris Johnson said in an interview in 2013 that he would vote to stay in the European single market, it has emerged. Asked by a journalist how he would vote if there was a referendum, Mr Johnson said: "I'd vote to stay in the single market. I'm in favour of the single market." He added: "I want us to trade freely with our European friends and partners." The interview contradicts the stance of the former Mayor of London throughout the referendum campaign. Writing in the Sun on Sunday today, Mr Johnson says: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take back control of our democracy from an unelected, undemocratic, unaccountable and unreformed European Union. "We are working flat out to achieve this. It's a chance to take back control of huge sums of money an...

    The EU referendum campaign is expected to resume tentatively on Sunday after hostilities were abruptly halted by the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox, with politicians on both sides of the debate appearing at events and on television ahead of the final few days before the vote. With just days left before the referendum on Britain’s future in the European Union, MPs will gather in Westminster on Monday to remember the MP for Batley and Spen, who was killed outside her constituency surgery on Thursday. Both campaigns were immediately suspended in the aftermath of the attack on Cox, and Jeremy Corbyn and David Cameron made an unprecedented joint visit to her constituency on Friday to pay their respects. But campaigners are acutely conscious that there is little time left to convin...

    Tributes have poured in for MP Jo Cox from across the political spectrum, as friends and colleagues praised her humanity and deep commitment to public service. Jerremy Corbyn was among the first to express his grief and shock on behalf of the Labour party and he later spoke at a vigil of MPs in Parliament Square. He described her as a “wonderful woman who stood for many things – human rights, peace and justice” who suffered a death that was “beyond appalling”. “Jo was dedicated to getting us to live to our promises to support the developing world and strengthen human rights, and she brought those values and principles with her when she became MP,” he said. “Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected...

    Carter News undefined Critics accuse Kate Middleton of having the world's most boring style, but the Duchess of Cambridge still has an army of fans who follow her every outfit rewear religiously and immediately scoop up any off-the-rack look that's available to buy. Count 21-year-old Amanda Bell among those devotees. The Los Angeles resident, who works in customer service, has spent the past four years copying Kate's wardrobe, and has spent over $3,000 (around £2,120) dressing like Kate. "I love recreating Kate's look," Bell said. "My style has always been very similar to hers so it just seemed natural to me." Bell's physical resemblance to Kate helps too, and she blows out her long brown hair in a similar way. Bell stays on top of wait lists so that she can snap up popula...

    Severe weather warnings and flood alerts are in place across the country as another day of rain is expected. Heavy showers will cover large swathes of the UK for another two days as an area of low pressure continues to move slowly across the country, the Press Association reported. Wales, the North West, Yorkshire and Humber, the West Midlands, the East Midlands, the east of England, the South West and South East could all see as much as 25mm of rain in an hour. Tuesday saw the rain put a dampener on proceedings at Ascot, soaking racegoers and it also delayed the start of play at Queen’s Club in London for the tennis Aegon Championships. Forecasters say the bad weather is unlikely to ease until Friday at the earliest. The Met Office has put yellow warnings in place and adv...