United Kingdom

    Airlander-10-3.jpg New photographs of the world’s longest aircraft have been revealed in anticipation of its official unveiling and first UK test flight. The Airlander 10, which is part plane, part airship and part helicopter, is 92m long - around 15m longer than the biggest passenger jets. The British firm Hybrid Air vehicles (HAV) have designed the craft to stay airborne for up to three weeks using helium and the vessel is able to travel at a speed of 92mph. HAV will unveil the aircraft, standing at 26m high and 44m wide, in a First World War aircraft hangar in Bedfordshire on Monday and it will undergo its first test flight in a few weeks’ time. As it is heavier than air, the Airlander 10 is able to land without tethers on a variety of surfaces, including water and ice,...

    Will the real Iain Duncan Smith please stand up? The self-styled quiet man of British politics is a hard subject to paint in broad brush strokes. A former army officer, IDS – as he is known to many – is often seen in the mould of Norman Tebbit, the MP for Chingford, whose seat he inherited in 1992. Like Tebbit, Duncan Smith is on the right of the Conservative party. Staunchly Eurosceptic, he is now a leading light in the Vote Leave campaign. Duncan Smith was one of the first politicians to back calls for the invasion of Iraq following the 9/11 attacks in the US. A committed Catholic, he has extolled the virtues of marriage and was at one stage opposed to the repeal of section 28, the controversial policy banning schools from promoting homosexuality that was scrapped in 200...

    George Osborne risks parliamentary defeat over plans to cut £1.3bn from disability benefits as criticism of the scheme spread across Conservative backbenches. The leader of the revolt warned the chancellor that the political unease was greater than that felt at the time of last autumn’s successful revolt over plans to cut tax credits. Andrew Percy accused the chancellor of hitting “exactly the wrong people” in its proposal to cut personal independence payments (PIP) for people who need aids to help them dress and use the toilet. The MP for Brigg and Goole said: “This is about need, it is not about welfare reform. These people have these needs. These needs are not going away and therefore the payments should not go away. “The difference on this to tax credits is, although d...

    Some of the Army's most experienced helicopter pilots could quit over Ministry of Defence plans to make them repay thousands of pounds of flying pay, senior officers have warned. At least 15 pilots have already resigned after the MoD warned around 200 serving and retired crew they would have to pay back a total of £829,000 extra pay they received in an admin error. The Army has clashed with the MoD after officials rejected generals' pleas to write off the debt when it was discovered. Senior officers warned clawing back the money overpaid last decade was unfair and could lead to more resignations in the already overstretched Army Air Corps. One source said some pilots had "lost all trust in the system after being handed the repayment demands. The source said it was "the str...

    George Osborne’s attempt to woo voters ahead of Britain’s EU referendum has come under immediate and intense scrutiny after he used a range of accounting devices to disguise a looming £56bn black hole in the government’s finances and deliver a promised surplus by the end of the decade. Despite being faced with a markedly weaker outlook for the economy, the chancellor announced a range of eye-catching measures on Wednesday including a levy on sugary drinks, lower income tax bills, a cut in corporation tax and help for small businesses, in a budget he said would put the next generation first. But Osborne’s plans were greeted with a degree of scepticism by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) the body he created in 2010 to provide independent forecasts for the economy a...

    The growth of buy-to-let has been among the defining characteristics of the post-crisis mortgage market. Council of Mortgage Lenders figures released this month show that lending to landlords accounted for 17 per cent of all new loans in the third quarter of 2015. With rising property prices, meanwhile, property consultants Savills estimated last year that landlords had benefited from £177bn in capital growth since the start of the decade. In one sense, the changes being introduced by the government, which is increasing stamp duty on buy-to-let property while reducing the available tax relief, are substantial. The stamp duty hike alone – 3 per cent on top of current levels – is expected to raise £3bn over the next five years. So what impact, if any, will this have on the g...

    The organisation explained that between 2000 and 2015, the total net wealth of people in the UK had increased from £6tn (€7.73tn, $8.63tn) to £10tn, based on numbers from Credit Suisse. However, while just 7% of this new wealth created went to the UK's poorest 50% of 30 million people, the collective wealth of the richest 1% or 600,000 people increased by 79% to £2.4tn, during this period. The timing of this report is significant as it comes ahead of the 2016 budget that is scheduled for 16 March. Mark Goldring, chief executive at Oxfam said: "It's simply not right that a tiny group of individuals hoovers up so much of the UK's growing prosperity while barely any trickles down to those who have least. We need action to ensure that a rise in wealth is more evenly shared ...

    Chocolate digestives are among the biscuits that are in short supply. as well as Jacob's crackers and ginger nuts. Two cargo planes full of biscuits were flown into South Yorkshire in the past two weeks in response to a biscuit shortage in the UK. The shortage was caused by flooding in Cumbria forcing United Biscuits – who manufacture products under McVitie’s, Jacob’s and Crawford’s – to close its Carlisle factory. The factory closed on 5 December due to damage to electrical equipment and ovens. Doncaster Sheffield Airport, also known as Robin Hood airport, welcomed two Boeing 777 aircrafts filled with biscuits, which should help to satisfy Britain’s biscuit cravings until the United Biscuits factory is fully up and running again. Dayle Hauxwell, cargo manager for the airp...

    People on low incomes will be eligible for a bonus of up to £1,200 over four years if they put money away in a new savings scheme, David Cameron has announced. Under the Help to Save initiative, around 3.5 million workers on universal credit or working tax credits will be able to save up to £50 a month and receive a bonus of 50% - a maximum of £600 - after two years. For a further two years, savers can continue to use the scheme and earn up to another £600. Research suggests almost half of Britain's adults have less than £500 set aside for emergencies. The Prime Minister also announced an increase to the national minimum wage for young workers. From October, the rate will go up by 25p an hour for 21- to 24-year-olds, taking the rate to £6.95, and by the same amount for 18-...

    The Chancellor is warning of more austerity in this week's budget as he claims the country is facing a "dangerous cocktails of risks". George Osborne has written an opinion piece in the Sun on Sunday newspaper in which he credits the Government's long-term economic plan for shaving the deficit, shoring up the banking sector and achieving record employment. But he says the world is "facing its most uncertain period since the Great Recession ... so in the Budget next week we need to take more bold decisions". The Chancellor says his hand has been forced by economic headwinds out of his control: the slowdown in China, the drop in oil prices, instability in the Middle East and interest rates falling around the globe. He suggests they have stunted growth in developing nations a...