United Kingdom

    A pilot was forced to land his plane in Berlin after a British stag party caused problems on board. Newspaper reports in Germany said the Ryanair flight from London to Bratislava in Slovakia was forced to land in the German capital to eject the bachelor party . Six members of the group were said to have become unruly during the flight, forcing the pilot to make an unscheduled stop in Berlin and remove the passengers concerned from the flight. German newspaper Bild said the men became aggressive when they were refused alcohol. Local police said the drunken Britons, aged 25 to 28 and from Southampton, were met by officers upon landing at Schoenefeld airport. They now each face fines of up to 25,000 euros (£19,700) and civil claims from the airline.

    Four of Britain’s biggest banks reported annual results this week and insisted they were robust enough to withstand another global downturn. But what did the results for HSBC, Standard Chartered and the bailed-out duo of Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland tell us about the industry and the wider economy? Bonuses have not gone away, despite considerable public and political anger over pay since the 2008 crash. When the pay disclosures of the four banks from their annual results are added up, 800 or so of their employees received more than €1m (£790,000) in 2015. Barclays will add to that tally when its annual figures are published on Tuesday next week. The four banks who have reported so far have cut their bonus pools for 2015, but that total still stands at £3...

    The director of the group behind the exhibition stood for Ukip in Lewisham East during the 2015 General Election (Picture: [copyright]) A school in Hampshire called in police after a pupil viewed the UKIP website on a class computer, it has been reported. 15-year-old Joe Taylor says he viewed the political party’s website following a classroom discussion on immigration. He says he was subsequently reported to the police by teaching staff who raised concerns that he was viewing “politically incorrect websites”, indicating “extremist views”. The incident allegedly happened at Wildern School in Hedge End, Southampton. The boy’s father, Mick, has told The Daily Express that his son was taken out of class and interviewed by Hampshire police. Mr Taylor said: “On Monday I receive...

    Rightmove revealed properties in Dartford, Kent, now typically take just 16 days to sell - making it the fastest place to sell a property in Britain Dartford, Rochester, Watford, Bristol and Reading are among Britain's top hotspots for the fastest-selling properties, according to Rightmove. The property listings website said homes in Dartford, Kent now typically take just 16 days to sell - making it the fastest place to sell a property in Britain. The average time it takes to sell a property in Dartford has fallen by around a month compared with a year ago, when it typically took 49 days for a home to be snapped up. Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said the fact that homes in Dartford are selling in just over two weeks - and that asking prices there have increased by...

    Only one of the 190 companies whose bosses warned that Brexit would "risk the economy" has admitted to clear plans to cut jobs if the "Leave" campaign triumphs in June's referendum. A survey conducted by Sky News on Tuesday suggests that while bosses are prepared to warn of general disruption to the economy in the event that the UK votes to exit the European Union (EU), they have yet to work out how their own business might be affected. HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, said last week that Brexit was likely to force it to move approximately 1,000 London-based jobs to Paris because of the importance of Europe's single market in financial services. Sky News contacted the overwhelming majority of the companies which signed Tuesday's letter, which was orchestrated by Downing Street...

    Three men and two women have been found guilty of a range of offences involving the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Rotherham. Brothers Arshid and Basharat Hussain were found guilty of multiple rapes and indecent assaults of teenagers in the South Yorkshire town. A third brother, Bannaras Hussain, 36, admitted 10 charges including rape, indecent assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm at the beginning of the trial. Brothers Majid Bostan, 37 and Sajid Bostan, 38, were cleared of all charges at Sheffield Crown Court. Karen MacGregor, 58, and Shelley Davies, 40, were found guilty of conspiracy to procure prostitutes and false imprisonment.

    Police have admitted to mowing-down and killing a dog that was running loose on a Welsh motorway. Officers from North Wales Police force said the canine was chased up the A55 at from Llanfairfechan roundabout to the Conwy tunnel. Despite attempts by the Roads Policing Unit to catch the dog, it continued to run in and out of swerving traffic that was travelling in excess of 70mph on an unlit carriageway. The incident - which had "potential for a serious collision" happened during the early hours of Monday. An officer who had tried to take hold of the dog was bitten. Chief Inspector Darren Wareing said that the North Wales Police control room received several calls shortly after 3am and the decision to take action was not taken "lightly". He said: "The only safe option was t...

    Rescuers are using drones to search for three missing people believed to be buried under the rubble of the collapsed Didcot power station. One person was killed in the collapse and a major search operation is under way for three other construction workers, where a "major incident" was declared shortly after emergency services were called at 4pm. Oxfordshire Assistant Chief Fire Officer Simon Furlong said crews are using dogs, thermal imaging instruments, acoustic equipment and drones in the rescue operation. He said: "The search and rescue teams are methodically working through the sections. A day after a building collapsed at Didcot Power Station in Oxfordshire, England, on Feb. 23, a major search operation is still underway for three missing persons. One person died in t...

    Even as the European Commission insisted that it would keep out of Britain’s referendum campaign, Brussels officials were privately scathing about some of Boris Johnson’s claims as he set out his reasons for supporting Britain’s departure from the EU. Mr Johnson suggested British sovereignty was at risk from plans being hatched to bolster the single currency through closer integration, including budgetary union; but officials dismissed this as one of the very issues addressed in David Cameron’s weekend agreement. “The deal confirms the rights of all non-euro members, and also says that Britain need not be part of ‘ever-closer union’,” said one. “On that score, Boris has clearly ignored the results of Cameron’s renegotiation.” Mr Johnson also complained that just 4 per cent...

    The Conservative truce over the European Union referendum on Monday collapsed as the Prime Minister attacked Boris Johnson and Cabinet ministers openly criticised one another. In a sign of the deepening divisions over the in-out referendum, David Cameron used a Commons appearance to openly condemn Mr Johnson, who on Sunday announced that he would campaign to take Britain of the EU. Mr Cameron suggested that Mr Johnson made his decision simply in order to further his own ambition to become prime minister. He also described as "for the birds" an apparent suggestion by Mr Johnson that Britain could vote to leave the EU before negotiating a better settlement with Brussels. The Prime Minister is said to be "livid" with Mr Johnson, who on Monday indicated that Mr Cameron and his...