United Kingdom

    Immigration campaigners are furious amid fears that hundreds of asylum seekers will be freed because of human rights. Immigration minister James Brokenshire suspended the system over human rights fears The Government has suspended the asylum fast track system over fears it could be slammed by judges, meaning that a group of over 100 immigrants will be immediately freed from detention centres. The "detained fast track" policy was drawn up by Labour over a decade ago to deter bogus migrants from trying to claim asylum in Britain. It is applied in cases where economic migrants who sneak into the UK and attempt to claim asylum after they are caught. Many immigrants in this category will now be put into the main asylum system, where it can take years to resolve cases and ...

    Cuts to housing benefit, a further lowering of the overall welfare cap and reductions to in-work tax credits are all being considered by George Osborne in next week’s budget, as he seeks to roll back what he regards as a bloated welfare state expanded by Gordon Brown during his tenure of the Treasury. Osborne is preparing to say that Brown’s policy decision to increase tax credits distorted welfare and made workers became dependent on the state, rather than an employer, for a decent income. The chancellor – in the first budget he has been able to deliver without the Liberal Democrats – will temper the £12bn of welfare cuts with a rise in the personal tax allowance and a commitment to do more to persuade employers to boost pay to compensate for the loss of income, possib...

    There's growing concern that George Osborne's Emergency Budget will take a sledgehammer to what's known as 'salary sacrifice' schemes. These have been the backbone of thousands of employer childcare and pension schemes, and any changes could leave people hundreds of pounds worse off every year. The problem Osborne faces is that he wants to claw back some of the higher rate tax relief on pensions. There are growing rumours that this is likely to be cut from 45% to 30%. There's not much opposition to this idea, because an estimated 70% of the £34.8 billion claimed in tax relief on pensions is taken by higher or top rate taxpayers. There's a growing sense that the rules unfairly favour the very rich, who could stand to pay a little more tax. Once he reduces the tax relief...

    This week’s heatwave will see temperatures soar to 35C – but Britain may struggle to cope, with health problems and travel disruption anticipated. Vulnerable groups have been advised to try and stay cool amid fears that lives could be at risk, while trains will run slower to guard against tracks buckling in the broiling temperatures. With Wednesday forecast to be the hottest day of the year so far, the elderly, young children and people with breathing difficulties have been told to keep out of the sun and stay hydrated by Public Health England. Dr Angie Bone, from PHE, said there could be more deaths than usual. She said it seemed "likely" that the Met Office would issue a level 3 heatwave alert - which requires community support for at-risk groups, media alerts about...

    The average house buyer is putting down a record deposit of more than £72,000, according to an index. It is the highest level since the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), a broker, began collating the figures in March 2009. The previous peak was £71,474 in June last year. Last month, the figure rose to £72,302. Rising house prices mean that not only do buyers need to find bigger deposits, but the increased equity also helps those already on the property ladder to put down larger amounts on their next home. The average deposit as a proportion of a loan rose from 28pc to 30pc. Earlier this week figures from Halifax showed house prices in the UK had risen by more than £100 a day in April, taking the average value across Britain to £196,412. MAB's index – compiled using ...

    David Cameron has vowed that "terrorists will not succeed" as he spoke after the "savage" attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and France. The Prime Minister said the British public needs to be prepared for the fact that "many of those killed" in the Tunisian shooting were British. "These savage terrorist attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and France are a brutal and tragic reminder of the threat faced around the world from these evil terrorists," Mr Cameron said. He spoke after a chairing the Government's Cobra meeting in response of the Tunisian attack, where at least eight Britons were killed. The number of British victims is expected to rise as officials have warned that a majority of 38 victims were from the UK. Mr Cameron said he could only imagine the "pain, and anguish and ago...

    The UK’s heaviest man, who weighed 65 stone, has been found dead in his Dover flat. The fire brigade, police and ambulance personnel took several hours to remove Carl Thompson, 33, from his home. His body was removed using a small crane. A police spokesman said: “Kent police was called at 10.38am on 21 June, to a property in Dofras Place, Dover, following reports that a man in his 30s had died. Officers do not believe the death to be suspicious.” The coroner would be notified, the police spokesman said. Thompson, 33, had been housebound for over a year after doctors warned he needed to lose 70% of his body weight. Consuming 10,000 calories every day – four times the usual daily amount for a man – the 33-year-old reportedly spent about £200 a week on takeaways and ...

    The government is pushing ahead with plans to cut £12bn from the welfare budget despite growing political opposition and widespread anti-austerity protests. The plans are expected to include capping benefits at £23,000 a year for each family and making cuts to housing benefits and tax credits. The exact details will be revealed in next month's Budget. David Cameron has justified the cuts by warning that Britain must stop the "merry-go-round" of benefits dependency, says the Daily Telegraph. He is promising to transform Britain "from a low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society". Chancellor George Osborne and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith have also defended their plans, insisting that it will take ten ye...

    Photographs of Princess Charlotte and her older brother Prince George are to be released by Kensington Palace this evening. The pictures, taken last month by their mother Kate at the family's country home in Norfolk , will be the first public images of Princess Charlotte since the day of her birth on 2 May. The four photographs will be released via the media and tweeted by the Kensington Palace from 9pm. The planned publication of the photographs was announced by Kensington Palace on Twitter at 11am this morning. The tweet said: "We'll be posting a very special photo of Prince George & his little sister Princess Charlotte late tonight. Can't wait to share it with you!" The announcement led to a flurry of excitement on the social media network. Kensington Palace...

    The bribery scandal in FIFA should spur the international community to target the "cancer" of corruption around the globe, David Cameron will tell world leaders at a G7 summit this weekend. At talks in Bavaria, the Prime Minister will call for an international effort to root out corruption, claiming it is holding back economic growth and human development all over the world. Ahead of the G7, Mr Cameron said: "In the last fortnight we have seen the stark truth about FIFA. The body governing football has faced appalling allegations that suggests it is absolutely riddled with corruption. "And (Sepp) Blatter's resignation this week presents an opportunity to clean up the game we love. It is also an opportunity to learn a broader lesson about tackling corruption. "Just as...