United Kingdom

    The impact of the coronavirus scare has spread from Chinatown to much of the West End as high-spending Asian tourists stay away. Restaurants in areas such as Mayfair and Knightsbridge reported a slump in trade in the past fortnight, although most of the rest of the capital does not yet seem to have been hit. Adam Hyman, founder of the Code Hospitality consultancy, said: Lots of West End hoteliers and restaurants have been severely impacted in the last couple of weeks. All the big restaurants and hotels say there are just no Chinese customers. Flight analysts ForwardKeys said its latest data showed bookings from China to Europe for March and April are 36.7 per cent down on last year. Chef Adam Handling said that at his Covent Garden flagship Frog “this week and las...

    If the new Chancellor Rishi Sunak wants to appeal to Tory voters in the shires and the new converts in the Red Wall seats of the North, he should use his first Budget to end the war of attrition on savers. Thrift and personal responsibility are at the core of Conservative values. They are also very much part of the Labour heritage of co-operatives and mutuals. Yet in the past two decades, governments on both sides have thrown savers to the wolves. The repeated attacks on pensions saving have been particularly short-sighted and harmful so the news that Sunak’s £10billion tax grab on higher rate pensions tax relief is likely to be scrapped is welcome. This was an idea so bad it could have come from the Jeremy Corbyn playbook. Seizing tax relief from higher rate taxp...

    A lesbian couple from Saudi Arabia have defied their home county’s strict laws against homosexuality by proudly declaring their love for each other on an Arabic TV show. Saudi Arabia has some of the worst LGBT+ rights records in the world. Homosexuality is classed as extremism in the ultra-conservative kingdom and can be punishable by death under Sharia law. The lesbian couple, known by the pseudonyms ‘Fad’ and ‘Nanz’, sought asylum in the UK last year and now live safely in London. They announced their relationship during a Valentine’s Day special on the TV show ‘Jaafar Talk’ which airs on the Arabic-language DW channel. During the interview, they talked about how they met and what was like to be different in a country where same-sex relationships can carry the d...

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's underlying tensions with the palace have been laid bare in their latest bombshell statement. It comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed they will stop using the word "royal" throughout their branding after they step back from royal duties next month. In an extraordinary statement released on Friday, Prince Harry and Meghan hinted at the tense negotiations as they detailed the "revised role" they will be taking on in the next year. They also appear to complain about not being allowed to seek outside employment while remaining working members of the family, as is the case for some other titled members of the firm. The couple will no longer carry out royal duties as of March 31, although they will still receive police pro...

    Blue passports will be issued for the first time in almost three decades from next month to mark Britain’s departure from the EU, the government has announced. They will replace the standard-issue burgundy passports that were rolled out across EU countries from 1988. The home secretary, Priti Patel, welcomed the switch back to blue, but pro-European campaigners and nationalist politicians in Northern Ireland predicted the new passports would result in Britons entering the slow lane at airports and ports throughout the EU. The Home Office says the blue passport will be “the greenest British passport ever”. A spokesperson said: The carbon footprint produced through manufacture will be reduced to net zero, through projects such as planting trees. It is also promoting...

    A Swansea restaurant worker claims he paid a solicitor £2,000 for help to stay in the UK without realising it would mean using the identity of somebody else due to his inability to read or write English, he told a court. Nurul Islam is on trial at Swansea Crown Court charged with obtaining leave to remain in the United Kingdom by deception by using the name and date of birth of a man called Alaur Rahman in an application to the Home Office between May 26 and June 16, 2015. The 39-year-old is also charged with being in possession of an identity document of improper mention a Bangladeshi passport relating to somebody else on May 27, 2015. On day two of his trial, Islam took to the witness box to give evidence, with the assistance of a language translator. He explain...

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex face being banned from using their self-anointed ‘Sussex Royal’ label after stepping down as senior royals, it emerged last night. It is no longer appropriate for the couple, who have relocated to North America with their son Archie, to continue using the term ‘royal’ in their branding, the Queen and senior officials are expected to conclude. The Duke and Duchess launched their ‘SussexRoyal’ website after announcing they were stepping back from the monarchy in January. They also made applications to trademark the ‘Sussex Royal’ brand for a wide array of products. However, the couple are understood to have accepted they will not be able to use the title, with a source saying it "needed to be reviewed" after they announced they no longe...

    A new study has worked out which jobs Britons most want to do and they all pay above the average wage. Jobs site Adzuna decided to find out the careers people looking for work searched for most often, then looked into what you need to do to qualify. And the better news is that a lot of the most in-demand roles are also areas that are crying out for more people to do them. Adzuna Co-Founder Andrew Hunter said: “The most searched for professions in the UK according to our insight are mostly medical professions, where there is a desperate need for qualified candidates." That also means there are ways to get started in them without have to get a new degree. "While you may not be in a position to go back and give up your time to study at university, there are now many...

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson and estranged wife Marina Wheeler have reached a financial agreement, a London family court judge has been told. Judge Sarah Gibbons oversaw the private hearing in the Central Family Court in London on Tuesday. Neither Mr Johnson nor Ms Wheeler were at the hearing but both were represented by barristers. Ms Wheeler, a high-flying QC, married Mr Johnson in 1993 and separated from him two years ago. The 54-year-old is the second wife of Mr Johnson, 55, and they share four children. The PM has been dating Carrie Symonds, 31, since last year and the couple now live together in Downing Street. At Tuesday's 10-minute hearing, Mr Johnson was represented by Neil Russell and Ms Wheeler by Lucy Stone QC. The case number showed that Mr Johnson an...

    The government is likely to delay next month’s budget in the wake of Sajid Javid’s resignation, according to the transport secretary. Richmond (Yorkshire) MP Rishi Sunak was promoted to chancellor in Thursday’s cabinet reshuffle, after Javid refused to sack all of his special advisers as demanded by Boris Johnson. Sunak will now handle the country’s finances, but Downing Street staffing arrangements have been altered so there is now a combined staff between Number 10 and Number 11. Transport secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News this morning that the 11 March budget would likely be delayed for Sunak to get better acquainted with the new role. “I know the budget plans are well advanced but I also know that Rishi Sunak, the new chancellor, may want time,” he said. “...