National News

Max Verstappen has hit back at criticism of his dominance and set the target of remaining unbeaten for the final nine races of the season. The all-conquering Dutchman will become the first driver in history to win 10 consecutive races if he takes the chequered flag at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday. Verstappen has been in imperious form this year, winning 11 of the 13 rounds staged as he closes in on […]

Manchester United face Champions League group stage clashes with Harry Kane’s new club Bayern Munich this autumn, while Newcastle were handed an exceedingly tough task on their return to Europe’s top club competition. The Red Devils came back late on to beat Bayern in the 1999 final and complete the treble, but the German champions came out on top in the sides’ last Champions League encounter in the 2014 quarter-finals. […]

dline set by administrator PwC. PWC said “it is now clear that no viable offer structure put forward includes the group in its entirety”, adding that 269 support centre workers will have their last day with the business on Monday. There will be further redundancies across the company’s two distribution centres from early next week, it said. The GMB union said a bidder, reported to be M2 Capital, had not […]

Lewis Hamilton will extend his record-breaking career in Formula One beyond his 40th birthday after signing a new contract with Mercedes. The Silver Arrows confirmed ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix that Hamilton, 38, will continue to drive with them for 2024 and 2025. It is anticipated that the new deal will earn Hamilton in the region of £50million-a-year. The announcement ends speculation surrounding the seven-time world champion’s future […]

Grant Shapps has been appointed Defence Secretary in Rishi Sunak’s mini-reshuffle prompted by Ben Wallace’s formal resignation. The Prime Minister handed the role overseeing British support to Ukraine during its resistance against the Russian invasion to the energy secretary on Thursday. Mr Shapps has never held a role in the Ministry of Defence before but is taking on his fifth role in the Cabinet in the last year by becoming […]

London mayor Sadiq Khan has dropped plans for a zero-emission vehicle zone in the centre of the capital. The Labour’s mayor’s Transport Strategy published in March 2018 stated that he would “aim to deliver a zero-emission zone in central London from 2025”. This would be expanded to inner London by 2040 and cover the whole city “by 2050 at the latest”. The document also set out an ambition for “zero-emission […]

It's been confirmed by the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay The inquiry into serial killer Lucy Letby’s crimes will become statutory, the Health Secretary Steve Barclay has announced. The move to a statutory footing grants the inquiry legal powers to compel witnesses, including both former and current staff of the Countess of Chester Hospital Trust, to provide evidence. The decision comes shortly after Letby, 33, was sentenced to a whole-life term […]

Judges will be given the power to order an offender to attend their sentencing hearing, including by force if necessary, under planned legislation announced by the Ministry of Justice. The Government has promised legislation to force serious offenders to attend their sentencing, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling it “unacceptable” that some criminals have refused to face their victims. The promised reforms will give custody officers the power to use […]

Taylor Swift has become the first female artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, the music streaming giant announced on Tuesday. It comes as the global megastar continues her The Eras Tour, having recently played four dates in Mexico. The official Spotify social media accounts wrote: “Queen behavior. “On August 29, Taylor Swift became the first female artist in Spotify history to reach 100 million monthly listeners.” Last […]