There is a small fraction of the population for whom the release of the government’s new Steel Strategy represents an extraordinarily fascinating, not to mention important, moment. The chances are you are not one of those people. However, allow me to make the case that this document published by the government today represents something very…
Sir John Major has attacked Donald Trump over the Iran war and accused Sir Keir Starmer of a “demeaning” policy of “tiptoeing” around the president. The former prime minister said President Trump should have sought United Nations backing for the war and claimed it would not end hostilities in the Middle East. In a hard-hitting…
Online forum 4Chan has been fined £450,000 by regulator Ofcom for failing to have age checks in place to stop children from seeing pornography on its site. The controversial US website must now add an effective age check by 2 April or face a penalty of £500 a day, the online safety watchdog said. Ofcom…
The UK government has scrapped plans to introduce copyright law exceptions which would allow AI firms to use the work of songwriters without their permission. The government had been in favour of allowing AI developers to train their machines on copyrighted works, with rightsholders having an opt-out option. However, that approach was “overwhelmingly rejected by…
On a day when energy bills are making headlines, we thought we’d share new research on the energy habits that lead to the most household arguments. According to a survey by Uswitch.com, leaving lights on in empty rooms is the most contentious issue, with 44% of households saying they’ve argued about this. Find tips and…
Police in Scotland have charged two people over allegations they tried to enter a UK nuclear submarine base. The 34-year-old Iranian man and 31-year-old Romanian woman were arrested after reports that people were trying to enter Faslane naval base, on the west coast of Scotland. Police Scotland said it was told of the attempt at…
The US central bank has raised its forecast for inflation as the Iran war-linked surge in global energy prices threatens self-inflicted damage on the world’s largest economy. The Federal Reserve held off putting up interest rates despite the challenge to price stability posed by US President Donald Trump’s decision, along with Israel, to attack the…
UK unemployment has remained at its highest rate in five years, new official figures show. The jobless rate was 5.2% in the three months to January, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. Before last month, such a high hadn’t been seen since the three months to January 2021. The increases in the last…
Angela Rayner was “wrong” to stage a high-profile intervention criticising the direction of Sir Keir Starmer’s government this week, Harriet Harman has said. Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the veteran Labour peer said Ms Rayner had offered just “one criticism after another” rather than “positive proposals”. Politics…
The government has said it will directly fund the clear-up of 48,000 tonnes of waste at illegal tips in the north of England, following criticism of a north-south divide on tackling waste crime. Sky News had highlighted how local people in Bickershaw, near Wigan – whose homes have been infested with rats because of the…
