UK

Getty Images Maneki-neko figurines are popular in Japanese culture and are thought to bring good luck Nearly 500 cat figurines have been stolen from a new Gordon Ramsay restaurant in one week at an estimated cost of more than £2,000, the TV chef has said. The restaurateur recently launched Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay, in … Read more

A mystery Conservative MP had to be rescued from a London brothel after suspecting he had fallen into a honeytrap with “a KGB agent”, an ex-Cabinet minister has revealed. The incident, detailed in former Tory Chief Whip Simon Hart’s new memoir “Ungovernable”, occurred in November 2023. Hart wrote how he received a panicked late-night call … Read more

Calum Watson BBC Scotland News Getty Images Councils across Scotland claim they need to set above inflation rises to invest in services like street cleaning The biggest council tax increases in 20 years are being confirmed by five local authorities across Scotland as a nationwide freeze comes to an end. Scottish Borders Council has voted … Read more

Nigel Farage has defended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky against Donald Trump’s recent criticism, stating firmly that the Ukrainian leader “is not a dictator”. However, the Reform UK leader said the US president “should be taken seriously” but “not always literally” in his comments. It comes as Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on the … Read more

BBC The number of patients in Wales on a waiting list has dropped by almost 2,000, according to latest figures. There were 800,395 on what are known as patient pathways in December, down from 802,268 a month earlier. However, the number of patients waiting more than 36 weeks has hit a record high – at … Read more

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel has called for Britain to take a leading role in boosting defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP amid growing pressure on European nations to strengthen their security commitments. Speaking to GB News, Patel emphasised the Conservative Party’s costed plan to increase military spending, highlighting the need for British … Read more

Bob Dale BBC News, South East SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL The operation to tackle the sinkhole has been declared a major incident A huge sinkhole that opened in the middle of a Surrey village has stopped getting bigger, according to a council spokesperson. The first hole appeared in Godstone late on Monday night when a water … Read more

Former US President Donald Trump has launched a blistering attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, branding him a “dictator” on his social media platform Truth Social. Trump, who returned to the White House promising to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours, is now leading efforts to bring peace to the region. The 78-year-old former … Read more

Joshua Nevett Political reporter Getty Images Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Elena casting their votes during the last, 2019 Ukrainian presidential election Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has backed Volodymyr Zelensky as a “democratically elected leader” after Donald Trump described the Ukrainian president as a “dictator”. Sir Keir called Zelensky on Wednesday evening and told … Read more

First Minister John Swinney has renewed the Scottish Government commitments to tackle net zero ambitions after a year of disappointing progress. Swinney referenced an additional £25 million in funding for Grangemouth and insisted to the audience of representatives from across the connected worlds of biodiversity, agriculture and energy, progress towards a carbon neutral future was … Read more