News
The latest local and national UK and International news.
Suicides in prison rise by almost a third in 2018
The number of prisoners who died by suicide rose by almost a third in 2018, figures seen by the Howard League for Penal Reform reveal today. Overall deaths in custody rose by 10 per cent, the statistics show, and assaults increased by 20 per cent in the 12 months to September 2018. Some 325 people died in prisons in England and Wales, including 92 men and women who lost their lives through suicide – a 31 per cent rise compared to 2017. The...
DNA tests reveal endangered sharks sold in Britain’s fish and chip shops
The study warns that families may be tucking into "critically endangered" species of shark when visiting their local fish and chip shop
Car industry hits ‘red alert’ as investment drops by £2bn in three years
Investment in the UK car sector has dropped by almost £2 billion in three years as Brexit fears put firms on "red alert", the industry's trade body said. In 2015, car manufacturers invested £2.5 billion in the UK. Since then it has fallen ever year and in 2018 was just £589 million. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) say the fall-off in inward investment is down to Brexit uncertainty, which has "done enormous damage" according to SMMT chief Mike Hawes....
Microplastics found in all dead dolphins, seals and whales washed up on British shores
Researchers examined 50 mammals from 10 species of dolphins, seals and whales - and found microplastics in them all
How daily walk can take 20 years off your “brain age”
Researchers found that going for a daily walk or bike raid can take 20 years off older people's "brain age"
Two men who were wrongly jailed for a total of 24 years have lost their fight for compensation
Despite their convictions being overturned, current legislation requires them to prove their innocence in order to claim compensation
Refusals of FOI requests at record levels as government discloses less and less information
A major new report has found refusals of Freedom of Information requests are at record levels. According to the Institute for Government (IfG) think tank government departments refused to give any information in response to almost half (45 per cent) of FOI requests in the first quarter of 2018. Analysis of the data shows the first three quarters of 2018 had the highest proportion of requests withheld in part or in full – more than half – since the introduction...
Massive missing cat poster with a difference appeared on London’s streets
The feline in the artwork is not your average neighbourhood moggy but a majestic lion affectionately known as Archie - and a member of the highly-threatened big cat species
Gerard Batten claims only 100 lorries cross Irish border a day and half of them are carrying Guinness
Gerard Batten has claimed just 100 lorries cross the Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border a day and that Guinness accounts for half of them in an astonishing Twitter rant. The UKIP leader was responding to a James O'Brien segment on LBC radio discussing why Brexiters hate the Irish backstop so much. O'Brien said: "How can it be that the people saying the solution is easy - 'oh we just need some cameras' - are the same people who say we couldn't possibly...