Jeremy Hunt is close to becoming the second-longest serving minister in charge of the NHS - taking over Anuerin Bevan. Bevan spent 1,993 days in charge of the health service during the Labour government of 1945-51. In that time he spearheaded the establishment of the National Health Service, which was to provide medical care free at point-of-need to all Britons; regardless of wealth. But in an ironic twist the second-longest minister for the NHS is set to be overtaken by the...

Mike Pence delivered a "prayer" of thanks to Donald Trump in yesterday's cabinet meeting that has been described as being "stomach-churning" by social media commentators. The Vice President of the United States said he knows he speaks on behalf of the rest of the cabinet and millions of Americans when he says "congratulations and thank you" for seeing through an agenda that is "restoring this country". His words evoke parallels to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's cult of personality, where...

The inquest into the death of disgraced former celebrity PR guru Max Clifford was opened and adjourned today. The jailed 74-year-old died in hospital while serving in a sex offenders' prison on December 10, a coroner said. Senior Coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough David Heming told the hearing in Huntingdon: "The medical cause of death is not yet confirmed as the consultant pathologist who carried out the post mortem examination is undertaking histological examination. "As the deceased was a prisoner...

Political instability could lead to some bird and animal and bird species being wiped out, warns new research. The study of changes in wildlife over three decades found that low levels of effective national governance are the strongest predictor of declining numbers - more so than economic growth, climate change or even surges in human population. The findings, published in the journal Nature, also show that protected conservation areas do maintain wildlife diversity - but only when situated in countries...

Theresa May's deputy Damian Green has been sacked as First Secretary of State after an investigation found he breached UK ministerial code by lying about the presence of porn on his office computer. Now Brexit Secretary David Davis faces the humiliating prospect of being constantly reminded that he vowed to resign if his cabinet ally was sacked over the investigation into his statements on porn found on his computer and allegations by Tory activist Kate Maltby that he behaved inappropriately towards...

With the countdown to Christmas ramping into high gear, it won’t be long before Santa is packing up the sleigh and making his annual trip around the world. If 2017 is anything like last year, technology and mobile devices will be making up the bulk of Santa’s bounty, a trend that is looking certain to continue. Smartphone use continues towards saturation point According to Deloitte’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications Predictions for 2018, smartphone use in developed countries will break the...

With family overseas, Christmas time has often meant a fair deal of travel, travel that has always involved international flights. When my family was based in the Middle East, I was often fortunate enough to find myself cozying into a long haul flight on an airline that boasted a great in-flight entertainment system, with a library of films that would put the BFI’s archives to shame. However, when my parents moved to Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, I had...

Damien Green has resigned as First Secretary of State after an investigation found he breached UK ministerial code. Theresa May's deputy has stepped down before Christmas leaving her already beleaguered cabinet in tatters. The Tory MP had been found to have misled the public over porn found on an office computer Claims emerged recently that police had found "extreme" pornography on his computer when they raided his Parliamentary office. Met police officers say they unveiled the material when Green's office was raided...

Donald Trump has received the ultimate accolade from Disney this week, joining  the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom's Hall of Presidents in Orlando in robot form. The odd-looking President Trump robot makes a speech alongside the United States’ other Presidents. And thankfully there is no mention of “Mexicans", “walls", "fake news” or “grabbing ‘em by the p***y." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NePlddZpNKs&feature=youtu.be The Trump robot has been likened to something from a horror movie and even mocked by Orlando’s Tussauds waxworks’ twitter account: https://twitter.com/TussaudsOrlando/status/943214154541871105 https://twitter.com/JohnCohen1/status/942915905079537664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Ffortune.com%2F2017%2F12%2F19%2Fdisney-adds-an-odd-looking-trump-to-hall-of-presidents%2F