Sir Winston Churchill's final piece of artwork yesterday (Tues) smashed its auction estimate by selling for a staggering £357,000. The wartime leader painted 'The Goldfish Pool at Chartwell' in 1962 - three years before his death. He was in his late eighties and his abstract painting depicts the beloved goldfish pool in the garden of the family home at Chartwell, Kent. Churchill gave the painting, described as "a unique and moving insight into his final years", to bodyguard Sergeant Edmund...

Police are still refusing to say when England ace Ben Stokes might be free to join the team for the Ashes. The 26 year-old all-rounder was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm after a brawl in Bristol in September. He was released pending further investigation and suspended by the England team while the case remains unresolved. But two months on - and with the Ashes starting today (weds) in Brisbane - Avon and Somerset say they still have no update...

A mum-of-two has hand-reared a fox cub which she lets play with her young children - despite it having a tendency to nip strangers. Natalie Reynolds, 35, keeps Jasper the fox with her three dogs, cat and horses at their home and even takes it out for walks on a lead. But despite her insisting the eight-month-old fox is domesticated, an animal charity argued keeping the wild animals as pets is wrong as they belong in the wild. The stay-at-home...

The chancellor has announced stamp duty will be scrapped for first time buyers on homes up to £300,000 and up to £500,000 in high price areas. The move will affect roughly 80 per cent of first time buyers, and will come as a huge relief for people who are struggling to get on to the property ladder. Philip Hammond was under pressure to deliver a game-changing Budget today, and after a string of concerning economic data he saved the eye-catching announcement...

Few politicians would proclaim to have magical powers, but today Philip Hammond seemed to develop the ability to make currencies drop on every word he says. Delivering a crucial Budget to parliament the pound plummeted as he rifled through a raft of shaky economic indicators. He acknowledged that the economic outlook for the country is deteriorating, setting growth forecasts under 2 per cent for the next five years. He then announced that he will put aside an extra £3 billion...

Watch PMQs carefully and see if you can spot what has been dubbed Theresa May’s “kill team” or “K-team.” The Sunday Telegraph recently exposed a "precision bombing exercise" choreographed by new Chief Whip Julian Smith to "shout Corbyn down and put him off his stride". Due to worries about Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party’s going confidence at Prime Minister’s Questions as they land more punches on the Prime Minister, and concerns about Theresa May’s ability to defend the government’s...

Hammerson sells Places des Halles in Strasbourg - Hammerson has exchanged contracts for the sale of its share (64.5%) of Place des Halles shopping centre in Strasbourg, France. LaSalle Investment Management will purchase the centre from Hammerson and its co-owner, on behalf of funds under management, for a total net vendor price (100%) of EUR 291 million (GBP258 million), slightly above 30 June 2017 book value. Centrally located in Strasbourg, Place des Halles is a prime regional shopping centre totalling...

Ladies, how many of you have been on a shopping spree, arms laden with high street bags, and then on the final leg of your spree you have quickly nipped into Superdrug to buy that £1 shower gel on offer and thought ‘two birds one stone, I might as well get my eyebrows threaded'? Living in London, one can forget that ‘pamper’ time is meant to be luxurious, relaxed and enjoyable. Nowadays I just think ‘when can I fit in...

The Conservative party narrowly voted against Labour's bid to retain EU human rights measures in UK law post-Brexit last night by 311 votes to 301. Just one Conservative MP, Ken Clarke, defied the Government whip and voted for the motion to retain the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, put forward by Jeremy Corbyn. Civic organisations warned over the weekend that individual rights to privacy, equality, freedom of expression, fair working conditions, a fair trial, access to a lawyer and the protection of...