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The UK Government stands to make more than £5million in profit by charging children who have fled from the terror of war-torn Syria for British citizenship applications, new research shows. Around 8,789 youngsters who have escaped the conflict in Syria have arrived in the UK since January 2014 under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) and the Vulnerable Children Scheme (VCS). Currently, those who have made it to the UK are waiting for the required six-year term, which they must...

A Vatican document on Monday said the Church should consider ordaining older married men as priests in remote areas of the Amazon, a historic shift which some say could pave the way for their use in other areas where clergy are scarce. The recommendation, contained in a working document prepared by the Vatican for a synod of bishops from the Amazon scheduled for October, also called for some kind of "official ministry" for women in the area, although it did...

Police say the latest victim, believed to be in his forties, was knifed in Stratford, east London

British companies look set to cut their investment by the most in 10 years in 2019 as the Brexit crisis drags on, weighing on future economic growth prospects, a survey showed on Monday. Business investment - key for productivity and pay growth - was forecast to fall by 1.3% this year before growing by only 0.4% in 2020, the British Chambers of Commerce said. The BCC nudged up its overall economic growth forecast for 2019 to 1.3%, reflecting a surge...

Rory Stewart has overtaken Jeremy Hunt into second favourite for leadership after a widely praised performance on last night’s Channel 4 debate. Bookies price Stewart at 12/1 with Hunt now languishing in third place at 21/1. Michael Gove is seemingly out of the running to make the top two with odds of 45/1, although Boris Johnson’s odds have shortened over the weekend from 2/7 to 1/6 despite his no-show last night. Betfair Spokesperson Katie Baylis said: “Failing a dramatic turn...

Animal welfare charities have called for greyhound racing to be banned after official figures show there were almost 1,000 deaths last year. Hundreds of dogs were “put to sleep” in 2018 for reasons including the high cost of medical treatment and the absence of a “viable option away from the racecourse”, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) revealed. The governing body said they recognise there were “avoidable and unnecessary deaths” and pledged to eradicate them from the sport, but...

Tens of thousands of British businesses could find themselves in trouble with the taxman by failing to follow new rules on keeping digital records. More than one million firms with an annual taxable income of in excess of £85,000 are now legally required to submit VAT returns online. But a survey of 500 SME senior decision makers revealed 11 per cent of those polled aren’t aware of the new requirement. There also appears to be confusion from businesses about whether...

But Dominic Raab says he isn't so sure about the leadership hopeful.

Beijing has found its villain in its multi-fronted conflict with the United States: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The former CIA chief has been singled out for scorn, in Chinese state media and even at the foreign ministry, over his criticism of everything from Chinese tech giant Huawei to its record on human rights. During a regular media briefing on Monday, China's Foreign Ministry accused Pompeo by name of telling lies, a striking departure from its usual practice of referring...