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News International CEO Rebekah Brooks told Ken Clarke that she was running the government with David Cameron just days after a dodgy deal helped the Tories win the 2010 General Election. Clarke, who served as Cameron’s Justice Secretary, said Cameron may have done “some sort of deal” with The Sun’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, to gain support ahead of the 2010 general election. In a meeting shortly after a victory, in which the Tories secured a majority in parliament, Clarke was told by Brooks that...

Thick black smoke is billowing from a Tottenham Hotspur warehouse and can been seen for miles across London. Twelve fire engines and 81 firefighters along with police officers were called to the industrial unit where a blaze has been raging for more than two-and-a-half hours this morning. Half of the ground floor, first floor and roof of the warehouse are currently alight, London Fire Brigade say. Emergency services were called to the scene after flames and smoke were seen coming...

The government's move to recognise animal sentience in UK law after Brexit has been welcomed by welfare groups. Concerns were raised last week after the government voted to reject the inclusion of animal sentience in the European Union Withdrawal Bill. Prominent wildlife photographer Richard Bowler described the move as a "vote to say animals can no longer feel pain or emotions", adding that it "beggars belief that in this day and age the government no longer recognises animals as sentient beings". But following...

Shocking new analysis by the Resolution Foundation has revealed pay in real terms won’t be back to 2007 level until 2025. According to the research average annual pay peaked in the autumn of 2007 at £31,644 (in 2016 prices). Once inflation is taken into account, average pay will not be back at those levels until the start of 2025 - some 17 years since the financial crash struck. The Resolution Foundation's report, Freshly Squeezed, warns that Britain is on course for the...

As music industry lawyers say "where there's a hit there's a writ" and this one even by music standards is bizarre. Legendary hip hop brand the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA is unamused by a doggie day care centre in New York that has been trading under the name The Woof-Tang Clan. RZA Shankbone (real name Robert Fitzgerald Diggs) is suing the dogs walking and sitting service based in Brooklyn and offering services to "the illest group of dogs in New York...

The global trade in wild birds has plunged by about 90 percent since the EU banned imports 12 years ago after a parrot died in Britain - from bird flu. The illegal trade has been implicated as one of the main culprits in the spread of the killer disease and has brought several species to the brink of extinction. The number traded annually has now fallen from about 1.3 million to 130,000, according to new research. They are trapped and...

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has described today's Budget as "a ‘nothing has changed’ Budget from an out-of-touch Government". The scathing critique follows Jeremy Corbyn's response in parliament that Philip Hammond's speech was acknowledgement of a "record failure" on behalf of the Conservative government, with economic growth revised down, productivity growth revised down, business investment revised down and people’s incomes revised down. McDonnell says Hammond has "completely failed" to recognise the scale of the emergency in our public services, adding that the Budget has...

Philip Hammond put aside more money for Brexit than the NHS in the 2017 Budget in a reversal of the promises outlined during the referendum campaign. The Chancellor said £3 billion would be spent on Brexit planning, while just £2.8 billion will go to the NHS. In a deeply ironic twist the NHS now has just £350 million to see it through the winter, rather than the £350 million a week it was promised by the Leave campaign. Earlier this month NHS...

The 2017 Budget proves Philip Hammond can't really balance the books, according to industry experts. The Chancellor was forced to revise down much of his growth forecasts for the country in what has been described as a budget that "concentrates more on the political shape of the Conservative party rather than the economic shape of the UK economy." Jeremy Corbyn slammed the Conservatives on the Budget announcement saying "it's a record of failure" with economic growth revised down, productivity growth...