By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A hugely controversial council decision to allowing fracking in North Yorkshire may be challenged in court, an environmental group has said. Friends of the Earth said the plan to allow shale gas exploration in the village of Kirby Misperton could be taken in front of a judge. The decision last month to allow Third Energy, a fracking company, permission to test drill at the site was met with stiff local opposition. The site in Kirby...

The debate over Heathrow expansion continues to be bitterly contested by Gatwick Airport despite a third runway being recommended by the Airports Commission in 2015. Gatwick, it seems, is still missing a trick. For all the environmental and logistical benefits of building a new runway in Sussex, the fundamental problem is that it doesn’t operate as a hub in the way Heathrow does today. If it is to become a viable solution, it needs to transfer out as many travellers...

For any self-respecting wino - if ever there was a conflicting term - branded wine is an anathema. Call them what you like - bum wines, street wines, twist-cap wines, beverages for the economical drunkard - British supermarkets are littered with sugary bottles of plonk masquerading as wine. To the disconcerting drinker they offer a cheap entry point to the civilised world of wine, but for the aficionado the Blossom Hills and Black Towers of the isles are as civilised...

Sport News 24/7 By Richard & David de Winter - Sports Editor @TLE_Sport  @rgdewinter  @davidjdewinter The London Economic Sports Editor David de Winter and TLE Sports Columnist Richard de Winter discuss all things EURO 2016.

Activist investors are relatively new but very influential players in international capital markets. They are shareholders at publicly traded companies who attempt to affect change in an organization either by directly appealing to, or putting heavy pressure on, the company’s board of directors, bypassing the normal advisory process. The scope of activist investors’ actions varies depending on their assertiveness and on what exactly they seek to change at a given company. The firms that activists target tend to underperform relative to...

A floating wine bar pop-up has arrived in Clapham this week with a blend your own wine masterclass. Winemakers Campo Viejo opened the bar on Mount Lake which will run from 9-12 June. They will be serving their classic Tempranillo and Reserva along with a new White Rioja and a selection of tapas. Entrance to the bar is free, with tickets to a Blend Your Own Wine Masterclass priced at £15 + booking fee. The Fontanas, hot off the festival circuit, will also be playing...

By Ben Gelblum, Contributing Editor @BenGelblum To paraphrase France’s greatest export (apart from Stella Artois) Jean Paul Sartre: “all human endeavours are doomed to failure.” Tony Blair and John Major join the EU Referendum fray today with even more nightmarish complications for those hoping for a quick and easy Brexit - like having to renegotiate the whole Northern Ireland peace process while dealing with the possible dissolution of the United Kingdom with another Scotland Independence referendum leaving us rebuilding Hadrian’s...

Our MPs have just finished their inquiry into flooding and concluded that a “proactive approach to flooding is needed”. The report published this morning by the Environmental Audit Committee exposed the Government’s knee-jerk reaction to flooding. During the last Parliament funding was cut just before floods, only to be "increased" after the floods. The funding has fluctuated year by year. The Committee has demanded an action plan from the Government. Beavers should be part of that plan. Earlier this year, just one month after...

With the recent release of Oculus Rift, gamers are getting excited about the presence of virtual reality in their homes. But have you ever considered how different your school days might have been if this kind of technology had been available in your classroom? Well, that’s something that Hope Education has been thinking about too… Hope Education - a leading supplier of educational supplies in the UK - has developed this engaging tool, designed to show us what the Classroom...