Gordon Brown tells Labour party to get set for snap election
The Labour party is gearing up for an early general election as a new Sunday Times poll reveals a narrowing of the Conservative lead. Party chiefs have ordered staff to be ready to fight an election any time from the new year amid growing Labour optimism that a Conservative victory can be averted. More
Ed Balls to ease rules on parent vetting
Ed Balls, the schools secretary, is to bow to public opinion and announce a sudden climbdown on the government’s controversial vetting scheme which would force 11m people who help out at schools and nurseries to undergo criminal record checks to prove they are not paedophiles. More
Millions of pensions to be frozen despite rise announced in Pre-Budget Report
Gordon Brown has been accused of acting in an "underhand and shabby" way after it emerged that a promised pensions rise will not apply to everyone. More
Ten members of a suspected Islamist terror cell, said by MI5 to be plotting to blow up a shopping centre and a nightclub in
Officials cover up wind farm noise report
Civil servants have suppressed warnings that wind turbines can generate noise damaging people’s health for several square miles around. The guidance from consultants indicated that the sound level permitted from spinning blades and gearboxes had been set so high — 43 decibels — that local people could be disturbed whenever the wind blew hard. The noise was also thought likely to disrupt sleep. More
Drivers’ personal details handed to EU
The personal details of nearly 40m UK motorists will be open to abuse when they are “automatically” trawled by foreign states, an internal police report has admitted.
Sensitive information such as a driver’s address, motoring convictions and medical history will be exposed to routine sifting by police, traffic wardens and other officials across
