National News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has suffered a Commons defeat over an attempt to speed up efforts to compensate victims of the infected blood scandal. A total of 23 Conservative MPs rebelled to support a Labour-led amendment requiring ministers to establish a body to administer the full compensation scheme within three months of the Victims and Prisoners Bill becoming law. The proposal, tabled by Labour former minister Dame Diana Johnson, was

Sky Sports will screen a minimum of 215 Premier League matches a season as part of a domestic rights agreement worth a record £6.7billion. The broadcaster secured four of the five packages on offer in the league’s latest domestic rights tender which starts in 2025-26, with TNT Sports netting the other package of 52 games. Amazon, who show 20 matches per season under the league’s current deal, elected not to

Ikea has revealed plans to hike pay for UK staff as part of more than £35 million of investment in higher wages and bonuses. The furniture retailer said its hourly paid employees will get a 10% pay rise in 2024, split into two 5% uplifts, based on their current pay. The uplift will take hourly wages to £12, rising to £13.15 for staff in London. The Swedish retail giant has

The food safety watchdog has warned consumers not to buy or eat fake and potentially unsafe Prime or Wonka chocolate bars. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it had received reports of fake branded chocolate on sale and was working with Trading Standards to protect consumers. Prime, the popular drinks brand, has told the FSA that it does not manufacture any Prime-branded food products, meaning the chocolate bars are fake

Over the weekend, Rishi Sunak said the BBC needs to be 'realistic' about what people can pay Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has denied that the Government is “ripping up” a licence fee deal with the BBC, following reports that Rishi Sunak is set to block a 9% hike in the annual charge. For the past two years the licence fee has been frozen at the price of £159 but it

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said this morning that ministers are unlikely to shift position The Government faces a rebellion by Tory MPs over calls for a new body to help infected blood victims, with backbenchers set to join forces with Labour on payouts over the scandal. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer indicated on Monday that ministers are unlikely to shift position, insisting that it was “appropriate” to wait until the ongoing

Spotify is to cut almost a fifth of jobs at the music streaming business in a move affecting about 1,500 posts. Bosses at the technology firm said in a note to staff that it will axe 17% of the workforce in a bid to be more efficient in the face of a growth slowdown. The company employs around 9,300 people globally. It did not disclose how many roles would be

The Bahamas-flagged 'Unity Explorer', owned by a British company, was one of three commercial vessels targeted A British-owned ship has been hit by a missile in the Red Sea as part of an assault by Iranian-backed rebels, the US military said. The Bahamas-flagged Unity Explorer, owned by a British company, was one of three commercial vessels targeted in the drone and missile assault on Sunday. US military Central Command said the Unity