National News

The government is planning to close a loophole allowing companies to give free vape samples to kids A new Government crackdown on vape marketing will prevent the “unacceptable” targeting of children and young people, Rishi Sunak has said. Ministers have pledged to close a loophole allowing retailers to give free samples of vapes to children in England, amid concerns over the proportion of children trying e-cigarettes. The move comes days after the Prime Minister

The 61 year old resigned on Friday following what he called an 'unwise, but not illegal' affair Eamonn Holmes has alleged that there was a “total cover-up” on ITV’s This Morning show over Phillip Schofield’s affair with a young male colleague. Schofield, 61, resigned from ITV on Friday and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to an “unwise, but not illegal” affair. Following Schofield’s resignation, some former This Morning

Professor George Gao's views directly contradict the Chinese government The possibility the Covid virus leaked from a laboratory should not be ruled out, a former top Chinese government scientist has said. The view of virologist and immunologist Professor George Gao is in stark contrast to that of the Chinese government which dismisses any suggestion the virus may have originated in a Wuhan laboratory. Prof Gao, the former head of China’s Centre for

Ministers are under pressure over whether to release unredacted WhatsApp messages and diaries belonging to Boris Johnson to the Covid-19 inquiry or risk sparking a further legal row. The Cabinet Office has until 4pm on May 30 to respond to the request or risk the prospect of legal action. It is so far resisted the request from Lady Hallett’s official inquiry, raising the possibility that ministers could seek to challenge

The Government is facing a backlash from retailers over its plans to encourage supermarkets to impose voluntary price caps on food staples to help with the cost of living. Downing Street is understood to be drawing up proposals to advocate for charging the lowest possible amount for some basic products like bread and milk. But the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the measures would not make a “jot of difference”

The force's commissioner says they won't attend after 31st August unless there's a threat to life Alarm has been expressed at the prospect of Metropolitan Police officers not attending emergency calls if they are linked to mental health incidents. The force’s commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has written to health and social care services to say police will no longer attend after August 31 unless there is a threat to life. The move, first reported

The 61 year old TV presenter is hitting back at critics of him and the show Phillip Schofield has said there is “no toxicity” at This Morning and “it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice”. The veteran presenter, 61, resigned from the broadcaster on Friday and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan won re-election on Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade in a country reeling from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that levelled entire cities. With nearly 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Mr Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. In his first comments since the polls closed, Mr Erdogan spoke to

Sunday has snatched the record as the UK’s hottest day of the year so far, the Met Office confirmed – beating Saturday’s high by a tenth of a degree. Temperatures reached 24.4C in Plymouth, narrowly topping Saturday’s record of 24.3C in Bramham, West Yorkshire. Pictures show people taking to the outdoors in the hot weather to sunbathe, paddle board and wake board among other activities. Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey