Author: David Pike

The UK’s best croissant has been revealed and it costs just £3.45 from ‘divine’ bakery If you’re going to judge a bakery on one item, it should be their croissant. The flaky, buttery treat is a classic for a reason, but it’s a fact that not all are made equal, and nothing compares to the joy of biting into a perfectly crisp yet sumptuously soft croissant. While many will head to Paris to have the…

Woman last seen on night out in Soho a week ago found dead | UK News A ‘vivacious, outspoken and glamorous’ woman has been found dead after disappearing more than a week ago. Natasha Reddington-Romanov, 55, was last seen walking from the jazz club Trisha’s in Soho, London, towards Bateman Street between 1.45am and 2am on September 20. She didn’t show up to work on Monday, prompting a frantic search for the ‘much loved’ Londoner.…

Rick Stein says he opened first restaurant to avoid bankruptcy after police shut down his nightclub Rick Stein has said he got into the restaurant business to avoid bankruptcy after his nightclub venture was shut down by the police. The chef and restaurateur discussed his businesses and the evolution of British cuisine during a wide-ranging talk at a sold-out event at the Henley Literary Festival. The Independent is the festival’s exclusive news partner for the…

Tory grandees warn of ‘monumental’ party rebuild as infighting breaks out on eve of conference Tory grandees have warned the Conservative Party leadership candidates not to play into the hands of Reform UK as the contest threatens to spiral into infighting with the annual conference set to start on Sunday in Birmingham. As MPs and activists flock to the International Convention Centre, former prime minister Theresa May and ex-Tory leader William Hague said those vying…

Boris Johnson says he was asked to give Harry ‘manly pep talk’; Palace sources deny claim – Royal news live Sources close to Buckingham Palace have denied that Boris Johnson was asked to give Prince Harry a “manly pep talk” to convince him not to step away from royal duties in January 2020. The former prime minister claimed in his new book Unleashed that officials from the palace and Downing Street had asked him to…

Rosie Duffield slates Labour ‘sleaze and nepotism’ as MP Rosie Duffield has resigned the Labour whip, accusing the prime minister of “hypocrisy” and pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies. In a resignation letter, Ms Duffield attacked Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test winter fuel payments. In her resignation letter, she wrote: “The sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice are off the scale.” Ms Duffield, who will sit as an independent, also…

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield’s resignation letter in full Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailGet our free View from Westminster emailRosie Duffield has quit as a Labour MP, criticising leader Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to scrap winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners and also his decision to retain the two-child benefit cap for parents.In a three-page letter, published in the…

‘Nothing good ever happens after 2am’ – the rise of the daytime ravers With a nightclub shutting down every two days, we are just six years from the UK becoming a cultural desert after midnight. Economic problems in the industry, the rise of the sober curious movement and the cost of living are among the myriad reasons that clubs are shutting down, and if they are to follow this trajectory, from 2030, there will be…

Shawn Mendes cancels Glasgow gig at Ovo Hydro due to health concerns The singer-songwriter was due to take to the stage at the Ovo Hydro on July 28 next year as part of his Wonder world tour. The Canadian star had previously postponed his tour date from April this year in the hopes of returning after “some much-needed time off”. However, in a statement shared today Mendes said: “I started this tour excited to finally get back…

Win tickets to Lost in Music at The King’s Theatre in Glasgow The show that everyone is talking about is now even bigger and it will come to the city’s King’s Theatre on August 24. Join Lost in Music as it recreates the magical seventies and takes audiences on a musical journey straight to the heart of disco. Relive some of the greatest songs of all time from artists such as Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Earth, Wind…

Austrian far-right party hopes for its first national election win in a close race Austria’s far-right Freedom Party could win a national election for the first time on Sunday, tapping into voters’ anxieties about immigration, inflation, Ukraine and other concerns following recent gains for the hard right elsewhere in Europe. Herbert Kickl, a former interior minister and longtime campaign strategist who has led the Freedom Party since 2021, wants to become Austria’s new chancellor. He…

Starmer visit to Brussels could lead to overhaul of Brexit deal Prime Minister Keir Starmer hopes to use talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this week to prepare for a reset in the spring. PM Keir Starmer will use a meeting with Von der Leyen this week to pave the way for a springtime overhaul of Britain’s Brexit deal, amid warnings that closer ties will be essential in his government’s desperate search…

From leadership drama to fascist debate From leadership drama to fascist debate at the Conservative Party conference. There will also be ‘meet our candidates’ Q&As, and fringe events – but limited self-reflection at the gathering in Birmingham. The first party conference after a huge general election defeat generally tends to be a cross between a wake, an inquest, and a beauty contest for those who believe they have the answers to what went wrong. All…

MPs have declared more than £6m in ‘freebies’ since 2010 Calls for urgent reform after figures show almost half of the donations since 2010 were given in the last two years. MPs have declared more than £6m in “freebies” since 2010 with the cash price of gifts given almost tripling over two years, analysis reveals, leading to calls for urgent reform. The value of “gifts, benefits and hospitality” declared by MPs was £1.3m in 2023,…

The British government says it has been securing extra flights as it asks UK nationals to register their presence. ‘Leave now’, Foreign Office urges Britons in Lebanon The British government has been securing extra flights for UK nationals to make their way out of Lebanon, as ministers continued to urge citizens still in the country to “leave now”.Official advice has been warning British nationals to leave the country for months. But with the escalation of…

Only 4.3% of stroke patients in England can access life-saving treatment Only 4.3% of stroke patients in England can access life-saving treatment. Mechanical thrombectomy can save a patient from permanent disability or death, but its availability depends on where they live. Most stroke patients in England suitable for treatment that can save them from serious disability or even death cannot access it, new figures reveal. It is estimated that at least 10% of stroke patients…

Boris Johnson claims Covid originated in lab, in U-turn in his views Former prime minister Boris Johnson has said he believes the Covid pandemic was caused by a leak from a laboratory in China, and did not originate in unsanitary conditions in a Wuhan market. He joins Donald Trump in dismissing evidence suggesting that the virus was transmitted “zoonotically” from infected animals. The US former president insisted that coronavirus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. But just last…

Rosie Duffield quits Labour with damning attack on Keir Starmer Rosie Duffield has quit as a Labour MP, attacking Sir Keir Starmer’s “cruel and unnecessary policies” and the freebie row engulfing the party. The Canterbury MP and long time critic of Sir Keir will sit as an independent after resigning the Labour whip “with immediate effect”. In a damning resignation letter, Ms Duffield lashed out at Sir Keir’s acceptance of more than £100,000 of clothes,…

Do not approach patient who escaped secure mental health facility in Southall, that’s the advice being given by officers.

‘We f**king love yous’: Fontaines DC bring coolness to Glasgow TRNSMT stage Wearing shades and a black vest as temperatures soared in the Glasgow Green, lead singer Grian Chatten kicked off their punk indie set with Sha Sha Sha and Skinty Fia taken from their latest album of the same name. There was little chat from the band. Instead, they let the music do the talking with Televised Mind setting the tone for things to come. The…

Experience With Al Pacino coming to Glasgow The Scarface star will be at Double Tree Hilton as part of his UK tour in November, and it promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime event as it’s set to be his “last ever tour”. The Experience With Live event will be a Black Tie Dinner where the Oscar-winning actor, also known for his roles in The Godfather and The Irishman, will take part in an exclusive live on-stage interview. Unseen…

Boris Johnson claims he considered raid into Holland to recover ‘kidnapped’ Covid vaccines – UK politics live Boris Johnson has claimed he considered sending the British Army on a daring raid to snatch Covid-19 vaccines from an EU warehouse, although he rejected the idea, saying: “The whole thing was nuts.” The former prime minister demanded of senior military leaders whether he could launch a mission to a warehouse where the EU had stowed five million…

The topic The Facts The UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves appeared at the Labour Party conference earlier in the week in and gave a speech arguably more important than that of the prime ministers. Headline-worthy comments such as no return to austerity – a word now closely linked with the 14-year Conservative rule, made a splash … but what was really uncovered in the chancellor’s speech? Below we have three centre-left business newspapers that offer up their assessment…

“In the standard textbook model that Reeves would have learned at Oxford and the London School of Economics in the late 1990s, business investment is a reward for governments that behave nicely. Investors want low tax rates, flexible markets and, above all, stability. Any hint of an increase in borrowing and they will spook, worrying that government debt will spiral out of control. In this kind of model, even austerity can be expansionary, as it demonstrates to the business community that the fiscal authorities are really committed, even at the expense of electoral pain.”

“Labour will never have a better chance to make big, ambitious changes. Rather than playing up the gloom, the government could be telling a positive story about the benefits a pro-growth agenda will bring – as they have with planning reforms. Just as building more houses spreads ownership, jobs and opportunities, boosting public sector productivity would result in a leaner, more effective state that better serves British interests. Instead, we are getting a warm-up for a much more predictable second act: Tax rises are coming, look behind you!”