Exclusive: DHSC scraps timetable requiring civil servants to be in offices for up to eight days a month from SeptemberCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSajid Javid’s health department has abandoned plans to end civil servants’…
Halifax launches mortgage at 0.83% amid flurry of rate cutting
Lender to offer ultra-low rate on two-year fixed deal on loans worth up to 60% of home valueHalifax has fired the latest salvo in the price war between mortgage lenders with the launch of a two-year fixed-rate deal priced at 0.83%.The announcement of t…
Labour accuses Philip Hammond of breaking ministerial code
Former Tory chancellor reportedly wrote to Treasury to advocate for a bank he is a paid adviser forThe former chancellor Philip Hammond has been accused by Labour of breaking the ministerial code, after reportedly writing to the Treasury to advocate fo…
UK not doing enough to support those fleeing Hong Kong, advocacy group says
Hongkongers in Britain warns that many arrivals are being denied equal access to housing, education and jobs‘Employers seem baffled by this visa’: Hongkongers who have fled to UKThe UK risks providing Hongkongers fleeing persecution in their homeland w…
Team GB’s successes can give us insight into the country’s economy
There are lessons to be learned from how and why GB Olympians have gone from under-performer to globally competitive in 25 yearsForget the feelgood factor. The warm glow generated by Team GB winning gold for three-day eventing or the modern pentathlon …
Revealed: anti-terror snooping law used for fly-tippers and parking
Campaigners say councils are using Ripa powers to catch ‘low-level’ offenders and disregarding the public’s right to privacyCouncils have used controversial surveillance legislation to combat “low-level” offences, such as the misuse of blue badge parki…
Dog theft law gets more bite with new ‘pet abduction’ offence
Ministers say new crime will carry tougher sentences following rise in dognapping as pet ownership soared in lockdown A new offence of “pet abduction” is being drawn up to tackle a rise in dognapping since the start of the first lockdown last year. Thi…
Call centre used by UK firms accused of intrusively monitoring home workers
Unions say Teleperformance also asked some staff based overseas to give biometric and medical dataA multinational call centre used by dozens of leading UK companies has been criticised for what unions have called the intrusive monitoring of home-workin…
UK farmers urged to set aside 1% of land for wildlife havens
Campaign seeks pledges for the rewilding of arable land as the Cop26 climate summit approachesFarmers are being called upon to dedicate 1% of their land to nature and carbon sequestration in an unexpected way – by farming in straight lines.The call to …
DNA from thin air: a new way to detect rare wildlife in hostile environments
Discovery that traces of genetic material are all around us opens a non-invasive way to boost biodiversityDNA is in the air – literally. It is wafted around by all the Earth’s creatures, and now scientists have found a way to detect these invisible tra…