As Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver the Budget, ordinary Britons are voicing clear and varied priorities.From housing taxes to care for disabled people, voters across incomes have specific asks they want reflected in government plans.Wesley Thorne, 52, and his wife Toni run a sweets business near Bristol and say moving into a larger home is out of reach because stamp duty could tack...

Senior US officials are pressing the European Union to rethink its rules for major tech firms as part of talks over steel and aluminium tariffs in Brussels.Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Europe should make its digital regulations more welcoming to American tech companies if it wants lower US duties on metals.The comments come during negotiations to follow up on a trade framework agreed in...

The chair of the Commons culture committee has raised serious doubts about the BBC board’s ability to manage the broadcaster’s current crisis after its chair, Samir Shah, gave evidence to MPs.Dame Caroline Dinenage said Shah’s responses fell short of the clear, decisive plan the committee wanted to hear and warned there appeared to be weak oversight at the top of the organisation.Shah told...

Samir Shah, chair of the BBC, told MPs he intends to remain in post and tackle the problems exposed by the Panorama edit of a Donald Trump speech.Apologising for mistakes and their effects, Shah said his priority is to stabilise the corporation and lead a programme of fixes rather than step aside.The row began after a leaked internal memo from former editorial adviser Michael Prescott warned of...

Renowned Irish designer Paul Costelloe has died in London at the age of 80 after a short illness.His family said he was at home, surrounded by his wife and seven children when he passed.Born and raised in Dublin, Costelloe grew up in a household connected to clothing—his father ran a raincoat business. He trained at the Grafton Academy of Fashion Design before traveling to Paris to study at...

The Royal Navy says it intercepted two Russian naval vessels as they passed west through the Dover Strait into the English Channel. HMS Severn shadowed the RFN Stoikiy, a corvette, and the tanker Yelnya during the encounter in the past fortnight, the UK Ministry of Defence reported. After initially tracking the pair, Severn handed monitoring duties to a NATO partner off the coast of Brittany but...

When 23-year-old Aishat Baimuradova left Chechnya earlier this year she hoped to build a life away from strict family controls and public scrutiny. Friends say she adopted a more modern appearance — shortening her hair, abandoning the headscarf and even altering an eyebrow — and began sharing candid photos online, telling people she finally felt able to breathe. In October, Armenian police...

The United States has publicly claimed authorship of a controversial 28-point blueprint intended to end the war in Ukraine, after reports that the document was being characterised by some as favouring Russia. Senator Marco Rubio, who has been involved in discussions over the plan, insisted the proposal was produced by the US and incorporated feedback from both Russian and Ukrainian sources. His...

Albania's prime minister has accused the UK Home Secretary of ethnic stereotyping after she highlighted Albanian families while unveiling major changes to Britain's asylum system. Shabana Mahmood told MPs that roughly 700 Albanian families were living in taxpayer-funded accommodation despite having had their asylum claims refused, and argued the government must remove people who have no right...

Paul Costelloe, the Dublin-born designer who became one of Ireland and Britain’s most recognizable fashion names and served as a personal couturier to Diana, Princess of Wales, has died in London at the age of 80 following a short illness. His family said he was surrounded by his wife and seven children and passed away peacefully. Born in Dublin into a family connected to the clothing...