Illegal imported sweets that contain banned additives linked to cancer and behavioural problems are “flooding UK high streets”, councils have said. The warning first came from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), which said that demand for American confectionery was being driven by influencers on social media platforms.more

Scores of firefighters took more than five hours to tackle a blaze at a five-star hotel in Marylebone in central London that forced the evacuation of 100 guests. An investigation has been launched over the blaze at the Chiltern Firehouse - a hotel which is a celebrity hotspot and has hosted A-listers including Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp.more

Tickets for British band Black Sabbath's July concert in Birmingham sold out within 16 minutes. The legendary group, formed in 1968, will perform alongside Ozzy Osbourne, who left the band in 1979 to embark on a solo career. The musicians will perform at a benefit concert on 5 July.more

Three people have lived in the deserted cathedral in the past two years, with each occupant — an electrician, a sound engineer and a journalist — paying a monthly fee to live in the priest’s quarters. The cathedral is managed by Live-in Guardians, a company finding occupants for disused properties, including schools, libraries and pubs, across Britain. more

The number of foreign workers seeking help over claims of exploitation, bullying, underpayment and poor living conditions on UK farms significantly increased last year, the BBC has learned.more

Questions have been raised about the accuracy of the chancellor's online CV, and the use of expenses while working at a bank, in the wake of a BBC News investigation. Rachel Reeves and two colleagues were the subject of an expenses probe while she was a senior manager at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) in the late 2000s.more

Private parking rules are set to change to ensure motorists are not unfairly penalised if they do not pay within five minutes.more

British Airways has announced its applications for new pilots are open with those dreaming of a career in the sky encouraged to apply. The airline’s Speedbird Pilot Academy is giving people the opportunity to become a pilot with no cost.more

We are accelerating work on security guarantees for Ukraine, British Defense Minister John Healey said yesterday, commenting on the conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who announced the start of negotiations to end the war.more

The UK will be keen to convince the US that its steel and aluminium products should be exempt from tariffs because of their key role in the US defence sector and supply chain, UK Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds announced yesterday.more

The remains of London’s earliest Roman basilica have been discovered under an office block, in what archaeologists have described as one of the most significant recent discoveries in the capital. The almost 2,000-year-old structure was part of the forum, the Roman capital’s social and administrative centre, and built around the late 70s or early 80s AD.more

Britain’s economy unexpectedly picked up in the final three months of 2024, official figures have shown, easing pressure on Rachel Reeves after flatlining during the summer.more

A growing “exodus” of dentists willing to provide care on the NHS threatens to exacerbate the crisis in patients’ access to treatment, the profession’s leaders have said.more

Train drivers on the Elizabeth line are to strike on four separate days over the coming weeks in a dispute over pay. Members of the union Aslef will take industrial action on Thursday 27 February, Saturday 1 March, Saturday 8 March and Monday 10 March.more

The UK government today announced a plan to establish new towns to tackle the housing shortage crisis. According to the official announcement, this is set to be the biggest housebuilding programme in the country since the end of the post-war period.more

The UK supports US President Donald Trump's drive to end the war in Ukraine and London's priority is to ensure it is in the strongest possible negotiating position, the UK Foreign Office said yesterday.more

Canine beauticians, DJs and pilates instructors are among the categories of overseas workers eligible to apply for UK skilled worker visas, an Oxford academic has found.more

Aberdeen in Scotland is the most affordable city for single people to buy a home in Great Britain, analysis of national property data shows, with the average one- or two-bedroom home valued at just under £120,000.more

Londoners have backed rent controls after a City Hall politician declared the capital was facing a ‘cost of rent crisis’—with the city’s over two million renters handing over on average over 40 per cent of their wages to landlords.more

The British economy is on course to expand by 1.5% this year after the budget gave a boost to public spending but could be blown off course if Donald Trump goes ahead with threatened tariffs, a leading economic thinktank has warned.more

The Home Office has been accused of quietly blocking thousands of refugees from applying for citizenship if they arrived in the UK by small boats or hidden in vehicles. Guidance for staff assessing people who have applied for naturalisation says that, since Monday, applicants who have “made a dangerous journey will normally be refused citizenship”.more

Online retailer Amazon is banning the sale of car number plates on its platform after a BBC London investigation exposed they were being illegally supplied. The BBC found seven companies on the platform were selling plates without checking customers' documents and establishing their legal entitlement to the plate.more

Heathrow Airport is set to confirm a multi-billion pound investment plan to expand two of its terminals ahead of submitting proposals for a third runway to the government this summer.more

Shoppers inspired by health food trends on social media helped lift retail sales in January, easing pressure on high-street stores after a gloomy festive period. Barclays said credit and debit card spending grew 1.9% year on year in January – the highest upsurge since March 2024.more

Celebrities urged Nando’s yesterday to take responsibility for its supply chain, warning that industrial chicken farms are killing Britain’s rivers.more