Local News

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised to "fix" the "mess" the Conservative government left in the economy, amid reports of a £20bn "black hole" in the public finances.Ms Reeves, who is currently on a visit to the G20 in Brazil, told broadcasters she aimed to tell the world that the UK "is open for business" and the new government "want private investment into the UK economy". The chancellor, who is set […]

An alternative healer has been found guilty of the gross negligence manslaughter of a diabetic woman who died after she stopped taking her insulin at his slapping therapy workshop.Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, was one of 30 "keen disciples" of Hongchi Xiao who attended the week-long retreat at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, in October 2016, Winchester Crown Court heard.Xiao, 61, who has no medical qualifications or training, had for 10 years […]

The family of a diver who disappeared off the Dorset coast have said they will "miss her forever" as they paid tribute to the "outgoing, loving and loyal" 20-year-old.Emily Sherwin was last seen on 23 July, before she went diving off the Old Harry Rocks, near Swanage.Following a report she failed to surface, police - supported by HM Coastguard and the RNLI - carried out extensive searches for the young […]

A man who revealed how he has only eaten toast for the past five years as he can no longer taste things has helped inspire a high-tech spoon which enhances flavours for dementia sufferers.The device, known as Tasty Spoon, looks like a normal one but it uses electrostimulation to enhance the flavour of foods for patients experiencing a loss of taste. People with dementia often have issues with eating and […]

A letter from Princess Diana - set to be sold at auction later this year - has shown how close Prince Harry and Prince William were as children.In one correspondence addressed to Violet "Collie" Collison - who was Diana's parents' head housekeeper at Park House on the Sandringham Estate - the Princess gushes about her two children. In the letter, written from Kensington Palace on 25 September 1984, Diana thanks […]

Two Just Stop Oil activists have been found guilty of criminal damage after throwing soup over Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting. Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, both aged 22, threw a can of Heinz tomato soup over the masterpiece at the National Gallery in London in October 2022. At the time the gallery said there was "minor damage" to the frame of the famous artwork, which has an estimated value […]

Charli XCX is officially bringing "brat summer" to the Mercury Prize - after being shortlisted alongside other artists including Ghetts, Barry Can't Swim and Nia Archives.The acclaimed singer-songwriter has made the 12-strong shortlist for the second time with her blockbuster sixth album Brat, the force behind the viral trend that has even become part of the presidential race. Described by the star, whose real name is Charlotte Emma Aitchison, as […]

There has been a rise in the proportion of privately educated British Olympians going to the Paris Games compared with Rio 2016, new analysis suggests.A third (33%) of the Team GB squad this time went to a private secondary school, according to research by the Good Schools Guide. That is up from eight years ago in Brazil, when the figure was 24%.Currently, around 7% of the UK population is privately […]

Former security minister Tom Tugendhat has joined the race to replace Rishi Sunak as the next leader of the Conservative Party.He is the second person to formally join the race, with shadow home secretary James Cleverly announcing his candidacy yesterday. Nominations for the race opened up this evening, with Mr Tugendhat, Mr Cleverly, Suella Braverman, Priti Patel, Mel Stride, Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick understood to have picked up the […]