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Lord Adonis, The government's infrastructure adviser has announced he is quitting his role blaming the fallout from Brexit for his decision. He has chaired the National Infrastructure Commission since 2015 and has been an outspoken critic of Brexit from the start. Adonis called Brexit a "populist and nationalist spasm," and that the PM was “pursuing a course fraught with danger” over the UK’s decision to leave the European project. In his resignation letter, he accused Mrs May of "allying with...

Two men arrested days before Christmas accused of planning to build a bomb and carry out a terrorist attack have appeared in court. Andy Star, 31, and Farhad Salah, 22, were arrested six days before Christmas in a series of early morning raids in the Chesterfield and Sheffield areas of South Yorkshire. Today both appeared in custody at Westminster Magistrates Court via video link from Leeds Magistrates Court. Both men, of Iraqi origin, spoke only confirm their name, age and...

2017 marked the year that the bitcoin finally entered the mainstream. If you’re the kind of early adopter who stays on top of the latest trading technology or the gradual shift away from standard currencies then you’ve been aware of the bitcoin and other digital currencies since they began to emerge shortly before 2010. This year, however, was the point at which bitcoins began to be discussed and considered by the kind of people who wouldn’t normally consider anything more...

A high flying executive who was called 'pikey', 'gyppo' and 'paddy' during board meetings has been awarded nearly £300,000 by an employment tribunal. Father-of-one Edward Bell, 52, was also told he looked like a "tinker" and asked where he had left his "horse and cart" - before being wrongfully fired for 'whistle-blowing'. And at one social event, Mr Bell was told he was the only person who could wear good clothes and still 'look like a gypsy'. Belfast-born Mr Bell,...

Lighting up the night sky with greens and reds, these are the spectacular aurora by a photographer in the world's northern regions. These amazing pictures of the northern lights were taken by astrophotographer Juan Carlos Casado in Greenland, Iceland and Finland. He said: "Auroras are one of the most spectacular natural phenomena that can be seen. Bursting with colour in the night, these aren't fireworks but aurora lighting up the northern skies. "They are global spectacles, in the sense that...

Being exposed to short term spikes in air pollution even below legal limits leads to an early grave for the elderly, a study warned. When levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone were higher on a particular day, it leads to more deaths two days later. And the risk of a premature death was 25 per cent greater for elderly poor white and minority women than those who were male or white. Previous studies found evidence that short-term exposures...

A charity has received a generous gift this festive period of £4 million from a mystery donor for the homeless across the West Midlands. The anonymous benefactor has stunned staff at the Heart of England Community Foundation with the Christmas donation. The foundation has said it will use £3 million of it to fund major intiatives to help those sleeping rough and without homes in the New Year. The final £1 million will be invested to guarantee a legacy for...

A politician has apologised after 'liking' pornographic content on Twitter - which he didn't realise other people could see. John Gollop, 54, a deputy for the States of Guernsey, had liked several adult tweets including posts from us pornographic actress Dana DeArmond. In a statement, Gollop said he was "profoundly and deeply sorry" if offence was caused. He has since removed all his likes on the social media platform. The experienced Guernsey politician has more than 4,000 Twitter followers, the...

A UKIP councillor's son claimed he was stabbed in the back at an Essex nightclub but the owners argued he tripped on stairs and injured himself on a banister. Kane Ellis, 24, the son of UKIP councillor Mark Ellis, claimed he remembered feeling a punch in his back but could not remember where in the club he had been. But owner of the Unit 7 in the Basildon's Festival Leisure Park disputes this and said CCTV showed Kane taking a...