News

Sports Direct chairman Keith Hellawell tried to rosy up the company's beleaguered financial report by claiming it has contributed £1.8 billion in taxation to the UK economy - even though £1.3 billion was paid in VAT by customers. Mike Ashley's high street brand blamed "currency headwinds" for a big drop in underlying pre-tax profits in its last financial year. It reported trading earnings of £113.7 million over the 12 months to 30 April - down 59 per cent on the previous year...

Man has produced more than 9.1 BILLION tonnes of plastic since the 1950s - but just nine per cent has been recycled, according to a new study. And, If current trends continue, the researchers warned more than 13 billion tons of plastic waste will be discarded in landfills or dumped in the environment by 2050 - around 35,000 times as heavy as the Empire State Building in New York. The mind boggling total amount of plastic manufactured since the material...

Millions of workers set to work longer as Government bring forward state pension age increase. The GMB Union has attacked a Government announcement that a rise in the pension age to 68 has been brought forward. Ministers confirmed it will be phased in between 2037 and 2039, rather than by 2046 as was originally proposed. Six million men and women aged between 39 and 47 will have to wait a year longer to get their state pension as a result of...

A shocking indictment of mental healthcare failings and farming out mental health patients to private hospitals emerged in PMQs today, as Louise Haigh asked about a damning report into mental health services in her Sheffield constituency. The MP for Sheffield, Heeley, revealed that a young constituent affected by mental healthcare shortages had been discovered placed in a private ward with “MRSA with open wounds." Prime Minister’s Questions heard from the Labour MP that: "NHS England commission child and adult mental health beds...

Star DJ Chris Evans has admitted the gap between the lowest paid and people like himself at the BBC is unfair. The admission came on the day BBC bosses were forced by the Government to reveal what stars are paid. Evans is expected to head the wage-list getting up to £3 million for TV work and his Radio 2 breakfast show. A list of 96 on-air presenters, entertainers and actors who earn more than £150,000 a year will today be...

Plunging into a Scottish loch, this majestic Osprey emerges triumphant with a big fish supper. These spectacular pictures capture the moments the majestic bird of prey folds its wings and plunges down into the water. The pics were taken by former poacher turned wildlife photographer Bill Doherty. The 62 year old, from Ashington in Northumberland has been photographing the iconic birds for the last eight years. An Osprey fishing on a private loch near Aviemore, Highland.  Bill, who is now...

Fluctuations in sea surface temperature are a factor in causing persistent droughts in North America and around the Mediterranean, new research suggests. A team from the universities of Exeter, Montpellier and Wageningen analysed data from 1957–2002 and found sea surface temperatures in the North Pacific and North Atlantic became increasingly variable, and extremes lasted for longer. Ocean temperatures are a major driver of conditions on land, and the researchers showed that the changes they observed correlated with increases in land...

British businesses must break their silence on the under-representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME) in key roles, according to new research from professional management body the CMI and the British Academy of Management. Only six per cent of management jobs in the UK are held by minorities – less than half their proportion of the working-age population as a whole. Yet new research finds that only 54 per cent of FTSE100 leaders are seen to be actively championing...

London was hit by an epic lightning storm last night, and with the humid weather conditions set to stay forecasts believe more could be on the way. The capital was hit by the storm which had moved in from the south coast, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Dramatic pictures show  bolts of lightning in the cloudy night sky as the storm moved in in the early hours of the morning. The Met Office has now issued a...