News

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor In a shocking twist in the EU referendum campaign a Tory MP has switched sides. Sarah Wollaston has now left the Leave campaign and will now back the Remain side instead. She was instantly subjected to attacks from Leave campaigners on social media after she made her announcement. Wollaston, who is chair of the health select committee, has decided that the claims that leaving the EU would mean an extra £350m would be available for...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The on-line voting registration system had crashed, EU citizens had wrongly been given polling cards and both sides have predicted the world will end on the 23rd June depending on which box you tick. So unsurprisingly the EU referendum led today’s session. At one stage Cameron pointed across the chamber and said: “look, the Lib Dems, Greens, and trade unions are all on the same side.” A Brexiteer axis of evil if ever I seen...

ONE of the UK’s premium hotel and bar operators based in the North East has successfully refinanced £101m with the help of HSBC, in a deal supported by Mincoffs Solicitors LLP. Cairn Group, a privately owned business, will use £50m of the total pot for acquisition and development to strengthen its portfolio, which already includes 26 hotels and more than 30 bars and restaurants as well as care homes across the UK. The news follows the latest acquisitions of the...

Countdown’s Rachel Riley modelled a potential car of the future ahead of the Shell Eco-Marathon in London. The vehicles, weighing in at just 30kg, were designed by students competing in the world’s longest running student competition, Shell Eco-marathon, where vehicles are measured on how far they can travel on just a litre of fuel. The current record is 3771km/l - the equivalent of travelling from London to Helsinki and back! This year,the marathon will be showcased at Make the Future London – a...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor I was always told that goldfish have a two second memory, so assumed that fish were not the brightest of animals. It appears I was very very wrong. A team of scientists have shown that one tropical species of fish can recognise peoples' faces.  Archerfish spit jets of water  to catch insects, but the research team also found that they can also tell faces apart. In tests, by the team of US and Australian researchers,...

Coca Cola has dropped out of the BrandZ ranking of the top 10 global brands for the first time. The brand report has been running since 2006 and sees the soft drink brand fall to thirteenth place as the top ten list gets littered by tech and social companies. Google hang on to the top spot, with Facebook, Amazon, McDonald's and Chinese tech company Tencent all moving about Coca Cola in the past year. Millward Brown’s BrandZ valuation process takes the financial...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor This video looks like the stuff of nightmares, as a giant panther stalks a man, who seems oblivious of the attack. As his back is turned the animal gets closer and closer. The dangerous beast keeps itself low to the ground ready to pounce, and just as the panther punches on its prey, the man and animal grapple. The panther jaws open showing huge fangs, but all is well and the two give each other...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Saddening footage has emerged from Loro Parque in Spain’s Canary Islands, of Killer whale Morgan lying next to her tank as tourists leave stadium after another show. As it finished the whale beached herself leaving one viewer to write: “Looks to me as if she’s trying to take her own life, I don’t blame her.” Another added: “’Shame on humans who exploit whales.” If a killer whale is beached for too long the weight of their body...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Under fire Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley will now compensate workers after admitting his company failed to pay the minimum wage to his workers. Union chiefs have said their was a “culture of fear” at the warehouse and ambulances have been called over a hundred times, sparking health and safety fears for their employees. Now Ashley has said he has come to an arrangement with HM Revenue & Customs to give compensation to warehouse employees...