Author: Laura Robinson

Legal watchdog is set to enjoy greater powers to punish rogue lawyers after the Mail’s undercover investigation revealed firms offering to submit false asylum claims in exchange for thousands of poundsBy Daily Mail Reporter Published: 17:16 EDT, 4 August 2023 | Updated: 17:28 EDT, 4 August 2023 A legal watchdog could be given greater powers to monitor and punish rogue lawyers following an undercover investigation by the Mail.The Legal Services Board (LSB) announced it will review the tools available to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to probe lawyers suspected of wrongdoing.The LSB said this could include increasing the maximum financial…

Aberdeen-based Paddington rail station boss who earns £300,000 claims £10,000 a year on expenses to FLY to different UK stations rather than take the trainNetwork Rail boss Michelle Handforth claimed £10k for 72 flights to UK stationsBy Oliver Price Published: 19:22 EDT, 29 July 2023 | Updated: 08:01 EDT, 30 July 2023 The Scotland-based boss of Paddington train station in London who earns £300,000 a year flies hundreds of miles to other UK stations rather than take the train, a report has claimed.Michelle Handforth, who lives in Aberdeen, claimed almost £10,000 in the last financial year for 72 flights to stations…

The current wave of shoplifting is especially frightening. It is not some invented panic. And others close to me have witnessed it in recent days. Crucially, even the dimmest criminal has now realised that there is no real law in this country.The problem has many causes. I do not think actual suffering is one of them. The old morality of this country has broken down.In the miserable 1930s, when millions lived in such deprivation that it would make modern young people gasp to see, theft of any kind was extremely rare. At the same time, the police have almost entirely…

Keir Starmer faced fresh calls last night for him to try to delay the expansion of London’s clean air zone.Senior Tories said he should ‘get off the fence’ and force the capital’s mayor Sadiq Khan to protect motorists set to pay the Ulez levy.The High Court yesterday backed the extension of Ulez into outer London – a move that could lead to similar schemes elsewhere in Britain.Sir Keir has refused to say whether the zone should expand, claiming it is not a ‘simple political decision’. He remained silent after yesterday’s court ruling.Rishi Sunak last night led MPs and campaigners asking…

Tory Mayor of London hopeful Susan Hall says a ban on new petrol and diesel cars ‘is not going to happen’Tory London mayor candidate Susan Hall pressures PM on petrol & diesel car banBy Daisy Graham-Brown Published: 17:15 EDT, 27 July 2023 | Updated: 10:50 EDT, 28 July 2023 The Tory hopeful taking on Sadiq Khan to be Mayor of London has said a government ban on new petrol cars ‘is not going to happen’.Susan Hall, who was chosen last week as Conservative candidate for London mayor, yesterday became the latest senior Tory to pile pressure on Rishi Sunak to…

No regal Rumba (or Queenly Quickstep) this year, after plans to host the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing at Buckingham Palace were shelved, again.The King and Queen — both Strictly fans — had mooted the idea last summer and the Beeb were mustard-keen, but in the end, there just wasn’t enough time to pull off the spectacle for the 2022 show. And following the death of HM The Queen and King Charles’s Coronation, the plans have once again been put on the back burner.Sources at the BBC confirm it won’t be happening and royal sources add that there’s been no falling…

During ‘Pride Month’ in 2021, Sir Keir Starmer recorded a video addressed to the LGBT+ community.The Labour leader boasted: ‘We’re committed to updating the GRA [Gender Recognition Act] to introduce self-declaration for trans people.’Fast forward two years and Anneliese Dodds, Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, has unequivocally backtracked on this controversial policy, which would have allowed any biological male to self-identify as a woman.In a Guardian article on Monday outlining Labour’s new approach, Dodds — who has refused to submit to questioning from the media about this policy shift — wrote that ‘sex and gender are different’.She…

On a hot night in New York in August 2021, on his 95th birthday, singer Tony Bennett performed what will surely be remembered as the most extraordinary concert of his career.To the delight of an adoring crowd, he delivered his biggest hit, I Left My Heart In San Francisco, and powered immaculately through standards such as New York, New York and Fly Me To The Moon.He also duetted with Lady Gaga, whom he saluted with delight when she came on stage at the Radio City Music Hall.For a 95-year-old to undertake a pitch-perfect concert of this scale and length was remarkable…

TV supremo Simon Cowell has sold his £45 million mansion in Holland Park and quit London, after living in the capital for most of his life.Cowell, 63, has told friends that he no longer feels safe in Central London and quietly sold his house, with the deal being completed a few days ago. He, partner Lauren Silverman and son Eric, nine, have already started a new life in the country. Cowell endured a string of alarming events at the imposing cream-painted house which he owned for 16 years, including home invasions by two intruders — one of whom stole £1million in jewellery.Last…

Both got married in a castle, both love yoga, both are close to the York sisters and both partner with the United Nations – and Marks & Spencer.Most strikingly both dated Prince Harry – within six weeks of each other in 2016.Meet the Duchess of Sussex and her unlikely doppelganger, pop star Ellie Goulding.At 36, Goulding is five years younger than Meghan and the biggest difference is that her marriage to art dealer Caspar Jopling has fallen apart, while Meghan and Harry recently celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary.But what are the ties that bind? Alison Boshoff has the story of…