Author: Laura Robinson

The first of 14 Challenger 2 tanks supplied by Britain have arrived in Ukraine: part of the West’s colossal commitment to defeat the Russian invasion.Joining them are 18 Leopard 2 tanks from Germany, with the promise of 31 M1 Abrams from the U.S. Pledging that the tanks would soon be on the battlefield, Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov described the Challenger 2s yesterday as ‘fantastic machines’.He is not wrong. The 75-ton Challenger 2, developed by BAE Systems (then called Vickers Defence Systems) is unequalled in military history. Its 120mm rifled gun can pierce armour at two miles with astonishing accuracy.…

Until quite recently, British boys and girls were taught history which made them proud. Then there was an in-between period in which they were taught, yes, to take pride in some of their history, but also to realise that history is a bloody business and our ancestors sometimes did things which we should question or even abhor.After that, the pendulum swung completely and there grew up the fashion of being ashamed of everything in our British past.Nelson’s Column stood in the middle of Trafalgar Square as a monument to a great hero who, by defeating Napoleon’s navy, checked the power…

As strike-ridden Royal Mail bosses threaten to pull the plug… will Rishi allow the demise of the postal service – established by Henry VIII in 1516 – on his watch?By Hugo Duncan, Business Editor For The Daily Mail Updated: 06:49 EDT, 29 March 2023 When Royal Mail was privatised in 2013, the then business secretary Sir Vince Cable said the move would ‘secure a healthy future for the company’.A decade later, the group is on the brink of collapse. Long-running talks between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are now at a critical stage, with the next 24…

Disposable e-cigarettes flavoured like sweets and fruits could be banned under plans to crack down on Britain’s child vaping epidemic.The move could target nicotine-filled devices such as Elf Bars — which are hugely popular among teenagers.Neil O’Brien, the minister for public health, will reportedly begin to ask for evidence to justify the clampdown on such vapes in the next few days.It comes after Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove vowed to ban nitrous oxide as part of the Government plans to tackle anti-social behaviour.He confirmed earlier this week that ‘hippy crack’ will become illegal, pointing to the impact on local areas and littering. Disposable vapes…

Britain’s most expensive council tax from next month will be £4,843 for band H properties in Rutland – while the cheapest will be £614 for band A in Westminster.Other local authorities in England with very high tax – also in the band H bracket – are Nottingham (£4,823), Lewes in East Sussex (£4,776) and Dorset (£4,776).Further councils in the top ten are Wealden (£4,726), Newark and Sherwood (£4,714), West Devon (£4,694), Bristol (£4,690), Oxford (£4,665) and Gateshead (£4,664).But the cheapest in band A after Westminster are Wandsworth (£614), City of London (£764), Hammersmith and Fulham (£871) and Kensington and Chelsea…

With annual council tax bills in England rising by an average of 5.1 per cent in April, many Britons will have concerns over the squeeze this will place on their finances.And this tool on MailOnline can help you determine just how much you are going to pay, after government figures showed the average bill will be £2,065 in 2023/24.You can enter the name of your local council and click the search button, which will display figures for this year and 2022, the increase in sterling and percentage.MailOnline has compiled the data from figures released for the current year and next…

Struggling families face a deepening cost of living crisis as the average council tax bill tops £2,000 for the first time.The latest hike represents another blow to hard-pressed homeowners after Government statistics revealed that the average council tax bill for a Band D property will reach a record £2,065 in 2023-24.Meanwhile, more than 1million homeowners on variable rate mortgages will see their payments go up by hundreds of pounds a year after the Bank of England hiked interest rates to 4.25 per cent.The move was backed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who said that rising prices were ‘strangling growth’.And the Bank…

A private company that helps find hotels for asylum seekers has seen its profits treble to more than £6million.Calder Conferences, which is based in Leeds, received £20.6m from the Home Office in 2021, increasing to £97m in 2022, official documents showed.  Turnover for the year ending February 2022 rose from £5.98m to £23.66m and pre-tax profits trebled to £6.3m.  Meanwhile, company director Debbie Hoban saw her annual remuneration multiply nearly ten times to £2.2m.Home Office data uncovered by the BBC showed a total of 395 hotels are being used to house 51,000 asylum seekers due to a shortage of official accommodation. The total bill for taxpayers comes…

Fresh from issuing a soundbite that last Wednesday’s Budget was simply ‘papering over the cracks of 13 years of economic failure’, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves appeared on Radio 4’s Today programme. Presenter Amol Rajan read out to her a list of childcare measures announced in the Budget. Which did Labour oppose, he asked, and what would she and her party do differently?Reeves waffled for a minute, then admitted she would support all of them.Rajan tried a different tack. Labour’s Education spokeswoman Bridget Phillipson had recently made a major speech on childcare but it didn’t contain any costed proposals. So what…

MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Serious investment in a vital industry can never be a mistakeBy Mail on Sunday Comment Published: 20:48 EDT, 18 March 2023 | Updated: 20:51 EDT, 18 March 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s plan to start making this country self-sufficient in semi-conductors, which The Mail on Sunday reveals today, is a good example of adult, responsible government.It embodies several praise-worthy elements. It prepares us for a possible crisis over which we have no control should China in some way forcibly take over Taiwan, which has a huge share of world semi-conductor manufacture.Plainly, it would be better if the…