National News

Figures published by the Home Office show that 4,537 applications were still ‘awaiting an initial decision’ by December 28.

The Home Secretary apologised because the joke ‘potentially distracted from the work we were doing to tackle spiking to help predominantly women’.

The Met Office has issued amber and yellow warnings.

Highlights of 2023 in the animal kingdom.

Routine inspections will not take place in schools in England at the start of term, Sir Martyn Oliver has said.

Liz Lloyd urged First Minister Humza Yousaf to consider changes like a reshuffle to get his general election message across.

German discounter Aldi reported sales up 8% in the four weeks to Christmas Eve, while Lidl notched up 12% growth.

In December, a coronial inquest found that Ofsted inspections had ‘likely contributed’ to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.

The Home Office said on Monday that Mr Sunak’s ‘commitment of clearing the legacy asylum backlog has been delivered’.

Jonathan Hall KC said he went to online chatbot website character.ai while posing as a member of the public and spoke to several chatbots.

The country now has a total of 3,573 specialist vape shops, according to the Local Data Company.

Fuel and insurance bills have added more than £10 million to the cost of running ambulances in five years.

The digital bank, owned by US giant JP Morgan, has amassed more than two million customers since launching in Britain in 2021.

Grace, 10, from Edinburgh, wrote to Taylors Snacks managing director to ask him to make haggis and black pepper crisps available all year round.

A variety of stories feature across Britain’s front pages.

Robert Jenrick said stronger efforts were required to stop small boat arrivals in the first instance.

The Prime Minister said his thoughts were with those impacted by the quakes that had ’caused such terrible damage’.

A pedestrian was taken to hospital with serious injuries on New Year’s Day after he was hit by a car.

Harry Pitman’s older sister reportedly said his heartbroken mother could not bear to take the dinner he was supposed to eat out of the oven.

The Opposition party says voters will still be worse off even after the main rate of national insurance is reduced to 10% on January 6.