The former cleaner of attorney general Baroness Scotland has been charged with immigration offences. Otolose Loloahi Tapui has been charged with possession of a false identity document (passport), fraud by false representation and overstaying her leave to remain in the UK. She is due to appear at City of Westminster magistrates' court on December 7th.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:00:00

China and Russia joined western nations in voting for a rebuke for Iran's nuclear activities by the United Nations watchdog. Their stance raises expectations they will support harsher sanctions against Tehran over its uranium enrichment programme in the new year. The 35-nation governing body of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) voted 25-3 with six abstentions to deliver its first official censure of Iran in almost four years.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:00:00

Carphone Warehouse has announced pre-tax profits of £75 million, up 88 per cent on last year, for the six months up to the end of September. The firm beat city expectations of £70 million and said it was on course to complete the planned demerger of its telecoms and retail companies by March next year. Britain's second-biggest broadband said its improved performance was boosted by a rising number of broadband customers and the high demand for the iPhone.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:00:00

The body of a woman has been discovered at a flat in Canterbury following an armed stand-off at a local supermarket. Officers from Kent police where called to the address in Victoria Street in the early hours of this morning following the shooting at Morrisons in Perch Road. Police are currently waiting to question a man who is under arrest in hospital receiving treatment for a gunshot wound to the arm.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:00:00

There has been a slight fall in the number of new cases of swine flu in England during the last week, health officials have revealed. Over the last seven days there were 46,000 cases of the H1N1 virus diagnosed, down from 53,000 the week before. The number of people in hospital from the virus was also down from 783 to 783, with 154 in intensive care.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:30:00

British computer hacker Gary McKinnon is to challenge the home secretary's decision not to block his extradition to the US, his legal team has confirmed. Last night it emerged Alan Johnson will not stand in the way of the extradition having reviewed new medical evidence. Mr Johnson said sending the 43-year-old to the US would not breach his human rights.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:30:00

Hundreds of people are expected to attend the funeral of a police officer killed when a bridge collapsed during the devastating floods in Cumbria last week. PC Bill Barker, 44, was directing traffic away from Northside Bridge in Workington when it collapsed. His body was later found on a beach some ten miles away.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:05:00

Climate change will be top of the agenda during a meeting of Commonwealth countries in Trinidad later today. The Queen is due to officially open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the island's capital Port of Spain. The convention is the last major gathering before the crucial United Nations summit in Copenhagen next month.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:13:30

Sexual abuse of children in Ireland was allowed to carry on under the "cover of the cloth", a report into the issue has said today. The Irish government said "a collar will protect no criminal" in future after dozens of claims of abuse against children by members of the clergy were revealed. A commission set up to examine 70,000 files from the diocese, found the church placed its own reputation above the protection of children in its care. The report found that instead of reporting the allegations to civic authorities, those accused of horrific crimes were systematically transferred from parish to parish to escape punishment.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:30:00

The bookstore Borders has gone into administration citing increased levels of internet competition for its downturn in takings. There had been rumours the book retailer was set to make the announcement this week after it failed to find a buyer to secure its future. A statement released by the insolvency firm MCR on Thursday confirmed the company, which owns some 45 Borders and Books Etc stores across Britain, had gone into administration.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:00:00