A Wizard Of Oz track which has had a surge of popularity in the wake of Baroness Thatcher’s death now looks on course for a place in the top 10.

Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks have vowed to fight the phone-hacking charges imposed on them by the UK's the Crown Prosecution Service.

Former News of the World chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck said today he will “vigorously fight” to clear his reputation as it emerged he will face charges over phone hacking.

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks has maintained her innocence after it was confirmed that she is to face charges over phone hacking in the UK.

The killer of British schoolgirl Sarah Payne’s had his 50-year minimum jail term reduced by 10 years by a High Court judge today.

IMMIGRANTS entering Britain to marry or join their partner will soon be asked to take an English language test first, the British government announced yesterday.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s attempts to strike a power-sharing deal with the Liberal Democrats were severely undermined today as a string of senior Labour figures spoke out against the move.

Formal negotiations between Labour and the Liberal Democrats resumed in the House of Commons today, as the parties struggled to form a viable government five days after the UK general election.

Government ministers in Britain are resisting intense pressure to reveal more about the recall to prison of James Bulger killer Jon Venables.

JAMES BULGER’S killer Jon Venables was recalled to prison on suspicion of child porn offences, it was reported yesterday.

James Bulger killer Jon Venables should be stripped of his new identity if he is charged with a new offence, the toddler’s mother said.

French police today cleared a controversial immigrant camp in Calais known as ’the jungle’.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was today faced with the task of picking up the pieces of his shattered cabinet and fashioning a reshuffle which can restore his authority and preserve his premiership.

THE European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Britain breached the rights of a murderer and his wife by denying them access to artificial insemination.

A STRING of British Government ministers yesterday followed Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in admitting they used cannabis in their youth.

THE British Government is to review the controversial decision which made possession of cannabis a largely non-arrestable offence, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

THE agency set up in Britain to confiscate criminals’ cash and luxury assets was condemned as a ‘mess’ yesterday.

DOWNING Street blocked moves that would have effectively legalised prostitution, it was claimed yesterday.

A BLIND businessman who travels the world seeking out extreme sport challenges yesterday lavished praise on his award-winning guide dog and declared: “He’s transformed my life.”

MURDERERS will no longer face automatic life sentences under proposals published in Britain yesterday - changing a law which dates back to the abolition of the death penalty 40 years ago.

The British government today faced fresh demands in the North for a pension which all citizens would be eligible for and could afford to live on.

THE political joke last week concerned the comparison between Irish and English politics.

THE partner and ex-partner of EastEnders actors Ross Kemp and Steve McFadden were arrested over alleged assaults yesterday.

THE Sun's editor Rebekah Wade was questioned by police yesterday following an alleged attack on her EastEnders hardman husband Ross Kemp.

Sun newspaper editor Rebekah Wade has been released from custody following her arrest for allegedly assaulting her EastEnders star husband Ross Kemp, police said today.

SCANDAL-PRONE British Cabinet minister David Blunkett was forced to resign yesterday for the second time in less than a year in a major embarrassment for Tony Blair.

John Hutton will replace David Blunkett as Work and Pensions Secretary, Downing Street said.

David Blunkett quit the Cabinet for the second time in less than a year today - saying he wanted to protect the British government from being diverted by rows over his business dealings.

David Blunkett is expected to resign as the UK's Work and Pensions Secretary today following controversy over his business dealings.

DAVID BLUNKETT declared yesterday that he would not allow his critics to drive him out of office as he battled to save his career.

Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett tonight bowed to pressure and asked his sons to sell off shares in technology firm DNA Bioscience which he had purchased on their behalf.

YOUR STARTER for ten: identify the prominent Irish football personality who offers this considered analysis of the managerial succession stakes.

David Blunkett is fighting new allegations that he abused his position as a British Government minister.

“GOD is good,” said the old tramp one icy night as he made his way unsteadily over a narrow bridge.

Donal Hickey

David Blunkett tonight condemned republican protesters in west Belfast whose demand for the release of a jailed IRA killer prevented him making a visit as part of an EU ministers conference.

Police in the North announced today that they’ve decided to downgrade security at this year's Drumcree Orange parade in Portadown.

British Works and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett today pulled out of a visit to a job centre in west Belfast as republicans staged a protest demanding the release from jail of IRA bomber Sean Kelly.

Republicans demanding the release from jail of IRA bomber Sean Kelly staged a protest at a jobs centre in west Belfast today ahead of a visit by British Works and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett David Blunkett and European employment ministers.

David Blunkett tonight returned to the British government as Work and Pensions Secretary in the post-election reshuffle.

Downing Street tonight refused to comment on reports that John Reid has been appointed Defence Secretary in Tony Blair’s Cabinet reshuffle.

FORMER British Home Secretary David Blunkett yesterday remained silent as the row over his relationship with Kimberly Quinn once more grabbed front-page headlines.

The husband of Kimberly Quinn today angrily rebuked her ex-lover, former British Home Secretary David Blunkett, for speaking publicly about the parenthood of their baby.

A DNA test has proved that the new-born son of Kimberly Quinn is not the child of David Blunkett, a spokesman for the former Home Secretary confirmed tonight.