A British Government decision to make the delivery of a new economic aid package to the North dependent on progress tackling sectarian divisions is not an attempt to blackmail Stormont politicians into action, the UK's Secretary of State has insisted.

Voting opens in Labour’s shadow cabinet elections today, with 49 MPs battling for a place in Ed Miliband’s top team.

Former UK children’s secretary Ed Balls today declared he was standing in the Labour leadership contest, saying the party needed to listen to the public.

British Home Office proposals requiring social networking sites like Facebook to log details of their users’ movements are completely unworkable, a privacy campaigner said today.

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

THE number of sickening internet sites showing the most severe forms of child sex abuse has quadrupled in just three years, a report said yesterday.

Wednesday’s confrontations between Manchester United fans and police inside the Stadio Olimpico have created a “diplomatic issue”, according to the Italian media.

Alan McQuillan was appointed as boss of the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) today in succession to current director Jane Earl.

CHILDREN’S organisations yesterday welcomed a new agreement between Ireland and Britain on tracking sex offenders but said it was not clear if it dealt with those who failed to inform authorities of their movements.

Football banning orders have been slapped on a record number of hooligans in the UK.