United Kingdom News

Vandals have damaged a memorial to a police officer who was murdered in the line of duty, police have said.

A deaf girl allegedly kept in a cellar, raped and treated as a slave in Greater Manchester has told a court of years of beatings and cruelty.

The girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the jury of the alleged abuse after being trafficked to the UK from Pakistan in 2000.

Ilyas Ashar, 83, and his wife, Tallat Ashar, 66, from Eccles, have denied charges at Minshull Street Crown Court.

Among the charges they face are false imprisonment and human trafficking.

The orphaned youngster was slapped, beaten, sexually abused and hit with a rolling pin while forced to work for no money during the day at the couple's home in Eccles, Salford, the court heard.

British Prime Minister David Cameron will hold talks with Scotland's leader this week on plans for an independence ballot, his office said Monday, with the two expected to wrangle over the timing of a vote that could break up Britain.

Victim was allegedly trafficked from Pakistan and forced to work for Ilyas Ashar and wife Tallat at their Manchester home A young deaf and mute woman who claims she was locked in a cellar, raped and treated as a domestic slave for almost a decade has been giving evidence to in court against the couple accused of abusing her.

The upcoming appearances with the queen mark another foray into the public eye for the former Kate Middleton, who is stepping up her royal duties while her husband Prince William is deployed as a helicopter search-and-rescue pilot in the remote Falkland Islands.

A study, funded by voluntary groups, into the costs and benefits of the planning system suggests the government's favoured reforms will have "little or no effect on growth and could even undermine public wellbeing". The new report 'Inexpensive Progress?' challenges claims by the Chancellor that the reforms are needed to boost the sluggish economy.

Professor Tom Burke said the report was "a timely antidote to the Government's planning policy which is a toxic conjunction of incompetence and ideology. Turning 1,000 pages of detailed planning guidance into 50 pages of ambiguous text is licence for planning lawyers to print money".

A retired British businessman accused of plotting to sell missile components to Iran will be extradited to the United States, his lawyer said Monday.

A leading Test Valley businessman faces a prison sentence after being convicted of a string of sex offences committed three dec-ades ago.

An investigation has been launched into the fire which happened in a house in New Street, Ringwood , and spread to two other homes.

The architectural career of Adrian Cave OBE, who has died of cancer aged 76, exemplified the way disability issues have moved to the foreground of British culture. In busy London places, such as the Royal Festival Hall, Oxford Circus, some Crossrail stations and South Kensington streets, his imaginative contributions to the public realm will live on.

British star Adele marked her long-awaited comeback with a record six gongs at The Grammy Awards on a night overshadowed by the death of fabled singer Whitney Houston.

A convicted murderer who replaced his anti-psycotic medication with cannabis has been told to pay back some £18,000 of drug-dealing profits.

WORKERS at the Dalzell Steelworks in Motherwell are up in arms over the Scottish Government overlooking them as a supplier for the new 1.5 billion Forth Road Bridge.

Melksham Metal Recycling and three other scrapyards - in Trowbridge, Christian Malford and Swindon - were raided by police, working in conjunction with other agencies, on Monday last week.

Labour leader Ed Miliband has visited Southampton to campaign for more jobs and growth in southern England. The opposition leader spent time at the factory of Griffon Hoverwork which has been championed as an export success story. The firm at Woolston is currently making air-cushion vehicles for Canada and Peru.

Train passengers got trapped inside an inner London station after staff locked up and went home early in the snow. The private franchisee called Southern apologised for the incident and said that an "agency staff member accidentally closed the station before" the last scheduled train had departed.

British tax authorities said Sunday that four current and one former member of staff at the Royal Bank of Scotland had been arrested in an investigation into alleged tax fraud.

Local churches rang their bells between 12pm and 7pm to recreate the opening ceremony of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal 200 years ago. A group of cyclists from Abergavenny Cycle Group led a bike ride along the canal's route for the anniversary and invited local people to take part. Project co-ordinator David Morgan said: "It is fantastic to see such great community engagement".

British and Irish couples are the least romantic about Valentine's Day judging by how much they spend, according to a survey.