3+ hour, 28+ min ago (533+ words) Chancellor expected to pull the lever on tax hikes in Wednesday's Budget Rachel Reeves looked to rally the Labour troops on Monday night, urging them to back this week's Budget, which is expected to contain a "smorgasbord' of tax rises. The chancellor is due to deliver her Budget in the House of Commons on Wednesday, in which she is widely expected to pull the lever on tax hikes in order to fill the public coffers. Ms Reeves addressed restive Labour backbenchers on Monday night and called for unity as she urged them to back her plans for the economy. Many Labour MPs have become increasingly frustrated about the prospect of tax rises on the horizon, amid their party's opinion poll slump less than two years into a term of government. At the gathering of the Parliamentary Labour Party, Ms Reeves…...

20+ hour, 1+ min ago (154+ words) Lucy Leeson | Monday 24 November 2025 10:08 GMT Sir Trevor McDonald has announced his support to help reunite missing children with their families as the veteran newsreader backed The Independent's SafeCall campaign. The appeal, run with the charity Missing People, has now received more than "75,000 in donations as momentum builds behind efforts to launch a new 24-hour service for young people in crisis. In a video message, Sir Trevor said: " Behind every young missing person, there's a story, and it's not always a pleasant story. It's a story of fear, of desperation, a cry for help, a real cry for help. "SafeCall would be there to change those stories and to make life seem a lot better for those people who are involved in this desperate search for reality." Donate here or text SAFE to 70577 to give "10 to Missing People, enough for one…...

13+ hour, 17+ min ago (655+ words) Michael Prescott, who wrote the memo which triggered mass resignations at the top of the BBC, has insisted that the broadcaster is not institutionally biased Tim Davie had a "blind spot" when it comes to editorial failings at the broadcaster, the author of a leaked memo on impartiality at the corporation has said. Appearing in front of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, Michael Prescott said Mr Davie was a "supreme talent" but failed to get on top of "incipient problems" at the corporation before he resigned in the wake of the bombshell memo becoming public. But Mr Prescott, a former independent adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines and standards board, also insisted the broadcaster is not institutionally biased. He had penned a report raising concerns that a Panorama episode included selective editing of a speech made by President…...

17+ hour, 39+ min ago (720+ words) It comes just days after the prime minister was urged to tackle a "dangerous brain drain" that is harming the UK economy A government minister has admitted that Labour"s tax rises have led to wealthy Britons leaving the country, just days before this week"s make-or-break Budget. The business secretary accepted that "some of the decisions" the party has made since Labour entered government mean "some people feel the need to leave". It comes just days after Sir Keir Starmer was urged to tackle a "dangerous brain drain" that is harming the UK economy after official figures showed that the number of Britons leaving the UK is far higher than was previously thought. Asked if he thought wealthy individuals were choosing to leave the UK because of Labour"s tax choices, Peter Kyle told Sky News: "I do, yes…...

23+ hour, 37+ min ago (568+ words) Move marks the latest high-profile departure amid fears Rachel Reeves's budget will drive Britain's wealth overseas Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal has reportedly shifted his tax residence to Switzerland after nearly thirty years in the UK, becoming the latest ultra-wealthy individual to head for friendlier fiscal terrain ahead of Rachel Reeves's budget. Mr Mittal, who is one of the most prominent figures in Britain's business landscape and often dubbed by media as the "King of Steel, amassed his fortune through ArcelorMittal, the Luxembourg-based industrial giant his family controls through a roughly 40 per cent stake. After taking over his family's operations in his early twenties, he transformed a modest steel business into a sprawling multinational through an aggressive streak of acquisitions that cemented him as one of the sector's most influential figures. ArcelorMittal today employs more than 125,000 people in over 60 countries, including the…...

22+ hour, 1+ min ago (141+ words) Keely Hodgkinson wins Sports Personality of the Year BBC Sports Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Swipe for next article BBC Sports Personality of the Year makes huge change to awards - The 'Team of the Year' award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards will now be determined by a live public vote for the first time. - This marks a change from previous years where only the main Sports Personality of the Year award was decided by public vote on the night. - Competition for the award is expected to be fierce, with the Lionesses, Red Roses, Europe's Ryder Cup team, and the British and Irish Lions among the strong contenders. - Other potential nominees include Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Arsenal Women, and McLaren, highlighting a year of significant sporting achievements....

22+ hour, 57+ min ago (281+ words) Frazer Clarke fights Jeamie TKV in Saturday's main event, as boxing returns to the BBC Professional boxing will return to the BBC in a primetime slot this weekend, with heavyweight action headlining the first event of a new era. Frazer Clarke will take on Jeamie TKV (real name Tshikeva) in the main event, in which the vacant British heavyweight title is on the line. This weekend's event, which was delayed from 25 October after an injury to TKV, marks the long-awaited return of boxing to free-to-air television in the UK. In 1938, the BBC in fact aired the country's first televised boxing match. The broadcaster has sporadically shown professional boxing in the decades since, but its new deal with Boxxer will mark its first consistent output of the sport in many years. Viewers will be accustomed to the BBC airing amateur boxing,…...

13+ hour, 36+ min ago (611+ words) Anas Sarwar issued a warning days before the chancellor delivers her make-or-break Budget - with crucial elections in Scotland in May threatening to decide Keir Starmer's future as PM A member of the Labour leadership has warned that the chancellor needs to use her Budget to restore trust in the party. Writing exclusively for The Independent, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the Budget on Wednesday "is a moment to restore confidence and put this Labour government back on track. The intervention comes at a dangerous moment for Labour - less than two days before Rachel Reeves gets on her feet to deliver a make-or-break Budget and six months before a set of elections which could decide Sir Keir Starmer's future as prime minister. The elections include those for the Scottish Parliament where Mr Sarwar is hoping to lead Labour back into…...

1+ hour, 26+ min ago (1542+ words) Graham Cheslyn-Curtis, boss of veterinary medical supply company Millpledge, died in 2018 The stepchildren of a multimillionaire animal medicine tycoon have won a court fight over control of his "8.2m fortune after complaining they were labelled "entitled spoilt brats" by the man he left in charge of his empire. Graham Cheslyn-Curtis, boss of multinational Notts-based veterinary medical supply company Millpledge, died in 2018, leaving along with his will a detailed letter of wishes expressing hope that his partner's son and daughter - who he treated "as his children" - would be groomed to take over running the multimillion pound business in his place. Twice married Mr Cheslyn-Curtis established a trust appointing his top aides to "tutor and mentor" the siblings, Leah-Jane Styring, 47, and Nathan Smith, 49, bringing them into the business in senior roles and making them directors according to his wishes. But things went badly…...

22+ hour, 52+ min ago (652+ words) Business Secretary Peter Kyle has hinted at concessions over the Government's workers' rights package to ensure it makes it through Parliament and does not damage firms. Mr Kyle said there would be extensive consultations about the measures in the Employment Rights Bill, insisting it was not a "zero sum" game where either workers or bosses lost out. The legislation is caught in a stand-off between peers and MPs over measures to ban "exploitative" zero-hours contracts and give workers protection against unfair dismissal from their first day in a job. Asked if the Government would be prepared to accept amendments to end the stand-off, Mr Kyle said: "I'll do what it takes to get it through, because I need to get on with the real business, which is implementing it." Seeking to reassure businesses who have concerns about the legislation, he…...