Nearly 20 per cent of students currently studying at primary schools in England do not have English as a first language, new figures reveal. Statistics published by the Department for Education show that out of 3,572,108 students in state primary
Mumsnet, the popular online forum for mothers, has been accused of openly promoting the use of illegal abortion pills ordered by post. The site’s annual charity appeal is supporting The Abortion Support Network, a group that encourages women in Ireland
One in eight marriages in Scotland are between same-sex couples, new figures reveal. The National Records for Scotland says that of the 3,889 marriages that have taken place in the country since gay marriage was introduced, 462 involved couples of
Vladimir Putin has claimed that he has never made a mistake because God made him perfect. In a rare interview with Italian paper Corriere della Serra, the Russian president said that God “built my life in a way I have
Human beings urgently need to wipe themselves out to avoid ecological catastrophe, the leader of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement has claimed. In an interview with the Big Issue magazine, Les U Knight (pseudonym assumed) said that the extinction of
Migrants living in a makeshift camp in Paris were driven out by police on Monday after hard-left activists formed a human chain around them. Police used tear gas to move the activists before putting the undocumented migrants onto a bus
Teachers in Britain are scared of reporting suspected Islamist extremism among their students out of fear of being labelled ‘Islamophobic’, the head of an anti-radicalisation group has said. From July this year, British teachers will have a legal requirement to
Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond faces losing his seat if David Cameron succeeds in pushing through his planned reforms of parliamentary boundaries. Other big beasts facing the axe include Cameron’s former leadership rival David Davis as well former cabinet
Anti-Islamisation movement Pegida has performed better than expected in the first election it has ever contested. The group contested the mayoral election in its eastern stronghold of Dresden, finishing fourth with 9.6 per cent of the vote. PEGIDA roses to fame late last year
France has cut bullfighting from its cultural heritage list after pressure from animal rights activists. Although bullfighting is better associated with neighbouring Spain, certain towns in southern France also have a tradition of the sport, known as “La Corrida” in French.
The grave of famous Danish writer Hans Christian Anderson was vandalised this weekend less than 24 hours after a Muslim cemetery was also desecrated in Copenhagen. Police have so far refused to link the incidents, but the nature of the
Muslims should not vote in this month’s Danish election because democracy is incompatible with Islam, two radical groups have said. Controversial Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir urged Danish Muslims to boycott June 18’s general election to protest the “anti-Islamic” democratic system.
One of Britain’s most prestigious schools is considering banning homework to combat depression among its students. Cheltenham Ladies’ College is set to consider dropping homework – known at the school as “prep” – in response to an “anxiety epidemic” among
Aborted babies accounted for more than a quarter of all deaths in England and Wales in 2013, official figures reveal. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there were 506,790 recorded deaths in England and Wales in
Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow has been criticised after describing former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz as a “nice guy”. Aziz, close ally of dictator Saddam Hussein, died yesterday in hospital in the city of Nasiriyah after suffering a heart
Four Polish lorry drivers were arrested yesterday after 68 migrants, including two pregnant women and 15 children, were discovered hiding at Harwich Port in Essex. The drivers have been held on suspicion of smuggling the immigrants on board lorries “full
Two more suspects have appeared in court in connection with the “bank of terror” plot to con vulnerable pensioners out of their money in order to fund Islamic State. Fahim Islam, 20, and Achmed Ahmed, 22, have been remanded in
A youth worker has outed herself as the whistleblower who exposed the Rotherham child grooming scandal, in the hope that more people will come forward. Jayne Senior handed two cardboard boxes full of documents to Times journalist Andrew Norfolk that
Five men from Oxford have been charged by police investigating child sexual exploitation in the city stretching back 16 years. More than 100 officers took part in dawn raids across the city on Tuesday morning, arresting nine men of Asian
The King of Spain’s nephew is alleged to have racially abused a student at a Madrid theme park. Felipe Juan Froilán, who is 17-years-old, is alleged to have hurled abuse at the student after trying to jump the queue for one
Oxford alumni associations in New York are furious at the university’s new vice-chancellor after she said America had “overreacted” to 9/11. Louise Richardson, who awarded an honorary doctorate to Hillary Clinton in 2013, said the population of Northern Ireland had
The number of Romanians given the right to enter the UK job market shot up by over 200 per cent in the year since entry restrictions on them were lifted. The number of Bulgarians granted the same right also rose
The crisis at Fifa has deepened after Sepp Blatter’s right-hand man has been linked to a $10 million payment that the FBI allege was a bribe paid by the South African Football Association. Jerome Valcke is accused of authorising the
A BBC boss has threatened to axe TV shows unless the corporation gets its way in forthcoming negotiations over the future of the TV licence fee. Danny Cohen, the BBC’s director of television, said they may have to cut entire
Police removed a cyclist from a naked bike ride in Canterbury, England after he become “aroused” and “overexcited”. The man was ordered to put his jeans on before being led away from the World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) event, which
A two-year-old boy from Hull, in East Riding of Yorkshire, has been taken from his parents after a government health visitor said they smoked too much. Julie Allen, a health visitor from a local authority, told a family court that
A group of women in the Church of England want to start referring to God by the feminine pronoun ‘She’ in a bid to combat alleged sexism. The Sunday Times reports that liberal pressure group Women and the Church (Watch),
UKIP has overcome its post-election difficulties and maintained the support it won last month, a new poll has revealed. The YouGov poll for the Sun, the first since last month’s election, puts the party on 13 percent, the same amount
The British government has spent £185 million on foreign police forces while reducing spending on police at home. Figures obtained by the Sun show that the Department for International Development has spent the money over the past four years on
Several people were injured in the early hours of Monday morning after a brawl broke out between Eritreans and Sudanese migrants at the Calais migrant camp. The fight resulted in 24 injuries, 14 of which required hospital treatment. The Local
A Christian street preacher was held in a police cell for 11 hours after a lesbian falsely accused him of homophobia. Rob Hughes had been speaking in Basildon, Essex when a woman who said she was “gay and proud” shouted:
David Cameron’s plans to curb migrant benefits look like they are already in tatters before negotiations have even begun. The Prime Minister is meeting his Polish counterpart Ewa Kopacz today, but before the meeting Ms Kopacz’s chief economic advisor Janusz
Britain’s ‘Conservative’ government is planning to force internet giants such as Google, Facebook and Whatsapp to hand over the encrypted messages of people authorities suspect to be criminals. The new laws will require companies to hand messages from suspects under investigation to
Feminist commentator Germaine Greer has criticised Elton John for calling his partner David Furnish “mother” of their two sons. Speaking at the Hay Literary Festival, Greer accused the men of “deconstructing motherhood”, criticising them for the fact that Furnish was
A senior female Islamic State commander who left the terror group has claimed it has a specialised social media grooming unit, where fighters work in shifts to radicalise vulnerable young people online. The woman, known as Um Asmah, was also
The world’s most popular sport is in the midst of the biggest crisis in its history. Senior figures past and present stand charged with fraud, major sponsors are threatening to withdraw support and FIFA president Sepp Blatter is under pressure
The BBC is spending the equivalent of 900 license fees a year buying copies of the left-wing Guardian newspaper, new figures reveal. The corporation spent £127,643 on 80,679 copies of the Guardian last year, making it the most read newspaper
Police in Keighley, West Yorkshire have charged 14 men and a 16-year-old boy with sex offences including the rape of a girl under the age of 16. The offences relate primarily to one female victim, with one allegation involving a second who
A Muslim cleric has warned that men who pleasure themselves could make their hands pregnant in the afterlife. Turkey’s Hürriyet Daily News reports that Mucahid Cihad Han made the comments on a live TV broadcast after a married man called
David Cameron’s pledge to spend 0.7 percent of GDP on foreign aid has seen the UK’s bill rise by 30 per cent since he became prime minister – a faster rate than any other EU country. Figures from the Organisation
