Nationwide’s £2.9 billion takeover of rival Virgin Money has been approved by a judge. Lawyers for the lenders secured the sanctioning of the deal at a specialist companies court in London on Friday.

The government has been pressed to hold an independent inquiry into the murder of journalist Martin O’Hagan. Mr O’Hagan was killed by loyalist paramilitaries in Lurgan, Co Armagh in 2001. No-one has ...

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has previously urged pensioners to check if they are eligible for the benefit.

The M5 is closed northbound between junctions 16 (Almondsbury) and 14 (Falfield) due to significant flooding.

Russell Findlay, right, won the leadership in a contest with Murdo Fraser and Meghan Gallacher (Andrew Milligan/PA) He was also seen by some as the continuity candidate in the Tory leadership race, ...

The breakthrough could mean deep space exploration is no longer the stuff of sci-fi, according to University of Southampton engineers.