Budget 2021: What wasn't in Chancellor Rishi Sunak's economic statement

The budget was chock full of announcements - including on the furlough scheme, Universal Credit and stamp duty.

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  • Prince Philip: 90 of the Duke of Edinburgh’s most excruciating comments

    The Duke of Edinburgh was notorious for his derogatory comments about people and places

  • ‘It’s going very well’: Hope rises for Oxford’s malaria vaccine after success of Covid jab from same team

    Exclusive: Professor Adrian Hill says his team at the Jenner Institute are ‘very excited’ by the prospects of their vaccine, which enters into large-scale testing in Africa this month

  • Peaky Blinders star Helen McCrory dies aged 52 from cancer

    Tributes have been paid to Peaky Blinders star Helen McCrory who has died aged 52 from cancer. In a message posted on social media, Lewis said: “I’m heartbroken to announce that after an heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family.” McCrory, who was awarded the OBE for services to drama in 2017, was probably best known for playing the fearsome matriarch Polly in crime drama Peaky Blinders but also had a critically acclaimed stage career winning plaudits for National Theatre roles in productions of Medea and Terence Rattigan’s post war drama The Deep Blue Sea.

  • ‘Not what we’d hoped for’: UK military chief disappointed over US withdrawal from Afghanistan

    Taliban ‘is not the organisation it once was’, says General Sir Nick Carter

  • Latina grandmother assaulted on LA bus in anti-Asian attack

    A 70-year-old woman was getting off a bus in LA when another passenger dragged her to the other end of the vehicle and beat her, her son says

  • Prince Philip's great niece Princess Xenia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg: 'He was an idol to us'

    The historic family ties that prompted The Queen to invite German royalty Follow live updates from Prince Philip's funeral The Duke of Edinburgh's great niece, whose brother is in Windsor for his funeral on Saturday, has remembered Prince Philip as an "idol" for the younger generation of their family. Speaking from Munich, Princess Xenia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg said the Duke was a powerful role model to her and his "selflessness, lack of ego and sense of humour" will never be forgotten. Her tribute comes as the Queen prepares to say farewell to her husband of 73 years at Windsor Castle. "To all of us, he was an idol, he was somebody to look up to, we had enormous respect for him and it was always very exciting when he came to visit, and he came often," said Princess Xenia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. "And this has become clear to me in the week since he's died - the way he lived his life, his motto, which was an unwritten motto for us, this discipline, this selflessness, this lack of ego, but also his sense of humour always underlying all of that.

  • Puberty blockers for under-16s reviewed by NHS

    Puberty-blocker prescriptions for transgender children under 16 are set to be reviewed, NHS England has announced. The drugs are prescribed to some young people experiencing gender dysphoria - a "mismatch" between their biological sex and gender identity. NHS England said that it will establish a new independent review group to assess the prescription of the drugs for children under 16. The announcement comes following a High Court ruling in March, which concluded that parents can consent to the treatment on behalf of their child - although the judge added it may be that "additional safeguards" should be built into the decision-making process. Last month's case was brought after three high court judges had previously ruled that children under 16 were unlikely to be able to give informed consent for the treatment. That ruling, in December, followed a case brought against the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust which provides England's only NHS specialist gender clinic for children. NHS England said its new processes and review group were being introduced on an "interim basis" while it awaits the outcome of a review into gender identity services led by Dr Hilary Cass OBE, former President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. In a statement on its website, NHS England said: "This [new] group will be comprised of health and care professionals with expertise in child development, neurodevelopment and mental health, assessing capacity and consent, and safeguarding processes." It added the review group would be a temporary measure as it awaits the outcome of Dr Cass's report to ensure any decision-making follows a "robust" process. Until the group is operational a requirement for a best interests court order, for new patients, will remain.

  • Disabled woman says Duke of Edinburgh’s Award transformed her life

    Myah Richards, who has cerebral palsy, said doing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award increased her confidence and spurred her on to do new things.

  • Epstein's accusers can't challenge plea agreement shielding accomplices -ruling

    (Reuters) -A federal appeals court rejected a challenge by a Jeffrey Epstein accuser to an agreement not to prosecute the financier, and to shield his associates from criminal liability for aiding his sexual abuses. By a 7-4 vote, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled on Thursday that Courtney Wild and other accusers lacked standing under the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act to disturb Epstein's 2007 nonprosecution agreement, though they had been kept in the dark while it was being negotiated. Judges in the majority said they were "constrained" to rule against Wild, despite having "the profoundest sympathy for Ms. Wild and others like her, who suffered unspeakable horror at Epstein's hands, only to be left in the dark - and, so it seems, affirmatively misled - by government attorneys."

  • How Meghan ensured she had a part in Prince Philip's funeral – with a handwritten note on wreath

    The Duchess of Sussex wrote the card attached to the wreath sent by her and Prince Harry to ensure that, in a small way, she played a part in the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral service. Meghan, who is heavily pregnant with the couple's second child, had hoped to attend the ceremony but was advised against travelling by her doctor. The 39-year-old was watching the funeral on television at home in Montecito, California. The Sussexes' tribute was among nine family wreaths laid in the Quire of St George's Chapel, propped against the stalls on each side of the Duke's coffin. Buckingham Palace aides declined to provide details of the other wreaths, saying they were private. But a source close to the Sussexes confirmed that theirs had been designed and handmade by Willow Crossley, a Cotswold florist known for her natural, rustic arrangements. The variety of locally sourced flowers, some of which were picked from the designer's garden, were chosen due to their particular significance.

  • Sword-wielding man attacks police officer and severs his finger

    Shocking body-worn footage shows Anthony Browne, 63, wielding a sword.

  • An independent Scotland could turn to Denmark for inspiration

    An independent Scotland could turn to Denmark for inspiration. Instead of looking south, campaigners are looking north, to the egalitarian models of small Nordic nations

  • Face masks and social distancing to be scrapped at lockdown easing trial events

    Officials will establish which methods work best to minimise risk of transmission in larger crowds

  • Frexit fears? Macron warned to learn lessons from UK ‘before it’s too late’

    Michel Barnier notes ‘social unrest’ in some parts of France over EU’s policies

  • Wife of British wrestling champion refused UK visa

    ‘It’s not just me, it’s many people they do this to. I don’t like to say it but the Home Office is treating people badly,’ Muhammad Mokaev tells The Independent

  • In Pictures: Windsor remembers Duke of Edinburgh on day of his funeral

    Philip’s insignia, laid out on the altar of St George’ Chapel, provided a reminder of his family links and his many roles in the nation’s life.

  • Prince Philip’s funeral in pictures: Queen bids farewell to her husband of 73 years

    The Queen will say a final goodbye to Prince Philip, her husband of more than seven decades, at a funeral on Saturday.

  • ‘Public deserve answers’: Matt Hancock faces pressure over family company awarded NHS contracts

    ‘It appears the that the health secretary has breached the ministerial code,’ says Angela Rayner

  • What kind of country sees Adam Toledo as a ‘thirteen-year-old man’ and Kyle Rittenhouse as a ‘little boy’?

    Dylann Roof was bought a Burger King by police after his arrest, while Toledo — who was pictured with his hands in the air moments before cops fatally shot him — has been painted as a dangerous gang member

  • Russia beefs up warship presence in Black Sea as Ukraine tensions simmer

    Two Russian warships transited the Bosphorus en route to the Black Sea on Saturday and 15 smaller vessels completed a transfer to the sea as Moscow beefs up its naval presence at a time of tense relations with the West and Ukraine. The reinforcement coincides with a huge build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine, something Moscow calls a temporary defensive exercise, and follows an escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces.