Britain

Britain on Tuesday summoned the Chinese ambassador in London for a rebuke after the arrest and alleged assault of a BBC journalist covering Covid protests.

Fewer than half of people in England and Wales identify as Christian, according to census data released on Tuesday, underlining a landmark shift towards secularism in multicultural Britain.

French police stopped close to 50 migrants on Tuesday from attempting to cross the English Channel to Britain after mild weather and calm waters led a growing number of people to undertake the dangerous journey in recent days.

Chukwudubem Ifeajuna, a nurse in the south of England, loves his job, but next month will walk out for two days as part of British nurses' biggest ever strike action, which he says is necessary for staff and patient welfare alike.

British house prices will fall in 2023, putting an end to years of bumper rises, but a large crash was unlikely despite the cost of living crisis and increased borrowing costs putting a lid on buyers' ability to fund purchases, a Reuters poll found.

UK police on Thursday said their biggest ever counter-fraud operation had disrupted an international criminal network targeting hundreds of thousands of victims in millions of spam phone calls.

The Bank of England will press on with interest rate rises to battle inflation even though Britain is heading into a long albeit shallow recession, with consumers facing an extended cost of living crisis, a Reuters poll of economists found.

Britain is to send helicopters to Ukraine for the first time since Russia's invasion, the defence ministry in London said on Wednesday.

Britain's highest court on Wednesday rejected a bid by the devolved Scottish government in Edinburgh to hold a new referendum on independence without London's consent.

A group of 17 investors managing 3.2 trillion pounds ($3.82 trillion) have called on Britain's biggest listed employers to offer more support to low-paid workers as inflation drives a sharp rise in the cost of living.

The global economy should avoid a recession next year but the worst energy crisis since the 1970s will trigger a sharp slowdown with Europe hit hardest, the OECD said on Tuesday, urging central banks to keep hiking interest rates.

British main opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer warned business bosses on Tuesday "the days of low pay and cheap labour" must end, putting him in line with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who has also rejected calls for looser immigration rules.

Britain's Compass, the world's largest caterer, on Monday said annual profits had tripled as companies switched to outsourcing meals in the face of soaring inflation and energy costs.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday denied that his government was seeking to row back on the UK's EU withdrawal deal, despite an apparent growing backlash against Brexit.

Tesco, one of Britain's largest private-sector employers, is offering its staff advances on their pay in the latest sign of the distress arising from a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

The Pitcairn Islands, a volcanic outcrop halfway between South America and New Zealand, is the UK's only overseas territory in the Pacific Ocean and home to only 46 people.

British finance minister Jeremy Hunt appears to have delayed the "properly tough" decisions needed to balance the public finances, possibly in the hope of an economic upturn that will reduce the need for a painful squeeze, a think-tank said.

Thursday's government budget is unlikely to be uppermost in the minds of people enjoying the annual light show on the seafront promenade of Blackpool.

Bond dealers expect Britain to trim debt issuance plans for the current financial year, compared with those made just after September's "mini-budget", but see a big jump in issuance next year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

Britain will Thursday hike taxes and slash public spending in a government budget that signals a return to austerity despite a cost-of-living crisis and recession headwinds.

The moment of truth is almost here for Britain's new prime minister Rishi Sunak and finance minister Jeremy Hunt.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will call on the Group of 20 (G20) for coordinated action to address international economic instability and the rising cost of living in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, his government said on Monday.

Britain's economy shrank in the third quarter as inflation soars, official data showed Friday, likely confirming it is already in a recession, dealing a fresh blow to new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Britain's economy shrank in the three months to September at the start of what is likely to be a lengthy recession, underscoring the challenge for finance minister Jeremy Hunt as he prepares to raise taxes and cut spending next week.

Former UK finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng has finally spoken out about his unceremonious exit from Liz Truss' cabinet.

The number of people who have dropped out of Britain's job market since 2019 and who now cite a long-term illness or mental health problems has risen by half a million or about 25%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday hosts his Irish counterpart Micheal Martin, as they bid to end a dispute over post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland that has stymied power-sharing.

Britain's House of Lords shares some characteristics with the Chinese National People's Congress: their signature colours are red, and neither is elected by popular vote.

After tolerating high temperatures and drought in the summer, Britons have now been warned of floods in the autumn.

Companies fail to reveal if meetings with shareholders alter their behaviour, such as in setting pay for top executives, Britain's corporate governance regulator said on Thursday.