Revealed: Tory MP allegedly demanded campaign cash to pay ‘bad people’
exclusiveA Tory MP is under investigation over allegations that he misused campaign funds and abused his position after making a late-night phone call saying he’d been locked up by “bad people” who were demanding thousands of pounds, The Times can reveal. Mark Menzies, the Conservative MP for Fylde and a government trade envoy, rang an elderly local party volunteer at 3.15am in...A Tory MP is under investigation over allegations that he misused campaign funds and abused his...A Tory MP is under investigation over allegations that he misused campaign funds and abused his...
economy
Stubborn inflation a looming election headache for Sunak
Rishi Sunak’s hopes of significant interest rate cuts ahead of the election suffered a blow yesterday after new...Rishi Sunak’s hopes of significant interest rate cuts ahead of the election suffered a blow yesterday after new figures showed inflation falling more slowly than expected. Ministers had been banking on up to three interest rate cuts in the run-up to a potential November election, helping more than 1.5 million people...Rishi Sunak’s hopes of significant interest rate cuts ahead of the election suffered a blow yesterday after new figures showed...
Royal family
Prince Harry: US is my primary residence now
Editor's picks
champions league | paul joyce
City lose nerve from spot as Real extinguish Treble tilt
FIRST PERSON
Why I decided to stop smacking my children
Doctors called on the government this week to make it illegal for parents to smack their children. It is banned in...Doctors called on the government this week to make it illegal for parents to smack their children.Doctors called on the government this week to make it illegal for parents to smack their children.
SOCIETY
Generation Z have goals. They’re just not what you think
Pretty much everyone I know has put on a brightly coloured pair of Hoka trainers and signed up for a half-marathon.Pretty much everyone I know has put on a brightly coloured pair of Hoka trainers and signed up...Pretty much everyone I know has put on a brightly coloured pair of Hoka trainers and signed up...
UK NEWS
Wild swimmers versus children’s home in war over brownfield site
By all appearances, a drab 14-acre former Thames Water depot in Waltham Forest is an unlikely location for a planning battle that could determine the future of the up-and-coming area. On one side are the Department for Education and an umbrella...By all appearances, a drab 14-acre former Thames Water depot in Waltham Forest is an unlikely...By all appearances, a drab 14-acre former Thames Water depot in Waltham Forest is an unlikely...
uk news
Grandmother’s ‘blood-spattered’ coffin at Hull funeral home
A grandmother’s coffin was spattered with blood and covered in thick black mould at the Hull funeral home being investigated by police, her grandson has alleged. The family of Jessie Stockdale, who was 89 when she died in...A grandmother’s coffin was spattered with blood and covered in thick black mould at the Hull funeral home being investigated by police, her grandson has alleged. The family of Jessie Stockdale, who was 89 when she died in...A grandmother’s coffin was spattered with blood and covered in thick black mould at the Hull funeral home being...
UK NEWS
Man and woman arrested over ‘burnt body’ found at house
Police have started a murder investigation after a man’s “burnt body” was found in the garden of a home where a “highly reclusive” family live in a quiet cul-de-sac. Officers from West Yorkshire police were called to a property...Police have started a murder investigation after a man’s “burnt body” was found in the garden of a home where a “highly reclusive” family live in a quiet cul-de-sac. Officers from West Yorkshire police were called to a property...Police have started a murder investigation after a man’s “burnt body” was found in the garden of a home where a...
the times diary
Lord Byron’s island rescue
uk news
Prince Harry may have to drop The Sun claim after Hugh Grant settlement
The Duke of Sussex may be forced to drop his privacy claim against The Sun, it was suggested on Wednesday after the actor Hugh Grant agreed a settlement, claiming he would have faced a £10 million legal bill even if he had won. Harry claims he was...The Duke of Sussex may be forced to drop his privacy claim against The Sun, it was suggested on...The Duke of Sussex may be forced to drop his privacy claim against The Sun, it was suggested on...
video
Georgian protester numbers swell amid ‘pro-Kremlin’ law crisis
Thousands of protesters in Georgia had a stand-off with riot police amid a political crisis that could wreck their country’s hopes of joining the European Union and bring it back under the Kremlin’s control.
Waving Georgian and EU flags, an estimated 20,000 people — up from 5,000 the night...Thousands of protesters in Georgia had a stand-off with riot police amid a political crisis that could wreck their country’s hopes of joining the European Union and bring it back under the Kremlin’s control.
Waving Georgian and EU flags, an estimated 20,000 people — up from 5,000 the night...Thousands of protesters in Georgia had a stand-off with riot police amid a political crisis that could wreck their country’s...
Don’t vote for a billionaire, Biden urges workers in his home state
President Biden and Donald Trump are in a bidding war to win over blue-collar workers in Pennsylvania, a state that has for decades held the keys to the White House. Having already visited his home state eight times this year, on Wednesday Biden doubled down on efforts to court the working class there. “I’m president because of you guys,”...President Biden and Donald Trump are in a bidding war to win over blue-collar workers in Pennsylvania, a state that has for decades held the keys to the White House. Having already visited his home state eight times this year, on Wednesday Biden doubled down on efforts to court the working class there. “I’m president because of you guys,”...President Biden and Donald Trump are in a bidding war to win over blue-collar workers in Pennsylvania, a state that has for...
Macron TV drama tells love story of pupil and his première dame
Brigitte Macron’s romance with the teenage pupil who became the youngest president of France will be turned into a television series. The affair that began in 1992 when the 15-year-old Emmanuel Macron fell for Brigitte Auzière, the married drama teacher 24 years his senior, is to be the focus of Brigitte, une femme...Brigitte Macron’s romance with the teenage pupil who became the youngest president of France will...Brigitte Macron’s romance with the teenage pupil who became the youngest president of France will...
Police close in on ‘gang behind biggest gold heist in Canadian history’
Nine suspects have been identified a year after one of the biggest gold heists in history at a Canadian airport. About C$22.5 million (£13.1 million, or US$16.3 million) of gold bars and cash was taken from Toronto Pearson international on April 17 last year. Canadian and US authorities announced called a press conference about the case on Wednesday. Mike Mavity, the...Nine suspects have been identified a year after one of the biggest gold heists in history at a...Nine suspects have been identified a year after one of the biggest gold heists in history at a...
North Korea deploys Chinese surveillance technology to workplaces
The North Korean authorities are using advanced surveillance technology to impose even tighter levels of control on...The North Korean authorities are using advanced surveillance technology to impose even tighter levels of control on the world’s most repressive totalitarian state, researchers in the United States say. A new report by a US think tank says that the installation of cameras in schools and workplaces, facial recognition...The North Korean authorities are using advanced surveillance technology to impose even tighter levels of control on the world’s...
I am appalled by antisemitism, Columbia University head tells hearing
The president of Columbia University has said she was “appalled” by a professor’s alleged antisemitic comments as she...The president of Columbia University has said she was “appalled” by a professor’s alleged...The president of Columbia University has said she was “appalled” by a professor’s alleged...
‘I’m scared’: Boeing whistleblower tells Congress of death threats
A Boeing whistleblower has described facing threats and retaliation for raising concerns about the company’s...A Boeing whistleblower has described facing threats and retaliation for raising concerns about...A Boeing whistleblower has described facing threats and retaliation for raising concerns about...
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS
Can allies rein in protagonists in Israel-Iran crisis?
As foreign ministers from the world’s leading democracies gather on the Italian island of Capri for a long-scheduled G7 meeting, they face a knotty challenge to their position in the world order. Who among them has influence or leverage over either of the protagonists in the most dangerous conflict in the world today? Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton’s admission in...As foreign ministers from the world’s leading democracies gather on the Italian island of Capri...As foreign ministers from the world’s leading democracies gather on the Italian island of Capri...
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS
Iranian leader says ‘tiniest invasion’ by Israel would bring huge response
Iran’s president has warned Israel of a “massive and harsh response” if it attacks the country in retaliation for...Iran’s president has warned Israel of a “massive and harsh response” if it attacks the country in retaliation for Tehran’s weekend drone and missile attack on the Jewish state. Israel has said it would respond to the unprecedented attack, although the United States, Britain and other western countries have urged...Iran’s president has warned Israel of a “massive and harsh response” if it attacks the country in retaliation for Tehran’s...
‘I met Madeleine McCann suspect on site used by paedophiles’
A former girlfriend of the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case told a German court on Wednesday that she had...A former girlfriend of the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case told a German court on...A former girlfriend of the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case told a German court on...
The Richard Beeston Bursary 2024
Applications are invited for the Richard Beeston Bursary 2024, offered in association with The Times. Richard was a...Applications are invited for the Richard Beeston Bursary 2024, offered in association with The...Applications are invited for the Richard Beeston Bursary 2024, offered in association with The...
Labour open to Czech billionaire’s Royal Mail bid
The Labour Party is open to the prospect of a takeover of the owner of Royal Mail by the struggling postal group’s Czech billionaire investor, which is considering a renewed approach. EP Group, a conglomerate controlled by Daniel Kretinsky, revealed on Tuesday that it had made a “non-binding indicative proposal” to the board of International Distributions Services (IDS)...The Labour Party is open to the prospect of a takeover of the owner of Royal Mail by the...The Labour Party is open to the prospect of a takeover of the owner of Royal Mail by the...
Inflation fall to 3% disappoints as hopes fade for rate cuts
Inflation fell more slowly than expected last month due in part to higher fuel prices, increasing the chances that...Inflation fell more slowly than expected last month due in part to higher fuel prices, increasing the chances that the Bank of England will delay cutting interest rates until much later this year. The pace of consumer price growth in the UK economy fell to 3.2 per cent in March from 3.4 per cent in the previous...Inflation fell more slowly than expected last month due in part to higher fuel prices, increasing the chances that the Bank of...
business commentary
Royal Mail investor will struggle to deliver a deal
Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire behind the sprawling EP Group, has come knocking for the Royal Mail. Already...Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire behind the sprawling EP Group, has come knocking for the...Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire behind the sprawling EP Group, has come knocking for the...
COMMENT
Weighed down by debt, can Saga keep bailing out its sinking ship?
Like its customers, Saga is getting on a bit. The “over-50s superbrand”, as it likes to call itself, turns 73 this year.Like its customers, Saga is getting on a bit. The “over-50s superbrand”, as it likes to call...Like its customers, Saga is getting on a bit. The “over-50s superbrand”, as it likes to call...
tempus
Appetite for chips creates a tech champion
ASML boasts that it is “probably a part of the electronic device you are using right now”, as its technology helps to...ASML boasts that it is “probably a part of the electronic device you are using right now”, as its...ASML boasts that it is “probably a part of the electronic device you are using right now”, as its...
comment
Debt is the can that keeps on getting kicked down the road
You might have missed it, but two weeks ago the government enjoyed a potentially significant budget boost. In fact...You might have missed it, but two weeks ago the government enjoyed a potentially significant...You might have missed it, but two weeks ago the government enjoyed a potentially significant...
need to know
Your three-minute digest
market report
Severfield building up as it ends year with record high in orders
As the company behind the steel structures that went into the London Olympic stadium, Severfield recognises what...As the company behind the steel structures that went into the London Olympic stadium, Severfield...As the company behind the steel structures that went into the London Olympic stadium, Severfield...
comment
Time for more Bank transparency over forecasts, not obscurity
One night in 1996, I was unable to sleep. My wife Emma asked me what the matter was. I needed to find a way of...One night in 1996, I was unable to sleep. My wife Emma asked me what the matter was. I needed to...One night in 1996, I was unable to sleep. My wife Emma asked me what the matter was. I needed to...
Artificial Intelligence
AI ready for promotion from everyday tasks to chief of staff
recruitment
Student scholarships give an extra lift on to the career ladder
Gaining a degree is a key marker of success and social mobility, yet the cost of living crisis means that access to university is far from universal. According to statistics from the Student Loans Company, the number of students dropping out of their courses is at the highest level since its figures were first recorded. A record 41,914 undergraduate students quit in the...Gaining a degree is a key marker of success and social mobility, yet the cost of living crisis...Gaining a degree is a key marker of success and social mobility, yet the cost of living crisis...
recruitment: SIX FROM THE BEST
Here are the keys to opening up a world of possibilities
As Diageo’s chief marketing officer, Cristina Diezhandino oversees marketing for some of the world’s best-known...As Diageo’s chief marketing officer, Cristina Diezhandino oversees marketing for some of the world’s best-known brands, including Guinness, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff. An 18-year veteran of the global drinks business and recently named Inspirational Marketing Leader of the Year, here are her tips for leading with a...As Diageo’s chief marketing officer, Cristina Diezhandino oversees marketing for some of the world’s best-known brands...
champions league | paul joyce
City lose nerve from spot as Real extinguish Treble tilt
Man City 1 Real Madrid 1 (4-4 on agg, Real win 4-3 on pens)
The road to Wembley remains in sight for Manchester City. Alas, for Pep Guardiola’s side, it will no longer lead them to the Champions League final. When Antonio Rüdiger stepped forward to take the tenth penalty of a nerve-shredding shoot-out, one that had reduced some of football’s most decorated players to quivering wrecks, the final act after two enthralling matches...The road to Wembley remains in sight for Manchester City. Alas, for Pep Guardiola’s side, it will...The road to Wembley remains in sight for Manchester City. Alas, for Pep Guardiola’s side, it will...
champions league | James Gheerbrant
Arsenal up for fight but fail to take chance to put doubters on mute
In the end, it was the team making a last stand who overcame the one trying to take the first, hardest step. Bayern...In the end, it was the team making a last stand who overcame the one trying to take the first, hardest step. Bayern Munich, smarting from the loss of their Bundesliga crown, raging against the weakening of their grandeur and their grip, enduring a season so bad that their manager Thomas Tuchel is already done for...In the end, it was the team making a last stand who overcame the one trying to take the first, hardest step. Bayern Munich...
rugby union | Ken Owens Interview
‘I’m struggling to pick up my one-year-old’ – Wales hooker Owens retires
exclusive
champions league | martin samuel
Southgate should mimic City to get best from Foden and Bellingham
Gareth Southgate isn’t Pep Guardiola. And England are not Manchester City. But here’s a thought: might they try to be?Gareth Southgate isn’t Pep Guardiola. And England are not Manchester City. But here’s a thought...Gareth Southgate isn’t Pep Guardiola. And England are not Manchester City. But here’s a thought...
Matthew syed
Why won’t sports minister explain insulting U-turn over Russians?
A year ago this week, Lucy Frazer set out the government’s policy towards Russian participation at the Olympic Games.A year ago this week, Lucy Frazer set out the government’s policy towards Russian participation...A year ago this week, Lucy Frazer set out the government’s policy towards Russian participation...
THE TREND | HAMZAH KHALIQUE-LOONAT
The mathematician using data to pick the manager and set style of play
In the southern suburbs of Stockholm, an experiment is taking place. In February, Hammarby — a football club in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s top division — announced they were embracing data, statistics and mathematics to a degree never seen before.In the southern suburbs of Stockholm, an experiment is taking place. In February, Hammarby — a...In the southern suburbs of Stockholm, an experiment is taking place. In February, Hammarby — a...
cricket | mike atherton
Gloucestershire’s £1.2m losses are tip of iceberg as county game drowns in debt
It was a pleasant enough day at Bristol last Friday, with some warmth on the bones and decent cricket to enjoy at a...It was a pleasant enough day at Bristol last Friday, with some warmth on the bones and decent...It was a pleasant enough day at Bristol last Friday, with some warmth on the bones and decent...
formula 1 | molly hudson
‘Car was built using Excel’ – how Wolff protégé is fixing shambolic Williams
The biggest surprise for Williams is that driver error, rather than their own miserable winter, has shone the...The biggest surprise for Williams is that driver error, rather than their own miserable winter...The biggest surprise for Williams is that driver error, rather than their own miserable winter...
Gallagher Premiership | Matt Cotton
Bath in a panic, Saracens eye redemption – and can Falcons end 526-day rut?
Saracens v Gloucester
3pm
After a two-week European holiday, the Gallagher Premiership is back and it means business. Only five points separate third from eighth with four rounds left to play, but eight must go into four as far as the play-offs...Saracens v Gloucester
3pm
After a two-week European holiday, the Gallagher Premiership is back...Saracens v Gloucester
3pm
After a two-week European holiday, the Gallagher Premiership is back...
Comment
We need to stop infantilising young adults
James Marriott
Over-protectiveness may be well meant but it stifles the dynamism that this country needs
KATY BALLS
Sunak’s next target is teens and smartphones
IAIN MARTIN
Blair understood our enemies — why don’t we?
JANICE TURNER | NOTEBOOK
Getting help from the NHS is like going to war
Jawad Iqbal
Stop giving visas to trouble-making clerics from Tehran
Leading Articles
Delayed Gratification
The falling inflation rate is due, at least in part, to the economic competence of Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt. But for the government the reward may come too late
Spare the Rod
The time has come to stop smacking children
Pig Out
Lab-cultivated pork sausages may finally be cutting the mustard
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Sunak’s smoking ban and individual liberty
Sir, In their classic 1950 study of patients in London hospitals, Sir Richard Doll and Sir Austin Bradford Hill reported the first evidence that smoking causes lung cancer. Their subsequent long-term study of 40,000 UK doctors firmly established...Sir, In their classic 1950 study of patients in London hospitals, Sir Richard Doll and Sir Austin...Sir, In their classic 1950 study of patients in London hospitals, Sir Richard Doll and Sir Austin...
Daily Universal Register
Briefing
UK: Ofcom publishes a report on the media use and attitudes of children and parents; the Princess Royal attends the lord mayor of London’s Big Curry Lunch at Guildhall; Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, delivers speech to the Chatham House think tank on Britain’s economic security; the Crown Prosecution Service publishes quarterly performance statistics, including overall prosecution figures and police referrals as well as charging rates for offences including rape, hate crime, child sexual abuse and domestic abuse.
International: Members of the UN Security Council meet in New York for a quarterly debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the question of granting full UN membership to the Palestinian Authority; International Day for Monuments and Sites, informally known as World Heritage Day, celebrates cultural and architectural history.
On this day
In 1593 William Shakespeare’s poem Venus and Adonis was his first work to be entered in a Stationers’ Company register; in 1899 the St Andrew’s Ambulance Association, now St Andrew’s First Aid, was granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria. Founded in 1882, it provided the first ambulance service in Scotland; in 1949 Eire became the Republic of Ireland and left the Commonwealth; in 2017 the prime minister Theresa May called a general election for June 8, 2017, to deal with divisions at Westminster over Brexit. The Conservative Party ended up losing its majority in the snap general election that resulted in a hung parliament.
Nature notes
Walking under a pussy willow is a special springtide treat. On sunny days, the throng of pollinators feeding on the catkins purr musically. Even during the many cold, damp days, there will be something to hear, as lone bumblebee queens forage. Water-resistant and wearing fluffy fur, the bumblebee queens are adapted to sullen springs. Tree bumblebees are likely to be one of these chilly day willow visitors. With a ginger thorax, black abdomen and pure white tail, they are a striking sight. A recent arrival from continental Europe, they were only added to the British list in 2001. The queens nest in aerial sites: trees, eaves, bird boxes. Smaller versions of the queen, the workers and males will emerge in May. Jonathan Tulloch
Jonathan Tulloch
Birthdays today
Michael Beloff KC, president, Trinity College, Oxford (1996-2006), 82; Élisabeth Borne, prime minister of France (2022-Jan 2024), 63; Dave Calhoun, president and chief executive, the Boeing Company, 67; Lady (Samantha) Cameron of Chipping Norton, business executive and fashion designer, 53; Baroness (Frances) D’Souza, lord speaker, House of Lords (2011-16), 80; Nick Farr-Jones, rugby union player, Australia (1984-93), 62; Prof Niall Ferguson, historian and economist, author, Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe (2021), 60; America Ferrera, actress, Ugly Betty (2006-10), Barbie (2023), 40; Jane Hartley, American ambassador to the UK, 74; Michael D Higgins, president of Ireland, 83; The Right Rev Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield, 66; Philip Jackson, sculptor, the Bomber Command Memorial (2012), 80; Vanessa Kirby, actress, The Crown (2016-22), Pieces of a Woman (2020), 36; Prof Sir Peter Mathieson, nephrologist, principal and vice-chancellor, University of Edinburgh, 65; Hayley Mills, actress, Pollyanna (1960), The Parent Trap (1961), 78; Rick Moranis, actor, Ghostbusters (1984), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), 71; Lord (Frank) Mulholland KC, senator of the College of Justice in Scotland, lord advocate for Scotland (2011-16), 65; Mark Porter, consultant anaesthetist, chairman, British Medical Association council (2012-17), 62; Graham Rowntree, rugby union player, England (1995-2006), 53; David Tennant, actor, Doctor Who (2005-23), Good Omens (2019-23), 53; Alex Thomson, round-the-world yachtsman, 50; Mike Vickers, musician, Manfred Mann, 84; James von Moltke, chief financial officer and president, Deutsche Bank (investment bank), 55; James Woods, actor, Once Upon a Time in America (1984), 77; Edgar Wright, film director, Shaun of the Dead (2004), Baby Driver (2017).