THE UK Independence Party gained its first MP yesterday after the former Conservative MP Bob Spink announced he had joined its ranks.

MORE than one in five women aged 18 to 24 want to be size zero (UK size 4), a survey suggests.

ENERGY regulator Ofgem has launched an investigation into Npower following allegations about the company's selling practices.

SPECIALISTS searching suspected underground "punishment rooms" in a former Jersey care-home have found children's teeth.

A BOY who was brain-damaged after being kicked in the head on a bouncy castle launched a High Court damages bid yesterday.

A TEENAGE terror suspect was arrested after moderate Muslims warned police.

A DOCTOR yesterday denied giving false personal details when he was caught with banned drugs at a music festival.

FIG-ROLL biscuits are in short supply because of a severe shortage of the fruit, retail groups said yesterday.

POLITICAL parties are spending less on elections than they did decades ago, despite their pleas for state funding to ease their reliance on donors.

THE Government yesterday announced a review of the economic regulation of the UK airport system following a damning interim report by the Competition Commission (CC).

A BUILDER who got fed up waiting for a customer to pay for her new porch and conservatory took drastic action â€" he went back to the house and demolished them.

THE BBC's new-look news designs have drawn complaints from viewers, some claiming dizziness or nausea.

A MARRIED royal at the centre of a gay-sex blackmail trial attempted to "feel up" a male employee, a court heard yesterday.

FOUR gambling adverts featuring slapstick dwarfs dressed as dice and playing cards have become the first to be banned under new laws that stop children being targeted.

THE government's controversial anti-terror plans were last night roundly attacked by an ex-Labour cabinet minister who left office less than a year ago.

NEARLY one in four of those in debt say their money problems have caused their relationship to break down, a survey shows.

THE flag of St George will fly over 10 Downing Street today to honour England's patron saint.

ALMOST half of second-year pupils in Scotland are failing to achieve the minimum standards in writing, it was revealed yesterday.

CHANNEL 4 should be privatised, the former chief creative officer of the Big Brother production company, Endemol, said last night.

A TEAM of scientists have made "a major step forward" in understanding how the memory works, a journal reported yesterday.