UK News

Environment Minister Owen Patterson has called an urgent meeting with major food retailers as the government attempts to allay fears over horse meat in meals.

In a statement he said: “I called the major retailers and food distributers in today (Saturday) to agree a clear plan of urgent action to deal with the problem of horsemeat in processed beef products. It’s totally unacceptable that customers have been buying products labelled beef, but which turn out to be horse. I told them I expected to see meaningful results from the testing they’re currently carrying out on their products...

Families visiting National Trust’s Saltram, near Plymouth, will have the chance to experience life below the stairs over the coming weeks.

On the three weekends of 16/17 and 23/24 February, and 2/3 March, between 11am and 4 pm, the domestic areas of the Palladian mansion will be brought to life by the hustle and bustle of a whole host of ‘servants’ busily packing up the Parker family’s treasures for their long journey to London.

‘The Parkers on the Move’ takes families on an exclusive look at domestic areas rarely open to the public. Meeting all the servants...

Following opposition from the Liberal Democrats and criticism from across the political spectrum, teachers and regulators, Education Secretary Michael Gove has abandoned his plan to scrap GCSEs and replace them with a new, tougher English Baccalaureate.

The news comes days after the cross-party Commons Education Committee said the Government had "not proved its case" that GCSEs should be abolished in key academic subjects.

The Education Secretary will make a statement to the Commons later, where he is expected to report that he is still working to toughen up the exam system...

European leaders will meet in Brussels this week (7th-8th February) to try and reach a unanimous agreement on the EU’s long-term budget for the period 2014- 2020. The amount of money assigned to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and a number of policy concerns relating to the future CAP are among the issues to be discussed.

Speaking from a special meeting organised by the European farmers’ organisation COPA-COGECA in Brussels today, NFU director of policy Martin Haworth, said: “We have said all along that it would be unrealistic for us to expect the CAP to be exempt from the...