Friday, 25 September 2026
Britain in five minutes
British Today scans every major UK newsroom continuously (872 stories today) and condenses the day into one recap. Skim the lead stories below, then drop into the desk that matters to you.
- 01
Proaction boosts sales 60% and saves 75+ hours with Codex
With Codex, GPT-Live-1, and GPT-6 Astra, Proaction builds, operates, and sells modern fleet management faster.
OpenAI · just now
- 02
Maine’s famous red hot dogs have ditched the dyes and are being colored by crushed bugs instead
The bright red franks were formerly colored using Red Dye 3
Independent World · 5m ago
- 03
Contentious Orange Order parade can go ahead, commission says
The Parades Commission says the Drumcree parade should start earlier than the Orange Order wanted and with fewer people.
BBC UK · 9m ago
- 04
Till tax do us part
Here Melissa Lesson, Partner in the family law department at Mills & Reeve shares the hidden risks of the international high society marriage
Tatler · 21m ago
- 05
Lowest price ever: Netgear’s Orbi 770 is the best Wi-Fi 7 mesh router for the home we've tested
Rated the best mesh router for homes by us, the Orbi 770 Wi-Fi 7 mesh system impressed us on speed and price, and now it's down to a record low price at Amazon.
TechRadar · 29m ago
Politics & Westminster
Contentious Orange Order parade can go ahead, commission says
The Parades Commission says the Drumcree parade should start earlier than the Orange Order wanted and with fewer people.
BBC UK · 9m ago
I'm not tempted to call an early election, Burnham says
The prime minister told the BBC an early poll would throw the country into a "backward-looking process".
BBC UK · 52m ago
How 'largest phone smuggling network' was uncovered
Police say up to 40,000 phones were smuggled - the equivalent of around 40% of devices stolen in London.
BBC UK · 1h ago
Healey appoints Labour manifesto writer, adding to election speculation
Exclusive: Economist Ravinder Athwal, who worked in Keir Starmer’s team, is poached from Flint Global Ravinder Athwal, the economist who wrote Labour’s 2024 manifesto, is taking on a senior role as an adviser to John Healey, in a move likely to fuel speculation about an early general election. The chancellor is keen to strengthen his team before the critical budget on 28 October, as the economy is buffeted by high oil prices and rising government borrowing costs . Continue reading...
Guardian Business · 2h ago
Tory ex-ministers face serious questions over migrant centre chaos, inquiry hears
The Manston centre in Kent became overwhelmed in November 2022 at the height of the small boats crisis.
BBC Politics · 2h ago
Business & Markets
Trump and Xi exchange warm words at state dinner but little progress on key issues
Despite diplomatic niceties and gifts, little was shared on substantial issues separating the leaders.
BBC Business · 2h ago
‘Major milestone’: TfL to launch new public bus operator in London
Buses for London aims for ‘greener, safer and better-value’ service but private operators say move will not fix problems London buses in decline? Why public transport is slowing to a crawl – visualised A publicly owned company, Buses for London, will start running services in the capital next year, Transport for London has announced. TfL said the launch was a “major milestone” in its plans to improve buses for drivers and passengers. Continue reading...
Guardian Business · 3h ago
UK diesel price close to all-time high
The average price of a litre of diesel at the pump stands at 198.32p, according to the RAC motoring body.
BBC Business · 7h ago
TalkTalk races to sell consumer and broadband arms as administration looms
Customers and jobs ‘top priority’ as company closes in on deals with Opus Broadband and investment group Octopus Business live – latest updates TalkTalk is scrambling to secure its future amid the threat of administration, closing in on deals to sell its consumer and broadband arms as it seeks to save 900 jobs. The telecoms company said on Friday it was in the final stages of sealing deals to sell its consumer business as well as its wholesale operation, PXC. Continue reading...
Guardian Business · 8h ago
Gamma suitor Epiris in talks to buy TalkTalk wholesale arm PXC for £200m
The buyout firm stalking London-listed Gamma Communications has entered formal talks to buy PXC, the wholesale arm of struggling TalkTalk Telecom Group.
Sky Business · 9h ago
Around the Nation
Glasgow City Council pauses plan to fire and rehire 23,000 staff
Talks between the council and three unions will resume early next week to try to reach a new deal on pay, it is understood.
BBC UK · 1h ago
18 Star Trek desk accessories to turn your home office into the Enterprise
I explored the furthest reaches of the Bezos system to find some of the best Star Trek themed home office gear and desk accessories.
TechRadar · 7h ago
Death certification reform, England and Wales: 2025
Analysis of death registrations since death certification reform, including time taken to register death and cause of death.
Office for National Statistics · 10h ago
Mortality by ethnic group following death certification reform, England and Wales: 2025
Deaths by ethnic group, based on the ethnicity field introduced as part of death certification reform.
Office for National Statistics · 10h ago
Deaths registered in England and Wales: 2025
Registered deaths by leading cause of death, age, sex, and selected underlying causes of death, and death occurrences, in England and Wales.
Office for National Statistics · 10h ago
Technology
Lowest price ever: Netgear’s Orbi 770 is the best Wi-Fi 7 mesh router for the home we've tested
Rated the best mesh router for homes by us, the Orbi 770 Wi-Fi 7 mesh system impressed us on speed and price, and now it's down to a record low price at Amazon.
TechRadar · 29m ago
8 wild quotes from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's latest interview on AI and why they should concern you
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang just gave a blockbuster interview that downplayed AI concerns, complemented China, and argued against slowdown or regulation.
TechRadar · 31m ago
Save big on this 1TB Samsung T7 SSD with 1,050MB/s read speeds
Need more storage for pro-grade projects? The compact and versatile Samsung T7 is a favorite of ours, delivering 1TB capacity and read speeds up to 1,050MB/s.
TechRadar · 1h ago
New Jersey hits data center powering Microsoft Copilot with $1m fine after drone expose 62 secretly-installed gas generators
DataOne data center responsible for Microsoft's AI accused of running 62 natural gas generators without any permits.
TechRadar · 2h ago
OpenAI hack on Australian government reveals anxiety at heart of global artificial intelligence dilemma
As the UN warns traditional safeguards are ‘unravelling’, Donald Trump says he will encourage, not restrain, the AI race When the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, sat down for an interview in the heart of Silicon Valley at the weekend he had known for two days that his was the first government known to have been attacked by a rogue AI agent. He didn’t reveal the attack then, but he sounded a warning about the march of AI: “the risk is that AI develops in a way in which humans are no longer in control of what AI is producing.” Continue reading...
Guardian World · 3h ago
Sport
Sir David Beckham nets £38.5m after World Cup ad deals
His stake in DRJB Holdings has entitled him to almost half of its £85.5m in dividend payments.
BBC Business · 2h ago
Watch: What could the potential sanctions for Man City be?
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says the potential sanctions for Manchester City will be 'significant' after the sources told BBC Sport that the club has been found guilty of breaking the majority of the 115 financial rules they were accused of breaching.
BBC UK · 3h ago
How to watch Georgia vs Northern Ireland: Free Stream, TV Channels and Kick-Off Time
All the ways to watch Georgia vs Northern Ireland live streams online for free from anywhere as both countries begin their Nations League campaigns.
TechRadar · 5h ago
David Beckham takes £39m dividend as World Cup deals drive record profits
Former footballer appeared in about 12 ad campaigns this summer, pushing holding company’s revenue to $110.5m Business live – latest updates David Beckham has taken a $51m (£39m) dividend from his business empire after a series of deals with brands for the Fifa World Cup. Beckham appeared in about a dozen ad campaigns across this summer’s tournament in the US, working with brands including Lenovo, McDonald’s, Bank of America, Verizon and the PepsiCo crisps brand Lay’s. Continue reading...
Guardian Business · 8h ago
Revealed: EFL seeks £1bn five-year transfer from Premier League
The English Football League wants top flight clubs to hand over more than £1bn during the next five years in order to end the long-running impasse over a financial redistribution deal.
Sky Business · 8h ago
Culture & Entertainment
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve review – brilliant aerial combat game fulfils the Top Gun fantasy
PlayStation 5, Xbox, PC (version played); Bandai Namco The game generates blood-pumping moments as you twist, turn and weave through the skies, while your locked-on missiles speed away to obliterate an enemy plane The core appeal of any Ace Combat game lies in the moment when the beautiful clouds part, the sunlight glints off your perfectly rendered state-of-the-art fighter jet, and guitar-shredding music kicks into overdrive as your locked-on missiles speed away to obliterate an enemy plane. All of that is 100% present in Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. What’s new is the way it delivers its unexpectedly compelling story. Set in the Earth-like alternative world of Strangereal, where every country is absolutely obsessed with fighter planes and giant superweapons, Ace Combat drafts you into the role of a fake ace pilot called the Wings of Theve – a propaganda invention to raise the morale of a besieged nation, similar to real-life rumours about Ukraine’s Ghosts of Kyiv . You rapidly find yourself becoming an actual legendary pilot, soaring through the skies with your buddies and raining hell upon your oppressors as everybody cheers on the radio. Speaking of ghosts, you have one in your ear – your predecessor, whom nobody else can hear, a gravelly voice waxing lyrical about flying, war and whatever else is on his mind as you flit about. Continue reading...
Guardian Tech · 4h ago
13 films you don’t want to miss at this year’s London Film Festival
Under-the-radar movies to seek out at October’s UK-wide film fest
Time Out London · 8h ago
Robbie Williams' surprise singalong after Peru gig cancelled
Robbie Williams gave an impromptu performance outside a hotel in Lima after his stadium concert was cancelled.
BBC World · 9h ago
Property & Housing
NSW crackdown on ‘AI-doctored’ real estate listings hits mural-covered wall
Apartment with strange view singled out in government’s fight against deceptive ads – but real estate agent says photo is no fake Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast The New South Wales government’s crackdown on “AI-doctored” rental listings has hit a wall, after it made an example of a supposedly manipulated ad that turned out to be a genuine photograph of a $5,000 courtyard mural of Bondi beach. In a media release on Friday announcing protections against misleading rental ads, the state government provided a link to a property in Leichhardt, claiming it was an “AI-doctored rental listing in Sydney’s Inner West”. Continue reading...
Guardian World · 3h ago
Italy’s prime property market surges as flat tax draws global wealth
Knight Frank’s Italian transactions are up 140% this year, with more than 60% of international prime enquiries 'driven primarily by tax considerations.'
PrimeResi · 13h ago
Housebuilder Vistry slashes profit forecasts as losses balloon
Firm unveils further cost-cutting plan including job losses, blaming poor summer sales of private homes Vistry Group, one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders, has cut its annual profit expectations after half-year losses ballooned as it grappled with a £600m pile of unsold homes. Adam Daniel, the new chief executive of the Bovis Homes and Countryside owner, insisted “the issues can be fixed” as he set out a detailed turnaround plan that involves pulling out of private sales in south-east England and slimming operations to turn Vistry into a more focused, 12,000-homes-a-year builder. Continue reading...
Guardian Business · 1d ago
Motoring
Farewell to a legend: Driving the last Ford Sigma-engined Caterham
Sub-600kg swansong for Sigma-powered Caterham Seven is "an absolute riot" on the road The small capacity four-cylinder Ford engine has been a Seven staple right from the very start. When Lotus founder Colin Chapman first revealed his lightweight, low cost kit-built entry-level sports car back in 1957 it had the Blue Oval’s simple side-valve motor under its polished aluminum bonnet. By the time the Seven was reborn as a Caterham in 1973, Uncle Henry’s ubiquitous and endlessly tuneable crossflow Kent was the engine of choice. Over the years alternative options have come and gone (Rover’s K-Series and Vauxhall’s Family II units for example), but ultimately the starter Seven for many punters has been Ford-powered, which in the current car meant the revvy 1.6-litre Sigma. However, for the first time in nearly seven decades buyers will no longer be able to marry a Seven with a small Ford motor. Caterham had already reduced its reliance on the Sigma after production of the all-aluminum four-pot ended in 2020, yet it retained a small stockpile of motors to fulfil existing orders. But now it really is the end. So as a celebratory swansong it packaged its final 25 engines into a very limited edition Seven, the aptly named Encore. So, what makes for a fitting send-off then? Well, for starters the Encore gets the hottest possible tune for a naturally aspirated Sigma, serving up 152bhp at 7000rpm and 168lb ft of torque. Achieved through the use of racier cams and an ECU tweak, it gives the engine enough muscle to keep things interesting but with a zingy character that the larger and angrier 2.0-litre Duratec models lack. Externally the Encore sports the vented nose cone from the supercharged 620 , while 420 Cup donates its front grille. There is also a choice of natty colours, each taking its name from an iconic music track (Blue Monday, Yellow Brick Road, Back in Black….well, you get the picture), a trio of body stripes that run stem to stern and a smattering of Encore badges inside and out. You also get 13-inch two-piece alloys wrapped in track-focused Toyo rubber plus, as ever, there’s a choice of intimate S3 or, as tested here, wide-body SV chassis configurations. Crucially, the Encore snaffles some of the best features from the R-Pack cars, which offer even greater sharpness to the handling without harming everyday usability, as much as any Seven is a daily driving proposition. Sports suspension, a limited slip diff and lightened flywheel are part of the standard specification. Even with ‘just’ 152bhp the sub-600kg Encore is rapid, easily capable of 0-60mph in under 5 seconds which, if we’re honest, is more than quick enough for any public road. Yet it’s the way the Seven delivers the performance, the car responding instantly and proportionality to every throttle input, the side exit exhaust barking, crackling and popping away inches from your right ear. To make the most of the performance you’ll have to make busy with the wristly-quick, mechanically tight Mazda-sourced five-speed manual, zapping it around the gate just for the fun of it and executing perfectly timed heel-and-toe down shifts - braapp-braapp - despite the cramped pedal box. On typical British B-roads there is simply nothing like a Seven, its dinky dimensions giving you time and space as it zaps fast and flat through the corners. Sitting inches from the ground and with your bum directly over the de Dion rear axle, you feel every movement and attitude shift, the sport suspension sacrificing some of the standard car's suppleness for enhanced control over larger bumps. Again, it’s the lack of mass that really shines through, the Seven responding almost intuitively to your every command with an immediacy no amount of clever chassis tech can mimic in heavier machines. The quick and razor-sharp steering writhes and wriggles with feedback, while there’s just enough effortless twist from the engine to allow subtle, throttle-assisted trajectory changes. Yet what really makes the Seven a joy is that you don't have to be driving like Fangio when he's late for his dinner. Simply pootling about is a pleasure, taking in the sights, sounds and smells while watching the front wheels bob up and down in rhythm with the road. You also revel in the act of actually driving a car that responds faithfully to your every input - you drive smoothly and the Encore responds in kind; get clumsy and it'll behave accordingly. Then there's the reaction it gets. We're suppossed to be living in the anti-car world, but drive a Seven and you'd never know. I can't think of any high performance car that's so warmly received wherever it goes. Pedestrians point and smile, while in traffic drivers will wind down their window to engage you in animated conversation. Hell, even cyclists give you a nod and the occassional 'nice car, mate'. Basically, if you don’t finish every drive elated, energised and feeling better about the world then your vitals need to be checked for signs of life. Of course the typical Caterham concerns persist. Erecting the Heath Robinson hood is not the work of a moment, while only the seriously committed will use a Seven to tackle daily duties. And at £39,995 for the S3 in kit form, it’s not cheap - although given that most ‘driver’s cars’ these days tend to be seven-figure supercars and restomods, most of which trail the Seven for visceral driver interaction, you could argue it represents cracking value. The real catch is that numbers are limited, and at the time of writing only a handful of examples remain available. Moreover, there’s no current plan to fill the hole in the line-up left by the Sigma (a turbocharged 1.3-litre from Horse Powertrains will be used in the Academy racers, but it’s still undecided whether it will become a road car option). It’s a shame, because for many of us this 1.6-litre machine represents the ripe, peachy sweet spot of the Seven line-up. Still, there’s no reason to be mawkish because the skinny-tyred and Kei car-powered 170 is still going strong, as are the fast and furious Duratec versions, so you’ve still got plenty of ways to experience the Caterham magic. In the meantime, let’s hear it one last time for the Sigma - you will be missed. Verdict As quick as you’ll ever need on the road and an absolute riot to drive, the Sigma-engined Seven is a true great - and the Encore is a fitting final fling. 4.5 Stars sPECIFICATIONS DETAILS Price £45,339 (including factory build) Engine 4 cyls in line, 1596cc Power 152bhp at 7000rpm Torque 124lb ft at 5600rpm Gearbox 5-spd manual, rear-wheel drive Kerbweight 540kg 0-60mph 4.8sec Top speed 127mph Economy na C02 na Rivals Morgan Super 3 , MK Sportscars Sprint 185
Autocar · 1h ago
Lamborghini Keeps Hinting At A Temerario Sterrato
Lamborghini executives haven't confirmed a new Sterrato model, but they're keeping the door open for a rugged Temerario.
Motor1 · 2h ago
Screen-Used 1992 Batmobile Is Going To Auction, And It Could Sell For $7 Million
Built from two Chevy Impala chassis, the Batman Returns Batmobile could set a new movie-car auction record in November.
Motor1 · 4h ago
The best electric cars 2026 – driven, rated and ranked
These are the best EVs on sale in the UK today in our view – each with its own trump card Electric cars have taken remarkable strides forward in recent years, so much so in fact that they have never been a more credible and usable alternative to ICE machines. The first flock of EVs were mired by a number of major shortcomings, most notably their limited real-world ranges, high prices and slow charging speeds. Fast-forward to 2026 and the outlook could not be more different, with EVs accounting for almost 30% of the UK car market. Battery technology, public charging infrastructure, energy efficiency have all improved dramatically to make EVs far more desirable, while lower production costs have helped democratise them. The UK government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG) has also helped drive the cost of EVs down further, making them the go-to choice for families and fleets. Happily, there’s a broad and diverse range of EVs on sale today, from 250-mile superminins to 500-mile SUVs that have the space and range to make them excellent all-rounders. But which should you actually buy? To help you decide, our expert road testers have driven, assessed and evaluated every EV on sale. Some cars are also put through our instrumented road test, in which we gather empirical performance and refinement benchmarks at MIRA proving ground. At a glance Make and Model Best For Starting Price Official Range (WLTP) Autocar Tested Range Autocar Rating 1. Skoda Elroq Versatility and value £33,970 Up to 372 miles 370 miles 4.5/5 2. BMW iX3 Range and charging speed £60,655 Up to 500 miles 435 miles 4.5/5 3. Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Sports car thrills £65,800 Up to 278 miles 230 miles 5/5 4. Renault 5 Stylish and affordable motoring £21,495 Up to 248 miles 260 miles 4.5/5 5. Porsche Taycan Handling and performance £88,200 Up to 421 miles 360 miles 4.5/5 The best electric cars At present, we think the Skoda Elroq is the best EV you can buy right now. Few compact SUVs can match its clever blend of versatility, range, maturity and sheer value for money. Plus several derivatives qualify for the £1500 ECG. If you’re after something bigger – and with an incredibly long range – the BMW iX3 is a brilliant electric SUV. It will charge at 400kW, has a large practical cabin and feels like a true BMW to drive. Our list also includes sporty saloons like the Porsche Taycan and superminis like the Renault 5.
Autocar · 4h ago
Honda Revisits Its 241.428-MPH Lap Record In New Docuseries
Honda's four-part '241.428' series celebrates Gil de Ferran and the closed-course speed record he set at California Speedway in 2000.
Motor1 · 5h ago
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