Reuters: UK

Soldier's mother rebukes Brown over death

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:06:04 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been confronted about a lack of military equipment in Afghanistan during a tense taped telephone conservation with the mother of a soldier killed there last month.

NHS has "taken eye off the ball" on infections

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:48:23 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - The NHS has lost sight of tackling the majority of hospital-acquired infections as it chases targets to reduce cases of two of the most high profile bugs, an influential parliamentary committee said on Tuesday.

House prices and retail sales rise

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:54:54 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - House prices in England and Wales rose last month at their strongest rate in almost three years, while British retail sales grew at their fastest annual pace since April, surveys showed on Tuesday.

Climate change has winemakers seeing red

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:55:15 +0000

DORKING, England (Reuters) - The pickers working their way along the hillside, clipping bunches of small, dark purple grapes from the rows of vines and dropping them into plastic buckets are harbingers of a warmer planet.

Britons more optimistic about economy

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:01:41 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons are more optimistic about the economy than at any time for the past 18 months, according to a Populus poll for The Times on Tuesday.

Gas prices fall as worries fade on cold snap

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:35:01 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - British gas prices fell across the board on Tuesday, giving up the previous session's gains on the cold spell, as confidence grew on the market's ability to satisfy higher heating demand through the winter.

Nuclear energy expansion plans unveiled

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:23:23 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - The government set out plans Monday to speed up the planning process for big wind farms and new nuclear power plants and named 10 sites where reactors could be built.

Ex-UK soldier says colleagues caused Iraqi's death

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:02:31 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - A former British soldier told an inquiry on Monday into allegations of abuse by British troops in Iraq that he saw two of his colleagues kick and hit a handcuffed Iraqi detainee shortly before he died.

Biggest lottery win for syndicate, couple

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:14:03 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - The winners of Britain's biggest lottery prize, worth 91 million pounds, will break their silence on Tuesday to explain how they plan to spend their windfall, organisers said on Monday.

Britons face higher credit card charges

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:35:52 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) - Consumers face higher rates and fees on credit cards as lenders battle rising bad debts, funding constraints and reduced appetite for borrowing, accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers said on Monday.