Xbox One: Microsoft reveals new console that 'changes everything'

First major revamp of Xbox since 2005 integrates TV, internet and gaming in what Microsoft describes as 'rocket-science stuff'Microsoft revealed a new Xbox console on Tuesday that not only integrates TV, internet and gaming, but also will measure your heartbeat and recognise your voice.The company said the Xbox One will revolutionise its users' lifestyles by integrating the cloud, voice co

Steve Bell on David Cameron's message to Tory party members – cartoon

Prime minister sends personal note saying he would never work with anyone who 'sneered' at activistsSteve Bell

Harry Potter first edition featuring JK Rowling drawings sells for £150,000

Auction of tomes scribbled upon and annotated by their authors raises total of £440,000 for English Pen writers' associationA first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, with author JK Rowling's notes and original illustrations, was sold for £150,000 at auction in London.The book, which was auctioned by Sotheby's at a charity sale in aid of the English Pen writers' asso

NHS funding of private sector rose by £3bn in six years, report says

Study shows role of non-NHS providers in delivering NHS-funded care in England has increased dramaticallySpending on private services by the NHS reached a record £8.7bn last year, a jump of more than £3bn since 2006, according to research.A study by the Nuffield Trust and the Institute of Fiscal Studies reveals that the role of non-NHS providers in delivering NHS-funded care in England has

Free school offering 'cross-subject' learning approved by Michael Gove

Secondary school that promises to do away with traditional classroom lessons is among new tranche to open next yearAn unorthodox secondary school offering "cross-subject projects" rather than traditional classroom lessons, is among the latest tranche of free schools to be approved.XP school in Doncaster is one of the 102 new free schools given the go-ahead to open next year by Michael Gove

Nick Clegg to tell off Tory backbenchers for 'game-playing'

Lib Dem leader is likely to infuriate Conservative rebels with speech insisting coalition will last until 2015Nick Clegg will infuriate David Cameron's restive backbenchers on Wednesday by insisting he will not allow the coalition to be broken up early and telling them it is time to get back to governing from the centre, and end the game-playing at Westminster.His reading of the riot act t

MPs issue damning verdict on HMRC failures in fraud and error clampdown

Tax officials set to miss spending review target by £5bn because of 'extremely poor' performance, says Commons committeeA £5bn hole in the public purse has been caused by the failure of HM Revenue and Customs to clamp down effectively on fraud and error, MPs warn on Wednesday.The House of Commons public accounts committee has concluded that tax officials will achieve less than half the pro

Police force to sell £11m headquarters it has never used

Sale of Hampshire constabulary's Alpha Park in Eastleigh, which has been empty for five years, is unlikely to recoup costsA police force which spent more than £11m on a headquarters it has never used has announced it will sell the site, which has been empty for five years.Hampshire constabulary will put Alpha Park up for sale because it cannot afford to develop it and is unlikely to recoup

Sir David Nicholson, chief executive of NHS England, announces he is to quit

Official criticised for role in Mid Staffs scandal to step down in March next yearSir David Nicholson, the chief executive of NHS England, dramatically announced the end of his six-year reign after sustained criticism of his role in the Mid Staffs hospital scandal made it impossible for him to continue as the public face of the health service.The £211,000-a-year official had been subjected

Most UK species in decline, wildlife stocktake shows

The unprecedented analysis shows that many animals, birds, insects, fish and plants are in troubleAn unprecedented stocktake of UK wildlife has revealed that most species are struggling and that one in three have halved in number in the past half century. The unique report, based on scientific analysis of tens of millions of observations from volunteers, shows that from woodland to farmland a

Hugh Muir's diary: The anti-gay marriage MP who raced against time. And lost

Rob Flello came, he spoke, but he couldn't say everything• With Labour's help, PM Dave jumped a significant hurdle en route to legislation enshrining gay marriage. Good for him, but a worry for Lord Tebbit. We might see a "lesbian queen giving birth to a future monarch by artificial insemination", warns Normo. All quite concerning. Yes, it was Ed and his troops to the rescue – but not all of

IMF urges Treasury to speed up sale of Lloyds and RBS

Fund says disposal of £65bn bank stakes should be priority as Lloyds shares reach level considered as break-even for taxpayerSpeculation about a government sell-off of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group was escalating on Tuesday night amid reports that the International Monetary Fund is urging the Treasury to accelerate its disposal of the £65bn stakes in the two bailed-out banks

Trevor Bolder, bass player for David Bowie's 70s backing band, dies aged 62

Member of Spiders from Mars, who subsequently played with Uriah Heep for more than 30 years, was suffering from cancerTrevor Bolder, the bass player for Uriah Heep and David Bowie's Spiders from Mars, has died aged 62 after suffering from cancer.Bolder joined Bowie's backing band in 1971, appearing on classic albums including Hunky Dory and Aladdin Sane.He went on to join Uriah Heep fiv

Some Afghan interpreters to be allowed to settle in Britain

Government revises earlier plan to leave most army interpreters in Afghanistan after pullout, risking Taliban reprisalsAbout half the Afghan interpreters risking their lives for British troops are to be given settlement rights in the UK under a reworked package prepared by the coalition government.The package represents a climbdown from earlier suggestions that most interpreters would have

Job security is a thing of the past - so millions need a better welfare system | Guy Standing

Flexible labour markets have created a growing 'precariat', who should have the right to a basic standard of livingSo, millions of British workers are anxious and frustrated. Is anybody surprised at the precariousness revealed by the latest Skills and Employment Survey, published on Monday? The national survey, carried out every six years, shows that more employees feel insecure than at any t

Legal aid protest: objection sustained

If the law is to apply to the mighty and the meek in the same way, the real question is what weapons ordinary people can call on to fight their cornerWhen Jonathan Sumption QC was persuading Lord Hutton that Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell had done nothing wrong, he was employed using public funds, although certainly not on the cut-price fees of legal aid. The same was true when James Eadie

Rightwing Tory rebels call on peers to reject gay marriage bill

Opponents of bill say peers have every right to oppose it because it was not in coalition agreement or any party manifestoConservative opponents of gay marriage have invited the House of Lords to reject the bill after 133 Tory MPs, including two cabinet ministers, defied David Cameron to vote against the measure.As a Tory grassroots organisation warned of a "civil war in conservatism", pro

Artists criticise war centenary plan

Open letter to David Cameron describes conflict as a 'military disaster and a human catastrophe'David Cameron's plan to spend more than £50m marking the centenary of the first world war has been attacked by a group of actors, writers and campaigners including Jude Law and Michael Morpurgo, author of the children's novel War Horse which is set during the conflict.Promising a "truly national

Letters: Remembering war to promote peace

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the first world war. Far from being a "war to end all wars" or a "victory for democracy", this was a military disaster and a human catastrophe.We are disturbed, therefore, that David Cameron plans to spend £55m on a "truly national commemoration" to mark this anniversary. Mr Cameron quite inappropriately compared these events to the "d

Country diary: Cotehele, Tamar Valley: Sid Coombe No 1 among this year's thick and gorgeous apple blossoms

Cotehele, Tamar Valley: Most spectacular is this genetically unique and luminous spreading tree, which goes by the name of the farmer who valued the original on his smallholdingBranches of blossom peep above yew hedges that separate Cotehele's formal gardens from the old orchard. The apple is particularly thick and gorgeous this year. It obscures mistletoe, and clothes limbs that until a few

Abdel Hakim Belhaj torture case may be heard in secret court

Claim against Jack Straw, brought by Gaddafi victim and his wife, may be heard in secret under new Justice and Security ActOne of the first cases to be heard by the government's new generation of secret courts may be a claim brought by a Libyan dissident who was kidnapped along with his pregnant wife and flown to one of Muammar Gaddafi's prisons.Abdel Hakim Belhaj is suing the former forei

Maria Stubbings was killed by one man. The question is: who let it happen? | Julie Bindel

The failure of police to prevent her murder has been admitted. An apology is not enough – we need a public inquiry into domestic violenceMaria Stubbings is dead, strangled by a former boyfriend and let down by the police who could have done more to keep her safe, but didn't. Maria Stubbings is dead and, it would seem, not much has changed since I began campaigning on this issue over three dec

Inflation falls for first time since September

Fall in UK consumer prices index gives incoming Bank of England governor room to manoeuvreThe incoming governor of the Bank of England has warned Europe it must make "sustained and significant reforms" if it is to avoid a Japanese-style lost decade caused by austerity measures.Mark Carney, in his last speech as governor of the Bank of Canada, said Europe "can draw lessons from Japan on the

From 'swivel-eyed loons' to lesbian queens': what fresh hell for the Tories? | Hadley Freeman

It may be time for certain Tories to join the 21st century before they implode their partyProving yet again that people's prejudices invariably reveal far more about their own dark imagination than anything about the object they purport to fear, Norman Tebbit has raised the spectre of Britain being ruled by a lesbian queen should gay marriage be legalised. Now, depending on your cultural refe

Museums put oddball objects on show

First Time Out project will display unusual treasures that curators have retrieved from their storesOddball objects that are normally hidden away in museum curators' stores – including a working guillotine carved by Napoleonic prisoners of war from a cow bone left over from dinner – are going on display for the first time at museums across England.Each of 10 museums taking part in the Firs

First Time Out exhibition – in pictures

Ten previously hidden objects, weird, wonderful and beautiful by turn, go on display in First Time Out

Nick Buckles quits as chief executive of G4S with £1.2m payoff

Chairman of home affairs committee Keith Vaz brands payoff 'astonishing' given his role in the Olympics security fiascoThe chairman of the Commons home affairs committee has branded a £1.2m payoff to outgoing G4S chief executive Nick Buckles "astonishing" given his role in the Olympics security fiasco last summer.Keith Vaz said it must not be mistaken for a reward for "spectacular failure"

Eddie Braben: friends and fellow comic writers pay tribute

David Baddiel among those praising screenwriter who 'played all the right notes, in the right order, all the time'Friends and fellow comic writers paid tribute on Tuesday to Eddie Braben after his death at the age of 82.His manager, Norma Farnes, who announced his death, said: "It was Billy Cotton Jr at the BBC who recognised the brilliance of Eddie's writing was the ideal marriage that wo

Sell your shares if you're unhappy, says M&S chief Marc Bolland

UK sales – dragged down by a poor performance in general merchandise – fell 1% overallMarks and Spencer's chief executive Marc Bolland has told shareholders that if they are unhappy with the business they should sell their shares, as the underperforming womenswear division dragged the company to a second consecutive decline in annual profits.UK sales fell 1% overall, with a particularly po

FTSE 100 within sight of all-time high

Index closes at 6803.87 – just 130 points below peak reached on 30 December 1999 at height of the dotcom boomThe London stock market is within sight of its all-time closing high after another surge in share prices on Tuesday.After drifting for much of the day, the FTSE 100 index of Britain's top companies made a late rally to close 48.24 points higher at 6803.87. This marked its best level