Secret e-mails and memos showing how the Iraq war dossier was “sexed-up” must be released by the UK Cabinet Office, it was reported yesterday. Mr Richard Thomas, the UK Information Commissioner, has told civil servants to release undisclosed material which could provide “evidence that the dossier was deliberately manipulated in order to present an exaggerated case for military action”. After repeated freedom of information requests, Mr Thomas said in a 20-page ruling given yesterday that... Read Full Story

Tony Blair’s sister-in-law claims she is trapped in Gaza after trying to draw attention to the plight of Palestinian refugees. Lauren Booth (pictured above) said she was being prevented by Israeli and Egyptian authorities from leaving. She arrived in Gaza on a ‘peace boat’ 10 days ago carrying human rights activists who wanted to draw attention to the tight blockade imposed in the area by Israel but when the boat left last Thursday she decided to stay. ‘When I went to the Israeli checkpoint... Read Full Story

The American teenager who is the expectant father of a baby with the 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin calls himself ‘a f***ing redneck’ on his MySpace page. Levi Johnston (pictured above), 18, a high-school hockey player, is engaged to Bristol Palin, whose pregnancy was revealed to the Republican party convention just days after her 44-year-old mother was picked as John McCain’s running mate. He is the high-school sweetheart (how twee) of the Alaska... Read Full Story

Looks like a nice quiet place, Regent’s Park Mosque in London, UK (pictured above), doesn’t it ? But looks can be deceptive. Women preachers there have been calling on Muslims to kill homosexuals and adulterers, a UK television documentary revealed last night. During a hardline rant, one preacher said Muslims who switch to another religion should also be slaughtered. The extremist sermons, filmed secretly by the UK Channel 4 Dispatches programme, encouraged followers to embrace a hardline... Read Full Story

A beleaguered, bemused and bedragled UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown (pictured above) warned yesterday that the West would not be held to ransom by a Vladimir Putin-inspired Russia, threatening a ‘root and branch’ review of relations with the Kremlin and an urgent initiative to end Britain’s reliance on Russian oil and gas. His defiant words reportedly followed a ‘full and frank’ conversation he had with the Russians yesterday and heightened tensions ahead of the meeting of European heads of... Read Full Story

Britain’s education system will become increasingly fragmented if faith schools (a symbol above) use new powers to discriminate on religious grounds when hiring headteachers and support staff, campaigners warned yesterday. The Government says the change in the law, which comes into force on Monday, is intended to help schools choose staff who will offer “pastoral support” to pupils. The amendment to the Education and Inspections Act 2006 also allows voluntary-controlled and foundation... Read Full Story

Britain is facing “arguably the worst” economic downturn in 60 years which will be “more profound and long-lasting” than people had expected, Alistair Darling (pictured above), the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, has told the Guardian newspaper. In the government’s gravest assessment yet of the economy, which follows a warning from a Bank of England policymaker that 2 million people could be unemployed by Christmas, Darling admits he had no idea how serious the credit crunch would become... Read Full Story

Cabinet ministers will reportedly give UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown (pictured above, displaying an interesting and striking combination of indecisiveness, fear, ineptitude and despair) ”one last chance” to save his premiership but will try to oust him by November if he fails to improve Labour’s prospects. Senior ministers believe that it would be a mistake to move against the Prime Minister before New Labour’s annual conference next month, which they are warning would then descend into... Read Full Story

The UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband (pictured above), yesterday said Russia must not start a new cold war and he accused Moscow of trying to redraw the map of Europe in the wake of the war in Georgia. Miliband was speaking in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine which, like Georgia, wants to join NATO. The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, yesterday defied the West by recognising as independent the breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, presumably as a prelude to their... Read Full Story

A suspected terrorist has been arrested over an alleged internet plot to assassinate UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown (pictured above, still trying in vain to get some Olympic glory to rub off), police revealed yesterday. As reported previously, The 25-year-old, who is believed to be white, was held after a raid in Blackburn, Lancashire (4000 holes fame) early yesterday morning. He is the fourth member a suspected terror cell held by detectives in the past fortnight. The arrests came after... Read Full Story