Stephen Hunt

David Cameron has rejected calls from Eurosceptics to bring forward a referendum on continued EU membership from its planned date of 2017.

Education secretary Michael Gove has said that the time has come for the GCSE and A-level systems of England, Northern Ireland and Wales to split.

A BBC documentary is to reveal footage showing that evidence from the Hillsborough disaster which was originally undermined was true.

A report has slammed civil court orders which aim to prevent sex offenders targeting children upon release, describing them as “not fit for purpose”.

The orders are designed to stop offenders going to areas near children, travelling abroad and using computers.

Lord Young, enterprise adviser to the prime minister, has proposed scrapping the age limit on the start-up loans scheme in order to reinvigorate British business.

School children born in the summer months should have lower pass marks to reflect the fact that they are almost a year younger than some pupils in their year group, according to a report.

Plans to supervise all offenders for 12 months after they leave jail, outsourcing this work to private companies and charities, have been criticised.

The Queen said in her speech today that the government’s “first priority” was to strengthen the British economy so that the UK “can compete and succeed in the world”.

A man’s body has been found in the chimney of a law firm in Derby.

The discovery of the man, thought to be a burglar, was made at firm Moody and Woolley Solicitors after staff complained of a smell and flies in the office.

Several British overseas colonies with large financial operations, including Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, have signed agreements to share tax information with the government, the Treasury says.