News, sport and information for Hendon, Finchley, Barnet, Potters Bar, Edgware and Mill Hill

Better pay 'means bigger classes'

7:01am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

Plans to give heads the power to award higher pay rises to good teachers will result in larger class sizes for children, the Chief Inspector of Schools has warned.

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Act on tax avoidance, urges Cameron

6:34am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

David Cameron is to step up the campaign against tax evasion and "aggressive" tax avoidance as Apple joins multinational corporations in the spotlight.

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PM faces gay marriage Bill backlash

1:54am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

David Cameron is facing a fresh bout of Tory strife after the coalition's plans to introduce gay marriage cleared the Commons.

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Afghan interpreters can come to UK

12:30am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

Around 600 Afghan interpreters are to be offered the chance to settle in Britain after an apparent coalition rethink.

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'Failures' in tax fraud crackdown

12:08am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money is being lost because of the failure of HM Revenue and Customs to clamp down effectively on fraud and error, MPs have warned.

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Food hygiene 'a postcode lottery'

12:08am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

Food outlets in parts of the London borough of Bexley have the worst hygiene standards of more than 2,000 postcodes, while those in Birmingham's B35 area offer the best, according to a Which? investigation.

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'Alarming rate' of wildlife decline

12:08am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

UK wildlife is "in trouble", with almost 2,000 species of birds, animals, insects and plants known to have declined in the past half century, experts have warned.

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Police force to sell unused £11m HQ

12:08am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

A police force that spent more than £11 million on a headquarters it has never used has announced it will sell the site after it has been empty for five years.

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55 beaches meet tough new standards

12:08am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

More than 50 English beaches have met tough new EU standards to receive Blue Flag awards for 2013.

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102 free school proposals approved

12:08am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

Education Secretary Michael Gove has approved more than 100 free school applications, which will make up around 50,000 school places.

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Clegg dismisses coalition break-up

12:08am Wednesday 22nd May 2013

Nick Clegg will insist that he and David Cameron are both "absolutely committed" to governing in coalition through to 2015 as he attempts to calm speculation over the future of the power-sharing deal.

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Harry Potter edition fetches £150k

11:48pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

A first edition of the first Harry Potter book, personally annotated by JK Rowling, has sold for £150,000 at auction.

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Dame Judi proud of Bomber Boys role

9:02pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

Dame Judi Dench has described herself as being "very proud" to be the first patron of a new campaign to preserve the Bomber Command Memorial for generations to come.

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Seven UK child soldiers in Mid East

8:55pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

Britain sent seven children to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq during a four-year period, it has emerged.

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Woman tries to drive into Commons

8:45pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

A woman has been detained by police after trying to drive through the main gates of the House of Commons.

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Gay marriage Bill clears Commons

7:36pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

The Government's controversial plans to legalise gay marriage have cleared the Commons despite efforts by Tory backbenchers to derail the legislation.

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Patients 'harmed' by 111 service

6:56pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

The implementation of the new NHS non-emergency advice line has caused harm to patients, the director of patient safety at NHS England has admitted.

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Three jailed for fake £1 coins plot

5:12pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

Three forgers have been jailed for what police believe is the largest ever plot to make fake pound coins in the UK, some of which may still be in circulation.

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Jail term for 'sugar daddy' conman

5:08pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

A heartless conman who fleeced more than £170,000 out of a string of women he met on a website for "sugar daddies" has been jailed for seven years.

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Australians win show garden prize

4:17pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

An Australian team has won the best show garden prize for the first time in the Chelsea Flower Show's 100-year-history - with one of its members celebrating by stripping off and going for an impromptu swim.

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BAE fined for 'preventable tragedy'

3:39pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

Defence giant BAE Systems has been ordered to pay almost £350,000 in fines and costs after a worker died when he was crushed by a 145-tonne metal press at one of its sites, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed.

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Interflora wins M&S trademark case

3:16pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

Flower delivery network Interflora has won its long-running trademark dispute with Marks & Spencer.

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'Strong evidence' of burnt remains

3:16pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

Experts found "very strong evidence" of burnt human skull remains at the home of the man accused of murdering April Jones, a jury has heard.

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Mother's pride at son's VC honour

2:38pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

The mother of a "supremely courageous and inspiring" British soldier who died as he protected the lives of his comrades in a battle with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan has spoken of her pride after accepting his posthumous Victoria Cross (VC).

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Briton in Everest triple peak coup

1:54pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

Britain's most successful mountaineer has become the first person to scale the three peaks of Mount Everest's Western Cwm in one climb.

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Treasury not to be trusted: Salmond

1:52pm Tuesday 21st May 2013

A claim that the UK Treasury deliberately undervalued Scotland's oil in the 1970s to head off the threat of nationalism is evidence that it cannot be trusted in the independence campaign, according to the First Minister.

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Comedy scriptwriter Braben dies

10:26am Tuesday 21st May 2013

Comedy writer Eddie Braben, the third man behind the success of Morecambe and Wise, has died at the age of 82, his manager said.

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House asking prices reach new high

12:08am Monday 20th May 2013

House sellers' asking prices have soared to a new high, in further signs of confidence returning to the market, a property website has reported.

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Red Arrows cleared for new displays

11:19am Friday 17th May 2013

The RAF's Red Arrows air display team has been cleared by the Chief of the Air Staff to fly in displays this year, the RAF said.

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Fire services 'could save £200m'

11:07am Friday 17th May 2013

Fire and rescue services in England could save up to £200 million a year if they were operated more efficiently, according to a report.

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British Olympic sailor dies as America's Cup boat capsizes

11:44pm Thursday 9th May 2013

Olympic gold medal-winning sailor Andrew Simpson, from Sherborne, Dorset, has died after his yacht capsized off the coast of California, his team said.

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Credit unions to pool resources

12:09am Tuesday 7th May 2013

More than 30 credit unions have signed up to a "landmark" expansion drive which will save consumers up to £1 billion in loan interest repayments in the coming years.

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Keira Knightley 'marries in France'

6:46am Sunday 5th May 2013

She is estimated to be worth £30 million, but Hollywood star Keira Knightley opted for a low-key wedding to her musician boyfriend, which was sealed with a simple "oui" at the altar, it has been reported.

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Four winners share Lotto jackpot

11:06pm Saturday 4th May 2013

Four winners shared Saturday night's Lotto jackpot of £3.5 million, Camelot have said.

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Deputy Speaker held on sex charges

10:58pm Saturday 4th May 2013

Deputy House of Commons Speaker and Conservative MP Nigel Evans has been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of rape.

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Britain dodges triple-dip slump

9:43am Thursday 25th April 2013

The UK has avoided an unprecedented triple-dip recession after the economy grew by a better-than-expected 0.3% at the start of the year, official figures have revealed.

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Videogame companies shunning high street in favour of digital

10:30am Wednesday 24th April 2013

More game developers than ever before are working on games that are distributed online rather than in high street shops.

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Vigilantes 'threaten prosecutions'

5:17pm Monday 22nd April 2013

Self-proclaimed "vigilantes" posing online as underage girls to meet alleged paedophiles could threaten successful prosecutions, say police.

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Runners to honour Boston victims

3:27am Sunday 21st April 2013

Thousands of fun-runners, athletes and fundraisers will show solidarity to those affected by the Boston terror attacks as they start the London Marathon.

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Person dies in measles outbreak

11:56am Friday 19th April 2013

A person has died of suspected measles in one of the biggest epidemics in the UK for a decade.

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450 public sector jobs 'lost daily'

6:59am Wednesday 17th April 2013

Almost 450 jobs have been lost from councils and police forces across the UK every day since the coalition came to power, according to a new report.

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Tourist boss may sue forecasters

4:27pm Tuesday 16th April 2013

A tourist boss is threatening to sue weather forecasters for pessimistic predictions he claims are ruining his business.

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Parliament pays tribute to Thatcher

2:54am Wednesday 10th April 2013

Parliamentarians are gathering to pay tribute to the late Baroness Thatcher ahead of the former Prime Minister's funeral next week.

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Baroness Thatcher death - Live blog

1:41pm Monday 8th April 2013

Baroness Thatcher has died aged 87 following a stroke, it has been announced. The former prime minister, who had suffered bouts of illness for many years, was said to have died peacefully.

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Lady Thatcher dies of stroke at 87

1:54pm Monday 8th April 2013

Baroness Thatcher has died at the age of 87 following a stroke, her family has announced.

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Baroness Thatcher dies after stroke

1:36pm Monday 8th April 2013

Baroness Thatcher has died aged 87 following a stroke, it has been announced.

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Baroness Thatcher dies after stroke

12:52pm Monday 8th April 2013

Baroness Thatcher has died aged 87 following a stroke, it has been announced.

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Couple face jail over fatal blaze

5:05am Wednesday 3rd April 2013

A couple who killed their six children in a house fire are set to be jailed.

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At last ... spring set to break out

3:38pm Tuesday 2nd April 2013

Long-awaited spring weather is finally expected to arrive this weekend with temperatures set to return to normal, following the coldest March in more than 50 years.

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