Britain today: Poorest hit hardest by emergency budget

George Osborne's emergency Budget hit the poorest hardest, a leading economic think-tank has said.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies concluded that the biggest losers from the measures announced by the Chancellor in June were low income households with children.

'Spy' found dead in flat

A MAN believed to be a British spy has been found murdered in a flat near the headquarters of MI6.

The body was discovered on Monday afternoon at a property in Pimlico, London. It is understood the corpse was stuffed into a bag and left in a bathroom. A murder probe has been launched.

Aspirin when pregnant 'helps blood pressure'

A DAILY dose of aspirin in pregnancy could help prevent complications in women with high blood pressure, a health watchdog said today.

High blood pressure in pregnancy can be dangerous and is linked to the condition pre-eclampsia.

It is more common in first-time pregnancies and can lead to premature birth, stillbirth and babies being smaller than average. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence a daily 75mg of aspirin could help.

STI diagnoses increase

Almost half-a-million new cases of sexually transmitted infections were diagnosed last year, up almost 12,000 on the previous year.

Most cases were among under-25s, and one in ten of 15-24 year olds with an STI became infected again within a year. Experts said Young women are "particularly vulnerable" to picking up STIs and more needed to be be done to encourage safe sex.

Shirlena claims she's not ill

Axed X Factor contestant Shirlena Johnson hit out at the move to drop her from the show amid mental health concerns. TV bosses yesterday confirmed she would not continue on the show in the interests of her welfare. But the singing hopeful insisted she was "not mentally ill".

London: More than 250,000 journeys have been made on new hire bikes in London since the scheme was launched three weeks ago, new figures showed today.

Almost 60,000 people signed up as members of the scheme, and between them they are making around 15,000 journeys a day.

North Yorkshire:Archaeologists discovered a Roman "industrial estate" near ruins which may once have been home to a legendary missing legion.

The site includes the remains of a water-powered flour mill, clothes, food remains, graves and pottery.