UK news: Ann Widdecombe set for panto

FORMER MP Ann Widdecombe has signed up to make her debut in panto.

The ex-Home Office minister will take a role in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs later this year, just months after saying she had no interest in a "showbiz career".

Pay deals rise 'sharply'

AVERAGE pay deals have risen "sharply" from 2.2 per cent to 2.8 per cent in recent months, according to research.

Pay analysts Incomes Data said almost half of recent settlements were worth at least 3 per cent, reflecting the influence of higher inflation as well as the improved economic outlook, especially in manufacturing.

The number of long-term wage deals is also increasing.

Prisoners voting rule faces legal challenge

THE government has launched a legal challenge to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling that the UK's blanket ban on prisoners voting is unlawful.

Constitutional Affairs Minister Mark Harper said the UK had asked for the highest tier of the ECHR to examine the issue.

Mr Harper said the court should "look again" at the ruling. The move follows an overwhelming Commons vote last month in favour of defying the ECHR's judgment.

Soviet red tape slashed

EUROPEAN law changes will, within weeks, allow thousands of migrants from the former Soviet bloc to claim a range of benefits and work in the UK without registering.

Restrictions imposed when eight eastern European states joined the EU in 2004 must be lifted at the start of May, allowing migrants to claim.

Hunt to accept Sky News spin-off plan

CULTURE Secretary Jeremy Hunt said today he intends to accept News Corp's plans to spin off Sky News to address concerns over its planned takeover of BSkyB. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is proposing a deal to place the news operation into a separate company, but retain a 39.1 per cent stake in Sky News.

Barnsley: Voters went to the polls in Barnsley Central today in a by-election. Fighting to retain one of Labour's safest seats with the party riding high in the polls, it would take a political earthquake of monumental proportions to stop Dan Jarvis from claiming victory tonight.

Bristol: A miscarriage can cause depression and anxiety that continues even after the birth of a healthy baby, researchers from Bristol University have found. Women who have lost a baby are significantly more at risk of mental distress during a subsequent pregnancy, the study found.