UK News: £20m redundancy bill for bonfire of quangos

THE Government has so far paid more than £20 million in one-off redundancy payments as part of the "bonfire of the quangos", figures have revealed.

The statistics showed there have been almost 1000 redundancies from 29 of the 481 public bodies being wound down to save money.

Murderers appeal tariffs

Three convicted murderers, including multiple killer Jeremy Bamber, have submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights opposing the principle of whole-life tariffs saying their sentences should be regularly reviewed.

Officials in Strasbourg have agreed to hear their cases.

Regulator hits out at misleading 'local' foods

ALMOST a fifth of foods labelled as "local" on sale in England and Wales are making the claim falsely, a study has revealed.

"Welsh lamb" from New Zealand, "Somerset butter" from Scotland, "Devon ham" from Denmark and "West Country fish fillets" - where fish is caught in the West Country but filleted in China - are some examples of misleading items.

The Local Government Regulation carried out the inspections.

Take That top movie chart

TAKE That have taken top spot in a new survey of the most-played movie tracks.

Their 2007 number two hit Rule The World featured in Matthew Vaughn's fantasy Stardust. They were closely followed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes' Dirty Dancing anthem (I've Had) The Time of My Life.

The research included the number of plays on radio and in shops, pubs and clubs.

Mandleson warns Miliband

LABOUR leader Ed Miliband has yet to set out a "powerful" vision to rival David Cameron's for the support of the country, Lord Mandelson has warned.

He insisted Mr Miliband, left, was "up to the task", but urged him to retain the "essence" of New Labour or risk marginalising the party.

Leicestershire: The family of a woman and two children found dead at their home has paid tribute to them and spoken of their devastation. The family of Claudia Oakes-Green, her son Thomas, 13, and her daughter Eleanor, nine, described their deaths as being "difficult to comprehend". Police are not seeking anyone else in connection with their deaths.

Croydon: Police were today hunting for a motorist who failed to stop at the scene of a crash that left a 14-year-old girl fighting for her life. Emergency workers were called to the scene at around 7pm last night.