When the new ‘department of government efficiency’ sent young techies to disrupt federal agencies, not everyone complied. Here’s what happened when one worker fought to protect immigrant data

In the early hours of Saturday 22 February 2025 the following email landed in the inboxes of the entire US federal workforce:

From: HR hr@opm.gov

For decades, the capital’s house prices raced ahead of the national average – but now they are falling in prime areas

An elegant Georgian facade, a full-width balcony and an exclusive address in South Kensington just steps from the Natural History Museum and the V&A. Yet the listing price of this west London flat at Queen’s Gate Gardens has dropped by nearly £1m since last year, to £4.4m.

It is far from an isolated case. A nearby house originally listed at £20m was slashed to £14m this year, says a local estate agent. In neighbouring Notting Hill, a stucco-fronted property that came to market two years ago at £16m is now being offered for less than £14m, they said.

On the day Andy Burnham spoke of the wrong turn Britain took under Thatcher, football was facing a day of reckoning over its own story of corporate acquisition

It was somehow fitting that Tuesday’s damning ruling against Manchester City landed in the heart of the Labour party conference, in the afterglow of Andy Burnham’s rapturously received prime minister’s speech.

I was there, and read the astonishing 40 pages of findings – that City created “sham” contracts to boost income artificially by £900m – on my phone during a long meeting of the Socialist Campaign Group, where people were celebrating Keir Starmer’s ousting and Burnham’s more leftwing direction.

A caiman wearing a wig, two brown bears laughing and a leopard doing a handstand feature in the selection of finalists from this year’s Nikon Comedy Wildlife awards. Winners will be announced on 8 December

Green party debate over the motion ‘Zionism is racism’ comes amid renewed arguments over the meaning and history of a contested term

Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green party, has said he is an anti-Zionist. As his party conference prepares to debate a motion that “Zionism is racism”, what precisely is Zionism and what is the history of the claim that it is racist?

Former England winger could face a prison term next month and his career collapse raises many questions

In another world, where careers broke in different directions, Raheem Sterling would be in this England squad now, playing for the manager, Thomas Tuchel, who made him the No 1 target of the new Chelsea era after the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover.

He is 16 months younger than Harry Kane, who continues to break records as England’s captain and hit a personal high of 73 goals last season. Sterling, meanwhile, is without a club and awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty at Basingstoke magistrates court to dangerous driving and possession of nitrous oxide after an incident that witnesses feared might kill someone.

Exclusive: Findings will bolster those in No 10 who want to negotiate on re-entry but some senior figures remain wary

Andy Burnham’s personal preference to rejoin the European Union after the next election is supported by almost half of all voters, a new megapoll has found, although cabinet ministers concerned about reopening Brexit divides are privately urging him to proceed with caution.

The poll by the Messina Group (TMG) found that renegotiating the UK’s relationship with the EU could boost Labour’s vote share by as much as seven points, if the prime minister offered a fresh referendum in which he campaigned to re-enter the bloc.

Attorney general says ‘terrorist attack’ was attempted by suspect who is said to have been barred from flying by Oman because of extremist views

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 used a crash axe to attempt to carry out a “terrorist attack” during the flight, the United ⁠Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, according to a state news agency.

The UAE statement cited the prosecutor general as saying the co-pilot also tried to take control of the plane during Wednesday’s attack on the Israel-bound flight. Passengers and crew intervened to subdue the co-pilot and stabilise the plane. Officials said the co-pilot’s actions nearly crashed the flight with 182 people on board by sending it into a sharp plunge.

Hammersmith and Fulham says it faces ‘biggest financial challenge in living memory’ as government cuts bite

A flagship Labour authority has warned it may have to impose a 150% council tax rise on residents to maintain current services following central government cuts under a new funding settlement.

Hammersmith and Fulham council’s cabinet has concluded in a report due to be published on Monday that such a rise would cost Band D households an additional £29.11 a week in 2027/28.

Revelation comes amid mounting concern over online prediction market’s effects on integrity of financial system

UK authorities are being urged to intervene after it emerged that the online prediction market Polymarket has been taking thousands of dollars worth of bets over whether HSBC and Lloyds will fail.

Polymarket – the US-owned company which holds bets on anything from football matches, to the existence of aliens, to when a bomb drops on a city – has allowed users to take $77,507 (£58,530) worth of positions on whether the world’s biggest banks will go under by the end of this year.