Fresh solutions to long-standing health, education and environmental issues are among suggestions gained from a Plaid Cymru consultation, the party says.

The government is planning to reduce the annual welfare bill by a further £4bn, Chancellor George Osborne tells the BBC.

MPs back calls for a fresh parliamentary investigation into phone hacking claims after criticism of News of the World journalists.

Industrial areas in the North East and Midlands are least resilient to economic shocks, BBC-commissioned research suggests.

The Department of Agriculture begins the huge task of re-mapping every field in Northern Ireland.

Find out how resilient areas of England might be

Scottish ministers and opposition politicians join forces in a bid to ensure the future of two Royal Navy aircraft carriers.

The Commons is to vote for the first time on whether UK troops should remain in Afghanistan - almost nine years after the war started.

The Commons has approved a motion calling on the standards and privileges committee to investigate the alleged hacking of MPs' phones.

The American pastor who plans to burn copies of the Koran to mark the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington was branded a "stupid bigot" by a cabinet minister today.

The Labour MP for West Bromwich, Tom Watson, used the Commons debate on phone hacking to accuse fellow members of cowardice in the face of Britain's tabloid newspapers.

Economist and former journalist Robert Chote is to become the new head of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Euro MPs call on France to suspend its deportations of Roma (Gypsies), as Paris seeks co-operation from Romania.

Nick Clegg has sought to calm fears over the impact of spending cuts, insisting they will be spread over four years not implemented immediately.

Leadership hopeful Ed Miliband raised the most money of any of the Labour contenders during August, Electoral Commission figures show.

The outgoing boss of BP Tony Hayward is to be questioned by a committee of MPs over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

David Cameron and his family pay tribute to their late father, saying he had "touched a lot of lives".

Vice chancellors are to be told that raising graduate contributions is the best way to ensure future funding for higher education.

Paul McMullan, who is a former deputy features editor at the News of the World, has said that then Editor Andy Coulson "restrained staff" in their investigations.

Zac Goldsmith has warned that the proposed power to recall MPs mid-term does not go far enough.