Take That star Gary Barlow is facing calls to hand back his OBE over claims he invested in a tax avoidance scheme.
Prime Minister David Cameron hit out at “aggressive” tax avoiders while senior MPs from across the political spectrum waded in to voice their displeasure.
The singer and two other members of Take That refused to comment on reports over the weekend that they face having to pay tens of millions of pounds in tax after a court ruled a partnership in which they invested was a tax avoidance scheme.
MORE AFGHAN VETERANS ’SEEK SUPPORT’
There has been a 57% annual rise in the number of Afghanistan veterans seeking mental health support, according to new figures.
Some 358 ex-military personnel sought help from mental health charity Combat Stress last year, compared with 228 in 2012.
The charity’s chief executive, Commodore Andrew Cameron, warned that the numbers are likely to increase over the coming years.
WILLIAM HELPS REDEDICATE SUBMARINE
The Duke of Cambridge will attend the rededication ceremony today of the only surviving British Second World War-era submarine.
In his role as Commodore-in-Chief Submarines, William will visit HMS Alliance at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire, which has been restored at a cost of £7 million.
The Prince is the royal patron of the conservation appeal which made the repairs and refurbishment of the submarine, which re-opened to the public last month, possible.
EXTRA GAMES TICKETS GO ON SALE
The first tickets for this summer’s Commonwealth Games will be dispatched to sports fans on the day that more go on sale.
Deliveries will continue over the coming weeks, with everyone who has bought Glasgow 2014 tickets expected to receive them during the month of May.
About 2.3 million applications were made for the initial one million that were released last year.
90% ’BACK EASTERN UKRAINE VOTE’
Some 90% of voters in a key industrial region in eastern Ukraine have come out in favour of sovereignty, pro-Russian insurgents said.
The rebels were announcing preliminary results of a twin referendum that is certain to deepen the turmoil in the country.
Roman Lyagin, election chief of the self-styled Donetsk People’s Republic, said about 75% of the Donetsk region’s three million or so eligible voters cast ballots, and the vast majority backed self-rule.
CONCERN OVER SUSPENDED SENTENCES
More than 9,000 criminals had their prison sentence suspended last year despite having more than 15 previous convictions or cautions, criminal justice campaigners have revealed.
The Centre for Crime Prevention (CCP) has called for suspended sentences to be abolished after figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed the punishment was being repeatedly handed out to serial offenders.
A total of 9,052 offenders had prison sentences suspended in 2012/13 despite 15 or more previous conviction or cautions, while 11,670 offenders with more than 10 previous convictions or cautions received suspended jail sentences.
MUSLIMS ’RADICALISED IN JAIL’
The head of the prison and probation service has described the threat of Islamic radicalisation behind bars as significant.
Speaking to BBC Panorama, Michael Spurr the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service of England and Wales (NOMS) said: “There is a significant risk, given the fact that we manage some very dangerous people.
“Our job is to minimise that risk becoming a reality - that somebody in prison becomes radicalised and commits a terrorist offence.”
BOSSES’ WARNING OVER HOUSE PRICES
Business leaders have delivered a warning about overheating in the housing market, saying interest rates will need to rise early next year.
In its regular assessment of UK plc’s prospects, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) raised its growth forecast for this year from 2.6% to 3%.
But it also highlighted concerns that the recovery could be derailed by uncertainty around the general election, urging politicians to push ahead with boosting the supply of homes and taking decisions on major infrastructure projects.
BID TO STOP HOMOPHOBIC BULLYING
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will today announce measures to stamp out homophobic bullying in Church of England schools.
Mr Welby acknowledged that church schools face “particular challenges in this area”, but he insisted pupils must be protected.
“When young people are bullied for their perceived or actual sexuality, it is an assault on their self-worth that can leave deep wounds which take many years to heal, if they heal at all,” he wrote in an article for i newspaper.
JOHNSON SLAMS BBC’S TREATMENT OF DJ
Boris Johnson has claimed the treatment of a veteran BBC radio DJ who says he was “forced” to quit because he accidentally played a song with the N-word in it was “utterly disgraceful”.
BBC Radio Devon broadcaster David Lowe found himself in hot water after airing an 82-year-old version of The Sun Has Got His Hat On which featured the racial slur.
Mr Johnson said Britain was living in a “Boko Haram world”, in reference to the terrorist network that kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria.
