Here we go again. The Prime Minister holds a summit at No 10 with carefully selected specialists to discuss a defining reform. The message is seemingly clear. The Prime Minister presses on with the controversial measure. The Prime Minister is not for tur

Tang, formerly Hong Kong's number two official who only last week had appeared the China-backed frontrunner in next month's election, has seen his popularity tumble over allegations of an extra-marital affair, verbal gaffes and now the row over the basem

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Tycoon Henry Tang threw his hat into the ring to become Hong Kong's next leader on Monday, defying growing calls to quit amid a scandal over an illegally built luxury den under a swimming pool. Tang, formerly Hong Kong's number two

An advertisement for The Sun newspaper is seen on a billboard outside News International's Wapping headquarters in London, January 28, 2012. LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's Sun newspaper prides itself on an aggressive reporting style that has deliver

There are far more than three senior Tory ministers who are in despair about their NHS nightmare Doctors in Distress (1963): James Robertson Justice and Dirk Bogarde. Now it's the Tories who are in distress over their health bill. Photograph: Ronald Gran

BBC Trust chairman promises Alex Salmond probe into his 'ban' from Scotland v England rugby match coverage Feb 10 2012 By Torcuil Crichton BBC Trust chairman Chris Patten yesterday promised a full investigation into Alex Salmond’s bias claims. The First

The Prime Minister, David Cameron's name was hurled into the continuing dispute between First Minister, Alex Salmond, and the BBC over his non-appearance in a rugby chat broadcast by the Corporation on Saturday, ahead of Scotland's match against England.

The chair of the BBC's governing body, the BBC Trust, "must be left in no doubt that there is, among a significant section of opinion in Scotland, a total lack of confidence in the BBC’s ability to cover the referendum impartially", according to journali

Twenty-eight million mainland Chinese visited Hong Kong last year, around four times the population of the city, many flush with cash and on the hunt for everything from baby formula to hospital beds and luxury brands to high-end apartments. As Hong Kong

By James Pomfret and Sisi Tang HONG KONG (Reuters) - As Hong Kong's outgoing leader Donald Tsang looks ahead to retirement, an unusually toxic public debate over the burden placed by a flood of mainland Chinese visitors has struck at the heart of Hong Ko

Class divide: David Cameron said we are all in the recession together but we are not all getting fat bonuses and shares Bonus is such a divisive word; I hate it. When it comes to snaring this modern perk, Britain is divided into two categories: the 'have

Revenge is supposed to be a dish best eaten cold. But why stop at one dish when you're having a good time? At the Leveson inquiry into phone hacking, Chris Patten, Tory ex-cabinet minister turned grandee and gourmet, treated himself to a five-course banq

LONDON – The chairman of the BBC Trust, Chris Patten, told the phone-hacking inquiry Monday that British politicians had become too close to newspapers in general – and the Murdoch press in particular. Patten - the former chairman of the Conservative Par

LONDON -- Head hunters have been hired to produce a "succession plan" for the BBC's director-general Mark Thompson as speculation increases that the topper could step down following this summer's Olympics. The chairman of the BBC Trust, Chris Patten, has

Democracy doesn’t flow from a barrel of a gun but through respecting the will of the people. Chris Patten delivered this verdict in 2003, at the moment when the "democracy-promotion" agenda was about to be plunged into a geopolitical abyss by the United

The European Union was built on the myth that we are one people with one common destiny — an “ever closer union,” in the words of the 1957 Treaty of Rome that founded what was then called the European Economic Community. We are now discovering that regio

Throwing out piles of mouldering print as part of my annual new year rubbish-cleansing ritual I came across an upbeat pamphlet called EU:2010: An Optimistic Vision of The Future. Written in 2000 by Charles Grant, director (then and now) of the Centre for

HAPPY New Year! The happenings of 2012 are still up in the air, but there’s one thing which can be guaranteed – Wales’ great and good will say and do stupid things. But can they beat this little lot from the last 12 months? Yes, that’s right – it’s time

BBC bosses have been inundated with protests over plans to cut jobs and programmes on Radio Stoke. The deadline for public consultation over the proposals for local radio ended at midnight and thousands of listeners have made their voices heard.