Latest UK news

Scots students step up anti-fees campaign
NUS Scotland is stepping up its campaign to ensure that fees are scrapped and grants returned for  UK students in Scotland and Scottish students in the rest of the United Kingdom after Ucas statistics revealed that the number of Scottish students applying for English universities has fallen by 13 per cent last year.

Online test gives taste of the future
A cake with no calories was dish of the day today at an online government consultation launch to test whether foods of the future are to the taste of UK consumers. The consultation, hosted by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, is part of a national study under the Foresight programme.
Details: www.bbsrc.ac.uk/life/scififoods

Father collects murdered student's degree
The father of murdered student Sara Cameron was today making an emotional trip to the University of Northumbria to collect her degree. The 23-year-old was murdered while making her way home to Whitley Bay on Good Friday last year. Her killer is still at large.

PM backs vet-school report
Prime minister Tony Blair was accused of hiding behind a Royal College of Vets report when he ruled out a public inquiry into the foot-and-mouth crisis. Tory MP Owen Paterson said the crisis deserved a full, independent inquiry.

Animal experiments increase by 2 per cent
Some 2.7 million animal experiments were started in Britain in 2000, a  2.2 per cent rise on the 1999 figure. The number of procedures involving genetically modified animals - mostly mice - rose by 14 per cent, according to junior Home Office minister Angela Eagle.