The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates around there were around 4.2 million incidents of fraud in the year ending March 2025, an increase of 31% from the previous year. With increased use of internet banking and apps, as well as AI providing virtually instant information to scammers from around the world, it’s never been more important to be ultra vigilant. And one of the growing ways scammers are trying to defraud people of their money is through pretending to be legitimate customer service departments.

John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London continue their survey of Broadway's golden age with Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls — and if any show in the catalogue merited this treatment, it is this one. It opened in 1950, ran for 1,200 performances and carried off the Tony for Best Musical, its book drawn from Damon Runyon's short stories of the 1920s and 30s: tales of gangsters, gamblers and Broadway lowlifes, told in a dialect entirely Runyon's own, in which formal, contraction-free English collides with the choicest New York slang.

I’ve been driving vans since my teenage years. Memories loom large of heavy steering, obstructive gearboxes and most of all, that familiar diesel clatter. I own a 16-year-old panel van, and though far more sophisticated and therefore easier to drive with power-assisted steering and a turbo boosting the power, that unmistakable background drone from the motor is still ever present.

Although living in the countryside, surrounded by acres of fields, wide open spaces and nature, is indeed wonderful, it unfortunately has a few drawbacks. Neighbours can be far and few between, and for those living in isolated rural areas, there is little chance of a catch-up over the garden fence.

When the Queen set off on the 1953 Commonwealth Tour, tucked among her wardrobe were dresses made not by a Parisian couturier but by a cotton firm from Preston. That Horrockses Fashions could occupy that position — dressing royalty while staying within reach of ordinary women — is the fascinating story now being told at The Harris as its major new exhibition opens its doors this weekend.

Among the Talk and the Laughter Why does he fall silent? Why does that terrible, sad look tell he has gone away? He has died too often.

The six pieces could hardly be more different from each other — some barely a few minutes of melody, others built from movement and gesture as much as sound — and yet what emerges is not six unrelated experiments but something closer to a group portrait: one instrument, caught from six entirely different angles.

New research from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) suggests young people are increasingly interested in exploring classical music, but they want barriers to be removed from concert going, to make it more welcoming and accessible.

There's real spark running right through the disc, and it comes as much from the partnership with the Britten Sinfonia as from Esfahani himself — urgent, alive, full of colour. Listen once and you'll hear something new in music you thought you knew backwards. I certainly did, and I've been living with these concertos for the best part of forty years.

Only three in 10 UK small business owners (31%) say they are using AI to support their enterprises – with 27% saying they either have no plans to use it, and a further 21% saying they don’t regard AI as relevant to their business - according to new research from Novuna Business Finance.

As gardens transition into the crisp, golden hues of the new season, a plant you may not have thought of is coming to the fore to give your garden a fresh look this autumn: the conifer. Often dismissed as relics of decades past, conifers are stepping back into the spotlight.

As Freshers’ Week kicks off, hundreds of thousands of students across the UK are moving out and many will be taking charge of their day-to-day finances for the very first time. Credit reference agency Equifax UK has five top tips to help undergrads navigate the fresh challenge of independent money management.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted 6-3 to keep the base interest rate on hold at 3.75 per cent, resisting pressure to tighten borrowing costs despite fresh concerns over rising energy prices and persistent inflation.

Law firm Ison Harrison, which represents hundreds of patients and bereaved families affected by failings at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), has today welcomed the appointment of His Honour Judge John Potter as chair of the statutory public inquiry into the Trust's services.

Grocery bills that have crept up modestly this year are on course for a far sharper rise, with food inflation forecast to almost double by 2027 as extreme weather, energy costs and supply chain disruption converge on the food system.

New polling by Opinium for Carers UK reveals that 3.33 million people have given up work to care for a family member or friend who is older, disabled or seriously ill, with 1.1 million leaving their job in the last two years alone – more than 1,500 people a day.

The UK stands to lose a multi-billion-pound economic opportunity and risks letting investment, jobs and energy security slip away, say the authors of the 2026 Economic Report from Offshore Energies UK Energy security is national security in an increasingly volatile world where conflict in the Middle East is constricting global oil and gas supply.

Passengers across the North will benefit from faster, more reliable journeys thanks to an around £1 billion investment in new trains, as the government puts passengers back at the heart of the railway.

To support customers affected by airline disruption due to the recent air traffic outage, National Rail has agreed some flexibility for ticket holders. Customers can use their rail tickets to travel at alternative times, or get a fee-free refund.

New index shows established brands recovering fastest from customer discontent, while debt charity StepChange records a near-perfect score at one of the hardest moments in people's financial lives, writes Andrew Palmer The challengers were supposed to be winning this fight. This month, the old guard hit back.

With the biggest ever Great North Run just days away organisers of the world’s greatest half marathon announce that the BALLOT FOR THE 2027 event is now OPEN. The Ballot runs from Monday, 7th September at 8am until midnight on Sunday 20th September, at which point ballot applications close. The draw takes place on Monday 21st September with applicants notified of their results soon after.

Ruby’s Law, which is striving to protect pets in domestic abuse settings, has its second reading in Parliament in October. Ahead of that, campaigners are inviting MPs to a drop-in on 8th September so they can learn more about the proposed legislation and the positive impact it will have on victims of domestic abuse and their companion animals.

Undoubtedly best know through the television drama series created by Sally Wainwright, Gentleman Jack is the story of a powerful Yorkshire businesswoman from the 1830s. The 19th century was not a time known for its liberal-minded, easy-going attitudes to women in general and certainly not women who preferred other women as their life partners.

New research from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) by economist Julian Jessop examines two of the most widely blamed causes of the UK's poor economic performance over the past decade and a half: fiscal "austerity" after 2010 and the 2016 vote to leave the European Union. It concludes that the evidence for either being a major drag on growth is much weaker than commonly assumed.

Drivers warned to expect sudden surface water and localised flooding as heavy, thundery showers follow the recent hot, dry weather. Hard, compacted ground following prolonged dry conditions can increase surface run-off during intense rainfall. “Conditions can change incredibly quickly when a thundery downpour hits.” - AA expert patrol

Dear Editor, Some of life's best moments come with a soundtrack – whether it's at a music event, a festival or a night out with friends. It's how many people connect, celebrate, and make memories. To keep it that way it's really important to protect your hearing health.

The UK’s third tallest structure, Caldbeck transmitter station, is celebrating 65 years of keeping communities across Cumbria and South West Scotland connected through television and radio services. The transmitting station, which first went on air on 1 September 1961, serves around 280,000 homes and has become one of the UK's most important broadcasting locations.

Car tech computer confusion has become one of the UK’s top five causes of breakdowns, the AA reveals. Whilst people might be used to ‘computer says no’ at home or work, many are being flummoxed by the technical complexity of their vehicles.

Almost half the people eligible for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax have missed the first filing deadline, according an analysis from international accountancy and business advisory group Azets. Figures from HMRC showed 436,000 taxpayers filed their first MTD for Income Tax quarterly update on time on August 7 – 50.5% of those who should have.

The latest Emergency Department (ED) performance figures from NHS England, covering July 2026, show that last month was the worst July on record for 12-hour waits, with over 150,000 patients waiting more than half a day in major (Type 1) EDs. It also shows that more than 47,000 patients who attended major EDs spent over 12 hours waiting on a trolley.

From blaming a twin brother to eating the evidence, TransPennine Express (TPE) has revealed some of the more unusual excuses its revenue protection team has heard from customers travelling without a valid ticket. Among them was a customer caught using a child ticket for the second time.

The government must be honest about the UK’s energy demand in its response to the public consultation on the Rosebank oilfield, says David Whitehouse chief executive of Offshore Energies UK The government response to the public consultation which closes today [Monday August 17th] will set the direction of the UK’s future energy policy, industrial resilience and its route to net zero.

Grade I-listed Ribble Valley hall set for hotel, members' club and wellness centre, with planning applications expected in November Alison Brooks Architects has been appointed to lead a £30 million redevelopment of Gisburne Park, a 1,000-acre estate near the Ribble Valley, converting the historic house into a members' club, boutique hotel and wellness centre.