Time restrictions will be lifted on concessionary pass holders from next April, as part of the government’s plans to tackle the cost of living crisis

Disabled passengers will get free bus travel every day starting from next April, as part of the government’s plans to ease the cost of living crisis.

At the moment, disabled bus pass holders can only travel for free from 9.30am to 11pm on weekdays. The new plans will lift those time restrictions so they can travel for free all day, seven days a week.

In March, while mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority removed the time restrictions for concessionary pass holders.

This will now be extended across the whole of England, Mr Burnham has announced.

The £60 million to fund the move comes from existing budgets – with £40 million from the Department for Work and Pensions and £20 million from the Department for Transport.

Mr Burnham said: “Buses are a lifeline for so many people – making it easier to get to work, education and healthcare.

“It’s simply not right that many disabled people cannot travel using their pass during certain times of the day. So we’re fixing that. Disabled people will now have unlimited free bus travel 24/7.

“I did it before in Greater Manchester and I’m proud to do it now for the whole country. This is part of our ongoing action to bring back hope and give people some much-needed breathing space on the cost of living.”

Since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Burnham has announced several moves aimed at tackling the rising cost of living including capping bus fares at £2, cutting business rates for pubs and scrapping VAT from electricity bills.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “For too long, disabled people have held a free bus pass in their pocket that didn’t always get them to work.

“Now we’re changing that. By removing these time restrictions, we’re helping disabled people access jobs, training, and other opportunities at any time of the day.

“Alongside our £3.5 billion investment in tailored employment support, this change shows we’re serious about breaking down the barriers that have held disabled people back for too long.”

However, opposition figures have claimed the government’s measures don’t go far enough.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch previously accused the Prime Minister of ‘behaving like he’s still the mayor of Manchester’.

In the Daily Express last week, she wrote: “A bit of money off bus fares and bills might sound nice, but the real reason life is too hard for too many right now is because taxes are too high, and the weekly shop is too expensive.

“The tax burden is the highest it’s ever been. Conservative governments must share some of the blame for this, but they had the Covid furlough scheme to pay for.”

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey previously said the VAT cut on bills didn’t go far enough to help people with the cost of living.

“I don’t think it’s the best way to help people with energy bills and it doesn’t go far enough, but at least it’s something isn’t it,” he told the BBC.

In opening arguments, the prosecution portrayed Davis as the ringleader of the group responsible for the shooting – and point to a memoir he co-authored where he wrote in detail about the night of the shooting.

“Let’s be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told the jury. “Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.”

Davis’ attorneys called the narrative “fiction”, dubbing the case a product of a flawed-decades-long investigation. Davis has distanced himself from the memoir, saying he didn’t write all of it and parts were fictionalised to sell more copies.

Davis, wearing a navy suit and blue tie, sat with his defence team as they questioned why no one had been arrested for nearly three decades and asked why “no one corroborates any of this”.

“What facts do they have after 30 years?” his attorney Michael Sanft questioned.

The prosecution’s first witness was Garry Dale, who was working for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department at the time of the shooting in September 1996.

The officer detailed riding in an ambulance with Shakur after he’d been shot. He said the rapper refused to offer any information on what happened and who had shot him. “We’ll take care of it,” Shakur said, according to the officer’s testimony.

At the core of the case is East Coast vs West Coast rap rivalries and turf wars between the Bloods and the Crips street gangs that were immortalised in rap lyrics and news reports in the 1990s.

Police have long said said a lack of cooperation in the case led to dead ends in their investigation. Members of the rapper’s entourage, though, have accused authorities of initially treating them like suspects and failing to follow important leads.

Throughout the day on Monday, prosecutors painted that picture for the jury, explaining that there were no formal criminal charges in the shooting because in the world of guns and gangs “silence means survival”.

But “one person” who had a hard time staying silent was the defendant, prosecutors said, noting that Davis gave a “number” of statements on the case between 1998 and 2003.

Prosecutors allege Davis planned the shooting after his nephew Orlando Anderson was involved in a fight with Shakur in Las Vegas hours earlier. They argued Davis believed the attack on his nephew could not “go unanswered”.

The iconic rapper was just 25 years old when he was gunned down after a Mike Tyson boxing match on 7 September 1996. He died six days after the shooting.

Prosecutors contend that Davis – a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang – was the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Shakur.

The murder case had largely gone cold until public statements made by Davis himself, who published a memoir in 2019. In it, and in various interviews, Davis has claimed he was a passenger in the vehicle that fired into Shakur’s car that night.

He said in the book that he gave the gun used in the murder to his nephew, Anderson, who shot the rapper.

His attorneys have argued the book is fiction and shouldn’t be used as evidence in a criminal trial relating to a case from three decades ago, but a judge ruled it could be used in court.

His defence team has pointed to missing police reports, disputed evidence and “biased, sloppy and incomplete” detective work.

They alleged prosecutors relied on “unreliable people with criminal records, financial motivations and inconsistent statements”.

The defence also argued witnesses changed their stories over time and were influenced by money, media attention or information supplied by investigators.

The university’s chancellor Lord Chris Smith of Finsbury told the BBC: “I do believe it is possible to hold to two principles at the same time: to believe in the importance of academic integrity, and where criticisms of plagiarism arise, about any academic, whoever they are, ensure that they are rigorously investigated.

“Rem is a god of death who goes on a huge journey in the show,” she says, “She doesn’t want to break the rules of the Shinigami world, from where she watches down, killing humans. But when Ryuk, another Shinigami, wants to stir things up and goes down to the human world, and then Jerasu, the final Shinigami, interferes with a human and loses their life, Rem goes down to follow a human called Misa. It explores their relationship and Rem feeling love for the first time.”

As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our
articles.

Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local
services.

These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local
community.

It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need
as much support as possible during these challenging times.

Jonathan Ross‘ rarely seen son Harvey Ross is preparing to marry his girlfriend Muna Silver as the bride-to-be celebrated her hen do in Portugal at the weekend.

Muna was joined by Harvey’s younger sister Honey Ross, 29, who shared a series of fun pictures and videos from the trip on Instagram.

The London-based photographer, who got engaged to Harvey, 32, last year, wore a floor-length black dress with a white bridal veil as she celebrated with friends.

In one selfie, Muna posed alongside Honey, who had swapped her usual blonde hair for a short black bob wig as the pair wore matching black outfits.

A video, soundtracked to Taylor Swift‘s But Daddy I Love Him, showed Muna singing and dancing happily in her veil on a public cobbled street.

The couple have not confirmed the date of their wedding, but a source close to the pair says it is due to take place later this year.

On Monday, Honey revealed she had been heavily involved in organising her future sister-in-law’s hen party – and it wasn’t without drama.

The London-based photographer, who got engaged to Harvey, 32, last year, wore a floor-length black dress with a white bridal veil as she celebrated with friends

Speaking on the Reel Talk podcast she co-hosts with her TV presenter dad Jonathan, 65, on Monday – recorded just a few days before the hen do – Honey said: ‘The planning has been through the roof. 

‘I’m currently packing a suitcase full of bride decorations and all of that kind of memorabilia.’

Honey said she had also been tasked with buying matching robes for the bridal party, but admitted navigating the group chat had left her overthinking every interaction.

She said: ‘I wouldn’t wish a bridal group chat on my worst enemy. The girls I’m going away with are so sweet – I want to preface it with that – but the level of politeness, borderline passive aggression, and gentle back-and-forth of being like, “That sounds great to me, happy to go along with whatever you want!” is like at the absolute fever pitch in this group chat.’

Honey added: ‘There have been so many times I’ve posted in that group chat and it’s taken them a day to, like, heart it, and I’m like, these girls want me dead.’

The hen weekend comes as preparations gather pace for Harvey and Muna’s wedding, more than a year after Jonathan first revealed that his only son was engaged.

The presenter disclosed the news while appearing with Honey on the Table Manners podcast in April 2025, when he also revealed that Harvey and his partner were thinking about starting a family.

Harvey and Muna, who largely keep out of the spotlight, have been together since 2018, when Jonathan first shared a photograph of them together.

Muna also made a rare television appearance alongside Harvey and his family on Celebrity Gogglebox in 2021.

Muna works as a producer and photographer and has shared her work under the name Fadu Photos. Her photography has also been credited by London’s Whitechapel Gallery.

A video, soundtracked to Taylor Swift’s But Daddy I Love Him, showed Muna singing and dancing happily in her veil on a public cobbled street

Jonathan first revealed last year that his only son was engaged (Harvey pictured with dad Jonathan, fiancée Muna and his mother Jane Goldman last week)

Jonathan and Jane also share daughters Honey, 29, and Betty, 35 (pictured together)

Harvey, meanwhile, has worked as a video-game programmer and was among the programmers credited on the 2019 adventure game The Bradwell Conspiracy.

Jonathan also appeared in the game as a voice actor and recorded a promotional video with his son to mark its release.

Harvey is the middle child of Jonathan and screenwriter Jane Goldman, 56, who have three children together. He has made only occasional public appearances over the years, unlike his famous father and more public-facing sisters Honey and Betty, 35.

But in recent weeks, the family have begun sharing details about preparations for his wedding.

Jonathan revealed on his Reel Talk podcast he had recently taken Harvey for his wedding suit fitting – and said the groom-to-be had shown little interest in the process.

Jonathan said: ‘You can imagine that taking Harvey for suit fitting isn’t like the movies because he’s so disinterested in clothes.

‘I think he’s excited about the wedding, but he just doesn’t really want to have to do anything about it until the day.

‘And so taking him for a suit fitting, it wasn’t someone saying, “Oh my god, I’m getting a suit made, wow, this was great. Oh no, I’d rather have this or that.” There was zero input.’

Jonathan said Harvey even arrived for the appointment wearing odd socks and was happy to leave decisions about his wedding outfit to everybody else.

He recalled: ‘It’s like, “Do you like that?” He went, “Yep, sure.” I said, “Well, do you think you’d rather have it like this?” “Yeah, yeah, if you think so.”

‘I said, “What do you think? Do you want it more here, less there?” He went, “Yeah, yeah, whatever looks good.” I said, “What do you think looks good?”‘

Many elevated pieces are reminiscent of Doen, Dissh and Reformation, but cost a fraction of the price, while its basics and jeans lines are reliable favourites for everyday essentials. The only downside to M&S’s new fashion acclaim is how quickly pieces sell out. So, read on to get a head start on the fashion about to go viral – these are the pieces that caught my eye in store and online for autumn.

But the Anglo-Swedish group, which is headquartered in Cambridge, also revealed some oncology drug success on Monday with the announcement that its Enhertu treatment showed “a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival” for non-small cell lung cancer patients.

“In areas like Melton in Leicestershire, homes are taking noticeably longer to sell than a year ago, while markets just a short drive away are speeding up. If you’re selling in a slower market, don’t take a wait-and-see approach – talk to a local agent who knows what’s happening street by street, and make sure your home is priced right from day one.

See the Scottish areas where properties sell the quickest.

A new list of the areas in the UK where homes sell the fastest has been revealed, with Scotland occupying the majority of the top 10. Topping the list is a large town that is popular thanks to its convenient location, with the country’s two biggest cities being within easy reach.

On Tuesday, August 18, Zoopla shared a roundup of the destinations across the UK where homes tend to sell the fastest and slowest. Coming in at number one on the list of the areas where properties sell the quickest is the town of Falkirk in the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

The average selling time in Falkirk in July 2026 was just 11 days according to Zoopla, which is one day less for the area than the year prior according to the property experts. Situated approximately halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow, it is a popular commuter town amongst those living in Scotland’s two largest cities.

READ MORE: Amazing Scottish home with balconies overlooking river for sale at bargain price

READ MORE: Retro Scottish cottage with boating pond and island hits market

Following behind in second place on Zoopla’s list of the fastest-selling hotspots in July 2026 are Renfrewshire and North Lanarkshire, with homes in both selling in 13 days on average. South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, and West Dunbartonshire all follow behind with 14 days.

Stirling and Glasgow both place at number eight on the property experts’ roundup of the UK’s fastest-selling hotspots, with homes typically selling in 15 days on average in both cities. Rounding out the top 10 is Clackmannanshire, where the average property is sold in 16 days.

Zoopla state that all of the fastest markets being situated in Scotland is due to the Scottish sales market working differently to the rest of Britain and homes generally being more affordable. Properties in the country are typically marketed as ‘offers over’ a price, with homes having a valuation and home survey available.

On the other hand, Zoopla states that it took 76 days on average to sell a home in Melton in the East Midlands. This marks a 21-day increase compared with July 2025. Overall, around half of the local authorities that were analysed saw an increase in the average number of days taken to sell a property in the past year.

Executive director at Zoopla Richard Donnell commented: “While the national time to sell has barely moved, that stability is masking a real divide opening up between local markets. In areas like Melton in Leicestershire, homes are taking noticeably longer to sell than a year ago, while markets just a short drive away are speeding up.”

Donnell added: “If you’re selling in a slower market, don’t take a ‘wait and see’ approach—talk to a local agent who knows what’s happening street by street, and make sure your home is priced right from day one.”

Zoopla’s “time to sell” research tracked the period from homes being first listed on the market to estate agents reporting sales agreed. Some local authorities were excluded from the research due to small sample sizes.

See below for the full lists of the fastest and slowest-selling hotspots in the UK according to Zoopla.

The fastest-selling hotspot in July 2026 according to Zoopla

1. Falkirk

2. Renfrewshire

2. North Lanarkshire

4. South Lanarkshire

4. East Ayrshire

4. East Renfrewshire

4. West Dunbartonshire

8. Stirling

8. Glasgow City

10. Clackmannanshire

The slowing-selling hotspot in July 2026 according to Zoopla

1. Melton

2. Westminister

2. Teignbridge

4. Torridge

5. Tower Hamlets

5. Isle of Wight

5. Thanet

5. North Devon

9. South Norfolk

9. Elmbridge