Family receives record £279,000 housing benefit

Figures released show London family are being paid £2,875 a week for a seven-bedroom house in the north borough of Brent

Public sector pay races ahead in recession

Staff employed by the state are enjoying bigger pay rises and working fewer hours than those in the private sector

Air passengers face two body searches

Transport secretary is to introduce extra searches and new restrictions on moving around aircraft in a security overhaul

David Cameron: 2010 is the year for change

We can't go on with Gordon Brown says Tory leader as election campaign emphasises economic recovery, NHS and Afghanistan

Cameron aide blocks rival for No 10 post

Steve Hilton, director of strategy, is trying to stop James O’Shaughnessy becoming head of policy in a Tory administration

Hostage back home as ministers face criticism

Peter Moore flew back to RAF Brize Norton from Iraq as the Government's handling of the situation came under fire

Tories want children in care at boarding school

Michael Gove, Shadow Schools Secretary, also wants state schools to act more like those in the independent sector

The wasteful avalanche of 12 million light bulbs

Npower sent out vast haul of low-energy bulbs to households who didn't ask for them to escape a ban on unsolicited bulbs

Being released is a 're-entry to Earth'

Terry Waite and Brian Keenan have both compared their release from captivity to being a diver returning from the seabed

Brown calls summit over Yemen threat

Britain and United States seek international help to stop al-Qaeda from establishing a safe haven on the Arabian peninsula

Tory guru’s bulletins from the thick of it

David Cameron has denied that Steve Hilton is like the TV comedy character, but his strategy e-mails to MPs are cool stuff

Bigger car fines to help victims of violent crime

The 'victims’ surcharge' will be added to fixed penalty tickets issued by police for breaking parking regulations or speeding

Brown promises to beef up UK airport security

PM orders review after 'wake-up call' of failed Christmas Day airline attack, and plans meeting on Yemen radicalisation

Red tape 'driving teachers out of schools'

Tories claim millions of pounds are wasted on training teachers who later leave the profession because of bureaucracy

Bitterness of old year spills over into new

Britain’s assertion that it has ‘no evidence’ that the hostage Peter Moore was held for a time in Iran cut no ice in Tehran

Heath discussed IMF loan during 1974 crisis

Secret archive document shows that two years before Labour borrowed £2.3bn, Conservatives had already explored the options

Politicians go without New Year's honours

After year of scandal none of the 121 MPs stepping down next year are mentioned in list while Status Quo honoured