Clerical power has been ‘market driven’

In traditional Catholic Ireland, the priests were not only respected and accorded power, they were regarded as family

Dementia research 'looted' to fund Brown pledge

The Prime Minister has been accused of taking research money to fund his election promise of free home care for the elderly

Rare bug emerges from table during nature show

A beetle that appeared as a man watched Life, the Sir David Attenborough programme, has been identified by the experts

Case study: The altar boy

‘Look the other way and you’re just as guilty,’ says Andrew Madden, who as a 12-year-old boy was abused by a Dublin priest

Dubai’s financial problems explained

What has just happened in the emirate could have ramifications around the world and therefore affect the UK’s recovery

The Christmas tree that you can wipe your feet on

Poole’s shopping precinct has been decorated with a cone with no trunk or branches to meet the demands of health and safety

‘It's cash or get out and lose the house’

The financial boom in Dubai has well and truly ended, leaving some British ex-pats wondering whether to return home now

Jail sentence for drunken grope overturned

Banker convicted for sexual assault at cocktail party will be supervised for six months after ruling by Court of Appeal

Fire forces 300 people to flee their homes

It’s a miracle no one died says Harriet Harman after blaze that started in building site engulfs flats and a pub

How to be a great gatecrasher

Hats off to the Salahis: their White House blag accords them instant elevation to the pantheon of pushy partygoers

UKIP to target Islamic fundamentalism

The two front-runners in UKIP’s leadership contest say they will campaign against Islamism, alongide their anti-EU agenda

Wild boar return to the Highlands

Conservation group introduces animals to Inverness-shire 300 years after they were hunted to extinction across Britain

Legal aid lawyers to pay back £25 million

Report says taxpayers receive a poor deal from the £1.2 billion scheme, which last year made overpayments worth millions

Briton 'used marriage proposals to con women'

After allegedly taking up to €700,000 from his victims the man, who claimed to be aristocrat, would fake his death

PlayStations will help sailors study at sea

Navy says consoles will enable technicians to read and listen to coursework and practise tests in confined quarters

Cameron on defensive over schools error

Tory leader accused of 'divisive smears' after making false statement over funding of the Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation

‘Maternity funding not reaching frontline’

Nearly a fifth of the heads of midwifery say that their budgets have been cut, despite the promise of an extra £330 million