Public sector pay races ahead in recession

Official figures show staff employed by the state have enjoyed bigger pay rises and less working hours during the downturn

What an anti-climax: G-spot is a myth

British scientists claim that there is no evidence for the existence of the G-spot outside the imagination of women

Absentee peers may lose House of Lords seats

Senior peers are planning an amendment that would allow the house to expel absentee members from the upper chamber

Blair’s paymaster seeks giant Iraqi oil deal

Mubadala, a UAE investment firm that pays Tony Blair about £1m a year, is in talks to develop one of Iraq’s biggest oilfields

BBC blows millions on Yentob follies

Arts projects headed by Alan Yentob to mark the refurbishment of Broadcasting House are costing the licence fee payer dear

MI5 knew of bomber’s UK extremist links

Security services knew three years ago that the Detroit bomber had 'multiple communications' with British Muslim extremists

Air passengers face two body searches

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

Legal battle looms for MPs accused of fraud

Three Labour MPs being investigated for expenses fraud argue that the 1689 Bill of Rights protects them from prosecution

My long march to be an Tory MP in Cumbria

Rory Stewart - a soldier, diplomat and charity founder who had worked in Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan - now seeks votes

The story of civilisation in 100 objects

Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum, has named the artefacts that best illustrate the ascent of man

UK regional accents thrive against the odds

Academic studies find that Geordie, Scouse, Mancunian and Brummie inflections are becoming more distinct and dominant

Cuts will force universities to close courses

Government spending cuts of up to 30% will force universities to close hundreds of courses, according to one vice-chancellor

Seats to delay general election count

New figures suggest the results of one in three of the 650 constituencies may not be declared until the day after the election

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

Pupils to be given lessons on debt

Schools are to be required to teach children how to spend with restraint, borrow within sensible limits and save prudently

British gallery in secret Chagall scoop

The London Jewish Museum of Art picked up a painting worth hundreds of thousands of pounds in Paris for just over £25,000

Captors barter over the body of last Briton

Peter Moore’s kidnappers are refusing to hand over the remains of his bodyguard until a hardline cleric is released

Bomb expert remembered as a ‘Superman’

Sapper David Watson, a bomb disposal expert killed by a Taliban bomb on New Year’s Eve, was described as 'a true hero'

Hello, we’re the humans of the sea

Researchers say it is morally unacceptable to keep such intelligent animals in amusement parks or to kill them for food

Career switchers shake up teaching

Bankers, lawyers and other career-changing professionals are flooding into the classroom, outnumbering new graduates