Independence MEP expenses probe

The UK Independence party MEP Tom Wise is being investigated over allegations that he embezzled tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money. Police are looking into claims, which appeared in The Sunday Times last year, that he claimed £36,000 a year in the name of a researcher paid a fraction of that sum.

Cost of Olympics ‘underestimated’

The government grossly underestimated the cost of the 2012 Olympics by failing to include policing and contingency funding, a report by the Commons public accounts committee is expected to say on Tuesday.

Queen’s grandson christened

The eighth grandchild of the Queen, who is 82 tomorrow, was christened yesterday in Windsor. James Alexander Philip Theo is the four-month-old son of the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

Highfliers return

Their Soyuz landed on the steppes 260 miles from the planned site, but they had records to celebrate yesterday. With Yuri Malenchenko, the veteran cosmonaut, were Peggy Whitson, the International Space Station’s first female commander who achieved a new Nasa record with 377 days in space, while Yi So Yeon is South Korea’s first astronaut.

Militants attack border crossing

Four militants died when two booby-trapped vehicles were driven into an Israeli border crossing with Gaza yesterday, wounding 13 Israeli soldiers. An Israeli aircraft later fired a missile at a car close to the crossing, killing one and injuring three. The attacks happened as Jimmy Carter, the former US president, held talks in Damascus in an attempt to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Looking on the bright side

A Eurostar train from London to Paris arrived almost 10 hours late after it broke down at Lille and passengers were forced to change twice. SNCF blamed “a whole series of technical problems and mix-ups”. British travellers tried to cheer everyone up by engaging their French companions in a singalong of Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

Police fear terror plot in suburb

Residents were evacuated from their homes in the Westbury-on-Trym area of Bristol so police could carry out three controlled explosions at a property following the arrest of Andrew Ibrahim under the Terrorism Act.

Fuel disruption fears

A planned strike over pensions at the Grangemouth oil refinery could lead to fuel shortages that could affect the whole of the UK, according to the Unite union

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