Analysts warn UK households could pay up to £1,300 more within months as Middle East tensions disrupt oil routes and push up energy costs. They say US moves under Trump are amplifying price pressures on fuel and food, risking faster inflation and possible rate action.

Two students have died and 11 are ill after a meningitis outbreak in Canterbury, with one critical. Cases are linked to a city nightclub. University of Kent students queued for antibiotics as health officials trace contacts and advise urgent treatment amid concern over a possible new strain.

A report says NHS hospitals routinely sedate and restrain people with dementia due to bed pressures, fostering a “containment culture” that sidelines therapy and reduces chances of returning home. Experts call for urgent reform, improved staffing and stronger oversight.

Newly released files include a photo said to show a former prince and a Labour peer socialising with a convicted offender, intensifying scrutiny of their past links. The revelation has prompted calls for clarity about the nature and extent of those associations.