The operation was described as large-scale, pre-planned and intelligence-led Twelve men have been arrested during a major anti-terrorist operation, West Midlands Police said. The men – five from Cardiff, four from Stoke-on-Trent and three from London – were detained on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism in the UK. The suspects, aged between 17... 

Lady Gaga’s famous eccentricity took a less-than-festive turn last night when she tore the head off a stuffed Santa Claus at her O2 show.Halfway through her set, the singer, 24, made it plain that she loathes Christmas. She seized the Santa doll and told the audience: “I hate the holidays. I’m alone and miserable you f**king stuffed little toy”, This is London informs. Dressed... 

Christmas has been banned by the Red Cross from its 430 fund-raising shops. Staff have been ordered to take down decorations and to remove any other signs of the Christian festival because they could offend Moslems. The charity’s politically-correct move triggered an avalanche of criticism and mockery last night – from Christians and Moslems. Christine Banks, a volunteer at a Red Cross... 

This winter is poised to bring a chilling surge in death rates as Britain braces for an Arctic blast, with temperatures rivalling Siberia and the coldest conditions in a century. Experts are forecasting a significant rise in cold-related fatalities, estimating a staggering 12 deaths every hour during the harshest winter in recent memory. As the bitter cold sets in, concerns about a potential death... 

Diversity: New laws will encourage employers to increase female representation in the workplace. Employers are to be allowed to discriminate in favour of women, black and disabled job candidates under controversial new laws. Lib Dem equalities minister Lynne Featherstone insisted the shake-up announced yesterday was not about ‘political correctness’ but making the workplace fairer. The legislation... 

One in four farming families are living below the poverty line, according to a study by the Commission for Rural Communities. A quarter of farming households receive relatively little support, either from agricultural policies or the welfare state, it said. Commission chairman Stuart Burgess said: “While many farming households have successfully increased production, resilience and farm incomes,... 

Researchers at Edinburgh University’s department of psychology report that there is a biological mechanism underpinning the loyalty that a person feels to their social group. The study investigated whether people are hard-wired to show bias to people of their own religion, ethnicity and race, or whether loyalties depend more on context. This work adds to an extensive body of previous research... 

People are leaving Europe because of immigration from poor countries and diktats from EU bureaucrats, right-wing firebrand Pauline Hanson said Sunday after abandoning plans to move to Britain. ‘I love England but so many people want to leave there because it’s overrun with immigrants and refugees,’ the former leader of the anti-immigration One Nation party told the Sun-Herald newspaper. She... 

Fourteen people were injured and 35 were arrested outside the Conservative Party's headquarters. Other demonstrators massed near Parliament. A demonstration against government proposals to cut education spending and steeply increase tuition for university students turned violent on Wednesday as protesters attempted to storm the building that houses the Conservative Party. The protesters scuffled... 

‘Sexual predators’: Gang of Asian men weep as they are jailed for total of 32 years for abusing white girls as young as 12. A gang of Asian ‘sexual predators’ were jailed yesterday for abusing white girls as young as 12. The five men preyed on their victims over several months and threatened them with violence if they refused their advances. One of the men branded his victim a ‘white... 

Virus (purple) circulating in the bloodstream recognised by antibodies (yellow) of the immune system. In a dramatic breakthrough that could affect millions of lives, scientists have been able to show for the first time that the body’s immune defences can destroy the common cold virus after it has actually invaded the inner sanctum of a human cell, a feat that was believed until now to be impossible. The... 

Name game: Mohammed is now the most popular name for new-born boys (picture posed by model) Mohammed has become the most popular name for newborn boys in Britain. It shot up from third the previous year, overtaking Jack, which had topped the list for the past 14 years but was relegated to third spot. Olivia topped the list for little girls for the second year in a row, behind Ruby and Chloe. A total... 

'Lax attitude': Black pupils are held back by parents and peers, not teachers, says Dr Tony Sewell. Black children fail at school because they do not concentrate, not because they are the victims of ‘institutional racism’, a leading black academic claims today. Tony Sewell, the son of Caribbean migrants, attacks the view that black pupils are held back by teachers who see them as ‘miniature... 

The groups have been emboldened by Christine O'Donnell's victory A British Tea Party campaign inspired by the electoral truimphs of the American movement is launching a series of challenges to the Coalition government. Activists are to hold a rally at next month’s Conservative party conference in Birmingham, at which criticisms of Coalition policies are expected to be aired. The organisers,... 

Mohammad Sidique Khan was one of the four suicide bombers who attacked London in 2005 The widow of a 7/7 suicide bomber has lost her High Court bid to overturn a decision refusing her legal aid. Hasina Patel had wanted legal aid for representation at the forthcoming inquest into the deaths of 52 people in the attacks in London. She was married to suicide bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan, from Leeds. But...