SIR – Tony Blair has unveiled his plan to block Brexit. It is worth reminding him and others of his mindset that, whatever the rights and wrongs of holding the referendum, we did hold it. Only 53 MPs voted against doing so. The referendum was clearly presented as a binding vote. The rules were clear and accepted: it was a ...

SIR – I agree with Simon Heffer that the Conservatives “should take the fight to Labour”. Above all, however, they need to explain why capitalism works and socialism does not. Mr Heffer’s suggestion that the Tories should expose the faults and divisions within Labour risks encouraging the same old backbiting and mockery. While the young will always flock to idealism, ...

A Canadian marijuana maker is set to sell cannabis in several European countries after striking a deal with Denmark’s biggest tomato producer. Aurora Cannabis is partnering with Alfred Pedersen & Son to produce cannabis for medical use in Europe. The greenhouses used for tomatoes can be converted to grow the drug as both plants have similar growth needs. The joint ...

The British Polar explorer Ben Saunders gave up his quest to cross the South Pole echoing Sir Ernest Shackleton’s words that it was better to return home as a ‘live donkey’ than a ‘dead lion’. Mr Saunders, 40, was forced to abandon his mission to cross Antarctica unassisted after ‘ferocious’ weather conditions left him without enough food to complete his ...

Naomi Campbell and Tinie Tempah have backed a campaign from the London Mayor to promote gender equality in the capital through New Year’s resolutions. A host of celebrities and other Londoners have signed up to Sadiq Khan’s equality campaign, called #BehindEveryGreatCity, which calls on people and businesses to set equality goals for 2018. Khan hopes the campaign will show that, ...

Daily calorie consumption should be reduced to 1,800 calories a day, according to new health guidelines. The current recommendation is for women to consume 2,000 calories a day and men 2,500 as part of a balanced diet. But a new Public Health England (PHE) campaign next year is expected to recommend a ‘400-600-600′ rule. That means restricting food intake to ...

A Scottish island’s school finally found a Gaelic teacher after a six month search – only for their efforts to be thwarted by the Home Office denying her a visa. The post at Bunessan Primary, on the Isle of Mull, did not attract any Scottish applicants but a Gaelic-speaking Canadian teacher eventually came forward. Sine Halfpenny, from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, ...

I understand that Max Conze, sacked abruptly by Dyson in October for a series of alleged “breaches”, received a multi-million-pound settlement. In November the company filed a claim in the High Court claiming Mr Conze breached his duties in several ways. They included “disclosing confidential product information to third parties”. The writ also said Mr Conze was “using Dyson resources ...

This article was originally published on 3rd March 2010. Most adults have a maths age of between eight and a half and ten and a half, according to Richard Marrett, managing director of Whizz Education. This is the level that corresponds with the maths that most of us use in our every day lives to add up the shopping, do ...

University College London has apologised after its “dreaming of a white campus” tweet was deemed to be racist. The university said it was sorry and had chosen its words “very poorly”, following a backlash from those who interpreted the message as an offensive remark. On Monday, the university posted a message on its official Twitter account which said: “Dreaming of ...