Tony Blair took out £300,000 mortgage on constituency house that was 'worth just £150,000'

Tony Blair and George Bush at Myrobella in 2003

Tony Blair took out a mortgage of almost £300,000 on his constituency house – double its estimated value – to help fund his growing property empire. Critics said the unusually generous arrangement highlighted how politicians could use their taxpayer-funded second homes as ‘cash machines’.

Cherie made up hairdresser quote for book, says Campbell

Grief-stricken parents' tribute to Harry Potter actor, 18, stabbed to death in mobile phone brawl

The devastated parents of a young actor murdered outside a bar have paid an emotional tribute to their son, calling their son 'an angel on earth without wings'.

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Fury as Children's Tsar says tackling knife crime could antagonise young

Scores of British sailors trapped for days by French fuel protesters

Thirty British pleasure yachts are trapped in an illegal blockade by French protesters who have attacked some boats with flares and missiles for trying to escape.

Cherbourg siege: 'We escaped as a hail of beer bottles hit the boat'

Church is not doing enough to convert UK Muslims, says bishop

The Church of England was accused by one of its most senior bishops - the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali - yesterday of failing in its duty to convert British Muslims to Christianity.

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Five months on, the 18-year-old schoolgirl who married a cafe owner in Egypt is back in Britain

Just five months after schoolgirl Amy Robson ran away from home to marry an Egyptian internet cafe owner, she is back in Britain, staying with her grandparents.

Cherie made up 'f****** hairdresser' quote, says Campbell

Alastair Campbell has issued a stinging public rebuke to Cherie Blair, accusing her of inventing damaging quotes in her memoirs.

Ministers rally round in desperate attempt to salvage Brown's premiership

Senior colleagues of Gordon Brown rallied around the under-fire Prime Minister today amid intense speculation he could face a leadership challenge.

Wogan ponders Eurovision future after latest UK flop

Veteran Eurovision Song Contest commentator Sir Terry Wogan tonight cast doubt on whether he would be involved in covering the event again.

Today's headlines

Sir Ranulph fails to conquer Mount Everest for second time

Sir Ranulph Fiennes was today forced to abandon his Mount Everest bid after succumbing to exhaustion. It was the adventurer's second unsuccessful attempt at scaling the mountain - he suffered a heart attack just 300m from the top in 2005.

British diver and girlfriend rescued from shark-infested sea: 'I thought we would die... neither of us mentioned the 'S' word'

A British diver has told how he and his girlfriend thought they would die during their 19 hour ordeal, stranded in shark-infested waters

Literary luvvies are drenched as the bank holiday showers wash out Hay book festival

People hoping the dismal forecasts were wrong after a sunny start to the Bank Holiday were disappointed today when the wet weather finally arrived.

Fury of injured soldiers' families as sex-change Para captain 'wins £250,000' from Army

The Parachute Regiment captain who had a sex-change operation to become Jan Hamilton has resigned from the Army – after agreeing a settlement believed to be £250,000 with the Ministry Of Defence.

Army medic admits torturing Iraqi boy, 14 and watching him be 'hooded'

A junior Army medic has admitted kicking and punching a 14-year-old Iraqi boy, then watching as colleagues 'hooded' him with a sandbag. The Lance-Corporal told how the teenager was bound and kicked.

REVEALED: MI5 man's 'prostitute' wife embroiled in Mosley scandal

This is the wife that an MI5 agent kept secret from his Security Service bosses until she was involved in an S & M orgy with motor racing chief Max Mosley.

Phil 'One Man And His Dog' Drabble leaves £1m fortune to the secretary he loved like a daughter

The presenter of cult TV programme One Man And His Dog has left the bulk of his £1million estate to his personal assistant. Phil Drabble, who died last July, regarded Ruth Froggatt as the 'daughter he never had’.

Cold shoulder for Ramsay as he splits with most loyal lieutenant

Gordon Ramsay has split from the chef who played a key role in the creation of his restaurant empire.

Britain’s youngest magistrate quizzed by police after 'stalking' boyfriend

A woman appointed as Britain’s youngest magistrate has been quizzed by police over claims she harassed her former boyfriend.

Police appeal for help to find missing mother and her five children

Police are asking the public to help them locate a missing mother and her five young daughters. Natalie Bracht, 34, left her home in Sunderland a week ago with her children, aged between five and 13.

Ex Army officer sues BBC over Waking The Dead character and a 'coincidence too far'

Jonathan Garratt sues BBC over Waking The Dead episode

THE BBC is being sued by a former Army officer after an episode of Waking The Dead featured a fictional character with an almost identical name and background.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

HOW CAN GORDON BROWN GET BACK ON TRACK?

I'm no fan of New Labour but I'm baffled by the treatment Brown's getting. Only a few months ago they said he was invincible, how can it have all fallen apart so quickly?
collinsrik

Feared Somali police chief packed peas for Tesco

The man in charge of one of Africa’s most feared secret police services worked in Britain for Tesco until 18 months ago.

Chilli Hot Stuff cleaner: Yes, I sent judge sexy texts but only because I was trying to trap him

Roselane Driza cleaner who had affair with judge

The case of the immigration judge who had an affair with an illegal immigrant Brazilian cleaner he referred to as 'chilli hot stuff' was reignited last night by a series of bizarre new allegations.

Apprentice winner reveals the incompetence behind last year's floods which betrayed her dying friend

A year on from the great floods, the winner of TV's The Apprentice returns to her home town of Hull and discovers complacency and incompetence behind the betrayal of her friend.

Face of the 'nail bomber': Police were tailing Muslim convert before restaurant attack

The Muslim convert held after a nail bomb restaurant attack had been under surveillance by the security services, it was claimed last night.

Muslim English teacher admits threatening to blow up Europe's largest shopping centre with limousines as moving bombs

Jersey police failed to reveal that tested 'skull' was coconut

Jersey's police chief said a ‘skull fragment’ found at a former children’s home was human – though tests had revealed weeks earlier that it was wood or coconut shell.

Church pulls out of Catholic agencies over 'gay equality' adoption law

Kieran Conroy, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton

The Roman Catholic Church is pulling out of three of its top adoption agencies because it cannot comply with Labour’s new gay equality laws.

Scud Stud on crutches after collision with London bus

Veteran war correspondent Rageh Omaar was taken to hospital after his scooter collided with a double-decker bus, sending the 40-year-old sliding painfully along Oxford Street and leaving him on crutches.

Three winners share Lottery jackpot of £4million

Three winners will share a jackpot of £4 million after Saturday's Lotto draw

Gallery: The world today in pictures

A selection of today's best pictures from the UK and around the world

Tragic: French police look at a bus that crashed into a pillar under a highway overpass in France's Loire Valley. Seven people died

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Gallery: The world today in pictures

A selection of today's best pictures from the UK and around the world

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WORLD NEWS

LABOUR IN CRISIS

How Harriet Hardwoman whipped wavering abortion votes

A secret plot led by Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Haraman sabotaged moves to reduce the time limit for abortions, it was claimed last night. She is accused of organising a group of women MPs who ‘browbeat and bullied’ their colleagues into voting to keep the 24-week limit.

Tories might end funding mechanism for Scotland, hints David Cameron

David Cameron today hinted that a Conservative government might scrap the 30-year-old Barnett Formula, the mechanism which calculates how much money goes to devolved areas.

A house, 33 cars and 20 trips to Tenerife ... Amazing £1m contest bonanza of man with 600 aliases

A man won almost a £1 million in competitions run by magazines, radio stations and supermarkets – by entering under as many as 600 different identities

Analysis: Whispers and plots... plus a threat of a summer coup that could lead to Brown's exit

As recently as a week ago, the 350-strong Parliamentary Labour Party was still clinging to the view that Brown should be saved for their own sakes. Now MPs are thinking differently

In the second decade of the 21st century, what will British people want from their government?

Our economy is sick, our society fractured. If he wins, Mr Cameron may face a tougher task than Mrs Thatcher. Here, Max Hastings prescribes the medicine we desperately need...

Blair and Brown had new kitchens on the taxpayer, 'John Lewis list' reveals

The extravagant expenses claims made by MPs on their second homes finally emerged last night. The Commons Speaker has published a receipt-by-receipt breakdown.

Tony Blair 'moments from death' after Israeli fighter jets threatened to blow his plane out of the sky

TV's Jeremy Vine: The day I caught a paedophile online

Jeremy Vine thought the threat of online paedophiles was exaggerated. When a female colleague posed as a young girl online, he realised how terrifyingly wrong he was.

Meet Mr and Mrs Linley, also known as the Glumleys

His business is booming, bankrolled by a Russian oligarch. But is Lord Linley's insatiable lust for cash casting a pall over his marriage?

Pork could soon be off the menu if we don't save our pig farms

It sounds unbelievable - but with pig farmers facing ruin, British bacon and sausages could vanish from shops within a year

Pressure on Clegg as Lib Dem vote is bled dry by Tory landslide

The Liberal Democrats were on the backfoot today after a bleak night in Crewe saw them unable to topple Labour from second place

BEST OF OUR BLOGS

BAZ BAMIGBOYE: Madonna's abstinence at Cannes
KATIE NICHOLL: Peaches parties - again. So much for a curfew Sir Bob!
BENEDICT BROGAN: The PLP's morale crisis
PETER HITCHENS : By-elections don't always mean what they seem to mean

IN OUR OPINION

MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Start planning the big picture, Mr Cameron Labour is in a trap of its own making by anointing Gordon Brown as leader

SUZANNE MOORE: Never mind my limits, Dawn. Know your own The Government is spending £6million on explaining how much alcohol is in our alcohol

LIZ JONES: OK Anne, I was born in 1958 - and lying about it is my Weakest Link I'm on Celebrity Weakest Link. Anne Robinson fixes her gaze on me...

PETER HITCHENS: Abortion...when human life isn't just cheap, it's on special offer Is it right to do away with another human to suit your convenience?

Bank holiday to split the country in a north-south weather divide as rail closures cause traffic chaos

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for southern Britain ahead of bank holiday weekend with heavy rain predicted on Saturday and Sunday.

Why Peta think there's something fishy about the living conditions of Channel Five's pets

Their entire lives and are lived out in a goldfish bowl, so it's little wonder that Brad and Jen literally have no place to explore and hide.

Eight years jail for doctor who sexually abused girl patient, 13

A doctor was jailed for eight years today after sexually assaulting a 13-year-old patient at a hospital.

Just why DID the Jersey police chief lie about that child's skull?

This week, a child's skull he claimed he'd found was exposed as a bit of coconut. So can we believe ANY of this policeman's stories of abuse and murder?

Baby died of meningitis hours after medics said he had 'bad nappy rash'

A baby boy died after medics missed three chances to spot he was suffering from meningitis.

Adolf Hitler Doll

On 23 April, we published an agency report that an Adolf Hitler doll had gone on sale in the Ukraine. We have been asked to point out that this doll was not widely available, was in fact manufactured in Taiwan, and that there are no plans for expansion of the range. We apologise for any offence caused.