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Britain's historic bridges, buildings and roads are under threat from drivers blithely following satellite navigation directions, a conservation society warned yesterday. Among those which have been damaged by traffic driving down unsuitable roads is a 200-year-old bridge in Oxfordshire, a 300-year-old cottage in Greater Manchester and Pevensey Castle in East Sussex, according to the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Phillip Venning, the society's secretary, said the cost of repairing some of the damage to the buildings had run into thousands of pounds. "Blind reliance on satellite navigation is fast becoming a serious issue for old buildings as motorists...

Archaeologists working in Oxford city centre have unearthed bones that could be more than 2,000 years old. A team of archaeologists has been excavating a site between St Giles and Blackhall Road since mid January - and last week the diggers struck bone, uncovering what could be a mass grave. Seven bodies, believed to date to the Roman or Saxon period, have been found at the site. Sean Wallis, project officer for Reading-based Thames Valley Archaeological Services, said "The whole of the site has been quite dense with archaeology but the area that the bodies turned up we only started...

Foreign Secretary interested in proposals to broadcast information on secret wealth of Putin's circle, as he warns Russia could be "single greatest threat" to Britain Philip Hammond said he was interested by the idea of publicising the wealth of the Russian president’s inner circle in order to embarrass them in front of their people, as part of the response to the ongoing incursion into eastern Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary warned that Putin is rapidly modernising his armed forces, and warned Russia’s bid to destabilise eastern Europe poses “the greatest single threat” to British national security. Mr Hammond said that Britain...

Britain may broadcast the financial secrets of Russia’s ruling elite as part of the information war against the Putin regime, the Foreign Secretary has indicated. Philip Hammond said he was interested by the idea of publicising the wealth of the Russian president’s inner circle in order to embarrass them in front of their people, as part of the response to the ongoing incursion into eastern Ukraine.

Found in a farmer's field: The 2,000-year-old skeleton of the lost lady of Rome By CHRIS BROOKE Last updated at 09:14am on 23rd November 2007 In her lifetime she was a member of a wealthy family based in a bustling British outpost of the world's mightiest empire. The imperial glory has long faded. But, almost 2,000 years on, archaeologists have discovered a corner of an English field that is forever Rome. They have unearthed a coffin containing a remarkably well-preserved skeleton in the village of Aldborough, near Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire - once the site of a major Roman town, Isurium...

The director of the Muslim rights group Cage has repeatedly refused to condemn the stoning of adulterous women by Islamic extremists. Appearing on the BBC’s This Week programme, Asim Qureshi was asked about a series of positions advocated by a Muslim scholar he has described as a mentor, including female genital mutilation, domestic violence and the stoning to death of women found guilty of cheating on their husbands. Last month, Mr Qureshi was criticised for describing Mohammed Emwazi, the Islamic State executioner known as Jihadi John, as a “beautiful young man”. Pressed by Andrew Neil, the show’s presenter, to condemn...

'Advocacy group Cage is no longer being funded by two UK charities, according to the Charity Commission. Cage has been criticised for suggesting MI5 may have helped cause the radicalisation of Mohammed Emwazi. The commission says it has been talking to the Roddick Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust since 2013 about their links with Cage. It has now received assurances from the charities that they have ceased funding the group and will not do so in future.'

'Banning radical Islamists from working unsupervised with children could be one measure included in a new government anti-extremism strategy, reports say. The Telegraph says a leaked Home Office document also suggests Sharia courts and councils are areas of concern. Job centre staff may also be told to identify vulnerable claimants who could become targets for radicalisation. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said she was "concerned about what might be taught in some of our schools". The BBC understands the document has yet to be signed off by the coalition.'

A 17 year old army cadet has chosen to defy terrorist threats by wearing her cadet uniform to and from school. All police and military personnel, including members of the combined cadet force, have been advised not to wear their uniforms in public thanks to the increased risk of attack from Islamic militants.

Around 320 "dangerous" jihadists have come back to Britain, the newspaper said. The new counter-extremism plan involves targeting Muslim Sharia courts, a ban on radicals working unsupervised with children, and a requirement that job centres identify welfare claimants who may become radicalisation targets, the report said. There would also be welfare penalties to encourage people to learn English, in order to improve integration, and tighter rules on granting citizenship to ensure newcomers embrace "British values", the broadsheet said.

The manifesto has been put together by the Institute for Muslim Community Development, as a “call-to-action” for parliamentarians, “pinpointing key issues of high importance to the Muslim community.” According to their website, it was assembled through consultation with “grass roots members, community leaders, religious leaders, social activists, academics, thinkers and politicians.”

Tony Blair’s sister-in-law announced her conversion to Islam last weekend. Journalist Lauren Booth embraced the faith after what she describes as a ‘holy experience’ in Iran. She is just one of a growing number of modern British career women to do so. Here, writer EVE AHMED, who was raised as a Muslim before rejecting the faith, explores the reasons why. Much of my childhood was spent trying to escape ­Islam. Born in London to an English mother and a ­Pakistani Muslim father, I was brought up to follow my father’s faith without question. But, privately, I hated it. The minute...

Russia has become a danger to Britain and the country must be prepared to take steps to defend itself and its allies, the former head of MI6 says. Sir John Sawers, who recently retired after five years as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Russia poses a "state to state threat".

here were violent clashes on the streets of Newcastle today as hundreds of demonstrators from controversial anti-Islam group Pegida were met by a 2,000-strong counter-protest. Around 400 people from the far-right group were shouted down by the counter-demonstration, with scuffles breaking out as the rally made its way through the city centre, leading to five arrests. The rival demonstrations against the anti-Islam march were led by Respect MP George Galloway who spoke at the pro-Islam rally, branding the far-right protesters a 'German Nazi group'.

Early farming began in the Near East about 10,500 years ago. Farming first reached the Balkans in Europe some 8 to 9,000 years ago, and then crept westward. Locals in Britain, separated from the mainland by the relatively newly formed English Channel, did not start farming until about 6,000 years ago. But an analysis of sediment from a submerged British archaeological site called Bouldner Cliff found something unexpected. “Amongst our Bouldner Cliff samples we found ancient DNA evidence of wheat at the site, which was not seen in mainland Britain for another 2,000 years.” Robin Allaby of the University of...

The UKIP leader will share a stage with high-profile US conservatives including Sarah Palin and NRA gun lobbyists.UKIP leader Nigel Farage is expected to get a celebrity reception in Washington when he addresses America's most high-profile right-wing conference this week. Sarah Palin, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush and the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun lobby will be sharing a stage with the British politician after he was invited to address the Conservative Political Action Committee in the US capital. Aides told Sky News his philosophy has much in common with his republican hosts, who also focus on "the battle for smaller...

This seems like a solid enough news hook to revisit a theme I addressed shortly after the Paris attacks, when the Obama administration’s ‘radical-Islamist-violence-has-nothing-to-do-with-Islam’ rhetoric was in full throat. Via The Telegraph: One in four British Muslims sympathise with terrorists behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks, a new poll shows. A poll reveals how a significant minority of Muslims endorse terrorist atrocities against those who mock the Prophet Mohammed. Some 27 per cent of British Muslims said they have “some sympathy for the motives behind the attacks” on the Paris magazine, according to polling by ComRes for the BBC. A...

Britain was pulled closer towards a renewed cold war with Russia when David Cameron announced UK military trainers are to be deployed to help Ukraine forces stave off further Russian backed incursions into its sovereign territory. The decision – announced on Tuesday but under consideration by the UK national security council since before Christmas – represents the first deployment of British troops to the country since the near civil war in eastern Ukraine began more than a year ago. Downing Street said the deployment was not just a practical bilateral response to a request for support, but a signal to...

Ancient Stonehenge Houses Unearthed Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News Oct. 13, 2006 —Nine Neolithic-era buildings have been excavated in the Stonehenge world heritage site, according to a report in the journal British Archaeology. The structures, which appear to have been homes, date to 2,600-2,500 B.C. and were contemporary with the earliest stone settings at the site's famous megalith. They are the first house-like structures discovered there. Julian Thomas, who worked on the project and is chair of the archaeology department at Manchester University in England, said Stonehenge could have been a key gathering place at the Neolithic era's version of a...

Is Stonehenge Roman? Geoffrey Wainwright, the co-Director of the excavations. Geoffrey's friends will be glad to note that he has now recovered from his hip replacement, though he can still not get down the deep holes After a gap of some forty four years, Stonehenge is once again being excavated. Admittedly, this time it is only a very small hole, and is only being dug for a fortnight, but it is a very important hole, and on April the 9th, we were invited down to Stonehenge to inspect it. It was a wonderful trip, not least because the weather was...