Free Republic

The first person Catherine and Gareth Bull told about their £40.6 million lottery win in January 2012 was their sons’ headmistress. ‘We didn’t know at that point if we wanted to go public but from that first minute the boys were our priority,’ Catherine says. ‘We knew they would want everything to be the same. So we went to see her to talk it through first.’ The Bulls are, as they quite cheerfully admit, two of the most boring multimillionaires you could ever meet. Since the headmistress assured them that Joel and Declan – then aged 10 and eight –...

David Cameron has compared Russia to Nazi Germany because of its actions in Ukraine on the eve of a tense meeting with Vladimir Putin. Mr Cameron will on Saturday night challenge Mr Putin about Russia’s continued acts of aggression in Ukraine as it supplies heavy weapons and tanks to the separatists. In a reference to World War II, Mr Cameron said that the world must “learn the lessons of history” and intervene to stop “a larger state bullying a smaller state”. He said: "Russian action in Ukraine is unacceptable. We have to be clear about what we are dealing with....

The “root cause” of terrorism is not poverty, marginalization or Western nations’ foreign policy, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday, but an “extremist narrative” that must be confronted. Addressing the Australian federal parliament in Canberra, Cameron announced new measures that are being put in place in Britain to prevent jihadists from returning to the country from Middle East conflict zones and to stop suspected foreign fighters from leaving in the first place. He contested the argument that issues like poverty and deprivation, or unhappiness with foreign policy, are fueling Islamist terrorism. …

'Pilot Eric "Winkle" Brown holds two of the most startling records from the world of flying. And that's just a part of his extraordinary life. Brown's exploits run through some of the most momentous events of world history. He was at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he interrogated Hermann Goering, helped liberate the Belsen concentration camp and by chance managed to sing with the Glenn Miller band. But his greatest achievements were as a Royal Navy test pilot. He mastered deck landings in the face of tremendous danger. Now 95, he is a hero among military pilots who fly far more...

Britain has just a 50-50 chance of remaining in the European Union, Sir John Major has warned, saying that opposition to continued membership of the European Union has reached “a critical mass”. In a speech in Berlin on Thursday Sir John warned that Britain’s frustration was “no game”, adding: “There is a very real risk of separation that could damage the future of the United Kingdom—and Europe as a whole.” Sir John—who was a pro-European during his time as Prime Minister from 1990 and 1997—also said that it was time officials in the European Union recognized real concern in the...

The European Central Bank on Thursday (6 November) formally made public a letter showing that the eurozone bank threatened to pull emergency bank funding if Ireland did not enter a bailout and undertake austerity measures in 2010. The letter, signed by the then-ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, speaks of “great concern” about the solvency of Irish lenders—which had loaned heavily to the overheated construction sector—and the extent to which the whole eurosystem was exposed. It then says that the ECB would cut off emergency funding to Irish banks unless Ireland meets four conditions, including getting a bailout and undertaking “fiscal consolidation,...

COLOGNE, Germany — With its wood-paneled piano bar and luxurious spa, the four-star Bonotel assures visitors paying up to $300 per night that it meets the "international standard of a first-class hotel." But starting next year, the hotel's marble-and-mirrored lobby and "quiet, peaceful ambience" will play host not to indulgent travelers but desperate asylum seekers. Germany's fourth-largest city spent almost $7 million to buy the Bonotel this summer. Its doors will soon be shut and its 93 opulent rooms filled with asylum seekers, a move underscoring how Europe's economic powerhouse has been overwhelmed by an influx of people seeking a...

The world's biggest Internet-retailer Amazon is going to start testing air drones for delivery of parcels in Britain. Two years after buying the Cambridge startup Evi Technologies, the company turned to looking for engineers and experts who can help with the tests, the Business Insider reported. It is likely that the military specialists will be involved in the tests. The drones will be flying over Cambridge. The date of the start is not yet announced. The project named Prime Air in future will allow the customers to receive their parcels within 30 minutes after the order confirmation. The Amazon drones...

A British woman terrorist suspect dubbed the 'White Widow' has been killed in Ukraine, it was claimed on Wednesday. Samantha Lewthwaite, 30, was gunned down by a Russian sniper two weeks ago, alleged Regnum news agency in Moscow. One of Britain's most wanted people, she was reported last month as fighting for the Islamic State's terrorists in Syria. The extraordinary Russian claim could not be verified last night.

An army of volunteers has begun removing the field of ceramic Remembrance poppies from the Tower of London's moat after the once-in-a-lifetime installation that captured the nation's imagination. The first shift, decked out in wet weather gear, began pulling up the 888,246 hand-made flowers that make up Blood Swept Lands And Seas Of Red this morning, despite heavy showers. Their arms filled with the flowers' stems as they made their way through the moat, the volunteers then began to dismantle the poppies, removing the ceramic blooms from the metal rods before placing them into cardboard boxes.

Being a world leader is a tiring and demanding job. So it's no surprise that having to travel around the globe on a regular basis, heads of state like to enjoy a bit of luxury on their 'down time'. Brisbane, Australia, is the host city for this weekend's G20, with US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and Russian Premier Vladimir Putin, among others, all staying in the Queensland city. And it is Obama who has set the bar with his hotel booking this year. The US President will base himself at the £1,370 (AUS$2,500) a night Marriott...

The bright teenager from Beckingham, Kent — known then as Dorothy Winifred Shiers — had studied accounting in high school and turned her proficiency with numbers into a job with a London company. But with her nation at war, she heeded the call and joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service, or Wrens as they were known. At the end of her basic training, she was required to sign the Official Secrets Act, its inherent solemnity backed by the promise of a £2,000 fine and two years in prison for contravention at any time prior to 1975. Lincoln was an Enigma...

'A SCOT who became Britain’s most decorated soldier for his audacious exploits during the Second World War – which included single-handedly forcing a column of German troops and SS Panzer tanks to surrender – has died at the age 94. Sir Tommy Macpherson, who fought with No 11 (Scottish) Commando in Europe, and was awarded the Military Cross three times, the Croix de Guerre three times and the Legion d’Honneur, died on Thursday. He is among the former servicemen and women who will be honoured tomorrow in a host of Remembrance Sunday events in towns, cities and villages across Scotland....

The final poppy has been planted at the Tower of London this morning, as the nation paid tribute to the millions of British servicemen who have died in conflict since the start of the First World War. The 888,246th flower - representing the life of the 888,246th person who died in action during the Great War - was planted by 13-year-old cadet Harry Hayes, heralding the completion of the magnificent tribute, which has seen the Tower's moat progressively filled with a sea of crimson blooms. This morning, thousands flocked to the memorial to pay their respects to the nation's war...

Bronze Bell from Long-Lost Arctic Shipwreck Revealed by Megan Gannon, News Editor | November 10, 2014 03:13pm ET Divers recovered a bronze bell from the wreck of the HMS Erebus, a British ship that was missing for nearly 170 years after an ill-fated expedition to the Canadian Arctic. In 1845, British Royal Navy officer and explorer John Franklin led more than 100 men on a quest to find a Northwest Passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. But they never completed their mission; in 1846, their ships — the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror — became trapped in ice near...

A recorded conversation between an apologetic Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher over the invasion of Grenada has been published for the first time. "We regret very much the embarrassment that's been caused to you," the US leader said during the call. Baroness Thatcher was angered that she was not consulted before the Americans invaded a Commonwealth state. United States troops were sent to Grenada in 1983 to topple the Caribbean island's Marxist regime. While US forces were still in action, the president phoned Lady Thatcher to explain the action he had taken. "If I were there, Margaret," he said, "I'd...

Ronald Reagan's 1983 telephone apology to Margaret Thatcher over Grenada invasion – audio A newly released tape recording of a telephone call between Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher reveals how in 1983 the US president tried to explain and apologise to the British prime minister after the US invaded Grenada – a Commonwealth country – without giving her advance warning.

Last May, I wrote an article titled “The 5 Latest Signs of Britain’s Imminent Demise.” These were, unfortunately, not anomalies. In Britain these days, galloping toward ruin is a more popular sport than soccer, and so an update is in order. Here are ten of the latest indications that Britons can look forward to a society that is both more authoritarian and more dangerous than any free nation can long endure.

A group of young Muslims have been videoed launching rocket fireworks at police in Bow, East London. The video was distributed on Facebook by members of the public that were concerned it did not appear in the mainstream media.

Winston Churchill urged the United States to launch a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union to win the Cold War, a newly released document reveals. The previously unseen memorandum from the FBI archives details how Britain’s wartime leader made his views known to a visiting American politician in 1947. Churchill believed a pre-emptive strike on Stalin’s Russia might be the only way to stop Communism conquering the West. The note, written by an FBI agent, reports that Churchill urged Right-wing Republican Senator Styles Bridges to persuade President Harry Truman to launch a nuclear attack which would ‘wipe out’ the Kremlin...