Minnie Stephenson , Culture Correspondent

A highly critical report by the police inspectorate has condemned the poor standard of vetting among forces across England and Wales, saying it has allowed officers with criminal convictions to remain in the ranks.

He was the Health Minister at the helm when Covid struck and had to resign for breaching his own social distancing rules when he got caught kissing his aide. Now, Matt Hancock is to travel to Australia to try his hand at reality TV show ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’.

Russia says it is pulling out of the deal allowing exports of grain from Ukraine, after claiming ships from its Black Sea Fleet were attacked in the occupied Crimean port of Sevastopol.

Jemma Mitchell was sentenced to 34 years in jail for killing 67-year-old Mee Kuen Chong at her London home in June last year.

Rishi Sunak has finally declared what many already suspected – that he is standing to become the next Prime Minister.

With all the drama of soggy bottoms, fallen souffles and underbaked sponges – Bake Off the Musical is heading for London’s West End. 

She was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age.  And while many know Dame Angela Lansbury for her role in the drama series Murder She Wrote, her career spanned eight decades across TV, theatre and film. 

To some, Damien Hirst’s previous works – including dead animals preserved in formaldehyde and jewel-encrusted skulls – are the work of a genius, to others they’re publicity stunts totally devoid of meaning. So where on that spectrum does his latest project fall?

The musician Oliver Sim has achieved massive commercial and critical success as part of the band The xx. 

Amid the war in Ukraine, statues and cultural monuments have been entombed in sandbags to ensure their survival against the missiles and bombs of war.

His Grammy-award winning hit Gangsta’s Paradise became one of the defining songs of the nineties . Today, tributes have been paid to Coolio, who’s died at the age of 59. The rapper – whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Junior – was found unresponsive at a friend’s house in LA, according to his agent.…

Human rights groups say at least 76 people have been killed so far in protests in Iran – and over a thousand arrested.

She was the first woman to win two Booker prizes – for her historical novels about the life of Thomas Cromwell. The news today of the death of Dame Hilary Mantel at the age of 70 has prompted tributes from across the literary world. Her agent said she was a ‘shining light’ for writers and…

To the universe, and beyond – a new book has revealed images of the Apollo missions into space as they’ve never been seen before. 

After the queue, there was the crowd – in their hundreds of thousands they came, some waiting since the early hours of Sunday morning for a prime position along the route.