Britain's main minimum wage rate will rise by 4.1% to 12.71 pounds ($16.67) an hour next April to keep up with average pay, the government said on Tuesday, despite complaints from some employers that this will push up prices.

The UK government will stick with a controversial windfall tax for North Sea oil and gas producers until the end of the decade, dismissing complaints that the levy hurts investment and jobs.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband has urged the government to scale up efforts to return a jailed British couple from Iran to prevent another family being separated for years.

LONDON -- Britain’s government was due to weigh in Tuesday on a feud between the BBC and U.S. President Donald Trump, who is threatening to sue the broadcaster over the way it edited a speech he made after losing the 2020 presidential election.

The British government plans to hand new powers to local mayors in England to introduce a new levy on visitors' overnight trips, it said on Tuesday, a day before the annual budget.

The UK Government will allow extraction of oil and gas near existing fields as it looks to expand North Sea production without issuing new licences. Labour was adamant in the 2024 election campaign that new licences would not be issued for oil and gas extraction.

The UK government does not know how much it spends on consultants, despite a push to cut its bill for external advisers, according to a report from the National Audit Office.

The British government plans to tighten its asylum system, following Denmark's model, to reduce immigration and address the political storm over migrants crossing the English Channel

The government plans to double the period needed for many legal immigrants to become permanent residents, while cutting it for higher-rate taxpayers.

Lawyers for a pro-Palestinian protest group that has been outlawed by the British government went to court Wednesday in a bid to overturn its classification as a terrorist organization.