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Nigel Farage today claimed that he had killed the chance of second referendum by standing aside in 317 Conservative seats, saying he had weighed the decision more than anything in his life but decided it was 'the most important thing for Britain.' On Monday, the Brexit Party leader had claimed Boris Johnson had offered him a peerage before his climb-down over the general election. He branded the attempted bribe 'ridiculous.' It came as Mr Farage partially bowed to massive pressure by declaring that the Brexit Party will not fight any Tory-held seats. Writing in The Telegraph on Tuesday, Mr Farage declared: 'I had intended to stand 600 candidates next month. But the difficulty has been working out what the consequences of this would be. 'Many have said it would allow Jeremy Corbyn to win. I don't believe that is the case, but I do think it would lead to a hung parliament. This is something very few voters could possibly want.' While he said that Mr Johnson's Brexit deal 'was not Brexit' … [Read more...] about I’ve killed the chance of a second referendum by standing aside in 317 Tory seats says Nigel Farage branding it ‘the most important thing for Britain’

A YORKSHIRE floods victim wept as she told how she's lost her home and business in the devastating deluge. Pam Webb, from Fishlake, near Doncaster, found her home and luxury spa in the village submerged and has since learned her insurance will not cover the damage. Stricken residents have been warned to expect further heartache as more 'danger to life' flood warnings have been issued by the Met Office for later this week. Ms Webb sobbed: "My insurance company have excluded flood from my policy."I feel really selfish in saying this and I hope that other people aren't in this boat but I've lost my home and my business and my livelihood that I've worked so hard for. "And the girls who worked for me, or worked with me, it's their livelihoods as well. And a lot of them are only young. Some of them have got young families and I've tried to look after them the best I can. "Fishlake has never flooded in 100 years so my, if you want to say, anger is... why has it now flooded? You know, it's … [Read more...] about Woman left homeless and jobless after Yorkshire floods submerge her home and business – and insurers WON’T cover damage

5.39pm GMT European markets end week on a mixed note European markets have closed, and it's a bit of a contrasting picture, with the UK holding onto highs not seen since May 2008 but investors elsewhere being a little less positive. • The FTSE 100 has finished 22.05 points higher at 6154.41, up 0.36% • Germany's Dax is down 0.43% • France's Cac closed 0.07% lower • Italy's FTSE MIB lost 0.19% • Spain's Ibex ended down 0.29% • Athens has also bucked the trend, up 2.12% • In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently down 0.17% Meanwhile the pound has hit a nine week low against the dollar after the weak UK retail sales figures prompted fears of another dip into recession. And with that, it's time to close up for the weekend. Thanks for all your comments and we'll be back on Monday, while later in the week Graeme Wearden will be blogging from Davos. Updated at 5.40pm GMT 5.36pm GMT Portugal threatened by downturn in rest of … [Read more...] about Eurozone crisis live: Greece to probe ex-finance minister over tax scandal

Rescuers have admitted they do not know how many people in Florida have been killed by Hurricane Irma amid fears of a looming 'humanitarian crisis'. Up to 10,000 people are believed to have stayed in their Florida Keys homes during the storm and now have no water, food or power, officials have warned. It comes as it emerged Irma has left nearly 4.5million people without electricity and five dead as the destructive storm hammered the state with strong winds and threats of devastating storm surges. Irma weakened to a category 1 hurricane as it pummeled the vulnerable Tampa Bay region with 85mph winds early this morning. The National Hurricane Center predicts the storm will cross Monday into southwest Georgia, where a hurricane warning was in effect for a large rural area including the cities of Albany and Valdosta.  The deadly storm had earlier punished Fort Myers and Naples after coming ashore for the second time in Marco Island. The National Hurricane Center … [Read more...] about ‘We just don’t know how many are dead’: 10,000 people who stayed in Florida Keys to brave Hurricane Irma ‘now have no water, food or power’ amid fears of a ‘humanitarian crisis’ – but deadly storm is now downgraded to Category One