The boss at the so-called new British FBI will effectively become the most senior police officer in the country with the power to over-rule chief constables, the Government said today.

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Wide berth: Childhood obesity rates are rising fast

New UK obesity centre offers surgery to teens

London hospital says treatment is necessary to fight epidemic among children

Headteacher warning over pupils and technology

Parents must take responsibility for what their children watch online, amid concerns that youngsters are accessing inappropriate material such as pornography, headteachers warned today.

Anderton House’s sitting room frames valley views

Stay the night: Anderton House, North Devon

Amid traditional thatched West Country cottages, Sophie Lam discovers an elegant Modernist homage to space and light

Pre-war Kenya Nazi plot suspicions revealed

Germans who claimed to be catching butterflies in pre-war Kenya caught the attention of British officials who feared the Nazis were plotting to invade East Africa, previously secret files reveal.

Marty Rathbun at home in Texas with his collection of Scientology books and films

Scientology's 'heretic': How Marty Rathbun became the arch-enemy of L Ron Hubbard devotees

For 27 years, Marty Rathbun was a key player in the world's most secretive religion – even mentoring top celebrities including Tom Cruise. Then he left, and things turned ugly...

Bermuda has more golf courses per square mile than any other nation

Five days in Bermuda

 

Loft desk
<br />£225, johnlewis.com
<br />This compact, colourful desk is the opposite of
traditional office-y furniture. It also has an extendable
section and cubby holes to tuck clutter inside afterhours.
It'd double up as a dressing table, too

The art of work: The shopper's guide to decorating your office in style

Commuters are being encouraged to set up in their studies during this summer's Olympics, but working from home doesn't have to mean drab desk tidies and bland bookcases.

New BBC series to examine Shakespeare's world

A dagger, an eye relic and a fork are among the subjects of a new BBC series which will examine the turbulent lives of the Bard's original audience.

The Pass is an extension of the 'Chef's table', in which diners get to watch the backstage action

The Pass, South Lodge Country, House Hotel, Brighton Road, West Sussex

On a brass-monkey night in January, the South Lodge Hotel looks good: grey-beige stone, triangular pediments, lots of ivy and lots of windows through which firelight and lamplight gleam appealingly. The lobby is wide enough to accommodate a Victorian coach-and-four passing through and sparsely furnished with plush sofas. Though the place dates from 1883, it has an ersatz feel to it, a sprayed-on faux-luxury. As a manager comes to greet you, your eye falls on a doorway through which you glimpse a horribly overlit green space – a gym? A swimming pool? – and you try to ignore it. On the way to the bar, you pass a cosy-looking restaurant, all wood panels and floral wallpaper and you think, ah yes, just the job. The bar is a mocked-up gentlemen's club with more panelling and chandeliers made of twisted shards of leather-coloured glass. You greet your friends, floor a dry martini and head for dinner...

Rupert Murdoch flies to UK to tackle News International crisis

Rupert Murdoch will arrive at the Wapping headquarters of his British newspapers tomorrow to take charge of the latest crisis involving one of his titles, sources say.

Aaron and Bryce Dessner

Exclusive interview with The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner

Aaron and Bryce Dessner, identical twin brothers and twin guitarists for their band The National, are so in synch that their dialogue can, apparently, be difficult for outsiders to understand.

In 2011 some £6,000 per square foot was paid for flats in One Hyde Park

A perfect storm: The forecast for the property market in 2012

House prices are down, supplies of new homes are below target and frustrated first-time buyers are struggling to get mortgages...

World Cup Diary: Victory parade, Monday. Maybe

So now we know: there will be an All Blacks victory parade here in Auckland on Monday, starting near the harbour in Queen Street and covering what locals call the "Golden Mile" to either Aotea Square, near the town hall, or the Domain, the city's oldest park.

The National, Corn Exchange, Edinburgh

"We've been doing festivals over the summer and playing the greatest hits," the Brooklynite rockers The National pointed out, on the first date of their UK tour. "So now we're gonna play the obscure songs." It made little difference, because their most devoted followers know all of them anyway. The setting wasn't ideal – a concert hall might have been better than a mini-arena – but this was a beautiful show, rich in lyrical poignancy and tenderly epic music.

Career Services

Day In a Page

Countdown's rudest ever moments

Yesterday a contestant spelt the word 'minge'.
Special report: Tamil asylum-seekers to be forcibly deported

Special report

Tamil asylum-seekers to be forcibly deported
The problem with social mobility

The problem with social mobility

Politicians who say they want to break down Britain's social barriers have been told to unlock closed-shop professions – starting in their own backyard
France's sixth biggest city* goes to the polls (*that's London, by the way)

France's sixth biggest city* goes to the polls (*that's London, btw)

Next month expats in the stronghold of South Kensington will have a big say in who is returned as the first French overseas MP
Aftershock: How Haiti's quake hit the whole of Hispaniola

Aftershock: How Haiti's quake hit the whole of Hispaniola

Two years on from the disaster that shook the Caribbean state, its eastern neighbour, the Dominican Republic, fears a new wave of illegal immigrants could hurt its economy
Mean streets at the movies

Mean streets at the movies

Plan B's new film explores the urban tensions that led to last summer's riots – and he's not the only one finding cinematic inspiration in social unrest
Romney hits the magic number, but his smartphone app fails crucial spelling test

Romney hits the magic number...

... but his smartphone app fails crucial spelling test
Car-crash TV: Ferrari quits news after gaffes, rows and poor ratings

Car-crash TV: Ferrari quits news after gaffes, rows and poor ratings

Weeks after the demise of Sarkozy, the TF1 star he's said to have dated finds herself out of office too
Meet your doctor (please don't unplug it)

Meet your doctor (please don't unplug it)

Can a network of hi-tech terminals and online medics make the connection?
The 10 Best cycling gear

The 10 Best cycling gear

It’s summer, it's sunny... it’s the perfect time to get on your bike.
Song of the suicide bomber: How 'Babur in London' negotiated a cultural minefield

Song of the suicide bomber

Daring new opera 'Babur in London' features British terrorists planning an attack.
The school that brought the International Baccalaureate to the East End

Bringing the IB to the East End

The International Baccalaureate is not just for pupils in leafy suburbs.
England must beware brilliant Belgium

England must beware brilliant Belgium

They may have missed out on the Euros but the Belgians have a rash of young players who, thanks to the unifying skills of their coach, look to have a bright future
James Lawton: Liverpool must show new man the respect he needs to do the job

James Lawton

Liverpool must show new man the respect he needs to do the job
2012: the year when England's support decided to stay at home

2012: the year when England's support decided to stay at home

Three Lions will play their Euro 2012 games in front of only a few thousand of their fans