Jeremy Corbyn: Labour has a duty to unite behind leader

JEREMY Corbyn has urged Labour MPs to unite behind him if, as expected, he is returned as party leader with an even bigger mandate from grassroots members.

The veteran left-winger is the overwhelming hot favourite to see off the challenge from rival Owen Smith when the results of the leadership election are announced in Liverpool shortly before midday.

He received support from senior shadow cabinet member Andy Burnham, who stayed neutral in the leadership contest. Mr Burnham said he would have earned the right to lead "without interruptions, noises off and undermining".

Images of Kate, George and Charlotte "stolen" from Pippa Middleton's phone by hackers

POLICE have launched a probe into claims Pippa Middleton's iCloud account was hacked amid reports 3,000 of her private photographs have been stolen.

Pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge and her children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, are reportedly among the images stolen from Kate's sister by computer hackers.

Both the Sun and Daily Mail newspapers reported that an anonymous seller had offered the pictures to media organisations via encrypted messaging service WhatsApp.

Making all schools academies "will cost taxpayers £320m"

CONVERTING all schools to academy status will cost council taxpayers £320 million, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.

The move would also see local authorities lose £80 million a year in business rates income, according to the LGA.

The LGA, which represents councils across England, insisted converting all schools into academies would have a negative impact on educational standards as it called on the Government to spell out its controversial plans in greater detail.

Forces "on the cusp" of taking last major Islamic State stronghold in Iraq

IRAQI government forces backed by the US-led coalition are "on the cusp" of taking Islamic State's (IS) last major stronghold in the country, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has said.

Sir Michael, who has returned from a three-day visit to Iraq where he met senior government figures, said the operation to take the city of Mosul would begin "in the next few weeks".

Two years after the RAF began military operations against IS - also referred to as Daesh - he said UK warplanes were stepping up attacks on the militants' positions ahead of the offensive, striking more than 100 targets in and around the city.

Three arrested after Czech man killed in street attack

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy is among three people arrested over the death of a Czech man following a row in a chicken shop.

Zdenek Makar, 31, was pronounced dead in the street near All Saints DLR station in Poplar, east London, late on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police said.

Two men, aged 19 and 29, and the 16-year-old have been arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to east London police stations for questioning.

William and Kate begin tour of Canada accompanied by George and Charlotte

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge begin their tour of Canada today accompanied by their two young children.

William and Kate will introduce Prince George, aged three, and 16-month-old Princess Charlotte to the Commonwealth country during the eight-day visit.

Highlights of the trip to Canada's east coast will see William and Kate experience the stunning natural world of the province of British Columbia and the territory of Yukon, where they will go fishing, mountain biking, sightseeing and meet First Nations communities.

Ex-Corrie star Tracy Brabin to fight for Jo Cox's seat for Labour

FORMER Coronation Street actress Tracy Brabin has promised to be a "loud, proud and strong Yorkshire voice" after she was selected as the Labour candidate for the by-election called following the death of her friend Jo Cox.

Ms Brabin, who has appeared in just about every British TV soap over the last 20 years, is virtually guaranteed to be the next MP for Batley and Spen, in West Yorkshire, as all the other major parties have vowed not to contest the seat out of respect for Mrs Cox.

The actress and screenwriter was selected by around 300 party members on Friday night ahead of the only other shortlisted candidate, Jane Thomas, following hustings at a Batley school.

First Strictly celebs take to the dance floor

STRICTLY Come Dancing has added some glitz and glamour to the TV schedule as the series returned, with the first six celebrities hitting the dance floor to compete for the BBC show's coveted glitterball trophy.

Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford and sports presenter Ore Oduba got an early lead on the scoreboard as they came joint first place with their debut dances.

Oduba, who is partnered with Joanne Clifton, received 27 points from the judges after being highly praised for his tango to Geronimo.

Smart meters "only lead to small savings on energy bills"

SMART meters are likely to save individual consumers only a small amount of money on their energy bills and the Government needs to work harder to convince households of the true benefits of the rollout, according to a report.

The Science and Technology Committee said it would be "easy to dismiss the smart meter project as an inefficient way of saving a small amount of money on energy bills" but evidence suggested there were major national benefits, such as a smarter and more secure grid and reduced pollution.

Smart meters have been promoted to consumers as a way to reduce their energy bills by checking their usage in real time via a monitor and avoid estimated bills as a result of the meter sending automatic readings to the supplier.

Women's career choices "key to closing gender pay gap"

BRITAIN'S gender pay gap won't close until 2069 unless more women are encouraged to take up careers in industries such as science and engineering, a new report is warning.

Research by accountancy giant Deloitte suggests that women should take advantage of technology-driven changes in the labour market by studying and working in areas like science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), where pay is more balanced.

Deloitte's study shows that the hourly pay gap between men and women is closing at a rate of just 2.5 pence per year - with pay parity not expected until 2069.