Conservative mandarins still refuse to answer questions on party benefactor's UK tax status

Tory party officials repeatedly refused to say yesterday whether they believe the British public has a right to know the truth about the current tax s­tatus of Lord Ashcroft, the multi-­millionaire who has helped to bankroll the party for almost three decades.

Ashcroft, a deputy chairman of the party, was granted a seat in the Lords in March 2000 after promising to return to

As their protest runs into a fourth day, some are said to be fainting or injured. But the Home Office denies wrongdoing

An immigration removal centre was reported to be in a state of chaos yesterday, as at least 50 women entered the fourth day of a hunger strike in protest against their detention and conditions, with ­several reportedly fainting in corridors and almost 20 locked outdoors wearing few clothes.

Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire, which houses 405

Claim of separation 'false as well as intrusive', say lawyers, as Pitt and Jolie begin action in London high court

As Hollywood's most famous power ­couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are used to every aspect of their life together being dissected in the world's media, whether it's rumours over yet another adoption, the meaning of a new tattoo, or their