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Proposed reforms to legal aid in England and Wales are threatening an "incredibly fragile" system, the Law Society has warned. The solicitors' body told BBC Radio's Five Live Report that hundreds are deciding to end legal aid work. The proposals will see lawyers bid competitively for all legal aid work instead of working for set hourly fees. Lord Carter of Coles, who put forward the reforms, says they will improve legal aid provision across the country. A consultation exercise is under way.  ...

The UK's rail franchising system is a complex, fragmented and "costly muddle", for which passengers will end up paying the price, MPs have warned. The Commons transport select committee said the system was fundamentally flawed and "past its sell-by date". It warned the government against allowing private firms to "over-bid" for franchises and then using taxpayers' money to help them out. Train operators said franchising had brought improvements to rail services. Under the system, private com ...

A group of children selected by Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime with the aim of creating an Aryan master race has met openly for the first time as adults. Children from the Nazis' "Lebensborn" or "Font of Life" project gathered in the German town of Wernigerode to discuss the trauma over their origins. The project aimed to create a breed of people that fit the Nazis' physical ideal and could manage a future empire. It saw thousands of often illegitimate children placed in Nazi members' homes. The ...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - Embattled evangelist Ted Haggard agreed to resign as pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado after the church's board found he committed "sexually immoral conduct," church officials said on Saturday. Haggard, a vocal opponent of gay marriage, resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals on Thursday after being accused by a male escort of h ...