Pre-menopausal women who eat large amounts of fibre could halve their breast cancer risk, a UK study has suggested. The University of Leeds researchers, who studied 35,000 women, found those who ate 30g of fibre a day had half the risk of those who ate less than 20g.

The criminal courts are in meltdown with a severe cash crisis forcing offenders to be sentenced on the ground of cost, not justice, magistrates say.

Four in 10 families now face paying inheritance tax as Gordon Brown comes under mounting pressure to raise the £285,000 threshold.

Government plans for changes in the law to boost rape conviction rates are in disarray after the judges who would have to put them into practice told ministers they oppose them.

A health minister made the shameful admission that elderly people are effectively being starved in care homes and hospitals. Ivan Lewis said some are given just a single scoop of mash as a meal. Other bedridden pensioners are ‘tortured’ with trays of food placed just out of their reach.

Thousands of parents face paying up to £1,500 extra to send their children to nursery. Under the current system, many nurseries, which receive a state grant to provide 12.5 hours of free childcare a week, charge top-up fees to cover staff and administration costs.

Rapists and child abusers are escaping justice because the government left a loophole open when it passed the Sex Offences Act 2003 and repealed earlier legislation. The act came into force on May 1 2004 and covers crimes committed after that date. Offences committed before then can still be prosecuted under the earlier law, the Sex Offences Act 1956.

Food for elderly people being cared for is still sub-standard, ministers say. Care Services Minister Ivan Lewis admitted care homes, hospitals and home care services were not getting it right despite repeated warnings by charities.

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He said he had heard of elderly people being offered one scoop of mash for meals and trays placed out of reach. Campaigners said it had been a long-running problem and the elderly were being neglected “at a time when they need help the most”.

How elderly people are treated will become more important than ever over coming years as by 2025 the number of over 85s will increase by two thirds with each of them needing five times as much care from the NHS as adults under 44.

Medical staff are to strike over plans they claim will `devastate’ Manchester’s mental health care and put patients and the public in danger.

Folic acid supplements can improve the memory and brain power of ageing brains, research shows. Men and women aged 50 to 70 who took daily supplements had similar mental abilities to contemporaries almost five years younger, The Lancet study found.