MI5's argument that the coroner for the 7/7 inquests has powers to hold closed sessions to hear top secret evidence has been dismissed as "hopeless" by a senior judge.
Coroner Lady Justice Hallett earlier rejected calls from MI5 and Home Secretary Theresa May for the families of those killed in the 2005 London bombings to be excluded from hearings while she examines highly sensitive intelligence material.
Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Lord Justice Stanley Burnton gave their reasons for rejecting a High Court challenge to the coroner's ruling brought by Mrs May.
The judges agreed with Lady Justice Hallett's interpretation of Rule 17 of the Coroners Rules 1984, which allows a coroner to exclude the public from hearings in the interests of national security.
But they said this does not include "interested persons" who are legally entitled to be represented at an inquest, such as the relatives of the 52 victims of the 7/7 attacks.
Lord Justice Stanley Burnton noted that agreeing to the Home Secretary's argument that the coroner could choose who to exclude from closed hearings would involve "rewriting Rule 17".
Lord Justice Maurice Kay highlighted the previous Labour government's recent attempts to introduce provisions for closed hearings at inquests, none of which have come into effect. He said lawyers for MI5 and the Home Secretary had effectively tried to "pre-empt" legislation that was either not yet in force or had been rejected by Parliament.
The inquests into the July 7 2005 attacks on London's public transport network will next year examine alleged failings by the police and MI5. Bereaved families want to ask intelligence officials why they did not follow up plot ringleader Mohammed Sidique Khan and his right-hand man, Shehzad Tanweer, after surveillance officers watched them meeting known terror suspects 17 months before the bombings.
The Home Secretary's legal team argues that the coroner will not be able to reach accurate conclusions about MI5's involvement in tracking the 7/7 bombers without seeing the secret evidence, which cannot be revealed in open sessions.
But Lord Justice Maurice Kay said inquests were "governed by the principle of open justice" except where specific laws allowed otherwise. He raised concerns about the possibility of the coroner reaching conclusions about the 7/7 attacks based on material that the bereaved families had not seen, leaving them unable to challenge the findings.
MI5's argument that the coroner for the 7/7 inquests has powers to hold closed sessions to hear top secret evidence has been dismissed as "hopeless" by a senior judge.
Coroner Lady Justice Hallett earlier rejected calls from MI5 and Home Secretary Theresa May for the families of those killed in the 2005 London bombings to be excluded from hearings while she examines highly sensitive intelligence material.
Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Lord Justice Stanley Burnton gave their reasons for rejecting a High Court challenge to the coroner's ruling brought by Mrs May.
The judges agreed with Lady Justice Hallett's interpretation of Rule 17 of the Coroners Rules 1984, which allows a coroner to exclude the public from hearings in the interests of national security.
But they said this does not include "interested persons" who are legally entitled to be represented at an inquest, such as the relatives of the 52 victims of the 7/7 attacks.
Lord Justice Stanley Burnton noted that agreeing to the Home Secretary's argument that the coroner could choose who to exclude from closed hearings would involve "rewriting Rule 17".
Lord Justice Maurice Kay highlighted the previous Labour government's recent attempts to introduce provisions for closed hearings at inquests, none of which have come into effect. He said lawyers for MI5 and the Home Secretary had effectively tried to "pre-empt" legislation that was either not yet in force or had been rejected by Parliament.
The inquests into the July 7 2005 attacks on London's public transport network will next year examine alleged failings by the police and MI5. Bereaved families want to ask intelligence officials why they did not follow up plot ringleader Mohammed Sidique Khan and his right-hand man, Shehzad Tanweer, after surveillance officers watched them meeting known terror suspects 17 months before the bombings.
The Home Secretary's legal team argues that the coroner will not be able to reach accurate conclusions about MI5's involvement in tracking the 7/7 bombers without seeing the secret evidence, which cannot be revealed in open sessions.
But Lord Justice Maurice Kay said inquests were "governed by the principle of open justice" except where specific laws allowed otherwise. He raised concerns about the possibility of the coroner reaching conclusions about the 7/7 attacks based on material that the bereaved families had not seen, leaving them unable to challenge the findings.
More than 50,000 hate crimes were reported across England, Wales and Northern Ireland last year, figures show.
These included more than 43,000 race-related crimes and almost 5,000 incidents motivated by whether a person was straight, gay or bisexual, the police service figures reveal.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said the figures, published for the first time on Tuesday, show a more than 12% rise in hate crimes from 46,300 in 2008.
Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable Stephen Otter, the Acpo lead for equality, diversity and human rights, said he hopes publishing the figures will "encourage victims and witnesses to come forward".
He went on: "Hate crimes cause a great deal of harm among victims and communities."
"Against the 2008 benchmark year, we believe the 2009 data shows an increase in all five classifications of hate crime. Whilst we want to reduce the incidence of these crimes, it is vital that we close the gap of under-reporting.
"Only by increasing reporting can we gain a full understanding of the extent of hate crime and it is for this reason that I urge victims and witnesses to continue to come forward."
The latest figures show there were 43,426 race-related hate crimes last year, 4,805 motivated by sexual orientation, 2,083 crimes by religion or faith, 1,402 by disability and 312 by transgender issues.
Figures for 2008 show 39,300 race-related crimes, 4,300 motivated by sexual orientation, 1,700 by religion or faith, 800 by disability and 300 by transgender issues, but figures between January and March 2008 for disability and transgender-motivated hate crimes were based on estimates.
Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe's mental disorder justified a minimum jail term of a "finite" number of years instead of an order than he should never be released, Court of Appeal judges have heard.
The submission was made by Edward Fitzgerald QC, representing Sutcliffe for his challenge against a High Court judge's ruling that he must serve a "whole life" tariff.
Mr Fitzgerald told three judges in London: "We accept that the applicant was convicted of the brutal murder of 13 women and the attempted murder of seven others and, on the face of it, we accept that the number and the nature of the murders is such that would call for a whole life tariff.
"The sole submission in this case is that the disorder suffered, and still suffered by the applicant, is a sufficient mitigating circumstance to justify a long, finite term of years instead of a whole life tariff."
He told the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith and Mr Justice Griffith Williams: "Can I just stress that, of course, the tariff only means the minimum term he must serve before he can apply for parole and it does not have any implications as to release.
"It just means that he would have the opportunity to put his case to the Parole Board."
Sutcliffe, now known as Peter Coonan, is challenging a ruling by Mr Justice Mitting on July 16.
The former lorry driver, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was convicted at the Old Bailey in 1981.
Sutcliffe, now 64, received 20 life terms for the murder of 13 women and the attempted murder of others in Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.
He is being held in Broadmoor top security psychiatric hospital after being transferred from prison in 1984 suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
Targets for delivering first and second-class letters on time have been beaten in recent months, the Royal Mail has revealed.
A total of 93.7% of first-class mail was delivered the next working day after posting, ahead of the 93% target, while second-class post achieved a 99% performance, 0.5% ahead of the target of delivery within three working days.
Standard parcels were 6.8% above target at 96.8% in the three months to September.
Mark Higson, Royal Mail's managing director, said: "These results have been delivered alongside Royal Mail's wide-ranging modernisation programme. They are a credit to our postmen and women's commitment and dedication to our customers."
Taxes on high-strength beers and lagers are to be increased as part of a drive to encourage responsible drinking.
The additional duty will come into effect from autumn 2011 and will be imposed on beer with a strength above 7.5% alcohol by volume, said Downing Street.
Meanwhile, duties on low-alcohol beers with a strength of 2.8% or less will be reduced.
The amount of the new tax will be revealed by Chancellor George Osborne in his Budget next spring. Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman declined to comment on its size, but said it is intended to be large enough to influence drinkers' behaviour.
The Public Health White Paper makes clear that ministers are determined to tackle the issue of problem drinking.
"We need a new approach to public health, one that directly involves the many influences on our choices," says the paper, being launched by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley.
"Too many people die too young, spending too long suffering from preventable ill-health, such as through alcohol abuse. The failures of policy to date are clear to see, as we have 1.6 million people dependent on alcohol."
Mr Cameron's spokesman said the decisions on the strength levels at which the new duties will be applied reflected research by health and homelessness groups about the problems associated with super-strength lager.
"The objective is to encourage the production and consumption of lower-strength, rather than higher strength beers," said the spokesman.
"Clearly, tax is one of the instruments by which we can create incentives for production and consumption to change. The intention is to incentivise people to make different choices."
A massive protest against planned rises in tuition fees will be held on the day MPs decide whether to agree to the controversial increases, with workers and pensioners set to join students for the demo.
Organisers have dubbed the protest Day X and predicted widespread action in universities, colleges and schools as well as a huge demonstration in London.
MPs are expected to vote before Christmas over the Government's proposals to increase the cap on tuition fees from £3,375 to as much as £9,000 a year.
Fresh protests were held on Tuesday for the third time in recent weeks, including a rally in London's Trafalgar Square and a march to Parliament, past Downing Street.
Mark Bergfeld of the Education Activist Network said universities could be shut down for the day when Parliament votes on tuition fees.
"Buildings in more than 15 universities are currently being occupied by students and the momentum continues to build against this unjust increase in tuition fees and scrapping of Education Maintenance Allowances," he said before the start of Tuesday's rally.
"Students are in the vanguard of the fight against this Government but we have unions and other groups including pensioners on our side as well.
"We are building for Day X when we will call on workers as well as students and others to join our fight."
A total of 41 people were arrested last Wednesday after a group of protesters smashed a police van in Whitehall, leading officers to surround demonstrators in a so-called "kettling" operation.
Violence also flared on November 10 after a march by 50,000 students when some protesters smashed windows at the London headquarters of the Conservative Party.
A new cap on housing benefit is to be delayed by nine months to give those affected more time to negotiate a cheaper rent or find a new home.
The announcement of the £400-a-week limit on housing benefit sparked outcry earlier this year, with some MPs warning of an exodus of poorer families from expensive areas of London and other cities. London Mayor Boris Johnson warned he would not accept the "Kosovo-style social cleansing" of the capital.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has now announced that the implementation of the cap, due in April 2011, will be delayed until January 2012 for existing claimants.
To offset the cost of the change, a cut in housing benefit rates for new claimants will be brought forward from October to April next year. New claimants will also be subject to the cap from April 2011.
Regulations laid before Parliament will limit housing benefit payments to £250 a week for a one-bedroom home, £290 for a two-bed property, £340 for a three-bed house and £400 for four beds or more.
Reforms introduced by Mr Duncan Smith are intended to slice £2 billion off the £21 billion annual budget for housing benefit by 2014/15.
Gordon Brown unsuccessfully proposed a deal to allow Gary McKinnon to serve any prison sentence in Britain, leaked documents have revealed.
The former prime minister was rebuffed when he suggested the computer hacker could plead guilty in return for not being extradited to the United States.
Mr Brown's offer was included in one of the United States diplomatic cables obtained by Wikileaks and published in The Guardian.
News of the deal came as Mr McKinnon's mother Janis Sharp gave evidence to members of the Home Affairs Committee who are examining extradition law. Mr McKinnon has been at the centre of an extraordinary legal and political tussle as he faces up to 60 years in prison on the other side of the Atlantic.
A High Court decision on whether his extradition could go ahead was adjourned in May and ministers have announced a review of existing rules.
According to The Guardian, Mr Brown made his unsuccessful direct intervention in August 2009.
The move was contained in a secret cable from Louis Susman, Washington's ambassador in Britain, to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Mr Susman wrote: "PM Brown, in a one-on-one meeting with the ambassador, proposed a deal: that McKinnon plead guilty, make a statement of contrition, but serve any sentence of incarceration in the UK. Brown cited deep public concern that McKinnon, with his medical condition, would commit suicide or suffer injury if imprisoned in a US facility."
Home Secretary Theresa May is expected to make a decision on Mr McKinnon's fate within weeks.
The 43-year-old, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, has admitted hacking into top secret military computers but he said he was looking for evidence of UFOs. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg have publicly condemned plans to send Mr McKinnon to the United States.
The Ministry of Defence has signed a £180 million contract for 200 new light patrol vehicles to replace the Army's Snatch Land Rovers.
The MoD said the new vehicle - to be named the Foxhound - would offer unprecedented levels of blast protection for a vehicle of its size and weight.
The Army has been under pressure to find a replacement for Snatch, which has proved highly vulnerable to roadside bombs used by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The chief of defence materiel, General Sir Kevin O'Donoghue, said that the new vehicle had been specifically designed to protect against the threats faced by troops in Afghanistan.
He said: "For example, its V-shaped hull will help it withstand the kinds of explosions caused by Taliban bombs. Foxhound is ideal for current operational needs but is also a valuable addition to our range of vehicles and will serve our armed forces for many years to come."
The vehicle - which has been designed, developed and built in the UK by Force Protection Europe and Ricardo plc - incorporates Formula One racing technology and was devised by engineers from the World Rally Championship, McLaren F1 and BMW.
The engine can be removed and replaced in just 30 minutes and it can drive away from an ambush on only three wheels. The crew and passengers sit inside a protective pod, which can be rapidly adapted to enable the Foxhound to be used as an ambulance or supply truck.
The first vehicles are expected to be available for troop training from next year.
Defence equipment and support minister Peter Luff welcomed the signing of the contract.
"It shows the real progress that's being made to ensure our frontline troops are able to use these versatile and highly-protected vehicles as soon as possible," he said.
Claims of corruption made against Fifa vice-president Issa Hayatou in a BBC documentary are to be investigated by the International Olympic Committee.
Hayatou is also an IOC member and the Panorama programme, broadcast on Monday night, claimed he was given a bribe worth £10,000 in 1995 by the now-defunct marketing company ISL.
The IOC said in a statement: "The IOC has taken note of the allegations made by BBC Panorama and will ask the programme makers to pass on any evidence they may have to the appropriate authorities. The IOC has a zero tolerance against corruption and will refer the matter to the IOC ethics commission."
Three people were accused by Panorama of taking bribes - African confederation president Hayatou, whose vote England's campaign to host the 2018 World Cup had high hopes of capturing, Brazil's Ricardo Terra Teixeira and Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay.
Fifa vice-president Jack Warner is alleged to have tried to buy World Cup tickets to pass on to touts - although the programme accepted he did not actually do so.
According to Panorama he "ordered (2010 World Cup) tickets costing 84,240 US dollars from the Fifa ticket office but the deal subsequently fell through".
The four men are all part of the 22-man committee who will vote on the 2018 and 2022 hosts on Thursday.
Fifa released a statement insisting that the Panorama documentary had simply covered old ground.
The statement read: "The matters concerning the case "ISL/ISMM" which are referred to date back many years ago and were investigated by the relevant authorities in Switzerland. In its verdict of 26 June 2008, the Criminal Court of Zug had not convicted any Fifa officials. It is therefore important to stress again the fact that no Fifa officials were accused of any criminal offence in these proceedings.
"Furthermore, it is important to recall that the decision was made on matters which took place prior to the year 2000 and there has been no court conviction against Fifa. The investigation and the case are definitely closed."
A bar manager has been jailed for life for the murder of his girlfriend and their 10-month-old daughter in a "sustained and fearsome" knife attack after hearing voices saying he should kill them.
Anthony Marsh plunged the weapon into half-naked Stephanie Bellinger, 24, more than 30 times as she slept in the bedroom of their home in Totton, Hampshire, in February this year.
The prosecution said the killing of Miss Bellinger had "powerful elements of sexual motivation and revenge".
Their daughter Lili Marsh was stabbed once through the head as she lay on the same bed.
The 22-year-old admitted the killings, but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Marsh closed his eyes as the jury at Winchester Crown Court gave its verdict after 10 hours of deliberations.
The judge, Mr Justice Holroyde, will pass sentence on Wednesday morning when he will tell Marsh the minimum term he will serve before he is eligible for parole.
The jury heard during the two-week trial that Marsh suffered from bipolar disorder and the family were in £13,000 debt, partly because he lost his job after he stole from a pub he worked in.
He often fled the family home and went to other cities, sleeping rough before handing himself in at hospitals.
Marsh told police he heard voices telling him to kill his girlfriend and daughter. He did not kill the couple's two and half-year-old son, who he left locked in the house after the murders, because he was able to resist the voices.
UK police will have to tackle both serious organised crime and anti-social behaviour despite facing 20% budget cuts if they are to improve public confidence, a top US officer has claimed.
Bill Bratton, a former chief of police for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and an ex-New York City police commissioner, backed policing minister Nick Herbert's view that there is no simple link between police numbers and crime levels.
"It's not so much the number of police that you have - you'd love to have a tonne of them - but what you do with them, how they are used," he said.
"The challenge I think is going to be, with this reduced workforce, to broaden the policing field from focus and measurement of serious crime to more focused activity in dealing with the so-called minor crime. Over time, it'll be interesting to see how that works out. It's going to require creativity."
Giving evidence to the Commons Home Affairs Committee inquiry on policing, he said: "Any police strategy that does not simultaneously address serious crime and what the average person's experience is every day that's negative is doomed to failure."
Mr Bratton said a greater focus on anti-social behaviour is needed. "If you don't weed it out, that garden's going to be destroyed," he said. "If you don't deal with those minor crimes, it will grow."
Speaking later at the Policy Exchange think-tank, he added: "I know how difficult it can be to challenge old ways of thinking and working.
"But with the right leadership, motivated to create better rules and practices, it is possible to create transformational change in record time despite tight budgets, limited resources, motivational hurdles, and sometimes powerful opposition."
He went on: "In terms of creating safer communities, cops count and policing does matter. But successful policing is not only about making the right investments in law enforcement. You cannot spend your way to a safer community and it isn't about how much money you spend, or how many staff you have on the payroll.
"It's about what you do with your most valuable asset - the sworn officer. When faced with high crime and tight budgets, good police chiefs take responsibility and can work with the resources they're given to make a significant difference."
People are being urged to take greater responsibility for their own health, with the Government offering a "nudge" in the right direction under new plans.
The public health White Paper aims to "empower communities", with strong leadership from local government on issues such as exercise, obesity and smoking.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley set out a vision of public health that will see a new body established - Public Health England - to lead national strategies including vaccination programmes, the response to flu pandemics, cancer screening and adult health checks.
Local authorities will work on "health improvement strategies" and target money where it is needed in communities, he said.
Councils will receive a slice of a ring-fenced public health budget from April 2013, which will total at least £4 billion a year.
There has been criticism in the past over NHS trusts raiding public health finances to plug deficits and gaps in other services.
Public health directors will be moved to councils to work as "champions" of healthy living, using experts in housing, transport and open spaces to provide a co-ordinated approach.
A Health Inclusion Board, chaired by Professor Steve Field from the Royal College of GPs, will look into the causes of deprivation and health inequalities.
A new public health "premium" payment will be introduced, to reward councils that tackle inequalities between different groups in society.
Mr Lansley came under fire in the summer when he announced that firms such as Mars, Cadbury and Coca-Cola would take on a bigger role in funding anti-obesity campaigns.
Protesters marching through central London against plans to increase student tuition fees caused traffic chaos as they fled police over fears they would be penned in.
Thousands of people scattered through London's West End after they were confronted with massed ranks of police in Whitehall. They split into separate marches which wound slowly through some of the capital's busiest shopping and business districts, including Piccadilly Circus and the Strand.
The Metropolitan Police denied plans to "kettle" protesters and said officers formed a cordon to guide the march away from gas works. A spokesman said the march started from Trafalgar Square earlier than agreed, catching police off-guard as they were not ready to escort it.
Two people have been arrested for public order offences but there has been no repeat of high-profile disorder seen during two previous marches. Police said the spontaneous marches have been largely peaceful but contributed to traffic disruption in the capital caused by snowfall and icy conditions.
The renewed protest, dubbed Day X and the third in recent weeks, came as MPs considered the proposals in an opposition day debate. Demonstrations, marches, occupations and vigils have also been held in Cambridge, Brighton, Sheffield, Newcastle, Bath, Nottingham, Bristol and Cardiff.
A total of 41 people were arrested last Wednesday after a group of protesters smashed a police van in Whitehall. Officers surrounded several thousand demonstrators, including many school children, for up to nine hours in a so-called "kettling" operation. The tactic has been widely criticised as disproportionate and unfair, but police argue it is a legitimate way of stopping troublemakers.
Violence also flared on November 10 after a march by 50,000 students when some protesters smashed windows at the London headquarters of the Conservative Party. MPs are expected to vote before Christmas on the Government's proposals to increase the cap on tuition fees from £3,375 to as much as £9,000 a year.
Meanwhile, Nick Clegg mounted a staunch defence of the Government's stance on tuition fees but refused to confirm whether he would vote in support of the policy. The Deputy Prime Minister faced repeated questioning on the issue in the Commons as protesting students again took to the streets around Parliament.
Mr Clegg told MPs "all graduates will pay less per month" under the Government's proposals than under the regime inherited from Labour.
Earlier, Business Secretary Vince Cable, the minister responsible for the policy, said he would abstain in a key vote on the Government's policy if that is what fellow Liberal Democrat MPs decide to do as a group. But Mr Clegg refused to be drawn on what his position would be during his regular session of questions in the Commons.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh braved the snow to attend the Royal Film Performance of The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader.
The Queen donned a pair of 3D glasses to watch the film - the third of the fantasy series based on the children's novels by C S Lewis - in London's Leicester Square.
The wintry weather in the Square mimicked that of the first Narnia film, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, and snow fell on the heads of stars who arrived on the red carpet.
The Queen, who was wearing a long-sleeved blue evening gown trimmed with shimmering crystals, arrived with the Duke of Edinburgh in their burgundy Bentley.
She met the film's stars and last year's X Factor winner Joe McElderry, who sings on the film's soundtrack.
McElderry said: "I respect the Royal Family very much, so to meet the Queen was fantastic.
"The song is a big epic ballad, it's a really emotional song.
"I sang it to the crowd outside and it went down really well."
The film, directed by Michael Apted, features 15-year-old Georgie Henley, from Ilkley, West Yorkshire, who plays Lucy Pevensie, and Skandar Keynes, 19, who plays Edmund Pevensie.
Georgie curtsied to the Queen and said: "It is lovely to meet you, Ma'am."
David Beckham teamed up with Prime Minister David Cameron to try to repair any damage to England's 2018 World Cup bid by BBC claims about Fifa corruption.
Beckham, Cameron and England 2018 international president David Dein met Fifa president Sepp Blatter in Zurich and the allegations made by Panorama were among the topics discussed.
The programme accused three of the 25 Fifa executive committee members responsible for deciding on Thursday who hosts the competition, of accepting 'corrupt' payments.
Fifa vice-president Issa Hayatou was alleged to have accepted a £10,000 bribe in 1995.
Mr Hayatou, from Cameroon, denies the allegation, maintaining a £10,000 payment from a former sponsor was put towards the Confederation of African Football's 40th anniversary celebrations.
The president of African Football is now being investigated by the International Olympic Committee.
The furore has been played down by Mr Cameron, who flew to Zurich to meet with Blatter and other executive committee members, including Fifa vice-president Jack Warner, who was accused on Panorama of attempting to supply ticket touts.
Deflecting questions about Fifa's transparency following the Panorama investigation, Mr Cameron said: "I've only got one focus here, and that is to try to bring the World Cup home for England.
"Now that is going to be my focus. Talking to the decision makers, pressing them on the brilliance of English football, of what we can bring for this bid, that is going to be my concern, nothing else
"I think we have got a very strong team here - Prince William, David Beckham and myself - and we are going to be making the arguments for England 2018."
Heavy snowfall and freezing conditions have caused major disruption across almost all of Britain, with a warning of more snow on the way.
Bitter easterly winds continued to bring Arctic conditions and forecasters warned there is little chance of an early reprieve.
Many commuters worked from home, thousands of children could not go to school and motorists faced travel chaos as a number of roads were impassable.
Almost every corner of the UK woke up to between 0.8in (2cm) and 4in (10cm) of snow on Tuesday, with the east coast worst hit by flurries and sub-zero temperatures.
Some places in the south of England saw up to 4in (10cm) of snow due to a brisk wind pushing the showers inland.
In Scotland, Kinloss in Moray saw temperatures plunge to minus 13C overnight and during the day the highest temperature recorded there was minus 2C.
The warmest temperature on Tuesday was 2.8C in Anglesey, north Wales, while Cromer in Norfolk saw the mercury rise to 2.5C.
Forecasters have warned that more snow showers are expected across England, Wales and eastern Scotland on Wednesday.
Aisling Creevey, forecaster with MeteoGroup, said of the outlook for Wednesday: "We are expecting a maximum temperature of 1C in the south-east of England, the south-west could see 3C on the coast but sub-zero temperatures further inland. In the north-east of England, the maximum estimate is 2C. In Scotland, generally most places are not likely to get above minus 3C."
Severe weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office for almost all regions of Britain.
