GEORGE OSBORNE WARNS OF 'DIY RECESSION' IF UNITED KINGDOM VOTES FOR BREXIT

Quitting the European Union would plunge Britain into a year-long recession, George Osborne has warned.

The country would suffer an "immediate and profound" economic shock following a vote to leave that would be made worse by the negotiations that followed, according to Treasury analysis released by the Chancellor ahead of the EU referendum in one month today.

It shows that economic growth would be at least 3.6% lower following a Brexit win in the June 23 referendum but could plummet as much as 6%.

EATING FULL FAT FOODS 'CAN LOWER CHANCE OF OBESITY'

Urging people to follow low fat diets and to lower their cholesterol is having "disastrous health consequences", a health charity has warned.

In a damning report that accuses major public health bodies of colluding with the food industry, the National Obesity Forum and the Public Health Collaboration call for a "major overhaul" of current dietary guidelines.

They say the focus on low fat diets is failing to address Britain's obesity crisis, while snacking between meals is making people fat.

DEADLY PREDATORS AMONG ANIMALS KEPT ON PRIVATE PROPERTIES IN UK

Lions, wolves and deadly venomous snakes are among thousands of dangerous animals being kept on private properties across the UK, figures have revealed.

Big cats including 13 tigers, two lions, eight leopards, seven cheetahs and nine pumas are prowling behind the fences of addresses up and down the land, an investigation by the Press Association has found.

Hundreds of poisonous snakes are also being kept, including more than 300 killer cobras, vipers and rattlesnakes.

LEGAL HIGHS BAN 'COULD FORCE DEALERS ONTO DARK WEB'

Dealers of so-called legal highs could move to the "dark web" as a blanket ban on the drugs comes into force later this week, a senior police officer has warned.

The substances, which mimic the effects of traditional drugs like ecstasy and cannabis, are being outlawed amid concerns they have been linked to deaths and are fuelling anti-social behaviour.

Commander Simon Bray, the National Police Chiefs Council's lead on New Psychoactive Substances, said those determined to get hold of the drugs might turn to illicit websites.

NHS FACING £10 BILLION BLACK HOLE BY 2020 SAYS NEW REPORT

The long-term financial plan for the NHS is already "outdated" and the health service is facing a £10 billion black hole by 2020, according to a new report.

Analysis by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa) suggests the NHS will exceed its budget by £10 billion a year in four years' time as it struggles to make £22 billion in planned efficiency savings.

The quality of care could suffer and costs would be higher if the funding gap is not filled, the professional body's chief executive Rob Whiteman said.

UNFAIR SCHOOL FUNDING PUTS PUPILS IN THE NORTH AT DISADVANTAGE, REPORT CLAIMS

Unfair school funding puts hundreds of thousands of children in schools in the North at a disadvantage compared with London youngsters, a major report has claimed.

It reveals at primary school level, the north of England receives about £4,600 per pupil in grant funding, about the national average, but £900 less than London, and at secondary level, the North receives around £5,700 per pupil, £100 less than the English average and £1,300 less than London.

More money should be redistributed to the North to bridge a growing North South divide in academic standards, according to the study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) North and Teach First, a national charity.

CHILDREN IN CARE 'SUCKED INTO CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM'

Children in care are six times more likely to be cautioned or convicted of a crime than other young people, new research has found.

A review by Lord Laming for the Prison Reform Trust also found that half the children serving time in youth custody came from foster or residential care.

The Government is being urged to launch a reform programme to help improve to improve the lives of such children.

COUNCILLORS TO DECIDE WHETHER TO GIVE GREEN LIGHT TO FRACKING SCHEME

Councillors will decide today whether to allow the first fracking operation in the UK for five years.

More protests are expected in Northallerton as a decision is made on an application by UK firm Third Energy to frack for shale gas at its existing drilling site near the village of Kirby Misperton, between Malton and Pickering, North Yorkshire.

Planners have recommended the plan is approved but, on Friday, councillors on the county council's planning committee listened as speaker after speaker outlined environmental concerns over the controversial hydraulic fracturing technique, ranging from global level climate change to the proximity of ponds, bees and bats to the proposed drilling rig.

INSURANCE GIANT AXA STUBS OUT TIES WITH TOBACCO INDUSTRY

Axa, one of the largest insurance companies in the world, will stop investing in the tobacco industry, it has announced.

The international firm which has more than 10 million customers in the UK has also pledged to sell investments worth more than 1.7 billion euros (£1.3 billion).

Incoming chief executive Thomas Buberl told the BBC it "makes no sense" for the company to continue investing in the industry.

UK BECOMING MORE ETHNICALLY SEGREGATED: CHUKA UMUNNA

Britain is becoming more ethnically segregated, with widening "cracks in our communities", because lessons have not been learned from race riots 15 years ago, an MP has warned.

Former Labour shadow minister Chuka Umunna criticised the immigration debate for focusing "almost exclusively on numbers, with too little attention paid to how we integrate people once they settle here".

The Streatham MP repeated a warning he made in March that people may seek "Donald Trump style" solutions if politicians did not act first.

ADELE SCOOPS TOP AWARD AMID STAR TRIBUTES TO PRINCE

Stevie Wonder and Madonna have led tributes to Prince at an emotional Billboard Music Awards, where Adele was named Top Artist as she continued her domination of the music world.

Wonder was a surprise performer at the show in Las Vegas when he joined Madonna on stage for a rendition of Purple Rain after Prince's sudden death last month.

The duet came after Madonna, wearing a purple sequinned suit and holding a cane and cross symbols, sang another Prince-penned track, Nothing Compares 2 U.