Chancellor is urged to ‘get a grip’ on the nation’s finances as yield on 30-year bond rises to 5.62%

The cost of UK government borrowing has jumped to near a 27-year high, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves to reveal how she will tackle the deficit in the public finances ahead of the autumn budget.

The yield, or interest rate, on the UK’s 30-year bond rose by eight basis points (0.08 of a percentage point) on Tuesday to 5.62%.

Readers respond to articles on the recent rise of national flags being flown in England

A flag went up outside my house on Friday night (What does a true Brit feel when we commemorate the war or fly the St George flag? Depends on the Brit, 20 August). I asked very nicely if it could be taken down, but I was sneered at.

No house other than ours can see it directly, but many people were beeping their horns as they drove past. I figured that eventually the council would come and take them all down, then I remembered that we now have a Reform council, and it has said that it won’t.

Rich sponge cake topped with buttercream dates from 1890s and M&S version comes in two varieties

It has been a fixture of bake sales and cafes in Australia for more than a century. Now the lamington is making its debut on the British high street as Marks & Spencer launches its own version.

The chain will stock two varieties: a “classic” chocolate and coconut lamington and a caramelised biscuit version, which went viral on social media after being launched by Woolworths in Australia last month. Both will be baked in the UK and sold in packs of two for £4.