Ryanair said it strongly objected to the disruption under orders from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).

The IAA said last night that it did not expect any disruption at Irish airports during most of today.But it later ordered flights to Scotland to be pulled as forecasters predicted that the volcanic plume, billowing from Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano, would hit Scotland and Northern Ireland during the morning, with much of the UK being covered by midday.Ryanair insisted there was no basis for the flight cancellations.It will meet the IAA this morning to have the restrictions removed as a matter of urgency, according to its website."Ryanair believe...

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Marks & Spencer is defying gloomy predictions on the high street with a significant jump in profits.

The chain, which has 600 stores in the UK and 300 overseas, has seen an 8 per cent increase to £710 million in the year to the end of March.Adverts featuring X Factor judge Dannii Minogue, former footballer Jamie Redknapp and model Twiggy have proved popular with customersiThe latest summer campaign, which was shot in Miami, has a retro, glamorous feel to it, with the spokesmodels posing on yachts, sun loungers and vintage cars.As well as regulars Twiggy, Dannii Minogue and Lisa Snowdon, the ads feature singer VV Brown and Victoria's Secret model...

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Ratings agency Moody's put Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander UK on review for possible credit rating downgrades,

Ratings agency Moody's put Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander UK on review for possible credit rating downgrades, saying that there will be no taxpayer-funded bailouts in the future.The three are the most high-profile of fourteen banks and building societies put under review by the agency. The review relates to the financial institutions' senior debt and deposit ratings."The reassessment is not driven by either a deterioration in the financial strength of the banking system or that of the government. It has been initiated in response...

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Flights to parts of Scotland out of Manchester Airport have been cancelled as a result of Icelandic volcanic ash.

More than 200 passengers were affected as six flights between Manchester and Aberdeen and Inverness were cancelled.The airport was also preparing to handle an extra nine flights which should have operated out of Glasgow and Edinburgh.A spokesman said that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had no plans to close airspace across the ...

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