The news stories you might have missed during the US election

Donald Trump's surprise presidential victory has dominated headlines this week

Donald Trump's victory has dominated headlines this week (Getty)

All eyes have been on the US this week during the most fraught presidential election in years and the surprise victory of billionaire Donald Trump over his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Front pages and social media have been dominated by news from across the Atlantic, but here are seven stories from the UK you might have missed.

Government rejects calls to introduce ‘need for suspicion’ before detaining people under Terrorism Act

People will continue to be detained at British ports, airports and international railway stations without grounds for suspicion that the person is involved in terrorism or any other crime.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said introducing the element of suspicion to Section 7 of the Terrorism Act “would fundamentally undermine the utility of the power”.

Ms Rudd also announced she wants to bring forward legislation to ensure terror suspects admitted to hospital could have this time removed from their detention, giving police and security forces more time to question them.

This would apply to suspects arrested without a warrant, who can be detained for up to 48 hours without charge and for up to a week for further questioning, with the approval of a judge.

Another major change outlined by the Home Secretary in response to a report by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation will see national figures published for the use of stop and search under the Terrorism Act for the first time.

European Commission cuts UK 2017 growth forecast in half due to Brexit

Uncertainty following the Brexit vote has led the European Commission to cut its 2017 growth forecast for the UK to just 1 per cent – almost half the 1.8 per cent it predicted in May.

In a report released yesterday, the Commission said a “sharp increase in uncertainty [...] is expected to hamper economic dynamics primarily in the UK but also in the EU” and warned that the longer the uncertainty continues, the worse the negative impact could be.

It also emerged that the UK trade deficit widened unexpectedly in September to £5.2 billion from £3.8 billion in August, as the falling pound failed to lift exports of British goods.

Pentonville prison (Getty)

Emily Thornberry calls for Pentonville prison to be closed after two inmates escape

Pentonville prison in north London should be closed as soon as possible, the MP for the area surrounding the Victorian jail has said.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said the prison was controlled by gangs and called a recent murder and the escape of two prisoners this week “the final straw”.

The two escaped prisoners broke out of their cells using a diamond cutter and fooled guards by leaving sheets and pillows in the shape of bodies in their beds.

One of the escapees, 28-year-old Matthew Baker, was arrested last night, police said. They have renewed an appeal for information on James Whitlock, 31, who is still at large.

Demonstrators hold placards as they gather to protest against government changes to the welfare system and the proposed 'Bedroom Tax' in 2013 (Getty Images ) (Getty Images)

Supreme court says Government acted unlawfully towards disabled campaigners as families win appeal over bedroom tax

Conservative welfare policy suffered a blow after the Supreme Court ruled the Government discriminated against some disabled people with the controversial “bedroom tax” on Wednesday.

A spina bifida sufferer and a couple who look after their severely disabled grandson won appeals, but the judges rejected several other cases.

Disability campaigners have been protesting against the system, which removed subsidies for people in the social rented sector who were deemed to have “spare” rooms in their homes, since it was introduced in 2013.

Festivalgoers who set off flares and fireworks at music events could face three months in prison

Audience members at festivals and concerts are to be barred from setting off flares, fireworks and smoke bombs under Government plans.

An amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill would make the possession of such pyrotechnic items at music events a criminal offence, with anyone found guilty facing up to three months in prison.

However, the law would not extend to event organisers and so hinder the staging of live performances.

Five men arrested in Rotherham child sexual exploitation probe

Five men have been arrested as part of the National Crime Agency's huge investigation into historical child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

The men, who were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to rape, were been taken to a police station in South Yorkshire and have now been released on bail.

Nine people previously arrested as part of the operation also remain on bail, said an NCA spokesperson.

Nicola Sturgeon bids to intervene in Brexit legal case

Scotland's First Minister will try to join a legal dispute over Brexit, with Nicola Sturgeon declaring she will seek to intervene as the UK Government bids to overturn a court ruling barring the Prime Minister from triggering Article 50 without a vote in Parliament first.

The Lord Advocate, Scotland's most senior law officer, is to lodge a formal application at the Supreme Court to intervene in the case, Ms Sturgeon announced.

She insisted it “simply cannot be right” that rights linked to membership of the European Union “can be removed by the UK Government on the say so of a Prime Minister without parliamentary debate, scrutiny or consent”.