UK

The government’s policies for the upcoming year will be unveiled during the King’s Speech on Tuesday, with a pledge to put criminal justice “at the heart” of its plans. The speech – devised by the prime minister, but delivered by King Charles – will include details of a Sentencing Bill to ensure whole life orders

British Steel has revealed a decarbonisation plan that could result in the loss of 2,000 jobs in Scunthorpe, according to unions. The Chinese-owned company confirmed it was to shut down its blast furnace and replace it with two cheaper, greener electric arc furnaces (EAFs) – one of which was to be located up the coast

White people are 36% more likely to receive a positive response when applying to rent a home than black people, Sky News has learned. Exclusive figures provided by Generation Rent show apparent racism currently in the rental market. The campaign organisation used artificial intelligence to set up two fake profiles, a black and a white

“Jaden” was stabbed a couple of weeks ago while walking the streets of Croydon, south London.   Luckily for him, it wasn’t serious. But a week later, he was arrested for carrying a knife of his own. When we meet him, he tells us he is appearing before the magistrates in the morning. The thing is,

Thousands of people were left without water on Sunday due to an issue at a Thames Water treatment works. Thames Water apologised to residents in Godalming, Surrey, and said it was investigating. Jeremy Hunt, the MP for the area, said a major incident had been declared. He posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that

Four police officers were injured after pro-Palestinian protesters in London set off fireworks towards officers and into crowds. Scotland Yard said a dispersal order was authorised at 6.43pm on Saturday and would remain in place until 1am on Sunday. More than 1,300 officers were on duty today as tens of thousands of people demonstrated in

Police have made three arrests during a fourth week of pro-Palestinian protests in central London. One person was arrested after “displaying a placard that could incite hatred”, the Metropolitan Police said. They were held under section 12 of the Terrorism Act. Another was detained for assaulting a police officer while the third was arrested for

A warning for heavy rain and showers is in force across southern England – with more than 200 flood alerts issued nationwide. The Met Office yellow alert comes days after Storm Ciaran battered the same area with rain, flooding and winds of up to 100mph. The ground is still saturated in many places, raising the

A boy has been killed and another child was injured after being hit by a car during the school run. Emergency services were called to Stock Road in Stock, south of Chelmsford, Essex, just after 8.20am on Friday. They attended the scene following reports of a vehicle colliding with two children. The second child was

A man has been arrested in Leicestershire after a British woman was reportedly found dead at her home in Italy. The 74-year-old suspect, who is also British, was detained on Wednesday night in Shepshed in connection with the murder of Michele Faiers, police said. The Leicestershire force did not name the suspect, who remains in

More than half of people feel politicians are using so-called culture wars to distract from other issues, according to a survey which also found the term “woke” is increasingly seen as an insult. Almost two thirds (62%) of those polled said politicians “invent or exaggerate” culture wars as a political tactic – up from less

Hundreds of schools are set to close across the south of England on Thursday as Storm Ciaran is expected to batter the country with 80mph winds. Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Jersey have declared major incidents as the storm could bring winds of up to 110pmh to the Channel Islands. Hundreds of schools have

Boris Johnson’s government displayed an “unbelievably bullish” approach to coronavirus early in the pandemic and sat “laughing at Italians” in meetings, a former civil servant has said. The former prime minister was “confident the UK would sail through” the outbreak of the disease and warned against “over-correcting” on something he thought “was unlikely to have

The parents of 14-year-old Charlene Downes, who disappeared 20 years ago today, have appealed for anyone who knows what happened to her to “end their nightmare” and help bring them justice. Police have issued a fresh appeal for information about what happened to Charlene on the anniversary of her disappearance in Blackpool. In the years

Boris Johnson suggested he saw COVID as “nature’s way of dealing with old people” and was “obsessed” with them accepting their fate, the inquiry into the pandemic has heard. During a hearing on Tuesday, notes were shared from the government’s former chief scientist describing a “bonkers set of exchanges”. Sir Patrick Vallance wrote in one

Police in West Yorkshire say they are investigating a serving officer over allegations he shared racist and misogynistic content in a WhatsApp group with colleagues. Sky News has seen evidence of the content and messages on a device that was handed to the force 18 months ago. The officer’s ex-wife said she understood that West

A Metropolitan Police firearms officer charged with the murder of Chris Kaba will be named publicly, a judge has ruled. The marksman, who had previously been known only as NX121, is facing trial at the Old Bailey over the shooting of 24-year-old Mr Kaba in Streatham Hill, south London. In a ruling at the Old

Nicole Collarbone never thought she would be a single mother, but as she neared her 40th birthday, she knew she no longer wanted to wait to meet a partner to have a baby. She decided to have IVF with a sperm donor, but with the steep price of fertility treatment, and no one to share

Yellow weather warnings for rain and wind are in force every day until Thursday as a newly named storm approaches the UK. Storm Ciaran is set to bring strong winds and heavy downpours to southern parts of England and Wales – with “unsettled” conditions forecast for much of the UK. Met Office deputy chief meteorologist

Thousands of people have joined a pro-Palestine protest in London calling for an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Police estimated around 100,000 demonstrators gathered in the capital, as other rallies have been organised elsewhere in the UK including Manchester and Glasgow. A suspect was arrested on Whitehall after an officer was assaulted and the

Heavy rain over the weekend risks flooding areas that have already been hard hit by Storm Babet, according to forecasters. The Met Office has yellow weather warnings in place for the eastern coast of Scotland, Northern Ireland and South East England on Saturday and Sunday. Conditions are likely to bring between 50mm and 80mm of

Dressed in what appears to be a very expensive designer track top, from the neck down the man in front of me certainly looks the part of professional footballer on a day off. Box-fresh white Nikes, baggy shorts over sports tights and gloves complete the look – along with the studded black rose mask concealing

A man who terrified female drivers heading home late at night while wearing a gimp suit has been found guilty of public order offences. Joshua Hunt, 32, was seen by one woman writhing around on the ground, while another was left shaking and crying. The incidents took place in the evening of May 7 and

A Conservative MP has been arrested on suspicion of rape and the possession of controlled substances. Surrey Police said the man was detained on Wednesday morning in Horley. The Tory party has declined to comment on the arrest, first reported by The Sun. A police spokesman said: “We can confirm a man was arrested yesterday

Georgia Harrison is smartly dressed in a pink boucle jacket and a white blouse buttoned up at the collar, hair swept off her face in a slick, smart ponytail. But as soon as she gets off the Zoom call, she’ll change into a Tinkerbell costume for early Halloween celebrations – as seen in photographs now

Widespread exploitation of carers recruited from abroad is the “the number one priority” for the agency that investigates criminality affecting workers in England and Wales. The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) told Sky News that the Health and Care Worker visa system is being abused by criminals, leading to “a constant stream of allegations”

Former police officer Lewis Edwards, who admitted more than 100 sexual offences against children, has been handed a life sentence. He will serve a minimum of 12 years behind bars. He was granted a reduction of one third to his sentence due to his entering a guilty plea. Sentences for other counts for which he

Thousands of AI-generated images depicting child abuse have been shared on a dark web forum, new research has found. Around 3,000 AI images of child abuse were shared on the forum in September, with 564 depicting the most serious kind of imagery including rape, sexual torture, and bestiality. Of the images, 1,372 depicted children aged

The British-based families of people killed or taken hostage in Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel have spoken of their grief. Speaking at a press conference in London, Ayelet Svatitzky, whose brother was killed in a raid on his kibbutz in southern Israel, said her “life stopped” on 7 October. Her other brother and mother

The commissioner of the Metropolitan Police says laws for tackling extremism may need to be redrawn in light of pro-Palestinian protests around the Israel-Hamas war. Sir Mark Rowley said it was for politicians to decide on “the line of the law” and for the police to enforce it. However, he said recent events were “illustrating

More than a million children experienced the most extreme form of poverty last year, according to a new report that slams such “horrifying levels of destitution” as a political choice. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), the number of people experiencing these levels of poverty in the UK has increased by 61% between 2019

There could be more flooding this week, the Environment Agency (EA) has warned, after heavy downpours brought by Storm Babet left hundreds of properties submerged in water. The agency said more flood alerts are expected for some of the areas worst affected by Storm Babet into next week – despite severe flood warnings, meaning risk of

Flooding from major rivers could continue until Tuesday following Storm Babet, the Environment Agency (EA) has warned. Despite the worst of the storm now having passed, rivers in North Yorkshire, the Midlands and the South West could continue to overflow, the agency said. “Ongoing flooding is probable on some larger rivers including the Severn, Ouse and