UK

Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked as Tory party chairman after paying a penalty to resolve a multimillion-pound tax dispute while he was chancellor. In a letter to Mr Zahawi published on Sunday morning, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it is “clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code”. Mr Zahawi had

A serving Metropolitan Police officer has pleaded guilty to child sexual offences. PC Hussain Chehab, 22, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15 – as well as three counts of making indecent photographs of a child, and one of engaging in sexual communication with a child. He

Two British nationals were killed while attempting a “humanitarian evacuation” from the Ukrainian town of Soledar, a family statement has said. Chris Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 48, were reported missing on 7 January amid heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces. A statement issued by Mr Bagshaw’s family said the pair’s car had been

Failings by probation officers left a sexual predator able to stalk and kill law graduate Zara Aleena – just days after he was released from jail, according to a watchdog. A damning report found a catalogue of errors in the Probation Service’s handling of Jordan McSweeney, which meant he was not treated as a high-risk

An investigation will be launched into the appointment of the BBC chairman following reports he helped Boris Johnson secure a loan. William Shawcross, the Commissioner for Public Appointments, said he would review the competition which led to Richard Sharp’s appointment while Mr Johnson was prime minister. He made the announcement in response to a request

Some households with smart meters could be eligible for discounts if they cut their use of electricity between 5 and 6pm today. The National Grid ESO (electricity system operator) is, for the first time, activating the “demand flexibility service (DFS)” – which allows it to access additional flexibility when national demand is at its highest

The foreign secretary has evaded answering questions on the latest ‘sleaze’ allegations surrounding Boris Johnson to hit the Conservative Party. James Cleverly was asked about a claim that the BBC chairman Richard Sharp helped the former prime minister arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000, weeks before he was then recommended for

The Labour Party has reported Boris Johnson to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. It comes after allegations BBC chairman Richard Sharp helped the former prime minister to arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000 just weeks before he was selected for his current job. Anneliese Dodds, the Labour chair, has written again

Nadhim Zahawi says his tax error was found to be “careless and not deliberate” after Labour called for him to be sacked over his finances. The Tory chairman and cabinet member released a statement saying he wanted to “address some of the confusion” about his finances. He said his father took founder shares in YouGov

Rishi Sunak has been branded a “total liability” and “hapless” as he faced a backlash for being fined for a second time, with police handing him a fixed penalty notice over not wearing a seatbelt. Lancashire Police issued the notice after the prime minister appeared without a belt in a clip on Instagram as he

Rishi Sunak has been given a fixed penalty notice after being caught not wearing a seatbelt. Lancashire Police issued the notice after the prime minister appeared without a belt in a clip on Instagram as he promoted his levelling-up funding in Lancashire. The PM has accepted the fine. A Number 10 spokesperson said: “The prime

The father of Elle Edwards, who was shot dead at a pub last month, has said “Christmas will never be the same” for him and his family.  In his first interview since her death, Tim Edwards spoke of how his “beautiful and caring” daughter “with a heart of gold” will never leave him – as

Two retired Metropolitan Police officers have been charged with offences related to the possession of images showing child sex abuse as part of an investigation into a serving chief inspector who was found dead before he was charged. Jack Addis, 63, of no fixed address and Jeremy Laxton, 62, from Lincolnshire, will appear at Westminster

NHS leaders are making contingency plans as the biggest walkout in the health service’s history looms. Ambulance staff and nurses are both set to go on strike on 6 February – taking industrial action on the same day for the first time ever. Saffron Cordery, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, has said the

The abuse of power perpetrated by the rapist officer David Carrick is “absolutely despicable” and urgent action is needed, the prime minister has told the head of the Met Police. Rishi Sunak said he had had “constructive” talks with Sir Mark Rowley and “made clear to him – and he agrees – that the abuse

Thousands of nurses will go on strike today as a bitter pay dispute with the government continues. Nursing staff from more than 55 NHS trusts will take part in industrial action on Wednesday and Thursday following two days of action in December. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced that two further, bigger strikes

A victim of serial rapist police officer David Carrick has told Sky News how he used his job as a firearms officer to gain her trust before subjecting her to months of physical and mental abuse, telling her: “The safest place you can be is with me.” This article contains details of abuse that some

The Metropolitan Police is reviewing more than 1,600 cases of alleged sexual offences or domestic violence involving its own officers and staff. It comes after a serving officer turned out to be one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders. PC David Carrick – who was known to his colleagues as “B*****d Dave” – admitted dozens

Thousands of teachers are set to walk out of classrooms over pay after the largest education union reached the threshold required to take strike action. The National Education Union (NEU) had organised a ballot of 300,000 members in England and Wales, calling for a “fully funded, above-inflation pay rise”. Nine out of 10 teacher members

A man has been arrested following a drive-by shooting outside a church near London’s Euston station. Four women and two girls, aged seven and 12, were injured in the shooting outside St Aloysius Church on Phoenix Road on Saturday afternoon. The Metropolitan Police said a 22-year-old man was arrested after a car was stopped in

Suspects in a shooting outside a church in north London yesterday fired a shotgun from a moving car at the crowd of mourners, police investigating the attack have said. Superintendent Jack Rowlands of the Metropolitan Police described the shooting on Saturday afternoon as a “senseless act of violence” and said officers were looking for a

Witnesses have described how a suspected drive-by shooting which left a seven-year-old girl fighting for her life in hospital sent people running and screaming near a memorial service for a young woman who died from cancer. There were scenes of panic outside St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church in Euston, central London, on Saturday afternoon as

A seven-year-old girl and three women have been taken to hospital after a shooting outside a funeral near Euston station in central London. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to Phoenix Road at 1.30pm on Saturday to reports of a shooting. Three women – aged 48, 54, and 41 – were taken to hospital

A man has been charged with the murder of 26-year-old Elle Edwards, who was shot dead at a pub on Christmas Eve. Connor Chapman has also been charged with two counts of attempted murder, and three counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. The 22-year-old has also been charged

A cold weather alert has been issued for large parts of England, with the Met Office warning of heavy snow and health risks to vulnerable people. The level 2 alert runs from 6pm on Sunday to 9am on Thursday across the North, Midlands, and central and eastern parts of England. The Met Office says there

Heavy snow could fall in large parts of England within the next week as the UK braces for several days of unstable weather, with a cold weather alert coming into force and dozens of flood warnings already in place. The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for rain for Wales and many areas in England,

Average ambulance response times in England last month were the longest on record – as more than half of people at major A&Es had to wait longer than four hours for the first time since records began in 2011. New figures show the average response time in December for ambulances in England dealing with the

Around 100,000 civil servants will strike on 1 February in a worsening dispute over jobs, pay and conditions, the Public and Commercial Services union has announced. It will be the largest civil service strike for years and coincides with the TUC’s “protect the right to strike day” announced yesterday in response to new government legislation.

About 25,000 ambulance workers across England and Wales will strike today in a dispute with the government over pay, amid fears some patients will be forced to make their own way to hospital. Staggered walkouts will take place over a 24-hour period and will include paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians from the Unison and

Ambulance unions placed people’s lives at risk when they refused to introduce countrywide minimum levels of service during strikes last month, the business secretary has said. Grant Shapps hit out at ambulance workers for only agreeing on a local level to minimum service levels after he earlier told Sky News it was a “regional or

The crew behind an historic rocket launch from UK soil have vowed to bounce back after their highly anticipated space mission ended in failure. LauncherOne suffered an “anomaly” in its bid to reach orbit on Monday night, after being carried skyward from Spaceport Cornwall by a converted jumbo jet named Cosmic Girl. Relive UK’s historic

The UK is considering supplying Ukraine with British tanks for the first time to fight Russia’s invading forces, Sky News understands. Discussions have been taking place “for a few weeks” about delivering a number of the British Army’s Challenger 2 main battle tank to the Ukrainian armed forces, a Western source with knowledge of the

MPs have earned £17.1m on top of their salaries in this parliament, with around two-thirds of the money going to just 20 MPs. As part of Westminster Accounts, a joint project between Sky News and Tortoise Media to shine a light on how money works in politics, we found the majority of the extra earnings