UK

The blue on blue attacks have ramped up after Rishi Sunak was accused of “mansplaining” to Liz Truss during their first head-to-head TV debate. Mr Sunak spoke over Ms Truss several times as she attempted to explain her tax-cutting policies to the BBC audience of Tory members. This prompted accusations of “mansplaining” – when a

Droughts have been declared across swathes of England as the result of the driest summer in 50 years. On Friday, the Environment Agency (EA) announced that drought trigger thresholds have been met in eight parts of England – across southwest, southern, eastern and central England. As part of their announcement, officials warned that during the

Swathes of England may face drought as soon as August if the hot and dry weather persists, the Environment Agency has confirmed. A dry spring and early summer have already withered rivers and reservoirs and watered down water quality in many parts of England, pushing most of the country into “prolonged dry weather” status, the

Liz Truss’ team has accused Rishi Sunak of cosying up to China while he was chancellor after he pledged to impose curbs on Beijing and called it the “biggest long-term threat to Britain”. Mr Sunak has promised to close all 30 of China’s Confucius Institutes in the UK in a major hardening of government policy

Fires in Surrey and London are largely under control, after crews were sent out to battle earlier “weather-related” blazes. In Surrey, a fire at Hankley Common near Farnham had drawn “several fire engines” to the area, and had earlier been described as a “major incident”. The fire service tweeted: “There is a great deal of

Holidaymakers have travelled overnight to reach the Kent coast as they enter a third day of traffic chaos, despite the Port of Dover clearing its weekend backlog. Border and ferry staff worked “through the night” to clear “huge volumes of tourist and freight traffic”, so that services at Dover were finally able to “get back

A housing group said it is “devastated” and “sorry for our part” in failing to realise one of its tenants had been left dead in her flat for two and a half years. Sheila Seleoane, 58, was last heard from in August 2019, the last month she made a rent payment. When police forced their

Britain’s travel chaos is already set to be worse than yesterday, with further delays at the Port Of Dover as the UK and France continue to argue over who is to blame for the gridlock. Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “As the schools closed their doors fully yesterday, Saturday could

The UK economy is facing a labour crisis that is affecting every sector of the economy, from agriculture to airlines, and hospitality to hi-tech industries. At its heart is a shortage of people to do the jobs required to help the economy recover and grow after the pandemic, the product of a unique combination of

Holidaymakers are stuck in long queues heading into the Port of Dover – with French immigration being blamed for causing a “critical incident”. The delays are “in excess of four hours”, P&O Ferries said, adding: “Please arrive prepared for a prolonged wait. Carry snacks and additional water with you.” One traveller said they were moving

Rishi Sunak says he flew back from a government trip last December to stop the country going into a new Covid lockdown. The former chancellor and Tory leadership candidate told LBC that the UK was “hours away from a press conference” announcing the measures due to the spread of the Omicron variant. But he said

The BBC has agreed to pay damages to the former nanny of Princes William and Harry over “false and malicious” claims made about her by the journalist Martin Bashir. Last year, a report found Mr Bashir “deceived and induced” Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer to secure a bombshell Panorama interview with her in 1995. As

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will go head-to-head to become the next leader of the Conservative Party – and prime minister of the UK – after Penny Mordaunt became the latest candidate to be knocked out of the contest. In the fifth and final round of voting by Tory MPs, the leadership contenders received the

Nearly 20 houses were destroyed by grass fires in Wennington on Tuesday as the UK sweltered in its hottest day on record – as the public is warned the “danger isn’t over” and the heat still “poses risks of new fires sparking off”. Local councillor Ray Morgon told Sky News he believes around 18 to

Firefighters tackling blazes which have ripped through homes and buildings in London have described the conditions as “absolute hell” on what is the UK’s hottest day on record. Residents were evacuated, people were taken to hospital and a major incident was declared by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) which was “under immense pressure” after a

The UK is braced for temperatures as high as 41C today with increased travel chaos – after night-time record temperatures of 26C were provisionally reported in parts of West Yorkshire and London. The Met Office has also provisionally reported last night was the warmest on record after temperatures didn’t fall below 25C (77F) in places.

Britons are bracing themselves for extreme disruption, as forecasters predict possible temperatures of more than 40C (104F) in parts of the country this week. Amid warnings that lives are at risk, a national emergency has been declared by the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office has issued its first-ever red warning for extreme

Britons have been urged to stay inside as the UK braces for “ferocious” temperatures breaching 40C, and swathes of the country are now covered in the first ever red warning for extreme heat. A national emergency has been declared amid the threat of severe disruption as schools close, hospitals cancel appointments and events are scrapped.

As the UK braces for temperatures toppling over 40C, fears are growing for the elderly and vulnerable. A stark, public service announcement from the chief executive of the Met Office says the temperatures are “absolutely unprecedented” and warns Britons to stay inside. Scorching temperatures are predicted for Monday, with Peterborough expected to hit 37C (99F)

The new health secretary has said new measures including extra working hours for ambulance crews are being put in place as the UK faces its first national heatwave emergency. Steve Barclay said the additional support, which also includes more call handlers, is being put in place on Monday and Tuesday. Almost all of England is

Britons are being urged to do the “neighbourly thing” and check on people who may be more vulnerable as the UK braces for potentially record-breaking temperatures. The advice comes after the government’s COBRA meeting on Saturday and less than 48 hours away from forecast highs that could nudge 40C (104F). It’s the second emergency summit

There are growing concerns people’s lives could be at risk as the Met Office indicated it is likely a new UK record temperature could be set early next week. Meteorologists have said there is an 80% chance the mercury will top the UK’s record temperature of 38.7C (101.7F) set in Cambridge in 2019. The heatwave

A Formula 1 worker who was repeatedly called the n-word by colleagues at the Aston Martin F1 team has told Sky News the sport has to do more to confront racism in motorsport.    Aidan Louw, 25, who is mixed race and was born in South Africa, worked as a laminator building parts of the

The five remaining candidates in the Conservative leadership race are preparing to go head-to-head in live TV debates. It comes after Rishi Sunak came out on top in yesterday’s ballot of Tory MPs – with Penny Mordaunt second and Liz Truss third. Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat are also still in the running, but Suella

Suella Braverman has been knocked out of the Conservative leadership race in the second round of voting. Ms Braverman received 27 votes from Tory MPs, five fewer than she got yesterday. The five remaining hopefuls will progress to the third round on Monday, having received the following votes: There will be successive rounds of voting

Tory leadership favourite Penny Mordaunt suffered her first setback of the campaign when she was attacked by MPs over her stance on trans issues. She clashed with right-wing Conservative MPs at a major hustings event attended by the six candidates left in the contest after the first round of voting. The trade minister and former

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt have been knocked out of the race to become the next leader of the Conservative Party – and next prime minister of the UK. A total of six candidates made it through the first round of voting, with chair of the backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady revealing the

The candidates who have made it through to the next stage of the race to replace Boris Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister have been revealed. The eight MPs who have got through to the first round are: • Rishi Sunak• Penny Mordaunt• Tom Tugendhat• Liz Truss• Suella Braverman• Jeremy Hunt• Kemi Badenoch• Nadhim

The winner of the Conservative leadership contest will be unveiled on 5 September – and some candidates could be knocked out of the race today. Eleven Tory hopefuls have thrown their hat into the ring, but those who fail to get support from 20 MPs will not appear on the first ballot, which is due

Flights from Gatwick are more likely to have been cancelled so far this year than at any other major UK airport. The rate is 10 times worse than Stansted, the best-performing British hub. More than 3% of planned flights from Gatwick didn’t take place, compared with 0.3% of those from Stansted, according to figures from

A rare “extreme heat” warning has been issued for the weekend as the Met Office said temperatures were likely to rise further in the coming days. The start of the working week for millions of Britons was a roasting one, with mercury readings shooting up as high as 32C in Northolt, west London. Temperatures failed

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has officially joined the race for the Tory leadership, with Home Secretary Priti Patel potentially set to announce her candidacy. A surprise entry has also been made by Foreign Office minister Rehman Chishti, meaning 11 Conservatives are now fighting to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister. Writing in the Telegraph newspaper,

Nadhim Zahawi has said he is “clearly being smeared” after questions were reportedly raised about his personal finances before his appointment as chancellor. The former education secretary and vaccines minister, who is vying to take over from Boris Johnson, told Sky News he had “always” paid his taxes and had “declared” them in the UK.