UK

The number of second homes being put up for sale in one part of Wales has increased by more than 250% – as homeowners and businesses criticise the Welsh government’s council tax premium. Many councils in Wales now charge an inflated tax rate for second homes, up to 300%, with the aim of freeing up

A man allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on the same day he was released from prison under the government’s early release scheme. He allegedly reoffended in Sittingbourne in Kent and was later arrested at an address in south London. He was among more than 1,700 inmates released from prison last week in a bid to

Families of more than 300 victims of the infected blood scandal are calling on the government to make changes to the compensation scheme, claiming they are being “excluded” from the current guidelines. Thousands became infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s, with more than 3,000 known to

BBC presenter Jay Blades – who appears on The Repair Shop – has been charged with engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour against his estranged wife, police have said. The 54-year-old appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court earlier today and was bailed to appear again at Worcester Crown Court on 11 October. The alleged coercive behaviour

Sir Keir Starmer has said that Russia started the Ukraine war and “could end the conflict straight away”. The prime minister is heading to Washington DC for talks with President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday over the ongoing conflict. Sir Keir has backed Kyiv’s right to defend itself after Russian leader Vladimir

A 17-year-old male has been arrested as part of the investigation into a cyber security incident affecting Transport for London (TfL). The teenager was detained in Walsall on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences in relation to the attack, which was launched on TfL on 1 September. He has been questioned by officers from the

Sir Keir Starmer will warn the NHS must “reform or die”, as the government publishes an independent investigation into the state of the health service. The report – ordered by Health Secretary Wes Streeting days after he took on the role – was carried out by peer and surgeon Lord Darzi. Politics live: Starmer and

If you want a sense of the “change” government, Sir Keir Starmer becoming the first prime minister in 15 years to address the Trade Union Congress is it. The Tories out and Labour in is what the trade union movement has yearned for. This has been a patient base, waiting for a new deal. But

A mum who decided to go to Ibiza rather than attend the sentencing of her 12-year-old son involved in the summer’s riots has been ordered to pay compensation amounting to the cost of her holiday. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons because of his age, was previously due to be sentenced on

MPs have voted to cut the winter fuel payment for all but the country’s poorest pensioners. A Tory move to block the measure was defeated by 348 to 228 votes – a majority of 120. Labour has a working majority in the Commons of 167. The division list showed Labour MP Jon Trickett supported the

The chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales has warned that today’s early release of around 1,750 offenders is going to be “risky”. It is being done to create space in the country’s overcrowded prisons and the government insists the alternative was “unthinkable” and would have led to a “total collapse of the criminal

A man who admitted the rape and murder of a woman he stabbed 60 times during sex 27 years ago should be freed from prison, the Parole Board has said. Steven Ling was jailed for life in December 1998 after admitting an attack on Joanne Tulip, 29, in Stamfordham, Northumberland. He has been recommended for

A loud crash jolts Paul Wheeler into waking up in the middle of the night. As he peers out of his bedroom window, which overlooks the park at the back of his home in a quiet, suburban part of Kent, he sees a shadowy figure setting fire to something. It’s a warm summer night, Labour

The health secretary has said he is “not remotely happy” about having to vote to cut the winter fuel allowance for some pensioners. Wes Streeting said he has apologised to his elderly constituents who it will affect, but said cutting the payment from those not on pension credit is essential to balance public finances. He

The deaths of around 2,000 mental health patients will be investigated as a long-awaited new public inquiry begins on Monday. Warning: The following article contains details some readers may find distressing Families of the patients who died in Essex have been campaigning for years, claiming they have not been told the truth about what happened

Police searching for a British man in a mountainous area of Majorca where a British woman was found dead earlier this week have found a body. Both are believed to have been swept away in a flash flood. Spain’s Civil Guard said both people were on a trail that leads through a small canyon to

England interim manager Lee Carsley has said he will not be singing the British national anthem before his side take on the Republic of Ireland on Saturday. The 50-year-old was born in Birmingham in the UK but represented Ireland during his playing career through his grandmother, who is from County Cork. Speaking in a news

An arsonist who stoked a fire outside a Rotherham hotel hosting asylum seekers during last month’s riots has been jailed for nine years. It is the longest sentence handed down so far over last month’s violence, which erupted across the UK following the killing of three children in a stabbing at a dance class in

More than 300 bodies have been discovered in a mass grave in Oldham, with the majority belonging to babies and children. The 12x12ft grave in Royton Cemetery was found by a woman looking for her brothers, with one stillborn and the other dying within five hours in 1962. According to councillors Maggie Hurley and Jade

A member of the Royal Navy has died after a helicopter ditched while conducting night-flying exercises with HMS Queen Elizabeth. In a statement the Navy said: “It is with great sadness that we must report a member of the Royal Navy has died following a training incident last night. “Our thoughts are with the family

A banking boss and his wife, who died when a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily, suffocated to death in an air bubble as oxygen ran out, according to Italian media. Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer were two of the seven people who died when the Bayesian superyacht sank last month. The

The government was “well aware” of the deadly risks posed by combustible cladding and insulation a year before the Grenfell Tower fire, but “failed to act on what it knew”, a landmark report has found. The report also said “systemic dishonesty” from cladding and insulation companies and a “toxic” relationship between the tower’s residents and

Baby P’s mother is back in prison after breaching her licence conditions. Tracey Connelly was freed from jail in July 2022 after the Parole Board ruled she was suitable for release. But she has now been recalled to prison in a move authorised by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. Connelly was jailed in 2009 for causing

Three children and two teenagers have been arrested over the murder of an 80-year-old man. The victim, who was walking his dog in a park in Braunstone Town, Leicestershire, was seriously assaulted on Sunday and died in hospital last night. A boy and a girl, both 14, and one boy and two girls, all aged

The UK has experienced its coolest summer since 2015, according to provisional data from the Met Office. Despite recent years seeing persistently hot and dry summers – edging into extreme weather at times – 2024 has somewhat bucked that trend. While a handful of days were hot, they were not close to the heat we’ve

Singer Danielle Moore – who fronted the electronic band Crazy P – has died aged 52 in “sudden and tragic circumstances”, the group has confirmed. While her bandmates did not share her cause of death, they said they were “devastated” and would now “need time to process that this has happened”. Sharing a black and

A court has adjourned the sentencing of a 12-year-old involved in the riots and disorder in August after his mother went to Ibiza on holiday. Towns and cities across the UK saw violence break out after the three girls were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on 29 July. The

The wife of a Tory councillor has pleaded guilty to publishing written material to stir up racial hatred following the Southport stabbings. Childminder Lucy Connolly admitted making the post about asylum seekers at Northampton Crown Court after she was previously arrested and re-arrested in the first half of August. UK riots latest: Anti-racism protests planned

Harry Potter fans who gathered at King’s Cross hoping for the annual Hogwarts Express announcement have been left disappointed. Boos rang out after the usual tannoy address and departure board listing failed to materialise. The event usually draws hundreds of fans – many in fancy dress – to mark the start of term at the

Sir Keir Starmer has defended cutting the winter fuel allowance for 10 million pensioners as he faces pressure to rethink the move. The government announced last month the universal payment to pensioners, worth between £100 and £300 a year, would be restricted to just those who receive pension credit. Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves

A former Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with sexual assault and rape of a woman he is alleged to have met while on duty. Mark Tyrrell, 55, is charged with 15 counts of sexual assault and two counts of rape. He will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. The former Met Police officer

Titanic’s iconic bow has lost part of its metal railings – with a 15ft section now lying on the sea floor. The bow featured in the scene from the 1997 film where Jack had his “king of the world” moment and held Rose over the front of the ship. However, an expedition to the wreck

Scotland’s health secretary has rubbished claims he tried to buy Oasis tickets during a panel discussion on Alzheimer’s disease at the SNP conference. Neil Gray branded the report “total nonsense”, explaining he made a joke and was instead “fully focused on chairing and contributing” to the session. However, those behind the Sunday Mail article are