UK

A woman died from a heart attack after she was raped by a stranger while unconscious on a park bench, a court has been told. Warning: This article contains details readers may find distressing Natalie Shotter, 37, had been on a night out before she was sexually assaulted and killed on a park bench in

A Metropolitan Police officer has been charged over the death of a woman who was hit by a motorcycle escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh through London. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had authorised a charge of causing death by careless driving against 67-year-old Christopher Harrison. Helen Holland, 81, suffered serious injuries in the

Residents who escaped a fire in a “deathtrap” block of flats have told Sky News they feel abandoned after both the management firm and owner of the building have failed to meet them. The response has been branded “woeful” by the local council – who have had to pay £500,000 to support residents who have

The UK will hand over sovereignty of the remote Chagos Islands to Mauritius after a decades-long dispute. The deal to transfer the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, home to a military base used by the UK and the US that plays a crucial role in the region’s stability

Police Scotland considered recording notorious double rapist Isla Bryson as a female on the sex offenders’ register, Sky News can reveal. Bryson, who changed gender while waiting to stand trial, was last year jailed for eight years for raping two women in West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow while known as Adam Graham. Scottish Prison Service (SPS)

A police marksman may have been “angry, frustrated and annoyed” when he shot Chris Kaba dead after he tried to escape, a court has heard. Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial at the Old Bailey, where he denies murdering the 24-year-old in Streatham, south London. Mr Kaba was sat in the driver’s seat of an

The father of a six-year-old girl who was operated on by former surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar multiple times over 15 months is among the first to be told she suffered harm during her care. Dean Stalham’s daughter Bunty was born with the rare bone condition neurofibromatosis. It means she has been in and out of

Princess Beatrice has revealed she is expecting her second child. The 36-year-old princess, the late Queen’s granddaughter, and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40, are expected to welcome their new baby in early spring. The couple have a three-year-old daughter named Sienna and Mr Maplli Mozzi has an eight-year-old son named Wolfie. Image: Mr Mapelli

“If it gets much colder, I am thinking of doing something, just to go back to prison,” says Leon Lear, 43, as he sits next to the remnants of his failed fire on the edge of a playground in Bridgend, South Wales. The wood was too damp to burn; the only ash is from cardboard

A lawyer representing people affected by a “second Post Office IT scandal” has said they “must not” have “a long, hard battle ahead for exoneration and compensation”. A report today found it is “a reasonable likelihood” that Capture software “created shortfalls” for sub-postmasters prior to the Horizon scandal. The system, which was the predecessor to

Thousands of staff who risked their lives working in hospitals during the pandemic still haven’t been given the COVID bonus awarded to NHS staff last year. Generally, it is lower-paid staff who have missed out, and campaigners say a high proportion are female and from ethnic minorities. Sky News has surveyed outsourcing companies which employ

Robert Jenrick has defended being handed a £75,000 donation from a company which had received money from a firm registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), despite criticising Labour over the freebies row. The Tory leadership contender told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the firm “as I understand it… is a fitness company that

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party. The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts. She told Sir Keir the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you

When 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai was beaten and hacked to death in a savage machete attack in a Wolverhampton park, detectives were shocked to discover his killers were just 12 years old. Days earlier, in another part of the country, Alfie Lewis, 15, was stabbed to death by a 14-year-old boy outside a primary school in

Boris Johnson claims he considered authorising a raid on a warehouse in the Netherlands during the pandemic to retrieve COVID-19 vaccines. In his upcoming memoir, he described meeting senior military officials in March 2021 to discuss the plans, which he admitted were “nuts”. Another extract from his upcoming book, released by the Daily Mail, describes

Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89, her sons have said. The actress died in hospital, her children Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said. In a statement, they said: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She

Sir Keir Starmer has called for Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a ceasefire, saying “escalation serves no one”. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, the prime minister implored the two sides to “step back from the brink”. It comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation’s troops would keep “fighting at

An amber warning for heavy rain has been issued by the Met Office – warning of further flooding and travel disruption across large swathes of the UK. The new weather alert covers central England from 6pm on Thursday until 6am on Friday. Nearly three inches of rain could fall over several hours in the worst-affected

Sir Keir Starmer accepted a £20,000 donation for the use of a flat during the election after promising his family he would protect them. The prime minister‘s register of interests shows a declaration for accommodation provided by Lord Waheed Alli to the value of £20,437.28 from 29 May to 13 July this year. The election

A new weather warning for heavy rain has been issued by the Met Office which could cause further widespread flooding and travel disruption. The yellow warning has been issued for much of England and Wales, apart from North Wales, parts of the West Midlands and the North West, between 5pm on Thursday and 10am on