UK

The parents of two of the girls murdered at a dance class in Southport have spoken of the moment they were told “something awful has happened” to their children. In an interview with The Sunday Times, the parents of Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe paid tribute to their daughters, while recalling what happened on

Two years ago, Dayni suffered the sudden and unexpected loss of her mother, Janice. The shock of her passing was traumatic enough – but what followed made the grieving process even more unbearable. Warning: this story contains details some readers may find upsetting Dayni was in hospital when her mother died, so it was a

Grenfell Tower will be demolished, Angela Rayner has confirmed. The demolition is expected to take “around two years” and be carried out “sensitively”, the government said. The official announcement comes after the deputy prime minister met with campaigners to tell them of the decision on Wednesday evening – sparking an angry reaction. Grenfell United has

Let’s start with the simple bit: interest rates have been cut – down by another quarter percentage point to 4.5%. But what happens next? Not long ago, the answer was quite simple: the Bank of England would carry on cutting borrowing costs, one quarter point cut every three months, until they reached, say, 3.5%. That,

Grenfell campaigners have reacted to the “deeply sensitive decision” by the deputy prime minister to demolish the tower block. Victims’ families and survivors were given the news in a meeting attended by Angela Rayner on Wednesday night. Grenfell Next of Kin, which represents some of the bereaved families, described it as a “deeply sensitive decision…

The families of the victims of the Nottingham attacks have said the killer should face a retrial on a murder charge. Findings from a new independent review published on Wednesday mean Valdo Calocane should be retried on the more serious charge, the families told Sarah-Jane Mee. Valdo Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia,

Ian Percival was walking his dog, Snowy, along the coast near his home in South Wales, when he met Anita George, a cancer nurse at a local Swansea hospital. It was the same route he took every night, but this time he stopped.  “She happened to be on the promenade and crying about her relationship,

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder after a teenager was stabbed to death at a school in Sheffield. Harvey Willgoose, 15, died after being attacked at All Saints Catholic High School on Monday. Police said he suffered “serious injuries” and despite the efforts of medics, died a short time after emergency services arrived.

A panel of international medical experts has given alternative causes of death in several cases against child serial killer Lucy Letby. It comes as her defence lawyers announced they have asked for her case to be investigated as a miscarriage of justice. Letby, 35, the UK’s most prolific child killer of modern times, is serving

A 15-year-old boy has died after being stabbed at a school in Sheffield. Police were called to All Saints Catholic High School on Granville Road at 12.17pm after reports of a stabbing. South Yorkshire Police said that the boy “suffered serious injuries and despite the best efforts of the ambulance service, he sadly died a

Harry Parker was just 14 years old when he was hit and killed by a car on his way to school in Swindon. “He was a lovely lad, full of life. A football fanatic,” said Harry’s dad, Adam. “He would always make people smile and just have a good time. He was my right hand

The boss of GB Energy has told Sky News it could take 20 years to deliver a Labour government pledge of 1,000 jobs for Aberdeen. Sir Keir Starmer promised voters his flagship green initiative, which will be headquartered in the northeast of Scotland, would cut consumer energy bills by as much as £300. It is

Four university students who died when a car crashed into a building have been named by Essex Police. The crash happened at around 4.40am on Saturday morning on Magdalen Street in Colchester. Police have named the victims as University of Essex students Makyle Bayley, 22, Eva Darold-Tchikaya, 21, Anthony Hibbert, 24, and Daljang Wol, 22.

A former Harrods employee has claimed Mohamed al Fayed and his brother, Salah, both assaulted her while she worked for the department store in the 1990s. Speaking on camera about her story for the first time, Rachael Louw told Sky News she was subjected to invasive sexual health tests, surveillance and inappropriate touching while working

A second body has been found in the search for two missing sisters in Aberdeen. Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both aged 32, were last spotted on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday 7 January. Around 9.05pm last night, the body of a woman was recovered from the

More British people than ever before are being trapped in modern slavery, according to the latest available Home Office figures.   A quarter of all referrals to the UK’s national modern slavery safeguarding scheme were related to British nationals. Albanian and Vietnamese nationals were the second and third most referred, respectively. But despite some police

The body of a woman has been recovered from the River Dee near to where two missing sisters disappeared in Aberdeen. Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both aged 32, were last spotted on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday 7 January. The women were seen crossing the bridge

The furore surrounding Michael Matheson’s near £11,000 iPad data roaming bill was “completely blown out of all proportion”, according to the shamed MSP. The SNP politician stepped down as Scotland’s health secretary last year after questions were raised over the eye-watering invoice. The Falkirk West MSP had initially billed taxpayers before U-turning, claiming the device

The Bishop of Liverpool has announced his retirement days after facing allegations of misconduct from two women, including another bishop. One woman said the Right Reverend Dr John Perumbalath kissed her without consent and groped her, while the second accused him of sexual harassment. The bishop has vehemently denied the allegations – and in his

The average annual water bill will rise by £26% or £123 in the next financial year alone, according to industry figures covering England and Wales. Water UK confirmed how inflation-busting hikes, determined by the regulator Ofwat in December, would play out from 1 April when a new five-year pricing period begins. The watchdog allowed bills