UK

The head of the Royal Air Force signalled he was ready to “bend” his service out of shape and test “the limit of the law” to improve diversity, according to an informed source and the leaked transcript of an internal meeting. Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston has always maintained that efforts under his leadership

Nearly 200 Metropolitan Police officers and staff members who have been accused of domestic violence or sexual offences within the past 10 years may face dismissal. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who began the job in September, believes there are hundreds of corrupt officers serving in the force who should not be there. Updating Home Secretary

Nicola Sturgeon has said she had “no prior knowledge” of police plans to arrest her husband Peter Murrell. A spokesperson for the former Scottish first minister said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on a live police investigation. “Nicola Sturgeon had no prior knowledge of Police Scotland’s action or intentions. “Ms Sturgeon will fully

The title of Queen Camilla has been used for the first time by Buckingham Palace on invitations for the King’s coronation.  It comes as US President Joe Biden told the King in a phone call on Tuesday that First Lady Jill Biden will attend the coronation, the White House said in a statement. More details

A mother and her “monster” partner have been found guilty over the death of a two-year-old. Kyle Bevan, 31, was found guilty of murdering his partner’s daughter, Lola James, in Haverfordwest. Sinead James, Lola’s mother, was found guilty of causing or allowing the toddler’s death after a trial at Swansea Crown Court. The attack took

A giant barge could be used to house more than 500 asylum seekers, under controversial plans to reduce the government’s reliance on hotels. The Home Office hopes in the coming days to announce a leasing agreement to use the Bibby Stockholm “floatel” in Portland, Dorset, in what could start a fresh Tory row. Details of

The man who shot and killed Liverpool schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel has been sentenced to life with a minimum of 42 years for her murder. Gunman Thomas Cashman, 34, fired shots into the nine-year-old’s family home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on 22 August 2022, during what prosecutors described as a “ruthless pursuit” to execute another man. He

British men being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan have been in contact with their relatives, a family spokesman has said. Charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, and an unnamed UK national who manages a hotel in Kabul are believed to have been detained by secret police since January. A third Briton – so-called “danger tourist”

A new grooming gangs taskforce will be launched to stop the exploitation of children and young women, the government has announced. Specialist officers will help police forces with child sexual exploitation and abuse investigations “to bring more of these despicable criminals to justice”, Downing Street said. The new taskforce will be made up of officers

Extra sailings will run through the night at the Port of Dover to help clear the backlog that left passengers stranded for up to 14 hours.  A spokesperson for the port said they hoped to clear the backlog by Sunday lunchtime, blaming increased Easter traffic, earlier bad weather and delays in French border processing for

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman’s body was found in a marina in Reading, Thames Valley Police have said. Police were called just after 10.30am on Saturday to reports of a body in the water at the Thames & Kennet Marina in Caversham. Officers recovered it from the water

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has been released from jail in Romania. He and his brother have been placed under house arrest instead. The 36-year-old former professional kickboxer and his brother Tristan are being investigated over allegations of sexual assault and exploitation. They are also being detained on suspicion of organised crime and human trafficking. The

Ukraine’s foreign minister has branded Wimbledon’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete as “immoral”. Dmytro Kuleba urged the UK to deny the athletes visas to enter the country. “Has Russia ceased its aggression or atrocities? No, it’s just that Wimbledon decided to accommodate two accomplices in crime,” said Mr Kuleba in a

Ten days of of strikes by security guards at Heathrow Airport start today after last-minute talks failed to resolve a pay dispute. Around 1,400 members of the Unite union who are employed by Heathrow Airports Ltd (HAL) are expected to take part in the 10-day walkout which ends at 23.59pm on Easter Sunday. The strikes

A self-confessed drug dealer has been convicted of the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel at her home in Liverpool last August. Thomas Cashman, 34, was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and two charges of possession of firearms by a jury at Manchester Crown Court. Olivia died

Environmental campaigners have warned they could once again take the government to court over its “lacklustre” climate policy. Friends of the Earth said it was “poised to act” if the revised net-zero strategy, published today, failed to meet legal obligations to cut carbon emissions. The campaign group – along with ClientEarth and the Good Law Project – took the government to the High Court last year

Britain’s most notorious inmate Charles Bronson has claimed he now “hates violence” and has been a “model prisoner” for the last decade. In a voice note sent to Sky News, Bronson said he has “never been a danger to the public” and that “I love the world”. Bronson, 70, was jailed for armed robbery in

The British public is the unhappiest it has ever been with the NHS, but still supports it in principle, a new survey has found. The overall satisfaction with the NHS now stands at 29% – a fall of seven percentage points and the fourth-largest drop ever recorded in a single year. In 2010, satisfaction with

Prince Harry has said the Royal Family witheld information from him about phone hacking because they didn’t want him to bring a claim as it would “open a can of worms”. In a witness statement submitted before his civil claim against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers, the Duke of Sussex said that he was conditioned

Humza Yousaf has won the SNP leadership contest and is set to be named as Scotland’s new first minister, replacing Nicola Sturgeon. The explosive leadership contest was sparked following Ms Sturgeon’s shock resignation last month. Lorna Finn, the SNP’s national secretary, stated that the total turnout in the leadership election was 70% with 50,490 of