UK

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has come under fire from colleagues for her “unilateral” decision to determine which school buildings need to close as part of the concrete crisis, Sky News has learned. Ministers elsewhere in Whitehall fear she has opened a “Pandora’s box” by setting a more cautious than necessary standard that could affect a

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has defended being on holiday during the summer – despite there being further evidence of the use of unsafe concrete in buildings. Ms Keegan was on holiday in Spain from 25 August to 31 August when she admitted that three new cases of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) emerged – one

Temperatures in the UK are expected to climb this week and could hit 32C (89.6F) on Wednesday and Thursday – with parts of the country on course to be hotter than Ibiza. The mercury in places is expected to be 4C higher than the Spanish holiday island and warmer than Ayia Napa in Cyprus –

A man who sexually assaulted and murdered his 16-year-old sister has been jailed for at least 22 years. Connor Gibson, who was 19 at the time of the attack, targeted Amber Gibson in woodland in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, in November 2021. He removed his sister’s clothes, sexually assaulted her with the intention of raping her,

A boy thrown from the 10th floor of the Tate Modern art gallery is now mostly out of his wheelchair, his family says. The French youngster, who was six at the time of the attack, survived the 100ft (30m) fall but suffered life-changing injuries, including a bleed on the brain and broken bones in August

Two men have been arrested under the Terrorism Act by officers investigating the breach of data from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The suspects are aged 21 and 22 and were held following a “search in the Portadown area on Saturday”, the PSNI said on X, formerly known as Twitter. It added: “The

The government is in advanced talks with Britain’s biggest steel producer to hand over a £500m aid package aimed at securing the long-term future of steelmaking in South Wales. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Whitehall officials and Tata Steel are close to agreeing a deal that would commit more than £1bn to the future

The chancellor has admitted more schools and other public buildings with structural problems could come to light in the coming weeks. It comes as the government investigates the extent of problems with crumbling concrete. More than 100 schools and colleges have been told by the Department for Education (DfE) to partially or fully shut buildings

Mohamed Al Fayed has died at the age of 94. The Egyptian-born businessman was best known as a former owner of the Harrods department store and Fulham football club in London. He sold Harrods to Qatar Holdings in May 2010. Three years later, he also sold Fulham FC, to the US businessman Shahid Khan. Al

The government has finally published a list of schools identified with collapse-prone concrete after days of mounting pressure. The list published by the Department for Education showed 19 schools where the start of term has had to be delayed as a result of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Four schools had to open remotely while

Not all schools impacted by concrete safety fears have been contacted and it is not clear how many will have to shut fully, a minister has admitted. Schools minister Nick Gibb said in most cases “just a few buildings” or rooms within the affected schools will have to shut but “in some cases it will

School buildings in England made with a certain type of concrete that is prone to collapse will be immediately closed over safety fears, the government has announced. Around 104 schools or “settings” will be disrupted on top of 50 that have already been affected this year. The Department for Education (DfE) said the “vast majority

Grant Shapps is expected to become the UK’s new defence secretary as the prime minister carries out a reshuffle at the top of government, Sky News understands. Ben Wallace announced last month that he would be leaving the role the next time Rishi Sunak made changes to his cabinet – as well stepping down as

The rollout of flu and COVID-19 vaccines in the UK has been brought forward after the emergence of a new variant. NHS officials have indicated the BA.2.86 – which came to light on 18 August – is the most concerning since the arrival of Omicron. Scientists also say it has mutated, but has not been

The chief executive of National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has said he cannot reveal the cause of the glitch which has affected thousands of passengers but is “not ruling out anything at this stage”. Martin Rolfe said on Tuesday evening that an initial investigation had found that the air traffic control failure was caused by

An air traffic control boss has said “unreliable” flight data was the cause of widespread disruption that affected thousands of passengers stuck at airports. Martin Rolfe, the chief executive of National Air Traffic Services (NATS), said an initial investigation had found the air traffic control failure was caused by flight data which its system “didn’t

The transport secretary has apologised for yesterday’s nationwide air traffic control fault – saying issues on this scale “haven’t happened for a decade”. Mark Harper stressed that technical experts have ruled out a cybersecurity incident, with the Civil Aviation Authority set to investigate. “Something on this scale hasn’t happened for almost a decade – normally

Heathrow Airport has said its services will “remain significantly disrupted” on Tuesday after air traffic controllers across the UK experienced a technical fault. In a statement about the “technical issues” that affected the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), Britain’s busiest airport urged passengers to contact their airline before travelling to the airport. “The issue has

The government is not ruling out using electronic tagging to control migrants who come to the UK illegally. Home Secretary Suella Braverman told Sky News she is willing to use a “range of options” in dealing with migrants who cross the Channel in small boats. It comes after a report in The Times said the

Two people have died after a car was driven into a flooded area in Merseyside. Officers were called following safety concerns for a man and a woman inside a black Mercedes in Mossley Hill at 9.20pm on Saturday. The vehicle had driven into a flooded area in Queens Drive, between North Mossley Hill Road and