UK

More than a month after the UK’s Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme was launched, thousands of sponsors are still waiting to welcome Ukrainian nationals, amid reports of red tape and bureaucracy in the process. Lynette Protheroe, from Derbyshire, was matched with sisters Yana and Inna and their three children on 20 March but weeks after submitting an

Good Friday has officially become the hottest day of the year so far after 22C (71.6F) was recorded in central London. Today’s temperature in St James’s Park beats the previous record of 20.8C (69.4F) set in London on 23 March and Cornwall on 25 March. The temperature is likely to climb further, the Met Office

The government hopes it can start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda in a matter of “weeks”, according to Boris Johnson’s policy chief. The UK government is attempting to crack down on Channel crossings by small boats and as part of the plans, the Home Office has signed a “world first” deal with Rwanda to send

The Royal Navy will take over responsibility for tackling people crossing the English Channel from today, Boris Johnson has said as he announced plans plans to fly some migrants to Rwanda. Speaking at an airport in Kent, the prime minister said: “We must ensure that the only route to asylum in the UK is asafe

The government plans to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing in an attempt to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel. Boris Johnson is set to argue action is needed to combat the “vile people smugglers” turning the ocean into a “watery graveyard” in a speech on Thursday. After the prime minister’s speech, Home

The terrorist who murdered veteran MP Sir David Amess is to die behind bars after he was sentenced to a whole-life prison term. Islamic State fanatic Ali Harbi Ali appeared at the Old Bailey on Wednesday after he was convicted of murder and preparing terrorist acts. Sir David was stabbed more than 20 times during

More than half of voters think that Boris Johnson should resign as prime minister after he was fined by police over partygate allegations. The prime minister attended his own birthday party in the Cabinet room in Downing Street in June 2020, when the rest of the country was under coronavirus restrictions. On Tuesday, Mr Johnson

Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie, and chancellor Rishi Sunak, have been notified that they will be issued with fines for breaking lockdown rules. The fixed penalty notices are the result of a Metropolitan Police investigation into parties in Downing Street and Whitehall in 2020 and 2021. Labour immediately called for both to the PM

The UK is “working urgently” to verify details following unconfirmed reports of a Russian chemical attack in a besieged city in Ukraine, the foreign secretary has said. Liz Truss said any confirmed use of chemical weapons in Mariupol would be a “callous escalation” of the war. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, used his nightly video address

A “bloodthirsty” and “fanatical” terrorist has been found guilty of the murder of MP Sir David Amess. The veteran Conservative politician was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery meeting in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in October last year. Sir David, who was the MP for Southend West, suffered more than 20 stab wounds in a “vicious

The chancellor has written to the prime minister asking him to refer him to the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests to determine whether all his interests were “properly declared”. In a tweet, Rishi Sunak said he had “always followed the rules” and that he hoped the review would “provide further clarity”. In the letter Mr

Rishi Sunak and his wife have recognised her tax “situation” was “not favourable”, says a government minister – as the chancellor launched an inquiry into the leaking of details about her non-dom status. After the disclosure that Akshata Murty was “non-domiciled” in Britain for tax purposes sparked a political storm, policing minister Kit Malthouse told

A Whitehall inquiry has been launched into the leak of Rishi Sunak’s wife’s tax status after a week in which the chancellor’s approval ratings have taken a significant hit. Akshata Murty dramatically announced on Friday that she would pay UK taxes on her global income, adding in a statement that she didn’t want the issue

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has travelled to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a “show of solidarity”. “Right now a visit of Boris Johnson in Kyiv started from one-on-one meeting with President Zelenskiy,” Andriy Sybiha,deputy head of Ukraine’s president office, said on Facebook. A Downing Street spokesperson said the PM was making the

More than 32,000 vulnerable COVID patients in England have been treated with “cutting-edge” antiviral drugs which improve symptoms “within hours”, the NHS has said. The health service has procured nearly five million doses of Pfizer’s Paxlovid and other antivirals, such as Molnupiravir, via a deal struck by the government. Paxlovid was found in trials to

People who contract the Omicron variant of COVID-19 are likely to experience less severe symptoms than those with Delta, a new study has found. The research concluded that those with Omicron were less likely to be admitted to hospital and lose their sense of smell than people with Delta. Symptoms do not tend to last

Murdered primary school teacher Sabina Nessa appeared “oblivious” to a garage worker running up behind her before he struck her 34 times over the head with a metal traffic triangle in a London park in September last year. The 28-year-old woman had raised concerns about walking in Cator Park after dark but likely decided to on the

An “evil” garage worker who attacked primary school teacher Sabina Nessa as she walked through a London park has been jailed for life. Koci Selamaj, 36, was told by a judge he will serve at least 36 years for the “savage” sexually motivated attack. His sentencing heard how Ms Nessa appeared “oblivious” as he ran

A security guard at the British embassy in Berlin suspected of spying for Russia has been extradited from Germany and will appear in a UK court on Thursday, police have said. David Smith, 57, was arrested by German police on 10 August last year and is accused of collecting information from the British embassy in

A major ambulance trust has declared a “critical incident” due to “extreme pressures” it’s facing on its services. South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS), which operates across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire, said its staff are continuing to “work extremely hard” to manage the situation. A critical incident is usually declared when an organisation’s services are