UK

Dame Kelly Holmes has announced she is gay, and says she has hidden it for 34 years. Speaking during Pride month, the two-time gold medallist said she realised she was gay at the age of 17 after kissing a fellow female soldier, and that her family and friends have known since 1997. The Olympic champion

Thousands of people have marched in central London demanding more action from the government over the rising cost of living. Beginning in Portland Place, they walked to Parliament Square for a rally organised by the TUC. Banners read “end fuel poverty, insulate homes now”, “nurses not nukes” and “cut war not welfare”. Songs including I

Britons cannot expect pay rises to keep up with the soaring cost of living, the government has warned. Treasury Chief Secretary Simon Clarke has said matching salaries to inflation risked causing prices in the shops to surge even higher. His intervention comes as more than 40,000 staff prepare for a three-day strike that will cripple

Boris Johnson has made a second surprise visit to Kyiv for a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after pulling out of a major red wall conference in Doncaster at the last minute. The prime minister was due to make a speech before Tory northern MPs, councillors and business leaders on Friday afternoon. Sky News’ deputy

An investigation is under way following the death of a passenger at Gatwick Airport. EasyJet confirmed the death in a statement, adding members of its cabin crew gave medical assistance to the unnamed passenger while waiting for help from paramedics. The airline said: “A number of our cabin crew provided medical assistance to a passenger

Young gymnasts were starved and made to hang from the rings in punishment as part of an abusive culture in British Gymnastics, according to a damning new report. The Whyte Review, which examined over 400 complaints, uncovered an “unacceptable culture” that has left countless young people humiliated, shamed and permanently psychologically or physically damaged by

Plans to ban “no-fault” evictions and to make it easier for tenants to keep pets will be unveiled as part of the government’s new deal for private renters published later. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is set to publish its Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper, which it describes as “the biggest

An asylum seeker who was due on the UK’s first deportation flight to Rwanda has claimed he was hit, kicked and pushed by security officers while he was held in detention. Zahir, whose name has been changed, fled Iraq two months ago and arrived in the UK in March, before being told he would be

A man has had a bid against his deportation to Rwanda on a government flight tonight rejected by the Supreme Court. A panel of three justices refused permission to the man to challenge the Court of Appeal’s ruling on Monday, which upheld the earlier decision of a High Court judge not to grant an injunction

Legislation which will override the Northern Ireland Protocol section of the post-Brexit deal that the UK agreed with the EU does not breach international law, the government has insisted. But the controversial bill, which has just been published, has been heavily criticised by senior EU figures. The bill to amend the protocol unilaterally will allow

On 14 June 2017, a small flat fire spread rapidly up a west London tower block and engulfed the building in a raging inferno. The Grenfell Tower fire left 72 people dead in what is remembered as one of the worst tragedies in the history of modern Britain. Feelings of despair turned into anger in

The man behind a major review of the UK’s food system has criticised the government’s vision for the industry, saying it is “not a strategy”. A draft of the government’s food strategy leaked last week ignored a number of recommendations from Leon founder Henry Dimbleby, including a salt and sugar tax, and government action on

A former British soldier has died fighting Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, his family have said. Jordan Gatley left the British Army in March and flew to Ukraine soon after to help fend off Russian forces and train Ukrainian soldiers. Announcing the news on Facebook, his father Dean wrote: “Yesterday (10/06/22) we

A 15-year-old boy has been hailed a “hero” by his family after he died amid reports he tried to step in and save his mother during a stabbing at a house. Jakub Szymanski was taken to hospital with stab wounds but later died after officers were called to an address in the Miles Platting area

The family of a British man sentenced to death by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine have said they are “devastated and saddened” at the outcome of the “illegal show-trial”. Shaun Pinner was captured in Mariupol in April alongside fellow Brit Aiden Aslin during the intense fight for control of the port city. The pair were found

He’s the famed ex-detective who caught Milly Dowler’s murderer and the Night Stalker rapist, one of Britain’s most depraved sex attackers. Now Colin Sutton has turned his attention to a controversial murder case that led to two secret trials and claims of a miscarriage of justice. The former senior Met Police officer was involved in

COVID cases have risen for the first time in two months, according to the latest figures. The spike is likely to be caused by increases in cases compatible with the original Omicron variant BA.1 and the newer variants BA.4 and BA.5, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. A total of 989,800 people in private

The High Court will today hear arguments over whether or not to grant a last-minute injunction stopping next week’s planned first flight of asylum seekers to Rwanda. Two campaign groups – Detention Action and Care4Calais – are joining the PCS Union and four individual asylum seekers to bring the legal action. The Home Office has

Two Britons who were captured by Russian forces while fighting in Ukraine have been sentenced to death, state-owned Russian news agency RIA Novosti has said. Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, were captured in Mariupol in April during the intense fight for control of the port city, before appearing in court in the separatist

The files needed to print a gun are not buried on the dark web. They can be downloaded in as little as three clicks from mainstream social media sites such as YouTube. 3D-printed gun technology has rapidly advanced in recent years – with a range of printable semi-automatic rifles, carbines and pistols available. Those who