UK

The Queen will not be attending tomorrow’s State Opening of Parliament for the first time in 59 years, Buckingham Palace has said. The Prince of Wales will read the Queen’s Speech on her behalf, with the Duke of Cambridge also in attendance. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen continues to experience episodic mobility

The royals will visit all parts of the UK over the bank holiday Jubilee weekend, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Wales, Buckingham Palace has announced. The Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit Northern Ireland and the Princess Royal will be in Scotland. All will attend public events marking the platinum anniversary.

Labour’s Lisa Nandy has defended “Mr Rules” Sir Keir Starmer and said it was “not illegal to eat” after latest claims about alleged COVID rule breaking by the party leader. Sir Keir has said he was working and stopped to eat when he was filmed having a beer in a room in Durham in April

Sinn Fein is to become the first nationalist party to take control of the Northern Ireland Assembly in its 101-year history. The party has 27 seats, pushing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has 24 into second place. The most seats the DUP can return with is 25 and Michelle O’Neill is now set to

A treasure trove of footage of the Queen taken from her personal film archive is to be shown for the first time, including clips of the young princess showing off her engagement ring months before the announcement was made public. The monarch granted documentary-makers unprecedented access to hundreds of home recordings filmed by her, her

Tory MPs are assessing the fall-out after a “tough night” for Boris Johnson in his first test at the ballot box since being fined for breaking lockdown rules. The Conservatives lost nearly 500 seats in England, Wales, and Scotland in Thursday’s council elections, with partygate and the cost of living crisis cited by local leaders

The Conservatives face losing their Commons majority if local election results are replicated at a general election, according to a Sky News projection. Analysis suggests that it would mean a hung parliament with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Tories remaining the largest party at Westminster but falling 48 seats short of an overall majority. The projection

The Conservatives have lost former leader Margaret Thatcher’s ‘favourite council’ Wandsworth to Labour in a significant boost for Sir Keir Starmer’s party. The south London council had been held by the Conservatives for more than forty years, turning blue in 1978 just before Mrs Thatcher’s election as prime minister. A Labour source said: “Boris Johnson

Polls have closed for local elections that represent Boris Johnson’s first test at the ballot box since he was fined for breaking lockdown rules. Voting has been taking place for councils in some parts of England, with more than 4,000 seats up for grabs, as well as across the whole of Scotland and Wales, each

The Queen will not attend this year’s annual garden parties and will be represented by other family members, Buckingham Palace has said. It said “details on attendance will be confirmed in due course”. Every summer, up to three garden parties take place at Buckingham Palace, as well as one at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in

A man has been convicted of murdering his two-year-old son by shooting him repeatedly in the head with an air gun, before stabbing and smothering him. Lukasz Czapla killed his son, Julius, after discovering the child’s mother was in a new relationship. He was given a life sentence and will serve at least 23 years

Shop prices increased at their fastest rate in more than a decade last month, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said. Retail prices went up from 2.1% in March to 2.7% in April, according to the BRC-NielsenIQ price index. This was the highest annual rate of inflation it recorded since September 2011. The figures will

Patients who overcome severe COVID infections suffer the same cognitive impairment that people generally go through between the ages of 50 and 70, a new study has found. This is the equivalent of losing 10 IQ points say the team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. Their findings suggest that

The parents of Madeleine McCann have used a quotation from the Winnie the Pooh children’s stories to illustrate their thoughts on the 15th anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance. The caption, to a drawing of Pooh and his friend Piglet, posted on the Find Madeleine website reads: “But the most important thing is, even if we’re

Boris Johnson will address the Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday, becoming the first world leader to do so since the outbreak of war in February. In a recorded address, the prime minister will praise Ukraine’s resistance against tyranny and announce a new £300m package of military aid to support the country’s ongoing defence against Russia. In

More than 200 people arrived in Dover on Sunday after an apparent 11-day pause in Channel crossings, it has been reported. The figure takes this year’s total for small boat crossings to at least 6,693 according to the PA news agency – more than three times the count of 2,004 at this time last year,

Mother-of two Katie Kenyon died of head injuries, police have said, as they confirmed a body discovered in the Forest of Bowland is hers. The 33-year-old from Padiham, Burnley, was found on Friday following “extensive searches”, Lancashire Constabulary said, and has now been formally identified. She was last seen at about 9.30am on Friday 22

A woman who says she was branded a witch as a child and accused of giving her mother cancer fears the faith leader behind the claims is still operating in the UK today. Phoenix Faith told Sky News she was starved, beaten and subjected to an exorcism where her head was shaved after attending a

An MP has said he will resign after admitting to watching pornography in the House of Commons. The 65-year-old farmer said he watched adult material twice in Parliament, claiming the first time was accidental after looking at tractors online but that the second was “a moment of madness”. The select committee chairman had initially vowed

The Metropolitan Police is seeking another appeal against a High Court ruling, which found the force breached the rights of organisers at a vigil held for Sarah Everard last year. The bid marks the forces’ second attempt to overturn the ruling after judges refused to give it permission to appeal its decision earlier this month.