UK

Delays in the court system are leading to survivors of sexual violence experiencing suicidal thoughts and being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, a new report has found. The Criminal Bar Association says the backlog of criminal cases is on track to reach 80,000 by March 2025. Survivors of rape and sexual violence are among those

Parliament Road in Middlesbrough feels a world away from the establishment it shares a name with, but for one Sunday in August, the terraced streets of central Middlesbrough were at the centre of national attention. That afternoon, what was advertised as a peaceful protest, turned into a riot, with hundreds of people, many of them

Russia is trying to create “mayhem” on the UK’s streets, the head of the MI5 has warned – as he revealed a growing number of children are being investigated for terrorism. In a wide-ranging speech, the organisation’s director general Ken McCallum said the UK faces an increased threat from “Putin’s henchmen” as “plot after plot”

In a church hall in Hull, groups of asylum seekers queue for tea and toast and advice from immigration experts. The room is busy, the busiest it’s been since the riots. The volunteers who run the weekly event say many people were initially too scared to come out following the violence. As in other towns

Former Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick has been charged with eight sexual offences against two women. The 49-year-old faces five counts of indecent assault against one woman. Hertfordshire Police also charged him with two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of coercive and controlling behaviour against another woman. Detective Chief

The Metropolitan Police have asked for the public’s help in identifying several people at yesterday’s Middle East protests in central London. In a statement, the force said: “A number of further potential offences have come to light on social media and we’re now appealing for the public’s help to identify those involved. “The crowds at

Sue Gray has resigned from her position as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Number 10 has announced. Ms Gray has instead been appointed as the prime minister’s envoy for nations and regions. Morgan McSweeney, the party’s former campaign director who masterminded July’s election landslide, will replace her as the prime minister’s chief of staff.

A blood test that could detect 12 cancers is being developed by scientists at a British university, the health secretary has said. “Just a couple of drops of blood could tell you if you had lung, breast or bladder cancer, helping end months-long waits for tests and scans,” Wes Streeting added. Academics from the University

A child is among “several” migrants who have died while attempting to cross the English Channel, according to a French minister. The country’s interior minister Bruno Retailleau said the child was “trampled to death” on a boat. “Several people died trying to cross the Channel. A child was trampled to death in a boat,” he

A woman died from a heart attack after she was raped by a stranger while unconscious on a park bench, a court has been told. Warning: This article contains details readers may find distressing Natalie Shotter, 37, had been on a night out before she was sexually assaulted and killed on a park bench in

A Metropolitan Police officer has been charged over the death of a woman who was hit by a motorcycle escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh through London. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had authorised a charge of causing death by careless driving against 67-year-old Christopher Harrison. Helen Holland, 81, suffered serious injuries in the

Residents who escaped a fire in a “deathtrap” block of flats have told Sky News they feel abandoned after both the management firm and owner of the building have failed to meet them. The response has been branded “woeful” by the local council – who have had to pay £500,000 to support residents who have

The UK will hand over sovereignty of the remote Chagos Islands to Mauritius after a decades-long dispute. The deal to transfer the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, home to a military base used by the UK and the US that plays a crucial role in the region’s stability

Police Scotland considered recording notorious double rapist Isla Bryson as a female on the sex offenders’ register, Sky News can reveal. Bryson, who changed gender while waiting to stand trial, was last year jailed for eight years for raping two women in West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow while known as Adam Graham. Scottish Prison Service (SPS)

A police marksman may have been “angry, frustrated and annoyed” when he shot Chris Kaba dead after he tried to escape, a court has heard. Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial at the Old Bailey, where he denies murdering the 24-year-old in Streatham, south London. Mr Kaba was sat in the driver’s seat of an

The father of a six-year-old girl who was operated on by former surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar multiple times over 15 months is among the first to be told she suffered harm during her care. Dean Stalham’s daughter Bunty was born with the rare bone condition neurofibromatosis. It means she has been in and out of

Princess Beatrice has revealed she is expecting her second child. The 36-year-old princess, the late Queen’s granddaughter, and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40, are expected to welcome their new baby in early spring. The couple have a three-year-old daughter named Sienna and Mr Maplli Mozzi has an eight-year-old son named Wolfie. Image: Mr Mapelli

“If it gets much colder, I am thinking of doing something, just to go back to prison,” says Leon Lear, 43, as he sits next to the remnants of his failed fire on the edge of a playground in Bridgend, South Wales. The wood was too damp to burn; the only ash is from cardboard

A lawyer representing people affected by a “second Post Office IT scandal” has said they “must not” have “a long, hard battle ahead for exoneration and compensation”. A report today found it is “a reasonable likelihood” that Capture software “created shortfalls” for sub-postmasters prior to the Horizon scandal. The system, which was the predecessor to

Thousands of staff who risked their lives working in hospitals during the pandemic still haven’t been given the COVID bonus awarded to NHS staff last year. Generally, it is lower-paid staff who have missed out, and campaigners say a high proportion are female and from ethnic minorities. Sky News has surveyed outsourcing companies which employ