UK

An emotional Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he never wants to pick up the phone “to find a friend has been murdered” – as he defended his actions in the Commons on Wednesday. The Commons Speaker is facing a backlash for allowing a vote on a Labour amendment to an SNP motion calling for an immediate

Police chiefs are calling for new powers to allow officers to instantly disqualify drink or drug-drivers at the side of the road. They say the new powers would allow police to take drivers who pose a risk to others off the road “immediately”. Currently, drivers charged with drug or drink-driving offences are banned following a

The King says he has been “reduced to tears” by the “many wonderful messages and cards” he has received since his cancer diagnosis. The monarch, 75, was speaking with Rishi Sunak in his first face-to-face audience with the PM since Buckingham Palace announced he had a “form of cancer”. “I’ve had so many wonderful messages

The father of a baby whose birth certificate was allegedly defaced to remove reference to Israel has told Sky News his daughter did nothing wrong and being Jewish in the UK is “very hard”. Israel, the father of five-month-old baby Ronnie – whose certificate was allegedly altered – said the incident needed to be registered

Patients and their families can request a rapid second opinion from April if they are worried about a condition getting worse, as the NHS rolls out Martha’s Rule in England. The escalation process will instigate an urgent review by a different critical care team in the hospital and will be available 24/7. It can be

A woman fleeced by conman Mark Acklom has lost a battle for compensation from the High Street bank he used to steal all her money. Carolyn Woods had argued that because a Barclays staff member and a former employee were arrested during the police investigation on suspicion of conspiracy, though they were not charged, the

Wealthy aristocrat Constance Marten told police she “debated” whether to cremate her baby girl with a “bottle of petroleum”, a court has heard. The 36-year-old and her partner Mark Gordon, 49, are on trial at the Old Bailey in London accused of the manslaughter of their daughter, Victoria. The court had previously been told the

A search operation is under way after a two-year-old boy fell into the River Soar in Leicester on Sunday evening. Emergency services attended the scene in Aylestone Meadows, close to Marsden Lane, just after 5pm. The child was with his family when the incident occurred but was not located “despite the best efforts of those

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after three children were found dead at a property in Bristol. Police were called to Blaise Walk in the Sea Mills area of the city at 12.40am on Sunday after receiving a “concern for welfare call”. Three “young children” who were found inside the property were

One person has been arrested in the lead-up to a pro-Palestinian march in central London. The arrest was made on suspicion of support for a proscribed organisation in relation to a placard ahead of the start of the march, the Met Police said. Between 200,000 and 250,000 people are expected to gather for the demonstration

Millions of Britons face a weekend washout with a yellow alert in place for heavy rain in large parts of England and Wales, and flood warnings issued. The Met Office has said the rainfall is set to make its way eastwards from the Atlantic, and move across the UK from Saturday afternoon into Sunday. Its

A 16-year-old boy killed in a stabbing in Bristol has been named by police. Avon and Somerset Police say they believe the teenager who died on Wednesday was Darrien Williams. He was attacked in Rawnsley Park in the Easton area of the city by two people wearing masks who left the scene on bicycles. Darrien

Migrants have been found in the back of a lorry at Newhaven ferry port in East Sussex. Six people have been taken to hospital and police have arrested two others. Border Force officials and paramedics are at the scene. South East Coast Ambulance said it was called at 9.40am, with a statement adding: “A range

Labour has gained Wellingborough from the Conservatives, another big by-election victory for Sir Keir Starmer’s party. Labour’s Gen Kitchen won 13,844 votes, while Tory candidate Helen Harrison polled 7,408, giving her a majority of 6,436. Labour wins by-election double header – live updates Ms Harrison is the partner of ousted MP Peter Bone, who had

A four-month-old baby has died after a collision between a van and a taxi in Leeds. A Vauxhall Vivaro van was involved in a head-on crash with a Toyota Auris at about 4.55pm on Monday afternoon. The child suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to hospital, but passed away on Wednesday. Two women in the

There was always a “huge sense of relief” for Gill Williams when she found a body. Working as a police diver, the most difficult part of her job was the long, tiring searches – her mind playing tricks as she felt her way forward in the cold, dark water, waiting to touch a limb. During

A mechanic who helped run one of the dark web’s biggest child sex abuse websites has been jailed for 16 years after he was convicted under organised crime laws in the first case of its kind. Nathan Bake, a 28-year-old tyre fitter from Runcorn, Cheshire, was the head moderator and second in command of The

Shoplifting has hit a record high with 16.7 million incidents recorded last year – more than double compared to 2022. The spate cost retailers around £1.8bn, a record sum, and the first time it has surpassed the £1bn mark, according to an annual survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Violence and abuse against shop

There have been calls for another Labour party parliamentary candidate to be barred from standing for election after he allegedly referred to “f***ing Israel” at a meeting of activists. Graham Jones, the former Labour MP for Hyndburn who lost his seat in 2019 and is seeking to stand again, is alleged to have said that

The sacking of Azhar Ali as Labour’s candidate in the Rochdale by-election is the biggest disaster for Sir Keir Starmer in his nearly four years as leader of the party. There will now be an almighty inquest into how a candidate who had made such comments about Israel and Gaza was selected for such a