UK

Police investigating the killing of 87-year-old Thomas O’Halloran who was stabbed to death have released pictures of a man seen running from the scene armed with a knife. Detectives have issued images of a man they are keen to identify as a matter of urgency following the killing of Mr O’Halloran, who had been riding a

A total of 11 government whips have announced they are backing Liz Truss’s campaign to become the next Conservative leader in the latest blow for rival Rishi Sunak. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, herself a supporter of the foreign secretary, revealed the move in a graphic posted on social media on Tuesday morning. The

Thunderstorms and heavy rain are predicted across England and Wales on Tuesday with muggy conditions amid warnings over flash flooding and disruption. The Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for most of the UK on Tuesday as conditions could also cause transport disruption and power cuts in areas hit by heavy rain. Hail,

The government has agreed to offer £100,000 in compensation to victims of the infected blood scandal. It comes after decades of campaigning and government denial of responsibility. The announcement has had a mixed reception, because while survivors will now get long-overdue help and recognition, many others have already died and, apart from spouses, relatives of

Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour’s plan to deal with the “national emergency” of spiralling energy costs is “robust” and a “real answer” to soaring household bills. Speaking to broadcasters in Exeter on Monday, the Labour leader said his “radical” plan “will take us through the winter” and accused the government of “saying absolutely nothing”.

The UK is braced for several days of thunderstorms after a hot weekend which saw parts of the country grapple with wildfires – but the change in weather is likely to bring more danger rather than relief, meteorologists have warned. A lack of rain and high temperatures have caused drought conditions which have turned much

A teenage boy has died after going into the sea in Skegness, Lincolnshire. Police described him as “a child under the age of 16”, saying that he was in the water at around 6.15pm on Saturday. A search was carried out by officers and the coastguard, with the boy’s body found at around 11.30pm. No

The stabbing of author Sir Salman Rushdie has shocked and horrified fellow writers and world leaders, with many praising him as a defender of free speech. The 75-year-old remains on a ventilator after being airlifted to hospital and undergoing hours of surgery following the attack in New York state. And while messages of support have

Droughts have been declared in parts of southwest, southern and central England and all of eastern England as high temperatures continue to fry the country. The affected areas are: • Devon and Cornwall• Solent and South Downs• Kent and South London• Herts and North London• East Anglia• Thames• Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire• East Midlands The announcement

Droughts could be declared in “quite a few regions” of the country tomorrow, a source from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has told Sky News. The news contradicts earlier suggestions that a drought would only be declared in the South West. The drought declaration is not expected to cover the whole country,

A drought is expected to be declared tomorrow in the South West, Sky News understands. It follows the start of a four-day amber heat warning, below normal levels in waterways, and England’s driest July since 1935 during which the temperature rose above 40C for the first time. The declaration means people living across the South

A man alleged to be the fourth member of the so-called “Beatles” Islamic State terror cell has been arrested in the UK. Aine Davis, 38, from Hammersmith, west London, was arrested on Wednesday evening after arriving at Luton airport on a flight from Turkey. He was detained in relation to offences under sections 15, 17

All children aged one to nine in London are to be offered a dose of the polio vaccine, after more of the virus was found in the city’s sewers. Vaccine-derived poliovirus has been detected in sewage in Barnet, Brent, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, and Waltham Forest. The virus has also been found in lower

Millions of UK homes are already in debt over their energy bills – with £1.3 billion owed, even before bills are set to soar by more than 80%. The overall debt bill is already three times higher than it was a year ago, according to analysts at Uswitch, and it seems likely it will grow

Energy bills are expected to rise even further this winter than previously forecast, according to the latest from energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. Bills are now expected to reach approximately £3,582 a year for the average household from October – up from the £3,359 predicted earlier this month. From January, the amount is expected to rise

NHS England says the number of people waiting two years or more for treatment has been dramatically reduced as part of its plan to address delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, waits of more than two years used to be so rare that the NHS did not start publishing statistics for them until April

Downing Street has rejected calls for Boris Johnson to summon an emergency COBRA meeting to deal with the cost of living crisis. Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, has called for Mr Johnson to meet with his two potential successors and thrash out a financial package of measures before energy bills soar in October.

Children are being strip-searched by the Metropolitan Police without an appropriate adult present in almost a quarter of cases, with black boys disproportionately targeted, new data shows. The research, published by the children’s commissioner for England, revealed that officers from the force conducted intrusive searches on 650 young people aged 10 to 17 between 2018

The next prime minister is facing calls to immediately increase Universal Credit payments to stop vulnerable people spiralling further into poverty when fuel bills increase again this winter. The poorest in society are suffering three major blows to their income in the year to October 2022, according to a report commissioned by former prime minister

Rail passengers are facing a fresh wave of disruption as train drivers from several companies have announced another strike over a long-running dispute about pay and working conditions. The 24-hour walkout on Saturday 13 August will coincide with a busy weekend of football, with Premier League games in Manchester, London, Birmingham and Brighton likely to