UK

The Foreign Office has been accused of “washing its hands” of a British man detained in Saudi Arabia since February. Crispin Blunt MP told Sky News that the Foreign Office appeared to have a “regional policy of doing nothing to support the position of UK citizens” including his constituent Christopher Emms. Emms was arrested in

England’s Lionesses are celebrating after they thrashed Sweden 4-0 to book their place in the women’s Euro 2022 final at Wembley. Sarina Wiegman’s side won their semi-final in impressive style and will now face either Germany or France who play on Wednesday in Milton Keynes. There was elation in London’s Trafalgar Square where big screens

The blue on blue attacks have ramped up after Rishi Sunak was accused of “mansplaining” to Liz Truss during their first head-to-head TV debate. Mr Sunak spoke over Ms Truss several times as she attempted to explain her tax-cutting policies to the BBC audience of Tory members. This prompted accusations of “mansplaining” – when a

Droughts have been declared across swathes of England as the result of the driest summer in 50 years. On Friday, the Environment Agency (EA) announced that drought trigger thresholds have been met in eight parts of England – across southwest, southern, eastern and central England. As part of their announcement, officials warned that during the

Swathes of England may face drought as soon as August if the hot and dry weather persists, the Environment Agency has confirmed. A dry spring and early summer have already withered rivers and reservoirs and watered down water quality in many parts of England, pushing most of the country into “prolonged dry weather” status, the

A damning review of Scottish cricket has found that its governing body failed on almost all tests of institutional racism. Sky News revealed on Saturday that the independent review found the sport in Scotland to be institutionally racist. Independent investigators have now published the details of their findings. They found 448 indicators of institutional racism.

Fires in Surrey and London are largely under control, after crews were sent out to battle earlier “weather-related” blazes. In Surrey, a fire at Hankley Common near Farnham had drawn “several fire engines” to the area, and had earlier been described as a “major incident”. The fire service tweeted: “There is a great deal of

Holidaymakers have travelled overnight to reach the Kent coast as they enter a third day of traffic chaos, despite the Port of Dover clearing its weekend backlog. Border and ferry staff worked “through the night” to clear “huge volumes of tourist and freight traffic”, so that services at Dover were finally able to “get back

A housing group said it is “devastated” and “sorry for our part” in failing to realise one of its tenants had been left dead in her flat for two and a half years. Sheila Seleoane, 58, was last heard from in August 2019, the last month she made a rent payment. When police forced their

British holidaymakers have been warned to allow several hours to get through the Channel border at Dover and Folkestone, as the UK and France continue to argue over who is to blame for the gridlock. A Port of Dover spokesman said on Saturday morning there is still a “long way to go” to clear the

The UK economy is facing a labour crisis that is affecting every sector of the economy, from agriculture to airlines, and hospitality to hi-tech industries. At its heart is a shortage of people to do the jobs required to help the economy recover and grow after the pandemic, the product of a unique combination of

Holidaymakers are stuck in long queues heading into the Port of Dover – with French immigration being blamed for causing a “critical incident”. Delays are “in excess of four hours”, P&O Ferries said, adding: “Please arrive prepared for a prolonged wait. Carry snacks and additional water with you.” It added that anyone travelling today should

Rishi Sunak says he flew back from a government trip last December to stop the country going into a new Covid lockdown. The former chancellor and Tory leadership candidate told LBC that the UK was “hours away from a press conference” announcing the measures due to the spread of the Omicron variant. But he said

The BBC has agreed to pay “substantial” damages to William and Harry’s former nanny over “false and malicious” claims that she had an affair with Prince Charles and terminated a pregnancy – allegations made by the disgraced journalist Martin Bashir. Last year, a report found Mr Bashir “deceived and induced” Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer,

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will go head-to-head to become the next leader of the Conservative Party – and prime minister of the UK – after Penny Mordaunt became the latest candidate to be knocked out of the contest. In the fifth and final round of voting by Tory MPs, the leadership contenders received the

Nearly 20 houses were destroyed by grass fires in Wennington on Tuesday as the UK sweltered in its hottest day on record – as the public is warned the “danger isn’t over” and the heat still “poses risks of new fires sparking off”. Local councillor Ray Morgon told Sky News he believes around 18 to

Firefighters tackling blazes which have ripped through homes and buildings in London have described the conditions as “absolute hell” on what is the UK’s hottest day on record. Residents were evacuated, people were taken to hospital and a major incident was declared by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) which was “under immense pressure” after a

The UK is braced for temperatures as high as 41C today with increased travel chaos – after night-time record temperatures of 26C were provisionally reported in parts of West Yorkshire and London. The Met Office has also provisionally reported last night was the warmest on record after temperatures didn’t fall below 25C (77F) in places.

Britons are bracing themselves for extreme disruption, as forecasters predict possible temperatures of more than 40C (104F) in parts of the country this week. Amid warnings that lives are at risk, a national emergency has been declared by the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office has issued its first-ever red warning for extreme

Britons have been urged to stay inside as the UK braces for “ferocious” temperatures breaching 40C, and swathes of the country are now covered in the first ever red warning for extreme heat. A national emergency has been declared amid the threat of severe disruption as schools close, hospitals cancel appointments and events are scrapped.