UK

No cases of the new COVID variant have been detected in the UK, but it is highly likely it has now spread beyond southern Africa, the health secretary has said. Sajid Javid warned the new strain could be more transmissible than the Delta variant and there is a “possibility it might have a different impact

Britain is bringing in travel restrictions for six African countries due to a new COVID variant that UK experts have called the “worst one we’ve seen so far”. Health Secretary Sajid Javid tweeted: “UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) is investigating a new variant. More data is needed but we’re taking precautions now. “Six African countries

The number of COVID cases the UK has seen since the start of the pandemic has passed 10 million, official figures show. According to government data, the number of people to have tested positive in the latest round of daily figures is 47,240. This takes the total number of coronavirus infections to 10,021,497. The data

An alleged victim of a Hull grooming gang has told how she was bitten, beaten and burned during a violent rape – and that police and her school had concerns she was being abused but failed to stop it. Warning: This article includes graphic content The teenage girl’s mother was so worried after her daughter

Two police officers who shared photos on WhatsApp of the bodies of two murdered sisters have been found guilty of gross misconduct. PC Jamie Lewis and PC Deniz Jaffer had admitted sharing images of the bodies of Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27. Lewis was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police at the pair’s misconduct

Those who kill emergency service members will face mandatory life sentences after the government decided to back a law change prompted by the death of PC Andrew Harper. The government will introduce “Harper’s law” as soon as possible, to bring in mandatory life sentences for those who kill an emergency worker in the line of

Scotland will not be expanding vaccine passports to pubs, cinemas and theatres, Nicola Sturgeon has announced. There had been speculation that the scheme would be extended but today the first minister told MSPs “we have decided not to extend the scope of the scheme”. She said the Scottish government had taken into account the situation

The UK could be hit by a wetter-than-normal winter with households urged to be prepared for the risk of flooding. A Met Office outlook predicts plenty of rain over the next three months, with the wetter conditions most likely in January and February next year. The Environment Agency is urging people to check their flood

Child killer Colin Pitchfork was arrested and recalled to prison after approaching young women in the street, it has emerged. Pitchfork was jailed for life after raping and strangling 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in Leicestershire in 1983 and 1986. His 30-year minimum term was cut by two years in 2009, he was moved

Shamima Begum, the Bethnal Green schoolgirl who fled to Syria and joined IS, has told Sky News she was groomed by friends and older men she met online before joining the terror group. Speaking from a prison camp in Syria, Begum said she wanted to go on trial in the UK and invited British officials

The taxi driver who survived the Liverpool terror attack has said it is a “miracle that I’m alive” in his first statement since the explosion on Remembrance Sunday. David Perry and his wife Rachel have thanked the public for their “amazing generosity” in the wake of the attack outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital one week ago.

People aged above 40 are being urged to get a booster jab to help keep their family and friends safe during the Christmas period, amid a rise in cases in Europe. The National Booking service will now be open to people who are aged 40-49 for their booster jab, as well as young people aged

Spiking coronavirus infections across Europe show the “critical” need for people in the UK get vaccinated, a government scientific adviser has told Sky News. Soaring cases on the continent underlined “how quickly things can go wrong”, said Professor John Edmunds, who pointed out there were still “many millions” across Britain, who were still not fully

The chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board has said he has no intention of stepping down, as the game grapples with a racism scandal. Tom Harrison said he was still “motivated to lead” the clubs through the crisis, following a meeting aimed at addressing the issue which has engulfed the sport in

London is on track for the worst year of teenage murders on record. “The people who are in the gangs don’t seem to have any care for life in the way the general public do. They just don’t care,” says PC Jim Hare. He is part of a Metropolitan Police unit specifically tasked with targeting

Cricket’s 18 first-class counties will meet with representatives from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today to discuss equality, diversity, and inclusion within the sport. Teams are being asked to sign up to a 12-point action plan after former cricketer Azeem Rafiq gave evidence on Tuesday about the racism he experienced when playing for

A variant of the Delta virus that is more infectious, but is less likely to cause symptoms, now accounts for more than one in 10 COVID cases in England, new research shows. The latest results from the long-running REACT-1 study shows the prevalence of the AY.4.2 variant has been growing at a rate of 2.8%

The Queen has been seen standing and smiling at Windsor Castle after missing the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph. The Queen held a face-to-face audience with General Sir Nick Carter, the chief of the defence staff, as he prepares to step down from his role as the armed forces chief at the end of

People with mental health issues are being “failed” across the entire criminal justice system as their needs are being missed, according to a major inspection. The report, which has been conducted by six regulatory bodies, says that “thousands of people” with mental health issues are having their needs missed by police forces, prosecutors, prisons and

A man who stabbed people at random, killing one and seriously injuring seven others, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years. Zephaniah McLeod carried out the series of attacks in the early hours of 6 September last year, as people were enjoying a night out in Birmingham City