UK

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam has warned of a “potentially problematic” Christmas due to COVID-19 and said he thinks there will be “hard months to come”. England’s deputy chief medical officer said the UK is at “half-time in extra time” in tackling coronavirus. “I think the final whistle in terms of – I can’t predict it –

Three people who died after getting into trouble while paddleboarding on a river in Wales have been identified by police as tributes have been paid by friends and family. Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed that the victims of the incident on the Cleddau River at the weekend were Morgan Rogers, 24, from Cefin Coed, Merthyr Tydfil; Nicola

Two Metropolitan Police officers have pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office after sharing photos of the bodies of two murdered sisters on WhatsApp. PC Deniz Jaffer 47, and PC Jamie Lewis, 33, appeared before Judge Mark Lucraft at the Old Bailey on Tuesday morning charged with committing misconduct in a public office between

The rollout of smart motorways should be suspended amid safety concerns, MPs and campaigners have said. Government plans to remove the hard shoulder from all future smart motorways and use the lane for live traffic are “premature”, a report from Commons Transport Select Committee (TSC) has said. Demonstrators carried 38 cardboard coffins to the Houses

Daylight images show the scene of a crash between two trains in Salisbury which left several people in hospital – as passengers described the “scary” experience of being thrown from their seats and seeing “flames”. The rear carriage of the 17:08 Great Western Railway service from Portsmouth Harbour to Bristol Temple Meads derailed after hitting

Two trains have crashed near Salisbury station and emergency services are at the scene, Wiltshire Police have said. No one has died, but a number of people have been injured, British Transport Police said. Its officers were called to Fisherton Tunnel at 6.46pm on Sunday. There are unconfirmed reports that one of the train drivers

A man and two women have died and another woman is fighting for her life after a group of paddleboarders got into difficulties on a river in Wales, police have confirmed. Emergency services first received reports of people in distress in the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest shortly after 9am on Saturday. A huge search and

A search and rescue operation launched after a group got into “distress” on a river in Wales has been stood down. Speaking on Saturday evening, DCI Jonathan Rees of Dyfed-Powys Police said everyone in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, had been accounted for. He said the priority was to ensure that all those involved, and their families, had

Boris Johnson has warned that success in the fight to tackle global warming “is going to very difficult” but “the whole of humanity is in the ring.” Imploring world leaders to act as the G20 summit begins in Rome on Saturday, the prime minister told Sky News’ Beth Rigby there is “a chance, if everybody

Prince Andrew’s lawyers in the US have asked a judge to dismiss his accuser Virginia Giuffre’s civil lawsuit. Ms Giuffre has accused the Duke of York of sexually abusing her when she was 17, more than 20 years ago. In court filings, the duke said he “unequivocally denies” sexually abusing or assaulting her. His request

The government is accelerating contingency plans for the collapse of Bulb, Britain’s seventh-biggest domestic energy supplier – a demise that would mark by far the biggest insolvency of the crisis engulfing the sector. Sky News has learnt that ministers and officials, along with the industry regulator Ofgem, believe that Bulb – which has around 1.7

The UK has summoned the French ambassador after a British scallop trawler was detained – as a row over fishing rights continues to escalate. A government spokesman condemned “unjustified” threats from France over further action amid the ongoing dispute. Brexit minister Lord Frost chaired a meeting on Thursday to consider London’s response. “The proposed French

Glasgow has been hit by flooding just days before the city hosts the crucial climate change summit COP26. Footage and pictures on social media shows cars driving through flood water in some streets as heavy rain lashes the city and causes disruption to transport. Some Glasgow residents have tweeted that several roads including Maryhill Road,

A teenager who butchered two sisters after believing he had made a chilling pact with a demon has been jailed for at least 35 years. Danyal Hussein, 19, has never explained his motive, but at his home detectives found a hand-written “contract” with “the mighty king Lucifuge Rofocale” in which he promised to sacrifice women

Here are the key points from Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget speech: • The chancellor says there are “challenging” months ahead, adding that inflation in September was 3.1% and is likely to rise further – the OBR expect it to average 4% over the next year • Pressures caused by supply chains and energy crisis will

The government has U-turned by deciding to put legal controls on water firms dumping raw sewage in the sea and rivers across the country despite recently forcing Tory MPs to vote down similar proposals. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced on Tuesday that the Environment Bill “will be further strengthened with

A former Conservative minister should be suspended from the Commons for lobbying on behalf of two companies, a standards body has ruled. Owen Paterson was found to have “repeatedly used his privileged position” to benefit Randox, a clinical diagnostics company, and Lynn’s Country Foods, a meat processor and distributor and has been recommended for suspension

Another injunction has been granted against Insulate Britain protesters, the transport secretary has said, covering the “entire strategic road network”. “We are making use of every avenue of existing law to try to prevent the continued life-endangering action being carried out by Insulate Britain, which is causing intolerable disruption to motorists’ lives and livelihoods,” Grant

Two million eligible people will be invited to receive a COVID-19 booster jab from the NHS this week, as the government seeks to see off a sharp rise in cases without introducing Plan B measures. Calls for the reintroduction of masks, social distancing and working from home continued over the weekend, but ministers have so

Insulate Britain has pledged to restart its road-blocking protests despite legal injunctions which mean its members risk being fined or jailed. Earlier this month the organisation announced it was temporarily suspending its “campaign of civil resistance” which had caused chaos by blocking major roads around London. But a spokesman said that “there are things happening”