National News

Some nine million pensioners in England and Wales will receive the winter fuel payment this winter, the Chancellor has announced.

Union membership in councils run by Reform has increased since the party took control of local authorities after the May elections, new figures reveal.

Mark Rutte will say a “quantum leap” in collective security is needed as the Nato chief meets Sir Keir Starmer amid calls for Britain to raise defence spending levels to 5% of economic output.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the UK screen sector raises “significant legal, ethical, and practical challenges”

The Brit Awards are to be held in Manchester for the first time in the history of the ceremony, it has been announced.

The NHS needs one million regular blood donors to maintain its blood supply, officials have said.

The Prince of Wales called on world leaders to “think big” to save the ocean, as he gave a speech in Monaco after meeting French President Emmanuel Macron.

Israel’s defence minister has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said employers should be able to decide if their staff can wear burkas in the workplace.

Weight-loss jabs may have to be used for many years if the long-term benefits to patients and the NHS are to be realised, experts have said.

A council has been trying to find a teacher for a remote island primary school for more than six years, figures have suggested.

Sir David Attenborough has told the Prince of Wales he hopes his new film Ocean will galvanise society into action “before we destroy this great treasure”.

A senior union leader is to launch an attack against the “chancers and bankers” of Reform and say that the party is no friend of workers.

Research into drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries will receive new funding as part of an £86 billion package for science and technology set to be announced in next week’s spending review.

The Home Office plans to spend about £2.2 billion of foreign aid to support asylum seekers this financial year, according to new figures.

Thunderstorm warning issued as parts of England and Wales face weekend deluge

The NHS is expected to receive a funding boost of up to £30 billion in the spending review next week at the expense of other public services.

More than 1,200 Scots have applied for payments from a compensation scheme set up to help members of the military impacted by a ban on LGBT personnel serving in the forces.

Holidaymakers have been warned of the potential for strike action at Glasgow Airport over the summer as more than 800 workers from five companies are involved in pay disputes.

Well ‘Lord’s Prayer better recognised than national anthem, Churchill or Shakespeare’

Rayner faces Labour backbench call to ‘smash’ existing housebuilding model

David Lammy will seek to deepen UK-India economic ties as he visits New Delhi this weekend, saying Britain’s recently agreed trade deal with the country is “just the start of our ambitions”.

The body of a man has been discovered in the search for teenager Cole Cooper who vanished more than four weeks ago.

Tottenham sack Ange Postecoglou weeks after Europa League success

A BBC Bargain Hunt art expert who failed to report a series of high-value art sales to a man suspected of financing militant group Hezbollah has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Kemi Badenoch has insisted that the Conservatives are still the main opposition to Labour despite her party slumping to fourth in a Holyrood by-election this week.

A huge demonstration will be held on Saturday to “send a message” to the Government over spending cuts and welfare reform.

Badenoch ‘increasingly’ supportive of leaving ECHR, as she launches exit probe

Hundreds of thousands fewer patients will face long A and E waits, the Government has pledged, as it also set out plans to try and end “corridor care”.

The SNP were second with Reform UK in third

Six water companies banned from paying bonuses to senior bosses

Bin workers in Birmingham vote to continue strikes over pay and jobs

The chairman of Reform UK has quit, saying working to get the party elected was no longer “a good use of my time”.

Two teenagers have been sentenced for killing an 80-year-old dog walker who was racially abused, punched, kicked, and slapped in the face with a shoe while on his knees in a brutal park attack.

A brother and sister who were reunited with their primary school photo after it ended up in a charity shop more than 300 miles away said their story shows “the power of social media”.

Ministers are being urged to fulfil their “ethical and moral obligation” to provide pensions for police dogs when the animals retire.

The winner of an annual cheese rolling race in Gloucestershire has donated her prize to a food charity in London.

Rangers have confirmed the appointment of Russell Martin as the club’s new head coach.

The number of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) “probably isn’t increasing that much”, researchers have suggested, despite a “marked uptick” in people seeking assessment for the condition.

An Edinburgh arthouse cinema is set to reopen its doors later this month after a three-year campaign involving A-list stars saw it pulled “back fae the brink” of closure.

Britain must address soaring energy tariffs as firms struggle under the weight of crippling power bills on top of tax and wage hikes costing them an extra £24 billion a year, the boss of the CBI is set to warn.

Voting opens at 7am

A man allegedly murdered a 14-year-old boy with a Samurai sword in a “brutal string of attacks” that were indiscriminate, a court has heard.

Singer Beyonce is to bring her Cowboy Carter Tour to London for six performances at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

WH Smith has said it remains track to complete the sale of its UK high street chain to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital at the end of the month.

In Scotland's latest by-election, it's SNP vs Labour vs Reform UK

Rachel Reeves acknowledged she had been forced to reject calls for funding for “good” projects as she refused to loosen the rules governing her stewardship of the public finances.

More pensioners will receive the winter fuel allowance this winter – but payments will not be universal, the Government has said.

Searches for Madeleine McCann are to resume in Portugal, near where the little girl was last seen in 2007.

Rachel Reeves is set to tear up Treasury rules as she announces billions of pounds of investment in public transport in the North and Midlands.

Top universities have pledged more support for care leavers – including contextual admissions and bursaries – to get more disadvantaged young people into higher education.

Scotland has the best access to culture of any part of the UK, according to a survey, but statistics indicate a class divide still exists.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of breaking into the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Prison officers will be told to wear body armour in high-security prisons, the Government has announced, days after a staff member was seriously injured in a stabbing.

Search teams have been seen draining a well and clearing areas of dense vegetation near abandoned buildings as the latest search for Madeleine McCann continues in Portugal.

Former glamour model Jodie Marsh can keep lemurs at her Essex animal sanctuary, a judge has ruled.

The water sector is beset with “deep-rooted, systemic” failures, and needs fundamental reform of laws, regulation and infrastructure, a review has warned.

Thames Water said US private equity giant KKR has pulled out of plans to invest in the utility and it is now progressing talks with senior creditors for an alternative to stabilise its finances.

Ministers are being pressured to take urgent action over illegal so-called ghost number plates.

New searches by German police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are expected to begin in Portugal on Tuesday.

Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is set to meet US officials on Tuesday as the UK aims to set a timeline for its exemption from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Ryan Mason has left Tottenham to take over as West Brom head coach on a three-year deal.

The public has “every right to be angry” about small boats crossing the English Channel, Sir Keir Starmer said after more than a thousand migrants made the journey in a single day for the first time this year.

The number of people reported injured after a car drove into crowds at Liverpool’s victory parade has risen to more than 100, police have said.

Vodafone has completed its £15 billion mega-merger with Three UK in a deal creating a “new force in UK mobile”.

The UK manufacturing sector shrank again last month but may be “turning a corner”, according to new figures.

The UK must change its approach to defence in a changing world which is more unstable and insecure than before, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

A TV presenter and architect is to run a 10k race in his signature Crocs in memory of his late brother as he raises funds for a mental health charity.

It is 31 years to the day since the RAF aircraft crashed into the Mull of Kintyre, killing 25 British officers

More than a third of millennial investors bought stocks and shares in the market turmoil that followed US President Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs, a survey reveals.

Lando Norris lost ground in the championship race after McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri produced a flawless performance to win Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.

More than 1,100 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel on Saturday, the highest number recorded on a single day so far this year.

Manchester United have reached an agreement with Wolves to sign Matheus Cunha.

The Defence Secretary has called plans to boost the UK’s military might a “message to Moscow” but said he does not expect to raise the number of soldiers until the next parliament.

French authorities say two fans died and a police officer is in a coma after celebrations around the country for Paris-Saint Germain’s historic Champions League victory, European football’s biggest prize.

The Conservatives have called for some prison officers to have access to firearms to counter “out of control” Islamist gangs and violent prisoners.

Train drivers went on strike again on Sunday in a long-running dispute over the sacking of a colleague.

Magician Harry Moulding has been crowned the winner of Britain’s Got Talent 2025.

Paris St Germain are at long last European champions.

Ncuti Gatwa has left Doctor Who and said he “loved every minute of it” as he is seen regenerating into Billie Piper in the season finale.

A British man has been charged in the US with spying for China, officials in the US confirmed.

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged a wave of new investments to turn the armed forces into a “formidable, integrated fighting machine” as part of the Government’s defence review.

Paris St Germain were crowned kings of Europe for the first time with a thumping 5-0 Champions League final victory over Inter Milan in Munich.

Six migrant boats have left France in the first attempt to cross the English Channel and reach the UK in days.

A man has been arrested after a car collided with a number of pedestrians following a report of a fight, Leicestershire Police said.

John Swinney has said he is willing to debate Nigel Farage, following a challenge laid down to the Reform UK leader by Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar.

The waste crisis driven by disposable vapes could continue after a ban comes into force as cheap new models flood the market, campaigners have warned.

More than £1.5 billion in extra funding for military homes will be confirmed as part of the Government’s strategic defence review, the Ministry of Defence has said.

Aggie Beever-Jones plundered a hat-trick as England Women set up a winner-takes-all Nations League clash with World Cup winners Spain with a 6-0 demolition of Portugal.

One lucky ticket-holder could bag the biggest lottery win the UK has seen if they scoop the top prize in Tuesday’s record EuroMillions draw.

The 46-year-old will play Ray, an old contact of Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb), in the ITV soap, having previously played Matthew Rose in BBC soap EastEnders from 1997 to 2000.

For 11 years, she played the only senior female officer in the Vietnam-set comedy

President Donald Trump bid farewell to Elon Musk in the Oval Office on Friday, providing a cordial conclusion to a tumultuous tenure for the billionaire entrepreneur.

A man who was caught trying to steal jewels worth £190,000 from Claridge’s Hotel in Mayfair, using a sledgehammer and smoke grenades, has been jailed.

The Government has sold its remaining shares in NatWest and confirmed a £10.5 billion loss since the bank was rescued by UK taxpayers during the 2008 financial crisis.

A Rolls-Royce, a Blue Peter badge and a feather crown were among the official gifts given to the King during the first year of his reign.

The mother of a British man jailed in Egypt has been admitted to hospital after spending more than 240 days on hunger strike.

A Royal Navy frigate has seized drugs worth £30 million after stalking the drug-runner’s boat for more than 24 hours in the Arabian Sea after the illegal operations were spotted by the warship’s drones.

A prisoner who kicked and stamped on a fellow inmate who had asked to move cells the day before he was killed has been jailed for life for murder.

A trial date has been set for the alleged driver of a car that ploughed into a crowd at Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade.

Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has been awarded 100,000 euro (£84,000) in damages after winning his libel action against the BBC.

Liverpool have agreed a deal for Trent Alexander-Arnold to join Real Madrid on June 1.

Comedian and actor Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault.

The Prince of Wales has praised a wildlife ranger protecting snow leopards coming into conflict with humans for helping “turn fear into understanding”.

Children and patients deserve to be safe and comfortable in schools and hospitals across England, ministers have said as the Government set out funding allocations for building repairs.

Young people new to the labour market and black employees are among the most likely to be subject to surveillance in the workplace, according to a report.

World number one Luke Humphries became just the fourth player to win the Triple Crown after he beat rival Luke Littler in the Premier League final.

Luke Littler produced a golden spell to move one win away from becoming just the third man to retain his Premier League crown.

England’s latest white-ball reboot under new captain Harry Brook started in stunning fashion as they thrashed the West Indies by 238 runs at Edgbaston.

Police have found a body in the search for a missing teenage girl who fell into a reservoir from a dam.

The alleged driver of a car that ploughed into a crowd at Liverpool’s victory parade has been charged with a number of offences, including wounding and causing grievous bodily harm.

Twenty-two new settlements in the occupied West Bank represent “a deliberate obstacle to Palestinian statehood” by Israel, a Foreign Office minister has warned.

Sir Keir Starmer said he does not need “lessons” from Nigel Farage on what life is like for working people as he took aim at the Reform UK leader and dodged questions about the two-child benefit cap.

A 17-stone tiger who was sedated so vets could carry out a delicate operation to remove an ingrown toenail is “getting back to her playful self”, wildlife park staff have said.

Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are missing lessons because they cannot afford uniforms, food, trips and transport, a report has suggested.

Millions of workers could see a £6,000 boost to their retirement pots as part of Government plans to double the number of UK pension megafunds by 2030.

Visitors to the Lake District are being asked to look out for England’s only mountain butterfly to help scientists protect the rare species.

Police have been given extra time to question a driver who allegedly ploughed into a crowd at Liverpool’s victory parade.

The UK has experienced its sunniest spring on record, with four days of the season still to go.

The production will tour Scotland in spring 2026

That's according to analysts, Kantar

Thames Water has been fined £122.7 million after two investigations into wastewater and dividend payments – the largest penalty Ofwat has ever issued, the regulator said.

Abba stars Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad have reunited to attend the third anniversary of their virtual concert in London.

Ons Jabeur has criticised Roland Garros chiefs for snubbing women’s tennis, saying: “I don’t think they have daughters!”

That's according to the regulator, OFGEM

England's biggest water company will pay over 122 million pounds

Some of the world’s oldest and rarest whiskeys feature in what has been described as a £1,608 “once-in-a-lifetime” tasting experience.

Teenagers and children with bone tumours in the UK are facing longer waits for cancer diagnosis, according to a new review.

House sellers are agreeing sales at £16,000 below the asking price typically, according to a property website.

That's according to World Meteorological Organisation and the UK’s Met Office

The new HBO Harry Potter series has found their Harry, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley.

A voiceover artist says her voice data is being used for ScotRail’s new AI train announcer without her permission, saying she feels “violated” and does not have control.

Queen drummer Roger Taylor said he and Sir Brian May felt “so proud” as they picked up the Polar Music Prize.

The Duke of Sussex has made an unannounced trip to China to warn about climate change and push for sustainable tourism.

The King has warned Canada is facing a “critical moment” in its history, with the world a “more dangerous and uncertain place” in a speech to open the nation’s parliament.

Nigel Farage has declined to commit to the triple lock pensions guarantee as he said his party would scrap the two-child benefit cap because “it’s the right thing to do”.

Detectives are probing whether the car which ploughed into a crowd during Liverpool’s victory parade tailgated an ambulance before running down pedestrians.

A van driver who took “at least 20 lines of cocaine” in the hours before he hit a tram and then ran down a three-year-old girl has been jailed for 12 years.

The car which ploughed into a crowd during Liverpool’s victory parade should not have been on the road and the “big question” is how the incident happened, the city’s metro mayor has said.

Political activist Tommy Robinson has been released from prison after serving a jail term for the civil offence of contempt of court.

Four people are still “very, very ill in hospital” after a car ploughed into a crowd during Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade, the city’s metro mayor has said.

England goalkeeper Mary Earps has announced her retirement from international football with immediate effect.

Tens of thousands of apprenticeships and training opportunities have been promised as part of the Government’s effort to increase workers’ skills and cut net migration.

Older patients who have surgery are not being screened to assess how frail they are in the majority of UK hospitals, a study suggests.

Resident doctors in England, formerly known as junior doctors, have started receiving ballots for renewed industrial action following criticism of the Government’s recent pay rise offer.

Four children were among those injured after a car ploughed into a crowd of people during Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade, with one child seriously hurt.

A man has been detained after a car collided with pedestrians in Liverpool city centre during Liverpool FC’s Premier League victory parade.

Daredevils have thrown themselves down a steep hill in the annual death-defying cheese rolling race in Gloucestershire.

The European Commission has given fast-fashion retailer Shein one month to respond to a probe into practices its regulator believes could potentially be breaching consumer law.

Scientists have created soft robots able to walk straight out of the machines which made them.

Erik ten Hag has been appointed as the new head coach of Bayer Leverkusen, the Bundesliga club have announced.

Disability benefit claimants could get more time to seek support before Labour’s welfare cuts are implemented, reports have suggested.

Dozens of mainly smaller breweries have become insolvent in the last year as they face mounting financial pressures, according to a new report.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 46 people in the northern Gaza Strip, according to local health officials.

With its golden beaches and associations with luxury lifestyles, Sandbanks in Dorset has been identified as Britain’s most expensive seaside location.

Aston Villa made an official complaint to the Premier League after a controversial defeat at Manchester United saw them miss out on a Champions League place on Sunday.

Extending police powers for detaining mental health patients to NHS staff could cause “significant harm with dangerous consequences”, leading organisations have warned.

FA Cup winners Crystal Palace did their best to spoil Liverpool’s title party as they secured a 1-1 draw at Anfield.

A police officer fighting for his life in hospital after being seriously injured in a crash while on duty has been named by Thames Valley Police as Pc Christopher Miller.

Lando Norris slashed Oscar Piastri’s title lead after navigating the two-stop strategy puzzle to clinch his first Monaco Grand Prix victory.

Former BBC executive and TV presenter Alan Yentob has died at the age of 78, his family has announced.

Angela Rayner has said she “never” wants to be Prime Minister or leader of the Labour Party.

Floral tributes have been left at the scene of a house fire where a mother and three of her children died in north-west London.

Stormont minister Gordon Lyons has portrayed his attendance at his first senior GAA game as evidence of his commitment to promoting all sports in Northern Ireland.

Pep Guardiola is determined to bounce back from Manchester City’s unusually disappointing season.

Decades of “waste and bureaucracy” are being ended on Britain’s railways, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander declared, as a renationalisation programme begins.

Nigel Farage will commit to restoring the winter fuel payment to all pensioners and to scrapping the two-child benefit cap, reports have suggested.

Promoted to Premier League after beating Sheffield United

Championship play-off final at Wembley

Man arrested on suspicion of murder

Train drivers at a rail operator are on strike again on Saturday in a long-running dispute over the sacking of a colleague,

A record £1.23 billion was paid out in pet insurance claims in 2024, helping households cover the cost of veterinary treatment for unwell and injured animals, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said.

The NHS will open more mental health crisis centres across England in a bid to keep those patients out of “crowded A and Es”, the head of NHS England has said.

Zoos will be required to give animals more enclosure space as “long overdue” welfare reforms come into place.

A coroner noted “failure by mental health services” to manage the risk to a deaf TikTok star, who died after ingesting a poisonous substance she ordered online.

Sir Keir Starmer must visit fishermen who fear the UK’s trade deal with the EU will “kill” their businesses, Kemi Badenoch has said.

Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “emboldening Hamas”, after the British Prime Minister joined the leaders of France and Canada in calling for a halt to Israel’s military offensive and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Em Arlott and Nat Sciver-Brunt starred as England claimed another dominant win to complete a series victory over the West Indies.

A woman who fatally stabbed her husband in the neck has been jailed for life for murder.

Pop singer Olly Murs has cancelled two of his UK tour dates after contracting a respiratory infection.

Two youths have admitted murdering a 14-year-old schoolboy in a machete attack on a London bus.

Ivan Toney has earned a recall to the England squad for forthcoming games against Andorra and Senegal, with Trevoh Chalobah handed a maiden call-up.

A woman who was diagnosed with rare blood cancer while pregnant with twins has launched an appeal to find a stem cell donor.

Household energy bills will fall by 7% from July, Ofgem has confirmed.

Millions of people in England will now be able to get “Amazon-style” tracking updates on their prescriptions using the NHS app, officials have said.

Leeds Trinity University has been fined more than £100,000 by England’s higher education regulator for failing to effectively address risks associated with its franchised courses.

A total of 20 prisons are to pilot the chemical castration of sex offenders, the Justice Secretary has said.

The difference between the number of people moving to the UK and leaving the country is estimated to have halved, in the biggest fall in net migration since the pandemic.

A judge has cleared the way for the Government to sign its deal over the Chagos Islands after discharging a High Court injunction which blocked the end of negotiations.

Marks and Spencer has reopened its website for customers to browse online after taking the site down overnight as part of efforts to recover following a major cyber attack.

Diversity must be formally embedded into the national curriculum as part of a “new era” of racial inclusion, a report has suggested.

Rising production costs are threatening the viability of UK theatre, a report has said.

Many support services for survivors of child sexual abuse are “on the verge of breaking point”, according to experts working in the sector.

President Donald Trump used a White House meeting to confront South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing his country of failing to address the killing of white farmers.

A member of rap group Kneecap has been charged with a terror offence, the Metropolitan Police said.

Anticipation is building around Bilbao ahead of Wednesday’s all-or-nothing Europa League final between Tottenham and Manchester United.

UK inflation surged to its highest level for more than a year last month after households were hit by a raft of “awful April” bill increases, official figures have revealed.

A knife crime activist is set to drive across the country in an “amnesty van” to encourage young people to hand over illegal weapons ahead of a fresh ban on ninja swords.

A vaccine for gonorrhoea will be rolled out in England as part of a world-first programme, officials have announced.

Oasis fans are set to collectively spend more than £1 billion attending the band’s highly-anticipated reunion concerts in the UK, according to estimates from Barclays.