UK

Former Liverpool footballer Jordan Henderson has been told he can leave Saudi Arabia, less than six months after his much-criticised move to play for a club there. Al Ettifaq, the Saudi Pro League side he controversially signed for last summer, agreed to end his contract on Wednesday. He is returning to England to look for

The King will go to hospital next week where he will be treated for an enlarged prostate. The 75-year-old monarch’s condition is benign but his public engagements will be postponed while he recuperates after the corrective procedure, Buckingham Palace announced this afternoon. In a statement, it said: “In common with thousands of men each year,

A hospital in the West Midlands has reportedly declared a critical incident over a bed shortage – just 24 hours after two Sussex hospitals were forced to divert ambulances. Russells Hall in Dudley declared the critical incident on Monday afternoon, according to reports. Diane Wake, the chief executive of the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust,

Operation Span was hailed as “a fantastic result for British justice”. On the face of it, it was a success; in 2010 an investigative team had turned things around after a failed investigation into a grooming gang in the south of Manchester, Operation Augusta, and by May 2012 with renewed vigour had convicted nine men

Reading’s League One match against Port Vale was abandoned after around 1,000 home fans protesting against the club’s owner invaded the pitch. The start of the game at the Select Car Leasing Stadium had already been held up for three minutes when tennis balls were thrown onto the playing surface. Referee Ross Joyce then took

A woman’s body has been found during the search for Lucy Charles who went missing three weeks ago. North Wales Police said on Friday that its officers and underwater teams recovered the body from the River Dee. Formal identification is yet to take place. Ms Charles, from Bangor-on-Dee, near Wrexham, was last seen walking past

Burberry shares have fallen sharply after the luxury brand said it had failed to see the global pick-up in demand it had hoped for over the crucial Christmas season. The UK company, which has been seeking to move upmarket under a turnaround plan initiated by chief executive Jonathan Akeroyd, had previously warned on its annual

Officers investigating a double murder at a lockdown party are looking for five potential witnesses. A lone assailant shot Cheriff Tall, 21, and Abayomi Ajose, 36, dead at an outdoor “spontaneous gathering”, in a car park off Caythorpe Street, in Moss Side, Manchester, on 21 June 2020. The two men – who were not known

Wales and British and Irish Lions rugby legend JPR Williams has died aged 74, his former club has announced. He played a big part in Wales’ success in the 1970s – helping them to three Grand Slams – and featured on the triumphant Lions tours to New Zealand in 1971 and 1974 in South Africa.

Areas hit hard by flooding after Storm Henk will be able to apply for thousands of pounds in government money to pay for recovery work and repairs. The government has announced the financial support will be available to eligible areas in England that have experienced exceptional localised flooding. Schemes include flooded households being eligible for

A yellow cold weather alert across England comes into force at 9am this morning – and will remain in force for most of next week. All of this comes as many parts of the country continue to grapple with the aftermath of Storm Henk, with heavy rainfall inundating homes and almost cutting off communities. As

A football club has apologised to its fans after a stadium bar was decorated in the colours of its arch-rivals, days before the teams meet in the FA Cup. Bosses at Sunderland AFC have admitted the club made a “serious error in judgement” after banners saying “Keep the Black and White Flying High” and “We

Police are “extremely concerned” over the disappearance of a woman who vanished in South Ayrshire days before Christmas. Laura Wilkie, 43, was last seen sitting on a bench near Ayr’s Millenium Bridge at around 8.30pm on Monday 18 December. On Wednesday, investigating officers carried out a stop-and-speak operation in the area in an effort to

British police are reportedly investigating the sexual abuse of a child’s avatar in the metaverse – prompting the NSPCC to warn that tech firms must do more to protect young users. Online abuse is linked with physical abuse in the real world and can have a devastating impact on victims, the charity’s campaigners said. The

A body has been recovered during the search for a missing fell runner in Cumbria, police have said. Edward Catmur, from the London area, had been reported missing after he had not been heard from since 10am on 31 December. He had been intending to fell run a route to Cross Fell and Hartside Cross,

Google and Amazon must do more after a British woman made a suicide pact with two people she met online and used the internet to buy poison, a coroner has said. Chloe Macdermott, 43, died in May 2021 after buying a lethal substance from the US on Amazon. An inquest at Inner West London Coroner’s

The number of young people taking ketamine has tripled in recent years – a surge which experts blame partly on its affordability and widespread availability during the cost of living crisis. Now, the mother of an 18-year-old student who died on her first night at university after taking the drug has called for the police

Eurostar trains are set to resume this morning after “unprecedented” flooding in a tunnel brought chaos for thousands. The company said all services would run to Paris, Brussels, London and Amsterdam – but warned there could still be delays and packed stations. Southeastern and Thameslink rail are also predicting serious disruption. Travellers were stranded yesterday

A fire has broken out at Blackpool Tower, with video showing flames at the top of the iconic structure. Firefighters in climbing gear are “on their way up”, according to a tourist information page, as high winds continue to hit the seaside resort. In a statement Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service said: “We have six

The King has used his second Christmas message to praise people’s “growing awareness of how we must protect our Earth”. The monarch described the natural world as a “manifestation of the divine” and said that caring for it is a “responsibility owned by people of all faiths and none”. “We care for the Earth for