UK

A police force was told an officer had “repeatedly asked a 15-year-old girl to send naked pictures of herself” before he went on to commit a child sexual offence, a new inspection has found. The incident was flagged as one of at least five opportunities lost by Thames Valley Police to take stricter action against

A speeding driver who was under the influence of cocaine when he caused the death of a 10-year-old girl in Dartford has been jailed for 12 years. Gavin Prodger, 50, had taken the class A drug before getting behind the wheel of his Audi in July 2021. Prodger has defective eyesight and was taking a

The body of a man has been recovered by officers after reports a vehicle was seen getting into difficulty in floodwater on Friday. Searches were carried out by police after the incident near Marykirk, Aberdeenshire, following disruption caused by Storm Babet. “Formal identification is still to take place, however next of kin have been informed,”

England flanker Tom Curry has said he was racially abused by a South Africa player during their Rugby World Cup semi-final in Paris on Saturday night. While the alleged slur is not audible on the referee’s audio link, a subsequent conversation Curry had with referee Ben O’Keeffe is. The incident is said to have involved

The British Transport Police said it is investigating a video that appears to show a London Underground driver leading passengers in a chant of “free, free Palestine”. The video, posted on X – formerly known as Twitter, appears to show the driver chanting over the announcement system on the Central line. The driver says “free,

A police watchdog says it will investigate the Metropolitan Police after a 13-year-old black child with a water pistol was rammed off his bike and arrested. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) had originally allowed the London force to launch its own probe, but has now reversed that decision after a statement by the

A major search is under way after reports of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater as Storm Babet batters large parts of the UK. Police Scotland said the alarm was raised at 3am on Friday near the village of Marykirk in Aberdeenshire. “Multi-agency searches are ongoing and the public are asked to avoid

Officers are looking for a masked man after more than 10 sexual assaults against Muslim women were reported on London buses. Between February 2022 and September 2023, a series of assaults took place around Ealing, Hammersmith, Westminster and Hounslow. Metropolitan Police officers investigating the crimes have now released images of a man they want to

Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi died from suicide “while undertaking a terror attack that murdered 22 innocent victims and injured many others”, an inquest has concluded. The medical cause of the 22-year-old’s death was blast injuries. Sir John Saunders, chairman of the public inquiry into the terror attack, was legally obliged to hold an inquest

The UK could have had fewer coronavirus-related deaths if the country had gone into lockdown two weeks earlier, a government scientist has said. Professor Steven Riley, who worked for Imperial College London at the time of the pandemic, told the UK COVID-19 Inquiry that the government should have called the lockdown on 9 March 2020

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has joined an environmental protest outside a London hotel where oil executives are meeting. The 20-year-old was among protesters disrupting a major annual meeting of industry leaders from Shell, Total, Equinor, Saudi Aramco and other oil giants. Image: Activists from Fossil Free London scaled the front of the InterContinental… Image:

A bullock that went viral when it was pulled from a sinkhole by its back legs has made a miraculous recovery – but its owner says he won’t be renaming him Lucky. The animal was “absolutely superb” soon after the rescue, manager of Witton Castle Country Park, Thomas Hague, told Sky News. “He’s as good

Two women who wore images of paragliders on their backs during yesterday’s protest for Palestinians are now being sought by London police. The women, who wore red and black jackets, are being asked to come forward as part of an investigation into a potential public order offence. The images may be a reference to Hamas

Trying to be uplifting while sounding fanciful. It took until the seventh day of mourning for FIFA President Gianni Infantino to offer any condolences. And when he did it was to claim football can play a role in ending hostilities between the Israelis and Hamas as a “vehicle for peace”. That will seem a distant

Up to 1.5 million homes in the UK could face a higher flood risk by 2080 due to rising seas caused by melting Arctic ice – with government ministers coming under fire for failing to pay attention to “drastic” environmental changes. Increasing sea levels are set to erode British coastlines and place homes in jeopardy,

The government has organised flights to get British nationals out of Israel, the Foreign Office has said. The first flight is set to leave Tel Aviv later on Thursday, it added. Airlines and governments are scrambling to evacuate thousands from Israel ahead of a possible ground assault on Gaza. Evacuation efforts come as the combined

The King has expressed his condolences and “deep shock” at the “barbaric” actions by Hamas in a call with Israel’s president – as Prince William said he was “profoundly distressed” by the “horrors” inflicted. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog thanked the King for his support and said his words were an “important statement” which would serve

Football clubs should be banned from selling crypto-based “fan tokens” as part of engagement with supporters by the sport’s incoming regulator, according to a cross-party committee of MPs. In its report, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS) warns about the volatility of prices and the risk of financial harm to supporters who are convinced

UK gas prices have reached a six-month high after an Israeli gas field was closed and a Finnish gas pipe was damaged. While the oil price stabilised from Monday morning by returning to below $88 (£71.84) a barrel, UK gas prices rose more than 12% to nearly 123p a therm (122.96) Tuesday afternoon – a

The UK and Ireland will host Euro 2028, with all five nations hosting matches throughout Europe’s premier international men’s football competition. Turkey was the only remaining competitor for hosting the competition before it pulled out to focus on a joint bid with Italy for Euro 2032 – which was also approved on Tuesday morning –