UK

The King has paid tribute to Scotland as a “uniquely special place” for the Royal Family as he marked the 25th anniversary of the Scottish parliament. At the ceremony to commemorate a quarter of a century since parliament opened at Holyrood, the King said: “Speaking from a personal perspective, Scotland has always had a uniquely

Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89, her sons have said. The actress died in hospital, her children Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said. In a statement, they said: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She

One of the country’s most senior doctors broke down in tears several times as he recalled “scenes from hell” inside intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic, a public inquiry has heard. Professor Kevin Fong, who was tasked with helping to direct an emergency response to the crisis, said staff were running out of body

Police have released an image of a man they want to identify after a woman in her 70s was sexually assaulted in London – and left with a broken leg. The woman was getting off a bus on Regents Park Road in Finchley when she was pushed into a doorway by an unknown man who

A police officer who stole cocaine from work to sell on the streets of Manchester has been found guilty of misconduct and supplying class A drugs. Andrew Talbot was a detective in Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) serious crime division when he took just under 4kg of the drug from an evidence store. He also used

Commuters are facing road closures and disrupted rail services as dozens of flood warnings remain in place and further rainfall is expected. Some areas have been struck by more than a month’s worth of rain in the past 24 hours – with rising waters damaging homes and making roads impassable. Meanwhile, a fresh weather warning

An amber warning for heavy rain is in force for millions of people in England until 9pm tonight. Many places could see between 60mm and 80m (2.36in and 3.15in) – with up to 120mm (4.72in) possible in a few locations, said the Met Office. A broad area from Gloucester through the Midlands and up to

Parts of the UK were struck by flash flooding after some areas saw more than a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours. Heavy rain left parts of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and London submerged, flooding properties and causing widespread travel disruption. At least 45 houses flooded across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Kent and the Home Counties, according to

Those with a peanut allergy have been told to avoid eating food containing mustard over fears they have been contaminated. Rebecca Sudworth, the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) director of food policy, said those with a peanut allergy should “avoid products with mustard until we identify the individual products affected”. The FSA said possibly affected food

A body has been found in the search for a missing hospital chaplain who starred in a Channel 4 documentary. Katherine Watson, 50, was last seen in the Heaton Road area of Newcastle, at about 1pm on Thursday and Northumbria Police had become “increasingly concerned” for her welfare. But after “extensive searches”, the force said

Police have issued CCTV images of three men as part of an investigation into the rape of a teenage girl and the sexual assault of a woman on Brighton beach. Detectives from Sussex Police said the two victims – who are known to each other – were attacked at around 6am on Sunday 8 September.

Four Metropolitan Police officers are under investigation for misconduct after two women were murdered by a man they had complained about to the force. Carl Cooper, 66, was jailed for life in July for the murders of Naomi Hunte, 41, who was stabbed in the chest, and Fiona Holm, 48, whose body has never been

Climate action will be central to “all” foreign policy, David Lammy will say on Tuesday, as the new government seeks to rebrand the UK’s international image. On Tuesday, the foreign secretary will use his first major speech in his new role to address the climate and nature crises and how they intersect with geopolitics, conflict

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called for a tax on the wealthiest instead of cutting support for “struggling pensioners”. Speaking after arriving at the Lib Dem conference in Brighton on a jet ski, Sir Ed said his party is the only one offering up a solution on how to “plug the awful financial

A police dog injured during violent disorder in Southport has retired from service. Zoe needed stitches after suffering a laceration to her leg during disorder involving hundreds of people on 30 July. Mersey Police Dogs said the animal was now “fit and well” but added it would “never ask our dogs to do something they

BBC presenter Jay Blades – who appears on The Repair Shop – has been charged with engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour against his estranged wife, police have said. The 54-year-old appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court earlier today and was bailed to appear again at Worcester Crown Court on 11 October. The alleged coercive behaviour

A proposal to build a new 50-mile railway line as a cheaper but slower alternative to a scrapped section of HS2 has been unveiled. A report has said journeys between London and Manchester on the line would only be 15 minutes longer than they would have been under the original HS2 plans. The journey time

The NHS will not get any more funding without reforming, Sir Keir Starmer has said as he laid out a 10-year plan to fix the health service. The prime minister stressed his plans to build an NHS fit for the future “do not just mean putting more money in”, and will take a decade to

A body has been found in the search for a missing hillwalker who disappeared more than a year-and-a-half ago. Ross Kinghorn, 57, travelled by train from Linlithgow, West Lothian, in January 2023 with the intention of exploring the Bridge of Tilt area of Perthshire. He was last seen in Blair Atholl and is believed to

MPs have voted to cut the winter fuel payment for all but the country’s poorest pensioners. A Tory move to block the measure was defeated by 348 to 228 votes – a majority of 120. Labour has a working majority in the Commons of 167. The division list showed Labour MP Jon Trickett supported the