UK

Boris Johnson and his former adviser Dominic Cummings sent “disgusting and misogynistic” WhatsApp messages that will be released by the COVID inquiry next week, George Osborne has claimed. The former Tory chancellor said he understands that some “pretty astonishing and frankly, shocking” messages will be made public when Mr Cummings gives evidence at the hearings

Vulnerable people are being put at risk by the Home Office under its plans to clear the asylum backlog, MPs have warned. The department’s policy of “maximising the use of hotels” by making more people who are awaiting a decision share rooms “has not been thought through” and could have “serious consequences”, parliament’s Public Accounts

UK carmakers have recorded their best September since 2020 – but warned growth is “under threat” from new Brexit export rules due to come into force within months. More than 88,200 vehicles rolled off factory lines in September, an increase of over 25,100 – almost 40% – compared to the same time last year, figures

Former police officer Lewis Edwards, who admitted more than 100 sexual offences against children, has been handed a life sentence. He will serve a minimum of 12 years behind bars. He was granted a reduction of one third to his sentence due to his entering a guilty plea. Sentences for other counts for which he

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 British cargo ship has reportedly sunk off the coast of Germany following a collision, and several people are missing. Two vessels crashed into each other in the North Sea, according to German authorities. The ships, Polesie and Verity, collided in the early morning about 14 miles southwest of the island of Helgoland, Germany’s Central

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,

England footballer Trent Alexander-Arnold was involved in a crash with another car after a pylon was blown over during Storm Badet’s strong winds. The Liverpool defender’s Range Rover was involved in the collision on a country lane near Knutsford, Cheshire on Friday morning. Cheshire Police said no one was hurt in the collision which came

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

Polls have closed in two by-elections as the Conservatives attempt to hold on to their seats of Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire. Voters began casting their ballots at 7am, with polling stations shutting their doors at 10pm, and results are expected in the early hours of Friday morning. Watch our Sky News by-election special on TV

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

A “highly visible policing presence” will be in operation at Wembley for England’s match against Italy this evening following the Brussels shooting. The Metropolitan Police said: “Given the events yesterday in Brussels, those attending the match can be reassured that they will see a highly visible policing presence. “Officers are there to ensure the event

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