UK

The man accused of a string of sex crimes has been put on trial simply because he is also a suspect for the unrelated disappearance of Madeleine McCann, his lawyer has told a judge. Christian B, as he is known under German privacy laws, is the victim of prejudiced prosecutors and an amateurish police investigation,

Sheffield Wednesday football club have defended the emergency response time following the death of an away fan. West Bromwich Albion season ticket holder Mark Townsend, 57, died after falling ill in the stands at Hillsborough Stadium during the first half of their Championship match on Saturday 28 September. Sheffield Wednesday has reportedly been criticised for

A police force has apologised for putting down a family’s pet XL bully dog by mistake due to an “administration error”. Lancashire Police said it has given the family an “unreserved apology” for euthanising the seized dog, named Bruno, while the owners were in the process of applying for an exemption to keep him. The

Police are continuing their search this weekend for a nurse and mother-of-one who vanished five days ago. Victoria Taylor was last seen at her home address in Malton, North Yorkshire, at 9am on Monday. At 11.35am on the same day, she was seen on CCTV at a BP garage on Welham Road, in the Norton

The BBC has cancelled an interview with Boris Johnson after Laura Kuenssberg accidentally sent the former prime minister her briefing notes. Kuenssberg, who presents the broadcaster’s Sunday politics show, said “there’s no point pretending it’s anything other than embarrassing and disappointing”. Revealing the error on X, she said she had been preparing to interview Mr

Police Scotland considered recording notorious double rapist Isla Bryson as a female on the sex offenders’ register, Sky News can reveal. Bryson, who changed gender while waiting to stand trial, was last year jailed for eight years for raping two women in West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow while known as Adam Graham. Scottish Prison Service (SPS)

A police marksman may have been “angry, frustrated and annoyed” when he shot Chris Kaba dead after he tried to escape, a court has heard. Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial at the Old Bailey, where he denies murdering the 24-year-old in Streatham, south London. Mr Kaba was sat in the driver’s seat of an

The BBC has apologised to former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Amanda Abbington, saying it had assessed and “upheld some, but not all” of her complaints about Giovanni Pernice’s behaviour during her time on the show. Sherlock actress Abbington, who pulled out of the BBC One show last year citing “personal reasons”, later claimed she was

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

British Transport Police have released a picture of a man in connection with an attempted abduction of a child on a train.  A stranger grabbed a baby out of its mother’s arms as she was preparing to leave the train at Worksop, Nottinghamshire, at 7.30pm on 17 August. The force said “a relative managed to

Some of the country’s most notorious cold cases could be solved with the help of an artificial intelligence tool that can do 81 years of detective work in just 30 hours. Avon and Somerset Police are trialling the technology which can identify potential leads that may not have been found during a manual trawl of

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

The BBC director-general has condemned Huw Edwards’ crimes as “appalling” and said the corporation is still having conversations about recovering part of his salary paid following his arrest. Tim Davie addressed the scandal following Edwards‘ sentencing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Monday. Speaking at the Royal Television Society’s annual convention, Mr Davie said