UK

Liam Payne’s sister has paid an emotional tribute to her “best friend” as she spoke for the first time about his death. The singer died aged 31 on Wednesday after falling from a balcony on the third floor of the Casa Sur hotel in Argentina. Ruth Gibbins posted on social media: “I don’t believe this

Liam Payne’s father has visited the hotel in Argentina where his son died, as he read tributes left for the One Direction star. Geoff Payne was seen reading messages and looking at flowers placed outside the CasaSur Hotel in the capital Buenos Aires. He was watched on by a crowd of mourners, with local media

Harry Styles has paid tribute to his former bandmate Liam Payne saying his energy was “infectious” and the time spent together would be “among the most cherished years of my life”. The Watermelon Sugar popstar said in a post on Instagram on Thursday evening he was “truly devastated” by the death of Payne, with whom

A close friend of Liam Payne has told Sky News that “nothing seemed out of the ordinary” in messages he sent to her just hours before his death on Wednesday. Jodie Richards, who taught the former One Direction star at her performing arts company, Pink Productions in Wolverhampton, said she thought the news that he’d

Kemi Badenoch will have to rebuild the Tory party if she becomes leader and will need to “pivot” by talking to those who are not “diehard Tories”, Conservative peer Ruth Davidson has said. Baroness Davidson told Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast Ms Badenoch, who is in the final two of the Conservative leadership

Five people, including two children, have been killed in a crash on the M6. The two-car collision involved a Toyota and a Skoda and happened on the motorway northbound, past Tebay services in Cumbria, at around 4.04pm on Tuesday. Four people – a man, a woman and two children from Glasgow – who were travelling

The former head of the British Army, General Sir Mike Jackson has died aged 80. Sir Mike, known as ‘Jacko’, died on Tuesday surrounded by his family, the Army said. The father-of-three led the Army during the allied invasion of Iraq in 2003 after serving in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. Image: General Sir Mike Jackson

Anyone could set themselves up as a funeral director and “keep bodies in their garage” an inquiry chair warned today, calling for urgent regulation of the funeral sector. Sir Jonathan Michael, chair of the David Fuller inquiry, says the public would be “shocked” by the lack of an independent statutory regulatory regime for funeral directors

It was “pure chance” Dawn Sturgess sprayed herself with novichok before meeting up with her daughter, an inquiry has been told. Caroline Sturgess said Dawn had plans to meet her daughter before she discovered the perfume bottle containing novichok and said it was a “solace” to her family Dawn’s daughter was not killed in the

The King has said he is “greatly saddened” by the sudden death of Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first SNP first minister. The Alba leader died on Saturday afternoon aged 69 from a suspected heart attack during a trip to North Macedonia. In a message issued by Buckingham Palace, King Charles said: “My wife and I are

Former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond has died aged 69. Salmond, who led the Scottish Nationalist Party between 1990 and 2000 and then again between 2004 and 2014, was a prominent figure in the country’s nationalist movement. The second time around he used his mandate as first minister to hold a referendum on Scottish

A man has been shot dead in east London, police have said. A murder investigation has been launched after the victim – believed to be aged in his 30s – was found with a gunshot wound in Barking shortly after 4.30am. He was treated by emergency workers but died at the scene. Police were called

The narrow medieval streets and canals of Strasbourg in France, on the border with Germany, have little in common with Southport in the UK. Yet the stabbing of three little girls there resonated for one man here. And his subsequent posts on social media resonated around the world – and back to the UK Image:

Ian Harrison watches a film in which, 16 years ago, he is on the streets begging for money in Covent Garden. Recorded in 2008, we see a fresh-faced 19-year-old Ian, who has been evicted from his flat, telling the camera he is going to take as many drugs as he can get. “I want to

The average number of children women have in the UK is falling faster than any other G7 country since 2010, Sky News commissioned analysis has found. Research by thinktank the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) has discovered that the figure, which is called the fertility rate, has dropped by 18.8%. That number represents the biggest

The Football Association has pulled a new online cookery series with M&S featuring Yung Filly and England stars after the British YouTuber and rapper was charged following rape allegations, Sky News can reveal. “The Greater Game” campaign was only launched yesterday by the FA with England team sponsor M&S Food to promote healthy eating and

The Princess of Wales has made a surprise visit to Southport with the Prince of Wales to meet the families of the three girls who died following the knife attack this summer. It is a rare public appearance by the princess – her first community visit since the end of last year, her first since

The boy who stabbed 15-year-old Holly Newton to death in a frenzied attack in Northumberland has been named as Logan MacPhail. The 17-year-old followed Holly through Hexham town centre before stabbing her 12 times and slashing her 19 times in just over a minute. A boy who was with Holly at the time tried to

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out increases to national insurance for employers. A key tenet of the Labour Party’s manifesto was promising to not raise national insurance, VAT and income tax. But when asked by Conservative leader Rishi Sunak if the commitment on national insurance applies to both employer and employee contributions, Sir

A former British soldier went to Marks & Spencer and McDonald’s while he was on the run after escaping from Wandsworth prison, a court has heard. Daniel Khalife, 23, was being held on remand accused of passing secrets to Iran, when he allegedly used a makeshift sling made of knotted bedsheets to cling on to