UK

Sir Keir Starmer said it was “garbage” to claim he would raise taxes by £2,000 as he traded blows with Rishi Sunak in their heated first TV debate. The Labour leader initially failed to challenge the prime minister’s repeated accusations that Labour’s spending plans would cost each family £2,000. He eventually called it “nonsense” and

A number of procedures have been cancelled or redirected to other NHS providers after a cyber attack affected major hospitals in the capital. King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ (including the Royal Brompton and the Evelina London Children’s Hospital) and primary care services were hit by the “major IT incident” involving pathology partner Synnovis,

Twelve of the 26 members of the cabinet who are running for re-election are at risk of losing their seats, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by Sky News. The survey suggests the United Kingdom is on the cusp of a major redrawing of the political landscape, with Labour on course to win a historic

Colin Gibb, a founding member of the novelty pop group Black Lace, has died aged 70. The band were best known for their hits Agadoo, Superman and Do The Conga, which were staple songs at summer discos across the UK throughout the mid-1980s. They also performed in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in seventh

Hospital patients are “dying in corridors”, nurses have warned as they declared a “national emergency” in the NHS. Patients are regularly treated on chairs in corridors for extended periods of time – and sometimes even days, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said. They are also receiving cancer diagnoses in public areas, and may

Labour has denied claims it is offering peerages to former Labour MPs so they stand down to make space for Sir Keir Starmer’s chosen candidates. A number of left-wing Labour candidates, who were MPs until the election was called, told The Times they were told they would be elevated to the House of Lords if

The British ambassador to Mexico is no longer in post after a video emerged online of him apparently pointing an assault rifle at an embassy employee. The video, shared on X, shows Jon Benjamin pointing the firearm at a person whose face has been blurred out. “In a context of daily killings in Mexico by

Micah Richards has told a court that former Manchester United Roy Keane stayed “cool” and “calm” after allegedly being assaulted, despite his “hardman persona”. Former footballer Richards told Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Friday that he “grappled” with a man accused of headbutting Keane, 52, inside Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in September. Scott Law, 43, from

In a Sky News interview after Tory MP Christian Wakeford defected to Labour in 2022, Mark Logan was asked if he planned to join him. At the time, the Northern Ireland-born MP laughed and replied jokingly: “I’m not planning to defect – to the Democratic Unionist Party.” Yet two years later, Mr Logan has indeed

A girl is in a critical condition after being shot by an attacker on a motorbike while having dinner with her family. The nine-year-old was one of four people injured at about 9.20pm on Wednesday at a restaurant in Hackney, east London. Police said the girl was “fighting for her life”, while three men who

A child is among four people shot near a restaurant in east London. Police have said the child is in a serious condition and are waiting for updates on the health of three adults also injured in the incident in Hackney. All four were taken to hospital with gunshot injuries. Officers were called to the

A rape survivor who held on to “the guilt and the shame” for years before reporting her attacker has told Sky News she has now “passed it on to him” after he was jailed for seven years. Warning: The following article contains details of serious sexual assault The woman, who is retaining her legal right

Junior doctors in England are set to strike for five days starting next month – part of a long-running dispute over pay. The strike is set to run from 7am on 27 June to 2 July. It means the dispute will be held during the general election campaign, with polling day on 4 July. Dr

A 20-year-old man from London has been charged with murder after a woman was stabbed to death on a beach in Bournemouth. Amie Gray, a 34-year-old personal trainer from Poole in Dorset, was killed on Durley Chine Beach on Friday 24 May. Police were called to a report that two people had been stabbed at

A 20-year-old man from London has been arrested over the murder of a woman on a Bournemouth beach. Amie Gray, 34, was stabbed to death on Friday night. Another woman, 38, and also from Poole, suffered serious injuries and is still being treated in hospital. This breaking news story is being updated and more details

Rishi Sunak has argued national service will “keep kids out of trouble” – and lots of parents are “worried” about what their children get up to at the weekend. The plan, which has faced criticism from some Tory ministers, would see 18-year-olds given the choice of a full-time military placement for 12 months, or a

A runner has died after collapsing during the Great Manchester Run. The 40-year-old received immediate medical treatment during the half marathon on Sunday but later died in hospital, the Great Run Company has said in a statement. The runner, who has not been named, was one of around 25,000 people who took part in the

If the Conservatives win the general election, teenagers will be expected to take part in national service when they turn 18.  Exactly how the scheme would work has not yet been hammered out. The Tories have said they would set up a royal commission – a type of public inquiry – to come up with

Nobody would go to jail for refusing to comply with National Service under a Conservative government, the home secretary has said. In the Conservatives’ first policy announcement of the general election campaign, Rishi Sunak said on Saturday he would introduce a new form of mandatory National Service for 18-year-olds if his party wins the vote

The UK will “compel” young people to partake in National Service if the Conservatives win the general election, after seeing “enthusiasm” from other countries with similar schemes, the home secretary has said. Speaking to Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, James Cleverly supported Rishi Sunak’s plan to introduce a new form of mandatory National