UK

Temperatures in the UK are expected to climb this week and could hit 32C (89.6F) on Wednesday and Thursday – with parts of the country on course to be hotter than Ibiza. The mercury in places is expected to be 4C higher than the Spanish holiday island and warmer than Ayia Napa in Cyprus –

Florrie hated school so much it made it her ill. She would cry in her bedroom every morning and plead with her mum not to take her. “Going to school was like a massive weight on my shoulders,” says Florrie. “School was chaos. Hundreds of kids running around corridors pushing and shoving. It was a

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was caught on camera complaining about not being thanked for doing a “f***ing good job” over the unsafe concrete crisis. After an interview with ITV News in Westminster, she was heard saying other people are “sat on their arses”. She said: “Does anyone ever say ‘You know you’ve done a f***ing

Government ministers have been told to “get a grip” on their plans to make schools safe from aerated concrete as millions of pupils return to school this week. More than 100 schools and colleges have been told by the government to fully or partially shut buildings due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete

A return to pandemic-style home learning for school pupils impacted by the unsafe concrete crisis should only last “days, not weeks”, the government has said. More than 100 schools and colleges have been told by the Department for Education (DfE) to partially or fully shut buildings – just days before the start of the new

The government is in advanced talks with Britain’s biggest steel producer to hand over a £500m aid package aimed at securing the long-term future of steelmaking in South Wales. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Whitehall officials and Tata Steel are close to agreeing a deal that would commit more than £1bn to the future

Mohamed Al Fayed has died at the age of 94. The Egyptian-born businessman was best known as a former owner of the Harrods department store and Fulham football club in London. He sold Harrods to Qatar Holdings in May 2010. Three years later, he also sold Fulham FC, to the US businessman Shahid Khan. Al

The chancellor has admitted more schools and other public buildings with structural problems could come to light in the coming weeks. It comes as the government investigates the extent of problems with crumbling concrete. More than 100 schools and colleges have been told by the Department for Education (DfE) to partially or fully shut buildings

Not all schools impacted by concrete safety fears have been contacted and it is not clear how many will have to shut fully, a minister has admitted. Schools minister Nick Gibb said in most cases “just a few buildings” or rooms within the affected schools will have to shut but “in some cases it will

Police have arrested a man after an 11-year-old boy suffered potentially life-changing injuries during a shoot in Sussex. The boy suffered the injury when a shotgun was discharged in woodland near the village of Catsfield, East Sussex, on Thursday morning. He was with a party of adults who were rough shooting at the time of

School buildings in England made with a certain type of concrete that is prone to collapse will be immediately closed over safety fears, the government has announced. Around 104 schools or “settings” will be disrupted on top of 50 that have already been affected this year. The Department for Education (DfE) said the “vast majority

A new law will force criminals to attend their sentencings in court, with the offenders facing longer behind bars if they still refuse to sit in the dock. The government confirmed its plans to introduce the reform on Wednesday, promising to create a new power for judges to make the order. The change will also

The chief executive of National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has said he cannot reveal the cause of the glitch which has affected thousands of passengers but is “not ruling out anything at this stage”. Martin Rolfe said on Tuesday evening that an initial investigation had found that the air traffic control failure was caused by

Sara Sharif’s cause of death is yet to be determined – but an inquest has heard it is “likely to be unnatural”. The 10-year-old was found dead at her home in Woking on 10 August, with Surrey County Council confirming she was previously known to authorities. Earlier this month, a post-mortem revealed Sara had “suffered

Heathrow Airport has said its services will “remain significantly disrupted” on Tuesday after air traffic controllers across the UK experienced a technical fault. In a statement about the “technical issues” that affected the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), Britain’s busiest airport urged passengers to contact their airline before travelling to the airport. “The issue has

Passengers have been told to expect “significant delays” of up to 12 hours as air traffic controllers across the UK are experiencing a technical fault. One airline reported a “network-wide failure” but NATS, the national air traffic controllers, said UK airspace was not closed but restrictions were in place on one of the busiest travel

Jolene Russell was 15 years old when a boy in her class sat next to her and took photographs under her skirt. She had become suspicious when the boy started fidgeting with his phone in a lesson, even though they were banned at the school. Then he made a bizarre request. Image: Jolene waived her

Two people have died after a car was driven into a flooded area in Merseyside. Officers were called following safety concerns for a man and a woman inside a black Mercedes in Mossley Hill at 9.20pm on Saturday. The vehicle had driven into a flooded area in Queens Drive, between North Mossley Hill Road and

The grandfather of Sara Sharif has urged his son to hand himself over to police as part of the investigation into the 10-year-old’s death. Pakistani police are seeking to arrest Urfan Sharif, who travelled from the UK to Islamabad the day before Sara was found dead on 10 August. Urfan Sharif along with his partner

Whole-life prison sentences will become the “default” punishment for “sexual or sadistic” murders, the prime minister has said. Former NHS neo-natal nurse Lucy Letby was told she will never be released on Monday after being convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to kill six others on 18 August. She is only the fourth woman