UK

Pensioners have until the end of Saturday to apply for benefits which could unlock access to the winter fuel payment, or risk missing out on up to £300. It has been switched to a means-tested benefit including for those on pension credit, but official estimates suggest there are 760,000 households who do not claim pension

The co-manager for Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign has called Lord Peter Mandelson an “absolute moron” – as the peer was officially announced as the next UK ambassador to the US. The Labour grandee, who served in Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s cabinets, will become the UK’s top diplomat in Washington as president-elect Donald

Children with special educational needs are being “segregated” and left to struggle in the wrong schools because councils are trying to “save on costs”, parents have told Sky News.  Maire Leigh Wilson, whose four-year-old son has Down’s syndrome, says she “shudders to think” where he would be now had she not been in a “constant

A coroner has recorded an open conclusion into the death of TV doctor Michael Mosley, who died after going for a walk on a Greek island. The 67-year-old’s body was found four days after a search was launched by emergency services on Symi. Crispin Butler, the senior coroner for Buckinghamshire, said the broadcaster’s death was

Sir Keir Starmer is to make his most controversial senior appointment yet by naming Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US. Lord Mandelson, 71, known as the “Prince of Darkness” from his days as a New Labour‘s spin doctor, will be the prime minister‘s link to Donald Trump. ‘Brutal’ figure ‘an inspired choice’ –

Social media companies must face tough sanctions if they fail to keep children safe from harmful content, the technology secretary has said. Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Peter Kyle said age verification for adult material would have to be “watertight”, and that apps which do not protect children will face heavy fines and even jail

There’s been a huge increase in animal neglect and abandonment in England and Wales and the RSPCA’s rescue centres are “absolutely full”, according to the charity. New figures show there were 38,977 incidents of neglect reported to the RSPCA’s emergency cruelty line between January and September 2023. But for the same period in 2024, there

Four teenagers who murdered two boys in Bristol in a case of mistaken identity have been detained for life. Riley Tolliver, 18, a 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy, and getaway driver Antony Snook, 45, were convicted of the murders of Mason Rist, 15, and 16-year-old Max Dixon in November. A 15-year-old boy was also found

A headteacher who was in charge of a school ski trip where a girl was said to have been blackmailed into having sex has been banned from teaching. Justine Drury, 52, was head of CP Riverside School in Nottingham – which provides education for children aged 13 to 16 with behaviour or social issues –

Police forces need to be better prepared for serious violence and disorder, according to a review of the response to this summer’s riots. The report also found police failed to realise the significance of a number of events leading up to the riots, leaving gaps in intelligence linked to social media and the dark web.

A criminology student has been found guilty of the murder and attempted murder of two women on a beach in Bournemouth. Nasen Saadi, 20, from Croydon, fatally stabbed personal trainer Amie Gray, 34, ten times as she sat beside a fire on Durley Chine Beach in Dorset on the evening of 24 May. Her friend

Sara Sharif’s father and stepmother have been handed life sentences for murdering the 10-year-old after she suffered years of abuse. Warning this story contains distressing details. Urfan Sharif, 42, will serve at least 40 years in prison and Beinash Batool, 30, a minimum of 33 years. Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was also sentenced to

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson will not join the rest of the Royal Family for Christmas at Sandringham, Sky News understands. It comes after an alleged Chinese spy with links to the Duke of York was publicly named for the first time as High Court restrictions were lifted on Monday afternoon. Image: Alleged Chinese spy

The alleged Chinese spy with links to Prince Andrew has said he did “nothing wrong or unlawful” – as he was named publicly for the first time. In a statement, Yang Tengbo added that the “widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue”. It comes after the High Court lifted restrictions on naming

Police are appealing for the driver of a Porsche who fled after a two-year-old boy was killed in a car crash to hand themselves in. A woman aged 29 and a 30-year-old man are in a serious condition following the incident in Smethwick near Birmingham, while another man and woman aged 30 are stable, West

A murder investigation is under way after a woman was killed and two men injured in a triple shooting in northwest London. Metropolitan Police officers were called to reports of a shooting at around 9.15pm on Saturday in Gifford Road in Harlesden. The woman, believed to be in her 40s, was found injured but despite

Detectives are searching for two men after £200,000 worth of luxury handbags and watches were stolen from a north London business. The Metropolitan Police have released pictures of two men it wants to identify after a burglary at the appointment-only showroom Eveyspreloved on Bunns Lane, Mill Hill between 10.30pm and 10.50pm on 3 December. Image:

Government departments are doing “anything to avoid” sharing information about Prince Andrew’s past business dealings. The claim comes from author Andrew Lownie who’s been working for four years on a new book about the Duke of York. He has submitted over a hundred requests to Whitehall departments only to find that information “has vanished”. Speaking

Construction workers are four times more likely to die by suicide than the national average, making it one of the deadliest professions for mental health problems in the UK, according to a new report. Social media company On The Tools, the UK’s largest community of tradespeople, has found that 73% of the country’s 2.1 million

A goalkeeper from West Ham’s youth academy has died after being diagnosed with cancer – with a club legend calling him a “true Hammer” and a “fantastic young person”. Oscar Fairs – the Premier League club’s U15s academy goalkeeper – was diagnosed with a rare 7cm ependymoma brain tumour in August last year. Despite undergoing