UK

Motorists are being warned to expect a surge in traffic on the roads when this week’s strikes bring large parts of Britain’s rail network to a halt. The AA believes the worst-affected roads are likely to be main motorway arteries, in addition to rural and suburban areas. And although the rail strikes are only taking

British troops must prepare “to fight in Europe once again” as the war in Ukraine continues, the new head of the Army has warned. General Sir Patrick Sanders took over from General Sir Mark Carleton Smith on Monday and wrote to his charges about the challenges they face. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underlines our core

Dame Kelly Holmes has announced she is gay, and says she has hidden it for 34 years. Speaking during Pride month, the two-time gold medallist said she realised she was gay at the age of 17 after kissing a fellow female soldier, and that her family and friends have known since 1997. The Olympic champion

The grounding of the first flight of asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda was an “absolutely scandalous” move, Priti Patel has said. Judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) granted an injunction that resulted in a chartered aircraft to Kigali being unable to depart Wiltshire on Tuesday. And in an interview with

British hosts of Ukrainian refugees have experienced a postcode lottery in receiving monthly £350 “thank you” payments, according to a charity. Under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, households hosting Ukrainians are entitled to the cash for stepping forward. But in some areas, the rollout of the payments has been slow or delayed. Rend Platings, chair

Boris Johnson has made a second surprise visit to Kyiv for a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after pulling out of a major red wall conference in Doncaster at the last minute. The prime minister was due to make a speech before Tory northern MPs, councillors and business leaders on Friday afternoon. Sky News’ deputy

Passengers at Heathrow will not face major disruption this summer despite an industry-wide international labour crisis that could take 18 months to resolve, the airport’s chief executive has said. Travellers at airports across the UK faced significant disruption to flights during a chaotic half-term week culminating in the Jubilee weekend, sparking concern that summer holidays

The captain of a £38m superyacht detained in London has said it is the victim of a “PR stunt” and that the government has “got the wrong guy”. Sky News was given exclusive access on board the 58m (190ft) long Phi, which has been unable to leave Canary Wharf since March. The vessel is being

More than two million households face increased mortgage payments following the latest Bank of England interest rate rise, which experts say could create more “mortgage prisoners”. The Bank rate rose from 1% to 1.25% in a bid to tackle rising inflation. Borrowers who have variable mortgage rates – those that move in line with the

Network Rail has warned that the three-day train strike next week will cause six days of disruption to services. More than 40,000 staff at Network Rail and 13 train operators are expected to walk out next week on Tuesday 21, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June in a dispute over pay and redundancies. Network Rail

A man has had a bid against his deportation to Rwanda on a government flight tonight rejected by the Supreme Court. A panel of three justices refused permission to the man to challenge the Court of Appeal’s ruling on Monday, which upheld the earlier decision of a High Court judge not to grant an injunction

On 14 June 2017, a small flat fire spread rapidly up a west London tower block and engulfed the building in a raging inferno. The Grenfell Tower fire left 72 people dead in what is remembered as one of the worst tragedies in the history of modern Britain. Feelings of despair turned into anger in

Life support treatment for a 12-year-old boy with brain damage should be stopped as he is clinically dead, the High Court has ruled. Archie Battersbee has been at the centre of a legal dispute after he was seriously injured in an incident at his home in Southend, Essex, in April. Doctors treating the child at

Divers searching for a missing British journalist and his colleague have found a backpack and laptop in a remote part of the Amazon. Journalist Dom Phillips, 57, and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, 41, were last seen on 5 June near the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which is in western Brazil near the borders of Peru

A former British soldier has died fighting Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, his family have said. Jordan Gatley left the British Army in March and flew to Ukraine soon after to help fend off Russian forces and train Ukrainian soldiers. Announcing the news on Facebook, his father Dean wrote: “Yesterday (10/06/22) we

A man arrested for immigration offences was released after protesters went to the scene and tried to “block” enforcement officers. A group of people gathered in southeast London for hours to stop a vehicle that the arrested man was in from leaving. Footage from the scene showed a crowd of people sitting on the ground

The family of a British man sentenced to death by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine have said they are “devastated and saddened” at the outcome of the “illegal show-trial”. Shaun Pinner was captured in Mariupol in April alongside fellow Brit Aiden Aslin during the intense fight for control of the port city. The pair were found

A man has been arrested in Kent on suspicion of murder after a boy died in north Manchester. Detectives launched a murder inquiry after a mother and son were both stabbed at a house in Miles Platting at around 9.30pm on Thursday. Paramedics had treated the boy at the scene but he was taken to

COVID cases have risen for the first time in two months, according to the latest figures. The spike is likely to be caused by increases in cases compatible with the original Omicron variant BA.1 and the newer variants BA.4 and BA.5, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. A total of 989,800 people in private

Thousands of new school places are to be created in England – particularly for children in disadvantaged areas and for those with special needs. Up to 75 new free schools and standalone sixth forms will be opened, with 14,000 extra school places made available. A total of 15 new mainstream schools will also be introduced