UK

Royal Mail workers are beginning a 48-hour strike that the retail sector warns could cripple the Black Friday discount shopping season. The strike action is being taken nationwide by 115,000 staff who are represented by the Communication Workers Union (CWU). It is the latest stoppage in a long-running, and increasingly bitter, dispute over pay and

The Scottish Parliament does not have the power to call a second independence referendum in the country, the Supreme Court has said. The unanimous ruling from the UK’s top judges said, despite demands from the SNP for a fresh vote, the country’s government would need approval from the government in Westminster before going ahead. First

A woman who was nearly killed in a hit-and-run says her life was “ruined” and she wants the driver to get their “just deserts” – as police launch a national crackdown on dangerous uninsured motorists. Sharon Cochrane spent four months in hospital after suffering a broken leg and arm, eight broken ribs, two broken collarbones

Energy suppliers need to do more to help vulnerable customers this winter, the industry’s regulator has said, with “severe weaknesses” found in the practice of five suppliers. Ofgem said failings included customers missing out on free gas safety checks, vulnerable customers not being offered the support they need, and ensuring those on prepayment meters are

England have thrashed Iran 6-2 in their opening World Cup game in Qatar. The match at Khalifa International Stadium marked the first-ever encounter between the two teams and saw thousands of fans pack the stands to watch the action unfold. Before kick-off, some England supporters struggled to enter the stadium due to an issue with

Two children killed in a Nottinghamshire flat fire have been named by police as they said their mother has also died. Naeemah Drammeh, aged one, and three-year-old sister Fatimah, were taken to Queen’s Medical Centre along with their mother after the blaze in Fairisle Close, Clifton, in the early hours of Sunday. The sisters were

England and Wales open their World Cup campaigns today in Qatar amid ongoing uncertainty about potential FIFA punishments for their activism. Captain Harry Kane is due to wear a One Love multicoloured armband when England face Iran at Khalifa International Stadium at 1pm UK time. Then at 7pm, at Al Rayyan Stadium, Gareth Bale is

A murder investigation has been opened after a baby and a toddler died in a flat fire in Nottingham. The emergency services were called to reports of a fire in a first-floor flat in the Clifton area of the city at 3.17am today. An initial joint fire and police investigation concluded the fire was started

The housing secretary has put social accommodation providers “on notice” as he hit out at the “abhorrent” mouldy flat that killed two-year-old Awaab Ishak. In a letter to every English council leader and social housing provider, Michael Gove said Awaab’s death was an “appalling case of the utmost gravity” and “must never be allowed to

The boss of the housing association that ran a flat in which a toddler was killed by exposure to mould has been sacked. Gareth Swarbrick, the chief executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), has been removed after days of political pressure. A coroner ruled that Awaab Ishak died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition

A sexual predator has pleaded guilty to murdering law graduate Zara Aleena just days after being released from prison. Jordan McSweeney appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday where he admitted murdering Ms Aleena, who was brutally kicked and stamped on, then left for dead, in the early hours of 26 June this year. The

Multiple failures by West Midlands Police officers “materially contributed” to the deaths of a woman and her mother who were murdered by the daughter’s abusive estranged husband, an inquest has found. Raneem Oudeh, 22, and her mother, Khaola Saleem, were stabbed to death outside Mrs Saleem’s home in Solihull in August 2018. They were murdered

Jeremy Hunt will continue to defend his autumn statement today as experts warn of a record fall in living standards across the country. The chancellor presented his economic plan to parliament on Thursday, littered with stealth taxes and curbs on government spending amounting to £55bn in an attempt to plug the black hole in public

Here are all the main announcements from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement to MPs: • Energy bill aid for households extended beyond April for a further year through energy price guarantee, but average annual bill will be £3,000 from current £2,500. Amounts to around £500 support for households. • Additional cost of living payments next

Jeremy Hunt will promise to weather an economic “storm” by raising taxes, cutting public spending and scaling back energy support to fill a £54bn black hole in the nation’s finances. The chancellor will insist to MPs on Thursday that his autumn statement puts the UK on a “balanced path to stability” as he tackles the

Iran has made at least 10 threats this year to kidnap or kill people in the UK deemed as “enemies of the regime”, the head of MI5 has revealed. Ken McCallum also warned the UK must be ready for more aggression from Russia, saying that over 100 suspected Russian spies have been refused entry to

Rishi Sunak will meet the Chinese president on Wednesday after declaring that his country poses a “systemic challenge” to the values and interests of the UK. Mr Sunak will become the first prime minister to meet Xi Jinping face to face in almost five years when he meets him at the G20 summit in Indonesia.

A two-year-old boy’s death was caused by “extensive” mould in his family’s flat, a coroner has concluded in a case that should be “a defining moment” for the housing sector. Awaab Ishak died shortly after his second birthday in December 2020. Joanne Kearsley, the coroner, found that he “died as a result of a severe

Rishi Sunak has avoided sticking to his predecessor’s pledge to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP ahead of the autumn budget, set to be unveiled on Thursday. During her campaign for Number 10, Liz Truss said the figure would be reached by the end of the decade. But asked if he would standby her

Members of a gang of armed robbers have been jailed for more than 100 years after a wave of violent attacks on security guards refilling cash machines. They used guns, knives, hammers and crowbars to terrorise staff before fleeing in a fleet of stolen vehicles and leaving few clues behind them. When banknotes got stained