UK

The defence secretary has saved 500 troops from a planned cut in army numbers at a time of growing threats, though the force will still shrink by 9,000 posts to 73,000 to save money, Sky News understands. Ben Wallace is set to focus on capability rather than mass on Thursday as he sets out an

An alleged victim of a Hull grooming gang has told how she was bitten, beaten and burned during a violent rape – and that police and her school had concerns she was being abused but failed to stop it. Warning: This article includes graphic content The teenage girl’s mother was so worried after her daughter

Two police officers who shared photos on WhatsApp of the bodies of two murdered sisters have been found guilty of gross misconduct. PC Jamie Lewis and PC Deniz Jaffer had admitted sharing images of the bodies of Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27. Lewis was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police at the pair’s misconduct

Police have been urged to “declare war” on a child grooming gang after several women told Sky News they were abused by a group of men operating in Hull. A police probe into the alleged crimes has gone dormant, but the UK’s former top child abuse investigator has called for detectives to “double down” on

The government is advising people to take a COVID-19 test before they spend time in “crowded and enclosed spaces” this winter. The Cabinet Office had previously advised people to take two lateral flow tests a week, especially if they have school-age children or are meeting clinically vulnerable people. Now the public is being told to take rapid

The UK could be hit by a wetter-than-normal winter with households urged to be prepared for the risk of flooding. A Met Office outlook predicts plenty of rain over the next three months, with the wetter conditions most likely in January and February next year. The Environment Agency is urging people to check their flood

Bulb, Britain’s seventh-biggest energy supplier, is facing collapse within days amid eleventh-hour talks between the government and the company’s biggest secured creditor. Sky News has learnt that the company, which launched in 2015 and has amassed 1.7 million customers, is expected to appoint insolvency practitioners imminently. The precise timing remained unclear on Monday because of

The taxi driver who survived the Liverpool terror attack has said it is a “miracle that I’m alive” in his first statement since the explosion on Remembrance Sunday. David Perry and his wife Rachel have thanked the public for their “amazing generosity” in the wake of the attack outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital one week ago.

The UK has reported 40,941 new COVID cases and a further 150 deaths in the latest 24-hour period. The number of cases is a small drop on Friday’s figures, when 44,242 were recorded. The total number of COVID deaths in the UK since the start of the pandemic now stands at 143,866. Please use Chrome

Manchester United have sacked manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The “difficult decision” was taken “with regret”, the club said, adding that the former striker will “always be a legend” at Old Trafford. Former United midfielder and current club coach Michael Carrick will take charge of “forthcoming games” until bosses appoint an “interim manager to the end

Spiking coronavirus infections across Europe show the “critical” need for people in the UK get vaccinated, a government scientific adviser has told Sky News. Soaring cases on the continent underlined “how quickly things can go wrong”, said Professor John Edmunds, who pointed out there were still “many millions” across Britain, who were still not fully

Double child killer Colin Pitchfork has been arrested and recalled to prison, the Ministry of Justice has said. It comes two months after he was released from jail. Pitchfork was returned to custody on Friday over a breach of his licence conditions, and his re-release will be a matter for the Parole Board, it is

The bomb which exploded outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital contained ball bearings and could have caused “significant injury or death”, counter-terror police have said. It has also emerged that the bomber, Emad al Swealmeen, spent many months buying ingredients for the device and used a series of aliases. His brother has been interviewed to gain an

There are fears that children as young as seven are at risk of child marriage, according to a leading charity. Sky News has been given access to call logs held by the Yorkshire-based charity Karma Nirvana. They’ve spoken of their shock when a call came through from a health professional who told an operator: “A

Efforts between the UK and France to stem illegal Channel crossings have been hit by fresh tensions – on the same day it was revealed only five migrants have so far been returned to Europe this year after making the journey to Britain by boat. Home Secretary Priti Patel this week met her French counterpart,

The Liverpool bomber began making “relevant purchases” for his attack in April, counter-terror police have said. Emad Al Swealmeen died in an explosion outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital in a taxi shortly before 11am on Remembrance Sunday. Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said “a complex picture” was “emerging over

Former England coach David “Bumble” Lloyd has apologised to Azeem Rafiq and the “Asian cricket community” over comments he made. It comes after Rafiq gave evidence to MPs on his experience of institutional racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and within the sport as a whole. He said the Sky Sports commentator tried to smear

A man who stabbed people at random, killing one and seriously injuring seven others, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years. Zephaniah McLeod carried out the series of attacks in the early hours of 6 September last year, as people were enjoying a night out in Birmingham City

Cricketer Azeem Rafiq has told MPs he felt “isolated, humiliated at times” due to the bombardment of racism he suffered and the “constant uses of the word p***'” during his time at Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The 30-year-old whistleblower had said it was “time for truths” as he prepared for the Digital, Culture, Media and

Police investigating a terror incident outside a hospital in Liverpool have named the man killed in the blast as 32-year-old Emad al Swealmeen. Officers said they believe he is the male passenger who brought a homemade bomb with him into a taxi and asked to be taken to the hospital. He was picked up in