UK

All three leading political parties are turning their attention to next year’s general election after a mixed bag of results from Thursday’s ballot box contests. The Conservatives managed to hold former prime minister Boris Johnson’s seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip overnight, with Rishi Sunak saying the victory showed the next national vote was “not

Rishi Sunak has avoided a clean sweep of by-election defeats after holding onto Uxbridge and South Ruislip in a night of three votes. There had been pessimism in the Conservative Party that they would lose the west London seat, alongside Selby and Ainsty in north Yorkshire and Somerton and Frome in Somerset. But the vote

The chief executive of the banking group that owns Coutts has apologised to Nigel Farage after his account was closed. The former UKIP and Brexit Party leader claimed the elite bank took the action because his views did not align with the firm’s “values”. But reports in the BBC and Financial Times suggested it was

Unconscious with her hands cuffed behind her back, a woman is carried into a police cell. She is forced face-down onto a thin mattress. Police officers take off her jeans, cut off her knickers, pull a pair of oversized custody shorts over her legs, then remove her top and bra before leaving her alone and

Average mortgage rates have fallen for the first time in months. Both two and five-year fixed-rate deals have dropped, according to data from financial information company Moneyfacts. The average rate on a two-year fixed deal is now 6.79%, down from 6.81%, while the average five-year rate dipped to 6.31%, a decrease from 6.33%. Rates haven’t

A sexual assault support charity says it is “deeply disappointed” over a football club’s decision to field rapist David Goodwillie. Goodwillie was included in the Glasgow United FC team to play in a friendly match against West of Scotland Premier Division side Pollok last week. Rape Crisis Scotland criticised Glasgow United FC and branded the

The rate of price rises has dropped to 7.9% in the year up to June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation shows prices are still rising, just at a slower pace than before, as the rate fell from 8.7% in the year to May. Another

Two giant cruise ships set to house 1,000 asylum seekers were unable to find anywhere to dock and have been returned to their owners, a senior source has told Sky News. In June, Rishi Sunak announced the government acquired two more vessels, alongside the Bibby Stockholm barge – which arrived in Dorset today – as

A controversial barge that is set to accommodate 500 asylum seekers has arrived in Dorset. The Bibby Stockholm departed Falmouth in Cornwall on Monday – one month behind schedule. It was pulled by a tugboat into Portland Port on Tuesday morning. The vessel’s arrival in Dorset – which has been opposed by the local MP

A new drug has been found to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s, with experts hailing it as a “turning point” in the fight against the disease. Donanemab was found to slow “clinical decline” by up to 35%, allowing people with Alzheimer’s to continue performing day-to-day tasks such as shopping, housekeeping, managing their finances and taking

The government has said it plans to cap the number of students accepted on to “rip-off” university degrees. The limits will be imposed on courses that have high dropout rates or a low proportion of graduates getting a professional job. Under the measures, the maximum fee that can be charged for classroom-based foundation year courses

Union boss Mick Lynch has said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has to show he is “on the side of the people” before the next general election. The general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union criticised Sir Keir and the Labour Party when asked about how long strikes on the railway could

The Ministry of Defence must admit its ability to arm the military is broken and urgently needs fixing at a time of growing security threats, a group of MPs has warned. The damning verdict emerged as Ben Wallace, who has overseen the department for the past four years as the longest-serving Conservative defence secretary, revealed

Local councils are calling for disposable vapes to be banned in the UK by next year on environmental and health grounds. The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, has said it is “crucial” a ban comes into force “rapidly” to stop a flood of single-use vapes into the UK market.

Keyhole surgery is perhaps a misleading term: despite the technology, expertise and extreme finesse involved, it’s also hugely physical.  Sky News watches as surgeon Luke Jones performs an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in an operating theatre in King Edward VII’s hospital in central London. Mr Jones (male surgeons are referred to as Mr rather than

Former Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of rape and attempted rape. The France international was accused of raping a 24-year-old woman in a bedroom at his multi-million-pound mansion in Cheshire in October 2020. He was also charged with the attempted rape of a 29-year-old woman at his home two years

MPs with second jobs have an average wage of £233 per hour, Sky News can reveal. The typical rate for MPs is 17 times the national average – and over 22 higher than the minimum hourly wage. The highest hourly rate for a current MP goes to Liz Truss, who got £15,770 per hour. Ms

Millions of UK public sector workers, including teachers and doctors, will get pay rises of about 6% after Rishi Sunak decided to accept the recommendations of independent pay review bodies. The bodies had suggested pay rises of between 6% and 6.5% for 2023-24, at a potential cost of £5bn. Mr Sunak met Jeremy Hunt, the

Huw Edwards has been accused of sending inappropriate messages to BBC employees. The newsreader was named yesterday as the presenter who had been suspended for allegedly paying £35,000 to a teenager in exchange for sexually explicit images. According to Newsnight, one current BBC staff member claims they were contacted on social media by Edwards, and

He is one of the BBC’s most high-profile presenters and its top newsreader. Now Huw Edwards finds himself the subject of some unwelcome headlines after being named as the broadcaster accused of paying a teenager £35,000 for explicit pictures. As well as hosting the corporation’s flagship News at Ten for the past 20 years, he