UK

There has been a higher than expected leap in the rate of inflation, to a 41-year high of 11.1% last month, led by the latest rise in energy bills. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the increase, from 10.1% in September, as the cost of light and heating for homes rose further despite help

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 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.

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

Home Secretary Suella Braverman will travel to Paris to sign a new joint declaration with French officials to ramp up efforts to stop migrant crossings in the Channel. The home secretary will sign the agreement with French interior minister Gerald Darmanin on Monday morning. According to the Financial Times, the agreement will significantly increase the

Jeremy Hunt has said everyone is going to be paying higher taxes but those who earn the most will have to make larger sacrifices. The chancellor told the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme during Thursday’s autumn statement he “will be asking everyone for sacrifices” but recognises there is “only so much we can ask” from

Thousands of migrants passing through the Manston processing centre will be vaccinated against diphtheria after dozens of cases of the highly contagious disease were confirmed in England, health authorities have said. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it is moving with the Home Office to vaccinate migrants at the centre after it revealed on

Five days after being smuggled into the UK in a lorry, Albanian Iva Memaj dialled the Home Office’s freephone number to claim asylum. “I feel very excited for my future,” she told us. “I feel safe here.” Iva said she ran from the lorry when it got to England, hid and was then picked up

A court has ruled for the first time that a man arrested on a COVID ward in Scotland is an American rape suspect who faked his own death. The court sheriff decided that the man calling himself Arthur Knight is in fact Nicholas Rossi. Sheriff Norman McFadyen said: “I am ultimately satisfied on the balance

A Just Stop Oil campaigner has defended protests blocking the M25 for a fourth day, warning that “this is just the beginning”. In a fiery exchange with Sky News’ Mark Austin, Indigo Rumbelow insisted the climate crisis is set to get “worse and worse and worse unless we act.” Appearing on The News Hour With

The UK economy contracted by 0.2% in the third quarter, early official figures show – prompting the chancellor to warn that the “tough road ahead” will require “extremely difficult decisions”. The figure marked the first step towards recession. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a dip in output for September, leaving gross domestic product

A man has been sentenced to a further 15 years in prison – in addition to the 18 he has already served – for setting his partner on fire and causing her death 21 years later. Steven Craig, 58, covered Jacqueline Kirk in petrol and set her alight in a car park in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset

A man has been detained by police after throwing eggs at the King and Queen Consort during a walkabout in York. The projectiles narrowly missed the King as the royals greeted people on the city’s Micklegate Bar. People in the crowd booed and shouted “God save the King” and “shame on you”. As the eggs

A nursing union representing hundreds of thousands of nurses has voted to hold the first nationwide strike in its 106-year history. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the strike will affect the majority of NHS employers in the UK as nurses take action against pay levels and patient safety concerns. The union said that

Sir Gavin Williamson has resigned from government over accusations of bullying, saying he will “clear my name of any wrongdoing”. His departure came shortly after an ex-civil servant, who claimed Sir Gavin told them to “slit your throat”, made a formal complaint against the Cabinet Office minister. In his resignation letter shared on Twitter, Sir

The latest proposals for a major shake-up of parliamentary constituencies across the UK have been unveiled. Ten more seats would be created in England – taking the total number of MPs from 533 to 543. Wales would lose eight seats, going down to 32 MPs – with two seats removed in Scotland to leave 57

Millions of Britons on low incomes will start receiving £324 into their bank accounts today to help them through the cost of living crisis. The payments are the second part of a £650 sum being paid out to people receiving benefits such as Universal Credit, income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), income-related employment and support allowance (ESA),

Scotland will announce new funding towards the loss and damage from climate change suffered by vulnerable countries that are beyond the realms of human adaptation, Sky News can reveal. “We’ll be announcing a further financial commitment to loss and damage,” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Sky News during the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. The

A farmer from Eritrea who was in the Manston processing centre in Kent has told Sky News he slept on cardboard and was given cold hot dogs for lunch. The 29-year-old, who asked to be referred to as Samuel, said it wasn’t what he was expecting after crossing the Channel by small boat in September