UK

The Church of England needs to “kneel in penitence” and “be changed”, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell is expected to say in his Christmas Day sermon. It comes at a challenging time for the Church which has faced criticism over how it handled a number of abuse scandals. Mr Cottrell will next month effectively

The UK’s oldest man has celebrated his 110th birthday with a special performance from opera singer Alfie Boe at his care home in Derbyshire. A party was laid on for Donald Rose – who’s now ranked as a ‘supercentenarian’. Mr Boe joined the bash in Ilkeston by video call and sang happy birthday, adding it

The King has poignantly chosen a former hospital chapel to deliver his annual Christmas broadcast. The message was recorded earlier this month by Sky News inside the Fitzrovia Chapel in central London. It is a tiny building, originally for staff and patients of the now-demolished Middlesex Hospital. At the end of a year of change

Four flights have been cancelled at Belfast City Airport this morning, along with a swathe of delays after a plane’s nose wheel collapsed during a hard landing in bad weather. Almost all flights set to depart before 10am are delayed from Belfast City Airport, with one 6.35am flight to London Heathrow now due to depart

Labour are on track for their worst end to the year in opinion polls since the Second World War. Sir Keir Starmer‘s party is now averaging just 26.6%, despite winning one of the largest-ever majorities five months ago. Analysis of nearly 1,000 polls across 75 years found Labour are now 1% behind their previous end-of-year

Oleksandr Usyk has beaten Tyson Fury in their rematch in Saudi Arabia. Ukrainian Usyk, 37, who had entered the bout as a narrow favourite, retained his WBO, WBC and WBA heavyweight titles with his win at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena. British fighter Fury, 36, had hoped to take revenge after his previous defeat to Usyk in

Pensioners have until the end of Saturday to apply for benefits which could unlock access to the winter fuel payment, or risk missing out on up to £300. It has been switched to a means-tested benefit including for those on pension credit, but official estimates suggest there are 760,000 households who do not claim pension

The Prince and Princess of Wales are set to work with a local charity to launch a mental health programme to support those living on the Sandringham Estate and in the surrounding areas. The royals are partly funding the new pilot programme with Norfolk and Waveney Mind. It will provide additional mental health support for

The co-manager for Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign has called Lord Peter Mandelson an “absolute moron” – as the peer was officially announced as the next UK ambassador to the US. The Labour grandee, who served in Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s cabinets, will become the UK’s top diplomat in Washington as president-elect Donald

Children with special educational needs are being “segregated” and left to struggle in the wrong schools because councils are trying to “save on costs”, parents have told Sky News.  Maire Leigh Wilson, whose four-year-old son has Down’s syndrome, says she “shudders to think” where he would be now had she not been in a “constant

The King’s cancer treatment will continue into the New Year, Sky News understands. Palace sources have said “his treatment has been moving in a positive direction and as a managed condition the treatment cycle will continue into next year”. The source added there is a sense of optimism, which can be seen in the King’s

Social media companies must face tough sanctions if they fail to keep children safe from harmful content, the technology secretary has said. Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Peter Kyle said age verification for adult material would have to be “watertight”, and that apps which do not protect children will face heavy fines and even jail

Four teenagers who murdered two boys in Bristol in a case of mistaken identity have been detained for life. Riley Tolliver, 18, a 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy, and getaway driver Antony Snook, 45, were convicted of the murders of Mason Rist, 15, and 16-year-old Max Dixon in November. A 15-year-old boy was also found

There’s been a huge increase in animal neglect and abandonment in England and Wales and the RSPCA’s rescue centres are “absolutely full”, according to the charity. New figures show there were 38,977 incidents of neglect reported to the RSPCA’s emergency cruelty line between January and September 2023. But for the same period in 2024, there

Average water bills in England and Wales will increase by 36% over the next five years, water regulator Ofwat has said. The rise is equivalent to an average extra of £31 per year. Water companies had asked for an average rise of 40%. The regulator’s draft determinations issued in July said the bills would rise

A criminology student has been found guilty of the murder and attempted murder of two women on a beach in Bournemouth. Nasen Saadi, 20, from Croydon, fatally stabbed personal trainer Amie Gray, 34, ten times as she sat beside a fire on Durley Chine Beach in Dorset on the evening of 24 May. Her friend

Sara Sharif’s father and stepmother have been handed life sentences for murdering the 10-year-old after she suffered years of abuse. Warning this story contains distressing details. Urfan Sharif, 42, will serve at least 40 years in prison and Beinash Batool, 30, a minimum of 33 years. Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was also sentenced to

The government and the water regulator broke the law by allowing sewage to be discharged outside of “exceptional circumstances”, according to the green watchdog. Outlets called combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are only meant to be opened on rare occasions, such as during very heavy rain to stop sewage flooding back into homes and businesses. But

Children in some parts of England are spending more than five and a half years in temporary accommodation, a Sky News investigation has found. Data from Freedom of Information requests shows London and the South East are the regions seeing the longest stays for homeless households. More than two-thirds of local authorities saw households with

A suspected Chinese spy – described as a “close confidant” of Prince Andrew – has been barred from the UK because of concerns he posed a threat to national security. The alleged spy, known only as H6, was first excluded from entering Britain in 2023 by then home secretary Suella Braverman after the Home Office