UK

A woman died from a heart attack after she was raped by a stranger while unconscious on a park bench, a court has been told. Warning: This article contains details readers may find distressing Natalie Shotter, 37, had been on a night out before she was sexually assaulted and killed on a park bench in

A Metropolitan Police officer has been charged over the death of a woman who was hit by a motorcycle escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh through London. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had authorised a charge of causing death by careless driving against 67-year-old Christopher Harrison. Helen Holland, 81, suffered serious injuries in the

Residents who escaped a fire in a “deathtrap” block of flats have told Sky News they feel abandoned after both the management firm and owner of the building have failed to meet them. The response has been branded “woeful” by the local council – who have had to pay £500,000 to support residents who have

The UK will hand over sovereignty of the remote Chagos Islands to Mauritius after a decades-long dispute. The deal to transfer the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, home to a military base used by the UK and the US that plays a crucial role in the region’s stability

Police Scotland considered recording notorious double rapist Isla Bryson as a female on the sex offenders’ register, Sky News can reveal. Bryson, who changed gender while waiting to stand trial, was last year jailed for eight years for raping two women in West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow while known as Adam Graham. Scottish Prison Service (SPS)

One of the UK’s most wanted men has been jailed for 20 years after masterminding a plot to smuggle nearly a tonne of cocaine from South America to Scotland hidden in a cargo of bananas. Jamie Stevenson, known as “Iceman”, pleaded guilty to directing the importation of the drug, which was seized by Border Force

The father of a six-year-old girl who was operated on by former surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar multiple times over 15 months is among the first to be told she suffered harm during her care. Dean Stalham’s daughter Bunty was born with the rare bone condition neurofibromatosis. It means she has been in and out of

“If it gets much colder, I am thinking of doing something, just to go back to prison,” says Leon Lear, 43, as he sits next to the remnants of his failed fire on the edge of a playground in Bridgend, South Wales. The wood was too damp to burn; the only ash is from cardboard

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has urged British nationals to heed the government’s advice and leave Lebanon immediately. He said the situation on the ground is “fast moving” and ministers can’t guarantee being able to help “if things escalate in a major way over the coming hours and days”. There are concerns about rising violence in

A 96-year-old has been given a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to causing the death of a woman by dangerous driving. June Mills, from Ainsdale on Merseyside was handed an 18-month suspended sentence at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday. She pleaded guilty to causing the death of Brenda Joyce, 76, in Formby in August

Former deputy prime minister Sir Oliver Dowden has become the most senior ally of Rishi Sunak to be interviewed in the official investigation into betting on the date of the general election, Sky News understands. He follows Mr Sunak’s former parliamentary aide Craig Williams and former Downing Street chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith in being

Robert Jenrick has defended being handed a £75,000 donation from a company which had received money from a firm registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), despite criticising Labour over the freebies row. The Tory leadership contender told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the firm “as I understand it… is a fitness company that

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party. The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts. She told Sir Keir the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you

When 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai was beaten and hacked to death in a savage machete attack in a Wolverhampton park, detectives were shocked to discover his killers were just 12 years old. Days earlier, in another part of the country, Alfie Lewis, 15, was stabbed to death by a 14-year-old boy outside a primary school in

Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89, her sons have said. The actress died in hospital, her children Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said. In a statement, they said: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She

Two women who allege they were sexually assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed have said a doctor who they claim carried out intrusive medical examinations on his employees has “massive questions to answer”. Speaking on The UK Tonight With Sarah-Jane Mee, Catherine and Natacha, who were both 19 when they started working at Harrods in 1989,

The close ties between Mohamed al Fayed’s Harrods shop and the Metropolitan Police “felt like a corrupt relationship,” a former chief superintendent in the force has said. The Met Police had a “special relationship” with the luxury department store “which benefits both us and them,” Stephen Otter said he was told by another officer in

Sir Keir Starmer accepted a £20,000 donation for the use of a flat during the election after promising his family he would protect them. The prime minister‘s register of interests shows a declaration for accommodation provided by Lord Waheed Alli to the value of £20,437.28 from 29 May to 13 July this year. The election

“Brave” and “funny” with a “weird sense of humour” is how Shana Seesahai describes her older brother Shawn.  Growing up on the small Caribbean Island of Anguilla, the two siblings developed an extremely close bond. Shawn was very protective of his little sister, five years his junior. “Almost every day I wake up and think

Around 700 UK troops are deploying to Cyprus to be ready to help evacuate British nationals from Lebanon as fears grow of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. Defence Secretary John Healey – who chaired a meeting of the UK’s emergency Cobra committee earlier – has urged all Britons to leave the crisis-torn country “now”.