UK

A teenage girl in Bristol who has been missing since April is now believed to have been abducted, according to police. Maddie Thomas, 15, disappeared in the Southmead area on 26 April. Avon and Somerset Police said they are “no longer investigating Maddie’s disappearance as a missing person case but as a child abduction”. Officers

The UK economy contracted by 0.1% in March, as surging inflation took a toll on demand to offset the boost that had been expected from the end of COVID restrictions. The monthly figure compares to no growth in February and 0.7% growth in January, while the quarterly figure (between January and March) showed a growth

Households are being urged to get their finances in the best shape possible amid increasing evidence of increased stress over the growing cost of living crisis – now said to be the main concern for people across the UK. A debt advice charity told Sky News it was helping thousands of new clients navigate problem

Boris Johnson has promised to “grow and strengthen the economy and help ease the cost of living for families” through new measures in the Queen’s Speech. The address, which outlines the government’s legislative agenda for the year ahead, focused heavily on the economy as the PM aims to get the country “back on track” after

New laws to outlaw guerrilla-style climate protests that have caused misery for the public are being unveiled in a bumper Queen’s Speech. A new offence of “locking-on”, targeting activists who lock or glue themselves together or to buildings, is planned by Home Secretary Priti Patel. Her crackdown comes in one of 38 new bills, which

The Queen will not be attending tomorrow’s State Opening of Parliament for the first time in 59 years, Buckingham Palace has said. The Prince of Wales will read the Queen’s Speech on her behalf, with the Duke of Cambridge also in attendance. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen continues to experience episodic mobility

The royals will visit all parts of the UK over the bank holiday Jubilee weekend, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Wales, Buckingham Palace has announced. The Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit Northern Ireland and the Princess Royal will be in Scotland. All will attend public events marking the platinum anniversary.

Labour’s Lisa Nandy has defended “Mr Rules” Sir Keir Starmer and said it was “not illegal to eat” after latest claims about alleged COVID rule breaking by the party leader. Sir Keir has said he was working and stopped to eat when he was filmed having a beer in a room in Durham in April

Sinn Fein is to become the first nationalist party to take control of the Northern Ireland Assembly in its 101-year history. The party has 27 seats, pushing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has 24 into second place. The most seats the DUP can return with is 25 and Michelle O’Neill is now set to

Sinn Fein has become the first nationalist party to win the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly in its 101-year history. Voters flocked to the polls to elect 90 new members of the Legislative Assembly, with Sinn Fein winning a lion’s share of the seats. As counting concluded in the early hours of Sunday

Tory MPs are assessing the fall-out after a “tough night” for Boris Johnson in his first test at the ballot box since being fined for breaking lockdown rules. The Conservatives lost nearly 500 seats in England, Wales, and Scotland in Thursday’s council elections, with partygate and the cost of living crisis cited by local leaders

The Conservatives face losing their Commons majority if local election results are replicated at a general election, according to a Sky News projection. Analysis suggests that it would mean a hung parliament with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Tories remaining the largest party at Westminster but falling 48 seats short of an overall majority. The projection

The Conservatives have lost former leader Margaret Thatcher’s ‘favourite council’ Wandsworth to Labour in a significant boost for Sir Keir Starmer’s party. The south London council had been held by the Conservatives for more than forty years, turning blue in 1978 just before Mrs Thatcher’s election as prime minister. A Labour source said: “Boris Johnson

The Bank of England has raised the base rate of interest to 1% – the fourth consecutive increase as it continues to move against surging inflation – despite issuing a warning about a recession ahead. The Bank forecast that the UK economy will shrink later this year in the face of double-digit inflation and an

A man has been convicted of murdering his two-year-old son by shooting him repeatedly in the head with an air gun, before stabbing and smothering him. Lukasz Czapla killed his son, Julius, after discovering the child’s mother was in a new relationship. He was given a life sentence and will serve at least 23 years

Shop prices increased at their fastest rate in more than a decade last month, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said. Retail prices went up from 2.1% in March to 2.7% in April, according to the BRC-NielsenIQ price index. This was the highest annual rate of inflation it recorded since September 2011. The figures will

Patients who overcome severe COVID infections suffer the same cognitive impairment that people generally go through between the ages of 50 and 70, a new study has found. This is the equivalent of losing 10 IQ points say the team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. Their findings suggest that

Boris Johnson will address the Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday, becoming the first world leader to do so since the outbreak of war in February. In a recorded address, the prime minister will praise Ukraine’s resistance against tyranny and announce a new £300m package of military aid to support the country’s ongoing defence against Russia. In

The family of Katie Kenyon have spoken of their “heartbreaking nightmare” after the mother’s body was found. Ms Kenyon, 33, went missing on 22 April and after “extensive searches” of the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire her body was discovered. Following a post-mortem examination, police said Ms Kenyon died of head injuries. In a fundraising

More than 200 people arrived in Dover on Sunday after an apparent 11-day pause in Channel crossings, it has been reported. The figure takes this year’s total for small boat crossings to at least 6,693 according to the PA news agency – more than three times the count of 2,004 at this time last year,