UK

Jeremy Hunt has admitted the government went “too far, too fast” and that he will have to take some “very difficult decisions” on spending and tax to get the economy back up and running. Earlier, the new chancellor admitted there “were mistakes” in Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget in an interview with Sky News.

Be in absolutely no doubt, the prime minister is in deep trouble. She has sacked her chancellor, committed a second major U-turn on her mini-budget, and junked the core of her economic policy. And she did so, awkwardly and uncomfortably, in no more than eight minutes. Government descends into chaos as PM faces battle to

Liz Truss has said “I want to be honest, this is difficult” after sacking her chancellor and reversing key policies of her government’s growth plan. In a news conference shortly after dismissing Kwasi Kwarteng, Ms Truss said: “The way we deliver our mission has to change.” But she said the “mission remains” to deliver a

Royal Mail has announced it will begin a process to make 5,000 to 6,000 roles redundant by August next year. The announcement, made in a trading update by the postal service’s parent company, has been blamed on industrial action taken by Royal Mail workers, delays in improving productivity and falling parcel volumes. A process of

The foreign secretary has refused to commit to the government seeing through all the tax cuts proposed in the chancellor’s contentious mini-budget. James Cleverly told Sky News “the package the chancellor put forward is pro-growth and is the right answer”. He refused to rule out further changes, however, dodging multiple questions on whether the government

A neonatal nurse accused of murdering seven babies left a handwritten note that read “I am evil. I did this”. On day four of Lucy Letby’s trial at Manchester crown court, the prosecutor Nick Johnson KC told jurors about a series of notes that the police found. On one green Post-it note, which was shown

A neonatal nurse killed two out of three triplet boys and smiled after killing another premature baby girl on the fourth attempt, a court has heard. Lucy Letby is charged with 22 counts of murder and attempted murder, involving 17 babies, and is alleged to have gone on a year-long killing spree at the Countess

The coronation of King Charles III will take place next year on Saturday 6 May, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. The religious ceremony will be held at London’s Westminster Abbey, and conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. The King will be crowned alongside his wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort. It is thought the coronation

The economy unexpectedly shrank in August, contracting by 0.3% on the previous month. The growth in July has also been revised downwards, from the previously recorded 0.2% to 0.1%. The Office for National Statistics released its latest reading on the UK’s performance as the government frets over the prospect of recession ahead, given the toll

The government’s mini-budget has left it facing such a large black hole in the public finances that the most credible way of filling it is severe spending cuts similar to the kinds imposed during the austerity years a decade ago, according to an authoritative new report. The “Green Budget”, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies

A hospital nurse accused of the murder of seven babies – and attempted murder of 10 more – was a “poisoner at work”, a jury has heard. Lucy Letby, who had specialist training in care for the sickest babies at the neonatal unit in the Countess of Chester, is alleged to have gone on a

The mother of murdered student Libby Squire has revealed that the “sexual predator” who raped and killed the 21-year-old has agreed to meet her.  Lisa Squire told Sky News she is determined to find out what exactly happened to her daughter after she was abducted by Pawel Relowicz – and hopes to get answers by

Liz Truss is expected to make a decision on whether to uprate benefits in line with inflation in November, a department for work and pensions minister has said. Victoria Prentis told Sky News that “no decision has been taken about the uprating of benefits” but that she is sure that the government will “make that

Power blackouts this winter are “extremely unlikely” this winter, Cabinet Office Minister Nadhim Zahawi has told Sky News. The Tory frontbencher also insisted there was no need for the government to spend £14m on an energy-saving public information campaign, given the advice already available. Mr Zahawi’s comments come amid concerns of power cuts with the

A woman who died in a hit-and-run outside a takeaway has been named as Rebecca Steer – after a man was arrested on suspicion of murder. Ms Steer, 22, and another pedestrian were struck by a car which mounted a kerb outside the Grill Out restaurant in Oswestry, Shropshire, at around 2.50am on Sunday, police

Serial killer Peter Tobin has died after falling ill in prison where he was serving three life sentences. He was taken from HMP Edinburgh to hospital, thought to be the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, on Wednesday and subsequently died, sources said. He was serving a life sentence for raping and murdering Polish student Angelika Kluk,

Rail passengers are in for more travel chaos as only around one in five trains are set to run today due to another strike. More than 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 15 train operating companies are staging a walkout over jobs, pay and conditions. Around half

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder following the fatal stabbing of another boy of the same age in Gateshead. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had also authorised Northumbria Police to charge the youth with attempted wounding with intent, and one of having a bladed article in a public place. The teenager

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe says “the world cannot turn a blind eye to Iran” and the UK government “must act” over human rights abuses, as women and girls take to the country’s streets in protest. The widespread action was sparked after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last month while she was in the custody of the

The country has been put on notice that the chances of gas shortages this winter have risen markedly, prompting a contingency plan to prioritise heating. National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) warned that planned three-hour power blackouts could be imposed in some areas, in the “unlikely” event supplies of gas fall short of demand. It