UK

A total of 11 government whips have announced they are backing Liz Truss’s campaign to become the next Conservative leader in the latest blow for rival Rishi Sunak. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, herself a supporter of the foreign secretary, revealed the move in a graphic posted on social media on Tuesday morning. The

Heavy rain and flooding have hit some parts of Devon and Cornwall as thunderstorms start to sweep across the South West and East of England. Videos shared on social media showed a roundabout near a river in Truro, Cornwall, quickly flooding as showers moved in. An amber thunderstorm warning has been issued by the Met

The government has agreed to offer £100,000 in compensation to victims of the infected blood scandal. It comes after decades of campaigning and government denial of responsibility. The announcement has had a mixed reception, because while survivors will now get long-overdue help and recognition, many others have already died and, apart from spouses, relatives of

The body of a man has been pulled from the River Thames near Hampton Court. The emergency services received calls about a person in the water at 4.12pm on Sunday. The body of the man, believed to be in his early 20s, was pulled from the river around 10.30pm on Sunday night by police divers.

The UK is braced for several days of thunderstorms after a hot weekend which saw parts of the country grapple with wildfires – but the change in weather is likely to bring more danger rather than relief, meteorologists have warned. A lack of rain and high temperatures have caused drought conditions which have turned much

A body has been found in the search for a man who got into trouble in a lake in Doncaster, the police have said. The emergency services attended the scene at Lakeside Lake on Saturday afternoon after receiving calls that the man, who was in his 20s, had got into difficulty, South Yorkshire Police said.

Salman Rushdie is on a ventilator and may lose an eye after he was attacked on stage in New York state, his agent says. The 75-year-old author suffered severed nerves in an arm and damage to his liver, literary agent Andrew Wylie said. He was unable to speak after he was airlifted to hospital and

Droughts have been declared in several parts of England as high temperatures continue to fry the country. The affected regions are parts of southwest, southern and central England and all of eastern England. The announcement means restrictions will be placed on domestic and commercial water use for residents in those areas. Another water company imposes

Droughts could be declared in “quite a few regions” of the country tomorrow, a source from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has told Sky News. The news contradicts earlier suggestions that a drought would only be declared in the South West. The drought declaration is not expected to cover the whole country,

Ambulances took almost an hour on average to respond to emergency calls in England last month, the latest NHS data has revealed. People were left waiting an average of 59 minutes and seven seconds for an ambulance to arrive for the likes of strokes, epilepsy and burns. The waiting time is up from June, when

A man alleged to be the fourth member of the so-called “Beatles” Islamic State terror cell has been arrested in the UK. Aine Davis, 38, from Hammersmith, west London, was arrested on Wednesday evening after arriving at Luton airport on a flight from Turkey. He was detained in relation to offences under sections 15, 17

For the first time since records began, more babies were born out of wedlock in England and Wales in 2021. New statistics reveal the number born to mothers who were unmarried or not in a civil partnership has overtaken the number being born to mothers in such relationships. However, the count coincided with the COVID-19

A 14-year-old boy has died after getting into difficulty in a lake in Cheshunt last night, Hertfordshire Police has said. Hertfordshire Police said officers were called to North Met Lake at 5pm to reports the boy had not resurfaced after being in the water. The force said a police helicopter and specialist police divers carried

Energy bills are expected to rise even further this winter than previously forecast, according to the latest from energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. Bills are now expected to reach approximately £3,582 a year for the average household from October – up from the £3,359 predicted earlier this month. From January, the amount is expected to rise

Two people have been rescued as a house collapsed after a fire and explosion in Croydon, south London. Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters were sent to the blaze in Galpin’s Road, Thornton Heath, shortly after 7am on Monday. One local resident told Sky News they heard a loud boom from several streets away

People will have to go without food and be unable to heat their homes by October if the government doesn’t take urgent action on the cost of living crisis, Gordon Brown has warned. Speaking to Sky News, the former Labour prime minister took aim at the Conservatives as he demanded further interventions and branded the

A fifth man has been arrested over the disappearance of student nurse Owami Davies, with the Met Police renewing their appeal for information a month on from the last confirmed sighting of her. The police have now arrested five people – two on suspicion of murder and three on suspicion of kidnap. The most recent

Some families are up to £1,600 a year worse off because of the cost of living crisis – even after government help is taken into account. The poorest in society are suffering three major blows to their income in the year to October 2022, according to a report commissioned by former prime minister Gordon Brown.

Rail passengers are facing a fresh wave of disruption as train drivers from several companies have announced another strike over a long-running dispute about pay and working conditions. The 24-hour walkout on Saturday 13 August will coincide with a busy weekend of football, with Premier League games in Manchester, London, Birmingham and Brighton likely to

Archie Battersbee, who suffered “devastating” brain damage, has died after his life support was turned off. His mother Hollie Dance stood outside the hospital and said she was “the proudest mum in the world”. She said Archie was “such a beautiful little boy and he fought right until the very end, and I am so