UK

A police officer who sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl on duty has been jailed. Dean Dempster, 35, from Manchester, attacked the child when he was responding to a domestic disturbance on 29 December 2023 while on duty in Oldham. During the investigation, it was also found he had superimposed his face onto child abuse images.

Sara Sharif’s murder-accused father has told jurors he “takes full responsibility” for the death of his daughter. Minicab driver Urfan Sharif, 42, called police in the early hours of 10 August last year saying he had beaten her “too much” for being “naughty”, the court previously heard. The 10-year-old’s body was found in a bunkbed

NHS league tables revealing failing NHS trusts and cancelled pay rises or dismissal for managers who don’t turn things around are to form part of the government’s plans to improve the health service. Health Secretary Wes Streeting is confirming new measures he hopes will boost failing hospital trusts and encourage successful ones. The changes form

The Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned after a report found the Church of England covered up sexual abuse by a barrister. The independent Makin review into John Smyth QC’s abuse of children and young men was published last week. Across five decades in three different countries and involving as many as 130 boys and young

WARNING: This article contains language and content some readers may find distressing As a single mum, Lucy* looked forward to her rare nights out. A few years ago, during after-work drinks at a local pub, she started feeling unwell. When she collapsed and passed out, a bouncer called an ambulance. Lucy’s drink had been spiked.

A six-month expected lifespan and the ability to take the fatal drugs will be requirements for someone to end their own life under proposed assisted dying legislation. Someone with disability or mental health issues will not be eligible for assisted dying under the plans, published in the End of Life Bill on Tuesday. MPs will

A former soldier accused of spying for Iran has pleaded guilty to escaping from prison under a food catering truck and going on the run for four days while he was awaiting trial. Daniel Khalife, 23, from Kingston, southwest London, changed his plea to a charge of escaping from lawful custody, halfway through giving evidence

Sir Keir Starmer will attend Armistice Day commemorations in France on Monday – the first UK leader to do so since Winston Churchill in the Second World War. Towns and cities across France will mark the 106th anniversary of the Armistice agreement in 1918 that brought fighting in the First World War to an end.

The King led the nation’s Remembrance Sunday commemorations as he laid a wreath at the Cenotaph during a two-minute silence. Charles, who is still receiving cancer treatment, paid his respects without the Queen, who did not attend events in central London due to a chest infection. He appeared alongside his son Prince William and daughter-in-law,

The Princess of Wales has joined other senior royals at the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance. Both wearing poppies, Kate and the Prince of Wales were seen talking to one another before taking their seats at the Royal Albert Hall. They were later pictured applauding on the balcony during the service that included a

The Queen will miss Remembrance events this weekend, Buckingham Palace has said. Queen Camilla will not attend the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening, nor the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph on Sunday, a statement said. This is while she recovers from a chest infection and

The Metropolitan Police has referred two cases to the police watchdog following complaints about investigations into allegations made against Mohamed al Fayed. The force has voluntarily referred the cases to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after receiving complaints from two women regarding prior police investigations into allegations against the former Harrods and Fulham

A man has pleaded guilty to the murder of a woman who died two years after he set her on fire. Leigh Pateman, 45, caused “significant burns” to Ellen Marshall, who was 42 at the time, after he poured petrol over her and set the fuel alight during an argument in April 2021. He previously

Prince William has described the past year as “brutal” and probably “the hardest year in my life” following his father and wife being diagnosed with cancer. In a wide-ranging and surprisingly personal interview at the end of his week-long tour of Cape Town, the Prince of Wales was asked how hard the last year has

The Bank of England has forecast Rachel Reeves’ first budget as chancellor will increase inflation by up to half a percentage point over the next two years, contributing to a slower decline in interest rates than previously thought. Announcing a widely anticipated 0.25 percentage point cut in the base rate to 4.75%, the Bank’s Monetary

Three men have been arrested in connection with a deadly house explosion in Newcastle. Seven-year-old Archie York and Jason Laws, who was in his 30s, were killed following the blast in Violet Close, in the Benwell and Elswick area of the city in October. Police said at the time that six others were taken to

A mass cull of poultry has been ordered after an outbreak of bird flu on a farm in Yorkshire. A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place around the farm near Hornsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire and all the fowl on the property will be destroyed, the Department

Police have made a direct appeal to those involved in the murder of a teenager to finally bring her family closure, exactly 30 years after she disappeared. Lindsay Rimer, 13, went out to buy a box of Corn Flakes late in the evening on 7 November 1994 and never returned home. Her body was found

The Queen is unwell with a chest infection and has withdrawn from her engagements this week, Buckingham Palace has announced. A palace spokesperson said Camilla’s doctors “have advised a short period of rest” and added that “with great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week”. They added the

More cases of a new strain of mpox have been detected in the UK, officials say. Last week, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said a single case of the mpox virus variant Clade 1b had been confirmed in London. The agency has now announced a further two cases have been detected. The two patients