UK

Rishi Sunak has raised the national insurance threshold by £3,000 and announced a cut in fuel duty tax by 5p a litre in an attempt to ease the burden of the cost of living crisis. The national insurance threshold has now been raised to £12,570. Unveiling his spring statement in the Commons, the chancellor said

A harrowing 999 call made after Sir David Amess was fatally stabbed has been played at the trial of the alleged terrorist accused of the MP’s murder. The caller Yvonne Eaves, who had arranged to meet the MP for Southend West at his constituency surgery, told the emergency operator that a man wielding a “big

The annual rate of inflation has hit 6.2% as the chancellor prepares to outline how he will help households with soaring living costs in his Spring Statement 2022. The consumer prices index (CPI) increased in February from 5.5% in January and remains at the highest level in 30 years, according to the Office for National

A 22-year-old man has been charged with murder following the death of Sabita Thanwani in Clerkenwell. Maher Maaroufe has also been charged with assaulting an emergency worker. Officers were called to Arbour House in Sebastian Street at about 5.10am on Saturday, 19 March, where Sabita, 19, was found suffering serious injuries. She was pronounced dead

MP Sir David Amess was killed in a “vicious and frenzied attack” by a “fanatical terrorist” who had previously targeted the home of Michael Gove, a court has heard. Ali Harbi Ali “hoped that he would become a martyr” after stabbing to death the Conservative MP for Southend West, a jury was told. Sir David

Wales has joined more than 60 nations in outlawing physical punishment of children. From today, any type of corporal punishment – including smacking, hitting, slapping, and shaking, is illegal under the Children (Abolition Of Defence Of Reasonable Punishment – Wales) Act of 2020. It marks the end of the common law defence of “reasonable punishment”.

A man sought by police investigating the death of a woman at student flats in central London has been arrested. Maher Maaroufe was detained in the Clerkenwell area after detectives appealed for information to locate the 22-year-old. He has been arrested on suspicion of murder, according to the Metropolitan Police. Maaroufe was also held on

Police have named a man they want to find following the murder of a young woman at student flats in central London. Maher Maaroufe, 22, is being sought after detectives launched an investigation into the death of the 19-year-old at a residential property in Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell. The Metropolitan Police said he is known to

P&O Ferries has restarted a limited service two days after sacking 800 crew members without notice in what it says is a cost-cutting exercise. The Dubai-owned travel firm said the Liverpool to Dublin ferry set sail on Saturday morning and has now resumed a normal service. The company’s other ships are still tied up as

A drive-by shooter has been jailed in Manchester after CCTV footage showed him opening fire near a primary school. Police launched an investigation after an innocent bystander reported that his car had been struck by a stray bullet during the shoot-out, which happened in the Harpurhey area in January last year. After a trawl through

David Cameron has revealed he is assisting the war effort by driving a van containing supplies for Ukrainian refugees to Poland. Announcing his upcoming trip on social media on Friday, the former Conservative prime minister said he would be travelling with two colleagues from the Chippy Larder, a food project in west Oxfordshire with which

The government’s Homes for Ukraine refugee scheme has officially opened for applications, after more than 138,000 Britons registered their interest in hosting in the first day after the website went live. People have said how much they want to help: whether that’s donating money or emergency supplies, or hosting a refugee for six months. But,

P&O Ferries has suspended all sailings ahead of a “major announcement”, which it said will be made today. A statement which appears to be from the ferry operator posted on Twitter by Hull Labour MP Karl Turner said it “will be making a major announcement today”. This will “secure the long-term viability of P&O Ferries”,

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori have arrived in the UK, touching down at RAF Brize Norton at 1:08am. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe spent six years detained in Iran after being accused of plotting to overthrow the government – but will now be reunited with her husband and seven-year-old daughter. Also on the plane was Anoosheh Ashoori, who

Boris Johnson has declined to say whether his trip to Saudi Arabia will result in a boost to the kingdom’s oil production – as he insisted his talks about its human rights record would be “kept private”. The prime minister visited both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as he continues his

A musicology expert has told a trial that Ed Sheeran’s hit Shape Of You is “coincidentally similar” and has “distinctive differences” to a song by another singer he is accused of copying. Sheeran and co-writers John McDaid of Snow Patrol and producer Steven McCutcheon have denied their 2017 track rips off part of the 2015

A baby and several other children were among more than 900 people risking the perilous journey across the Channel aboard small boats on Tuesday. More than 500 people were intercepted by French patrols and turned away, the Home Office said, but at least 405 people managed to reach the UK. More than 2,600 people have

West Ham footballer Kurt Zouma will be prosecuted under the Animal Welfare Act after being filmed kicking his cat, Sky News understands. The RSPCA has begun the prosecution process against Zouma and his brother, Yoan, who filmed the incident earlier this year. A date for the first court appearance has yet to be set. Zouma’s

After years of diplomatic efforts, a deal has been agreed that will see dual British-Iranian nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori return to the UK later today. A third dual national, Morad Tahbaz, will be released from prison in Iran on furlough. At the heart of the agreement was the settlement of a 40-year debt,

Two years on from the start of the pandemic, and despite the fact that almost all COVID restrictions have now been lifted, the majority of people are still taking voluntary precautions against infection. According to an ONS attitudes survey released today, most adults report taking at least one preventative measure to stop the spread of