UK

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has criticised junior doctors, accusing them of “walking away” from talks over pay and conditions. The British Medical Association – the union representing many from the profession – has called a five-day strike in July and is demanding a rise of 35% to restore their wages to 2008 levels. It has

Labour frontbencher Jess Phillips has been accused of “racist and bullying behaviour” after getting into a row on social media with high-profile headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh. Ms Birbalsingh, former chairwoman of the Social Mobility Commission and once dubbed “Britain’s strictest headteacher”, accused the Birmingham Yardley MP of seeking to “whip up a social media mob” against

A Jeremy Clarkson column about Prince Harry and Meghan in The Sun newspaper was sexist, a press watchdog has ruled. The column – headlined “One day, Harold the glove puppet will tell the truth about A Woman Talking B*******” – contained a “pejorative and prejudicial reference” to the sex of the Duchess of Sussex, the

The leader of the team which found the remains of the Titan submersible became emotional as he described how a rescue effort turned into a recovery operation. Pelagic Research Services set out a timeline of its response to the Titan emergency in a news conference this evening. “We were always conscious of the crew of

The government plans to more than halve the number of NHS staff being recruited from abroad in the next 15 years, according to its long term workforce plan. On Thursday, a preview of the plan announced the intention to funnel £2.4bn into solving the severe staffing crisis in NHS England. The full document, which was

Shorter medical degrees, apprenticeships, and £2.4bn in funding are among the radical plans being put forward to solve NHS England’s severe staffing crisis. The long-awaited NHS workforce plan is due to be published in full on Friday, outlining how the service will address existing vacancies and meet the challenges of a growing and ageing population.

The privileges committee’s special report on “sustained interference” into the partygate probe names seven MPs and one peer, accusing them of “improper pressure”. Nadine Dorries is named four times and Mark Jenkinson, Michael Fabricant, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Andrea Jenkyns, Priti Patel and Zac Goldsmith are all also cited in the report for criticising the

Staff at a hotel where asylum seekers are set to be housed from next month are “in shock” after a redundancy announcement. Workers at Stradey Park Hotel & Spa in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, were told this week they face being made redundant on 10 July. Sky News understands around 100 staff are employed at the hotel.

The revelation that ministers are considering bringing Thames Water into temporary public ownership has reopened the fierce debate over the privatisation of the country’s water industry. The sudden resignation of the company’s chief executive and Sky’s exclusive report into government contingency plans for the firm’s potential collapse comes amid growing calls for change following a

Human remains found in a California mountain area are those of British actor Julian Sands, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed. It is five months since the 65-year-old was reported missing in the Mount Baldy region of the San Gabriel mountains. Hikers found the remains on Saturday morning, with officials now positively identifying them

There was “nothing” in Nicola Bulley’s medical records to suggest she was suicidal, her former GP has told an inquest into her death. Dr Rebecca Gray told the hearing at County Hall, Preston, that Ms Bulley had spoken to her about feeling a “low mood and anxiety” since 2018, later speaking of headaches, fatigue and

It will cost £169,000 per person to send illegal migrants to countries such as Rwanda, according to new analysis published by the government. An economic assessment of the Illegal Migration Bill also estimated that each person sent abroad to the east African nation, or a similar country, will save the taxpayer between £106,000 and £165,000

The chancellor is urging a focus on rip-off charges ahead of a meeting with UK regulators this week, as stubborn inflation threatens the government’s target of halving inflation this year. Jeremy Hunt is to meet bodies with oversight of key industries such as food and energy in the week after the shock Bank of England

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has been treated for breast cancer, her spokesman has said. The spokesman told Sky News: “Sarah, Duchess of York was recently diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer detected at a routine mammogram screening. “She was advised she needed to undergo surgery which has taken place successfully. “The

Several police forces across the UK have asked people not to call 999 due to a “technical fault”. London’s Metropolitan Police – the UK’s largest force – said many 999 calls were not connecting and advised people to call 101 in an emergency until further notice. South Wales Police, Greater Manchester Police and Derbyshire Police

Canadian police are looking into the deaths of five people killed in the implosion of the Titan submersible. Superintendent Kent Osmond, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, confirmed on Saturday it was looking into the circumstances. Parts from the sub were discovered on the sea floor on Thursday, only about 400m from the wreck of

A water company boss has blamed people working from home for a new hosepipe ban.  South East Water will impose the first hosepipe ban of the summer from Monday, affecting more than two million homes and businesses across Kent and Sussex. Its chief executive, David Hinton, said in a letter to customers that post-pandemic working

The Home Office is working on plans to house hundreds of migrants in marquees on large sites across the country, Sky News understands. A government source said the plans were still at an early stage, but were being developed by the department. A number of new controversial accommodation sites have been announced by the Conservatives

The 19-year-old university student who was killed in the Titan submersible was “terrified” before the trip but went as a Father’s Day present. Azmeh Dawood, the older sister of Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that Mr Dawood’s son Suleman was “very not into doing it”. “Suleman had a sense

The Bank of England has shocked economists and investors by raising interest rates half a percentage point to 5% – the highest level since 2008. Economists had expected the Monetary Policy Committee to raise interest rates by only a quarter percentage point, but the MPC voted 7-2 for the surprise increase, explaining that it was