UK News

A total of 20 prisons are to pilot the chemical castration of sex offenders, the Justice Secretary has said. The Government is exploring whether to enforce the chemical castration on offenders as mandatory, Shabana Mahmood told MPs, after recommendations from the independent sentencing review to explore its use further to reduce the risk of reoffending. The review led by former justice secretary David Gauke recommended reforms to overhaul the prisons system and […]

The difference between the number of people moving to the UK and leaving the country is estimated to have halved, in the biggest fall in net migration since the pandemic. The figure stood at an estimated 431,000 in the year ending December 2024, down 49.9% from 860,000 a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said. This is the biggest calendar-year drop since the early stages of the pandemic when […]

A judge has cleared the way for the Government to sign its deal over the Chagos Islands after discharging a High Court injunction which blocked the end of negotiations. The deal, which would see Britain give up sovereignty of the island territory to Mauritius and lease back a crucial military base there, was due to be signed on Thursday morning but was temporarily blocked by an injunction hours before. Mr […]

Marks & Spencer has reopened its website for customers to browse online after taking the site down overnight as part of efforts to recover following a major cyber attack. The retail giant had taken the site down in order to carry out updates, with visitors met with the message: “Sorry you can’t browse the site currently. We’re making some updates and will be back soon.” It confirmed the site was […]

Diversity must be formally embedded into the national curriculum as part of a “new era” of racial inclusion, a report has suggested. The Government should make anti-racism a “key thematic priority” and teacher training on inclusion and inclusive practices should be “mandatory”, according to the Centre for Young Lives think tank. Children from some ethnic minority groups have “disproportionately negative experiences and outcomes” in schools, the think tank’s report warned. […]

Rising production costs are threatening the viability of UK theatre, a report has said. The cost of running and creating theatre has soared, rising “significantly faster than inflation”, according to a report into the state of British theatre in 2025 from the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre. “The economics of theatre are finely balanced. Without strategic support and investment, rising costs threaten the viability of even the […]

Many support services for survivors of child sexual abuse are “on the verge of breaking point”, according to experts working in the sector. The centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) said a research survey of providers had found more than three-quarters facing uncertainty about future funding and a fifth considering closure or cuts to their services. The centre warned that, despite a recommendation from the final report […]

President Donald Trump used a White House meeting to confront South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing his country of failing to address the killing of white farmers. “People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety,” said Mr Trump, who at one point dimmed the lights in the Oval Office to play a video of a communist politician playing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer. […]

A member of rap group Kneecap has been charged with a terror offence, the Metropolitan Police said. Liam O’Hanna, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged over the displaying of a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north-west London, on November 21 last year, the force said. O’Hanna, of Belfast, was charged by postal requisition and […]