UK News

The NHS has become “reliant” on private companies, charities and social enterprises to deliver routine mental health care, a think tank has warned. New analysis by the King’s Fund found more than one in four NHS mental health inpatient beds is being outsourced. While the independent sector provides vital surge capacity for the health service during periods of high demand, the think tank said the NHS has moved “far beyond” […]

The person who killed two Catholic school pupils and wounded more than a dozen children fired 116 rounds from a rifle into the Minneapolis church, the city’s police chief said on Thursday. Robin Westman once attended the Annunciation Catholic School and had been a member of the neighbouring church, police said. Westman was “obsessed” with the idea of killing children, authorities said. Acting US Attorney Joe Thompson said videos and […]

The UK, alongside France and Germany, has announced its plan to revive UN-backed sanctions on Iran over fears it is developing nuclear weapons. The three European powers, known collectively as the E3, intend to re-introduce sweeping sanctions after efforts to restart diplomatic talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme stalled. Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but it has enriched uranium to levels exceeding that required for civil […]

A volunteer Metropolitan Police officer has been found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a child. James Bubb, who now identifies as a woman named Gwyn Samuels, groomed one of his two victims online before sexually assaulting her when she was just 12 years old. A trial at Amersham Law Courts heard the officer sexually assaulted the girl in public shortly before her 13th birthday and was forced to pull his […]

Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the “senseless” Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight that killed more than a dozen people and caused damage to a British Council building in Kyiv. He said Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “sabotaging” hopes of peace as US-led efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict struggle to gain traction. Russia launched a mass drone and missile attack on Kyiv, including a strike in the centre […]

Not a single childhood vaccine in England last year met the target needed to ensure diseases cannot spread among youngsters, according to new figures. There also continues to be sharp differences in uptake across regions of the country. It comes as health officials warned almost one in five children will be starting primary school next month without full protection against a number of serious diseases. The World Health Organisation (WHO) […]

Sir Ed Davey will boycott US President Donald Trump’s state banquet next month in a protest against his position on Gaza. The Liberal Democrat leader announced on Wednesday that he would decline an invitation to the dinner, set to take place during the US president’s state visit in mid-September. Sir Ed said he and his wife Emily had “spent all summer thinking about this” and had “prayed about it”, before deciding it […]

Government funding for a programme which offers children from low-income families free meals and activities during the school holidays will be extended. The Department for Education (DfE) has said working families on free school meals could save more than £800 a year thanks to its investment into holiday clubs. Some £600 million is being invested to extend the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme – which funds councils to provide […]

The Government could close asylum hotels next year by allowing people from certain countries likely to be recognised as refugees temporary permission to stay under a “one-off scheme”, analysis by the Refugee Council has suggested. The refugee charity has set out a time-limited proposal that ministers could take to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by March 2026. It warned the Government’s commitment to close them by […]