UK

Professor Jason Leitch has said his claim of deleting WhatsApp messages as a “pre-bed ritual” was a “flippant exaggeration”. The Scottish government’s national clinical director is giving evidence to the UK COVID inquiry, which is currently sitting in Edinburgh. Last week the inquiry was shown transcripts of a group chat. Within the message, Ken Thomson,

Six million of the poorest people in the UK would need to more than double their income to climb out of poverty, according to a new report criticising “social failure at scale”. The poverty gap – the amount of money needed to bring the incomes of those in poverty to the poverty line – has

Millions will be cut off from gas and electricity services this winter, as new research from Citizens Advice details the extent to which households are affected by the inability to afford prepayment power top-ups. The independent, state-funded advice service has said its advisers are helping more people than ever who cannot pay for energy. This

Norfolk Police has said it is “reviewing” its working practices after it emerged that officers failed to respond to a 999 call from a house where four people were later found dead. It comes after the force previously referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog following the deaths of Bartlomiej Kuczynski,

A football club has shut its ticket office after “appalling abuse and threatening behaviour”. Newport County will face Manchester United on Sunday in a home FA Cup tie at Rodney Parade. The League Two side said all remaining tickets for the fourth-round match would be available to purchase online only from 10am on Monday. The

Parliamentarians are being urged to back a proposal that could help further reduce the cost of baby formula. Iceland supermarket boss Richard Walker is calling for retailers to be given more freedom to help make first infant formula milk more affordable for families. He wants lawmakers to amend a bill which is currently passing through

A whistleblower who resigned from Greater Manchester Police has told Sky News the force’s child protection investigation unit where she worked is “not fit for purpose” and that failures have left a paedophile ring at large for at least seven years. In her resignation letter last year, she said: “I don’t feel like we’re making

A man and a woman have died, along with a dog, after a collision involving a BMW X5 in Kent. The pair, both in their 60s, were out walking the dog when they were hit on Saturday afternoon in Bearsted, Maidstone. Police are urging anyone who witnessed the incident to call Kent Police’s serious collision

A 45-year-old man found dead alongside two young girls and a 36-year-old woman in Norwich has been named as Bartlomiej Kuczynski. Their bodies were found at a house in Allan Bedford Crescent, Costessey, Norfolk, after police forced their way into the property following a call from a member of the public shortly before 7am on

Russia could attack NATO within five years, the German defence minister has warned, as the alliance prepares to launch its biggest military exercises in decades amid increasing global uncertainty. Boris Pistorius told German news outlet, Der Tagesspiegel: “Our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible. “We hear

An aircraft hangar and fuselage have been hired by the Home Office for security officials to practice forcing asylum seekers on to deportation flights to Rwanda, it has emerged. Guards have undergone special training programmes to deal with “disruptive” people, according to The Times. This includes individuals resorting to violence to prevent being put on

The family of a 16-year-old who has been missing for more than a week have pleaded for her to “let someone know” she is safe. Julia Skala left her house in south London at about 1pm on 8 January and has not been heard from since, with police increasingly concerned for her welfare. Officers are

Lincolnshire Police has referred itself to the police watchdog after a two-year-old boy was found starved to death alone next to his father who had suffered a fatal heart attack over Christmas. Bronson Battersby’s body was found with his father Kenneth’s at their home in Skegness on 9 January. The police force said in a

Detectives investigating the disappearance of a Royal Navy sailor more than 37 years ago are searching a car park in Gibraltar after receiving new information. Simon Parkes, from Bristol, was last seen in December 1986 when the ship he was serving on, HMS Illustrious, was docked in the territory. His disappearance has previously been part

Former Liverpool footballer Jordan Henderson has been told he can leave Saudi Arabia, less than six months after his much-criticised move to play for a club there. Al Ettifaq, the Saudi Pro League side he controversially signed for last summer, agreed to end his contract on Wednesday. He is returning to England to look for

Some of the oldest fossils of “complex life” in the world have been found in a quarry in Wales. It is the first time such fossils have been precisely dated by scientists. The research shines a light on a key moment in Earth’s history, when the seas became full of new forms of life. For

An organic biscuit collection and crispbreads have been recalled by Daylesford Organic because of the presence of moth larvae. Daylesford Organic, which has a farm in the Cotswolds and four shops in London, is recalling its Daylesford Organic Rye, Spelt and Raisin Crispbreads with a pack size of 120g and its Daylesford Organic Savoury Biscuit

The annual rate of inflation has surprisingly risen, official figures show. The consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation stood at 4% in the year to December, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A fall, to 3.8%, had been expected by economists polled by Reuters. But instead inflation rose from 3.9% in the

The King will go to hospital next week where he will be treated for an enlarged prostate. The 75-year-old monarch’s condition is benign but his public engagements will be postponed while he recuperates after the corrective procedure, Buckingham Palace announced this afternoon. In a statement, it said: “In common with thousands of men each year,

People in Scotland have been sharing their stories of how the pandemic has affected their lives – as the UK COVID inquiry resumed in Edinburgh. It is the first time the hearings, chaired by former judge Baroness Hallett, have taken place outside of London since the inquiry began in 2022 – and will focus on