UK

Florrie hated school so much it made it her ill. She would cry in her bedroom every morning and plead with her mum not to take her. “Going to school was like a massive weight on my shoulders,” says Florrie. “School was chaos. Hundreds of kids running around corridors pushing and shoving. It was a

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was caught on camera complaining about not being thanked for doing a “f***ing good job” over the unsafe concrete crisis. After an interview with ITV News in Westminster, she was heard saying other people are “sat on their arses”. She said: “Does anyone ever say ‘You know you’ve done a f***ing

Government ministers have been told to “get a grip” on their plans to make schools safe from aerated concrete as millions of pupils return to school this week. More than 100 schools and colleges have been told by the government to fully or partially shut buildings due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete

A return to pandemic-style home learning for school pupils impacted by the unsafe concrete crisis should only last “days, not weeks”, the government has said. More than 100 schools and colleges have been told by the Department for Education (DfE) to partially or fully shut buildings – just days before the start of the new

The government is in advanced talks with Britain’s biggest steel producer to hand over a £500m aid package aimed at securing the long-term future of steelmaking in South Wales. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Whitehall officials and Tata Steel are close to agreeing a deal that would commit more than £1bn to the future

The chancellor has admitted more schools and other public buildings with structural problems could come to light in the coming weeks. It comes as the government investigates the extent of problems with crumbling concrete. More than 100 schools and colleges have been told by the Department for Education (DfE) to partially or fully shut buildings

Mohamed Al Fayed has died at the age of 94. The Egyptian-born businessman was best known as a former owner of the Harrods department store and Fulham football club in London. He sold Harrods to Qatar Holdings in May 2010. Three years later, he also sold Fulham FC, to the US businessman Shahid Khan. Al

TikTok influencer Mahek Bukhari and her mother have both been jailed for life for double murder following a sex tape threat. Bukhari sobbed in the dock last month as she was found guilty of murdering her mother’s lover and his friend in a high-speed car chase. Her mother Ansreen Bukhari, 46, was also found guilty

Junior doctors and consultants in England will take joint strike action for the first time over four days across September and October, the British Medical Association (BMA) has announced. The BMA said consultants will strike on 19 and 20 September with Christmas Day levels of cover, while junior doctors will also walk out on 20

Labour’s shadow education secretary has called for the government to publish a full list of schools being forced to close because of fears over the safety of their buildings. It comes after the government announced school buildings in England made with a certain type of concrete prone to collapse will be closed immediately. Around 104

A new law will force criminals to attend their sentencings in court, with the offenders facing longer behind bars if they still refuse to sit in the dock. The government confirmed its plans to introduce the reform on Wednesday, promising to create a new power for judges to make the order. The change will also

The chief executive of National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has said he cannot reveal the cause of the glitch which has affected thousands of passengers but is “not ruling out anything at this stage”. Martin Rolfe said on Tuesday evening that an initial investigation had found that the air traffic control failure was caused by

Sara Sharif’s cause of death is yet to be determined – but an inquest has heard it is “likely to be unnatural”. The 10-year-old was found dead at her home in Woking on 10 August, with Surrey County Council confirming she was previously known to authorities. Earlier this month, a post-mortem revealed Sara had “suffered

Heathrow Airport has said its services will “remain significantly disrupted” on Tuesday after air traffic controllers across the UK experienced a technical fault. In a statement about the “technical issues” that affected the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), Britain’s busiest airport urged passengers to contact their airline before travelling to the airport. “The issue has

Passengers have been told to expect “significant delays” of up to 12 hours as air traffic controllers across the UK are experiencing a technical fault. One airline reported a “network-wide failure” but NATS, the national air traffic controllers, said UK airspace was not closed but restrictions were in place on one of the busiest travel

Jolene Russell was 15 years old when a boy in her class sat next to her and took photographs under her skirt. She had become suspicious when the boy started fidgeting with his phone in a lesson, even though they were banned at the school. Then he made a bizarre request. Image: Jolene waived her

Police forces must investigate every theft, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said. Ms Braverman said it was “unacceptable” crimes such as shoplifting, criminal damage and phone or car theft have been treated as “less important”. Forces have committed to follow all “reasonable lines of enquiry” in an effort to improve investigations and drive down crime

The grandfather of Sara Sharif has urged his son to hand himself over to police as part of the investigation into the 10-year-old’s death. Pakistani police are seeking to arrest Urfan Sharif, who travelled from the UK to Islamabad the day before Sara was found dead on 10 August. Urfan Sharif along with his partner

Whole-life prison sentences will become the “default” punishment for “sexual or sadistic” murders, the prime minister has said. Former NHS neo-natal nurse Lucy Letby was told she will never be released on Monday after being convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to kill six others on 18 August. She is only the fourth woman

A man has been charged with murder after police in Bury found a body while responding to reports of a white labradoodle being stolen. Ian Gary Connell, 39, of Duke Street, Bolton, was due to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court today. Donald ‘Prentice’ Patience, 45, was discovered by officers at a house on Ainsworth