UK

Boris Johnson has said voters are fed up of hearing about things he had “stuffed up” as he played down a bruising double by-election defeat as a “safety valve”. The prime minister, who has faced a barrage of criticism over lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street and over his own conduct, argued people had not been

Thousands of people with weekend plans will face disruption and chaos as rail workers strike for the third day this week. Only a fifth of services will run and half of lines will be closed as 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators walk out.

Boris Johnson has suffered a double blow as the Tories crashed to two by-election defeats in his first test at the ballot box since a bruising no-confidence vote. The Conservatives saw a majority of 24,000, or 40.6%, in the Devon seat of Tiverton and Honiton evaporate – a record reverse for the party – as

The prospect of strikes affecting BA services at Heathrow this summer are another headache for a struggling airline and also passengers who were, likely, already nervous about getting away after disruption at airports across Europe. Here, Sky News explains your rights as a consumer in the event British Airways is hit by strikes involving hundreds

British Airways (BA) workers have voted to strike during the school summer holidays in a move set to cause more travel chaos as the industry struggles to recover from the pandemic. Members of the GMB and Unite unions overwhelmingly supported the prospect of industrial action over pay with 95% of those voting, at both unions,

A member of the infamous Rochdale gang that groomed dozens of girls for sex has told a judge he shouldn’t be deported because his son needs a role model. Adil Khan, 51, and Qari Abdul Rauf, 52, are due to be sent back to Pakistan for the public good after being convicted in May 2012.

Traces of the polio virus have been found during a routine sewage inspection in London, leading the UK Health Security Agency to declare a national incident. Health officials are now concerned about the community spread of the virus after samples were collected from the Beckton Sewage Treatment Works in London, but have stressed the risk

Millions of people have been hit by severe travel disruption on the first day of the biggest rail strike for a generation – with passengers set to face more cancellations tomorrow. Although it is not officially a strike day on Wednesday, only 60% of trains are expected to run – mostly because of a delay

Millions of Britons are being hit by severe travel disruption, with only a fifth of train services running today due to the biggest national rail strike in 33 years. Half of lines are closed – affecting large swathes of the UK and most of Scotland and Wales – with limited hours of 7.30am to 6.30pm

Boris Johnson will condemn unions for what is expected to be the biggest train strike in three decades. Around 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators will walk out from midnight for all of Tuesday, as well as Thursday and Saturday in a dispute over

Heathrow has asked airlines to cancel 10% of their flights today as the airport faces a baggage backlog. It comes after hundreds of passengers were left waiting for over three hours during the weekend to retrieve their luggage. Airlines have been given the option of consolidating their flights at Heathrow – meaning that instead of

Motorists are being warned to expect a surge in traffic on the roads when this week’s strikes bring large parts of Britain’s rail network to a halt. The AA believes the worst-affected roads are likely to be main motorway arteries, in addition to rural and suburban areas. And although the rail strikes are only taking

Britain is facing a summer of discontent with more workers set to be balloted on strike action, a union chief has warned, as a series of walkouts is set to cripple the rail network. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has predicted industrial action could spread to other services, arguing that “people can’t take it anymore”.

Dame Kelly Holmes has announced she is gay, and says she has hidden it for 34 years. Speaking during Pride month, the two-time gold medallist said she realised she was gay at the age of 17 after kissing a fellow female soldier, and that her family and friends have known since 1997. The Olympic champion

The grounding of the first flight of asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda was an “absolutely scandalous” move, Priti Patel has said. Judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) granted an injunction that resulted in a chartered aircraft to Kigali being unable to depart Wiltshire on Tuesday. And in an interview with

British hosts of Ukrainian refugees have experienced a postcode lottery in receiving monthly £350 “thank you” payments, according to a charity. Under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, households hosting Ukrainians are entitled to the cash for stepping forward. But in some areas, the rollout of the payments has been slow or delayed. Rend Platings, chair

The UK has had its hottest day of the year for the third day in a row. A high of 30.3C (86.5F) has been recorded at Heathrow, with the temperature expected to climb later on. That beat the peak on Thursday when 29.5C (85.1F) was recorded at Northolt in west London. Warm temperatures to plunge

Passengers at Heathrow will not face major disruption this summer despite an industry-wide international labour crisis that could take 18 months to resolve, the airport’s chief executive has said. Travellers at airports across the UK faced significant disruption to flights during a chaotic half-term week culminating in the Jubilee weekend, sparking concern that summer holidays

The Bank of England has raised interest rates for the fifth time in a row to 1.25% and set the scene to act more “forcefully” ahead because of a mounting inflation threat. There had been speculation of a more aggressive tightening after the sharpest rate hike since 1994 of 0.75% was imposed by counterparts at

Lord Geidt has resigned as the prime minister’s adviser on ministerial interests. He tendered his resignation to Boris Johnson, according to a brief statement on the government’s website on Wednesday evening. “With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests,” the statement reads.