UK News

The US military action in Venezuela breaches international law and the UK should make clear it is “unacceptable”, the chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has said. Dame Emily Thornberry is the most senior Labour MP so far to criticise Donald Trump’s strikes on the country over the weekend, which saw President Nicolas Maduro and his wife seized. The ...

Snow and ice warnings are covering much of the UK over the weekend and beyond. Amber snow warnings are in effect for Scotland until noon. Yellow snow and ice warnings are in place across the south-west, north-west and east coast of England, and Wales and Northern Ireland, until Monday. Heavy snowfall has already covered parts of Scotland, with the Met ...

The government has launched a recruitment drive for thousands of new magistrates to volunteer in England and Wales as part of its efforts to grapple with the crown court backlog. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said more than 2,000 magistrates have been trained since 2022 and the latest call aims to boost that number by another 2,000 within the next ...

The home secretary will “robustly defend” the decision to strip Shamima Begum of her British citizenship, as European judges scrutinise the move, according to a government source. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has called for an investigation, but a government source said the decision had already been upheld by UK courts. Ms Begum was 15 when she travelled ...

A former Tory peer who defected to Reform UK could lead the party in Scotland ahead of the campaign for the Holyrood elections next May. Lord Offord of Garvel, a former Scotland Office minister, has featured on Reform leaflets distributed to target voters, and has been picked to represent the party in STV’s leaders debate next Monday. The former Tory ...

Tributes have been paid after the death of a councillor who became the UK’s first female Asian lord mayor. Manjula Sood, who was 80, was described as “a dedicated servant to the Leicester community”, having also served as assistant mayor and Labour councillor for the Stoneygate ward in the city. According to her website, Ms Sood came to Leicester from ...

Thefts of tools and equipment from building sites are increasingly being carried out by organised criminal groups, according to security bosses, amid warnings that the crimewave could accelerate during the Christmas construction shutdown. Copper cables, tools and even telehandlers and diggers costing tens of thousands of pounds have been stolen in recent months, according to the security firm Kingdom Systems. ...

More than half a million pounds has been spent since 2024 on using social media influencers to promote UK government campaigns on subjects ranging from the environment to welfare. The spending has included hiring 215 influencers since 2024, of which there were 126 in 2025 – an increase on the 89 hired in 2024 – and is seen as an ...

The government’s partial U-turn on what opponents dubbed the “farms tax” was a Christmas present for those who had campaigned against the imposition of 20% inheritance tax from next April. About half the farms that would have been affected will now be exempt. But given that minsters had defended the policy in the 14 months since last year’s Budget, the ...

Six immigration officers have been charged with offences after an investigation into alleged thefts from migrants and money laundering. Five of the officers are facing charges including conspiracy to steal and misconduct in public office, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Tuesday. All six have been charged with money laundering offences. Besmir Matera, 36, Lee-Ann Evanson, 42, John Bernthal, ...