News 04/09/25

Former Conservative minister Nadine Dorries has defected to Reform UK, calling the Conservative Party “dead”.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the former culture secretary said members must now “think the unthinkable and look to the future.” Her move comes on the eve of Reform’s annual conference, where she is expected to open proceedings with a speech.

A man whose arrest triggered protests outside an Essex hotel housing asylum seekers has been found guilty of sexual assault.

Forty-one-year-old Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old girl at the Bell Hotel in Epping in July. Jurors heard he tried to kiss the teenager, put his hand on her thigh and brushed her hair. An adult woman also accused him of similar behaviour just days after he arrived in the UK on a small boat.

Parliamentary staff have foiled a plot to disrupt Prime Minister’s Questions with a hidden phone set to play sex noises.

Security guards discovered the device taped under a Commons table during a sweep ahead of Wednesday’s session. Sky News reports it was rigged to sound during Sir Keir Starmer’s exchange with Kemi Badenoch. The phone was removed before it could be triggered.

Police in Slough are warning residents about rising thefts of Blue Badges from vehicles in the town centre.

Thames Valley Police say car parks and the High Street have seen a spike in offences, with thieves targeting vehicles displaying the permits. Officers are urging drivers not to leave personal items inside and to put away badges when not in use.

Daniel Levy’s near 25-year tenure as executive chairman of Tottenham Hotspur has come to an end.

The club announced he had stepped down, but sources said the decision was forced by the ownership. They believe change at the top will deliver greater success. Levy, who took charge in 2001, departs just months after Spurs ended a 17-year wait for silverware by winning the Europa League.

Dmitry Medvedev has threatened Britain with retaliation after the UK confirmed it would use frozen Russian assets to fund more than a billion pounds of military support for Ukraine.

The former Russian president and close Putin ally called the move theft and warned British assets could now be targeted. Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, used his Telegram channel to accuse the UK of transferring what he called Russian money to “neo-Nazis”.

In Portugal, the mayor of Lisbon has described last night’s derailment of the city’s historic Gloria funicular as an “unprecedented accident”.

Fifteen people died and eighteen were injured, five of them critically. Mayor Carlos Moedas has declared three days of mourning while all funicular services in the capital have been suspended. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro has offered his condolences, saying the country is united with the victims’ families.

Seventeen people have been injured after a bus struck pedestrians on a busy London street.

The Route 24 bus mounted the pavement on Victoria Street near Victoria Station just after 8.20 this morning. Police say two people were treated at the scene and fifteen others, including the driver, were taken to hospital. None of the injuries are believed to be life threatening.

Legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91.

His fashion house confirmed the Italian-born billionaire passed away at home on Thursday. A statement from the Armani Group described him as its creator, founder and tireless driving force. Armani had not appeared at his shows in June while recovering from illness.

The world’s biggest illegal sports streaming website has been shut down.

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment said it worked with Egyptian police to close Streameast, which attracted more than 1.6 billion visits in the past year. The site provided pirated streams of Premier League football, Formula One and Major League Baseball. ACE chairman Charles Rivkin called the move a resounding victory against digital piracy.

A man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool FC’s Premier League victory parade has pleaded not guilty to all 31 charges against him.

Paul Doyle, aged 53, denied nine counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of wounding, 18 counts of attempted GBH, along with dangerous driving and affray. Police said 134 people were injured when a Ford Galaxy hit crowds leaving the Liverpool waterfront in May.

The charges relate to 29 victims, the youngest just six months old and the oldest aged 77.

Portugal’s public prosecutor has launched an investigation into the crash of Lisbon’s iconic Gloria funicular.

Officials say the move is required by law and aims to preserve key evidence. The inquiry will run alongside probes by police, the national transport safety authority and the company that operates the line.

Fifteen people were killed and 18 injured when the historic funicular derailed this week.

Bus passengers in Slough and Buckinghamshire will benefit from a new service from September 28.

The scheme, funded by both local councils and operated by First Bus, is part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan. More frequent buses will run during peak hours, and evening services will be extended on route three through Iver.

The changes will improve connections to the Elizabeth Line and the Metropolitan Line, making commuting easier for local residents.

At least 15 people have died and 23 others were injured in the derailment of Lisbon’s iconic Gloria funicular.

Emergency officials say teams of pathologists at the National Forensics Institute, reinforced by colleagues from three other cities, worked through the night on post-mortem examinations. The funicular’s mangled wreckage remains on the downtown road where it crashed, sealed off by police as investigations continue.

Spain’s prime minister has been forced to attend today’s coalition of the willing summit virtually after his plane developed a technical fault mid-flight.

Pedro Sanchez was on his way to the meeting when the aircraft was forced to return to Madrid, his office confirmed. It comes just days after EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen’s plane suffered GPS jamming, allegedly by Russia, though there is no suggestion the two incidents are connected.

A new system known as Martha’s Rule is to be rolled out across all English hospitals providing acute or short-term care.

It allows families to request an urgent second opinion if they are worried about treatment. The scheme follows a campaign by the parents of 13-year-old Martha Mills, who died after serious failings in her care. Piloted at 143 hospitals since April last year, the telephone helpline has already logged nearly 5,000 calls, leading to 241 potentially life-saving interventions.

 

Scientists have warned that government efforts to eliminate tuberculosis in cattle will fail without greater urgency and funding.

The disease has divided farmers and wildlife groups for years over the use of badger culls. Ministers plan to phase out culling by 2029, replacing it with badger vaccinations, and have set a target to eradicate TB in English herds by 2038. But a new review says the strategy will only work if vaccinations are rolled out quickly and stronger infection controls are introduced among cattle.

The leader of Britain’s trade unions has called on Labour to counter the rise of Reform UK with higher taxes on millionaires, banks and the gambling sector.

Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, has published polling of 5,000 adults suggesting some Labour supporters are leaning towards Reform. His call comes just ahead of the TUC’s annual conference in Brighton, where delegates are expected to back the high-tax approach overwhelmingly.

Portugal is in shock after 15 people were killed in the derailment of Lisbon’s 140-year-old Gloria funicular.

Eighteen others were taken to hospital, five with serious injuries. Authorities confirmed foreign nationals were among the victims but have not disclosed their identities. The crash happened just after six o’clock on Wednesday evening. Lisbon’s mayor Carlos Moedas, who visited survivors in hospital, called it a tragic moment for the city. The government has declared a day of national mourning.

Israeli forces are stepping up attacks on Gaza City ahead of a possible ground offensive.

Hospitals report more than 30 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in strikes on Wednesday, mostly in the north and west. Israel’s chief of staff vowed to continue hitting Hamas until it is defeated and hostages are released. The UN and aid agencies warn the bombardment is worsening what they call horrific humanitarian conditions in the city, where famine was declared last month.

Langley Hall Primary Academy Trust in Slough has been issued with a formal Notice to Improve after submitting inaccurate budget forecasts while running a deficit of more than £300,000.

The Department for Education says the trust failed to meet financial management standards and that government approval will now be required for decisions previously made independently. Accounts show the trust ended last August with negative free reserves of nearly £380,000.