News 06/09/25

More than 425 people have been arrested during a mass protest in central London against the government’s ban on Palestine Action.

Demonstrators filled Parliament Square carrying placards declaring their opposition to the group’s proscription. The Metropolitan Police said most arrests were for supporting a proscribed organisation, while more than 25 were detained for assaults on officers and other public order offences. The government made membership or support of Palestine Action illegal in July under the Terrorism Act, carrying a maximum prison term of 14 years.

England have made it four wins from four in World Cup qualifying, beating Andorra at Villa Park.

Thomas Tuchel’s side struggled to break down stubborn resistance from the visitors, who are ranked 174th in the world, but eventually forced the breakthrough. Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson impressed on debut, while the opening goal came after 25 minutes when Andorra’s Christian Garcia headed Noni Madueke’s cross into his own net. England’s pressure told late on as they secured another victory under Tuchel’s leadership.

A report into the deadly Lisbon funicular crash has revealed the cable connecting the two carriages snapped, triggering an automatic braking system that failed to stop the runaway vehicle.

Investigators said the Gloria funicular travelled only six metres before it lost the balancing force of the cable. The pneumatic and manual brakes were engaged, but neither reduced the vehicle’s speed as it accelerated to around 37 miles per hour before impact. The crash, which killed 17 people including three Britons, unfolded in less than 50 seconds.

In Buckinghamshire, a 79-year-old man from California has enjoyed an emotional reunion with a dog thanks to a local care company.

Robert, who once kept animals on a ranch, had to leave them behind when he moved to Taplow for health reasons. Staff at Bluebird Care arranged for him to spend time with Patsy, a Patterdale Terrier from Claire’s Comfy Canines. The visit was described as “heartwarming” by carers, who said it lifted Robert’s spirits.

The families of two British victims of the Lisbon funicular crash say they are “heartbroken”.

Thirty-six-year-old Kayleigh Smith and forty-four-year-old William Nelson died alongside fourteen others on Wednesday, including another British national who has not yet been named. Smith graduated from the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester, where Nelson ran the master’s degree in directing. In a tribute shared by Cheshire Police, Smith’s family said she was loved for her wit, humour, and caring nature, which shone through in her work as a funeral operative.

Nigel Farage has said he would deport women and children asylum seekers back to Afghanistan if he became prime minister.

Speaking at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham, the party leader confirmed to Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby that he would send them back to the Taliban regime, despite previously suggesting otherwise. Asked directly if he would detain them and return them to Afghanistan, the Clacton MP replied: “yes”.

Graffiti branding Angela Rayner a “tax evader” has been removed from outside her flat in Hove, after a local resident paid for the clean-up.

The vandalism appeared on a wall and nearby construction boards, days after Rayner admitted she failed to pay the correct stamp duty when she bought the £800,000 property. Brighton and Hove City Council had been due to remove it, but workers pulled back following complaints about the speed of the response compared to similar cases across the city.

Police have made arrests at a Palestine Action protest in London.

Demonstrators gathered in Parliament Square in support of the proscribed terror group, while similar events took place in Belfast and Edinburgh. Within minutes of the protest starting, the Met announced on social media that arrests had been made. In Westminster, chants of “shame on you” were heard as one man was taken away by officers.

Around one hundred firefighters are tackling a blaze in a nine-storey building in White City, west London.

Fifteen fire engines are at the scene on Wood Lane, where flames have spread to the upper floors of the former BBC Television Centre. The site was the broadcaster’s headquarters until 2013. Wood Lane has been closed to traffic, with the London Fire Brigade urging people to avoid the area.

A Slough man has been jailed for a year after breaking into local shops.

Fifty-two-year-old Adrian Levitt, of Wellington Street, admitted three counts of business burglary after targeting two Morrison’s Daily stores in Beaconsfield and Burnham in July. Levitt attempted to steal cigarettes during both break-ins. He was arrested on August 21 and charged the following day before being sentenced at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court.

Police say bribes have been used to jump the queue for affordable housing in London.

An investigation by the City of London Police has uncovered evidence of widespread corruption involving housing officers in Barking and Dagenham. Two people have been arrested. Detectives believe hundreds of homes were allocated through fraudulent schemes, with associates of housing officers subletting properties and advertising them on social media. Prospective tenants are said to have paid inflated rents and so-called finder’s fees to secure homes.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault after flares were thrown at The Bell Hotel in Epping.

Essex Police imposed a dispersal order covering the town until Saturday morning, giving officers the power to remove those causing antisocial behaviour. The hotel has been at the centre of repeated protests after an asylum seeker staying there sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl earlier this year.