News 08/09/25

Labour’s Socialist Campaign Group has begun discussions over who should stand as their candidate in the deputy leadership contest triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation.

The group, which represents the party’s left wing, is expected to unite behind a single name. Streatham MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy has already declared her candidacy, saying she looks forward to putting her case to members despite what she described as an undemocratic three-day window to do so.

Police and firefighters are investigating an incident that led to the evacuation of Heathrow’s Terminal 4.

Emergency crews initially described it as a possible hazardous materials situation, with around 20 people assessed for injuries at the scene by paramedics. However, the Metropolitan Police later confirmed no trace of any harmful substance was found.

A Canadian pensioner has been jailed for trying to smuggle cocaine worth six hundred thousand pounds through Gatwick Airport.

Seventy-one-year-old Ronald Lord from Montreal was stopped in February when Border Force officers x-rayed his mobility scooter. They discovered eight kilos of the drug hidden inside the seat back panel. He told officials he had been on holiday in Barbados before travelling to the UK for sightseeing. He’s now serving a six-year prison sentence.

Travel across London has been heavily disrupted on the first day of a Tube strike.

RMT members walked out in a dispute over pay and working hours, forcing commuters to turn to bikes, buses and black cabs to get around the capital. Transport for London says the Elizabeth Line and London Overground are running, though much busier than normal. The strike is expected to continue until eight o’clock on Friday morning.

Heathrow Airport says Terminal 4 check-in has been closed and evacuated while emergency services deal with an incident.

Passengers are being told not to travel to the terminal, although all other parts of the airport remain open. Pictures shared online show ambulances outside, and National Rail confirmed trains are not stopping at Terminal 4 while the response continues.

France’s prime minister has been ousted after losing a confidence vote in the National Assembly.

Francois Bayrou, who has been in office just nine months, lost by 364 votes to 194. He is now required to submit his resignation after lawmakers rejected his plan to cut public spending to tackle France’s growing economic problems. Earlier in the day, Bayrou had appealed for unity as he urged parliament to back his leadership.

A woman from Denham has been ordered to pay more than four thousand pounds and warned her XL Bully could be destroyed if it is not kept under control.

Bhawanjit Khehra was handed a bill of £4,065 at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court after an incident in Gerrards Cross last December. Two women were injured when her brown XL Bully attacked them in Phoenix Close. The court heard the dog had been off the lead and without a muzzle at the time.

Labour’s former deputy leader Harriet Harman says the party must choose a woman from outside London to replace Angela Rayner.

The party’s National Executive Committee has confirmed a fast-tracked deputy leadership contest. Nominations open on Tuesday, with the winner announced on the 25th of October. Candidates will need support from at least 80 MPs and backing from local parties or affiliated groups. Harman, who served as deputy under Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, said the next deputy should broaden Labour’s reach and energise the party.

The UK could suspend visas from countries that refuse to agree to migrant returns deals, according to the new Home Secretary.

Shabana Mahmood made the warning as she hosted Donald Trump’s homeland security chief and ministers from Australia, New Zealand and Canada at a Five Eyes meeting in London. The talks took place as pressure mounts on the government to cut Channel crossings, with more than a thousand people arriving on Saturday alone, one of the highest daily totals on record.

Prince Harry has paid tribute to his late grandmother at Windsor Castle on the third anniversary of the Queen’s death.

The Duke of Sussex laid a wreath and left flowers privately at the royal residence earlier today. He is in the UK for the annual WellChild Awards and will later visit a community recording studio in Nottingham.

At least 14 people have died and dozens more were injured after violent clashes in Nepal’s capital.

Demonstrators stormed barriers and surrounded the parliament in Kathmandu in protest at the government’s decision to block 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube. Police used tear gas and water cannons and reportedly opened fire as crowds tried to break into the building. Officers were eventually forced to retreat inside the complex as they were outnumbered.

At least four people have been killed in a shooting in Jerusalem, according to local authorities.

Fifteen others were injured, six of them seriously, after two gunmen opened fire on a bus as it reached a busy intersection at the northern entrance to the city. Police say the attackers were quickly neutralised.

Footage from the scene shows dozens of people running from a bus stop during the morning rush hour.

Labour’s ruling body will meet on Monday to set out plans for a deputy leadership election following Angela Rayner’s departure.

The National Executive Committee is expected to agree a timetable and rules for the contest, including how many MP nominations will be needed for candidates to make the ballot.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is said to be weighing up a run, while Foreign Affairs Committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry has already confirmed she’s considering entering the race.

An Australian woman has been jailed for life after murdering three relatives with a beef wellington laced with poisonous mushrooms.

Fifty-year-old Erin Patterson invited her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, to lunch at her home in Victoria in July 2023. All three died after eating the dish, which contained deadly death cap mushrooms. Heather’s husband, Reverend Ian Wilkinson, also fell seriously ill but survived following a liver transplant.

Patterson, a mother-of-two, must serve at least 33 years before being considered for parole.

The public is being urged to prepare for the risk of flooding, with the Met Office warning of a wetter and windier autumn ahead.

Forecasters say a strong jet stream and westerly winds could bring stormy conditions, particularly to western and northern parts of the UK. While rainfall isn’t guaranteed, the long-range forecast suggests those areas are most at risk, while the south and east may see drier-than-average conditions.

A former Army Sergeant Major has admitted sexually assaulting a teenage soldier who later took her own life.

Nineteen-year-old Gunner Jaysley Beck was found dead at Larkhill Barracks in Wiltshire in December 2021. She had previously filed a complaint against Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber, who pinned her down and tried to kiss her at a work event. An inquest earlier this year ruled the Army’s handling of her complaint played a significant role in her death.

Webber has now pleaded guilty to the assault.