News 09/12/25

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence has confirmed the death of a member of the UK armed forces in Ukraine.

The soldier died on Tuesday morning after being injured in what has been described as a tragic accident. He had been observing Ukrainian forces as they tested a new defensive capability away from the front lines. The MOD says the family has been informed and that their thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

Some schools have reintroduced Covid like measures to slow the spread of flu, with reported illness levels higher than this time last year.

A primary school in Leeds cut back on singing in assemblies and brought in sanitising stations, while another in Caerphilly had to close temporarily. Flu season has arrived early and some hospitals have asked staff, patients and visitors to wear face masks. School leaders say winter illnesses are causing disruption in several settings.

COVID 19 fraud and error cost taxpayers nearly eleven billion pounds, according to the COVID 19 Counter Fraud Commissioner’s final report.

It found that furlough, bounce back loans and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme led to ten point nine billion pounds in losses. The review says weak accountability, poor quality data and flawed contracting made it easy for fraudsters to claim support across multiple schemes and secure dual funding.

Donald Trump says Russia currently holds the upper hand in peace negotiations and that Volodymyr Zelenskyy must get his act together and start accepting things.

Speaking to German newspaper Bild, he accused Ukraine’s European allies of talking too much and not delivering. Trump has drafted a twenty eight point peace plan but neither side has accepted it. The proposal faces major obstacles, especially over possible land concessions and how Ukraine could be protected from future Russian aggression.

A report on the top British spy inside the IRA during The Troubles says he committed crimes of the worst possible kind, including torture and murder, and should be publicly named by the government.

It is widely accepted that the late republican Freddie Scappaticci was the agent known as Stakeknife. He led the IRA’s internal security unit, the so called nutting squad, while secretly acting as a mole for British intelligence.

Two men have been charged over an incident at Heathrow Airport that left twenty one people needing medical treatment.

Thirty one year old Tyrone Richards and twenty four year old Anton Clarke Butcher each face two counts of robbery and two counts of administering a noxious substance after the incident at Terminal Three on Sunday. Police were called at eight eleven in the morning. Ambulance crews treated twenty one people, including a three year old girl, and five were taken to hospital with injuries not thought to be life changing.

The EU has launched an investigation into Google over its AI summaries that appear above search results.

Regulators will examine whether website data was used without appropriate compensation for publishers. They are also looking at how YouTube videos may have been used to develop wider AI systems and whether creators could opt out. Google says the probe risks stifling innovation.

Victims of maternity failings say they are disappointed with an interim report and fear it will lack the power to drive change.

The investigation into NHS maternity services follows shocking scandals. Baroness Amos, leading the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, says nothing prepared her for the level of unacceptable care described during meetings and hospital visits.

Ukraine is preparing to present a new peace plan to the White House as it seeks to avoid territorial concessions to Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out surrendering land, saying he has no right under Ukrainian or international law. He met European and Nato leaders to deter US support for concessions, while a Russian drone attack left Sumy without power.