News 18/08/26

The MP for Shoreham, Tom Rutland, has offered his condolences after three members of the same family died when getting into trouble in the water off the West Sussex coast.

Mr Rutland said he was deeply saddened by the tragic news and praised emergency crews who worked tirelessly in exceptionally difficult circumstances. He added that the entire community would be praying for the recovery of a young girl currently receiving medical treatment in hospital.

A senior prosecutor in California has accused social media giant Meta of repeatedly choosing profits over the safety of children.

Megan O’Neill, deputy attorney general for the state’s department of justice, claimed Mark Zuckerberg’s company failed to take the simplest, most obvious steps to keep under-thirteens off its platforms. She further accused Meta of deliberately hiding the reality of how many young children are actively using its social media sites.

Parts of the UK could see flooding over the coming days, as the Met Office forecasts meaningful rainfall for drought-hit areas.

Cooler and wetter conditions are expected to bring much-needed relief following five summer heatwaves that have parched green spaces, sparked dangerous wildfires, and brought hosepipe bans for millions. Showers across the North and Midlands will spread southwards, with further wet weather predicted towards the end of the week.

A person has died and hundreds more have fallen ill during a salmonella outbreak that UK health experts believe is linked to imported eggs.

The UK Health Security Agency is investigating two hundred and seven recorded cases, with more than a third of patients needing hospital care. Officials confirmed that while most people recover without treatment, this specific outbreak involves an identical strain of the bacteria.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised that every rough sleeper in England will be offered emergency accommodation this winter, aiming to get everyone inside for Christmas.

The four-hundred-and-forty-two-million-pound initiative will also provide practical support for health needs. However, shadow housing secretary James Cleverly criticised the plan, saying there was little detail explaining how the package would be funded or delivered.

The MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, Tom Rutland, says he is deeply concerned following reports of multiple people getting into difficulty in the water near Shoreham Harbour.

In a post on social media, the Labour politician described it as an extremely worrying time and said his thoughts were with everyone involved. He confirmed he has contacted police, but emphasised that emergency services must focus on the ongoing response.

The Irish media regulator is to contact social media giant TikTok over its efforts to tackle videos showing reckless and illegal driving.

It follows the deaths of five teenage boys in County Kildare on Sunday when their car sped the wrong way down a motorway and hit a family travelling to Dublin Airport. The three sisters and a seven-year-old boy in the second vehicle remain seriously injured in hospital.

Pub chain Wetherspoons has banned customers from playing music out loud or taking phone calls on speaker across its 792 UK venues.

The company said it acted after receiving increasing complaints from pub-goers, asking customers to switch devices to silent or use earphones instead. Staff will be asked to use common sense when enforcing the new rules. 

A landmark federal trial against Meta alleging the tech giant contributed to a mental health crisis among young people opens today.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is accused of knowingly designing features to addict children and illegally collecting data on under-thirteens without parental consent. Dozens of American states are seeking financial damages that could total as much as 1.03 trillion pounds.

A young British couple on their honeymoon and their Greek pilot have been killed in a helicopter crash on the Greek island of Sifnos.

Alexander Cromie and Marie Ebert died alongside the pilot when their private aircraft crashed just metres from a landing pad on Monday. The pair had taken off from near Athens. An official investigation into the cause of the crash is under way.

An employee of asylum accommodation provider Serco has been charged with misconduct in public office for allegedly sharing property addresses.

James Jobson, who is 62 and from near Norwich, appeared at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Monday after houses in Thetford, Norfolk, were targeted by crowds over three nights earlier this month. Jobson was remanded in custody ahead of a Crown Court appearance next month.

A fifty-five-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter after another man who was bitten by a dog on a footpath in West Yorkshire died.

Lee Ellis, who is fifty-five, was charged following the death of a man bitten by a German Shepherd in Wakefield on Saturday. Police had been called to reports of an altercation on an old train line footpath off Blacker Lane in Calder Grove, where the victim was bitten before later dying in hospital.

The UK Ministry of Defence has responded to Russian threats regarding reports that Ukraine is using British drones to conduct strikes inside Russia.

A defence spokesperson confirmed that Britain continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and remains fully committed to providing the equipment necessary for the country to defend itself against Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion.

Wet weather is forecast for parts of the UK following a summer of record-breaking heatwaves and widespread drought.

Heavy showers are expected across north-west England, Northern Ireland and southern Scotland, though rain-starved areas in south-east England may stay dry. Where heavy downpours do occur, forecasters warn of risks from hail, lightning and potential flash flooding.

A railway bridge named as the most bashed in Britain has been struck by a lorry twice in two days.

The A5 Watling Street near Hinckley in Leicestershire was closed on Sunday morning after a vehicle hit the structure, before being shut again on Monday afternoon for a second collision. Network Rail confirmed no structural damage was found.