News 20/02/26

The Metropolitan Police say they are assessing information following the further release of millions of court documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice.

In a statement, the force said it is aware of suggestions that London airports may have been used to facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Officers are seeking further detail from law enforcement partners, including in the United States. Separately, the Met is identifying and contacting former and serving officers who may have worked closely in a protection role with Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, asking them to consider whether anything they saw or heard could assist ongoing reviews.

Two people have been charged with murder after an investigation into the death of a three year old boy.

Police were called to a hospital on 3 January over concerns about Isiayah Henry from Woolwich in southeast London, who had been admitted with serious injuries. He died on 19 January despite what police described as the best efforts of medical staff. A safeguarding and criminal investigation was launched following initial enquiries.

Two teenagers have been jailed for murder after a father was stabbed in the heart in what was described as an unprovoked racist attack.

Marcus Staniforth, 17, and a 16 year old who cannot be named approached 38 year old Kamran Aman after he delivered groceries to his mother’s home in Barry, South Wales. The pair, from Llantwit Major, kicked and punched him, with racist abuse reported. Staniforth then stabbed him with a kitchen knife taken from a nearby property.

The Football Association has spoken to Manchester United co owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to remind him of his responsibilities as a participant in English football.

The move follows comments he made about immigration, telling Sky News that Britain had been colonised by immigrants draining state resources.

A majority of six Supreme Court justices has ruled against President Donald Trump over his use of tariffs.

He had warned curbing his authority would be an economic and national security disaster. The court said Congress, not the president, has the power to impose tariffs, and the 1977 Emergency Economic Powers Act did not grant such sweeping authority.

An Austrian climber has been found guilty of gross negligent manslaughter after his girlfriend froze to death on Austria’s highest mountain last year.

The man, named only as Thomas P under Austrian privacy laws, received a five month suspended sentence and a fine of 9,600 euros, around 8,400 pounds. Kerstin G died from hypothermia during a climbing trip on the Grossglockner in January 2025. In a statement, the court said his previous clean record and the loss of someone close to him were treated as mitigating factors.

Actor Eric Dane has died at the age of 53, less than a year after revealing he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

He was best known for playing Cal Jacobs in the HBO drama Euphoria and Dr Mark Sloan, known as Dr McSteamy, in Grey’s Anatomy. The California born actor announced his ALS diagnosis in April 2025 and spent his final months raising funds and awareness for the most common form of motor neurone disease. His family said he passed away on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS.

UK Athletics has admitted causing the death of Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei, who was struck on the head by a metal pole during training in 2017.

The 36 year old, who represented the United Arab Emirates, was fatally injured at Newham Leisure Centre in east London. He had been preparing to compete in the F34 class discus, javelin and shot put at the World Para Athletics Championships when part of a throwing cage collapsed. Teams and coaches from several nations were present at the time.

A drug dealer from Maidenhead has been jailed after police recovered more than £40,000 worth of cocaine, an air rifle and samurai style swords from his home.

Forty nine year old Robert Appleton, of Wessex Way, was sentenced to 27 months in prison at Reading Crown Court on Friday 30 January. He admitted possession with intent to supply a class A drug, namely cocaine. Officers carried out a Section 23 Misuse of Drugs Act warrant at his address on 17 March last year.

Ukraine’s president Volodomyr Zelenskyy says his country is ready for real compromises in negotiations with Russia to end the war.

Speaking to Japan’s Kyodo News, he said Kyiv would not accept ultimatums from the Russians again and again. His comments come amid widespread scepticism over whether Vladimir Putin has any genuine intention of reaching a settlement.

A NASA report has found two astronauts described as stranded in space came close to catastrophe because their spacecraft was not ready to fly.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were involved in what the agency classed as a life threatening Type A mishap, placing it alongside the fatal Space Shuttle disasters of 1986 and 2003. The findings come as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the moon on a rocket that has flown once before without a crew.

More money than ever has been left in the public finances after higher tax receipts, according to official figures.

January recorded the largest budget surplus since records began in 1993, data from the Office for National Statistics shows. The government received more than it spent during the month, leaving £30.4 billion remaining. That is £15.9 billion higher than the surplus reported in January 2025, although the figures are not adjusted for inflation.

Quentin Griffiths, co founder of online fashion giant Asos, has been named by Thai police as the man who fell to his death from a building in Pattaya on 9 February 2026.

Officers were alerted last Monday night after reports a man had fallen from an eighteen floor condominium and was found dead on the ground. Police say the British passport holder was alone, his room was locked from the inside and there were no signs of a break in. An autopsy found no evidence of foul play.

A significant shift in the UK weather pattern is on the way.

The recent spell of cold conditions bringing frost, ice and snow on hills is coming to an end. From Friday, temperatures are expected to rise by as much as ten degrees. The blocked pattern responsible for the wintry weather is being pushed aside, allowing milder air to remain for around a week. Forecasters say it will also bring further periods of rain moving in from the Atlantic.

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s former home in Berkshire will undergo further police searches today following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

He was released under investigation after around eleven hours in custody on Thursday. He had been arrested at Sandringham at eight in the morning on suspicion he shared sensitive information with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy. Officers searched the Windsor Estate and Wood Farm on the King’s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk, where Andrew, who was trade envoy between 2001 and 2011, has been living.

Newly qualified midwives are being forced to look for work outside the profession despite what are described as chronic staff shortages.

A survey by the Royal College of Midwives claims almost a third of graduates cannot find employment. Many are taking roles in hospitality, retail, office work and cleaning. Midwifery leaders have called the situation troubling, saying it comes at a time when maternity services are struggling with staffing gaps.

More than thirty drone squads equipped with laser mapping technology are being deployed by the Environment Agency to tackle rising levels of illegal waste dumping.

The agency faces criticism over its ability to catch the gangs responsible, who avoid millions of pounds in landfill tax. Despite the new measures announced today, environmental groups argue that technology alone will not solve the problem.

A single nasal spray vaccine could protect against coughs, colds, flu and bacterial lung infections, and may even ease allergies, according to researchers in the United States.

The team at Stanford University have tested the universal vaccine in animals and say human clinical trials are still needed. They describe the approach as a radical departure from vaccine design over the past two centuries. Experts say the early stage study is exciting and could represent a major step forward.

The first detailed genetic map of cancer in pet cats has revealed strong similarities with human disease.

Scientists analysed tumour DNA from almost five hundred domestic cats, identifying key mutations linked to cancer. The condition is a leading cause of illness and death in cats, yet little is known about how it develops.