News 23/12/25

An email sent to Ghislaine Maxwell referring to “the girls” being “completely shattered” at a Royal Family summer camp at Balmoral is among documents due for release in the latest Epstein files.

The message was written by someone using the name The Invisible Man, signing off as A with three kisses, and is believed to be Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The context is unclear and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing. He has previously denied allegations against him.

Russell Brand has been charged with further counts of rape and sexual assault, police have confirmed.

The new charges relate to two additional women and are in addition to those issued in April, which involved four women. He had previously been charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, and two counts of sexual assault. Brand has pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges.

The government has made a major Christmas U-turn on inheritance tax for farmers.

Tax relief on family farms passed between generations will rise from £1 million to £2.5 million, meaning only farms valued over £5 million will pay. The reversal overturns the unpopular proposals in Rachel Reeves’s budget last year and follows a personal intervention by the prime minister. National Farmers Union president Tom Bradshaw said the government changed course after two “very constructive meetings” with the PM.

Two burglars who used the Grindr dating app to trick victims into allowing them into their homes have been jailed.

Rahmat Khan Mohammadi, twenty three, and Mohammed Bilal Hotak, twenty seven, arranged meetings at London properties and persuaded victims to provide phone passwords by asking to play music on YouTube. They then stole devices and used them for online or contactless payments, occasionally transferring funds to themselves. Mohammadi targeted eleven victims over a five-month period between twenty fourth October twenty twenty four and twenty fourth March twenty twenty five.

 

Two Islamic State extremists have been found guilty of plotting a deadly gun attack on Manchester’s Jewish community.

Walid Saadaoui, thirty eight, and Amar Hussein, fifty two, were convicted by a jury at Preston Crown Court on Tuesday. They had bought assault rifles, handguns and ammunition for a planned suicide attack targeting Jewish people, saying any Christian victims would be a bonus. Saadaoui’s brother, Bilel Saddaoui, thirty six, of Fairclough Street, Hindley, Wigan, was also found guilty of failing to disclose information about the terror plans.

Six immigration officers have been charged with stealing from migrants and laundering money.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the alleged offences took place between August twenty twenty one and November twenty twenty two. Prosecutors worked with the Home Office’s anti corruption unit during the investigation, according to the CPS. All six defendants are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on twenty nine January.

Police have released a CCTV image during an armed robbery investigation after a man who claimed he had a gun demanded money at Betfred in Slough.

At around nine oh nine pm on Thursday, December eighteen, a man entered the betting shop on Parlaunt Road. Officers said he stated he had a gun and told staff to hand over cash. He failed to gain entry to the secure counter area where the money is held.Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been arrested in central London at a demonstration supporting Palestine Action hunger strikers.

City of London Police said a twenty two year old woman was arrested for displaying a placard supporting the proscribed organisation Palestine Action, contrary to Section thirteen of the Terrorism Act two thousand. Video shared by the Prisoners for Palestine group shows Ms Thunberg holding a sign outside Aspen Insurance offices.

A two year old boy has died and five others were seriously injured after a broken down car was hit on the A1 motorway.

The crash happened at about six twenty pm on Saturday when a Toyota Auris was struck by a Volkswagen Touran in a live northbound lane near the Stibbington junction. The boy was among six passengers from London, with the others taken to Peterborough City Hospital with serious injuries.

A man has appeared in court charged with dozens of sexual offences against his former wife over a thirteen year period.

Philip Young, forty nine, formerly of Swindon, faces fifty six charges including multiple counts of rape against Joanne Young, forty eight. He is also charged with administering a substance to allow sexual activity, voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme images. Young spoke only to confirm his name and address in court.

Donald Trump has said he hated seeing photographs of Bill Clinton in newly released Epstein files.

Images of the former US president appeared among thousands of Justice Department documents linked to the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. In his first media appearance since their release, Mr Trump said it was terrible, adding he liked Mr Clinton and hated seeing the pictures.

A man is due in court charged with five others over sexual offences against his former wife over a thirteen-year period.

Philip Young, forty-nine, formerly of Swindon, faces fifty-six charges including multiple rape counts against Joanne Young, forty-eight, police said. He also faces allegations of administering a substance to overpower her, plus voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children and extreme images.

This year is on course to be the UK’s hottest on record, the Met Office says, as climate change pushes temperatures higher.

With just over a week remaining, the average UK air temperature for 2025 is expected to reach about ten point zero five degrees. A cooler Christmas could alter the final figure, but 2025 is likely to edge past the previous record of ten point zero three from 2022. Low rainfall and persistent warmth left the country vulnerable to droughts and wildfires, with temperatures peaking at thirty-five point eight.

England will investigate reports of players drinking excessively during a break in the Ashes series in Noosa.

The squad spent four nights on the Queensland coast between the second and third Tests. Reports said some players drank heavily there and during two earlier days in Brisbane, host of the second Test. Despite an improved performance in Adelaide, England were beaten and cannot regain the Ashes.