News 25/10/25

Independent candidate Catherine Connolly has been elected Ireland’s new president after her rival conceded defeat.

The 68-year-old former barrister from Galway secured 63 percent of first-preference votes in an election marked by a high number of spoiled ballots. Speaking at Dublin Castle, Connolly said she would be an “inclusive president for all,” promising to listen, reflect and only speak when necessary.

The Metropolitan Police has issued an urgent appeal to a convicted sex offender who was mistakenly released from prison in Essex to hand himself in.

Hadush Kebatu, jailed just weeks ago for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, was freed in error on Friday and later seen travelling across east London. Commander James Conway said Kebatu has access to money and has approached members of the public for help.

He boarded a train from Essex to Stratford shortly after midday, and police say they’re pursuing all lines of enquiry to find him.

Lucy Powell has been elected as Labour’s new deputy leader.

The former Leader of the House of Commons, who was dismissed in last month’s reshuffle, defeated Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to succeed Angela Rayner. The final tally saw Powell secure just over eighty-seven thousand votes, with Phillipson on seventy-three thousand.

Powell now steps back into the front line of Labour leadership, less than a month after being sacked by Sir Keir Starmer.

Police are continuing their search for a convicted sex offender who was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford.

Essex Police say the man was last seen in London, with officers working through the night to trace his movements using CCTV footage.

They’ve confirmed their main focus is now the capital, as the manhunt enters its second day.

Authorities have seized more than two thousand fake weight loss jabs in Northampton, in what’s being called the world’s largest haul of counterfeit medication.

The UK’s medicines regulator and police discovered the illegal factory was producing and distributing unlicensed pens falsely labelled as tirzepatide, an ingredient found in Mounjaro.
Pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly has warned that anyone buying such products online risks serious harm, as there’s no way to know what they contain.

A woman remains under police guard in hospital after a nine-year-old girl was found dead in the Oxfordshire village of Islip.

Officers were called to Middle Street on Tuesday morning after reports that three children had been assaulted. The young girl was pronounced dead at the scene, while two other children and a forty-nine-year-old woman were taken to hospital with injuries.

Police say the woman’s condition is life-threatening, and her family is being supported by specialist officers.