News 03/02/26

It has been confirmed that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has moved from Royal Lodge and is now living in Norfolk.

This is understood to be the first phase of a longer move which may take time. Royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills says he is staying on the Sandringham Estate as temporary accommodation, with a further move expected once final arrangements are completed.

Two people have died after a light aircraft crashed in farmland near Littleborough in Greater Manchester shortly after 11AM.

Greater Manchester Police said two men were found and pronounced dead at the scene. Officers said nobody else is believed to have been on board and there were no reported injuries.

The ex husband of former first lady Jill Biden has been charged with first degree murder following the death of his wife.

William Stevenson, seventy seven, was indicted by a grand jury in Delaware over the death of sixty four year old Linda Stevenson last year. Mrs Biden married Stevenson in February nineteen seventy aged eighteen. They divorced five years later after she met then senator Joe Biden.

An Iranian drone was shot down after aggressively approaching an American aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.

A United States military spokesman said an F35 C stealth fighter from the USS Abraham Lincoln destroyed the drone in self defence. The ship was about five hundred miles from the Iranian coast. No United States equipment was damaged and no service members were harmed.

Gordon Brown has written to the head of the Metropolitan Police regarding Peter Mandelson’s contact with Jeffrey Epstein.

The former prime minister said in a statement sent to the Press Association that he had written to commissioner Sir Mark Rowley with information he believes is relevant to the investigation into Mandelson’s disclosure of market sensitive and confidential government information to the paedophile financier. The Metropolitan Police previously confirmed officers had received a referral from the government relating to emails sent by Mandelson to Epstein and that the matter was being assessed.

Seven million cases of cancer worldwide could be prevented each year, according to the first global analysis of its kind.

A report by scientists at the World Health Organization estimates that thirty seven percent of cancers are caused by infections, lifestyle choices and environmental pollutants that could be avoided. The report highlights cervical cancer linked to human papilloma virus infections, which vaccination can help prevent, along with a range of tumours caused by exposure to tobacco smoke from cigarettes. Researchers said the findings show a powerful opportunity to transform the lives of millions of people globally.

Prince Edward has urged people to “remember the victims” as he became the first royal to respond to the latest release of the Epstein files.

Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on a panel called “Is Education Measured By Years Or Skills?”, Edward, the brother of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who also features in the files alongside his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, told CNN: “Well, with the best will in the world. I’m not sure this is the audience that is probably the least interested in that. They all came here to listen to education, solving the future, but no, I think it’s all really important always to remember the victims and who are the victims in all this.”

Peter Mandelson is set to step down as a member of the House of Lords following the latest revelations about his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The New Labour grandee was awarded a life peerage in 2008, but had been on a leave of absence from 31 January last year following his appointment as UK ambassador to Washington, a post from which he was sacked in September after more details about his links to Epstein emerged.

Government officials are drafting legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage, according to the prime minister’s spokesperson.

Ministers are prepared to legislate to remove him from the House of Lords if required. Sir Keir Starmer told a cabinet meeting he was appalled by revelations in the Epstein files, said Mandelson had let the country down, and stressed speed vital.

A thirteen year old Australian boy has described battling massive waves during a four hour swim to shore to raise the alarm after his family were swept out to sea.

Austin Appelbee was with his mother, brother and sister on an inflatable kayak and paddleboards off Western Australia when strong winds picked up. His mother asked him to swim ashore.

A light aircraft believed to be carrying two people has crashed in Greater Manchester, prompting an emergency response.

Police, firefighters and an air ambulance were sent to farmland near the M62 in Littleborough, Rochdale, shortly after eleven am. Flight Radar data said the small Cirrus SR20 had taken off from Birmingham, and images showed a yellow parachute canopy nearby pylon.

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India has been grounded after reports of a possible defect with a fuel control switch.

The concern was raised on a flight from Heathrow to Bengaluru. Air India said pilots’ concerns were being checked as a priority, adding inspections of its entire Dreamliner fleet previously found no issues. Boeing is supporting.

A thirteen year old has been arrested after an e bike crash involving a pregnant woman whose baby was later born in hospital and remains in a serious condition.

The collision happened on twenty six January in Herbert Avenue in Poole at around three fifty pm. Police said the rider failed to stop at the scene. The woman, in her thirties, went to hospital. Officers said a boy from Poole was arrested on suspicion of a driving offence and remains in custody.

Investigators have raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

French prosecutors said they are widening a probe into the site and have summoned its billionaire owner for questioning. The investigation, launched last month, focuses on alleged algorithm abuse and fraudulent data extraction. It has now been expanded to include complaints linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence chatbot.

An estimated one million people missed the deadline to file their tax return and now face penalties, according to HM Revenue and Customs.

The tax authority said more than twenty seven thousand people filed in the final hour before the midnight deadline. Around four hundred and seventy five thousand submitted returns on the final day, out of about eleven and a half million in total. Those who missed the cut off face an automatic one hundred pound fine.

A Buckinghamshire film studio has backed a plan that could see young people lose universal credit if they refuse guaranteed paid work.

Pinewood Studios supports the government’s youth guarantee scheme. Under the proposals, anyone receiving universal credit for eighteen months without earning or learning would be offered paid employment. The studio is also preparing to build a one billion pound data centre.

The family of Harvey Willgoose said the schoolboy would still be alive if his school had not missed opportunities to protect him.

Harvey, fifteen, was stabbed outside the canteen at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield last year by a fellow pupil. On the anniversary of his death, his parents said a report showed missed chances to assess risk.

Sir Keir Starmer is due to chair a cabinet meeting today as police assess allegations that his former US ambassador, Lord Mandelson, leaked sensitive information from the heart of government to Jeffrey Epstein.

The Metropolitan Police are investigating claims of misconduct in public office after emails appeared to show exchanges between the former cabinet minister and the paedophile financier about political matters while he was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government in 2009. Met commander Ella Marriott said all reports would be reviewed to determine whether they meet the criminal threshold for investigation.

Sarah Ferguson’s charity has announced it will close for the foreseeable future following fresh revelations about the former duchess’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

A spokesperson for Sarah’s Trust said the chair and trustees had agreed with regret that the charity would shortly close, adding the decision had been under discussion and in progress for some months.

Families of children diagnosed with cancer will have travel costs for treatment covered under a new scheme due to be rolled out in England by 2027.

The government will set aside ten million pounds a year to cover journeys for patients and young people up to the age of twenty four. Research shows families often pay around two hundred and fifty pounds a month, with some falling into debt to fund hospital travel.

Slough Borough Council has been accused of hurting the most vulnerable residents after approving further reductions to its council tax support scheme.

The scheme helps low income households pay council tax. The authority previously covered the full bill for unemployed working age residents, but since April last year the maximum discount was reduced to eighty per cent, while working residents can receive up to fifty per cent.

SpaceX has announced it has acquired artificial intelligence start up xAI in a deal bringing together two companies owned by Elon Musk.

In a statement, Mr Musk said the move would create what he called the most ambitious vertically integrated innovation engine on and off Earth, combining artificial intelligence, rockets, space based internet, direct to mobile communications and a real time information and free speech platform.