News 05/02/26

Donald Trump has hinted he will agree the Chagos Islands deal, describing it as the best Sir Keir Starmer could make.

The comments come weeks after the United States president criticised the agreement as an act of great stupidity. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had productive discussions with the prime minister about Diego Garcia. He said the island is home to a major United States military base, strategically located in the Indian Ocean and of great importance to American national security.

A fifteen year old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a teacher was injured at a school.

Dyfed Powys Police said officers were called to Milford Haven Comprehensive School in Pembrokeshire at about 3:20 on Thursday afternoon. Superintendent Chris Neve said police responded to reports of an assault by a pupil brandishing a weapon. He confirmed the injury was not a stab injury. A lockdown was implemented at the school but has since been lifted.

A man who stabbed a nine year old girl playing outside her mother’s embroidery shop has been found guilty of murder.

Deividas Skebas, aged 26, knifed Lilia Valutyte in the heart as she played with a hula hoop in Boston, Lincolnshire, in July 2022. Skebas, a Lithuanian with schizophrenia, denied murder but admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility. Lilia’s mother said she found her daughter covered in blood, with the hoop still around her.

The daughter of a kind and caring mother who died after falling ill abroad has launched a fundraising drive to bring her body home.

Marion Lamb, 56, from Slough, died while on holiday in Tunisia with her partner after contracting a suspected lung infection at the end of December. She was rushed to hospital with rib pain, placed on breathing assist, and admitted to intensive care. Doctors found water on her lungs, and she later died following a cardiac arrest on January five.

Leicester City have been docked six points after being found to have breached profit and sustainability rules for the 2023/24 season.

The Championship club were punished after breaching English Football League financial rules, the Premier League said. Investigators found Leicester overspent by £20.8M across the three year assessment period between 2022 and 2024.

A cyber security student at De Montfort University who died after being stabbed in Leicester city centre has been named as Khaleed Oladipo.

The twenty year old died in hospital on Tuesday night after being stabbed in the chest, a post mortem found. Mr Oladipo was living in Leicester but was originally from London. Police said he was attacked in Oxford Street, close to the university campus. His family thanked emergency services and members of the public for trying to save his life, and police for their efforts to ensure the person responsible is brought to justice.

One person has died and three others have been injured after a double-decker bus struck pedestrians in Dublin city centre.

Ireland’s justice minister confirmed the incident to parliament, adding that the injured are receiving treatment in hospital. Emergency services were called shortly after 12.30pm to the junction of Talbot Street and Marlborough Street. The crash, which occurred in the pedestrianised North Earl Street, is being treated as a road traffic incident while investigations continue.

The Bank of England has kept interest rates at three point seven five percent but indicated further cuts are likely later this year as inflation falls back towards the two percent target faster than expected.

In a narrow decision, five of the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee voted to hold rates at the current level, with Governor Andrew Bailey casting the deciding vote. Four members favoured a 0.25 percentage point cut to three point five percent. The close vote and firmer language from the Bank suggest the next reduction could come as early as mid-March or April, reflecting the ongoing balancing of economic growth with inflation pressures.

The prime minister has issued an apology to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States, expressing regret for “believing his lies”.

He said: “The victims of Epstein have lived with trauma that most of us can barely comprehend, and they’ve had to relive it again and again. They have seen accountability delayed and too often denied to them. I want to say this: I am sorry.” The apology follows renewed scrutiny of Mandelson’s past conduct and the handling of the ambassadorial appointment.

A Russian ship captain has been jailed for six years after his container vessel collided with a US oil tanker in the North Sea last March, causing the death of one crew member.

Vladimir Motin, 59, was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence at the Old Bailey. His ship, the Solong, struck the Stena Immaculate near the Humber Estuary. Both vessels, carrying flammable cargo, caught fire. Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, who was on the bow of the Solong, died instantly, and his body was never recovered.

The UK Health Security Agency says it is investigating thirty six cases of children becoming ill after consuming recalled batches of baby formula.

Last month Nestle recalled more than sixty batches of its SMA products over concerns about a heat resistant toxin called cereulide, which can cause vomiting and diarrhoea. Danone also recalled one batch of Aptamil formula across UK

The family of a British woman who died after a holiday in Cape Verde have urged travellers to take hygiene warnings seriously, as health authorities examine a rise in serious illnesses.

Four British tourists died between October and December last year after falling ill in the popular winter sun destination. Karen Pooley from Gloucestershire was taken ill last October.

The first robotic surgery has been carried out at Wexham Park Hospital following the purchase of a multi million pound surgical robot.

Frimley Health NHS Trust bought a da Vinci Xi system, allowing surgeons to perform advanced keyhole procedures that are minimally invasive, cause less pain, and support faster recovery and shorter hospital stays across several specialities including urology gynaecology.

An inquiry has found the deaths of more than thirty people attempting to cross the Channel in a small boat could have been prevented.

It said a French warship failed to respond to a Mayday call, while people smugglers and flaws in the Coastguard response also contributed. The boat capsized in the early hours of twenty four November night.

Even without coming to the Winter Olympics in Italy, Donald Trump and his polarising policies and provocations are dominating, even distracting.

Of all the security agents chosen to protect the official US delegation, ICE is in Milan for the expected opening ceremony visits by vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio.

They are the Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel called a “militia that kills” by Milan mayor Beppe Sala following the deaths of two Americans last month in Minneapolis.

Testing period blood for signs of cervical cancer could be an accurate and convenient way of screening for the disease, researchers say.

The current NHS test involves a nurse or doctor taking a sample of cells from the cervix – but a third of women invited for screening do not attend.

A study of the new test, which can be carried out at home, used blood collected on a cotton strip attached to a standard sanitary pad.

Cervical cancer charities say finding new and potentially gentler ways of testing for the disease is encouraging and could improve access, although it is still early days for this research.

Sir Keir Starmer is facing growing anger among Labour MPs and renewed speculation about his future after being forced to publish files on his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States.

The government had planned to limit disclosure, but senior Labour figures intervened, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the prime minister of attempting a cover up, including Angela Rayner.

Interest rates are expected to remain on hold as the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meets for the first time this year.

The committee cut the Bank rate from four percent to three point seven five percent in December, saying rates were likely to continue on a gradual downward path.