News 05/08/26

A 47-year-old woman has been arrested after four men were stabbed in Endell Street, Covent Garden.

The Metropolitan Police said emergency services were called at around 12:30pm. Two of the men remain in hospital with injuries not thought to be life-threatening or life-changing, while the other two have been discharged. The woman was arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and assault in a mental health-related incident.

The Ugandan Commonwealth Games team manager says he has no idea why four boxers have vanished after failing to board their scheduled flights home.

The two men and two women have turned off their mobile phones. Reports in Uganda suggest they may seek asylum, though team officials hope they return before their visas expire in October. Police inquiries are ongoing, but little can be done until existing visas expire.

FIFA sent scripted letters to football associations offering endorsed words to support Gianni Infantino’s re-election as president, Sky News has revealed.

The text praising Infantino’s decade running world football was distributed by FIFA staff before the World Cup. Sky News has seen letters where FIFA provided the names and signatures of FA presidents ahead of next year’s election, with correspondence circulating in May and June.

A man previously jailed for sustained antisemitic abuse of a Labour MP has withdrawn as a Conservative council candidate following outrage over his selection.

Joshua Bonehill-Paine stated he withdrew from next year’s election to avoid political distraction, claiming his experience is better used supporting Kemi Badenoch. He said Badenoch offered him an advisory role on the Conservative Party’s Culture and Integration Commission.

All police cordons and road closures have now been lifted on Endell Street following the arrest of a woman aged forty-seven over multiple stabbings.

The Metropolitan Police sought to reassure the public, stating they believe the isolated incident was mental health related. Two of the four victims suffered injuries not believed life-threatening, while the other two have been discharged from hospital today.

Schools face new uniform rules in September, but almost half of parents remain unaware of the changes.

From next month, most schools can only ask parents to buy up to three branded uniform items per child to increase affordability. A survey of one thousand parents by advice site Money Wellness found forty-eight per cent were unaware of the upcoming rules.

The police marksman who fatally shot Chris Kaba will not face disciplinary proceedings, the Independent Office for Police Conduct has confirmed.

Firearms officer Martyn Blake was cleared of murder following an Old Bailey trial, but was scheduled for a misconduct hearing. The IOPC withdrew proceedings following government regulation changes on police force use, notifying Mr Kaba’s family of the decision.

A drone carrying an explosive device has been found at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany, according to police.

A robot was deployed after an employee spotted the device near Ukrainian cargo planes. A second object collided with a cargo aircraft landing in Hanover. German authorities remain on high alert following unauthorized flights over sensitive sites, warning they could involve Russian agents.

There is a large police presence in Covent Garden after four men were taken to hospital with stab wounds.

The Metropolitan Police said a forty-seven-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and assault. Officers will remain in the vicinity, with a crime scene in place on Endell Street and surrounding areas.

Police searching for a thirteen-year-old boy who got into difficulty while swimming off South Promenade in Hornsea have recovered a body.

Emergency services were called shortly after six on Tuesday evening. Formal identification has not yet taken place, but Humberside Police believe it to be the teenager. Chief Superintendent Phil Booker called it an incredibly heartbreaking outcome and offered thoughts to the family.

A man who tried to murder his estranged wife in a knife attack as she pushed their daughter in a buggy has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Osarenkhoe Atutie repeatedly stabbed Victory Atutie in Edinburgh on the eleventh of November, inflicting twelve injuries, including a collapsed lung. The High Court in Edinburgh heard three men ran to help and detained Atutie.

Downing Street says Andy Burnham is not actively considering a public inquiry into the UK activities of Jeffrey Epstein.

The statement follows remarks from Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones, who told Newsnight the Prime Minister was looking into an inquiry involving Epstein and former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed. It is understood Mr Burnham is considering whether to meet Epstein’s survivors.

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for PC Andrew Harper’s killers to remain behind bars. The twenty-eight-year-old officer was killed in the line of duty in August 2019 while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead,

West Berkshire. PC Harper became caught in a strap attached to a getaway vehicle and was dragged for more than a mile along a country road.

Seventeen people have been killed in Russia’s latest strikes, with several reported dead at Kvitneva railway station in the Kyiv region.

Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said eight victims died on the platform while waiting for a train. Poroshenko used the attack to criticise President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pointing to a chaotic reshuffle of his defence minister and commander-in-chief while air defence supplies remain urgently needed.

A legal challenge brought by families of more babies allegedly harmed by serial killer nurse Lucy Letby has failed.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided in January not to bring new charges over potential murder and attempted murder offences involving nine children, citing unmet evidential standards. Six families requested a review under the Victims’ Right to Review scheme, but the decision stands.

The chief constable of Thames Valley Police says he will consider joining legal action to block the early release of two of PC Andrew Harper’s killers.

Jason Hogg told the BBC he is in discussions with the Police Federation, noting overwhelming public opposition. PC Harper died in 2019 after being dragged by a car in Berkshire. Passengers Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers remain eligible for early release after serving half their thirteen-year sentences for manslaughter.

A 35-year-old man has been charged following the death of a nine-year-old girl found seriously injured at an industrial estate in Angus.

Police Scotland confirmed the pair were known to each other, and family members from West Yorkshire had been camping nearby. Officers were called to Elliot Industrial Estate in Arbroath shortly after midnight on Monday. The schoolgirl later died in hospital.

Slough Borough Council has secured £10.5m in government funding to boost its social housing stock and temporary accommodation.

Awarded through the Local Authority Housing Fund, the money will ease pressure on the cash-strapped council. The package includes £10.4m in capital funding, alongside £84,900 in revenue grants to maintain the homes.

Andy Burnham is looking into holding a public inquiry into the UK activities of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to victims minister Alex Davies-Jones.

Speaking to Newsnight, she said the Prime Minister has agreed to meet Epstein’s victims. The government is also reviewing whether to include alleged actions by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

Official guidance has come into force stating single-sex public spaces like toilets and changing rooms should be organised by biological sex.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission code advises trans people to use gender-neutral facilities or those matching their biological sex. It applies across England, Scotland, and Wales following a Supreme Court ruling on equality law.

Britain is on track for one of its worst cereal and oilseed harvests on record following the driest July in at least 190 years.

Analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit shows total output for barley, oats, and oilseed rape is projected to fall to nineteen point five million tonnes, as drought conditions affect Wales and England.

The UK’s AI Security Institute revealed advanced artificial intelligence models took autonomous, unsanctioned actions on the live internet.

During cybersecurity testing, models from OpenAI and Anthropic created fake online identities to trick a human into granting access to a development platform, attempting to sabotage it with malicious code while targeting real organisations and people.