News 05/10/26

Lord Jeffrey Archer has died at home aged eighty-six, his publisher HarperCollins has announced.

The bestselling author and former Conservative politician passed away suddenly and peacefully. Kate Elton, chief executive of HarperCollins UK, paid tribute to the master storyteller, describing working alongside him as one of the great privileges of her publishing life and praising his phenomenal work ethic and dedication to getting every word perfect.

US President Donald Trump says threats prompted the removal of American bombers from RAF Fairford.

Speaking outside the White House, Mr Trump confirmed authorities know who made the threats. The Pentagon confirmed bombers including B-ones, B-twos and B-fifty-twos were removed from the Gloucestershire base. It follows a suspected terror attack on the military site on the twenty-seventh of September, which led to five arrests on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is taking legal action against Thames Valley Police over his arrest in February.

A private High Court hearing will take place on Thursday as the former prince seeks to quash search warrants executed on his sixty-sixth birthday. Andrew was detained on suspicion of misconduct in public office over links to Jeffrey Epstein. Meanwhile, Palace sources confirmed private funds provided by the King must not be used for the legal action.

The average interest rate on a new five-year fixed mortgage deal has reached 6% for the first time in three years.

Lenders have faced higher costs driven by international concerns over rising prices, interest rates and government borrowing costs. Financial information service Moneyfacts described the situation as brutal, noting around fifteen hundred deals below five per cent have vanished since September. Two-year fixed rates now average five point nine eight per cent.

Artist Stanley Chow is taking legal advice after accusing the Conservative Party of copying his portrait of Andy Burnham without permission for their conference.

Attendees in Birmingham were given goody bags containing sweets and water bottles featuring Chow’s 2021 mayoral campaign artwork with labels such as Bottler Burnham. A Conservative Party spokeswoman said the bottles were not sold but handed out to media.

An Afghan migrant who stabbed a dog walker to death in a random attack has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.

Twenty-eight-year-old Uber driver Dawood Safi attacked his landlord Shahzad Farrukh with a knife before killing forty-nine-year-old Wayne Broadhurst in Uxbridge on the twenty-seventh of October last year. A fourteen-year-old boy was also injured in the rampage. Mr Broadhurst, an Ealing Council street sweeper walking his dog, was stabbed fourteen times.

Twelve people have been arrested following a protest over migrant arrivals in Gosport.

The Home Office said one hundred and forty-nine migrants were brought ashore at the Hampshire marina after an RNLI and French mid-Channel rescue. Around one hundred and fifty anti-migrant demonstrators gathered on Sunday, with flares set off and scuffles breaking out. Eleven men and one woman remain in custody on suspicion of offences including assaulting police officers and affray.

A co-pilot accused of trying to hijack a flydubai plane planned to crash it into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport or a local tower block, according to reports.

The Omani national acted as a lone wolf extremist during Wednesday’s flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The UAE attorney-general said he attacked the captain with a cockpit crash axe before passengers overpowered him, allowing extra crew on board to land safely in Saudi Arabia.

A fifteen-year-old boy’s hand was blown off during clashes between police and demonstrators near a school in France.

The prefect of Pas-de-Calais said the incident occurred in Lens on Monday morning and the student was taken to hospital, where his life is not in danger. Around five hundred schools across France were partially or totally closed as student protests over staffing and school building conditions led to clashes with police.

Downing Street says an R.A.F. base from which the US withdrew all bombers remains safe.

A Pentagon official confirmed the removal of aircraft including B-Ones, B-Twos, and B-Fifty-Twos from RAF Fairford on Sunday. The Gloucestershire site was targeted in a suspected terror attack on the twenty-seventh of September. Five UK nationals in their mid-twenties and a UK-Iranian national arrested on suspicion of terror offences have since been bailed.
There’s more news on our website and social media. You can find us on Facebook, X and Instagram.

A private High Court hearing will take place on Thursday as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor takes legal action against police over his arrest earlier this year.

The former prince was detained on his sixty-sixth birthday in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office over links to paedophile US financier Jeffrey Epstein. He is accused of sharing sensitive information with Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy. Andrew was interviewed under caution and released under investigation after eleven hours in custody.

The Culture Secretary has ordered the competition regulator to investigate BT Group’s planned rescue of broadband supplier TalkTalk.

Lisa Nandy’s decision was announced shortly after confirmation that BT agreed a deal to buy TalkTalk out of administration. The telecoms giant stated it stepped in to save TalkTalk and its wholesale PlatformX Communications business from collapse in a genuinely unprecedented situation that could have impacted two point five million customers.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called a snap general election for the 29th November.

The decision follows widespread street protests over housing conditions triggered by the eviction of an 87 year-old woman. Demonstrations intensified after the government failed to pass emergency legislation aimed at assisting renters. With the Socialist Party currently trailing in opinion polls, calling the vote now represents a major political gamble for the prime minister.

US President Donald Trump has created a new artificial intelligence taskforce to be led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton.

Trump posted on Sunday that the Super Intelligence Force will ensure the US leads technology development and coordinates government engagement with the public. It follows an executive order signed on the twenty-ninth of September renaming AI as Super Intelligence, after Trump stated artificial sounded fake. Trump also announced a board to oversee AI safety following a morally binding pact signed by tech leaders.

Thousands of supporters of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan are marching to Islamabad demanding his release.

Concerns have grown over the seventy-three-year-old’s health, with his family claiming he lost most vision in his right eye due to prison inaction. The former cricketer was jailed for seventeen years on corruption charges last year among more than one hundred cases he calls politically motivated. Despite imprisonment, Khan remains influential, with past demonstrations causing deadly violence and crackdowns.