News 07/11/25

James Watson, the scientist who helped unlock the secret of life, has died at the age of 97.

Watson shared the 1962 Nobel Prize with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for discovering the double-helix structure of DNA — a breakthrough that transformed medicine, forensics and genetics.
Their 1953 discovery paved the way for modern genetic research and testing.

Despite his scientific legacy, Watson’s later years were marred by controversy after making remarks widely condemned as racist and scientifically unfounded.

A teenage driver has been sentenced to five years in a young offenders institution for causing the death of his friend in Sheffield — just a day after passing his driving test.

Josh Atkins, aged 17, died when the car driven by Corey Cooper hit a barrier in Stannington in November last year.

Sheffield Crown Court heard Cooper had been speeding in a 20-mile-per-hour zone and ignored a dashboard warning about faulty brakes.

Joey Barton has been found guilty of posting grossly offensive messages on social media.

The former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court of six counts of sending offensive electronic communications with intent to cause distress or anxiety. During the trial, Barton claimed he was the victim of a “political prosecution” and denied posting the messages for attention.

But the jury ruled that he had “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” with a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter.

The parents of Madeleine McCann say they “take no pleasure in the result” after a woman who claimed to be their missing daughter was found guilty of harassing them.

Polish national Julia Wandelt, aged 24, was convicted of harassment but cleared of stalking the couple. In a statement, Kate and Gerry McCann said they had only wanted the harassment to stop.

The judge imposed a restraining order, saying Wandelt posed a significant risk of further harassment.

A foreign sex offender who was mistakenly freed from Wandsworth Prison has been arrested.

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a 24-year-old Algerian national, was wrongly released from the south London jail on the 29th of October. He was stopped by police in Finsbury Park just before half past eleven this morning, initially claiming to be someone else before being detained next to a police van.

He’s now back in custody, as the Ministry of Justice continues to investigate the error.

A Polish woman who claimed she was Madeleine McCann has been found guilty of harassing the missing child’s family.

Twenty-four-year-old Julia Wandelt was cleared of stalking Kate and Gerry McCann but convicted of harassment. She falsely claimed online that she might be the British girl who disappeared in Portugal in 2007.

The court heard Wandelt had suffered abuse and was struggling with mental health problems at the time.

Two people have been arrested after a baby was killed by an XL bully in South Wales.

The nine-month-old boy died after being attacked at a home in the village of Rogiet on the 2nd of November. Police say the pair arrested are suspected of child neglect and of being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog.

The six-year-old XL bully had been registered and given a certificate of exemption before the breed ban came into force.

Three prisoners have been charged with the murder of a convicted child killer found dead in his cell at HMP Wakefield.

Kyle Bevan, aged 33, was serving a life sentence for murdering his partner’s two-year-old daughter, Lola James, in Haverfordwest in 2020. West Yorkshire Police say Mark Fellows, 45, Lee Newell, 56, and David Taylor, 63, have now been charged with Bevan’s murder.

All three men have been remanded in custody and are due before Leeds Magistrates’ Court this morning.

ITV has confirmed it is in talks with Sky about a possible £1.6 billion sale of its media and entertainment division.

The deal would centre on creating a major UK-based streaming platform. ITV’s media and entertainment arm includes its main TV channels and advertising-driven broadcast operations, but the discussions do not involve the company’s studios division, which makes programmes such as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

A serving prison governor has warned that public safety is “at risk” as more inmates are being moved into open prisons.

Mark Drury, who represents open prison governors at the Prison Governors’ Association, told Sky News that facilities with spotless records are now seeing a sudden rise in absconders. It follows reports that a man serving 21 years for kidnap and grievous bodily harm escaped from an open prison in Sussex last month.

The absconder, named as Ola Abimbola, is a foreign national offender who remains missing. Sussex Police say they are working with other agencies to find him.

The government has clawed back £74 million from companies accused of making excessive profits from asylum accommodation contracts.

The Home Office says the money was recovered following a review of agreements after Labour took power last year. Ministers had previously been criticised by MPs for a lack of oversight, but the amount recouped represents only a small fraction of the total cost of asylum housing.

McDonald’s is introducing new sexual harassment training for managers under strengthened measures agreed with the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The move comes after what the watchdog called “serious allegations” of abuse within the company. A BBC investigation two years ago revealed claims that young workers had been groped and harassed, and some employees said the problem continued earlier this year.

McDonald’s said the new measures would build on progress already made, though one former worker told the BBC the changes were unlikely to make a difference.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Villa Park in Birmingham during the Europa League match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Police made eleven arrests amid a major security operation involving more than 700 officers. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators waved flags and banners outside the stadium, while a smaller group of pro-Israeli supporters also gathered following the decision to ban away fans from the game.

Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce said the large police presence was necessary due to several planned protests and counter-protests.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he is “angry and frustrated” over the mistaken release of two inmates from Wandsworth Prison.

One of the men, Billy Smith, handed himself in, but 24-year-old Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif remains on the run. Sir Keir blamed what he called “failures” under the previous Conservative government for the strain on the prison system but said it was now Labour’s responsibility to fix it.

The Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick described the situation as “a total shambles” and urged ministers to “get a grip.”