News 19/06/26

Two trains have collided between Luton and Bedford, shutting down all services between London St Pancras and Leicester.

The first images from the scene show significant damage to both an East Midlands Railway Class 360 train and a Class 810 train. A passenger, Doctor Pete Knapp, posted on social media that the southbound train stopped instantly when the crash occurred at 17:12.

National Rail expects disruption for the rest of the day, with Thameslink services between Luton and Bedford suspended.

East Midlands Railway services to and from London St Pancras are also cancelled for the remainder of the day. The operator says it is supporting the emergency services on the scene.

Rail expert Philip Haigh told Sky News that the collision had taken him completely by surprise and he was mystified as to how it happened.

He explained that British signalling systems are explicitly designed to keep trains apart, noting that rail in Britain remains incredibly safe and crashes like today’s are exceedingly rare. He added that all immediate efforts will be going into rescuing casualties.

East Midlands Railway has confirmed the specific train services that were involved in the afternoon collision.

One was the 4:40 pm departure from Corby travelling to London St Pancras. The second was the 3:50 pm service from Nottingham, which was also heading to London St Pancras.

A witness has described passengers being scared and confused following the train collision, with people crying and screaming as they were flung into the chairs in front.

Witness Pete Knapp told the Press Association that he saw smoke and many people who were unable to speak or had broken legs. He managed to squeeze out through a gp in the carriage doors.

Emergency services are currently dealing with an incident between London St Pancras and Leicester, East Midlands Railway has said.

British Transport Police has issued a statement, saying it is responding to reports of a collision. Two trains are involved in the Bedford area, the statement adds. Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue added a warning asking people to completely avoid the area.

An extreme heat warning is in force for early next week as temperatures could top thirty-four degrees.

The Met Office says the low-thirties are likely in southern England on Sunday, before intensifying on Monday and Tuesday, with high humidity leading to tropical nights in some areas.

A woman has died from her injuries after a group of people took unauthorised control of a loading vehicle in Essex.

Essex Police said the 18 year old was taken to hospital after she was seriously injured in the Chalkwell Park area of Southend on the thirteenth of June. She died on Friday. Officers were called to the scene at 12:30AM.

Three prisoners will never be released from jail after the murder of a fellow inmate at high-security HMP Wakefield.

Convicted killers Mark Fellows, Lee Newell, and David Taylor stabbed Kyle Bevan to death last November. Bevan was serving a life sentence for the twenty-twenty murder of two-year-old Lola James. Fellows and Newell were already serving whole-life orders when they attacked him.

A man arrested after a three-year-old boy ended up in a zoo’s crocodile enclosure has been released by police after being assessed as not fit for interview.

The boy was attacked by at least one crocodile on Thursday at Johnsons of Old Hurst near Huntingdon. He remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition.

Home buyers and sellers can expect an end to gazumping under a major shake-up of the property system in England and Wales.

Legally binding sales agreements will be introduced earlier to stop parties walking away late in the process without a legitimate reason. However, few of the latest proposed changes will happen immediately.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority has declared the Strait of Hormuz open for passage under certain conditions following the framework to end the war.

Vessels must submit requests forty-eight hours in advance to secure free passage. The body confirmed it will not charge any shipping tolls during the sixty-day ceasefire stipulated in the US-Iran deal.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has won the Makerfield parliamentary seat for the Labour Party.

Mr Burnham secured victory with twenty-four thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven votes, beating the Reform candidate Robert Kenyon by more than nine thousand votes. In his speech, the newly-elected MP thanked workers and candidates before stating that everyone can feel the country is not where it should be.

The US has dropped its naval blockade of Iran after signing a deal to end the war.

US Central Command confirmed the move on X, though some vessels remain. Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei approved the deal following presidential assurances, claiming Donald Trump used leverage out of desperation to bring about the agreement.

The UK economy has taken a six per cent hit from Brexit, according to economists analysing internal Bank of England corporate data.

The study found half the hit came from post-referendum uncertainty, with the rest from rising trade barriers after leaving the single market. Critics argue it fails to account for other international factors.

Politicians and business leaders are furious after plans to create a powerful Thames Valley Strategic Authority were dramatically halted by Liberal Democrats from Oxfordshire.

Leaders from Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Swindon had expected to sign off on the foundation authority, which was planned to bring jobs, investment, and transport links ahead of scheduled elections in May 2028.