News 22/09/26

A man has admitted sending Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch threatening emails, including one stating that if he were in the IRA he would have shot her dead.

Kieran Kyle sent three emails to Ms Badenoch’s parliamentary address on the second of May. Prosecutor Jennifer Dannhauser said Kyle included racist references in earlier emails, making threats related to Bloody Sunday, when Army personnel shot thirteen civil rights demonstrators in Derry in 1972.

Two men in their thirties have been arrested over a suspected terrorist plot targeting the Jewish community in the Manchester area.

Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism officers arrested the pair in central Manchester under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act. The suspects remain in custody at a London police station, while officers have carried out searches at addresses in Salford and Liverpool as part of the ongoing investigation.

Piers Morgan has called for Earl Spencer’s memoir about Princess Diana to be withdrawn from sale over a factual error.

Earl Spencer apologised to Morgan for incorrectly identifying him as Daily Mirror editor when intrusive gym photos of Diana were published in 1993. Morgan accepted the apology but demanded offending pages be removed, even if first editions are pulped. Publisher Penguin will amend future editions.

Relations between the UK and the United States have improved since Andy Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, according to Donald Trump.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, the US President dismissed suggestions that ties were fluctuating, insisting they are stronger now. Trump added that, based on his relationship with Mr Burnham, the two nations are currently doing very well.

A migrant vessel carrying around 60 people is heading towards the UK after spending more than 33 hours at sea.

French maritime authorities said a coastguard vessel had been monitoring the small boat since it left the Normandy coast on Monday morning. Officials warned the vessel was ill-suited for the crossing, leaving those on board weakened after enduring precarious conditions in the English Channel.

Police in the Thames Valley are using undercover heavy goods vehicles to catch drivers illegally using mobile phones on the motorway.

As part of Operation Tramline along the M40 and M25, officers scanning traffic from an elevated position penalised fifty-four drivers for phone offences out of ninety-nine total infractions recorded. Police warned that a growing number of motorists continue to risk lives despite tougher penalties.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has warned that proposed European Union rules to protect manufacturers inside the bloc could harm British industry and supply chains.

Ahead of talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the UN summit in New York, Mr Burnham expressed concern over plans giving EU firms priority for public contracts. He also declined to rule out committing to rejoin the EU in Labour’s next manifesto.

Four people have died in a house fire in Bootle, Merseyside. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service was called to a semi-detached property in Stone Square at 3:38 on Tuesday morning.

Chief Fire Officer Nick Searle confirmed the four deaths and said another person was taken to hospital with burns following the intense blaze, which spread rapidly. Six fire engines attended the scene, with eight firefighters entering the house to tackle the fire and search for occupants.

Former Radio One DJ Tim Westwood has been charged with sexual offences against two further women.

The Metropolitan Police said the sixty-eight-year-old faces counts of indecently assaulting a teenage girl in 1991 and sexually assaulting an eighteen-year-old in May 2004. Westwood now faces seventeen charges involving nine women between 1983 and 2016. He previously pleaded not guilty to fifteen charges including rape and sexual assault, and is due to face trial in January.

Windsor-based children’s book publisher Booktime has partnered with UK universities offering illustration courses to give emerging creatives the chance to win paid commissions.

Booktime, an initiative by the Hindawi Foundation charity, provides free access to illustrated children’s stories in multiple languages via its app and desktop platform. The publisher has already worked with students at Birmingham City University and the University of Westminster.

A British father has pleaded guilty over the death of his child who fell from a hotel window in Cyprus.

The thirty-seven-year-old defendant from Essex admitted causing death through negligent and careless actions following the incident at a resort in Paphos in July. The exact circumstances of the fall remain unclear, and the boy’s age had been reported as both two and three years old. The court has not named the father.

The NHS is expanding Martha’s Rule to every hospital emergency department in England to allow patients and families to seek an urgent care review if they feel concerns are being ignored.

Named after thirteen-year-old Martha Mills, who died of sepsis in 2021, the system allows callers to trigger an immediate review via a dedicated phone number. The nationwide rollout across A&E units is set to be completed by March 2028.

An unexpected surge in government borrowing in August has increased pressure on Chancellor John Healey ahead of his first Budget in October.

The Office for National Statistics reported borrowing reached eighteen point three billion pounds, nearly a fifth higher than last year and three point five billion above official forecasts. The rise was driven by higher inflation, which hit a five-month high due to rising fuel costs.

England fast bowler Mark Wood has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect.

The thirty-six-year-old, one of the fastest bowlers ever to play for England, has faced frequent injury setbacks throughout his career. The Durham paceman only returned to action in the first Ashes Test in Perth last November after eight months out following knee surgery. However, he bowled just eleven overs before suffering knee swelling, flying home for treatment, and has not played for England since.

A new legal right to unpaid leave after a bereavement will cover step and half relatives, alongside foster, kinship care and adoptive relationships, the government has announced.

From April next year, workers in Great Britain who lose a spouse, partner, parent, adult child or sibling will be entitled to two weeks’ unpaid leave. The rights will also cover miscarriages before twenty-four weeks. Previously, only parents losing a child under eighteen or stillborn from twenty-four weeks were covered.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he expects to find common ground with Donald Trump during their first face-to-face meeting in New York on Tuesday.

Both leaders are attending the United Nations General Assembly. Burnham said two previous phone calls established a productive relationship, adding that he was looking forward to meeting the US President and searching for shared ground.

More than 23,000 people have been killed or seriously injured in crashes involving young drivers over the past five years.

Analysis of Department for Transport data from 2021 to 2025 shows young drivers aged 17 to 24 accounted for a fifth of all severe road accidents. Over 11,600 of the total casualties were other road users and pedestrians.

Written prescription fees from vets will be capped at £21 under new legally required rules.

Veterinary practices must also inform clients if cheaper medicine exists online, provide written price estimates, and publish price lists. The Competition and Markets Authority introduced the measures after finding prices rose at twice the rate of inflation, though critics warn independent practices will suffer most.

Six people have been sentenced for their roles in a series of vehicle thefts and burglaries across Slough between 2023 and 2025.

The convictions follow a Thames Valley Police investigation into offences affecting more than 37 victims, including commercial premises. Three offenders were sentenced in July, with the remaining three receiving sentences on Friday, the eighteenth of September.