News 24/07/26

A significant blaze at a large industrial unit in Essex caused supplies of fertiliser to explode as more than 100 firefighters tackled the flames.

Fire crews were called to Southend Road between East Hanningfield and Rettendon at 4.50pm on Friday. A major incident was declared as thick black smoke covered the surrounding area, with residents advised to keep windows and doors closed.

A 25-year-old law student has appeared in court charged over a bomb discovered in the Republic of Ireland.

Isobella Perrie Sullivan, from Clane, County Kildare, was charged with possession of explosives. Gardaí intercepted the car near Carrickmacross on Wednesday. Her defence solicitor told the court she was asked to take a bag to Northern Ireland and was unaware what was in it.

Members of the International Criminal Court have voted to dismiss chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct.

Khan, suspended last month, was removed in a vote passed with 82 in favour. An oversight body found he had an improper sexual relationship with a junior staff member and tried to stop her complaint. Khan denies all allegations and will challenge the decision.

Five police officers have been injured after a Metropolitan Police boat struck Westminster Bridge in central London.

The force said the incident happened at around 3.40pm on Friday when the force’s Marine Policing Unit vessel hit the structure. A number of officers entered the water but were recovered, while additional officers responded alongside the London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade.

Four men have been killed in an early-morning collision after their car hit a lamppost in Merseyside.

Merseyside Police were called at 2am on Friday after a black Seat Cupra travelling towards Knowsley struck a lamppost on Liverpool Road in Huyton. Four men were pronounced dead at the scene, while a 27-year-old male passenger remains in hospital in a stable condition.

An extremely significant car bomb has been intercepted by Irish police near the border with Northern Ireland.

A female driver in her twenties was arrested after Gardai discovered the explosive during an operation targeting dissident republicans. The device was found in a car travelling on the N2 south of Carrickmacross in County Monaghan, six miles from the open border.

Singer Chris Brown has pleaded guilty to affray over a confrontation at a London nightclub in which a man was hit with a bottle.

The US musician, aged thirty-seven, faced allegations he attacked a former friend at the Tape club in Mayfair in 2023. At Southwark Crown Court on Friday, Brown admitted affray. Assault charges against Abraham Diaw were dropped by prosecutors.

Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been accused of trying to manipulate the system after being transferred from prison to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital.

Rudakubana is serving a fifty-two-year sentence for the fatal stabbing of three girls and attempted murder of ten others at a dance class in July 2024. The nineteen-year-old was moved from Belmarsh prison on Thursday, in a decision the Ministry of Justice confirmed will not alter his total sentence length.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been confirmed as the new head coach of the German men’s football team.

The German FA made the fifty-nine-year-old their top target after Julian Nagelsmann resigned following Germany’s World Cup exit on penalties to Paraguay. Klopp, who won six major trophies during his nine years at Anfield, takes charge two years after stepping down from Liverpool when he stated he was running out of energy.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner says Prime Minister Andy Burnham is not considering rent controls for England.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she explained that changes introduced under the Renters’ Rights Act in May were already having a significant impact on the market. Rayner added that rent controls implemented elsewhere in the UK failed to lower prices, despite Burnham having previously called for private rent freezes back in 2023 when serving as Greater Manchester mayor.

The US has imposed new tariffs on sixty trading partners over claims they failed to stop forced labour.

The duties, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, target key partners including the UK, China, and the European Union. They took effect on Friday, replacing a temporary tax. This escalates the global trade war reignited by President Donald Trump, following a Supreme Court ruling that earlier tariffs were illegal.

Yellow heat health alerts are in force across central and southern England on Friday morning with temperatures forecast to reach 30C.

Issued by the UK Health Security Agency, the alerts cover the Midlands, eastern England, London, and the south, running until Sunday morning. The agency warns of minor health service impacts and increased risk to life for vulnerable people. It comes as parts of the UK prepare for much needed, though relatively small, amounts of rain this weekend.