News 24/08/26

Andy Burnham has promised to keep up the pressure on Russia despite Moscow’s outrageous threats, speaking on his first official visit to Ukraine as UK prime minister.

Mr Burnham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and chaired a meeting of the coalition of the willing, established under predecessor Sir Keir Starmer. He said the coalition is doing everything possible while urging the US Congress to ratchet up economic pressure on Russia. The British government has also agreed to hand over blueprints for British-made components of the Scalp missile, allowing Ukraine to manufacture the long-range cruise weapon domestically.

The Metropolitan Police have submitted a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service regarding a man in his eighties, following an investigation into sexual assault allegations against the late Mohamed Al Fayed.

A man and a woman, both in their eighties, were interviewed under caution last month on suspicion of aiding and abetting rape, sexual assault, and assisting in sexual offences. The CPS will now determine whether criminal charges should be brought. Earlier this year, four other individuals were questioned. The former Harrods owner died three years ago aged ninety-four without facing charges.

Cleveland Police have arrested nine men and three women as part of an investigation into events prior to the fatal A66 crash that killed seven people.

Officers received multiple reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously in the area. The first vehicle, believed to be a Volvo XC60, was seen ramming properties in Middlesbrough. Police confirmed the second vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat involved in the collision, was associated with the activities of the Volvo.

Plans to remove flammable cladding from two apartment buildings in Slough have been approved, bringing them closer to becoming safer for residents.

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, tighter regulations were introduced nationwide. Mosaic Apartments on Slough High Street was previously fitted with the same flammable cladding responsible for the rapid spread of the Grenfell fire. The material was fully removed last year, with remediation plans granted approval by Slough Borough Council.

The United States Treasury Department has sanctioned nearly sixty Iran-linked entities across nuclear, missile, cyber and oil networks.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated the government will tighten the noose around funding for the Iranian regime. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has been calling world leaders to cut economic ties with Iran, warning that any nations facilitating trade should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime.

The Duke of Sussex has stepped down from the board of African Parks, a wildlife charity whose rangers committed human rights abuses against indigenous people.

A spokesman confirmed Prince Harry has resigned after serving as president for six years and joining the board in 2023, though he remains a supporter of its mission. The decision follows the charity’s admission of abuses in Congo-Brazzaville, alongside news that Harry is relocating to the UK with his family.

England cricketer Brydon Carse has been withdrawn from the team’s squad for the second Test against Pakistan after a nightclub incident in Derby on Saturday night.

The ECB has opened an investigation after footage emerged showing the bowler handcuffed by police outside a venue. Carse will take no further part in the three-match series as the cricket regulator investigates the matter.

Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been found guilty of child sexual abuse.

The forty-nine-year-old denied two charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour towards a girl and a boy between 1993 and 2010. The High Court in Glasgow heard Dott exposed himself and inappropriately touched a primary school girl in the 1990s and attacked a young boy between 2006 and 2010. Dott, who won the world championship in 2006, will be sentenced in Edinburgh on 29 September.

The number of UK graduate jobs has fallen by almost half in the past year as employers swap entry-level roles for artificial intelligence and battle rising costs.

Figures from Adzuna show just over eight thousand graduate vacancies were listed in July, compared to more than fifteen thousand a year ago. Competition is rising across all levels, with over two applicants per vacancy, as businesses cite national insurance and minimum wage hikes for making junior hiring more expensive.

As Ukraine marks the 35th anniversary of its independence, Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country is ready to end the war, but will not bow to Moscow’s unchanged terms.

In a social media video message, President Zelenskyy said Ukraine will not let Russia deceive the world into thinking that giving up the Donbas would end the conflict, adding the nation has no illusions and will not give away what is its own.

A former Race Across the World contestant has died, a year after her son and co-star passed away in a car crash.

Jo Gardiner, aged sixty-one, died following a long battle with cancer, her family confirmed. The physiotherapist from Manchester featured alongside her son Sam in the second series of the BBC show in 2020. Her family described her as one of a kind who lived fully and fiercely.

The UK’s rarest bird of prey has successfully nested for the second year running at a secret English location.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reports that a male Montagu’s harrier, known as AU, bred with two different females, rearing six chicks across two nests on farmland. The species was placed on the red list of at-risk birds in 2021 after breeding numbers plummeted.

Firefighters are urging residents to call 999 only for genuine emergencies following an increase in reports about bonfires and barbecues.

Thames Valley Fire Control Service has been handling numerous calls regarding potential fire risks. Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service advised that concerns over waste, environmental nuisance, or anti-social behaviour should instead be directed to local authorities or police.

The government has told social media companies to remove content that celebrates appalling driving following a fatal weekend crash on the A66.

Minister Luke Pollard expressed shock over the deaths of two police officers and others, offering his thoughts to those affected while calling for time for investigations to conclude. Mr Pollard accused platform bosses of allowing dangerous footage that puts lives at risk.

A Treasury review has been launched into business rates for pubs and hotels across England and Wales.

Expert Jerry Schurder will lead the study into valuations, reporting back in March 2027. Landlords and business owners are invited to contribute views. It follows Andy Burnham’s announcement of a twenty per cent rates cut for pubs and venues, set for April, as publicans push for reform.

More than £250,000 has been raised for the families of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, who died when a car driving the wrong way on a dual carriageway crashed into their vehicle.

A fundraiser created by the Cleveland Police Federation reached £228,000 early on Monday. Organisers said funds raised will be split equally between the two officers’ families and the federation will continue providing support. On the GoFundMe page, a donor wrote: “As a retired copper my heart goes out to my two brothers in blue.”

Andy Burnham has arrived in Kyiv on his first international visit as prime minister.

He was pictured shaking hands with Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, at a train station. Mr Burnham is expected to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy later and attend events marking thirty-five years of Ukrainian independence. Alongside the milestone celebrations, the prime minister will announce new support to help Ukraine assemble its own long-range missiles.

Hundreds of dentist practices are abandoning NHS work as the service drifts towards a two-tier system, new analysis suggests.

Data analysed by the Nuffield Trust found that nearly six hundred practices in England have withdrawn from NHS dentistry over the last decade. The decline has been sharpest in the South West and East of England, leaving it near impossible for some communities to secure appointments. Activity remains eight per cent below pre-pandemic levels, with six in ten adults not seeing an NHS dentist in two years.

Andy Burnham will mark his first foreign visit as prime minister with a trip to Kyiv on Monday to reiterate the UK’s support for Ukraine and honour the country’s independence day.

The prime minister will chair his first meeting of the coalition of the willing, set up under Sir Keir Starmer, and accept an award on behalf of the British people.

A group of twenty-one former cricket captains, including Sir Alastair Cook and Sunil Gavaskar, have called on Pakistan to ensure ex-PM Imran Khan receives proper care in custody.

The seventy-three-year-old has been jailed since 2023 on corruption charges which he denies. In a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the skippers raised concerns over his limited access to his own medical doctors.

Two police officers who died when a car travelling the wrong way down a dual carriageway crashed into their vehicle have been hailed as heroes by their families.

PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades died on the A66 near Middlesbrough alongside five young men inside a Volkswagen Passat, which officers had been pursuing until seconds before the fatal head-on collision occurred.