News 29/01/26

A report into former Great Ormond Street Hospital surgeon Yaser Jabbar has found that ninety four children were harmed during care he provided.

The hospital released report on Thursday into the orthopaedic surgeon who treated hundreds of children over five years. Reviewers said most children were not harmed, but ninety eight patients experienced harm, with ninety four cases linked to Jabbar.

A teenager has pleaded guilty to the murder of a twelve year old boy from Birmingham.

Leo Ross suffered injuries after being stabbed in the stomach on a riverside path in the Hall Green area in January last year. The fifteen year old killer, aged fourteen at the time of the attack, cannot be named for legal reasons in Birmingham.

A London bus driver was sacked after he chased and knocked out a thief who stole a passenger’s necklace.

Mark Hehir was driving the two zero six bus in northwest London on twenty five June twenty twenty four when a man boarded and snatched the jewellery. He pursued the thief, retrieved the item, and struck in self defence after being punched.

Police have released image of a man in connection with an investigation into a sexual assault on an Elizabeth Line train. The incident happened on a service from Reading to Abbey Wood on Wednesday August 2025.

Officers say just after 8AM a man boarded at Maidenhead and approached a woman.

British citizens will now be able to travel to China without needing a visa, the government has confirmed.

Sir Keir Starmer discussed proposals with Chinese president Xi Jinping earlier today during his five day visit to Asia. Earlier, the Chinese government said it would actively consider the change, and it has now been formally confirmed.

Women affected by changes to the state pension age have reacted with fury after ministers again rejected their claim for compensation.

The government reconsidered the case after a new document came to light but has again concluded no payments should be made. Campaigners say three point six million women born in the nineteen fifties were not properly informed. The Waspi group said the decision showed utter contempt.

A record four hundred and fifty nine thousand two hundred and eighty eight school holiday fines were issued in England last year, according to the Department for Education.

The number rose four percent in twenty twenty four twenty five and accounted for ninety three percent of unauthorised absence fines. New rules increased penalties from sixty to eighty pounds per parent per child. The government says fines have a vital place and holidays affect classes.

Homicides have fallen to their lowest level for nearly fifty years across England and Wales, official figures show.

There were four hundred and ninety nine victims of murder and manslaughter in the year to September. Statistics published by the Office for National Statistics show a seven percent fall, largely due to fewer knife killings, down to one hundred and seventy four.

A small passenger plane has crashed in northern Colombia, killing all fifteen people on board, including a congressman.

Rescuers later located the crash site and confirmed there were no survivors, according to the country’s transportation ministry. Two crew members and thirteen passengers died, including Diogenes Quintero, aged thirty six, a House of Representatives member for Catatumbo, and Carlos Salcedo, who was running for Congress.

Santander has announced plans to close forty four bank branches across the UK, putting almost three hundred jobs at risk.

The lender says the move reflects changing customer needs, with more people choosing to bank online. The latest closures were announced less than a year after plans to shut ninety five sites. Santander UK says the decision would leave just two hundred and forty four full service branches.

Water bills will rise by an average of five point four percent, or thirty three pounds a year, in England and Wales from April, the water industry body has confirmed.

The increase is two percentage points above December’s official inflation figure. Thames Water says its rise will be zero point four percent, or three pounds. Prices vary across the country.

Pupils should not automatically be sent home when suspended from school in England and could instead remain on site, the government has said.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson warned being sent home can mean children retreating to social media. She said on site suspensions should be used for pupils who have not been violent. The Department for Education agrees with changes.

Chinese president Xi Jinping told Sir Keir Starmer his visit had drawn attention during talks in Beijing.

He said leaders should press ahead with fortitude when actions serve their people, even if progress takes time. Quoting a proverb, Xi urged a broad perspective, respect for differences and mutual respect, calling the visit auspicious ahead of the Chinese New Year.

A leading supporter of assisted dying reform says it is now difficult to see the bill becoming law this year.

Lord Falconer said the legislation has no hope of passing without fundamental change in the House of Lords. He is threatening use of the Parliament Act before the King’s Speech in May, risking a clash.

A community has expressed fear after a man in his fifties was stabbed at a local Street bus stop.

Police say he was assaulted on January twenty five by three offenders on Langley Street, opposite Langley Memorial Ground near Selekt Chicken. The victim suffered a stab wound to his back and was taken to hospital.

Driverless cars are set to arrive in London later this year.

Waymo, Google’s self driving division, says vehicles will be fully operational by the end of twenty twenty six, subject to approval. The company referred to Q4, the final months of the year. Around twenty four Waymo vehicles are on London streets.