UK news

UK news

Boxing Day sales are expected to deliver a £3.6 billion boost to UK retailers this year, around £1 billion less than in 2024, as cost-of-living pressures continue to weigh on household spending. The forecast comes from Barclays, which tracks nearly half of all credit and debit card transactions across the UK. The anticipated decline represents a blow to retailers during their all-important "golden quarter", traditionally the most lucrative period of the year.

Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

Josh Breslaw was looking forward to a homecoming gig with his band of two decades' standing. Oi Va Voi, a predominantly Jewish collective mixing traditional eastern European folk tunes with drum'n'bass and dance, were due to conclude a spring tour of Turkey with a gig in May at Bristol's Strange Brew club, plus one in Brighton where Breslaw lives. But then, after protests from local activists about both the band's past performances in Israel, and with Israeli singer Zohara, Strange Brew abruptly cancelled, citing the ongoing situation in Gaza.

The Natural History Museum in South Kensington plans to open two spaces, one of which hasn't been seen by visitors since World War II. The aptly named Old General Herbarium has not been seen by Londoners since 1948 and is set to launch in 2026 as a pop-up Hidden Histories gallery. Origins gallery, which has been shut since 2004, will also reopen as a 'Land and Air gallery' sometime before the institution's 150th birthday in 2031.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.

One of the City of London's most prominent financiers has become the latest billionaire to relocate abroad, adding momentum to the growing exodus of wealthy individuals from the UK. Alan Howard, the co-founder of hedge fund group Brevan Howard Asset Management, is understood to have taken up residency in Switzerland, according to UK registry filings cited by Bloomberg. Howard, 62,

CCTV footage shows the moment a drink-driver crashed his car into a Nottingham city landmark. Melvin Mugambe, 20, swerved into the corner of the Guildhall building on 4 December at 4am. Nobody was injured in the crash. Significant damage was caused to the car. No structural damage was caused to the Grade II-listed building. After being checked over by paramedics, he was arrested on suspicion of drink driving when a breathalyser test recorded 59 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, way over the legal limit.

We have been running large-scale multimedia campaigns to tackle sexual offences and sexual harassment on our transport networks since 2015. These campaigns have aimed to raise awareness of unwanted sexual behaviour; reassure victims that we take this issue seriously and improve their confidence to report knowing that action will be taken; and sending a strong message to perpetrators that this behaviour is harmful and won't be tolerated on our networks.

Authorities found the teenager and the suspected attacker suffering from multiple stab wounds after receiving a domestic violence report in a home in Casais, in the Tomar municipality. Moments after arriving at the scene, a suspected gas explosion tore through the house, believed to have been deliberately caused by the attacker, injuring one officer in the process. The teenager was found in cardiorespiratory arrest and pronounced dead at the scene.

"Playing fields are irreplaceable - and Sport England's statutory consultee role is an important line of defence. "Weakening this protection risks accelerating the loss of the very spaces that make grassroots sportand physical activity possible, at a time when participation is growing and demand has never been higher." Sport England declined to comment, but this month said it protected more than a thousand playing fields across the country last year.

The Post Office made a confidential deal with Fujitsu 19 years ago to fix errors in subpostmasters' accounts, a document has revealed. The 2006 agreement suggests both companies were aware of bugs in the Horizon IT system, with Fujitsu liable for a 100-150 "liquidated damages" penalty per faulty transaction. The document indicates the Post Office and Fujitsu had authorisation to alter accounts, despite claims it was not possible to do so remotely and that there were no bugs in the system.

A two-year-old boy has died and five people left seriously injured after their car broke down and was hit by another vehicle on a busy dual carriageway. A Volkswagen Touran smashed into them in the live northbound lane at around 6.20pm on Saturday. Five others inside the Toyota, two adults and three children, were rushed to Peterborough City Hospital. Paramedics took the boy there in a critical condition, but he sadly died.

A church in Holland Park hosted a carol service with a difference, welcoming people and their pets to sing together. The sold-out event at St John the Baptist Church was held for a second year, attracting up to 400 people and animals. Organisers said visitors travelled from far afield to one of the few churches offering pet blessings in a festive service.

Two men have been convicted of planning an Islamic State-inspired attack on a mass gathering of Jews in the Manchester area. Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, had a visceral dislike of Jewish people and wanted to cause untold harm, the court heard. But the plot was scuppered as they unknowingly laid bare their scheme to an undercover operative (UCO).

I think it's really important that we have honesty in the way that we talk about human rights, and that we also have a recognition that the demonisation of migrants creating this idea that migration causes huge risks for the country can make the lives not just of migrants to the UK, but of ethnic minority UK citizens, very, very difficult.