UK news

UK news

Sir Mark Rowley said there was evidence of store employees tipping off thieves about when it was safe to strike, while other retailers refused to hand over CCTV footage or photos of criminals caught red-handed. He alleged some stores would not allow staff time off to attend court or provide statements to police. In the year to June, retail crime surged by 13 per cent, reaching 529,994 recorded offences, according to the Office for National Statistics.

"The Gosh charity gave Zarwa a really amazing Christmas," Fahima said. "She went to sleep and woke up to find her ward covered in twinkling lights and decorations. She had a stocking packed with gifts."

Siblings facing eviction from their childhood home in East London after their mum's sudden death from cancer have asked the council for fairness and compassion. Hackney Council has told Joanne Thompson 44, and her brother Calvin Gray, 55, they will have to leave their home of over four decades because their late mum Megan's tenancy was technically transferred to her from their father over 30 years ago, meaning it can't be passed on to them.

The Metropolitan Police has said it will "take no further action" over claims Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asked his police protection officer for information on accuser Virginia Giuffre. The allegations, first reported in the Mail on Sunday in October, said the then-prince gave the officer Ms Giuffre's date of birth and social security number, just before the paper published a photo of the pair meeting in February 2011.

The 71-year-old Paul Lim pulled off a stunning victory in the PDC World Championship on Saturday night, beating the world No 49, Jeffrey de Graaf, in the first round at Alexandra Palace and becoming the oldest winner of a world championship match. Lim, who featured in his first world championship in 1982 and in 1990 became the first player to hit a nine-darter at a world championship,

The findings reveal how sharply these opportunity windows have narrowed. Almost every SME now operates within a 12-month limit, with 97% confirming that opportunities remain viable for no longer than a year. Many face far less breathing room. More than half (51%), say they have only three to six months to move, and 28% say opportunities disappear in under three. In markets where rivals are accelerating their own investment decisions, these shrinking windows are making slow responses far more costly than before.

Hospitality has always relied on a diverse, global workforce,

Tantesh's reporting has described the impact of the war on Palestinians in Gaza, and her own family in particular. She has described losing close relatives and witnessing the aftermath of bombing. In one piece, she described her family's return to her birthplace in Beit Lahia, only to find their home in ruins and their orchard destroyed. Another piece described the plight of skeletal children in one of Gaza's remaining hospitals.

Billions of pounds of investment, years of engineering works and now, the moment of truth. On 14 December a revamped railway timetable goes live across Britain, with the biggest fanfare and radical changes for the east coast mainline, where passengers are promised more train services, faster journeys and a new era of reliability.

The middle fork of the black tube line will shut early for four whole months at the start of 2026. If you're looking to get the Northern line into or out of King's Cross St Pancras, Angel, Old Street, Moorgate, Bank, London Bridge, Borough or Elephant & Castle after 10pm, you'll need to find a different route. The early closure will be in place Monday-Thursday, with services running on a revised timetable from 9.30pm each night.

Footage shows the moment an Algerian migrant on bail was caught stealing Canada Goose beanies from Selfridges. Dade Mustafa, 35, grabbed the hats, worth 350, from the upmarket department store last month. CCTV captures him peering around the Oxford Street shop before snatching items and walking away. After ripping off security tags, he stuffs one down his trousers and another in his coat pocket. Off-camera, Mustafa is said to have squared up to security guard Farzan Molaei before yelling: F*** off.

remained with Charlie Prodromou's loving family and friends, who have shown so much strength over the last few months

the health board was found to have harassed her by: failing to revoke the grant of permission to Dr Upton on an interim basis after Peggie complained, taking an unreasonable length of time to investigate the allegations raised against Peggie, making reference to patient care allegations against her on 28 March 2024 and giving her an instruction not to discuss the case - until a further message confirmed that only applied to the investigation.

The airline said in a statement that the diversion was due to an unspecified technical issue. "The flight landed safely and customers disembarked normally following reports of a technical issue with the aircraft. We've apologised to our customers for the delay, and our teams are working to get their journeys back on track," the statement said. It can be frustrating for passengers when they're diverted to their origin - a so-called flight to nowhere - but often it's the best course of action.

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.

This is the terrifying moment a train passenger launches a bottle attack on strangers. Footage released by British Transport Police on Thursday (11 December), shows an intoxicated Thomas Craig stab a man with a broken bottle of Buckfast, on a train from Glasgow Queen Street to Perth on 16 February 2024. The man was left fighting for his life. Craig, 48, of Walton Street in East Renfrewshire, was convicted of attempted murder and serious assault on 28 November, following a four day trial.

There are no world powers without military power, Milei said, according to the Telegraph, adding: There is no country that counts in the international context if they can't defend their borders.

But it was not a total shock earlier this year when I received one of those official notifications in the post, informing me that I had been caught exceeding a speed limit (driving out of Wandsworth in South London, if you're interested). I had to accept either three driver penalty points, or attend a speed awareness course. Having no points on my licence, and wanting to keep it that way, I chose to take the course (like so many others given the choice).

My team are conducting urgent enquiries to establish the full circumstances that led to this woman's tragic death. My sympathy goes to the victim's family and friends during this painful time.

"worsened over the last few years to a point where somebody who works for me and has been around for 40 years operating buses in London says it's the worst he has ever seen"

TfL's huge annual report includes a map that shows the Public Transport Access Level (PTAL) across the city. An area's PTAL is calculated based its proximity to bus, tube, train and tram services and how frequent services are. Each area is graded between zero and 6b, a score of zero indicating very poor access to public transport, and 6b meaning excellent access to public transport, with each score given a different colour.

But under the terms of his Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence, he was repeatedly denied his freedom - at times because the despair of not having a release date had left his mental health on a knife edge. The only glimpse of the outside world he had seen - a series of day releases in the months before his death - had been snatched away weeks earlier after a prison officer had briefly lost sight of him in a busy shopping centre.