Local News

Armed forces minister James Heappey has announced he will leave his government post and stand down at the next election.The reasons for his decision are personal and not linked to a row over defence spending, a source close to him told Sky News. Politics Live: Another Tory MP standing downThe MP for the Wells constituency in Somerset will continue with his ministerial position until Rishi Sunak wishes him to step […]

Ignore satnavs and stick to diversion routes, motorists have been told ahead of an "unprecedented" closure on the M25 this weekend.Drivers are warned to stay away from a five-mile stretch of the motorway in Surrey between junctions 10 and 11, which will be shut in both directions from 9pm on Friday until 6am on Monday. This will be the first scheduled daytime all-lanes shutdown on the M25 since it opened […]

Two groups set to be re-assessed under the government's new definition of extremism have hit back at Michael Gove – with one saying the minister's latest move will only bolster their organisation. Speaking in the Commons on Thursday, the communities secretary named two far-right organisations and three Islamist groups as ones "we should be concerned about". They will now be assessed against the new definition and if it's deemed they […]

John Lewis's chief executive has called on whoever wins the general election to deliver a stable environment for economic growth that allows consumers to spend with confidence.Speaking as the John Lewis Partnership reported its first full-year profit since before the pandemic, Nish Kankiwala told Sky News the political and economic turbulence of recent years had damaged consumer confidence. "There's no doubt that the last few years have been tough for […]

A 17-year-old boy has admitted to killing a schoolgirl in south London last year. Elianne Andam, 15, was repeatedly stabbed while walking to school in Croydon in September.She died near a bus stop close to the Whitgift shopping centre during the morning rush hour.The teenage defendant, who cannot be identified because of his age, pleaded not guilty to murder when he appeared via videolink at the Old Bailey in central […]

Fewer middle-aged people are dying from cancer than at any point in 25 years, despite cases rising, according to new research.A Cancer Research UK study found death rates among people aged between 35 and 69 have nosedived, thanks to screening, better treatment and fewer people smoking. However, the Britain-wide study warned that improvements in survival are slowing down, while cancer cases are rising, with a 57% jump in men and […]

A behavioural psychologist has warned children filming themselves using catapults to kill and torture animals will feel a "huge residual guilt" as they grow up.It comes after Sky News exposed a UK-wide network in which children - some of primary school age - have been sharing footage and photos of their kills in groups on WhatsApp. Warning: This story contains images and descriptions readers may find distressingSpeaking to The UK […]

Star Wars and James Bond actor Michael Culver has died at the age of 85.In the iconic 1980 Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back, he played Captain Lorth Needa and met his end at the hand of the villainous Darth Vader. Described as a "classic English actor" by his agent, he also had two smaller roles in James Bond movies and later in life became a passionate political activist.Mr […]

Was that it then? Only a few weeks after we learnt that the UK had slipped into a recession, today we learnt that we may already be out of it.It's still too early to be sure - after all, the formal definition of a recession hinges, for some reason no one can quite put their finger on, on whether the economy is growing or shrinking each quarter. Two successive quarters […]