Local News

A group of senior church leaders in Liverpool have said the city's bishop, who faces misconduct allegations from two women, should "step aside".The Right Reverend Dr John Perumbalath's position is "untenable", said the senior leadership of the Diocese of Liverpool in a letter signed by six people including the Dean of Liverpool, Sue Jones. It comes after one woman accused the bishop of kissing her without consent and groping her, […]

Princess Beatrice has given birth to a baby girl named Athena several weeks prematurely, Buckingham Palace has said.The late Queen's granddaughter was due to give birth in early spring and was told in December not to travel long distances. Mother and daughter are now both said to be at home and doing well.In a statement, the palace said: "Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are delighted […]

Two former police officers have been arrested over complaints from four victims of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.The police watchdog said the alleged offences are said to have been committed by the two former South Yorkshire Police constables, who were based in the town, while they were on and off duty. A retired officer in his 60s is being investigated following complaints of child sexual abuse against two girls between […]

The XL bully ban is costing police forces millions of pounds in veterinary bills and kennelling, police chiefs have warned.The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said the ban on the breed was placing a "huge burden on policing". Kennel spaces are "reaching capacity" and costs are "increasing by the day", the NPCC said.It warned veterinary bills and the cost of kennelling were expected "to rise to as much as £25m" […]

Don't, whatever you do, call it a "relaunch".When the chancellor stands up and delivers her much-anticipated speech on Wednesday - with all sorts of exciting schemes for new infrastructure and growth-friendly reforms - she will cast it as part of the new government's long-standing economic strategy. Having begun the job of repairing the public finances in last October's budget, this is, Rachel Reeves will say, simply the next step.Money latest: […]

The Scottish government has admitted that children who were raped and attacked by a "monstrous" child sex abuse ring were "failed" by the system. Seven members of a paedophile gang were jailed yesterday for multiple crimes committed in a Glasgow drugs den. The case, which involved primary school-aged children being plied with alcohol and cocaine, was described by the judge as plunging to "the depths of human depravity".The heroin addicts organised […]

The driver of an SUV that crashed into a school in Wimbledon killing two schoolgirls has been rearrested after detectives reopened the investigation, the Metropolitan Police said.Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau died after the collision at The Study Prep school in southwest London, on 6 July 2023.A "distinctive gold" Land Rover smashed through a fence and drove into the school as an end-of-term tea party was being hosted. Image: The […]

Victims and relatives will take centre stage as the inquiry into the worst atrocity of the Troubles gets underway today.For the next four weeks, commemorative and personal statements about the 29 people killed in the 1998 Omagh bombing will be heard at the Strule Arts Centre in the County Tyrone town, in what victims' groups predict will be a "harrowing" experience. The public inquiry, which held a preliminary session last […]

Ed Miliband has said the expansion of Heathrow and other airports "won't go ahead" if they don't meet the UK's emissions targets - putting him on a potential collision course with Rachel Reeves.The chancellor has not commented directly on whether she would support a third runway at Heathrow, but she has indicated she would be prepared to overrule environmental objections to allow the project to go ahead. Ms Reeves has been emphasising […]