UK

The father of a girl who died at a water park said she was “left to drown” and could have been saved, as he accused the operator of “neglect”. Kyra Hill, 11, died after she got into difficulty in the water at Liquid Leisure Park in Datchet, Berkshire, where she was attending a party. She

British decathlete Ben Gregory is in a critical condition after being involved in a serious bike crash over the weekend. The 31-year-old Welsh athlete suffered a fractured skull and neck and has multiple brain haemorrhages, according to his partner Naomi Heffernan. On Instagram, she said: “He’s in a coma and on life support. “Ben needs

The RAF’s head of recruitment refused to follow an order to prioritise women and ethnic minority candidates over white men because she believed it was “unlawful”, defence sources have claimed and a leaked email has revealed. The group captain – whose subsequent resignation was revealed exclusively by Sky News – told her boss in the

Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk has retained his heavyweight titles after a thrilling rematch with Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia. Usyk won on a split points decision after the pair went the full 12 rounds – 113 to 115, 115 to 113 and 116 to 112. Until around March, Usyk was fighting on the frontline in

A 23-year-old man has been charged with the abduction and sexual assault of a six-year-old girl in Greater Manchester. Lewis Jones, of Liverpool, has been charged with two counts of sexual assault by penetration and one count of abduction. He will appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, Greater Manchester Police said. Police

The Royal Air Force took steps to “artificially inflate” its diversity numbers in a bid to hit a key government target for female and ethnic minority recruits, three defence sources have claimed and leaked documents have suggested. The RAF denied it had acted in any way illegally with its recruitment practices. James Heappey, the Armed

A man who killed his wife on their wedding night and stuffed her body into a suitcase has been jailed for at least 21 years. The body of grandmother Dawn Walker, 52, was found four days after she married Thomas Nutt on 27 October last year. Nutt, 46, was convicted of murder earlier this month

Ryan Giggs has admitted trying to use his daughter as “a lever” to stop the police being called on the night he allegedly headbutted his ex-girlfriend – as an intimate love poem penned by the footballer was read at his trial. Giving evidence in court for a third day, the former Manchester United star denied

A-level grades received by UK students are lower this year than in 2021 and 2020 but remain higher than pre-pandemic levels – the last time students physically sat exams. Hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be eagerly opening their results today – with teenagers in Scotland receiving theirs last

Rail, Tube and bus passengers are set to face four days of travel misery as tens of thousands of workers stage another round of strikes. In recent months, several strikes have been carried out as part of a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions. From Thursday, Network Rail, train companies, London Underground and

Police investigating the killing of 87-year-old Thomas O’Halloran who was stabbed to death have released pictures of a man seen running from the scene armed with a knife. Detectives have issued images of a man they are keen to identify as a matter of urgency following the killing of Mr O’Halloran, who had been riding a

A total of 11 government whips have announced they are backing Liz Truss’s campaign to become the next Conservative leader in the latest blow for rival Rishi Sunak. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, herself a supporter of the foreign secretary, revealed the move in a graphic posted on social media on Tuesday morning. The

Most households are underestimating the massive energy price rises predicted in the coming months with some even believing they will fall, new research shows. Families believe their household gas and electricity bills will go up by £487 from the start of October, despite experts predicting a rise of more than three times that amount, research

The government has agreed to offer £100,000 in compensation to victims of the infected blood scandal. It comes after decades of campaigning and government denial of responsibility. The announcement has had a mixed reception, because while survivors will now get long-overdue help and recognition, many others have already died and, apart from spouses, relatives of

Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour’s plan to deal with the “national emergency” of spiralling energy costs is “robust” and a “real answer” to soaring household bills. Speaking to broadcasters in Exeter on Monday, the Labour leader said his “radical” plan “will take us through the winter” and accused the government of “saying absolutely nothing”.

The UK is braced for several days of thunderstorms after a hot weekend which saw parts of the country grapple with wildfires – but the change in weather is likely to bring more danger rather than relief, meteorologists have warned. A lack of rain and high temperatures have caused drought conditions which have turned much

A teenage boy has died after going into the sea in Skegness, Lincolnshire. Police described him as “a child under the age of 16”, saying that he was in the water at around 6.15pm on Saturday. A search was carried out by officers and the coastguard, with the boy’s body found at around 11.30pm. No

More grass fires have broken out in scorching conditions – with firefighters warning that people are continuing to hold barbecues in parks and drop cigarettes out of car windows. Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were called to a fire in Enfield, north London, on Saturday afternoon. An area measuring about 900m by 600m

The stabbing of author Sir Salman Rushdie has shocked and horrified fellow writers and world leaders, with many praising him as a defender of free speech. The 75-year-old remains on a ventilator after being airlifted to hospital and undergoing hours of surgery following the attack in New York state. And while messages of support have

Droughts have been declared in parts of southwest, southern and central England and all of eastern England as high temperatures continue to fry the country. The affected areas are: • Devon and Cornwall• Solent and South Downs• Kent and South London• Herts and North London• East Anglia• Thames• Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire• East Midlands The announcement