UK

The health secretary has refused to accept Conservative spending cuts have played a role in problems faced by the health service – blaming an ageing population, rising costs and the pandemic instead. In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ Beth Rigby, Steve Barclay rejected the findings of a King’s Fund report from April, which said

The energy regulator has threatened action against household suppliers if they put investors before hard-pressed households. Ofgem’s chief executive Jonathan Brearley warned that financial practices seen before the energy crisis would not be tolerated. New rules were brought in last November to bolster the resilience of business models after the collapse of more than 20

Drivers have been paying more for fuel since 2019 due to weakening competition between retailers, a regulator has said. They said that increased supermarket fuel margins led to drivers paying an extra 6p per litre. Asda has also been fined £60,000 for a failure to provide information when required, the regulator added. It comes in

A major investigation is under way after shots were fired at a wedding in Wolverhampton. No one was injured in the shooting which took place at a reception being held at the Gujarati Association on Mander Street, Merridale, at around 9.30pm on Saturday. West Midlands police said a car was driven up to the back

Lord’s bosses have apologised after England cricket fans clashed with Australia players during the second Ashes Test. As Australia players walked through the Long Room of the stadium during lunch, they appeared to exchange heated words with several Lord’s members. Australia’s Usman Khawaja and David Warner both stopped to hit back at criticism the team

Labour frontbencher Jess Phillips has been accused of “racist and bullying behaviour” after getting into a row on social media with high-profile headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh. Ms Birbalsingh, former chairwoman of the Social Mobility Commission and once dubbed “Britain’s strictest headteacher”, accused the Birmingham Yardley MP of seeking to “whip up a social media mob” against

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a two-year-old girl in Ipswich. Police officers attended a property on Sidegate Lane just after 11.45am on Friday where they discovered the girl’s body. In a statement, Suffolk Police said: “In the early hours of this morning (Saturday 1 July), officers arrested a 22-year-old man from

A Jeremy Clarkson column about Prince Harry and Meghan in The Sun newspaper was sexist, a press watchdog has ruled. The column – headlined “One day, Harold the glove puppet will tell the truth about A Woman Talking B*******” – contained a “pejorative and prejudicial reference” to the sex of the Duchess of Sussex, the

A double murder investigation has been launched after a man and a teenager were stabbed to death in London. Emergency services were called at 11.33pm on Thursday to Elthorne Road, Islington, north London, after a boy was found with stab wounds. The teenager, believed to be 15, was pronounced dead at the scene. Another man,

Shorter medical degrees, apprenticeships, and £2.4bn in funding are among the radical plans being put forward to solve NHS England’s severe staffing crisis. The long-awaited NHS workforce plan is due to be published in full on Friday, outlining how the service will address existing vacancies and meet the challenges of a growing and ageing population.

Satellite images have picked up an area of smoke lying across the UK which can be traced back to wildfires in North America, according to the Met Office. It said the cloud of smoke has “over the last day or so given us some vivid sunrises and sunsets”. Twitter This content is provided by Twitter,

Presumed human remains have been recovered from the wreckage of the Titan submersible, the US Coast Guard have said. It comes after debris from the craft was brought ashore earlier on Wednesday. Five men died, including three British citizens, when the submersible is believed to have suffered a catastrophic implosion while attempting to view the

The government said it is prepared for a range of scenarios amid fears Britain’s biggest water company could collapse. Sky News has learnt that ministers and Ofwat, the industry regulator, have started to hold discussions about the possibility of placing indebted Thames Water into temporary public ownership. Contingency plans are being drawn up amid growing

Human remains found in a California mountain area are those of British actor Julian Sands, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed. It is five months since the 65-year-old was reported missing in the Mount Baldy region of the San Gabriel mountains. Hikers found the remains on Saturday morning, with officials now positively identifying them

There was “nothing” in Nicola Bulley’s medical records to suggest she was suicidal, her former GP has told an inquest into her death. Dr Rebecca Gray told the hearing at County Hall, Preston, that Ms Bulley had spoken to her about feeling a “low mood and anxiety” since 2018, later speaking of headaches, fatigue and

Institutional racism, sexism and class-based discrimination are deep-rooted and widespread in English cricket, a report has found. After receiving evidence and recommendations, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) acted on one recommendation – saying sorry. “We certainly apologise to anybody that has felt excluded or discriminated against,” ECB chairman Richard Thompson told Sky News.