UK

An online predator whose abuse led an American girl and her father to take their own lives has been jailed for at least 20 years after the UK’s largest ‘catfishing’ case. Warning: This article contains references to suicide and child sex abuse which readers may find distressing. Alexander McCartney, 26, previously admitted 185 charges, including

A teacher who faced discrimination from senior staff at her former college has told Sky News how she was left feeling “worthless” and “suicidal”. It comes after a report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) warned racism, discrimination and the lack of opportunities for promotion are damaging the teaching profession and driving away

One of Europe’s biggest snakes – which can grow up to two metres in length – is setting up home in the attics and wall cavities of UK homes, according to a study. Aesculapian snakes are non-native but after two potential “escapes” can be found in the capital – near London Zoo and Regent’s Canal

A surgeon is removing brain tumours “the size of large apples” through patients’ eyebrows, in what is believed to be a world first. Consultant neurosurgeon Anastasios Giamouriadis, based in Aberdeen, has adapted an existing technique to remove the growths, leaving patients with only a small scar and black eye. The operation can be over in

A student who hid her newborn baby in a cereal box after giving birth has been convicted of murder.  Jia Xin Teo, who arrived in the UK from Malaysia to study at Coventry University, concealed her pregnancy from everyone she knew and gave birth to a baby girl full-term on 4 March this year. The

Police officers in Argentina are continuing to search the hotel where Liam Payne was found dead last week, new photos reveal. Officers were seen entering and exiting the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires and filling out paperwork. Payne fell from a third-floor balcony on 16 October, sparking an outpouring of tributes for the 31-year-old

The King sipped a ceremonial drink and was presented with a pig for feasting during a first day of events in Samoa. The monarch was “dressed down”, allowing a red garland to be placed around his neck when he was later honoured with a new title. He was in good spirits despite the rain and

As new laws go, the Data Use and Access Bill sounds like one of the most boring imaginable. But don’t nod off just yet… The revamp of data laws, claims the government, has the potential to boost the economy, benefit patients, police and parents – even help reduce disruption from road repairs. But done wrong,

The proposed regulator for men’s football in England will no longer have to ensure decisions on club takeovers align with the government’s foreign and trade policy. The removal of the clause follows veiled threats by UEFA to ban English teams from European competitions after being concerned about potential prohibited government interference in football. Labour made

About one in 10 people under 25 are unsure – or do not believe – that removing a condom during sex is a crime, according to a UK survey. The online study by researchers at University College London (UCL) asked 1,729 people aged between 18 and 25 for their views on so-called ‘stealthing’. ‘Stealthing’ is

We’ve been here before. Yvette Cooper is the third home secretary to promise to reform procedure for armed police officers after the shooting of Chris Kaba. But then we have had three home secretaries in the past year: Tories Suella Braverman and James Cleverly and now Labour’s Ms Cooper. It was when dozens of officers

Drivers have been warned to take caution when the clocks go back on Sunday as new data shows a spike in the number of accidents after the annual change. The UK’s largest motoring organisation, AA, said reports received for its national Accident Assist service increased by 11% in the fortnight after the October 2023 clocks

Firearms officers on trial over police shootings will not be named during criminal proceedings, the home secretary has announced. Yvette Cooper made the announcement after police marksman Martyn Blake was cleared by a jury on Monday of the murder of Chris Kaba in Streatham, south London, in September 2022. Mr Blake, 40, fired a single

Two survivors of the Manchester Arena attack have won their harassment case against a conspiracy theorist who claims the bombing was “staged”. Former television producer Richard Hall has said he believes the attack at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 was a “elaborate hoax”, and that no one was “genuinely injured”. Martin Hibbert and his

German warplanes that can track Russian submarines will start operating off the coast of Scotland as early as next year as part of a “landmark” defence pact between London and Berlin. The new agreement – due to be signed on Wednesday by Defence Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart – will also pave the

Police looking for missing woman Victoria Taylor have found a body close to where she last seen. The 34-year-old nurse left her home in Malton, North Yorkshire, on 30 September. A number of her personal possessions were later found close to the River Derwent. She had been seen on CCTV walking towards a play park

Donald Trump’s campaign team has called for an investigation into “blatant foreign interference” in the election by the Labour Party. The complaint to the US federal electoral commission said there had been “interference” in the “form of apparent illegal foreign national contributions made by the Labour Party of the UK” which had been “accepted” by

A woman with four children were reportedly “forced into a van” in Torfaen, police say. Gwent Police said it is investigating “suspicious behaviour” that happened on Broadway, Pontypool, just after midnight on Monday. The force said it was called by someone who reported seeing a woman being “forced into a van by a man”. The

A soldier accused of escaping from Wandsworth prison had earlier spent more than three weeks on the run after leaving a fake bomb on his desk at an army barracks, a court heard. Following his arrest after he went absent without leave (AWOL) from Beacon Barracks in Stafford, Daniel Khalife told police he was upset

Warning: This story contains references to suicide along with racist and sexist language readers may find distressing. When Maya* started a new teaching job, she did not expect to be called the n-word as she walked down the corridor. The bullying from her fellow teachers proved relentless. She was called a “curry lover” and believes