Scotland Yard says it shared letter about Thomas Markle Sr allegations in 2019 but did not pass claims to other agencies

The Metropolitan police have confirmed they gave a letter to the Duchess of Sussex in 2019 concerning “alleged offending” involving her father, after accusations arose on Friday about Thomas Markle Sr having child sexual abuse images.

Scotland Yard said it had received a letter in January 2019 making a number of allegations about offending outside Britain.

Mother, 36, died after current off North Bimini reportedly swept away two boys, who were later rescued, police say

A British woman has died in the Bahamas while trying to rescue her two sons after a current swept them away as they were snorkelling.

The Royal Bahamas police force said it had launched an investigation after the death of a 36-year-old woman on Tuesday.

School conditions, housing costs and the cost of living have brought demonstrators on to the streets in several countries

Young people have been taking to the streets in countries across Europe, including Spain, France and Portugal, to protest over their unhappiness at the state of schools and the wider cost of living crisis.

In France, high school pupils have clashed with police in often violent protests over long hours, missing teachers, dilapidated classrooms and an opaque university admissions system. Pupils routinely miss months of teaching due to unfilled staff absences.

Interior minister says ‘the Republic will not yield’ to France’s worst protests in years

A dispatch here from Sam Jones, our reporter in Madrid, as protests have spread to Italy and Portugal

The angry protests that have convulsed Spain and France in recent weeks have spilled over to Italy and Portugal, with rioters clashing with police and setting property on fire in Milan, and a tent encampment springing up in Lisbon over the weekend.

Andrew Bailey among finance leaders to leave session in Bangkok when Russian finance minister addressed group

The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has taken part in a walkout of finance leaders who left an International Monetary Fund meeting in protest against Russian involvement.

Bailey joined counterparts from France, Germany and a number of Scandinavian and Baltic countries who left the session in Bangkok when the Russian finance minister, Anton Siluanov, addressed the group in Russian.

Orange Order march along Garvaghy Road scheduled to take place for first time in 28 years after injunction dismissed on appeal

A controversial loyalist parade along a nationalist street in the Northern Ireland town of Portadown has been permitted to go ahead for the first time in nearly 30 years, after a ban was overturned late on Saturday night.

Amid fears the march could unleash fresh sectarian violence, the Orange Order parade down the Garvaghy Roadis due to take place at 8am on Sunday morning, and follows a legal back-and-forth in recent days.

PM sends video message to newlyweds instead after bride Sarah Burwin asked him not to ‘ruin’ vibe at Heron House

Andy Burnham fulfilled a bride’s wishes by not turning up for her wedding after she asked him not to spoil her big day as she got married at the building housing No 10 North.

Sarah Burwin had pleaded on TikTok in July for Burnham not to work from the building in Manchester that day, which hosts the government’s northern headquarters and the city’s register office.

Company ‘extremely sorry’ for ‘unacceptable’ email urging customers to ‘Snap up these deals quicker than a croc can catch a kid!’

The discount voucher website Wowcher has apologised after appearing to make reference to a crocodile attack on a toddler at a zoo in an email promoting its offers.

A spokesperson for Wowcher said it was urgently reviewing its marketing content after the subject line of an email on Saturday urged customers to “Snap up these deals quicker than a croc can catch a kid!”

Family of Shaun Burton, 60, say they are ‘devastated by his loss’ and their thoughts are ‘also with those affected’

• Does Bedford train crash raise wider questions about safety?

Police have named the driver killed in the Bedford train crash on Friday, as his family paid tribute to him.

British Transport police said Shaun Burton, 60, was the East Midlands Railway driver killed in the collision between two trains on the line between Bedford and Luton that also left 100 people injured.

Almunthir Daqamah, 21, charged with attempted murder as campus safety officer said to be in stable condition

A man accused of attempted murder after a member of staff at the University of Surrey was shot with a crossbow in Guildford has appeared in court.

Almunthir Daqamah, 21, is alleged to have shot Robert Tytler, a campus safety officer, after he told the former student to leave a student village on Thursday morning.

The prime minister’s leadership is still in the spotlight after Peter Mandelson was appointed US ambassador after he failed security vetting

Our Scotland correspondent Libby Brooks has written this piece on how Scottish voters are being attracted to Reform UK, and how it reflects attitudes to immigration.

It’s Monday evening in Aberdeen, and George Preston is wearing his union flag suit to the Reform UK rally. He joined the party in 2024 as it gained ground in the north-east of Scotland with its first councillor defections from the Scottish Conservatives.

This blog is now closed

Circling back now to Diego Garcia, Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean – but neither of them hit, according to news reports citing US officials.

The Wall Street Journal said one of the missiles failed in flight, and that a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other, citing two US officials. It could not be determined if an interception was made, one said.

2025 was the best year for quiz book sales since records began in 1998; while Bibles also proved popular

If the question is which genre bucked the prevailing trend in publishing to record a remarkable rise in readership last year, the answer is clear: quiz books.

Spending on the titles increased by nearly a quarter in 2025, data from NielsenIQ BookData suggests. It was the best year for quiz books since records began in 1998, according to the company, which manages the ISBN and SAN agencies for the UK and Ireland.

Defence minister urges ‘serious politics’ after Tory leader criticises prime minister’s stance at spring conference

• Middle East crisis live: latest news updates

Labour has accused Kemi Badenoch of scoring “cheap political points” after the Conservative party leader said Keir Starmer was “too scared” to join strikes on Iran.

Al Carns, the defence minister, said “serious politics” was required in response to Badenoch’s speech at the party’s spring conference where she criticised the prime minister’s stance on the US-Israel strikes on Iran a week ago.

Jacob Leland, who taught Russian, jailed for more than three years for sexually assaulting boy on school trip

The headteacher of Eton college has apologised and said he was “appalled” after a former teacher was jailed for sexually assaulting a pupil.

Jacob Leland, 37, who taught Russian, was jailed on Friday for three years and three months for sexually assaulting one of his pupils at his flat and during a school trip in 2012.

Greater Manchester mayor has applied to stand for Labour in Gorton and Denton, setting up potential fight for PM’s political future

Keir Starmer’s allies are urging him to block Andy Burnham from running in the Gorton and Denton byelection, after the Greater Manchester mayor declared his intention to stand, setting up a potential fight for the prime minister’s political future.

Burnham said on Saturday he wanted to contest the seat after the sitting MP, Andrew Gwynne, said he intended to stand down.

Umer Khalid, 22, has stopped drinking water as well as food in protest against charges against him

The last Palestine Action prisoner still on hunger strike has now stopped drinking water, which a doctor has warned could kill him.

Umer Khalid, 22, has been on a hunger strike since November. His action was briefly paused at Christmas when he became unwell.

France, Russia, China and EU say Washington broke international law after US troops carried out the operation

• US attacks Venezuela: latest news updates

• What we know so far about the attack

• Watch: Aircraft fly low over Caracas as explosions hit city

The US has been condemned for breaking international law after it launched airstrikes on the Venezuelan capital and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife.

France, Spain, Brazil, Russia, China and the European Commission were among those who said Donald Trump had broken international rules after US troops carried out the operation on Saturday morning. The move came amid six months of escalating tensions between Washington and the South American country.

Humberside police say body retrieved off East Yorkshire on Friday evening amid rescue operation in ‘horrendous conditions’

A second body has been recovered from the sea off the coast of Withernsea, East Yorkshire, as the search resumes for a third missing person.

Humberside police said the body of a second person was retrieved on Friday evening. Earlier, a 67-year-old man had been pulled unconscious from the water, but he died later.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s daughters seen at Sandringham church as more details about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein emerge

Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice attended church with the royal family on Christmas morning, in a year where their father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was stripped of his royal titles.

Mountbatten-Windsor’s two daughters could be seen walking behind King Charles III and Queen Camilla on their way to church on the private Sandringham estate in Norfolk.