News – World and UK

The UK government’s push for data access which led to Apple withdrawing a security tool from the UK has made users “less secure”, experts have said. The tech giant said on Friday it was withdrawing an opt-in feature called Advanced Data Protection (ADP) from its iCloud service in the UK, which increased the amount of personal data protected by end-to-end encryption, which no-one beyond the account holder – not even […]

A former Iranian prisoner has warned a British couple who have been detained in Iran on espionage charges to “not submit to making false confessions”. Craig and Lindsay Foreman were on a motorcycle journey around the world when they were detained in the Middle Eastern country in January. Anoosheh Ashoori, 71, who was jailed for nearly five years in Iran on spying charges, said his heart goes out to the […]

The boyfriend of a woman who was killed in a shooting has been jailed for five years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs. Ashley Dale, 28, was killed when a gunman forced his way into her home in Old Swan, Liverpool, in August 2022 following a feud between her attackers and her boyfriend, Lee Harrison, 27. On Friday, Liverpool Crown Court heard Harrison had been jointly in control of […]

Scotland “cannot afford” to enter a third decade with the SNP in charge at Holyrood, Labour’s Ian Murray has insisted. Speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Friday, the Scottish Secretary said the country needs a fresh start with Anas Sarwar installed as first minister. The SNP has been in power in Scotland since 2007 and currently leads in the polls ahead of next year’s Holyrood election, but […]

The organiser of a pro-Palestine rally in central London has denied breaching protest conditions. Benjamin Jamal, 61, of Kingston upon Thames, pleaded not guilty to two counts of inciting a public assembly participant to breach the conditions during the demonstration on January 18. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) protest was limited to a designated area in Whitehall but demonstrators allegedly entered an area they were not meant to, Westminster Magistrates’ […]

The funeral is taking place on Friday of a 15-year-old boy who was stabbed to death at his school in Sheffield. Harvey Willgoose died after he was stabbed at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield on February 3. Dozens of family and friends of Harvey are expected to gather at Sheffield Cathedral for the service, which will also be broadcast on a big screen outside the building. The death […]

Sir Keir Starmer is facing pressure to be bold with Donald Trump when he travels to Washington next week, amid a slew of unproven claims about Ukraine that have shaken Western political relations. The US president has traded barbs with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky over the past week, blaming Kyiv for starting the war and claiming Russia holds all the cards in peace talks. Mr Zelensky was also branded […]

The aunt of a woman murdered by an ex-partner has welcomed a “fundamental shift in how victims of domestic abuse are supported” as specialists are embedded in 999 control rooms across some police forces. Nour Norris, whose niece Raneem Oudeh, 22, and sister Khaola Saleem, 49, were murdered by Ms Oudeh’s ex-partner in 2018, said their “voices, struggles, and sacrifices have led to a law that will save lives”. The […]

The Government has vowed to get NHS dentistry “back on its feet” by starting the rollout of 700,000 extra urgent appointments pledged in its manifesto. However, leaders from the profession claim the action will translate into just two extra slots a month for each NHS dentist and said ministers should have “fired the starting gun” last summer. NHS England has written to integrated care boards (ICB) across the country, instructing […]