UK

A water tank infected with cryptosporidium has been drained and will be cleaned on Saturday, South West Water has said. About 16,000 households in the Brixham area of Devon have been told to boil their drinking water following 46 confirmed cases of the disease. Cryptosporidiosis is caused by a tiny parasite and can lead to

Colin Smith carries a small suitcase into the dining room of their Newport home and lays it flat on the table in the centre of the room. He pops open both latches. His wife Jan reaches inside and pulls out a sky blue child’s blanket. She holds it close to her face, closes her eyes

The confirmed cases of a waterborne disease caused by a parasite have more than doubled. There are 46 cases of cryptosporidiosis, a diarrhoeal illness, the UK Health Security Agency has said – with more than 100 further people reporting similar symptoms in the Brixham area. Other reported cases of diarrhoea and vomiting in residents and

Prosecutions of sub postmasters by the Department for Work and Pensions could be “tainted” as Sky News reveals officials worked with now discredited Post Office investigators to secure convictions. Around 100 prosecutions of Post Office staff were led by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between 2001 and 2006. It is understood that these

The outbreak of a waterborne disease in Devon could last at least a week, an expert has told Sky News. Residents in parts of Brixham were told to boil their drinking water on Thursday after 22 cases of cryptosporidiosis were confirmed in and around the area. Professor Paul Hunter, a specialist in medical microbiology at

A maternity expert behind a key 2022 report has told Sky News she is “angry” over government inaction after a landmark inquiry found good care “is the exception rather than the rule”. Donna Ockendon, whose report in March 2022 listed 15 areas for “immediate and essential action”, said families have been “let down” by failure

An emergency measure has been triggered by the Ministry of Justice to deal with prison overcrowding in England. Operation Early Dawn will see defendants in police custody remain there – and not be transferred to magistrates’ courts for bail hearings – in case there is no prison space for that prisoner if they are remanded

Landlords have been accused of “holding parliament hostage” with the threat of selling up to stop tenants’ rights from being strengthened. A fresh row erupted on the eve of the controversial Renters Reform Bill coming to the House of Lords for its second reading, as one landlord group warned of a supply crisis in the

The sentence given to Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane was not “unduly lenient”, senior judges have ruled. Calocane, 32, was handed an indefinite hospital order for the manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates, and the attempted murder of three others last June. The attacker’s guilty pleas were accepted

The largest and longest study of the obesity drug Wegovy has shown people maintain significant weight loss for at least four years, with fewer serious adverse events than those given placebo ‘dummy’ treatment. Doctors say the finding will add pressure on UK health authorities, which currently limit treatment to just two years. Results revealed at

Rishi Sunak has said the government will appeal against a court ruling that provisions of the UK’s Illegal Migration Act – which created powers to send asylum seekers to Rwanda – should be disapplied in Northern Ireland. The High Court in Belfast on Monday morning ordered the “disapplication” of sections of the act as they

Top Boy, Happy Valley and The Sixth Commandment are the big winners at this year’s BAFTA TV Awards, taking home two prizes apiece. The final series of the critically acclaimed Top Boy was named best drama, with star Jasmine Jobson also named best supporting actress. Happy Valley picked up the award for most memorable moment,

Thunderstorms are set to strike across large parts of the UK this afternoon – with a warning that flooding in some places could cause “danger to life”. The Met Office has issued a number of yellow weather alerts across the country, which look set to bring Britain’s warm spell to an end. From midday, western

An “increasing number” of drivers are “choosing to ignore” the official diversion route around the M25 closure, highways bosses have warned. National Highways say they are making “good progress” to install a new gantry and a new gyratory bridge between junctions 9 and 10 of the motorway. The seven-mile stretch, through Surrey, closed at 9pm

Earth has been rocked by the first extreme geomagnetic storm in two decades, creating a spectacular light show in UK skies and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere – but also posing a threat to communication networks, navigation systems and power grids. Elon Musk’s Starlink, which owns around 60% of the estimated 7,500 satellites currently

A police officer has been shot in the leg with a crossbow during an incident in High Wycombe. Police say the incident took place as the officer was responding to reports of a man in his 60s suffering a stab wound in the Buckinghamshire town. A 54-year-old man, from High Wycombe, has been arrested on

The mastermind of an armed robbery in which PC Sharon Beshenivsky was shot dead in 2005 has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 40 years. Piran Ditta Khan, 75, was last month found guilty of murdering the West Yorkshire Police officer, who was shot at point-blank range at Universal Express travel agent

The Bank of England has edged closer to a cut in interest rates, with another member of its nine-person Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voting for lower borrowing costs this month. While the MPC voted 7-2 to leave UK interest rates on hold at 5.25%, the change in the vote will be seen as a further

The mastermind behind an extreme body modification ring that carried out “grizzly and gruesome” procedures including castrations has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years. Warning: The following article contains graphic details of extreme physical mutilation Marius Gustavson, 46, ran a “lucrative business” sharing images of “dangerous, unnecessary and life-changing surgeries”

A mother from Wrexham has been awarded more than half a million pounds in damages for injuries she suffered during childbirth. Maternity services make up more negligence claims and payments than any other hospital department – and campaigners say it reflects underfunding and overworked staff. It took Amy Stead, 37, nearly three years to fall