UK

Two days of strikes by nurses and paramedics will have a knock-on effect on appointments with a return to “very high numbers” of emergency calls in the coming days, NHS Providers has warned. Historic strike action saw thousands of nurses picket on Tuesday and ambulance staff stage their biggest strike in 30 years yesterday. Saffron

The number of people phoning 999 appears to have dropped in parts of England as thousands of ambulance staff and paramedics strike until midnight. The West Midlands Ambulance Trust thanked people for heeding their advice to only call in an emergency as ambulance trusts reported receiving fewer calls. The drop in calls comes as health

A man has pleaded guilty to the murders of a woman and three children who were found dead at a house in Derbyshire. Damien Bendall, 32, had previously denied murdering Terri Harris, 35, her 11-year-old daughter Lacey Bennett, her 13-year-old son John Paul Bennett, and Lacey’s 11-year-old friend Connie Gent, but admitted their manslaughter. Bendall

People have been urged to “drink responsibly” by NHS England’s medical director to avoid ending up in A&E as ambulance workers prepare to strike. Professor Sir Stephen Powis issued the warning ahead of the planned action on Wednesday, when the health service is likely to be hit by major disruption as ambulance workers, including paramedics,

Ambulance and hospital trusts across the country have declared critical incidents. Paramedics in London declared a “Business Continuity Incident” and in the North East a “critical incident” plan was put in place. Nottingham and Nottinghamshire health and care system – which represents ambulance and hospital services across the region also declared a “ritical incident”. London

Thirty new patients have contacted Sky News following our investigation into the treatment of teenagers in mental health units run by a single provider. They include a 16-year-old boy whose mother told us her son’s self-harming increased. Rachel Vickers said of her son Tyson: “He looked like he’d been in a car crash”, and Tyson

A government plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful, the High Court has ruled. Lord Justice Lewis said the controversial policy introduced under Boris Johnson was “consistent with the refugee convention”. However, he said the home secretary should look at people’s “particular circumstances” before deporting them. Politics live: Health secretary says he is

A teenager has been charged with a people-smuggling offence after four people died while attempting to cross the Channel. Ibrahima Bah, 19, of no fixed address, was arrested by police after the incident on Wednesday. Four people died and 39 were rescued when a migrant boat capsized in the Channel. Bah was charged with “knowingly

Gareth Southgate will stay on as England manager and will lead the Three Lions at the 2024 Euros, the FA has confirmed. Southgate steered England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, where they lost 2-1 to France. In a statement, the FA said: “We are delighted to confirm that Gareth Southgate is continuing as

Police have released the first picture of a woman who died after being injured in a crush at a concert at Brixton Academy. Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, from Newham, east London, died on Saturday morning, while two other women – aged 21 and 23 – remain in a critical condition in hospital. Eight people were taken

Hospitals should free up beds by safely discharging patients in advance of “extensive disruption” caused by industrial action by ambulance crews, health chiefs have said. They warned of “a very challenging period” when ambulance crews in England and Wales are due to walk out for two days on 21 and 28 December in a dispute

An investigation has been launched into the deaths of two children after their bodies were found at a residential address in Dagenham, in east London. Emergency services were called at around 2pm on Friday to the property in Cornwallis Road, where the bodies of a two-year-old boy and a five-year-old boy were discovered. Metropolitan Police

Four people are in a critical condition after crowd trouble at a concert in south London. People at the O2 Academy in Brixton were said to have been locked outside the venue in freezing temperatures, prompting some to try to force their way inside for the Asake gig. The concert was eventually cancelled part-way through,

Four boys who died after falling into a frozen lake in Solihull have been named by police. Brothers Samuel Butler, six, and Finlay Butler, eight; their cousin Thomas Stewart, 11, and Jack Johnson, 10, were identified by West Midlands Police. Three of the boys, Jack, Thomas and Finlay, died on Sunday after falling into Babbs

A fisherman whose crew saved 31 people stranded in the English Channel said he was woken in the early hours of the morning when migrants surrounded his boat “screaming for help”. Skipper Raymond told Sky News he had been sleeping when he was awoken by a member of his crew, who told him, “There are

NHS nurses are striking today in a dispute with the government over pay and patient safety. Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will take industrial action on 15 December and 20 December across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the first time in the union’s 106-year history. Strikes by ambulance staff and some

At least three people have died after a small migrant boat with up to 50 on board capsized in the English Channel off the coast of Kent, near Dungeness. A major search and rescue operation involving helicopters and lifeboats is ongoing. The vessel was carrying between 30 to 50 people when it ran into difficulties,

Rishi Sunak has promised to bring in new laws to tackle illegal immigration, saying anyone who comes to the UK illegally will not be allowed to stay. Making a raft of announcements in the Commons, the prime minister said the legislation would be introduced early next year and mean people who do not come to

The “tide is turning” in rail unions when it comes to pay offers on the table, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has claimed. Members of the RMT rejected the latest offer from Network Rail yesterday by 64%. The deal would have included a 5% and 4% pay rise over two years, but meant thousands of job

Talks to avert the nursing strike on Thursday have failed after the union leader behind the action accused Health Secretary Steve Barclay of refusing to discuss pay. In a statement on Monday night, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said: “I needed to come out of this meeting with something serious to