UK

Increased funding for social housing is needed to meet ambitious government building targets, according to experts. Representatives of England’s housing associations estimate they need funding for affordable homes to be nearly doubled to £4.6bn a year alongside other funding and policy measures. Ahead of this week’s budget, the Treasury has teased a £500m boost to

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

Sir Keir Starmer has hinted at possible tax rises for those who own shares and assets, saying they do not fit his definition of “working people”. The prime minister was asked to share his definition of a “working” person after Labour’s election-winning manifesto promised “not increase taxes on working people” – but who exactly that

Rachel Reeves will rewrite the government’s fiscal rules in next week’s budget to allow her to increase borrowing for public investment by around £50bn. Speaking to Sky News in Washington DC, the chancellor said that the self-imposed rule under which borrowing must be falling by the fifth year of economic forecasts will be redefined from

Emergency services are dealing with an incident at a care home in Dorset – with two people taken to hospital. South Western Ambulance Service said it was called to the home in Swanage at 5.20am and sent a hazard response team, 10 ambulances and “a significant number of additional resources”. “Two patients were conveyed by

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

Chris Kaba was a core member of a notorious south London gang and accused of being the gunman in an alleged bid to murder a rival in a nightclub shooting days before he was killed. The 24-year-old’s gang links, previous convictions and violent past can be reported for the first time after Metropolitan Police marksman

As we walked to one of the wings at HMP Elmley – there was screaming. Persistent screaming from a prisoner. He lifted up his top, revealing numerous scars across his body, and shouted: “This is what Elmley does to you! Self harm! This is what Elmley is doing!” The rate of self harm in the

The police marksman who shot dead Chris Kaba has been cleared of murder. Martyn Blake, 40, fired a single bullet through the windscreen of the Audi Q8 the 24-year-old was driving as armed officers surrounded the car in Streatham, south London, while he tried to escape. A helicopter and six police cars were involved in

It is a freezing morning in east Glasgow and the only thing Chris has on his mind is how quickly he can get his first fix. He strides down the street brandishing a needle in the air, as cars and vans drive through the housing estate. The syringe is filled with brown liquid. “20ml of

There’s been an outpouring of support for Sir Chris Hoy after the Olympic great revealed his cancer is terminal and he has between two and four years to live. A host of sport and entertainment stars replied to his latest Instagram post in which he said he was “overwhelmed by all the love”. Fellow cycling

Every time her son has a seizure, Ellie (not her real name) is forced to recall the man who shook her tiny baby so violently he was left with life-changing injuries. Her little boy was born healthy but when he was attacked, just weeks old, his life completely changed. His mobility, vision, and ability to

Liam Payne’s sister has paid an emotional tribute to her “best friend” as she spoke for the first time about his death. The singer died aged 31 on Wednesday after falling from a balcony on the third floor of the Casa Sur hotel in Argentina. Ruth Gibbins posted on social media: “I don’t believe this

Liam Payne’s father has visited the hotel in Argentina where his son died, as he read tributes left for the One Direction star. Geoff Payne was seen reading messages and looking at flowers placed outside the CasaSur Hotel in the capital Buenos Aires. He was watched on by a crowd of mourners, with local media

A former police detective has been jailed for 19 years for stealing cocaine from work to sell on the streets of Manchester. Andrew Talbot, who worked for Greater Manchester Police’s serious crime division, was found guilty of misconduct in public office and supplying class A drugs last month. The 54-year-old took almost 4kg of cocaine

Harry Styles has paid tribute to his former bandmate Liam Payne saying his energy was “infectious” and the time spent together would be “among the most cherished years of my life”. The Watermelon Sugar popstar said in a post on Instagram on Thursday evening he was “truly devastated” by the death of Payne, with whom

When Simon Cowell and his fellow X Factor judges were choosing the young singers to form One Direction, it was Liam Payne he was certain of. “He was the stand-out audition,” the music mogul said, as a Polaroid of the then 16-year-old was placed on top of the smiling, fresh faces of Harry Styles, Niall

Former One Direction star Liam Payne has been found dead, according to reports. The 31-year-old singer died outside a hotel in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, local media said, citing emergency services. He had reportedly fallen from the third floor of the building. Payne embarked on a solo career after One Direction announced they were going

Chris Downes’s piercing blue eyes stare out from the mugshot on a Cheshire Police news release. He “has been causing problems within this town through shoplifting for over two decades”, it reads. It announces a criminal behaviour order banning the 60-year-old from entering any part of his local town centre of Macclesfield and every Co-op

A seven-year-old boy has died after an explosion in a residential street in Newcastle. Police say six people were taken to hospital following the explosion and subsequent fire in Violet Close in the early hours of this morning. Drone images shared on social media suggest two properties were almost completely levelled by the blast in