UK

Britons have been urged to stay inside as the UK braces for “ferocious” temperatures breaching 40C, and swathes of the country are now covered in the first ever red warning for extreme heat. A national emergency has been declared amid the threat of severe disruption as schools close, hospitals cancel appointments and events are scrapped.

As the UK braces for temperatures toppling over 40C, fears are growing for the elderly and vulnerable. A stark, public service announcement from the chief executive of the Met Office says the temperatures are “absolutely unprecedented” and warns Britons to stay inside. Scorching temperatures are predicted for Monday, with Peterborough expected to hit 37C (99F)

The new health secretary has said new measures including extra working hours for ambulance crews are being put in place as the UK faces its first national heatwave emergency. Steve Barclay said the additional support, which also includes more call handlers, is being put in place on Monday and Tuesday. Almost all of England is

Britons are being urged to do the “neighbourly thing” and check on people who may be more vulnerable as the UK braces for potentially record-breaking temperatures. The advice comes after the government’s COBRA meeting on Saturday and less than 48 hours away from forecast highs that could nudge 40C (104F). It’s the second emergency summit

There are growing concerns people’s lives could be at risk as the Met Office indicated it is likely a new UK record temperature could be set early next week. Meteorologists have said there is an 80% chance the mercury will top the UK’s record temperature of 38.7C (101.7F) set in Cambridge in 2019. The heatwave

A Formula 1 worker who was repeatedly called the n-word by colleagues at the Aston Martin F1 team has told Sky News the sport has to do more to confront racism in motorsport.    Aidan Louw, 25, who is mixed race and was born in South Africa, worked as a laminator building parts of the

The five remaining candidates in the Conservative leadership race are preparing to go head-to-head in live TV debates. It comes after Rishi Sunak came out on top in yesterday’s ballot of Tory MPs – with Penny Mordaunt second and Liz Truss third. Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat are also still in the running, but Suella

Suella Braverman has been knocked out of the Conservative leadership race in the second round of voting. Ms Braverman received 27 votes from Tory MPs, five fewer than she got yesterday. The five remaining hopefuls will progress to the third round on Monday, having received the following votes: There will be successive rounds of voting

Tory leadership favourite Penny Mordaunt suffered her first setback of the campaign when she was attacked by MPs over her stance on trans issues. She clashed with right-wing Conservative MPs at a major hustings event attended by the six candidates left in the contest after the first round of voting. The trade minister and former

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt have been knocked out of the race to become the next leader of the Conservative Party – and next prime minister of the UK. A total of six candidates made it through the first round of voting, with chair of the backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady revealing the

House building has not kept up with population growth in almost half of the local authorities in England, Sky News analysis has found. In the decade to 2021, the population grew faster or at the same pace as the number of homes in 150 out of 309 local authorities, according to our analysis of data

The candidates who have made it through to the next stage of the race to replace Boris Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister have been revealed. The eight MPs who have got through to the first round are: • Rishi Sunak• Penny Mordaunt• Tom Tugendhat• Liz Truss• Suella Braverman• Jeremy Hunt• Kemi Badenoch• Nadhim

The winner of the Conservative leadership contest will be unveiled on 5 September – and some candidates could be knocked out of the race today. Eleven Tory hopefuls have thrown their hat into the ring, but those who fail to get support from 20 MPs will not appear on the first ballot, which is due

Flights from Gatwick are more likely to have been cancelled so far this year than at any other major UK airport. The rate is 10 times worse than Stansted, the best-performing British hub. More than 3% of planned flights from Gatwick didn’t take place, compared with 0.3% of those from Stansted, according to figures from

A rare “extreme heat” warning has been issued for the weekend as the Met Office said temperatures were likely to rise further in the coming days. The start of the working week for millions of Britons was a roasting one, with mercury readings shooting up as high as 32C in Northolt, west London. Temperatures failed

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has officially joined the race for the Tory leadership, with Home Secretary Priti Patel potentially set to announce her candidacy. A surprise entry has also been made by Foreign Office minister Rehman Chishti, meaning 11 Conservatives are now fighting to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister. Writing in the Telegraph newspaper,

Nadhim Zahawi has said he is “clearly being smeared” after questions were reportedly raised about his personal finances before his appointment as chancellor. The former education secretary and vaccines minister, who is vying to take over from Boris Johnson, told Sky News he had “always” paid his taxes and had “declared” them in the UK.

Four more Conservative MPs have joined the Tory leadership race, widening the field to eight. Nadhim Zahawi, the newly appointed chancellor, Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, and the ex-health secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid all announced their bids on Saturday. Earlier in the day Ben Wallace, who was the bookies’ favourite to succeed Mr

The UK has started turning the first of around 10,000 Ukrainian recruits into frontline soldiers at four bases across England, safe from Russian missile fire, it can be revealed. The new troops, operating in groups of about 200, have been arriving from Ukraine daily to join a specially-condensed training programme offered by British soldiers. They

The first candidates have entered the contest to replace Boris Johnson with more hopefuls expected to throw their hats into the ring over the weekend. Last night, Rishi Sunak announced his bid on social media, promising to “restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country”. The former chancellor, who spectacularly resigned on Tuesday evening