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Work to understand how Skorpion machine guns are coming into the country is ongoing as police believe fatal shootings in Merseyside last year followed the arrival of a consignment, the force’s chief constable has said. Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy spoke as the force, which saw five people including nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel killed in shootings last year, was ranked outstanding in tackling serious and organised crime by His Majesty’s

The King’s long-standing charities have been rebranded in recognition of his accession to the throne, Buckingham Palace has announced. As the Prince of Wales, Charles set up the youth charity the Prince’s Trust; the Prince’s Foundation, which promotes the built environment, heritage, culture and education projects; and the grant-giving Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF). But 14 months after he became monarch and a week ahead of his 75th birthday,

Rangers moved clear into second place in Europa League Group C with what turned out to be a nervy 2-1 win over Sparta Prague at Ibrox. The two sides fought out a goalless draw in the Czech Republic last month but it took only 11 minutes for Brazilian striker Danilo to get the breakthrough before midfielder Todd Cantwell added a second in the 20th minute. The visitors smartened up after

Ollie Watkins came to Aston Villa’s rescue as Unai Emery’s side hit back to beat AZ Alkmaar. The striker celebrated his England call-up to nod in with nine minutes left for a 2-1 win and put Villa on the brink of the Europa Conference League knockout stages. Diego Carlos’ controversial goal – heading in a corner which should have never been given – quickly cancelled out Vangelis Pavlidis’ opener. Victory

That's according to Sir Keir Starmer Sir Keir Starmer has said that a “humanitarian pause” in hostilities in Gaza would alleviate suffering in the territory as quickly as possible. Addressing a question-and-answer audience which included sixth form students, business people and members of community groups in the West Midlands on Thursday, the Labour leader said the splits within his party over calls for a ceasefire stemmed from a common desire

Lucas Paqueta got West Ham’s Europa League campaign back on track with the winner in a 1-0 victory over Olympiacos. The Brazil midfielder crashed in a second-half volley to keep the Hammers on top of Group A and to the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages. It was also a measure of revenge for West Ham, who had accused the Greek team of celebrating their 2-1 win in the

Ben Stokes says he has “no idea” if England’s final World Cup outing will also be his farewell to one-day internationals. Stokes retired from the 50-over format in 2022 citing an unsustainable workload, only to be tempted back to take part in England’s title defence. Things have veered badly off script since he arrived in India, where he missed the first three matches with a hip injury and was unable

A Conservative former energy minister said he cannot support the King’s Speech over the Government’s plans for new oil and gas licensing. Chris Skidmore, who led a government-commissioned review on net zero, offered an apology to the King over his decision and said he regrets that the future use of fossil fuels has become “politicised”. The Government has proposed the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which would mandate licences for oil

That's according to the boss of National Grid, John Pettigrew The boss of National Grid has again called for reforms to slash delays that threaten the rollout of renewable energy across the UK. Wind and solar farms are being forced to wait as long as 14 years before they can be connected to the grid and start producing electricity. But John Pettigrew, the man responsible for the cables that connect