National News

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murdering Alfie Lewis, who was stabbed near a school in Leeds. Alfie, 15, was attacked in the Horsforth area on Tuesday afternoon as children were leaving two nearby schools. West Yorkshire Police said a 14-year-old has been charged with murder and possession of a knife. The boy will appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. The teenager was arrested shortly after the incident,

The NHS waiting list in England has hit a record high as new figures show that more than a million patients are on more than one waiting list. The overall waiting list hit a new high of 7.77 million at the end of September – up from 7.75 million at the end of August, according to NHS England data. But officials have said this figure is actually made up of

Offering more bursaries to trainee teachers can help with recruitment challenges, a report has suggested. High bursaries for shortage subjects, such as physics, are effective and should be retained to tackle teacher shortages, according to a report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). Increasing bursaries to boost teacher numbers is particularly cost effective where bursaries for a subject are currently low, the analysis said. It found that teachers

A hotel which inspired Charles Dickens’ first novel and counts the Beatles and King George II among its former guests has been named as a historic site at risk of being lost forever. Over the past year, Historic England has added 159 buildings to its Heritage at Risk Register under threat from decay, neglect or inappropriate development – while 203 sites have been rescued. Holmfirth Conservation Area in West Yorkshire,

John Lewis has released an upbeat tale of a young boy whose grow-your-own Christmas tree turns out to be a mischievous Venus flytrap as it firmly sidesteps the nation’s woes for the festive season. The highly anticipated advert – a long-established feature of the UK’s festive retail landscape – is titled ‘Snapper, The Perfect Tree’ and follows the boy as he lovingly nurtures the plant from a seed bought at

Britain will lead the world in the development of self-driving cars, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said. He made the claim after an Automated Vehicles Bill to create a set of laws for using autonomous vehicles was included in the King’s Speech. The legislation will aim to ensure there is clear legal liability over who or which organisation is responsible during crashes involving self-driving cars. This is seen as vital to

Manchester United’s Champions League hopes received a huge blow as Erik ten Hag’s side twice blew a lead following Marcus Rashford’s red card before super sub Roony Bardghji sealed a bonkers 4-3 win for Copenhagen. A fortnight on from injecting hope into a faltering continent campaign by narrowly beating the Danish champions, Parken witnessed a scarcely believable comeback that leaves the Red Devils bottom of Group A. Rasmus Hojlund’s brace

Home Secretary Suella Braverman accused police of “double standards” and “playing favourites” with protesters as a pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day appeared set to go ahead despite Government objections. Mrs Braverman claimed that “pro-Palestinian mobs” are “largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law”. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hauled in Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley for an emergency meeting about the march planned in London, saying he would hold

Blood tests for Alzheimer’s could be available on the NHS within five years, experts have said. Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Alzheimer’s Society have launched a £5 million project to bring simple tests to the health service, with the hope of speeding up diagnosis and reaching more people. At present, diagnosing people with Alzheimer’s can be tricky and relies on brain imaging or painful lumbar punctures, where a sample of