National News

The threat of terrorism is “still very real”, London mayor Sadiq Khan said on the sixth anniversary of the Finsbury Park terror attack. Makram Ali, 51, died and 11 others were injured on June 19, 2017 when Darren Osborne drove a van into worshippers outside the Muslim Welfare House shortly after Ramadan evening prayers. Osborne, from Cardiff, was found guilty of terrorism-related murder and jailed for life in February 2018. Mohamed Mamoud –

Fewer than half of councils serving some of England’s poorest communities are confident they will meet their budgets this year, a survey has found. In a dire warning of the perilous state of local government finances, 47 authorities in the North, the Midlands and on the south coast said they will have to make savings totalling £700 million on spending plans set just four months ago due to inflationary pressures.

Michael Gove has said two Tories should keep the honours they were handed by Boris Johnson despite attending a pandemic-era gathering at which staff were filmed apparently joking about Covid restrictions. The Levelling Up Secretary apologised over the footage of a Christmas event at Conservative Party headquarters said to have taken place on December 14 2020 when indoor socialising was banned. But Mr Gove said the former prime minister has

Ollie Robinson was unrepentant after appearing to give Usman Khawaja an expletive-laden send-off as tempers rose on day three of a delicately-balanced first Ashes Test. Khawaja’s masterful 141 was ended when England’s ring of close fielders led to the Australia opener attempting to make room, only to york himself as he was castled by Robinson. Television cameras seemed to show a fired-up Robinson giving Khawaja a verbal volley in his celebration as he helped restrict

Max Verstappen finished fastest as Carlos Sainz crashed out of a rain-hit final practice for the Canadian Grand Prix. Verstappen has won five of the first seven races of the season and even a wet track in Montreal could not slow the Dutchman down. The world champion, already 53 points clear of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in the championship standings, finished 0.291 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque was the

Thousands of protesters descended on London and chanted “Free Carla Foster” as they demanded an end to the criminalisation of abortion. Foster, 44, was given a 28-month extended sentence earlier this week after she admitted illegally procuring her own abortion when she was between 32 and 34 weeks. The protesters marched from the Royal Courts of Justice to Whitehall on Saturday, holding signs saying “abortion is healthcare” and “policing our

Some areas of the country could see as much as 80mm of rain in just hours on Sunday, the Met Office has warned. A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms almost entirely covers England and Wales between noon and midnight on Sunday. Lightning, strong winds and hail are all to be expected, with the forecaster saying London through to the Midlands as well as eastern England, east Wales and lower areas

Take That member Howard Donald has said he is “deeply sorry” after making a “huge error” by “liking social media posts that are derogatory towards the LGBTQIA+ community”. Donald, 55, who performs in the pop group alongside Gary Barlow and Mark Owen, has been dropped from playing at Groovebox’s Nottingham Pride Festival event in July. In an Instagram story on Saturday, Donald wrote: “I have made a huge error in my judgement (by) liking social

The King has received the official birthday wishes of the nation during his first Trooping the Colour ceremony as monarch. Pomp and pageantry were on display during the military spectacle where the most prestigious regiments in the British Army honoured their Colonel in Chief by parading to mark his anniversary. Charles had deputised for Queen Elizabeth II at last year’s event, also known as the Birthday Parade, but now rode