United Kingdom

    Protesters and community leaders called for an end to the capital's surge in bloodshed as six more young men were stabbed on Thursday. Crowds gathered at Hackney Central station, close to where Israel Ogunsola, 18, was stabbed to death on Wednesday evening. Residents of all ages huddled round the station entrance before locking fists in a wide circle at a pedestrian shopping street nearby in solidarity for those killed. Mr Ogunsola's murder followed that of 16-year-old Amaan Shakoor two days earlier on April 2, who was shot in Markhouse Road, Walthamstow, minutes after the shooting of 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne in Tottenham the same evening. Protest organisers Guiding A New Generation commonly known as G.A.N.G asked Hackney residents to share their stories and ...

    Skripal was imprisoned in 2010 after being found guilty of selling secrets to British intelligence Two guinea pigs and a cat belonging to former spy Sergei Skripal died following the nerve agent attack on him and his daughter Yulia, it has been revealed. More than a month after the Skripals were poisoned in Salisbury, a spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs disclosed the fate of the ex-Russian double agent's three animals. Both guinea pigs were found dead at his home in the Wiltshire city, while the cat needed to be put down. When a vet was able to access the property, two guinea pigs had sadly died, the spokeswoman said. A cat was also found in a distressed state and a decision was taken by a veterinary surgeon to euthanise the a...

    The Conservatives in London have reportedly held secret discussions about a potential breakaway from the national party, amid fears of an electoral wipeout in the local elections next month. Senior Tories have hosted a series of meetings over the past year in order to draw up plans for a separate party which would boast its own brand, ­policies and figurehead separate to Theresa May . The disclosure is deeply embarrassing for Mrs May, who is braced for the party’s worst performance in the ­capital in its 184-year history, when the ballots are cast next month. According to analysis conducted by Lord Hayward and Tony Travers, a ­respected academic, the Conservatives are expected to lose almost 100 seats in the capital, falling from 612 to 519, while all nine councils...

    Russia has been working overtime this past month to absolve itself of alleged involvement in the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on British soil. It has claimed that it does not possess Novichok, the military-grade nerve agent used in the attack. It has accused the United Kingdom and its allies of spearheading an anti-Russia crusade. It has even gone so far as to suggest that the U.K. might itself have been behind the attack. But, lacking evidence to back up such claims, Moscow’s effort to cast doubt on the accusations against it have been futile. That is, until British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson stepped in. The deletion came just one day after Gary Aitkenhead, Porton Down’s chief executive, told Sky News the lab was unable to pin...

    The family of a young man who was shot dead in the street issued a desperate plea for help finding his killer as police offered a £20,000 reward for information. Abraham Badru, the 26-year-old son of a Nigerian MP, was gunned down in the street in Dalston, Hackney, just after 11pm on Sunday. Mr Badru, the son of Dolapo Badru, a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives, worked as a football coach after earning his Masters degree in 2015. Churchgoer Mr Badru received a National Police Bravery Award for intervening in a sex attack on a teenage girl in 2009. He was shot by person/persons terrorising the peace of the community, terrorising innocent people, threatening our freedom on our streets and threatening our progression. We plead with any parent, siblings...

    A schoolboy had to be rescued by firefighters after spending almost three hours stuck in a stone monument at a National Trust property. Max Morgan’s leg became trapped during an Easter holiday outing with his family at Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton on Tuesday. The seven-year-old had climbed inside the monument and eventually got stuck prompting his parents to call the emergency services. Fire crews arrived at around 3.30pm but a specialist team were called to help due to the complexity of the operation. Fire Service of seven-year-old Max Morgan in an ambulance, after he was rescued by firefighters from a stone monument at Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton, when his leg became trapped. The youngster was finally freed after firefighters used an abrasive wheel ...

    The Labour leader was photographed at a Passover Seder hosted by Jewdas, a satirical group which describes itself as radical and is highly critical of mainstream Jewish organisations. Last week Jewdas attacked the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council’s response to the Labour anti-Semitism scandal as playing a dangerous game with people’s lives. It also reportedly described the row as the work of cynical manipulations by people whose express loyalty is to the Conservative Party and the right wing of the Labour Party. MPs and campaigners warned Mr Corbyn's decision to attend the group's meeting amounted to a blatant dismissal of concerns about anti-Semitism in the party because of its controversial views on other Jewish organisations. ...

    The daughter of a Russian spy poisoned with a nerve agent had allegedly gained access to a £150,000 secret bank account just days before she was attacked. Yulia Skripal had collected the proceeds from a house sale in Britain, which belonged to her brother Alexander who died in mysterious circumstances in St Petersburg last year. She had been given power of attorney over the cash in late February from her father, double agent Sergei Skripal, who was also poisoned by nerve agent Novichok alongside her on March 4 in Salisbury. The cash now in an unknown Russian bank - was from the sale of the house he had shared in Britain with his ex-wife, Natalia, like Yulia, 33, the daughter of a GRU military intelligence colonel. Natalia now married to a tennis coach from Wales s...

    Sexual harassment and workplace bullying among teachers is rife, according to a new study. A poll issued by the NASUWT (The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers) found 81 per cent of teachers had suffered sexual harassment or bullying in the workplace. One in five (20 per cent) said they had been sexually harassed at school by a colleague, manager, parent or pupil since becoming a teacher. Over half (51 per cent) have been subjected to inappropriate comments about sex, and 21 per cent have been sexually propositioned. The figures were released as the NASUWT met for its annual conference in Birmingham on Saturday. Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: Whilst the scale of the sexual harassment is deeply disturbing, equally di...

    The Kremlin is demanding to see Yulia Skripal in hospital after it was revealed she is awake and talking. The daughter of ex-spy Sergei Skripal is improving rapidly after being poisoned with a nerve agent. The Russian government tweeted: Good news. We insist on the right to see her. At least one family member has applied for a UK visa and is expected to travel to visit Yulia, 33. Cousin Natalia, 65, said the family was overjoyed at news that her life is no longer in danger and that she is conscious and talking. Dad Sergei, 66, remains in a coma, four weeks after the pair were found collapsed in Salisbury, Wilts. Although it was feared they could never recover, but Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director for Salisbury District Hospital, said yesterday that Yulia...