United Kingdom

    The army has arrived to help with severe flooding in South Yorkshire as Boris Johnson was accused of doing nothing to help flood victims. Around 80 soldiers from the Light Dragoons have begun laying down sandbags in the town of Stainforth, though 20 other areas in South Yorkshire are in need of their help. A further 80 soldiers from the Royal Anglians are heading to the region later today. During his visit to Stainforth, the prime minister was accused of doing little to help flood victims by one resident. The woman, clutching a wheelbarrow alongside the troops sent to the area, told him: "I'm not very happy about talking to you so, if you don't mind, I'll just mope on with what I'm doing. "You've not helped us up to press. I don't know what you're here today for....

    The first 'deepfake' video of the UK general election has been produced. The convincing footage has been digitally altered to show Boris Johnson endorsing his opponent Jeremy Corbyn. Another video of Corbyn appearing to endorse Johnson was also produced. Experts have warned that deepfakes could dominate future election campaigns. A 'deepfake' video of Prime Minister Boris Johnson appearing to endorse Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn for prime minister has been broadcast on UK television. The eerily convincing video, produced by the think tank Future Advocacy for the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Programme, shows Johnson telling voters to back his "worthy opponent" Jeremy Corbyn. Another video showing Corbyn backing Johnson to "continue as our prime mini...

    More than 210,000 workers in Britain are to receive a pay rise after the charity behind the living wage increased the national minimum hourly rate by 30p to £9.30. The Living Wage Foundation, which sets the voluntary measure, said London workers’ basic hourly rate will also rise, by 20p to £10.75, compared with the government’s “national living wage” of £8.21 for workers aged 25 years or older. The charity said the difference between its own living wage and the government minimum will be more than £2,000 a year nationally and almost £5,000 a year in London. This year, the Living Wage Foundation has accredited about 1,500 employers, taking the overall total to just under 6,000. Employers that have joined the initiative include the FTSE 100 insurer Hiscox, Crystal Pa...

    Nigel Farage’s decision to pull hundreds of Brexit Party candidates from the upcoming general election will “make very little difference”, a pollster has said. On Monday, the Brexit Party leader revealed his party will not field candidates in the 317 seats won by the Conservative Party at the last general election in 2017. The move is seen as a major win for prime minister Boris Johnson, amid Tory fears that the Brexit Party could split the Leave vote on December 12. It marked a huge U-turn from Mr Farage, who had previously promised to run more than 600 Brexit Party candidates across the UK. While the decision has been welcomed by many Tories, pollsters have pointed out the lack of Brexit Party candidates may not have a substantial effect on the result of the gen...

    Boris Johnson has said he has given up drinking alcohol until Brexit is delivered. The Prime Minister's do or dry pledge follows his failure to keep his "do or die" promise of taking Britain out of the EU by October 31. Mr Johnson was pictured just yesterday sipping whisky during a distillery visit in Scotland, casting doubt on this commitment to a drinking ban. Mr Johnson asked them to tell him more about Ashfield, noting: "Someone said there's a lot of first-time mums who are smoking or something like that. Is that right?" Mr Johnson was told a lot of people smoke in Ashfield before he switched his attention to vaping, saying: "I'm not certain about it. "It might just encourage them to get into nicotine." He then asked "what about alcohol?" before adding: "I'v...

    Boris Johnson has unveiled plans for a fast track "NHS visa" to make it easier for overseas doctors and nurses to work. Ministers said the scheme would enable the health service to continue to attract the finest medical staff after Britain has left the EU. Labour accused the Tories of "tying themselves in knots" with the promise, which comes ahead of the general election on December 12. The opposition said the Conservatives are using "dog whistle anti-immigrant rhetoric" while trying to bring in migrant workers to keep public services working. Labour was focusing its campaign effort on measures to support women in the workplace, including raising statutory maternity pay and better entitlement to flexible working. The Conservatives' new NHS visa will ultimately fo...

    Ten teenagers were among the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated trailer in Essex last month, police have confirmed. Essex Police on Friday released the names of the 31 men and eight women whose bodies were found in an industrial park in Grays on 23 October, after confirming on Thursday they were all Vietnamese nationals. The youngest two were just 15-years-old and the oldest was 44-years-old. DNA from families who believed their relatives were victims was used to identify many of them. Assistant Chief Constable Tim Smith said: "This was an incredibly important process and our team has been working hard to bring answers to worried families who fear their loved one may be among those whose tragic journey ended on our shores. "Our priority has been to identify t...

    Boris Johnson today battled to steady Tory nerves after a torrent of blunders swept his election campaign off track. The Prime Minister left No 10 for a final audience with the Queen this morning, before standing outside 10 Downing Street to announce the start of his bid for a mandate from the people. But the day began with the Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly having to apologise for gaffes made by senior colleagues and he was berated on TV when he defended his staff who doctored a video of Labour opponent Sir Keir Starmer. The storm of controversies included Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg offending the grieving former residents of Grenfell Tower; Tory Andrew Bridgen making a grovelling apology on the same issue; Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns has resigned...

    Private schools are making hundreds of thousands of pounds from Vietnamese children who are entering Britain on student visas then disappearing, it has been revealed. Children thought to be as young as 15 are being brought to the UK by suspected trafficking gangs through legitimate visas sponsored by private schools, an investigation by The Times found. Despite the students paying for a term at school they then often going missing within weeks of starting at the school. The investigation carried out by the paper uncovered at least 21 Vietnamese children who have vanished from boarding schools and private colleges across Britain in the past four years. The investigation was carried out without the schools knowledge. They are mostly girls with what is known as the ...

    A potentially explosive parliamentary report on the security threat posed by Russia to the UK has been effectively blocked from being published before the general election by Downing Street. The 50-page document from the intelligence and security committee (ISC) examined allegations that Kremlin-sponsored activity distorted the result of the 2016 EU referendum – but has to be cleared by No 10 before it can be released. Downing Street indicated late on Monday morning that it would not approve publication before parliament is dissolved on Tuesday evening, meaning that it cannot now appear before the election on 12 December. A Downing Street spokesman declined to outline when the report would eventually be published, saying: There are processes reports such as this ha...