A market stallholder in Rochdale has been jailed for 35 years after grooming and raping two white schoolgirls. Mohammed Zahid, 65, who is known as Boss Man, ran a lingerie stall at Rochdale Indoor Market. He supplied underwear to the teenagers, along with money, alcohol and food, in return for regular sex with him and his friends. He was among seven Asian men found guilty in June by a jury […]

A murder investigation has been opened into the death of an 85-year-old man who was allegedly assaulted by a fellow patient at a west London hospital. Andrew Farmer, from Ealing, was injured at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith on 18 September 2025 and died a week later. His partner Paul Wrigley paid tribute, describing him as devoted to their partnership for 60 years and noting his interests in opera, Devon […]

A company linked to Tory peer Baroness Michelle Mone has been ordered by the High Court to repay almost £122 million to the Government after breaching the contract to supply 25 million surgical gowns during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mrs Justice Cockerill ruled the gowns were not sterile or properly validated, meaning they could not be used in the NHS. The Department of Health and Social Care said the ruling confirms […]

Police Scotland said 19,867 alerts have been issued under the Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland (DSDAS) since it began on 1 October 2015. The scheme has processed 35,847 applications, with 19,867 disclosures issued, representing 55%. People with concerns about a partner, or the partner of someone they know, can apply via the Police Scotland website, by calling 101, or at a police station. DSDAS operates in two ways: the […]

Greggs says sales rose in the latest period, but unusually hot July weather and a weak consumer backdrop trimmed growth. The high street bakery chain, which has 2,675 shops in the UK, reported a 6.1% rise in sales for the third quarter of 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier. On a like-for-like basis, growth at company-managed stores slowed to 1.5% year on year, down from 2.6% in […]

UK business confidence fell to a new low in September, according to the Institute of Directors. The IoD's monthly economic confidence index registered minus 74, the weakest reading since the index began more than nine years ago. It followed minus 61 in August, and the previous record low was minus 72, recorded in July this year amid worries over trade tensions. Firms cited higher labour costs as the main driver […]

London Fire Brigade data show 165 fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters in 2025 up to 28 September, averaging around 18 incidents a month. If the current trend continues, London could exceed 200 such incidents in a year for the first time. Eden Abera Siem, 30, died in hospital after a fire at her home on Lordship Lane, Wood Green, on 21 June; investigators believe the blaze was probably caused by […]

The United States has entered a government shutdown after President Donald Trump and Congress failed to agree a funding deal before the midnight deadline. About 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, with some employees possibly laid off by the administration. Numerous government offices will close, and some services may be halted for an extended period. The administration has signalled a hard line on immigration, while education and environmental […]

Sir Keir Starmer said the government will revisit how international law is interpreted to address mass migration, stressing that provisions should be interpreted rather than scrapped and that rulings under instruments such as the European Convention on Human Rights must be looked at anew. The remarks come as the Labour leadership outlined how courts apply international obligations while tackling migration pressures. The Home Secretary used the Labour Party conference to […]