Households are expected to see energy bills rise by about 1% in October when the price cap is updated, Ofgem has indicated. Ofgem, which sets the maximum charge energy suppliers can levy, is due to confirm the latest cap in the forthcoming revision. Cornwall Insight estimated that a typical annual bill would increase to £1,737, up by £17 from the current £1,720, reversing a July projection that billed would fall […]

Police said more than 500 people were arrested over the two days of Notting Hill Carnival, including 61 after the use of live facial recognition. The figure is higher than last year’s 349 arrests, which occurred during the carnival when Cher Maximen, a 32-year-old mother, and Mussie Imnetu, a chef, were killed. This year saw a reduction in serious violence, with four stabbings and no life-threatening injuries reported. The Met […]

An exercise of the national emergency alert system will send a test message to mobile phones across the UK next weekend. It will mark the second test of the system, the first having taken place in 2023. On Sunday 7 September, at about 15:00, devices on 4G and 5G networks will vibrate and emit a siren for up to 10 seconds. Recipients will also receive a message making clear that […]

Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce have announced their engagement in a joint Instagram post. The couple shared pictures showing Kelce proposing and the two embracing in a garden. Swift, 35, has about 280 million followers on Instagram, and the post confirms they are set to marry. Swift’s engagement ring is described as an Old Mine Brilliant Cut, with jewellery created by Kindred Lubeck of Artifex Fine Jewellery. Kelce’s […]

Former actor John Alford, named in court documents as John Shannon, appeared at St Albans Crown Court facing four counts of sexual activity with a 14-year-old and two counts relating to a second girl, then 15, including sexual assault and assault by penetration. The offences are alleged to have taken place in Hertfordshire in the early hours of 9 April 2022 at the home of a third girl, after a […]

The Met Office says a lengthy spell of above-average temperatures is likely to make 2025 the warmest summer on record in the UK. The season's mean temperature is 16.13C, calculated from data up to 25 August, higher than the existing record of 15.76C set in 2018. The forecast does not indicate a late slump in temperatures that would prevent the record from being broken. "Unless temperatures are around four degrees […]

The Bell Hotel in Epping is at the centre of a bid by its owner, Somani Hotels Limited, to appeal a High Court ruling that ordered the site to stop housing asylum seekers by 12 September. The injunction was granted on 19 August by Mr Justice Eyre, who said the council had not definitively shown a planning breach but that the claimant’s case was strong enough to justify the order. […]

Nigel Farage unveiled Reform UK's five-year plan, named operation restoring justice, aimed at detaining and deporting people who enter the UK illegally and deterring future arrivals. Speaking at London Oxford Airport, he described the mood in the country as a mix of despair and rising anger, and warned that without action there is a risk to public order. He argued that the only effective way to stop small-boat arrivals was […]

Liverpool manager Arne Slot praised the team's fighting mentality after they withstood Newcastle's late rally to win with Rio Ngumoha's stoppage-time strike at St James' Park. The Reds led 2-0 at the 46th minute but were dragged back into the contest before Ngumoha struck late. "That is the last thing I think about in this moment, if I'm honest." "Winning away at Newcastle, then you definitely need to have quality, […]