Category: News Story

STORY

The Metropolitan Police has said a six-month live facial recognition pilot in Croydon led to 173 arrests, equivalent to one arrest every 35 minutes during deployments. The pilot, which ran from October 2025 to March 2026, used static cameras mounted on existing infrastructure such as lampposts rather than the dedicated vans normally used for live facial recognition operations.

The Met said crime in the area fell by 10.5% compared with the same period the previous year, with violence against women and girls offences down by 21%. Those arrested during the pilot included people wanted for kidnap, rape and serious sexual assault, while 37 arrests were made for breaches of court-imposed conditions.

Lindsey Chiswick, the national and Met lead for live facial recognition, said the results showed the technology could help identify serious offenders quickly when used carefully and openly. The force said more than 470,000 people walked past the cameras during the pilot, with one false alert and no arrests ever made as a result of a false alert from live facial recognition.

STORY

A man has gone on trial accused of murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak, a first-year University of Southampton student who was stabbed after a night out in December. Southampton Crown Court heard that Mr Nowak, from Chafford Hundred in Essex, had been walking home in Belmont Road, Portswood, when he was fatally injured. Hampshire Police said officers were called at around 11.30pm on 3 December and found him with a puncture wound to his chest and two wounds to his leg.

Prosecutors told the court that Vickrum Digwa, 23, was seen on phone footage before the incident and was allegedly carrying a large shastar knife. Sky News reported that Mr Digwa denies murder and carrying a knife in public, while his mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, denies assisting an offender by allegedly removing a weapon from the scene. The court has heard that Mr Nowak was an accountancy and finance student who had been out with football team-mates before the stabbing.

STORY

The Royal Air Force has deployed a new low-cost anti-drone weapon on operations in the Middle East, with the Government saying the system will help protect British citizens, UK interests and regional partners from drone attacks. The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System will be fitted to RAF Typhoon fighter jets and is designed to destroy targets precisely at a lower cost than missiles currently used for similar operations.

The Ministry of Defence said the system had moved from testing to operational deployment in less than two months, following work with BAE Systems and QinetiQ. A successful test strike on a ground-based target took place in March, followed by air-to-air firing by RAF Typhoon pilots from 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron in April. The system has now been deployed with 9 Squadron RAF Typhoon fighter jets in the Middle East.

STORY

Labour MP Uma Kumaran has criticised the Government’s communication on migration, saying ministers had been too timid in setting out their position to voters. She made the comments at a Progressive Britain event as Labour continues to examine the reasons for recent electoral losses.

Ms Kumaran argued that the Government needed to make a clearer case on migration and not allow its opponents to define the issue. Her remarks form part of a wider debate inside Labour about how the party should respond to voter concerns while maintaining its own policy approach and language.

Migration has remained one of the most sensitive issues in British politics, with pressure from opposition parties and campaigners on different sides of the argument. The intervention suggests some Labour MPs believe the Government needs a more confident public message as it tries to recover political support.

STORY

The Government has commissioned UK Sport to assess whether the UK could bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the North of England in the 2040s. Ministers said the initial strategic assessment would examine costs, likely benefits and the chances of a successful bid.

The proposal is being considered alongside a wider push to use major sporting events and stadium regeneration to support economic growth. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the work would explore whether hosting the Games could deliver major regeneration and wider benefits for northern towns and cities.

London has hosted the Olympic Games three times, most recently in 2012, but no other part of the UK has staged the event. The assessment does not amount to a formal bid, but it marks the first step in considering whether a future Games could be used as part of a long-term regional growth strategy.

STORY

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has criticised Labour figures who have suggested that Britain should rebuild its relationship with the European Union, arguing that the debate showed the party lacked a clear plan for the country. Her comments came after Wes Streeting called for the UK eventually to rejoin the EU and Andy Burnham indicated support for a closer European relationship.

Badenoch said that policies such as removing VAT or green levies from energy bills would be harder to pursue inside the EU, presenting the issue as a question of domestic policy freedom. Her intervention sought to draw a contrast between the Conservative Party’s approach to Brexit and Labour’s internal dispute about future relations with Brussels.

The comments show that Europe is again becoming a live dividing line in national politics. Although the Government has not adopted a policy of rejoining the EU, senior Labour figures’ remarks have allowed opposition parties to argue that the party is being pulled back into the Brexit debate.

STORY

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has dismissed speculation about a Labour leadership challenge as “froth and nonsense”, saying the Government should focus on delivery rather than internal debate. Her comments came after a series of public interventions from Labour figures following the party’s poor local election performance.

Keir Starmer has resisted calls to stand down and has described his Government as a long-term project. Ministers loyal to the Prime Minister have argued that Labour must demonstrate discipline and concentrate on policy delivery, particularly on public services, economic growth and living standards.

The political pressure has nevertheless continued, with Wes Streeting saying he would stand in any future leadership contest and Andy Burnham seeking to return to Parliament. Any formal Labour leadership challenge would require sufficient support from MPs before a contest could be triggered.

STORY

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he would stand in any future Labour leadership contest, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer after a difficult period for the Government. Streeting, who recently resigned from the Cabinet, said Labour needed a clearer political direction and argued that the party should hold a full contest if the leadership became vacant.

Streeting also used his intervention to call for a closer relationship with the European Union, describing Brexit as a serious mistake and saying Britain should ultimately seek to rejoin the bloc. The comments place Europe back near the centre of Labour’s internal debate at a time when the party is also facing pressure from Reform UK in several areas that voted heavily for Brexit.

The remarks come as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham seeks a route back to Westminster through the expected Makerfield by-election. Starmer has said he intends to continue in office, but the public interventions from senior Labour figures have underlined the scale of unease within the party following recent election setbacks.

STORY

The UK Health Security Agency has said the Government is continuing to work with the NHS, local authorities and UK Overseas Territories in response to the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship. UKHSA said people currently at Arrowe Park and those isolating at home are being closely monitored, with a further individual leaving Arrowe Park to complete their 45-day isolation period at home after clinical and public health assessments found it was safe to do so.

A medic from Ascension Island who developed symptoms has arrived at the High Consequence Infectious Disease unit at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust for specialist assessment. UKHSA said the individual is not a confirmed case, but had been medically evacuated as a precaution because hantavirus cases can deteriorate rapidly and Ascension Island does not have a specialist infectious diseases unit.

UKHSA is also working with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and UK Overseas Territories to relocate nine asymptomatic contacts from St Helena and Ascension Island to the UK, where they are expected to complete their self-isolation at Arrowe Park. Dr William Welfare, UKHSA’s Director of Health Protection in Regions, said teams would continue to support all those affected and added that the risk to the general public remains very low.

STORY

The Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee has called for stronger action on social media harms after responding to the Government’s consultation on growing up in the online world. The committee said there was strong and consistent evidence of significant harm to individuals from social media use, particularly among young people.

Dame Chi Onwurah (in photo), the committee chair, said the status quo was not acceptable and argued that responsibility for preventing harm should not rest primarily on young people or parents. The committee has called for more effective enforcement of existing age restrictions and for ministers to revisit previous recommendations on misinformation and harmful algorithms.

The intervention comes as ministers consider further online safety measures in the new parliamentary session. Any legislation in this area is likely to attract close scrutiny over the responsibilities placed on technology companies, the role of parents and schools, and the balance between child protection, free expression and digital innovation.