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Hundreds of thousands of air passengers face possible delays today as Border Force workers become the latest to go on strike.

More than 1,000 employees are walking out, affecting passport control desks at Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow airports, as well as the port of Newhaven in East Sussex.

The strike – by Mmembers of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union employed by the Home Office – will last until early on Boxing Day, before another round from 28 December until early on New Year’s Eve.

More than 10,000 flights are scheduled to land at those airports during those times and more than 250,000 passengers arriving on Friday have been warned to expect delays.

The airports said that most departing flights would not be affected, although some arriving passengers – particularly those who cannot use eGates – could face delays.

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PCS union boss on strikes

Royal Mail employees will also be on strike today, their fifth day of action this month, in what Royal Mail said was a “cynical attempt to hold Christmas to ransom”.

The company has estimated that the strike, which will continue on Christmas Eve, has already cost it £100m.

National Highways workers in London and the South East will continue their four-day walkout that started on Thursday.

The workers, who plan, design, build, operate and maintain the roads, are following action by colleagues in Yorkshire and the Humber, northwest and northeast England.

Hundreds of thousands of workers are striking over winter as unions seek pay rises in line with the rate of inflation to help shield their members from the cost of living crisis.

Read more:
Strikes every day before Christmas – which sectors are affected and why
Giving in to nurses on pay would ‘stoke’ inflation
Troops training at Heathrow and Gatwick before Border Force strikes

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‘Government has refused to talk to us’

Rail workers to strike from Christmas Eve

Rail workers represented by the RMT union will strike from 6pm on Saturday until 6am on 27 December, while East Midlands Railway will be affected by a strike on 23 and 24 December by the Unite union.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency employees will strike today and tomorrow in northwest England, and Yorkshire and the Humber, with more strike action expected in other regions over coming weeks.

Hundreds of bus drivers in south and west London employed by Abellio will strike tomorrow, 27 and 31 December, before a further eight days in January in their pay dispute.

They have already taken 10 days of action in the past two months.

Further January strikes for NHS workers

Earlier this week, NHS staff were on strike, with nurses walking out on Tuesday and ambulance workers following them on Wednesday.

Pat Cullen, head of the Royal College of Nursing, said on Thursday that if she did not hear from Health Secretary Steve Barclay by the end of the day, she would announce further January strikes dates.

“The public is clear – as am I – that the way to avoid further strike action is for the government to stop prevaricating and repeating the same tired lines and step up to holding meaningful negotiations with me,” she said.

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The government has refused to negotiate on pay, insisting it is accepting recommendations from independent pay review bodies.

Ambulance workers, represented by Unison, have already announced further strikes, with workers in London, Yorkshire, the North West, North East, and South West walking out on 11 January and 23 January.

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Dave Ward says there have been more ‘positive’ discussions with Royal Mail

Some 25,000 ambulance workers from Unison, Unite and the GMB unions walked out in co-ordinated strike action on 21 December – their biggest strike in 30 years.

Members of the GMB union at nine ambulance trusts are also preparing to strike on 28 December, while 1,000 union members in the Welsh Ambulance Service are set to announce strike dates in the new year.

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “It’s only through talks that this dispute will end.”

NHS trust leaders have warned that Christmas could be one of the most difficult the health service has seen, with strikes threatening to worsen an “already deeply challenging situation”.

Last week, one in four ambulance patients in England waited more than an hour to be handed to A&E teams at hospitals, latest figures show.

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

Labour MP Dan Norris has been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest.

“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

Police said a man in his 60s had been arrested on Friday on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl, rape, child abduction and misconduct in a public office.

Sky News has contacted Mr Norris for comment.

Mr Norris, 65, defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.

He has also lost the party whip in the House of Commons and has stepped down from his role as chair of the League Against Cruel Sports.

Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “In December 2024, we received a referral from another police force relating to alleged non-recent child sex offences having been committed against a girl.

“Most of the offences are alleged to have occurred in the 2000s, but we’re also investigating an alleged offence of rape from the 2020s.

“An investigation, led by officers within Operation Bluestone, our dedicated rape and serious sexual assault investigation team, remains ongoing and at an early stage.

“The victim is being supported and given access to any specialist help or support she needs.

“A man, aged in his 60s, was arrested on Friday (April 4) on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl (under the Sexual Offences Act 1956), rape (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), child abduction and misconduct in a public office. He’s been released on conditional bail for enquiries to continue.

“This is an active and sensitive investigation, so we’d respectfully ask people not to speculate on the circumstances so our enquiries can continue unhindered.”

Mr Norris first entered Parliament when Tony Blair came to power in 1997 and served as the Wansdyke MP until 2010.

He was an assistant whip under Mr Blair and served as a junior minister under Gordon Brown.

Mr Norris has also been West of England mayor since 2021 but is due to step down ahead of May’s local elections.

A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to end sports such as fox hunting and game bird shooting, confirmed he had stepped down from his role.

“The charity cannot comment further while an investigation is ongoing,” a statement said.

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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