Connect with us

Published

on

A weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued for England and parts of Wales on Sunday.

The Met Office yellow warning will be in force from 12pm to 8pm and covers hundreds of miles from Milton Keynes in the south, Norwich in the East, Liverpool in the North West and York in the North.

It also covers Birmingham, Manchester, Hull and Nottingham, as well as areas of northeastern Wales, and could bring between 20mm and 30mm of rain in just a few hours.

“Slow-moving heavy showers and thunderstorms,” will risk difficult driving conditions, homes and businesses being flooded, and lightning strikes, the Met Office said.

This could cause road closures and delays on public transport, the forecaster added.

The Met Office weather warning area on 26 May. Pic: Met Office
Image:
The Met Office weather warning area on 26 May. Pic: Met Office

Disruptive weather could add to weekend of busy travel

The transport network has already been hit by millions taking to the roads over the bank holiday weekend – and planned rail engineering works.

A Network Rail project has reduced services on the West Coast Main Line due to work around Crewe and Carlisle.

Trains are also being affected by track renewals between Carstairs and Lanark in Scotland, with significant changes to services on the Great Eastern Main Line because of work to build a new station at Beaulieu Park to the east of Chelmsford.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

The worst travel day of the weekend was Friday, however, when the start of the long weekend coincided with the half-term break for many schools.

Trains were forced to run at reduced speed between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton that day after thieves tried to steal signalling cables.

Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, London Northwestern Railway, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Railway passengers suffered delays until the damaged wires were repaired, Network Rail said.

Aviation analytics company Cirium said Friday was the busiest day of the year for UK airports since October 2019, with more than 3,150 departing flights.

Around 8,486 flights were scheduled to take to the skies between Saturday and Monday, with the most popular destinations for UK departures being Dublin, Amsterdam, Palma, Alicante and Malaga.

Read more from Sky News
Boy, 17, arrested after double beach stabbing
More than 10,000 small boat arrivals this year
Orange cloud after industrial incident

Further showers likely on Bank Holiday Monday

Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said of the weekend’s conditions: “Rain will turn increasingly patchy on Sunday as it moves northwards, with heavy showers developing from the south. They’ll bring the risk of hail and thunder, with localised flooding possible.

“Bank Holiday Monday will bring further showers, some thundery, but western parts will turn drier later on.

“It’s worth keeping an eye on the forecast, as short-notice thunderstorm warnings may be issued on Sunday and Monday.

“Daytime temperatures will be around average, but it should feel warm in any sunshine.”

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell added: “Overall, it’s a pretty mixed picture, Saturday’s probably the best of the bunch, but there will still be some sunshine around on Sunday and Monday, but we’ll certainly be dodging downpours.

“Watch out for some thunderstorms especially across parts of northern and central England and northeast Wales too.”

Continue Reading

UK

League table of foreign criminals awaiting deportation and their offences set to be published

Published

on

By

League table of foreign criminals awaiting deportation and their offences set to be published

A league table of foreign criminals and their offences is set to be published for the first time.

The plans, due to be announced on Tuesday, will reportedly focus on those offenders awaiting deportation from the UK.

The latest data shows there were 19,244 foreign offenders awaiting deportation at the end of 2024, a rise from 17,907 when the Conservatives left office in July and 14,640 at the end of 2022.

Despite more offenders being deported since Labour came to power, the number waiting to be removed from the UK has been growing.

Factors are understood to include the early release of inmates due to prison overcrowding, instability and diplomatic problems in some countries and a backlog of legal cases appealing deportation.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the decision to publish the nationalities of foreign criminals showed Labour had “buckled” under pressure from the Conservatives to disclose the data.

The latest government statistics show there were 10,355 foreign nationals held in custody in England and Wales at the end of 2024, representing 12% of the prison population.

More on Crime

The most common nationalities after British nationals were Albanian (11%), Polish (8%), Romanian (7%), which also represented the top three nationalities who were deported from the UK in 2024, according to Home Office figures.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to have ordered officials to release the details by the end of the year, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper reported Ms Cooper overruled Home Office officials, who previously claimed it was too difficult to provide quality data on foreign criminals.

A Home Office source said: “Not only are we deporting foreign criminals at a rate never seen when Chris Philp and Robert Jenrick were in charge at the Home Office, but we will also be publishing far more information about that cohort of offenders than the Tories ever did.”

The source added that ministers wanted “to ensure the public is kept better informed about the number of foreign criminals awaiting deportation, where they are from and the crimes they have committed”.

In March, the government announced £5m in funding to deploy staff to 80 jails in England and Wales to speed up the deportation of foreign offenders.

Read more from Sky News:
‘Return hubs’ get UN backing
Sex offender allowed to stay in UK
Woman born in UK faces being deported

Foreign nationals sentenced to 12 months or more in prison are subject to automatic deportation, but the home secretary can also remove criminals if their presence in the UK is not considered desirable.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick welcomed the news, saying: “We will finally see the hard reality that mass migration is fuelling crime across our country… Frankly, the public deserved to know this [detail on foreign criminals] long ago.”

Continue Reading

UK

Rachel Reeves to head to Washington amid hopes of US trade deal

Published

on

By

Rachel Reeves to head to Washington amid hopes of US trade deal

Rachel Reeves will pledge to “stand up for Britain’s national interest” as she heads to Washington DC amid hopes of a UK/US trade deal.

The chancellor will fly to the US capital for her spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the first of which began on Sunday.

During her three-day visit, Ms Reeves is set to hold meetings with G7, G20 and IMF counterparts about the changing global economy and is expected to make the case for open trade.

Politics latest: Tributes paid to Pope Francis

Her visit comes after Donald Trump imposed blanket 10% tariffs on all imports into the US, including from the UK, and as talks about reaching a trade deal intensified.

The chancellor will also hold her first in-person meeting with her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, about striking a new trade agreement, which the UK hopes will take the sting out of Mr Trump’s tariffs.

In addition to the 10% levy on all goods imported to America from the UK, Mr Trump enacted a 25% levy on car imports.

Ms Reeves will also be hoping to encourage fellow European finance ministers to increase their defence spending and discuss the best ways to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Read more:
Mission: Impossible? Chancellor heads to the IMF

Starmer and the King pay tribute to Pope Francis

Speaking ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “The world has changed, and we are in a new era of global trade. I am in no doubt that the imposition of tariffs will have a profound impact on the global economy and the economy at home.

“This changing world is unsettling for families who are worried about the cost of living and businesses concerned about what tariffs will mean for them. But our task as a government is not to be knocked off course or to take rash action which risks undermining people’s security.

“Instead, we must rise to meet the moment and I will always act to defend British interests as part of our plan for change.

“We need a world economy that provides stability and fairness for businesses wanting to invest and trade, more trade and global partnerships between nations with shared interests, and security for working people who want to get on with their lives.”

Continue Reading

UK

Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Enfield – as victim named

Published

on

By

Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Enfield - as victim named

A woman who was stabbed to death in north London has been named by police – as a man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Pamela Munro, 45, was found with a stab wound and died at the scene in Ayley Croft, Enfield, on Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.

A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and is in custody, the force added.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “Investigating officers have worked relentlessly across the weekend to investigate the circumstances around Pamela’s death.

“We continue to support her family who are understandably devastated.”

GVs from SN footage on 20/04/2025 at scene of murder on 19/04/2025 of woman at Gainsborough House, Ayley Croft, Enfield in north London.
Ingest 25 NM25 SKY SAF ENFIELD MURDER GVS ENFIELD 2045
Image:
Police at the scene at Ayley Croft in Enfield

Read more from Sky News:
Fresh appeal over student’s murder
100 firefighters battle flats blaze

The Met Police has asked anyone with information or who was driving through Ayley Court between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday and may have dashcam footage to contact the force.

Continue Reading

Trending