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Snow has hit parts of the country – with the spell of cold weather set to continue as an area of high pressure over Scandinavia brings freezing winds to the UK.

Temperatures dipped as low as -6C on Sunday night, with snowfall seen across Northumberland and County Durham.

Light snowfall in Carrshield in Northumberland. Picture date: Monday February 10, 2025.
Image:
Light snowfall in Carrshield in Northumberland. Pic: PA

Chilly and wet conditions will linger over most of Britain during the coming week, the Met Office said.

Temperatures may be slightly warmer with highs of 6C – but forecasters said it will feel close to freezing in the easterly winds.

Rain, drizzle and some sleet will continue to fall today and tomorrow, while snow is forecast in hilly areas.

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A plough clears the snow near Nenthead in Northumberland.
Pic: PA
Image:
A plough clears the snow near Nenthead in Northumberland.
Pic: PA

Slightly drier weather is expected by the middle of this week, but temperatures will still be around two degrees lower than the February average.

Weather fronts will push in from the southwest later in the week, bringing a risk of patchy rain, but that is likely to be contained to western parts of Cornwall and Ireland.

The Met Office said the bitterly cold weather is due to a “Scandinavian high”.

“[It] is continuing to feed in this easterly wind across the UK. Because that is coming in from the North Sea, it’s filtering in a lot of moisture and we are seeing a lot of cloud kick off this new week,” Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said.

“It will also be bringing some outbreaks of rain and drizzle, [which] will be falling as snow over hills… the Pennines today could see several centimetres building up.

“Parts of the west, particularly northwestern Scotland, will see some sunshine around and it will be more of a pleasant day here.

“But temperatures for most of us are going to be struggling around 5C to 6C – once we add to the strength of that easterly wind, it’s going to feel even colder than that – closer to freezing for the vast majority of us,” he said.

‘Grey, dull, gloomy’

“It really will be quite bitter out there, particularly in the exposed eastern coastal districts,” Mr Vautrey said.

“This is going to continue into [Monday] night. Those showers and outbreaks of rain [will continue] to spread their way in from the North Sea.

“Temperatures could drop off a touch more and there will be some patchy frost around during the night and into the start of Tuesday. Maybe still some localised icy stretches where surfaces are left untreated.

“We could potentially see longer spells of rain moving into southeastern England on Tuesday. It’s going to be another grey, dull, gloomy, day. A lot of clouds on the scene.

“Temperatures still rather struggling… 5C or 6C. The winds should ease off a little bit for parts of Wales, and central and southern England but it really is still going to have quite a keen breeze across Scotland into parts of northern England and Northern Ireland as well – so another very cold day to come.”

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A yellow cold health alert has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for the southeast of England and parts of northern England and remains in place until 9am on Tuesday.

Around 1,500 without power after Eowyn

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people remain cut off from electricity more than two weeks after Storm Eowyn’s record-breaking winds hit Ireland.

Power has been restored to 766,500 homes, farms, schools and businesses but some 1,500 remain without supply.

Amid the reconnection efforts, scam text messages are purporting to come from ESB Networks.

The National Cyber Security Centre warned members of the public to exercise caution when receiving messages from unknown numbers, and said government departments, agencies and banks will never text asking unexpectedly for bank details.

Uisce Eireann said it is also working to return service to the “final few” customers without water.

Elsewhere, emergency response hubs are assisting people with basic needs such as water, hot food, phone charging, broadband access and shower facilities.

The hubs are also operating study rooms for exam-year students.

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The Godfather-style gang war gripping two major cities – with brutal attacks caught on camera

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The Godfather-style gang war gripping two major cities - with brutal attacks caught on camera

It’s like The Godfather, one reformed drug trafficker tells me.

The mythical gangster film centred on an organised crime dynasty locked in a transfer of power.

Communities in Scotland currently have a front row seat to a new war of violence, torture, and taunts as feuding drug lords and notorious families grapple for control of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

There have been more than a dozen brutal attacks over the past six weeks – ranging from fire bombings to attacks on children and gun violence.

A firebomb attack in Scotland
Image:
A firebomb attack in Scotland

Victims left for dead, businesses up in flames

Gangsters have filmed themselves setting fire to buildings and homes connected to the associates and relatives of their bitter rivals.

The main aim, they boast, is to “exterminate” the opposition.

The taunting footage, accompanied by the song Keep On Running by The Spencer Davis Group, has been plastered over social media as part of a deliberate game of goading.

A 12-year-old boy and 72-year-old woman were left for dead when teenagers wearing balaclavas burst into a home in north Glasgow.

Garages and businesses have gone up in flames. Shots were fired at an Edinburgh house.

Signals are being sent of who wants control of Scotland’s dark criminal underworld.

A firebomb attack in Scotland that saw a man through an incendiary device through a building window
Image:
A firebomb attack that saw a man throw an incendiary device through a building window

A house after it was set on fire by two individuals in Glasgow
Image:
The fire attack set to the song Keep On Running by The Spencer Davis Group

What’s caused the gang war?

The former director of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, Graeme Pearson, explains how a “vacuum of leadership” is playing a part.

Last October, Glasgow-based cocaine kingpin Jamie Stevenson, known as The Iceman, was jailed after orchestrating a £100m cocaine shipment stashed in banana boxes from South America.

The mob leader was one of Britain’s most wanted, running his business like another on-screen criminal enterprise: The Sopranos.

The 59-year-old fugitive went on the run before eventually being hunted and apprehended by police while out jogging in the Netherlands.

Jamie Stevenson. Pic: Police Scotland
Image:
Jamie Stevenson. Pic: Police Scotland

Pic: Crown Office
Image:
Pic: Crown Office

‘Old scores to settle’

But paranoia was running rife about how this notorious gangster could be brought down. Was there a grass? Was it one of their own?

It further fuelled divisions and forced new alliances to be forged across Scotland’s organised criminal networks.

It wasn’t until The Iceman case came to court that it was revealed an encrypted messaging platform, known as EncroChat, had been infiltrated by law enforcement.

It ultimately led to Stevenson pleading guilty.

Ex-senior drug enforcement officer Mr Pearson told Sky News: “It is a complex picture because you have got people who are in prison who still want to have influence outside and look after what was their business.

“On the outside you’ve got wannabes who are coming forward, and they think this is an opportunity for them, and you have got others have old scores to settle that they could not settle when crime bosses were around.”

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Graham Pearson
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Graeme Pearson

Mr Pearson describes a toxic mix swirling to create outbursts of violence unfolding in Scotland.

He concluded: “All that mixes together – and the greed for the money that comes from drugs, and from the kudos that comes from being a ‘main man’, and you end up with competition, violence, and the kind of incidents we have seen over the past four to six weeks.”

New wave of violence ‘barbaric’

Glasgow man Mark Dempster is a former addict, dealer, and drug smuggler who is now an author and respected counsellor helping people quit drinking and drugs.

He describes the “jostle for power” as not a new concept among Glasgow’s high profile gangland families.

Mark Dempster is a former addict, dealer and drug smuggler who is now an author and respected counsellor
Image:
Mark Dempster

“There is always going to be someone new who wants to control the markets. It is like The Godfather. There is no difference between Scotland, Albania, or India,” he said.

Mr Dempster suggests a shift in tactics in Glasgow and Edinburgh in recent weeks, with 12-year-olds being viciously attacked in the middle of the night.

“It is barbaric. When young people, children, get pulled into the cross fire. It takes it to a different level.

“At least with the old mafiosa they had an unwritten rule that no children, no other family members. You would deal directly with the main people that were your opposition.”

Police Scotland is racing to get control of the situation, but declined to speak to Sky News about its ongoing operation.

It has been suggested 100 officers are working on this case, with “arrests imminent”.

But this is at the very sharp end of sophisticated criminal empires where the police are not feared, there are fierce vendettas and, clearly, power is up for grabs.

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Laws may need to be bolstered to crack down on exploitation of child ‘influencers’, senior MP suggests

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Laws may need to be bolstered to crack down on exploitation of child 'influencers', senior MP suggests

Laws may need to be strengthened to crack down on the exploitation of child “influencers”, a senior Labour MP has warned.

Chi Onwurah, chair of the science, technology and innovation committee, said parts of the Online Safety Act – passed in October 2023 – may already be “obsolete or inadequate”.

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Experts have raised concerns that there is a lack of provision in industry laws for children who earn money through brand collaborations on social media when compared to child actors and models.

This has led to some children advertising in their underwear on social media, one expert has claimed.

Those working in more traditional entertainment fields are safeguarded by performance laws, which strictly govern the hours a minor can work, the money they earn and who they are accompanied by.

The Child Influencer Project, which has curated the world’s first industry guidelines for the group, has warned of a “large gap in UK law” which is not sufficiently filled by new online safety legislation.

Official portrait of Chi Onwurah.
Pic: UK Parlimeant
Image:
Official portrait of Chi Onwurah.
Pic: UK Parlimeant

The group’s research found that child influencers could be exposed to as many as 20 different risks of harm, including to dignity, identity, family life, education, and their health and safety.

Ms Onwurah told Sky News there needs to be a “much clearer understanding of the nature of child influencers ‘work’ and the legal and regulatory framework around it”.

She said: “The safety and welfare of children are at the heart of the Online Safety Act and rightly so.

“However, as we know in a number of areas the act may already be obsolete or inadequate due to the lack of foresight and rigour of the last government.”

Victoria Collins, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for science, innovation and technology, agreed that regulations “need to keep pace with the times”, with child influencers on social media “protected in the same way” as child actors or models.

“Liberal Democrats would welcome steps to strengthen the Online Safety Act on this front,” she added.

‘Something has to be done’

MPs warned in 2022 that the government should “urgently address the gap in UK child labour and performance regulation that is leaving child influencers without protection”.

They asked for new laws on working hours and conditions, a mandate for the protection of the child’s earnings, a right to erasure and to bring child labour arrangements under the oversight of local authorities.

However, Dr Francis Rees, the principal investigator for the Child Influencer Project, told Sky News that even after the implementation of the Online Safety Act, “there’s still a lot wanting”.

“Something has to be done to make brands more aware of their own duty of care towards kids in this arena,” she said.

Dr Rees added that achieving performances from children on social media “can involve extremely coercive and disruptive practices”.

“We simply have to do more to protect these children who have very little say or understanding of what is really happening. Most are left without a voice and without a choice.”

What is a child influencer – and how are they at risk?

A child influencer is a person under the age of 18 who makes money through social media, whether that is using their image alone or with their family.

Dr Francis Rees, principal investigator for the Child Influencer Project, explains this is an “escalation” from the sharing of digital images and performances of the child into “some form of commercial gain or brand endorsement”.

She said issues can emerge when young people work with brands – who do not have to comply with standard practise for a child influencer as they would with an in-house production.

Dr Rees explains how, when working with a child model or actor, an advertising agency would have to make sure a performance license is in place, and make sure “everything is in accordance with many layers of legislation and regulation around child protection”.

But, outside of a professional environment, these safeguards are not in place.

She notes that 30-second videos “can take as long as three days to practice and rehearse”.

And, Dr Rees suggests, this can have a strain on the parent-child relationship.

“It’s just not as simple as taking a child on to a set and having them perform to a camera which professionals are involved in.”

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The researcher pointed to one particular instance, in which children were advertising an underwear brand on social media.

She said: “The kids in the company’s own marketing material or their own media campaigns are either pulling up the band of the underwear underneath their clothing, or they’re holding the underwear up while they’re fully clothed.

“But whenever you look at any of the sponsored content produced by families with children – mum, dad, and child are in their underwear.”

Dr Rees said it is “night and day” in terms of how companies are behaving when they have responsibility for the material, versus “the lack of responsibility once they hand it over to parents with kids”.

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Two arrested on suspicion of murder after disappearance of woman in South Wales

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Two arrested on suspicion of murder after disappearance of woman in South Wales

Police investigating the disappearance of a woman in South Wales have arrested two people on suspicion of murder.

Paria Veisi, 37, was last seen around 3pm on Saturday 12 April when she left her workplace in the Canton area of Cardiff.

She was driving her car, a black Mercedes GLC 200, which was later found on Dorchester Avenue in the Penylan area on the evening of Tuesday 15 April.

South Wales Police said it was now treating her disappearance as a murder investigation.

A 41-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman, both known to Ms Veisi, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody.

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Powell said he currently had “no proof that Paria is alive”.

The senior investigating officer added: “[Ms Veisi’s] family and friends are extremely concerned that they have not heard from her, which is totally out of character.

“Paria’s family has been informed and we are keeping them updated.

“We have two people in custody, and at this stage we are not looking for anybody else in connection with this investigation.

“Our investigation remains focused on Paria’s movements after she left work in the Canton area on Saturday April 12.

“Extensive CCTV and house-to-house inquiries are being carried out by a team of officers and I am appealing for anybody who has information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to make contact.”

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Ms Veisi is described as having long, curly black hair.

She was last seen wearing a black zip-up gym top over a red top, black trousers and trainers, and was carrying a small handbag.

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