Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Britain on course for hottest day on record

Much of Europe is baking in a heat-wave that has pushed temperatures into the mid-40s Celsius in some regions.

Britain on course for hottest day on record

Britain was on course for its hottest day on record on Monday with temperatures forecast to hit 40C for the first time, forcing train companies to cancel services and heath authorities to put more ambulances on standby.

Much of Europe is baking in a heat-wave that has pushed temperatures into the mid-40s Celsius in some regions, with wildfires raging across tinder-dry countryside in Portugal, Spain and France.


Britain's government triggered a "national emergency" alert as temperatures were forecast to surpass the 38.7C (102 Fahrenheit) recorded in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden in 2019 on Monday and Tuesday.

"We've got a difficult 48 hours coming," Kit Malthouse, a minister in charge of government coordination, told the BBC.

London's Underground metro network imposed temporary speed restrictions on the network for Monday and Tuesday, meaning it would run a reduced service with journeys taking longer than normal. It urged commuters to only travel if essential.

The national rail network also urged passengers to stay at home, and said some services - including a key route between northeastern England and London - would not run during parts of Tuesday.

Jake Kelly from Network Rail said he hoped normal operations would resume on Wednesday, when temperatures are forecast to fall, but that would depend on "the damage that the weather does to the infrastructure over the next couple of days".

Some schools were due to close earlier than usual on Monday.

The Health Security Agency (UKHSA) raised the heat health warning to Level 4 for England for Monday and Tuesday.

Britain' Meteorological Office defines a Level 4 alert as a national emergency, and is used when a heat-wave "is so severe and/or prolonged that its effects extend outside the health and social care system. At this level, illness and death may occur among the fit and healthy, and not just in high-risk groups."

The Met Office said "substantial" changes in working practices and daily routines would be required and there was a high risk of failure of heat-sensitive systems and equipment, potentially leading to localised loss of power, water or mobile phone services.

Malthouse said the government was prepared for the extreme weather and would seek to learn lessons from it.

"We definitely need to adapt the way we build buildings, the way we operate and look at some of our infrastructure in the light of what seems to be an increasing frequency of these kinds of events," he told BBC Radio.

More For You

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less
Norman Tebbit

Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Former minister, Thatcher ally Norman Tebbit dies at 94

Norman Tebbit, a close ally of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and a former Conservative Party cabinet minister, has died at the age of 94. His son William confirmed the news on Tuesday.

"At 11:15 pm on 7th July, 2025, Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94," William Tebbit said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less
Southport

Floral tributes left by members of the public are seen following the fatal knife attack on three young girls in July in Southport.

Reuters

Public inquiry begins into Southport girls' murders

A PUBLIC inquiry begins on Tuesday into the murders of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Southport last year.

The inquiry will examine whether the attack could have been prevented and how future incidents might be avoided.

Keep ReadingShow less