Frost and fog clearing, then a bright start for many. A band of wet and windy weather sweeping eastwards across most areas, followed by brighter skies with some blustery showers in the west but the late afternoon and evening.Tonight: Rain moves off to the east, leaving a mostly dry and clear evening across much of the UK. Storm Éowyn moves into the west by the early hours.
Prince Harry has settled his case with the owner of the Sun newspaper – News Group Newspapers (NGM). Harry reportedly received a £10+ million payout as well as an apology. The Murdoch-owned tabloid admitted it engaged in illegal practices to source stories about him.
The Southport killer is set to be sentenced today after pleading guilty to three counts of murder and terrorism charges – including making ricin. The 18-year-old is expected to receive a life sentence. An inquiry into the case began after it was revealed authorities already knew about Axel Rudakubana and he had been referred (but denied) to the government’s Prevent scheme – aimed at stopping people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.
Leo Ross, 12, was stabbed to death on his way home from school in Birmingham yesterday. The country reacts to the news – amid fears of a growing knife crime crisis. A 14-year-old boy has been arrested.
Storm Éowyn is heading towards the UK with rare weather warnings being issued for Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland on Friday.
Markets are significantly underestimating the chance that the Bank of England will have to step up the pace of cutting interest rates, Goldman Sachs has argued.
Traders anticipate just two interest rate cuts this year with one more cut priced in for 2026, which would leave the benchmark Bank Rate at 4.0 per cent. It currently stands at 4.75 per cent.
Investors are concerned by signs of stubborn inflationary pressures in the UK economy, with many economists predicting that the headline rate will increase to over three per cent in the spring.
Figures out yesterday also showed that private sector pay growth hit 6.0 per cent in the three months to November, well ahead of expectations.
Bank of England: Goldman Sachs expects deep interest rate cuts
Thursday’s headlines make for interesting reading. Only four national newspapers lead with the publisher of The Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGM), apology and payout to Prince Harry. It’s little surprise The Sun newspaper itself doesn’t acknowledge the news until page six.
Harry’s lawsuit against NGN is a huge victory with the Murdoch-owned tabloid admitting it engaged in illegal practices to source stories about him.
Of the four newspapers that lead with the story, The Guardian, The i and The Independent note the historical nature of the win, which saw NGN do something they rarely do – apologise. The Daily Telegraph unsurprisingly has a different take. The paper calls it a ‘climb down’ from Harry and lightly suggests he was seeking a bigger payout than what his brother received, questioning why he had all of a sudden struck a deal rather than complete his quest of holding the tabloids to account.
Away from Harry, there is a mixture of mostly domestic news including reports the Royal Navy spotted a Russian “spy ship” in UK waters, various reports of illegal immigrants, ISIS and “fears” over UK security. Several papers also report on the UK economy.
A 12-year-old boy is pictured on many front pages after he was stabbed to death on his way home from school. A 14-year-old boy has been arrested.
The back pages lead with last night’s Champions League matches – and how the English clubs fared. Man City threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 to PSG. Arsenal won their match, all but securing a place in the knockouts.
The Guardian calls the result a “monumental victory” with a “historic admission” noting the Sun newspaper admitted to engaging in “illegal practices” to source stories about him. They offered him a “full and unequivocal apology” after “incidents of unlawful activity” were carried out by private investigators working for the paper.
The i newspaper says “Gotcha” focusing on the reported £10 million settlement. The paper says Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is working with families affected by the phone-hacking scandal to draw up potential changes to media rules in the wake of the lawsuit.
The Daily Telegraph says Harry ‘climbed down at the eleventh hour’ after claiming he wanted to change the British tabloids and bring accountability for their wrongdoing. The paper highlights that whilst the Sun did apologise and payout, it did not admit phone hacking or any specific wrongdoings. The article suggests Harry held out for as long as possible for money.
The Independent says “Harry wins historic £10m+ apology deal from Murdoch’s Sun”.
The Sun’s front page leads with the stabbing death of Leo Ross in Birmingham. The paper claims the UK is battling a “horrifying wave of knife crime.”
The Daily Mirror shares a similar take. The paper says Leo is “the latest tragic victim of the knife crime epidemic plaguing Britain”.
The Times says a suspected Russian spy ship was challenged by a Royal Navy submarine in British waters. A defence source tells the paper the Royal Navy sent a “polite” message to the vessel that included the words “good morning.” The Russian ship left quickly after the encounter, the source added.
The Daily Mail says the Royal Navy has been deployed to “protect undersea cables off Cornwall” in the wake of the Russian ship’s movements. It also reports that the Royal Navy sub surfaced “yards away” from the vessel “in a show of force to protect British waters.”
The Metro headlines it as “We can sea you, Vlad!”. Defence Secretary John Healey said the vessel was deployed to map the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure. Healey’s message to Vladimir Putin: “We see you, we know what you’re doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country,” the paper added.
Last night’s Champions League action domiantes much of social media in the UK today as well as the latest Premier League transfers.The public reacts to Prince Harry’s win over the Sun newspaper as well as the incoming storm Eowyn – set to hit Ireland before moving on to Britain.The setencing of the Southport killer also trends this morning as the publci awaits the sentencing verdict.
A rapidly growing wildfire, named the Hughes Fire, has erupted in Los Angeles County, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents. The fire ignited Wednesday morning near Castaic
President Donald Trump has directed US agencies to ramp up efforts to “repel, repatriate, and remove” undocumented immigrants, framing it as part of a broader effort to combat what he
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, who was set to be nominated, accused Sinn Féin and other opposition TDs (MPs) of orchestrating the disruption. He called the delay ‘premeditated, coordinated, and
Fico’s claims, based on what he described as a classified intelligence report, came ahead of a no-confidence motion against his government. The motion was abandoned after the parliamentary session was
A two-year-old boy and a 41-year-old man were killed in a stabbing at Schöntal Park in Aschaffenburg, Germany. Two others, including a child, were seriously injured.
On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump claimed his efforts to resolve the conflict would be a “very big favor” to Russia and its president. He previously vowed to
UK leaves the door open on joining Europe customs scheme
Consumer confidence in the health of the UK economy slumped in January, pointing to further headwinds in the coming months.
Consumer confidence in the health of the UK economy slumped in January, pointing to further headwinds in the coming months.
A net -34 of respondents to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) latest sentiment monitor said that the economy would get worse over the next three months, down from -27 in December.
This put confidence in the health of the economy at its lowest level since the BRC started collecting data on the topic in March 2024.
The survey comes after a succession of disappointing data releases, which indicate that the economy slowed significantly in the second half of last year.
https://www.cityam.com/uk-economy-consumers-catch-january-blues-as-confidence-slumps/
The government’s tax hikes pose a “major threat” to the health of the labour market, a leading economist has warned, as markets prepare for the latest jobs market figures.
The labour market has been a key source of strength for the UK economy, with continued high employment helping to sustain strong levels of wage growth over the past couple of years.
Many forecasts for 2025 assume that the continued resilience of the labour market will ensure that economic growth accelerates compared to last year.
But economists are worried that measures announced in the government’s maiden Budget will threaten the health of the labour market.
https://www.cityam.com/rachel-reeves-tax-hikes-pose-major-threat-to-uk-labour-market-resilience/
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