Andy Burnham will lead a meeting of the Government’s Cobra committee on Wednesday to address extreme heat conditions causing widespread wildfires and drought across the UK. Temperatures are expected to reach 38C, with officials from relevant departments and the Environment Agency in attendance.

Border Force officers intercepted a nearly 3-tonne shipment of cocaine, valued at £200 million, concealed within banana boxes at London Gateway Port in Essex. Nine men were arrested and later released on bail. The National Crime Agency regards this seizure as a significant blow to organised crime.

Aderahman Boumzough, 25, has been sentenced to 35 years for the murder of 15-year-old Rene Graham at a family festival in Ladbroke Grove. Evidence including phone data and CCTV footage confirmed his presence at the scene during the July 2024 incident.

Plans for a £430 million energy interconnector from the UK to Ireland were altered following significant backlash from Harry Potter fans. Initially slated for West Beach in Pembrokeshire, the rerouting protects the memorial of Dobby, a character whose grave was threatened by the project.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham is actively seeking to prevent the early release of Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, convicted of manslaughter in connection with the death of PC Andrew Harper in 2019. The Government has resisted calls to exclude them, despite changes reducing early release numbers from 6,000 to 5,000.

A mother from Swaffham has shared her grief over the loss of her 20-year-old son, Liam Exley, to stage four mesothelioma after years of misdiagnosis. Symptoms of the rare cancer, typically seen in older individuals, were mistaken for pericarditis. Liam died six months post-diagnosis.