Good morning! ☕ Let’s grab a coffee and dive into the headlines for Thursday, 12 June 2025. The sun is making a welcome appearance over the capital, with temperatures reaching a pleasant 25°C. However, a touch of afternoon rain might have dampened your day, so keep an umbrella handy just in case.
Unsurprisingly, the chancellor’s spending review dominates the UK news this morning, with some publications seeing the plans as a huge investment that will boost the UK economy, and others arguing it will lead to huge tax hikes in the autumn.
The UK economy shrank by 0.3% in April, the chancellor has said, just a day after her spending review. The decline was sharper than expected.
Elsewhere, there is coverage of violence in Northern Ireland, as “protesters” set fire to a leisure centre – the violence began after an alleged sexual assault by two foreigners.
Browsing: Riots in Northern Ireland
A group of masked rioters set fire to Larne Leisure Centre—used as temporary housing for displaced families—on the third consecutive night of unrest linked to an alleged sexual assault case in Ballymena.