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The British digger maker JCB, owned by the billionaire Bamford family, continued to build and supply equipment for the Russian market months after saying it had stopped exports because of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the Guardian can reveal. Russian customs records show that JCB, whose...

Millions of litres of raw sewage were illegally pumped into one of England's most famous lakes after a fault, documents seen by the BBC have revealed. United Utilities failed to stop the illegal pollution of Windermere, in the Lake District, for 10 hours in February and did not report the...

Nearly 40% of the dirty money in the world is going through the City of London and other crown dependencies, the UK’s deputy foreign secretary has said. Andrew Mitchell added the crown dependencies and overseas territories will face fresh demands from the Foreign Office to comply with UK laws...

The cornerstone of Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation policy should not apply in Northern Ireland because it undermines human rights protections guaranteed in the region under post-Brexit arrangements, a high court judge has ruled. Parts of the UK’s Illegal Migration Act were also incompatible...

The government has formally triggered a crisis measure to ease prison overcrowding by using police cells to house inmates. The confirmation of Operation Safeguard by the Ministry of Justice follows a decision to consider releasing some prisoners 70 days before their sentences were due to end.

Keir Starmer will promise to rip up the government’s Rwanda scheme and divert £75m to fund hundreds of new specialist officers to tackle people-smuggling with new counter-terror powers.

A gold medal-winning elite cyclist who is seeking asylum in the UK fears his career will be derailed because he has been told by the Home Office he must move to the Bibby Stockholm barge and cannot take his bike on board. Mohammad Ganjkhanlou, 26, an Iranian, has won four gold, two silver and...

Drug shortages in England are now at such critical levels that patients are at risk of immediate harm and even death, pharmacists have warned. The situation is so serious that pharmacists increasingly have to issue “owings” to patients – telling someone that only part of their prescription can...

Labour’s Richard Parker beat Conservative Andy Street by 1,508 votes to become mayor of the West Midlands.

The Liberal Democrats now have 520 councillors, and the Conservatives have 508. It is now clear to us with just the one council to go that the Liberal Democrats will end up having won more council seats than the Conservatives in these local elections.

The Liberal Democrats have gained overall control of Tunbridge Wells as the Conservatives lost four seat, leaving them on seven and the Liberal Democrats with 22 of the 39 seats. Labour and independents have five each. A Liberal Democrat source said “the disgusted of Tunbridge Wells have spoken.”

Labour gained Adur in West Sussex from the Conservatives after gaining eight seats – the first time the party has controlled the council, PA reports. The Conservatives lost seven seats, and independents one, leaving the new council as Labour 17, Conservatives eight, Green two and independents two.

The Workers Party of Britain (WPB) won its first two council seats in Rochdale, where George Galloway won a byelection in March, PA reports. Labour retained control of the council with 44 seats, after losing two to the WPB, with the Conservatives on nine, Lib Dems on three and two independents.

The UK government’s climate action plan is unlawful, the high court has ruled, as there is not enough evidence that there are sufficient policies in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The energy secretary, Claire Coutinho, will now be expected to draw up a revised plan within 12 months...

The Tories went into the local elections with 21 of the seats on the council, and Labour holding the other 12. All seats were up for election. The Tories now have 17 seats, and Labour 16.

Boris Johnson, the former prime minister who introduced the voter ID rules, was turned away from a polling station today after forgetting to bring acceptable photo ID.

Fossil fuel companies will be allowed to explore for oil and gas under offshore wind-power sites for the first time, the government will announce on Friday, in a move which campaigners say is further proof that ministers are abandoning the climate agenda.

Importers of food from the EU into Britain have said newly introduced post-Brexit checks could increase their costs by up to 60%, pushing up prices for customers and driving some shops out of business. After five previous delays, the UK government on Tuesday introduced the physical checks on...

People with depression or anxiety could lose access to sickness benefits, the work and pensions secretary has said, as part of major welfare changes that have been described as a “full-on assault on disabled people”.