National News

Here are the latest stories from the team at Radio News Hub. The links will open in a new page and take you to their website.

• Reform UK handed biggest donation from a living person figures show

  Reform UK recently received the biggest single donation in history to a political party from a living person, official figures show.

• Novichok victims family call for change as they criticise inquiry report

  The family of Novichok victim Dawn Sturgess have said “there must be reflection and change” as they criticised the lack of recommendations in a public inquiry’s final report.

• Reform UK handed biggest donation from a living person

  Reform UK has recently received the biggest single donation in history to a political party from a living person, official figures show.

• Ellie Goldstein and Vicky Pattison join Strictly Come Dancing live tour

  Model Ellie Goldstein and Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison are to join the Strictly Come Dancing live tour with their respective professional partners Vito Coppola and Kai Widdrington.

• David Tennant and Aidan Turner return in first look at second series of Rivals

  David Tennant strides away from a helicopter in first-look pictures from the upcoming second series of Rivals.

• Joe Root ends wait for Test century in Australia to boost Englands Ashes hopes

  Joe Root’s 13-year wait for a Test century on Australian soil finally came to an end as he breathed life into England’s Ashes dreams on a remarkable start to the day-night clash at the Gabba.

• Trent Alexander Arnold set for spell on sidelines with leg injury

  Trent Alexander-Arnold is set for a spell on the sidelines after Real Madrid confirmed he has suffered a left leg injury.

• New electric car market suffers smallest growth since December 2023

  November was the new electric car market’s weakest month of growth in nearly two years, figures show.

• TV and film performers to vote on strike action over AI scanning

  TV and film performers are to vote on strike action over scanning for artificial intelligence

• UK sanctions GRU after Putin found morally responsible for Novichok death

  Russian military intelligence agency the GRU has been sanctioned in its entirety by the UK in the wake of the Sturgess inquiry report, the Foreign Office has said.

• Household energy bills to rise after watchdog approves 28bn investment

  Britain’s energy watchdog has given the green light to an initial £28 billion of investment to upgrade UK energy infrastructure, but revealed the move will push up network charges on household bills by £108.

• Poor harvest to cost arable farmers more than 800m in revenue analysis finds

  Arable farmers in the UK are facing a reduction in revenues of more than £800 million following one of the worst ever harvests, analysis suggests.

• Starmer to visit RAF base with Norwegian PM as he heads to Scotland

  Sir Keir Starmer will visit Scotland on Thursday, with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Store accompanying him to an RAF base as they meet military personnel.

• King and Queen greet German president at start of historic state visit

  The King, the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales have given a warm welcome to the President of Germany at the start of his historic state visit.

• England to face Wales in group stage at 2027 Mens Rugby World Cup

  England and Wales will clash in the group stage of the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup.

• Meghans Christmas cracker love letter to Harry as holiday special hits Netflix

  The Duchess of Sussex’s Christmas special has premiered on Netflix, with Meghan sharing the UK’s “sweet” tradition of pulling crackers and revealing she puts a love letter inside the one she makes for the Duke of Sussex.

• Thames Water talks over rescue plan ongoing as bill hikes drive revenues higher

  Troubled supplier Thames Water has said it remains locked in talks over its proposed rescue deal with creditors as it revealed soaring revenues and customer complaints due to bill hikes.

• Undrinkable water to be restored to 24000 homes in Kent

  Water will be restored to thousands of homes in Kent after five days, but must be boiled before drinking, the water company has said.

• Officials lost opportunities to influence US on Dunn suspects immunity review

  The Foreign Office failed to treat the Harry Dunn case as a crisis and lost “opportunities to influence” the US after diplomatic immunity was asserted on behalf of the suspect, an independent review has concluded.

• Paedophile nursery worker admits filming himself abusing children

  A nursery worker who filmed himself sexually abusing four children has pleaded guilty to 26 offences.

• Home hand painted by artist goes on the market as 2 million

  British artist Emily Powell has transformed her terraced home into a lived-in artwork and is now putting it on the market with a guide price of £2 million.

• Britain must not shrink back from chaotic world says Starmer

  Britain must not shrink back from a “chaotic world”, Sir Keir Starmer has said as he underlined his commitment to internationalism.

• First look at Coronation Street and Emmerdale crossover shows explosive crash

  A first look at the upcoming crossover between two ITV soaps has revealed that a multi-vehicle collision on a country road will be at the centre of the drama.

• Justice Secretary to set out reforms to tackle courts emergency

  Plans to free up crown courts to deal with serious crimes swiftly and hand more support to victims are set to be announced by the Justice Secretary as part of efforts to tackle the “courts emergency”.

• Rock drilled from Great Glen Fault gives rare look into distant geological past

  Geologists have been given a “one-of-a-kind” window into Scotland’s geological past as they analyse core rock drilled from the Great Glen Fault during investigations for a hydro-storage scheme.