UK

By Chris Vallance & Philippa Wain Technology reporters Nearly a quarter of UK five-to-seven-year-olds now have their own smartphone, Ofcom research suggests. Social media use also rose in the age group over last year with nearly two in five using messaging service WhatsApp, despite its minimum age of 13. The communications regulator warned parental enforcement

Instructing the jury last month, the coroner told them there were five verdicts open – accidental death, death by misadventure, unlawful killing, an open verdict or a narrative verdict. An accidental death is returned when a sudden or unanticipated occurrence leads to a death. Similarly, death by misadventure is where something has happened which appears

By Tom Symonds Home Affairs correspondent Police have taken down a gang accused of using a technology service that helped criminals use fraudulent text messages to steal from victims. They have arrested 37 people worldwide and are contacting victims. Officers say younger people who grew up with the internet were the most likely to fall

By James Landale Diplomatic correspondent, in Jerusalem Lord Cameron has urged Israel to do “as little as possible to escalate” tensions in the Middle East, ahead of talks with PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel has vowed to retaliate after Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack at the weekend. The UK foreign secretary will push Israel to

Julia Quenzler By George Wright BBC News Constance Marten has been described in court as a “lioness” who loved her “cubs”. Ms Marten, 36, and her partner Mark Gordon, 49, are on trial over the death of their daughter Victoria. Their baby’s body was found in a bag in a shed in Brighton last March.

Getty Images By Jennifer McKiernan & Helen Catt BBC Politics MPs will debate plans for some of the world’s toughest anti-tobacco laws on Tuesday. Rishi Sunak wants to make Generation Alpha, born since 2009, the UK’s first smoke-free generation in a major public health intervention. Anyone turning 15 from this year would be banned from

Getty Images By Dearbail Jordan Business reporter, BBC News Airline passengers are facing cancellations or disruption to flights to Israel and surrounding countries after Iran’s airstrikes at the weekend. EasyJet has suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv up to and including Sunday, 21 April. Wizz Air said it would resume journeys to Israel on

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By Alan Yentob & Noor Nanji BBC Sir Salman Rushdie has spoken in chilling detail to the BBC about what he remembers of the attack two years ago, in which he was stabbed on stage. The Booker

Reuters By James Gregory & Adam Durbin BBC News British fighter jets shot down “a number of drones” fired at Israel from Iran, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. The UK was one of several countries, including the US, which helped counter Iran’s unprecedented attack – its first ever direct strike on Israeli soil. Additional RAF

PA Media By James Gregory BBC News Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates says he will consider raising funds for private prosecutions of Post Office bosses over the Horizon IT scandal. He told the BBC he would act if the authorities did not take cases forward. “It was fine when the Post Office brought private prosecutions, so

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By Emily Atkinson BBC News Liz Truss has revealed how she thought “why me, why now?” when she was told that Queen Elizabeth II had died. The former prime minister said she went into a “state of

Angela Rayner says she will step down as Labour’s deputy leader if she is found to have broken electoral law. In a statement, she said she was “completely confident I’ve followed the rules at all times”. She is accused of giving false information about her main residence in a row about who lived in her

Getty Images By Kate Whannel Political reporter, BBC News A Labour government would aim to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP “as soon as resources allow”, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader also told the i newspaper he would conduct a strategic review of defence and security “to be clear what the

Smith is now being asked about the case of Seema Misra, a sub-postmistress who was wrongly imprisoned during Smith’s tenure. Smith has already apologised for an email he sent after her conviction which used the phrase “brilliant news”. Misra’s conviction was important because, even though we now know it was a terrible miscarriage of justice,

Police have charged a 25-year-old man with the murder of Kulsuma Akter, who was stabbed to death as she pushed her baby in a pram in Bradford. Habibur Masum, from Burley, was charged with Ms Akter’s murder after a four-day manhunt ended in his arrest early on Tuesday morning. He is scheduled to appear at

Getty Images By Karen Hoggan Business reporter, BBC News Tesco has said price pressures on grocers have eased as it reported bumper sales and profits for the past year. The UK’s biggest supermarket chain said pre-tax profits hit £2.3bn, up from £882m, while sales rose by 4.4% to £68.2bn in the year to 24 February.