In an extraordinary result, the Lib Dems defied years of electoral woe to storm the ultra-safe seat - which has been held by the Conservatives since it was created in 1974.

ROSS CLARK: Throughout the pandemic, whenever we have dared to hope normal life might soon return our hopes have been dashed by some terrifying new graph.

Armed police were called at around 10.50pm last night to reports of a man suffering gunshot wounds in Balham, south London. The victim was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead 45 minutes later.

Husband Ralph Jump, 57, and son Peter were crushed by the raging bull on the farm making luxury soap from buffalo milk in Gwehelog, near Usk, Monmouthshire.

Babis Anagnostopoulos admitted killing Caroline Crouch at their home near Athens after detectives found smartwatch data which suggested she didn't die when first claimed.

The mother-of-three, who has championed the cause since she joined the British Royal Family, stressed our first five years 'lay important foundations for our future selves'.

The Government is discussing a proposal to exempt 2,500 designated VIPs including Uefa and Fifa officials, politicians, and sponsors from having to self-isolate on arrival into England.

Big businesses today began rowing back on their boycott of GB News after its boss Andrew Neil called them out on air and accused their 'useful idiot' bosses of 'taking the knee' to 'far-Left cranks'.

The challenge was shared to US-based trivia platform Quizly and promises to put your knowledge of the English language to the test. Each clue refers to a word beginning with the letter 'C'.

Downing Street has opened the door to ending restrictions on July 5, amid growing evidence that assumptions used by government scientists to justify delaying Freedom Day were too pessimistic.

Dong Jingwei, vice minister of State Security, may have defected to the U.S. with information about the Wuhan lab. His defection, if confirmed, would be the highest ever from China.

Mortgage rates have continued to hit record lows, as HSBC launched its first sub-1% deal in more than five years today. We explain how to compare rates and fees and get the best deal.

Dream researchers wrote an open letter highlighting the dangers of companies planting commercials in people's dreams, but other experts say such ads would have little impact on behavior.

Melissa Laurie's parents Sean and Sue Laurie and her sister Georgia visited the Manialtepec Lagoon on Wednesday. On June 6, Melissa was attacked by a crocodile while swimming in the lagoon.

JAN MOIR: Binky who has a PhD in North Korean Studies, a Rebel Princess tattoo on her ankle and a dog on a string, even though her parents own most of Hampshire.

Swathes of fans draped in flags and wearing Scotland jerseys have been pouring off sold-out trains in London today ahead of tomorrow night's Euro 2020 clash against England at Wembley.

Ex-BBC heavyweight Mr Neil said Stop Funding Hate activists were 'bigots bent on censorship' who had launched their campaign to bring down new TV channel GB News four months ago.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland and Home Secretary Priti Patel set out a blueprint which will see new targets introduced for the criminal justice system across England and Wales.

The former No10 aide intervened in a Twitter debate about whether Mr Johnson's private persona is the same as his public image this afternoon.

Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from Wimbledon, stating she taking some personal time with friend and family. However, she insists she will be ready for the Olympics.

Unlike previous football tournaments, supporters cannot cram into pubs and bars across England as a result of restrictions which are remaining in place for at least another month, to July 19.

The Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 39, welcomed Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor two weeks ago, and are both taking 'up to five months off' to adjust to life as a family of four.

The Vietnamese national, who has not been named, is wanted by the Belgian authorities who allege he has played a key role in placing at least ten migrants inside the lorry where 39 people died.

A severe shortage of workers from Europe, who have been driven away by a combination of Brexit and Covid-19, is threatening the supply of festive pigs in blankets

A sell-off of Channel 4 has been mooted in the past but plans are being sped up as the Netflix era transforms the TV market. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is expected to launch a consultation.

In a potential breakthrough in the 'sausage wars' row, the EU said it would assess the UK's call to extend a grace period on chilled meat sales until the end of September.

A third public consultation on the scheme is under way. The All England Lawn Tennis Club will then submit a formal planning application in July.

A Southwark coroner ruled in December that air pollution contributed to the 2013 death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, nine, who lived 80ft from the South Circular road in Lewisham, south-east London

RUTH SUNDERLAND: Normally I wouldn't ally myself with Jacob Rees-Mogg in his disdain for anything hailing from my home town of Middlesbrough. But I'm on his side about the parmo.

Lost to the public for decades, the £15million collection features 500 first editions, letters and manuscripts. Among them are handwritten poems by Emily Bronte with revisions by sister Charlotte.

The last month has sen another 2p-a-litre hike in the average petrol price, pushing unleaded to a new high not seen for almost three years. The UK average price of unleaded is now 130.69p a litre.

The report also found that the onset of the virus meant UK councils added nearly 2,000 more local wardens to their growing army of enforcement officials with the power to levy fines.

Currently, Britons are advised not to travel to amber list countries unless it is essential although there is no legal sanction for doing so, provided travellers quarantine at home for ten days.

Footballer Che Adams, 24, has decided to represent Scotland instead of England despite being born in Leicester. He is one of the three Scottish players at the Euros who were born in England.

England footballers Kalvin Phillips, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford have been fighting racism and poverty while scoring goals - and all of them owe it all to Mum.

Leaked emails suggested staff were instructed to conceal how a little-known function of the UK furlough scheme could be used to access help. Pictured, Rishi Sunak.

Shocking video supplied by Derbyshire Police shows student Usman Kiani, 19, outpacing dozens of police cars in the high-speed pursuit across five counties in April this year.

An Office for National Statistics report found that only 0.5 per cent of people in the UK tested positive for coronavirus in the six months after their first jab, along with 0.1 per cent after the second dose.

Carol Higgins, who waived her right to anonymity, was raped 'three or four times a week' during the 1980s by Elliott Appleyard, and was even made to wear an engagement ring belonging to his wife.

Around ten mobile homes and caravans left the open space in Walderslade, Kent, at around 6pm this evening after a discussion with police and Medway Council. Several of the group claimed to be ill.

The same baker, Jack Phillips, famously won a partial victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 for refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Jess de Wahls, who was born in East Germany, was found to be in 'conflict' with the values of the RA over views expressed in a 2019 blog post which criticised 'gender identity ideology' and Stonewall.

The amorous pair were first caught in Sunny Brow Park in Gorton, Manchester, at around midday on Wednesday. The couple were arrested on suspicion of outraging public decency.

A camera at a military base in Cúcuta, Colombia, where a SUV exploded Tuesday, captured the moment a soldier stopped and cleared the driver to enter the facility.

Among the bikes being sold at Charterhouse Auctioneers, in Sherborne, Dorset, is a 1947 Vincent Rapide, which was once England's fastest two-wheeled machine. It is tipped to sell for £35,000.

Jamie King, 39, who has appeared in hit shows Mad Men and The Tudors, had told the High Court he had lost a role in the film Dunkirk because of the trauma of watching his five day old son die.

Professor Ferguson has changed his tune from last week, when he warned the UK faced a third wave 'at least comparable in terms of hospitalisations' to previous peaks, due to the Indian variant.

The schoolgirl was approached along North Countess Road in Walthamstow, northeast London, at around 8.30am on Wednesday.

The Department of Health posted 11,007 cases today, up 48.9 per cent on last Thursday's figure of 7,393 and the highest daily total since February 22. Hospitalisations also spiked by 45 per cent.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs used in Britain, said the affected batches contained azido-tetrazole.

Peperami has delighted fans with the release of its first vegetarian range in the UK. A spokesperson explained Vegerami has been designed to meet the demand for meat-free snacks.

The mobile phone giant and other was targeted by the left-wing Stop Funding Hate plotting to bring down the nascent channel that promises to be anti-woke, pro-British and cover more stories outside London.

Manchester Arena Inquiry chairman Sir John Saunders found there were a number of missed opportunities to prevent or minimise the attack's 'devastating impact'.

An increase in human life expectancy is due to better survival for kids and young adults, not slowing the ageing clock, say a team led by experts at the University of Southern Denmark.

Scotland's players and coaching staff have been standing together against racism and discrimination before matches but have agreed to take the knee with England in a show of solidarity.

Mollie Wood and Amy Lee, both 20, claim they were told by a manager at The Back of Beyond in Reading that they would not be served because their tops were 'equal to a man being shirtless'.

Sir John Saunders is due to deliver the first of three reports, which will focus on the security arrangements at the 21,000-seat venue at the time of the May 2017 suicide attack.

SIMON WALTERS: Boris Johnson could step down as Prime Minister in four years, it was claimed yesterday - and he says running the country is 'like pulling a jumbo jet down the runway every day'.

EXCLUSIVE: Officers investigating the case say they have formally identified the couple and are now working with police in Bedfordshire as enquiries into the theft continue.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said she does not believe the force is institutionally corrupt.

Prices are driven up because of the fee restaurants must pay to the major delivery firms Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat.

The findings, released by the charity Global Action Plan, looked at PM2.5 - fine particular matter - which can cross from the lungs into the blood and cause conditions such as heart and lung disease.

To report an inaccuracy, please email corrections @mailonline.co.uk. To make a formal complaint under IPSO rules please go to www.mailonline .co.uk/readerseditor.

Photos show a British Airways Dreamliner 787 with its nose to the ground after the plane's landing gear suffered a collapse on the tarmac at Heathrow Airport earlier today.

The downpours haven't dampened the spirits of football fans in the UK, with some builders' sites being rained off meaning that workers can get an early start at the pub.

Suspended NSW corrections officer Melissa Maree Goodwin, 26, has pleaded guilty to having an intimate relationship with prison inmate Corey London, 21.

Sir Lindsay will host his international counterparts in his constituency in Lancashire for the meeting in September, where protecting parliaments from terrorism is set to be on the agenda.

Dave Driskell, who owns a chain of CrossFit gyms in Byron Bay and Bali, has come under fire after telling his 90,000 plus social media followers to stop using sunscreen.

Notting Hill Carnival - held each August Bank Holiday weekend in Notting Hill, London - 'will not be on the streets', with organisers saying 'safety has to come first'.

This is the moment Babis Anagnostopoulos hugged the grieving mother of Caroline Crouch at a memorial for the murdered Brit - before confessing to being the killer.

The Tartan Army flouted a Scotland Yard two-day order warning them not congregate in the West End from 3pm yesterday, instead they partied in Leicester Square where they danced in fountains.

Covid lockdowns have transformed the housing market in Australia, changing what homebuyers now look for a new home...and the number one search term is not what you might expect.

The video of leopard tortoise Sybil was taken by staff at her home at Fishers Farm Park in Wisborough Green, West Sussex, as she climbed a little ramp before sliding down.

Dramatic footage showed the bear bounding down busy streets in Sapporo before it darted across a main road and started clawing at the gates of the barracks before knocking a soldier to the ground.

The supporter staggers straight into oncoming traffic and the collision knocks both him and the biker - who tooted their horn on approach to no avail - flying.

Latitude Festival in Henham Park, Suffolk, will go ahead between Friday 23 and Sunday 25 July - with acts including Kaiser Chiefs, Rudimental and Rick Astley.

Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie is set to give evidence he saw a soldier looking 'anxious and uncomfortable' after Ben Roberts-Smith allegedly ordered him to kill an Afghan insurgent.

The walrus travelled 518 miles north from Spain to appear in the Bay of Porthcressa, on the island of St Mary's on July 17. Residents raced down to the beach to catch a glimpse of Wally.

Police say they have found the weapon used in the alleged murder of a young Queensland mother at a coastal town in northern Tasmania.

The ban revealed this week by the theater manager for Springsteen On Broadway is most likely to affect visitors from Canada, where AstraZeneca is in widespread use.

Unvaccinated cadets are reportedly facing discrimination at West Point Military Academy even though the school does not mandate vaccines and are facing tougher mandates.

Thirty-three illegal immigrants were found crammed inside a U-Haul truck last week as temperatures reached 100-degrees. Many of them suffered heat-related illnesses.

Democrats appeared to be coalescing Thursday around changes to the bill that could win the support of moderate West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, the lone Democratic holdout on the legislation.

President Joe Biden signed a law Thursday to make 'Juneteenth National Independence Day' a federal holiday, starting Friday, sparking Candace Owens' controversial tweet.

Koalas could soon be listed as endangered in Queensland, NSW and the ACT after bushfires smashed already struggling populations and destroyed precious habitat

A teen driver who left his friends for dead after causing a horrific crash in the Gippsland region of Victoria, has heard how his passengers screamed for help.

The U.S. space agency on Thursday announced its new 'Mission Equity' initiative in a gushing promo video timed to coincide with a new push under President Joe Biden's executive order.

The pair escaped Victoria's 'circuit breaker' coronavirus lockdown on June 1 and went on a 1,900km road trip through regional communities in NSW before arriving in Queensland on June 5.

The cat owner filmed her pet clawing at the huntsman as it tried to back away. Her amusement turned sour though when the cat flicked the spider off the carpet and into her face.

Texas GOP Rep. Jackson told Sean Hannity he was concerned about Biden's mental state. He has been circulating a letter with House colleagues and has the signatures of 13 GOP lawmakers.

Under one of the strictest Covid border closures in the world, foreigners cannot enter the country and Australians are banned from leaving without an exemption.

A Reddit user posted the picture of a large notice on a freeway in the New South Wales capital saying 'Speed cameras save lives', referring to the messaging as 'propaganda'.

Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago, on Thursday announced that $9.6 million was being spent on six Healthy Chicago Equity Zones, designed to reduce the gap in life expectancy.

The federal court has cleared the way for mum and daughter Marie and Stephanie Browitt to sue Royal Carribbean Cruises in Florida over the White Island volcano tragedy, which wrecked their family.

A Northern Territory pair of fishermen have snagged one of the worlds apex predators while going for a casual Thursday afternoon out on the river. The pair pull the line as the jaw of a crocodile emerges.

The head of Spence School, Bodie Brizendine (left), apologized on Wednesday after a class was shown an episode of Ziwe Fumudoh's satirical show (right). One mother said the show was racist.

Gavin Newsom declared the state of emergency after temperatures across the state soared past 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Keith Melvyn Wass struck Kosciusko's Thredbo resort manager Jordan Rogers with his snowboard after being told 'we've had complaints kids are getting scared.

'Celebrity vegan' Joey 'Carbstrong' Armstrong has staged a bizarre one-man protest outside 'fish prison' Sydney aquarium.

The tragedy unfolded on the Warrego Highway at Bowenville in Queensland's Toowoomba region at about 8.30am on Friday.

A major traffic accident has been narrowly avoided on a Perth freeway after three teenagers sprinted out in front of peak hour traffic.

Queensland schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer likely died as a result of choking or asphyxiation in a deliberate act by her foster father, a coroner has found.

A primary school in Sydney's west had been forced to close on Friday when a number of its teachers were ordered to self-isolate after visiting locations identified as NSW Covid hotspots.

A 21st century clash of property titans has broken out as traditional estate agents top Australia's best sellers list - but a brash social media-based rival says he's sold more than anyone in history.

Caroline Crouch, 20, was strangled to death in front of her 11-month-old daughter at her home near Athens on May 11.

It's understood a Queensland Rail locomotive collided with a coal train near Westwood, while one of the trains was stationary.

First son Hunter Biden was banned from the infamous Chateau Marmont, where Saturay Night Live star John Belushi famously overdosed in 1982, for 'drug use.'

Bowie Sheng Papa allegedly tortured the man in his Surfers Paradise apartment between March 8-12 this year.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday insisted that he was fully justified in claiming that the FBI was behind the January 6 Capitol riot, and demanded the agency to prove they were not.

EXCLUSIVE: A third of those businesses (33 per cent) plan to increase their outsourcing in the next two years, according to a new report by Whitelane Research and PA Consulting.

'We filed our divorce papers at the city of Atlanta and our divorce is final,' said Bill White, the CEO of the Buckhead City Committee leading the secession push, in an interview on Thursday.

The Twitter challenge by Chris Cuomo led to a massive response, with many recalling his dalliances with Rebekah Jones and a violated quarantine.

All 50 of the Portland police's rapid response unit resigned Wednesday after the indictment of fellow officer Corey Budworth for assault during a riot last August.

Associates of slain crime boss Bilal Hamze formed a guard of honour at his mother's high security housing commission townhouse after he was gunned down outside a Sydney CBD restaurant.

The wife of AFL star Tom Hawkins revealed things have become awkward in their house since their 18-month old daughter Primrose had developed an obsession with a plush toy of a fierce rival.

An Australian swimmer has given an emotional poolside interview after finding out he had made the team for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The Prime Minister arrived in Canberra on Thursday night and went straight into two weeks of home quarantine at The Lodge, his official residence in the nation's capital.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched Federal Court action against the supermarket giant over allegations it underpaid 70 salaried managers upwards of $1.1 million.

A 'palm-loving' beetle is threatening Australia's agricultural industries after biological controls failed to stop the spread of the harmful insect on our nation's doorstep.

'Part of my problem,' McCain said on Thursday's show, 'is that just because Trump was so bad, it doesn't absolve Biden's bad behavior. What he did was 100 percent Trumpy.'

Notorious 'playboy rapist' who boasted of friendship with Mariah Carey before being locked up for horrific sex attack is jailed AGAIN after outburst in court

Alex Harvill was at the Moses Lake Airshow in Washington, where spectators were recording his practice jumps ahead of the world record attempt.

A battle over Geoffrey Edelsten's estate is brewing as creditors and ex business partners emerge to claim they are still owed money by the medical entrepreneur who died last week.

The two warships now appear to be moving up the African coast, though there is a possibility that they could change course once again.

On Thursday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience , Rogan took issue with an unspecified CNN segment in which hosts lamented that some YouTubers draw more viewers.

Ex-Wallabies star George Gregan was due to give evidence in an $11million business court tussle

Police in Surprise, Arizona confirmed on Thursday afternoon that the suspected shooter's vehicle had been intercepted by officers, and that a lone suspect was in custody.

Anh Taylor, 94, was stabbed multiple times in an unprovoked attack in San Francisco on Wednesday. She needed surgery on her wrist and torso, and is in hospital in stable condition.

Queensland will shut its border to anyone coming from the eastern suburbs of New South Wales from tomorrow as the state battles a Covid cluster. Masks on NSW public transport are also back.

A six-year-old boy fascinated with the SES has pitched in to help clean up after Victoria's wild storms in his very own hi-vis uniform.

Workers in Sydney's CBD are in for an end-of-week treat as new $100 dinner vouchers are announced, similar to the popular Dine & Discover scheme - but with one exciting difference.

Australians who bought Bitcoin or part of one in April as it surged to $80,000 are set to have lost a lot of money. With the cryptocurrency now worth $50,000, here are some tax tips.

Michael De Guzman, a registered nurse, is being detained at a forensic hospital after a NSW District Court judge found him not guilty in 2018 of 11 charges by reason of mental impairment.

The execution death of Bilal Hamze has sparked fears of a gangland war in Sydney's western suburbs, where Middle Eastern crime gangs have long run rampant. 

New South Wales has recorded one new case of Covid-19 as Premier Gladys Berejiklian said masks would be mandatory on public transport.

Emergency services were called to Bridge Street, near Circular Quay, at about 10.25pm on Thursday after reports Bilal Hamze had been shot.

More than 50 million lateral flow tests have been carried out in schools alone as part of the mandatory requirements of lockdown easing.

Canberra has been hit with an urgent Covid alert amid reports a Sydney man with low levels of the virus visited the nation's capital while infected.

Then...and now

Mayo Hardware director James Mayo applied for an restraining order against his neighbours over claims hot tea was poured on him and his dog from a fifth-floor balcony.

The overhaul planned by education authorities in New South Wales would mean principals at the state's public schools will choose whether they want their students to follow a 9am to 3pm school day.

Melbourne residents may be free to roam but have been told to steer clear of storm-ravaged regions as clean-up efforts continue.

Russian President Vladimir Putin brought Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the head of the Russian joint staff, to his summit meeting with President Biden - who did not bring the U.S. chair of the joint chiefs.

Kerry Michael Rooney, 51, had been nothing but a 'devoted father' up until the moment he was allegedly stabbed to death outside his Newmarket home, in Brisbane's inner north-west, on Wednesday night.

The identical twin of a young woman who died in a horror car crash while her boyfriend was 'hooning' on a beach says her sister's death took 'a huge piece of my soul' away.

President Joe Biden put pen to paper at the White House on Thursday to sign the bill into law, with the first Juneteenth National Independence Day being observed tomorrow

Nine-year-old 'gentle giant' Marley stole the spotlight after he decided to seek refuge inside a fire truck following a blaze on Thursday night. 

Victoria has recorded one new local Covid case as NSW anxiously waits to hear whether a four-person cluster will grow.

Lemon, 55, told the Washington Post there had been a 'false reality' that racism no longer existed after the US elected its first black President Barack Obama.

The NHS England chief refused to give Mr Hancock support when he was pressed by Sky News if he has confidence in the Health Secretary's ability, having worked with him during the pandemic.