Nicholas Prosper, from Luton, pleaded guilty to the murder of his mother, Juliana Falcon, 48, and his siblings, Kyle Prosper, 16, and 13-year-old Giselle Prosper at Luton Crown Court in February.

In sentencing, the judge said the words "heartless and brutal" were insufficient to describe the horror of the last moments suffered by his victims.

Their bodies were found at their flat in the town in September last year.

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The 19-year-old planned to carry out a mass shooting at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, where Prosper and his siblings had been pupils, he admitted to police.

The court heard his aim was to be known as "the world's most famous school shooter of the 21st century".

Police believe he killed his family when his mother found a shotgun he had bought using a fake certificate and confronted him.

His scheme was eventually foiled by officers who spotted him in the street immediately after the murders and arrested him.

The loaded shotgun was found hidden in bushes nearby, along with more than 30 cartridges.

As his sentencing started on Tuesday, the court heard that "his planning was cold, deliberate and without sympathy or emotion towards the actual victims or potential victims".

Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the details of Prosper's case were "chilling", and that he had wanted to emulate and outdo the US school massacres at Sandy Hook in 2012 and Virginia Tech in 2007.

His "main wish", according to the prosecution, was notoriety, telling a prison nurse "I wish I had killed more".

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said Prosper had not hated his mother or siblings and had "had a good life with them", but that his intention had been to kill them in their sleep and rape his sister.

"Each victim suffered the anguish of anticipating or being aware of the deaths of others," she said.

In explaining why she had opted not to impose a whole-life sentence, the judge said: "A minimum term does not in any way equate to the value of the life of a murder victim, still less three such victims."

She acknowledged that Prosper had autism spectrum disorder, but said she was satisfied that it did not affect his decision-making enough to be the primary reason why he carried out the killings.

"A murder spree with the sole aim of glorifying the name of the perpetrator in the history of mass killers is what you intended," she said.

"You have also expressed no remorse and no sorrow. Indeed, when asked by the psychiatrist if you would try to commit another massacre, you replied: 'Well, that's their job to stop me getting the weapons if I get released'."

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb added: "Your plans were intelligent, calculated and unselfish. Your ambition was notoriety. You wanted to be known posthumously as the world's most famous school shooter of the 21st century.

"Words such as heartless and brutal are insufficient to describe the horror of those last moments of the people who were closest to you."

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A statement from the family of the victims was read outside the court.

It said they now understood the deaths had "much more meaning and importance" because they "stopped any other family in the community going through the pain we have suffered".

"For now, we would ask people to remember Juliana, Kyle and Giselle for the people they were. Julie was a strong, loving mother to her four children, who were her absolute world.

"Kyle was a kind and funny young man who loved football and boxing. He was a big talent with massive potential. Giselle was a beautiful soul and caring young girl with an infectious smile. She was also an exceptional pupil at school and was loved dearly by her friends."

Realising the unthinkable about her child, her intervention was crucial in preventing him from carrying out what could have been one of the worst mass killings ever to happen in the UK.

Triple killer who murdered family jailed for at least 49 years

It was late at night when the 48-year-old interrupted her teenage son, Nicholas Prosper, in his bedroom with a gun.

He was preparing to carry out a massacre at his old primary school the following day.

Police believe Juliana spotted the shotgun and confronted her son about what he was up to, and there was a struggle as he began attacking his mother.

Her intervention changed everything.

Prosper, 18, shot his mother dead with the firearm he had bought illegally less than 24 hours earlier.

Over the next few hours in the family's eighth-floor flat in Luton, he also shot dead his 13-year-old sister, Giselle, and shot and repeatedly stabbed his 16-year-old brother, Kyle.

The noise of the killings alerted neighbours and meant police would be on their way, so Prosper's plan had to be brought forward.

"My f****** mum messed it up," he wrote down while in custody. "My mother is a f****** stupid cow."

A plan for 'notoriety'

Prosper left the flat at 5.30am on 13 September last year, hours before the school would open.

He had meticulously researched school massacres, was fascinated by violence and led a dysfunctional life online. He craved notoriety.

He took with him more than 30 shotgun cartridges which, he had calculated, would enable him to kill more children than any other school attack.

When he was arrested, he was on his way to his old primary school to target the youngest children there, aged just four and five.

In a note he later wrote in prison, he confessed he "wanted to cause the biggest [school] massacre in the 21st century and be more famous than Sandy Hook".

A total of 26 children were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, USA in 2012. The killer there had shot dead his own mother at home before going to the school.

Prosper's mother's actions in Luton, disturbing his plan early, denied him that appalling place in history.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Sam Khanna, of Bedfordshire Police, told Sky News that Prosper's ambition "was most definitely notoriety... to be known as being responsible for the biggest school shooting on record."

He had researched in detail every shooting school shooting across the world "within the last 15, 20 years," he said.

"He'd done his sums, and he wanted to be responsible for the most amount [of deaths]. Killing his family was the first part of it. But then going to a school and killing numerous children, teachers, then finally himself."

Concerns raised

Prosper was raised in Luton and had attended St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, where he planned to carry out an attack three-quarters of a mile from his home.

Growing up, teachers thought he was a quiet, introverted boy, with a small group of friends who were interested in computers.

When he went to sixth form aged 16, staff noticed he had become more withdrawn.

The school raised concerns that he could be on the autism spectrum, but he refused to see a GP or accept any help.

DCI Khanna said "very little" was known of Prosper, and "there was certainly no Prevent referral".

Prevent is the UK's counter-terrorism programme designed to identify and stop young people being radicalised.

Both of Prosper's parents "had expressed concerns to the school", the detective said.

The school had shared those concerns, he said, "but because of his unwillingness to engage with mental health professionals, it didn't go any further".

A consultant forensic psychiatrist concluded the teenager shows "all the symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)" but that it was undiagnosed at the time of the killings. He said Prosper has "an extreme lack of empathy with others and an extreme lack of remorse".

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How did Prosper get a gun?

So how was an 18-year-old able to source a shotgun? The answer is by deception.

Prosper convinced a legitimate seller, who had only previously sold to registered firearms dealers, to deliver the weapon to him.

The teenager produced a convincing but fake shotgun certificate and paid the seller £650 in cash and an extra £30 petrol money to bring the gun and 100 shotgun cartridges to Luton the day before the killings.

Bedfordshire Police investigated and concluded the seller would not face criminal charges. He had been duped by Prosper.

DCI Khanna said Prosper "went to great lengths, looking at templates, looking at prototypes, getting police force logos, signatures, and having copies of genuine certificates, so he could produce what he thought would be good enough to enable him to obtain that shotgun - even down to the printing of the paper with watermarks".

Prosper spent a lot of time online alone in his bedroom posting troubling comments supporting sexual relationships between adults and children and expressing other extreme views.

He had also become obsessed with the Walking Dead video game, and particularly a character called Clementine who is a vulnerable young girl.

Detectives can't say if there is a direct link between his "avid use" of the game and the school shooting plan, but it is one aspect of a complex and unhealthy life he led online.

DCI Khanna said Prosper "certainly believed that he had some form of relationship with Clementine, albeit she's a video game character".

Police also found indecent images of children on Prosper's devices.

The investigator said his online research of school massacres was persistent and extremely detailed.

"There's a lot of talk about the dark web, but this was on the surface web and sites where... you can read manifestos of people that have done horrific acts. They shouldn't be available to be seen."

After his arrest, Prosper told a nurse at Bedford prison about his school massacre intentions. He had also written two detailed plans of what he intended to do at the primary school he used to attend.

"We didn't find any evidence that he had harboured any grudges towards that particular school... it was purely around his knowledge of it," DCI Khanna said.

After killing his family, he left home "with the right amount of cartridges to complete his plan, right down to the final detail", he added.

"Once in prison, he has openly talked about the fact that that was his plan - to go to the school and kill children and teachers before finally killing himself."

Prosper had chosen black and yellow clothes for the attack and as he made his way towards the school in Luton he was spotted by police officers on patrol.

They thought he was acting strangely and knew three members of the same family had been shot dead nearby.

"It's not murder," he repeatedly told the officers as they handcuffed him by the roadside.

Months later, he pleaded guilty shortly before he was due to stand trial.

Remembering the victims

The dilemma of whether to make his school shooting plan public has been difficult for police and prosecutors.

It is clearly deeply upsetting for the school community and they are mindful that Prosper craved attention and publicity, but it is also about challenging this kind of extreme behaviour online.

DCI Khanna's investigation team has examined this "deeply troubling" case with the victims at the forefront of their minds.

"The family has really told us what wonderful people they were," he said.

Juliana, he said, was "a doting mum who did a lot of work for charity and [was] a very keen runner".

He described Giselle as "so popular amongst friends, a bright girl with an infectious smile", while Kyle was a "funny young man, really into his sports and again very popular at school with his friends".

Now, DCI Khanna said, the focus should be on the victims - "and how much they'll be missed".

The move appeared to deepen a renewed Israeli offensive that shattered a ceasefire with Hamas that had begun in January.

As part of the ceasefire, Israel had withdrawn from the Netzarim corridor, which bisected northern Gaza from the south and had been used by Israeli forces as a military zone.

It came as an international United Nations worker from Bulgaria was killed and five others seriously wounded in a strike on a UN guesthouse in the Gaza Strip.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the UN Office for Project Services, declined to say who carried out the strike that killed the worker in the central city of Deir al Balah but said the explosive ordnance was "dropped or fired" and the blast was not accidental or related to demining activity.

The UN body, known as UNOPS, carries out infrastructure and development projects around the world.

Oren Marmorstein, spokesman for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Sky News that the country carried out an initial investigation which found there was "no connection" between the strike and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Speaking to Mark Austin on the News Hour, he said: "Of course, we express our sorrow when it comes to the death of a Bulgarian citizen, a UN worker.

"But no connection has been found. And even more so, we are now working in order to evacuate the body and the wounded will be treated in hospitals in Israel."

Mr Marmorstein did not say who Israel believes is responsible for the strike but said it may be connected to a "terrorist organisation".

The IDF, which has carried out a massive series of airstrikes throughout Gaza since early on Tuesday, had earlier denied reports that it had targeted the UN compound.

But Mr Moreira da Silva said strikes had hit near the compound on Monday and struck it directly on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, when the worker was killed.

He said the agency had contacted the IDF after the first strike and confirmed that it was aware of the facility's location.

The UN's secretary general Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply saddened" by the staff member's death and condemned attacks on UN personnel.

The war in Gaza has been among the deadliest conflicts ever for humanitarian workers, according to the UN.

At least 436 people, including 183 children and 94 women, have been killed since Israel launched the fresh wave of strikes, the Gaza health ministry said.

Mr Marmorstein insisted on Sky News that the figures are "anything but accurate".

The IDF claims it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in densely populated areas. Gaza's health ministry records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it had overnight attacked a Hamas military site from which the militant group planned to launch strikes into Israel.

The IDF targeted the site in northern Gaza as it was where "preparations were being made to fire projectiles at Israeli territory", the military said in a statement.

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The Israeli navy also struck several vessels in the coastal area of Gaza as they were intended to be used for "terrorist activities", the IDF claimed.

Israel issued fresh evacuation orders on Wednesday for different areas across the Gaza Strip and told people to move to known shelters in Khan Younis and western Gaza City.

The latest strikes come weeks after the end of the first phase of the ceasefire, during which Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages for prisoners and were set to negotiate an extension to the truce that was meant to bring about an eventual end to the war. But those negotiations never got off the ground.

Hamas has demanded that Israel stick to the terms of the initial ceasefire deal, including a full withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.

Israel, which has vowed to defeat Hamas, has put forward a new proposal that would extend the truce and free more hostages held by Hamas, without a commitment to end the war.

During the ceasefire period, 33 hostages were released, along with nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners.

There are 59 hostages still in captivity, of whom Israel believes 35 are dead.

More than one million people risked being left without food parcels in March if aid was not allowed into Gaza, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported the Food Security Sector as saying.

The war, sparked by Hamas' 7 October 2023 killing of 1,200 people and capture of 250 more in southern Israel, has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in the Strip, Gazan health officials say.

The soldiers we're with face far worse. Knifings and bombings feature regularly from the ISIS families detained in sprawling detention camps in northeast Syria.

The Kurdish troops have guarded these camps packed with ISIS wives and relatives for more than six years.

But since the toppling of the Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad, attacks in and around the camps have more than doubled.

Kane Ahmed, the commander of Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF) troops for al Hol camp, told us: "The threat of ISIS has increased both inside and outside the camp... especially after the fall of the Syrian regime, it's gone up a lot and we see attempts by them to escape on almost a daily basis."

He shows us the perimeter fence which has been reinforced several times in places. "It's not secure enough," he says.

The troops watch these camps through three round-the-clock CCTV rooms and often mount raids after receiving intelligence about IS operations.

"We know they are receiving help from outside IS cells who smuggle weapons inside and help smuggle people out," the commander says.

Delivery trucks have been used to smuggle detainees out in hollowed out seats. Waterways have been turned into routes to sneak the children out.

"They are recruited by ISIS as the next cubs of the caliphate," the commander warns.

The camp managers have long warned about the lack of rehabilitation facilities and psychological help for these children to de-radicalise the young.

More than 60% of those at al Hol are children - 22,000 of them. Many have been born here and know nothing beyond their caged existence.

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They distrust outsiders and throw stones at the troops and us from afar, as well as try to kick our cameras.

We're given armed soldiers who escort us round the camp, and we're told to don protective vests and helmets.

"You will be attacked," the camp management tell us. Raids on the tents frequently turn up homemade bombs, guns, grenades and knives.

The troops wave their guns at the hordes of children who immediately gather round us as they taunt their guards.

"We will behead you," they say. "One day we will be in charge. ISIS is coming back."

One burqa-clad woman at the camp tells us: "We love the Islamic State. We were free with them. Here we are captives."

The dramatic agreement between the Kurdish-led SDF and Syria's interim president is being viewed as a breakthrough for relations between the Kurdish minority in the northeast and the new Islamist authorities.

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But the questions over what happens to the ISIS prisoners and their families remains. ISIS is exploiting the power vacuum to regroup and grow.

The SDF commander warns: "We need help to control ISIS from the international coalition. We cannot do this on our own."

Alex Crawford reports from northeast Syria with cameraman Jake Britton, senior specialist producer Chris Cunningham and producers Fahad Fattah and Fazel Hawramy.

As well as the men's race, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will also take place across England, Scotland and Wales.

This is the first time both Grand Departs will take place in the same country outside of France, with organisers expecting millions of fans to line the streets to watch.

The men's competition will begin in Edinburgh, with further route details expected this autumn.

This is the first time part of the women's race will take place in the UK, however the men's competition has graced British shores twice - first in 2007 and again in 2014 when crowds of supporters cheered from the roadsides of Yorkshire and London for three stages.

Christian Prudhomme, general director of the Tour de France, said: "The Tour de France and the UK share a rich history, and I am delighted to bring the Grand Depart to the country in 2027.

"Britain has always welcomed the tour with enthusiasm and pride, and this collaboration across England, Scotland, and Wales promises to make the event even more special."

Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar is the current men's title holder, while Polish athlete Kasia Niewiadoma is the women's.

Past UK winners have included Sir Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas, and four-time Tour de France champ Chris Froome.

Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain have won the most tours with five each. Indurain is the only man to win five consecutive tours.

The return of the Tour de France to the UK is the result of a collaborative effort from key partners - including British Cycling, UK Sport, the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments, and event stakeholders.

Simon Morton, director of events at UK Sport, said: "This will be the biggest free spectator event ever hosted in the UK, offering the public front-row access to world-class sport across villages, towns and cities."

A landmark social impact programme will be delivered as part of the build-up to the races. Organisers hope it will tackle inactivity, improve mental wellbeing, boost economic growth and support communities to thrive.

Jon Dutton, chief executive of British Cycling, said: "This is not just about the race - it's about creating a national moment that encourages healthier lifestyles, supports cycle tourism, and brings communities together."

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney described it as a "tremendous honour", while Wales' First Minister Eluned Morgan said the events would help showcase the country as a "top international destination for cyclists".

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy added the opportunity will "cement Britain's reputation as a destination for major international sporting events".

She said: "This will stimulate growth, attract new visitors and leave a lasting legacy for athletes and fans alike.

"Staging the Tour de France Femmes in Britain for the first time will also be a historic occasion and inspire the next generation of female cyclists while supporting our mission of breaking down barriers for women and girls to get more involved in sport."