A girl and two boys, who are aged 15 and 16, and cannot be named for legal reasons, had been on trial for the murder of Alexander Cashford in Leysdown-on-Sea, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, on 10 August last year.

The girl and the 15-year-old boy had denied manslaughter but were found guilty by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court, while a 16-year-old boy previously pleaded guilty to the same offence.

All three were acquitted of murder.

The court heard how the teenagers thought Mr Cashford, 49, was a paedophile and lured him to a beach before hitting him with rocks and a bottle. He was found lying face down in the mud.

Jurors were told the victim had given the girl his number on 8 August after meeting her at an amusement arcade and had handed her a business card, which included a name that was not his.

The three exchanged messages with Mr Cashford, who claimed to be 30. He asked the girl, who used the alias Sienna, if she liked champagne and added that he wanted to kiss her, the court heard.

After arranging to meet by the sea wall, the older male defendant said he attacked the victim because he felt police "wouldn't have done anything" if they reported him for trying to meet up with the girl.

The girl shouted "f****** paedophile, I'm f****** 16, get him" as she filmed the boys chasing Mr Cashford.

Mobile phone footage showed the boy striking him on the head with a bottle.

He accepted he wanted to use it to hurt the victim, but said he did not believe it would cause "serious injury".

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber from Kent Police said Mr Cashford was "lured to a secluded location" and there was some "almost predatory behaviour" from the two males who followed the victim.

"What we found almost quite macabre is they were keen to post that [attack] on social media only a few minutes after his death," he added.

Natalie Smith, senior crown prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service, said it was a "carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent attack" on Mr Cashford "who could not defend himself".

"He was first hit from behind with a bottle and despite his best attempts to flee, he was relentlessly pursued and attacked, even when witnesses reported he was lying on the ground."

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A post-mortem showed Mr Cashford had injuries to his face and head, bruises on his limbs and body, and a number of fractured ribs that had punctured his lung.

The three defendants will be sentenced at a later date, expected to be in April.

"These verdicts will change their lives forever," the judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, said of the defendants.

A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place in Scotland from 3pm on Monday until 10am on Tuesday.

A separate yellow warning for ice has been issued for huge swathes of England and Scotland from 6pm on Monday until 10am on Tuesday, covering cities such as Aberdeen, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham and Norwich.

Northern Ireland also has a yellow warning for ice in place from 8pm on Monday until 10am on Tuesday.

The Met Office said: "Areas of rain, sleet, and hill snow will move southeastwards through Monday evening and night before clearing to the North Sea.

"Whilst some patchy accumulations of snow will be possible, more especially on ground above 150-200m elevation, ice will be a greater hazard as temperatures fall fairly quickly once showers clear away.

"In addition, a period of strong northwesterly winds are also likely along some North Sea coasts later in the night and into Tuesday morning."

It warned of the risk of "injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces" as well as "probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths".

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency urged the public to stay vigilant amid the continuing risk of floods.

There are 71 flood warnings - where flooding is expected - already in place across England. The Environment Agency has also issued a further 195 flood alerts, where flooding is described as possible.

Jonathan Day, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said more than 24,000 homes and businesses have been protected, but around 330 have been flooded.

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Met Office operational meteorologist Dan Stroud said there is the possibility of some black ice and slippery surfaces, adding people should take extra care.

He said: "Monday really is a day of sunny spells and blustery showers.

"Overnight Monday into Tuesday we will see a frosty start. It's going to be a largely dry day, some decent amounts of winter sunshine.

"But it does start to go downhill later in the day, from the south and the west we've got a broad area of cloud and rain pushing in south-west England and South Wales late on Tuesday, during the course of Wednesday this will bring a mix of rain, sleet and hill snow."

Mr Stroud added: "We do need to keep an eye on this system, there's the potential for snow warnings to be issued.

"Thursday into Friday will be largely dry with some clear skies, turning milder towards the end of the week."

Warning: This story contains descriptions some readers may find distressing, including references to suicide.

Kerri-Anne Donaldson, who reached the semi-final of the ITV show in 2014 as part of the dance group Kings and Queens, was discovered at her home in Farnborough, Hampshire, on 7 June 2023.

Her sister, Cara, described how the night before she was found dead, Ms Donaldson, 38, had said she had made the decision to take her own life.

Two days before that, on 4 June, Ms Donaldson was arrested and questioned at a police station about a "sexual" offence, which she denied, an inquest held at Winchester heard.

After being released, she did not return home, leading her family to report her as a missing person before she was found at a Travelodge hotel in Woking, Surrey.

Cara told the hearing that when she arrived there, Ms Donaldson was being taken to hospital in an ambulance having taken an overdose.

She said her sister had told an emergency doctor at St Peter's Hospital in north Surrey that she had wanted to kill herself and added: "I just wanted to hug her."

Cara said they had not been given any care plan or advice on how to assist her sister when they left the hospital.

Cara said she spent the evening with her sister and was reluctant to leave her alone, telling her: "If you do anything, Kerri, that will always be on my shoulders."

She added: "She joked 'I am not going to do that', so I left. One of the last messages was 'Thanks for everything today' and she gave a heart emoji, I just thought she was OK."

But when her sister did not answer her phone the next morning, Cara said she went to her home and found a note at the top of the stairs which said: "Call 999, do not come in. I am sorry."

Cara said she had asked her sister about the allegation and her sister had told her that she was not guilty and that it had "all been constructed".

Describing her sister, she said: "Heart of gold, full of fun, brought happiness to life, especially mine, career-driven, adored her family, adored her friends, fantastic dance teacher, everyone loved her."

The inquest was told of evidence from a post-mortem examination that indicated Ms Donaldson had taken her own life.

The hearing continues.

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

The search for the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, a national TV host and household name, has entered its third week.

What began as a local missing person case has become a ritual watch-and-wait for millions of Americans.

Viewers scroll, refresh and share every update - Nancy's warm eyes and gentle smile now achingly familiar.

Her family reported her missing when she failed to appear at church on Sunday 1 February.

Her car, phone and purse were still at her home, and police found spats of blood there.

She doesn't have the mobility she once did, has a pacemaker and takes daily medication for high blood pressure.

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Her daughter, Savannah, anchor of the Today show, pulled out of covering the Winter Olympics and made a heartfelt plea.

Seated between her brother and sister, she said they were aware of reports of ransom notes and urged anyone holding their mother to reach out.

Just as the trail appeared to be going cold, the FBI retrieved footage from a dismantled door-cam at Nancy's home.

The pictures were shocking - a masked individual wearing gloves, a ski mask and carrying a backpack is seen near the front door.

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The FBI described the figure as a man roughly 5'9" to 5'10" tall, of average build, with a distinct lockable backpack.

Sheriff Chris Nanos of Pima County, Arizona, later revealed that the clothing and backpack seen in the chilling video were purchased at Walmart.

On Sunday, investigators said a glove, found in a field near the side of the road two miles from the home, had been sent off for DNA testing.

Donald Trump, who has spoken to Savannah Guthrie by phone, commended the "expertise and knowledge" of those working on this case.

"Hopefully, there will be a positive result!" he posted on Truth Social.

But it is Savannah Guthrie, whose professional life has been spent delivering news to others, who has become the face of this personal nightmare.

Her public appeals to anyone who might know something to "do the right thing" have gripped the nation.

People are watching, not because they are obligated to, but because this story touches something universal: the ache of not knowing.

From welfare cuts to a climbdown on inheritance tax for farmers, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves appear to have gone back on several manifesto pledges and promises made before they were elected.

Sky News is looking at some of the biggest U-turns Labour has made since coming into power.

Grooming gangs

A central government-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in Oldham, requested by the council, was originally declined.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk launched a series of online attacks on Sir Keir and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips over that decision - going as far as calling Ms Phillips a "witch" who should go to prison.

Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch joined in, calling for a national probe.

The prime minister resisted calls for an inquiry for months.

But in June 2025, Sir Keir announced he would follow the recommendation of Baroness Casey to hold another inquiry into grooming gangs.

How the government measures debt

In her budget in 2024, Ms Reeves changed the fiscal rules on how the government measures debt, allowing up to £50bn of extra borrowing.

This was welcomed by many, but it wasn't in Labour's election manifesto. Back then, Ms Reeves talked more about her iron discipline with the fiscal rules.

"But I can confirm today that we will be measuring debt differently," she said in October 2024, ahead of the budget.

Trans rights

After the Supreme Court's ruling on the legal definition of a woman in April 2025, Sir Keir seemed to change his previous stance on trans rights.

While in opposition, he said "a woman is a female adult, and in addition to that, trans women are women, and that is not just my view, that is actually the law".

After the ruling, he simply said "a woman is a female adult, and the court has made that absolutely clear".

Two-child benefit cap

The cap, which was hugely unpopular among most Labour MPs, was first introduced by the Conservative government in 2017.

The limit prevented parents from claiming universal credit or tax credits for more than their first two children.

Ms Reeves announced that the two-child cap would be scrapped from April, a move the OBR estimates will cost £3bn by 2029-30.

The government says the move will lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of the Parliament, while Ms Badenoch branded Ms Reeves's autumn choices "a budget for Benefits Street, paid for by working people".

State pension age - Waspi Women compensation

In December 2024, the government said it would not be compensating millions of women who lost out through the changes to the state pension age.

This is despite Sir Keir and Ms Reeves supporting the campaign for the Women Against State Pension Inequality - often known as Waspi women - when they were in opposition.

The prime minister defended the decision, saying: "I do understand, of course, the concern of the Waspi women, but also of course I have to take into account whether it's right at the moment to impose further burden on the taxpayer, which is what it would be."

Sir Keir also said the demands of the Waspi women were not affordable.

It came after Liz Kendall, then work and pensions secretary, issued an apology for a 28-month delay in sending out letters to those born in the 1950s impacted by state pension changes.

But she said she doesn't accept that compensation should be paid, adding that the "great majority of women knew the state pension age was increasing" and that a state-funded payout wouldn't be "fair or value for taxpayers' money".

In November 2025, the possibility of U-turning this original U-turn was raised when it was announced that the decision to reject compensation would, in fact, be reconsidered by the government.

Winter fuel payment cuts

Dropping the benefit for all pensioners was one of the first things Labour did in government, despite it not being in their manifesto and on top of Labour, when in opposition, attacking the Tories when reports emerged that they were considering such a move.

The change meant only those on pension credit or other benefits were eligible - a deeply unpopular move that was widely blamed on the party's poor performance in last year's local elections.

But Sir Keir announced a U-turn on the unpopular cut to the benefit last May, with Ms Reeves later clarifying that winter fuel payments would extend to everyone over the state pension age with an income of £35,000 a year or below.

The Treasury said that by setting the threshold at this income, more than three-quarters of pensioners - around nine million people - will benefit.

The universal system meant some 11.4 million pensioners were in receipt of the benefit, which was slashed down to 1.5 million when the initial means test was introduced.

The new threshold is above the income level of pensioners in poverty and broadly in line with average earnings, the Treasury said.

Benefit cuts

Last June, Sir Keir faced a significant rebellion over plans to cut sickness and disability benefits as part of a package he said would shave £5bn off the welfare bill and get more people into work.

He stood by his position that the welfare system needs reform as "it doesn't work, and it traps people", but made several concessions to appease Labour MPs.

The concessions included exempting existing Personal Independence Payment claimants (PIP) from the stricter new criteria, while the universal credit health top-up would only be cut and frozen for new applications.

The changes came after 127 Labour MPs signed an amendment calling for the cuts to be delayed and consulted on with disabled people.

Rebels feared the reforms wouldn't actually help people find work, while potentially pushing thousands of disabled people and children into poverty, all to hit an arbitrary figure chosen by the chancellor.

National insurance

Labour's election manifesto promised not to increase national insurance.

"Labour will not increase taxes on working people, which is why we will not increase national insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of income tax, or VAT," it read.

But in the budget in 2024, Ms Reeves increased the amount businesses had to pay on their employees' national insurance contributions from 13.8% to 15%, effective from April 2025.

She also lowered the former £9,100 threshold at which employers start paying national insurance on employees' earnings to £5,000, in what she called a "difficult choice" to make.

Ms Reeves later rejected that this was a U-turn on a manifesto promise, telling Sky News political editor Beth Rigby that the term "working people" in the manifesto referred to employees, not employers.

Income tax thresholds

In her latest budget, Ms Reeves extended the freeze on income tax thresholds - introduced by the Conservatives in 2021 and due to expire in 2028 - by three years.

But the chancellor previously said she would not freeze thresholds as it would "hurt working people" - prompting accusations she has broken the trust of voters.

The move - described by critics as a "stealth tax" - is estimated to raise £8bn for the exchequer in 2029-2030 by dragging some 1.7 million people into a higher tax band as their pay goes up.

Sir Keir insisted at the time that there's been no manifesto breach, but acknowledged people were being asked to "contribute" to protect public services.

He said it was "not true" that his government had misled the public after promising not to raise taxes again after 2024's budget. Sir Keir also refused to say he had broken his manifesto promise not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT "on working people".

"We kept to our manifesto in terms of what we've promised," he said.

Workers' rights

One of the cornerstones of Labour's 2024 election manifesto was the Employment Rights Bill, as part of which it promised to introduce protection from unfair dismissal "from day one".

In November, Peter Kyle announced that the qualifying period for unfair dismissal would now be six months.

While this is down from the previous qualifying period of two years, it is far from the one day Labour had promised.

Mr Kyle said the day one pledge faced opposition from businesses as he defended the change, insisting "compromise is strength".

Another minister, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, told Sky News at the time: "Sometimes you do have to adopt some pragmatism if you want to make sure that you get the wider package through."

She said there was a risk that no progress would be made on the bill if there was no compromise and said the decision was made following discussions between businesses, the TUC union and the government.

Inheritance tax on farmers

In a U-turn before Christmas, the government announced a huge climbdown on inheritance tax on farmers.

The tax relief on family farms handed down between families is to increase from £1m to £2.5m, meaning only farms worth more than £5m will pay.

The climbdown, overturning bitterly unpopular proposals in Ms Reeves's 2024 budget, follows a personal intervention by Sir Keir.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw said the government backed down after he had two "very constructive meetings" with the prime minister.

Responding to the climbdown, Mr Bradshaw - who led a high-profile campaign which included tractors blocking Whitehall - said it would come as a huge relief.

Business rates for pubs

Sky News understands that the Treasury is preparing a rescue package to provide new financial support for pubs, which is due to be announced in the coming days.

The anticipated climbdown includes a change to the methodology of the business rates calculation, plus "regulatory measures", it is understood.

This comes following an outcry over the impact of a major hike in business rates included in last year's budget.

Ms Reeves announced a shake-up to how business rates are calculated, with a new band for retail, hospitality and leisure - bringing an end to the relief scheme first introduced in 2020 during the pandemic.

The sector argued that the new business rates, while lower than before COVID, do not go far enough.

They said because the tax is based on rateable property values (an official estimate of a commercial property's annual rental value), they are disproportionately affected because they have physical stores, restaurants and pubs - unlike online giants.

Digital ID cards

At the time it was announced last year, the government said that digital IDs would become mandatory for the right to work by the end of this parliament, which is 2029.

But Sky News understands this will no longer be the case, as the government makes another U-turn.

A government spokesperson said: "We are committed to mandatory digital right to work checks. We have always been clear that details on the digital ID scheme will be set out following a full public consultation, which will launch shortly.

"Digital ID will make everyday life easier for people, ensuring public services are more personal, joined-up, and effective, while also remaining inclusive."

According to The Times, while right-to-work checks will still be mandatory, other forms of documentation, such as an electronic visa or a passport, will be valid.

Mandelson files

In early February, angry Labour backbenchers forced the government to release documents related to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US, after the police launched a criminal investigation into claims he passed sensitive information to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The prime minister had earlier promised to release material relevant to the former Labour peer's nomination to the top diplomatic post, but initially said there would be exemptions on national security and international relations grounds.

However, Sir Keir later agreed to refer the documents to the parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee after his own MPs threatened to rebel in a House of Commons vote on the plans.

The committee was given permission to see all the documents relating to Lord Mandelson's appointment.

Local council election delays

Labour announced last year it was planning to cancel elections in 30 areas - affecting more than 4.5 million people - to overhaul English council structures.

But in February, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said it was no longer going ahead with the plan due to "new legal advice".

Reform UK had launched a legal challenge against the government, and the legal advice was in relation to that case.

An MHCLG spokesman said: "Following legal advice, the government has withdrawn its original decision to postpone 30 local elections in May."

The department has written to all 30 councils to confirm elections will go ahead in May.