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UK facing most 'most changeable week' of weather since June as heatwave gives way to rain
The UK will face the "most changeable week" of weather since June, as temperatures fall following weeks of hot and dry conditions.

The Met Office said rain, and possibly thunderstorms, would come to much of Britain after the latest heatwave caused temperatures to soar as high as 38C last week.

The change comes as a jet stream of air in the country's north that allowed high pressure to dominate, resulting in last week's excessively hot conditions, travels south, the forecaster said.

This shift will cause low pressure to dominate and drift southwards, resulting in an unsettled outlook in the middle of the week and temperatures to fall as the wind switches to a northerly direction.

The temperature will slip into single digits in some locations, including in the Brecon Beacons in Wales, where lows of 6C are forecasted for the early hours of Saturday, and South Newington in the Cotswolds, where a low of 8C is predicted.

Check the weather where you are

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: "I can't promise rain for all of us through the week ahead, but in the south at least, it's looking like the most changeable week we've seen here - well at least since the end of June."

Mr Morgan said Britons will see some "quite menacing skies" with "dark clouds one moment and some sunshine the next".

Rain is expected in Northern Ireland and western Scotland on Monday, with some more showers in England's South East early in the day.

Some parts of the country, especially in the South West, will see temperatures well into the 20s, including predicted highs of 28C and 26C in London and Southampton respectively.

UK wildfires - follow latest

More rain is forecasted for Tuesday, with the UK's north and central regions warned to expect a wet start to the day, with the showers moving "erratically" southwards throughout the day.

Wednesday will be dry in the south of the UK, but there will be a mix of sunshine and rain in the rest of the country.

Showers will become more widespread and heavier from Thursday, with a chance of thunderstorms.

The UK faced heatwave conditions last week, with the temperature hitting 38.1C in Kew Gardens, west London, last Thursday - making it the hottest day of the year so far.

Wildfires have ravaged parts of the UK, including the West Midlands, where a blaze in Stourbridge destroyed 19 homes.

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West Midlands Fire Service said they had been able to lift cordons as households who had been evacuated started returning to their homes over the weekend.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service also responded to "significant wildfire activity" on Sunday, with crews attending 14 blazes.

About 200 military personnel and crews from London, Greater Manchester, Cumbria, and Bedfordshire were deployed to the region to assist firefighting efforts.

Millions of people in England and Wales received an alert on their mobile devices warning them of a "very high risk of wildfires nationally" on Friday.

The alert came after Prime Minister Andy Burnham described Britain as a "tinderbox" and put in place a temporary ban on disposable barbecues.

Fire services across the country have reported high levels of demand, including South Wales Fire and Rescue Service which said on Saturday it had received 736 calls compared with an average of about 300.


Hayden Panettiere: US actress who starred in Heroes and Nashville dies aged 36
US actress Hayden Panettiere - best known for her roles in the TV series Heroes and Nashville - has died aged 36.

"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," her father Skip said in a statement to Sky's US partner NBC News.

"She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her - and to the millions who watched her onscreen."

Her father went on to ask for privacy "as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss".

Police in Greenville, South Carolina, said in a statement that an acquaintance of Panettiere's placed a 911 call and emergency services responded but were unable to save her.

"The case is under investigation by the Greenville Police Department in conjunction with the Greenville County Coroner's Office. The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An acquaintance of Ms. Panettiere placed the 911 call," it said.

The statement added that no further details were available for release at this time.

Her publicist, Kasey Kitchen, said Panettiere's death was being investigated, according to NBC News.

"There's an investigation ongoing," Kitchen said in a statement. "We should know more tomorrow."

Panettiere also starred in the Scream franchise of horror movies.

Earlier this year, Panettiere released her memoirs This Is Me: A Reckoning, in which she opened up about her experiences with postpartum depression, addiction, and recovery.

This led to her decision to give up custody of her only child Kaya in 2018, whom she shares with her former partner Wladimir Klitschko, the Ukrainian professional boxer.

In an interview with podcaster Jay Shetty after the release of her memoir, Panettiere spoke about the custody arrangement for her 11-year-old daughter, who lives full-time with Klitschko in Ukraine.

"I think there's been this very common misconception that I just gave up my child," she said.

"That could not be farther from the truth."

Panettiere described herself as being in a "horrible cycle for years of battling depression and anxiety and alcoholism and substance abuse" while "just trying to find my way back, my way out of the darkness".

Panettiere first appeared in commercials when she was just 11 months old - and went on to become a child actor with roles in soap operas including One Life To Live and Guiding Light.

Her feature film debut came when she was nine years old, as the voice of Princess Dot in A Bug's Life.

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Panettiere, who would have turned 37 on Friday, was propelled to fame in 2006 through her role as a cheerleader with superpowers in Heroes.

When she later recalled the first time she was tracked by paparazzi after the show's release, Panettiere said the moment was "just sheer terror".

On the show's appeal, she said: "I think Heroes is really hot because it's just a really great combination of everything that people love - they love reality, they love sci-fi and things like X-Men where they get to dream of something bigger.

"And at the core of it are these human stories that people can relate to, very rugged. And it's just grabbed everyone in every age group."

She went on to win three Teen Choice Awards for the role.

Panettiere later played a brash country music upstart in Nashville, which ran for four seasons on US broadcaster ABC, before being cancelled and revived on CMT.

It was while filming Nashville that she first entered rehab in 2015.

The actor did her own singing in the show, which earned her some hits on the country music charts and two supporting actress nominations at the Golden Globes.

In 2024, she described pain and grief after her younger brother died unexpectedly of an undiagnosed heart condition the previous year.

"When you lose somebody that you saw in all the important moments in your life, standing right next to you, it just rocks your world," she told NBC's Today show.


Oil and gas industry urges PM to approve controversial North Sea developments
The oil and gas industry has urged Andy Burnham to approve two controversial North Sea developments as a public consultation on the UK's largest undeveloped oil field closes.

The Rosebank oil field, 80 miles northwest of Shetland, and the Jackdaw gas field, east of Aberdeen, are awaiting a formal decision from the government after a previous approval by a Conservative administration in 2023 was quashed by the Scottish courts.

The projects have become a lightning rod for debate about the UK's energy security, the pace of the energy transition and the government's commitment to climate targets.

Supporters of the projects say that domestic production of oil and gas is economically and environmentally preferable to importing fossil fuels the UK will continue to consume even as it transitions to renewable power.

Opponents argue that any new fossil fuel extraction will put the UK in breach of its net zero commitments and do little to reduce customer bills.

With consultations on both Rosebank and Jackdaw now concluded, developers Adura, a joint venture between Shell and Norwegian national energy company Equinor, said the projects will deliver economic benefits to the UK.

"Rosebank and Jackdaw are nationally significant projects," said chief executive Neil McCulloch. "Together, they can provide more domestically produced energy, support high-quality jobs and apprenticeships, generate substantial economic activity and tax revenues, and give the UK's world-class energy supply chain confidence for the future."

The Scottish Conservatives said the decision would be the difference between "life and death" for North Sea industry, while Offshore Energies UK, which represents wind power generators as well as the oil and gas industry, called on the Government to be "honest" about the UK's energy demands.

"The reality is that oil and gas still provide around 75% of the UK's energy, keeping our cars moving, planes flying, homes warm and industries running," said chief executive David Whitehouse.

"If we do not produce this oil and gas here with lower emissions under one of the most tightly regulated regimes in the world, we do not end demand.

"It just means more imported oil and gas - often with a higher carbon footprint, while more jobs, taxes and industrial value are shifted overseas. The government must be honest about this."

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Environmental groups Greenpeace and Uplift have rallied in opposition to the developments, leading the court challenge that saw the courts rule the original approval of Rosebank and Jackdaw unlawful.

Both projects have had to be resubmitted to regulators, accounting not just for carbon emissions produced in construction, but by the fossil fuels extracted.

Robert Palmer, deputy director at Uplift, said: "The case for Rosebank has completely collapsed. The science shows that the world already has far more oil and gas than can be burned safely if we want to maintain a liveable climate, the economics show it won't lower bills or make Britain more energy secure, and the summer's record heatwaves and devastating wildfires have made the consequences of fossil fuel dependence impossible to ignore.

"Enough is enough. Burnham needs to look out of the window and acknowledge that this project will make the climate crisis worse and do nothing but rip off Britain."


Double murderer Simon Levy denies attack on prison officer
Double murderer Simon Levy has denied stabbing a Belmarsh prison officer with a pen before trying to strangle him.

The 41-year-old was handed a rare whole-life sentence last week for killing grandmother Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, in March last year and mother-of-four Sheryl Wilkins, 39, five months later in August 2025.

He was also sentenced for the rape of a third victim, who was left for dead near his home in Tottenham, north London, in January last year.

Levy attacked all three women, who were vulnerable sex workers, while he was on bail.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court by video-link from Belmarsh prison, wearing sunglasses and a grey T-shirt.

He spoke to confirm his name and date of birth before entering not guilty pleas to charges of assault by actual bodily harm and intentional strangulation of a prison officer, named as Paul Dunne in charges.

The court heard, in a meeting on 18 February this year, Levy allegedly stabbed the officer multiple times in the arm and neck with a pen, while he was being held on remand at the maximum-security prison in south-east London awaiting trial.

Prosecutor David Burns said Levy is accused of then forcing the officer to the floor before putting his hands around his throat as Mr Dunne felt his grip tighten.

Jason Lartey, defending, said Levy accepts being there but denies assaulting the officer, who he will claim restrained him.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram sent the case to Inner London Crown Court, where Levy will next appear on 14 September.


Woman who tried to murder toddler by giving her adult medication and posted TikToks during trial jailed
A woman who tried to murder a toddler by repeatedly giving her adult medication has been sentenced to an order for lifelong restriction with a minimum of six years in jail.

Laura Docherty's actions were branded "utterly reckless and breathtakingly wicked" by a judge, with the offender additionally described as "dishonest, manipulative and cunning".

A court heard how Docherty, 35, gave the girl antidepressant and painkilling drugs, resulting in her needing to be resuscitated and placed on a ventilator.

Judge Michael O'Grady KC previously said the offender was willing to throw the child's life away "for nothing more than the drama of the moment, and the attention you seem to seek at every turn".

The judge said during one occasion, Docherty came within a hair's breadth of killing the girl and while a paramedic used "all his skills to pull her back from the very point of death", the defendant was filming the "frantic" ambulance journey.

Docherty posted a string of carefree TikTok videos while standing trial for the attempted murder - with one captioned "#makemefamous", and another featuring the eye-roll emoji alongside the words "court again".

In a later clip, she is seen lip syncing along to Dirty Dancing's (I've Had) The Time of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.

And in another, captioned "#court #screwedup", she lip syncs to a dance remix of Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me in what appears to be a hall within the High Court in Edinburgh.

She also appears to have filmed a clip in one of the building's toilets, lip syncing and dancing along to a remix of TI and Rihanna's Live Your Life.

Docherty, formerly of Glenrothes in Fife, denied any wrongdoing, but was convicted of the murder bid in December following a trial at the High Court.

The defendant - who was previously said to have shown "no empathy" for the child and instead considered "herself to be the victim" - was sentenced at the same court on Monday.

Judge O'Grady told Docherty: "You are not the victim here."

He also noted that she continues to deny any wrongdoing, stating: "You deny your guilt. You accept no responsibility. You show no remorse or insight. You blame others for the situation you find yourself in."

The judge imposed an order for lifelong restriction (OLR) - a sentence usually reserved for the most serious court cases in Scotland that do not involve murder.

Docherty will have to serve a minimum of six years in jail, and if she is ever released back into the community, she will remain under a lifelong risk management plan.

She was additionally handed a non-harassment order, banning her from contacting the victim.

The judge branded Docherty's behaviour "wickedly reckless" and "staggeringly cruel".

He said: "The word 'wicked' is an old-fashioned word, but there are times when no other word will suffice."

The judge once again highlighted her "insatiable desire for attention and validation", adding: "It is absolutely plain that this was done for attention and drama."

Docherty carried out her crime against the toddler between April 2021 and February 2023 at an address in Edinburgh, at a ward at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, and elsewhere.

She assaulted and attempted to murder the girl by repeatedly administering drugs which were medications not prescribed for her.

As a result, the victim suffered seizures and episodes of reduced consciousness.

She had to be resuscitated, admitted to hospital, put on a ventilator, and was subjected to medical investigations and procedures.

An earlier psychiatric assessment reported that Docherty suffers from an "emotionally unstable personality disorder".

Judge O'Grady previously acknowledged Docherty's "troubled and unhappy life", but stated: "Whatever your own trials and tribulations, whatever the turmoil in your own life, what you did to her was utterly wicked."

He added: "It is impossible to forget the sight of a young child, who should have been in the flower of her childhood, prone in the back of an ambulance, desperately struggling to breathe, desperately struggling to hang on by a thread to life."


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