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Philip Young appears in Swindon court charged with 56 sexual offences against ex-wife - as five others also charged
A man has appeared in court charged with drugging and raping his ex-wife over a 13-year period.

Philip Young, 49, formerly of Swindon, has been charged with 56 offences, including multiple counts of rape, against Joanne Young.

He is also charged with administering a substance to allow sexual activity, as well as voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme images.

Young appeared at Swindon Magistrates' Court this morning and spoke only to confirm his name and address.

He declined to enter a plea and was remanded in custody until the next hearing at Swindon Crown Court on 23 January.

The alleged offences took place between 2010 and 2023.

Five other men have also been charged with sexual offences against Ms Young. The 48-year-old has waived her legal right to anonymity.

The other men are on bail but are due in the same court at 2pm.

They are: Norman Macksoni, 47, of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire. He is a black British national and has been charged with one count of rape and possession of extreme images.

Dean Hamilton, 47, of no fixed abode. He is a white British national and has been charged with one count of rape and sexual assault by penetration and two counts of sexual touching.

Conner Sanderson Doyle, 31, of Swindon. He is a white British national and has been charged with sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching

Richard Wilkins, 61, of Swindon. He is a white British national and has been charged with one count of rape and sexual touching

Mohammed Hassan, 37, of Swindon. He is a British Asian and has been charged with sexual touching.


'No one is here to help us': Palestinians watch as Israeli diggers tear down homes in East Jerusalem
A balcony of onlookers stare as three diggers gnaw at the four-storey building that was a fixture of their daily view.

The roads of Silwan's Wadi Qaddom neighbourhood are blocked off by Israeli police as residents watch the demolition in the valley from every vantage point. The block of flats was home to around 100 of their neighbours - many of them are now homeless.

An elderly woman sits at the bus stop near the police checkpoint closest to the demolition site. As she walks back down the hill, she looks back at the destruction. Her cheeks are red with anger when she hails that God is their only protection.

"Where are the Arab countries? No one is here to help us," she exclaims.

Of the 230 buildings demolished in East Jerusalem's Palestinian neighbourhoods in 2025, the block of roughly 13 flats is considered to be the largest and took 12 hours to completely demolish.

The building was without a permit, like many in Silwan, and stood on land that was not licensed for residential use. The residents were challenging long-standing demolition orders and applying for licensing when diggers arrived at dawn.

The Jerusalem Municipality said the demolition of the building in Silwan was based on a 2014 court order, and that residents were granted extensions for the execution of the order and were offered various options in order to find a solution, but they declined to do so.

But an architect and urban planner from the Israeli NGO Bimkom (Planners for Planning Rights) - which is supporting the families in their bid to license the land of the building - says their time to act was cut short.

"They were told that the demolition order would be implemented, and then they would get another six months' recourse to try to continue with their planning. Six months is not enough for these planning processes. They take a long time," Sari Kornish tells us in front of the Jerusalem Municipality after meeting with the building residents' lawyer there.

Are permits granted for Palestinians in East Jerusalem?

"Very, very few, and in recent years, since October 7, less and less," says Sari.

"It has always been discrimination. It has always been not enough."

Far-right minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir posted on X about the building's demolition.

He said: "Proud to lead the policy of demolishing illegal buildings - not only in the Negev, this morning in East Jerusalem (Silwan neighbourhood) a building that was built illegally and 100 people lived in it - was demolished! Strengthens the police and the district commander."

Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank is illegal under international law.

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Is Israel building a wall on Lebanese land?
Mother of last hostage in Gaza speaks to Sky News

On Sunday, Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the security cabinet approved 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Half a million Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank, and over 230,000 live in East Jerusalem, where some are taking over homes instead of seizing land.

At least 500 Palestinians have lost their homes to lack-of-permit demolitions in East Jerusalem, and at least 1,000 people, including 460 children, are at risk of forced displacement from eviction cases filed against them in Israeli courts by settler organisations.

In the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Batn al Hawa in Silwan, Zuhair al Rajabbi looks out from his balcony at the homes of his neighbours.

The landscape is marked by demolition sites, and former homes of his neighbours are marked by Israeli flags. Settlers are busy renovating the rooftops to make their own.

"They have five children, and a grandmother was in one room. Downstairs, there was a family of seven children, with the wife and mother, in that one," he says, pointing at the roof of his neighbours.

As we watch, a woman quietly mops the dirty water into a hole in the fence and onto the roof of the house next door.

"Look, they are even putting the dirty water on our neighbour's roof," Zuhair says with a sad bitterness.

"We used to live together like we live here at home - eating and drinking with them. It makes me sad when I see their home disappearing."


Two-year-old killed in motorway collision - as five others in hospital with serious injuries
A two-year-old boy has died, and five others have been seriously injured after their broken-down car was hit by another vehicle on the A1 motorway.

The collision occurred on Saturday at about 6.20pm when a Toyota Auris was struck by a Volkswagen Touran in a live lane of the A1 northbound, just past the Stibbington junction.

The boy from London was one of six passengers who were in the Toyota.

The five other passengers from London were taken to Peterborough City Hospital with serious injuries.

A 64-year-old man, the driver of the Volkswagen, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and has been released on bail until 20 March.

He suffered minor injuries.

Cambridgeshire Police are investigating the incident and appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage.

Sgt David McIlwhan said: "Our thoughts are with the parents and family of this young child who has tragically lost his life in this collision. The family is being supported by specialist family liaison officers.

"I would appeal for anyone who witnessed the collision or has dashcam footage but was unable to stop at the scene, to get in touch."

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Half of voters think Starmer will be replaced as prime minister by end of 2026, poll suggests
Half of people think Sir Keir Starmer will be replaced as prime minister by the end of 2026, according to an exclusive YouGov poll for Sky News

It comes as unease continues on the Labour benches about the party's position in the polls, with some significant figures rumoured to be plotting a move if May's local elections go badly.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, former deputy leader Angela Rayner have all been mooted as potential challengers.

Labour Party chair Anna Turley told Sky News at the weekend that Sir Keir would "absolutely" still be prime minister next Christmas - but many voters disagree.

Thirty-one per cent think the prime minister will "probably" be replaced by this time next year, while 19% say he will "definitely" be out of Number 10.

Only 35% of people surveyed believe he has a chance of still being leader.

There was also a harsh assessment of the government's handling of the economy, with 71% telling the YouGov/Sky News poll the economy had got worse over the last 12 months and only 7% saying things had improved.

The 2,041 people - surveyed between 21 and 22 December - also gave a fairly downbeat view of their own finances.

Just 15% think their money situation will improve over the next year, 40% believe it will get worse, while 39% are expecting it to stay about the same.

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However, it appears pessimism has subsided slightly compared with the direct aftermath of November's much-anticipated budget.

A month ago, 56% said they expected their financial situation to get worse and 75% said the government was managing the economy badly.

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Reeves's budget tax rises 'a pub destroyer'

Britons 'less well off than they were in 2019'

Labour remain second in the polls but are up two percentage points on last week and now sit at 20%, a separate YouGov survey of more than 2,200 people suggests.

Reform UK still lead the way when it comes to people's voting intention - but Nigel Farage's party is down from 28% to 25% week on week.

The Tories are narrowly in third on 19% (up from 17%), the Liberal Democrats on 15% (up from 14%) as are the Greens (down from 17% last week).


Greta Thunberg arrested at a protest supporting Palestine Action hunger strikers
Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been arrested in central London at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action hunger strikers.

City of London Police said a 22-year-old woman has been arrested for displaying a placard in support of proscribed organisation, Palestine Action, contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

In a video shared by the Prisoners for Palestine protest group, Ms Thunberg can be seen holding a sign reading "I support the Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide" at a demonstration outside the central London offices of Aspen Insurance.

The group claimed they targeted the company on Tuesday morning because they provide services to Israeli-linked defence firm Elbit Systems.

Two activists sprayed red paint over the front of the building before police arrived and made arrests.

The Swedish activist was at the rally in London to support multiple members of the banned group who are currently in prison on remand and have been on hunger strike since 2 November.

At least three of those who initially began the hunger strike have now stopped as their health deteriorated, but others are continuing.

Those on hunger strike are demanding an end to the UK hosting weapons factories that supply arms to Israel, the de-proscription of Palestine Action, an end to mistreatment of prisoners in custody, and immediate bail.

They have been visited by several politicians, some of whom have warned the government that the striking prisoners might die in the coming days.

But the government has insisted it will not intervene in ongoing legal cases.

Lord Timpson, the prisons minister, said: "These prisoners are charged with serious offences including aggravated burglary and criminal damage.

"Remand decisions are for independent judges, and lawyers can make representations to the court on behalf of their clients.

"Ministers will not meet with them - we have a justice system that is based on the separation of powers, and the independent judiciary is the cornerstone of our system. It would be entirely unconstitutional and inappropriate for ministers to intervene in ongoing legal cases."

A City of London Police spokesperson said: "At around 7am this morning, hammers and red paint were used to damage a building on Fenchurch Street.

"A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. They glued themselves nearby and specialist officers are working to release them, and bring them into police custody.

"A little while later, a 22-year-old woman also attended the scene.

"She has been arrested for displaying an item (in this case a placard) in support of a proscribed organisation (in this case Palestine Action) contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000."

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