A transgender woman who concealed her biological sex before engaging in sexual activity with a man has been jailed for 21 months after a jury found she had deceived him about being female. Ciara Watkin, 21, from Thornaby in Stockton-on-Tees, was convicted at Durham Crown Court of sexual assault. The court heard that her victim would not have consented to sexual contact had he known she was biologically male.

Sir Lenny Henry has urged the UK government to pay reparations to all Black British people for the nation’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. In his new book, The Big Payback, the comedian and actor argues that Britain owes £18 trillion in compensatory payments. “All Black British people… need reparations for slavery,” Henry writes, adding, “we personally deserve money for the effects of slavery.”

Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood has been charged with four counts of rape, nine counts of indecent assault, and two counts of sexual assault. The Metropolitan Police confirmed the charges relate to alleged offences involving seven women between 1983 and 2016. The youngest complainant was 17 at the time of the alleged assault.

A nursery worker from west London has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a string of child cruelty offences involving 21 babies. Roksana Lecka, 22, from Hounslow, admitted to seven counts of cruelty to a child under 16 and was convicted of a further 14 offences after a trial. She was cleared of three additional charges. The abuse, described in court as “gratuitous” and “sadistic,” took place at two nurseries between October 2023 and June 2024. Most incidents occurred at Riverside Nursery in Twickenham, which has since closed, while one count related to Little Munchkins in Hounslow.

A petition opposing the UK Government’s controversial plan to introduce mandatory digital identity cards has surged past one million signatures, sparking a major political row over civil liberties. The Labour Government’s proposals were first reported on Thursday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirming on Friday that ministers intend to press ahead with making digital IDs compulsory for all UK adults.

A Christian pastor is recovering in hospital after his iPhone was snatched by an e-bike gang during a live-streamed sermon in east London. Apostle Isaac Anderson, a Ghanaian-born preacher, fell heavily while chasing the thieves and has since urged his supporters to pray for him. “Thieves, burglars, and robbers are everywhere,” he warned. “This is London. You never know who is around you and what they’ll do to you.”