Territorial police force for West Yorkshire, England
The Scottish FA has been searching for a new manager after Steve Clarke’s departure following a group-stage exit from the World Cup. Roberto Martinez has emerged as a leading candidate, with Benitez also open to the role. The discussion centers on who can deliver further qualification and consistency for Scotland.
Posthumous conditional pardon is granted to Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in the UK, acknowledging a grave injustice linked to domestic abuse while noting flaws in responding to abuse within the justice system.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has launched an independent investigation into the collision in Pontefract after Logan Stead, 16, died on 13 July while riding a motorbike. Police had concerns about the riders’ ages, there was no pursuit, and the IOPC is gathering accounts and footage as the inquiry begins.
A nine-year-old girl has died after being found seriously injured at the Elliot Industrial Estate in Arbroath. Police say the death is suspicious. A 35-year-old white British man known to the girl has been arrested and is due to appear in Dundee Sheriff Court. The girl’s family, from West Yorkshire, were camping nearby when the incident occurred.
An inquest has recorded a narrative verdict after Emma Atkinson, seven months pregnant, fell from a ninth-floor window in Shakespeare Towers, Leeds. The incident, caught on CCTV, led to the delivery of her baby girl by emergency C-section. The coroner balanced evidence of a deliberate act with uncertainties about intent, while noting her past mental health struggles and family’s belief that she would not have harmed her children.
Multiple road-traffic deaths have led to court proceedings across Britain. In Wakefield, a driver was sentenced after stuffed toys obscured visibility in the fatal crash of John Nottingham. In Weston-super-Mare, a driver has been jailed for dangerous driving that killed Emily Jordan. In North Tyneside, Linda Hall pleaded guilty to causing Rita Grimshaw’s death in a busy car park. A separate case in Aberdeen involves Samantha Lee after a claw hammer attack.
The Scottish government has not funded the implementation of a standalone sexual offences court and related measures, despite reforms to end the not proven verdict. Crown Office warns Holyrood that resources are not in place as rape and sexual violence statistics rise, with ongoing calls for timely delivery of promised protections.
A government-wide crackdown on illegal waste dumping is expanding, with new powers to seize assets, higher fines, and regional enforcement to tackle organised waste crime that has blighted communities across England. The effort follows a BBC investigation identifying several supersites and a rising tide of waste crimes.
A Sudan-born man with catatonic schizophrenia has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and an indefinite hospital order after pleading guilty to attempted murder in a frenzied attack on a lone woman in March 2024 in Leeds. The attack prompted concerns over safety and mental health care, with the judge noting a sexual element to the assault.
Leeds Crown Court has convicted two men, Baqa Haider and Nathan Rivers, for their roles in an "industrial scale" scheme that processed criminal cash into gold and exported it with fake invoices. Haider has been jailed for six years; Rivers has received a 27‑month suspended sentence and a curfew. Police are still seeking three men sentenced in absence.