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Six O'Clock News

BBC

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

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London, United Kingdom

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News

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BBC

Description:

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

Language:

English


Episodes
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One of two men accidentally released from Wandsworth prison hands himself in

11/6/2025
The Justice Secretary, David Lammy, has insisted that prison systems are being modernised to try to deal with what he called an unacceptable spike in mistaken releases. Also: Democrat members of a US Congress committee have written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor asking to interview him in connection with his "long-standing friendship" with the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. And world leaders gather in Brazil for the annual UN climate summit COP30.

Duration:00:30:45

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Police are searching for two men mistakenly released from prison in London last week

11/5/2025
Two prisoners have been released by mistake from Wandsworth prison in London in the space of a week, including an Algerian national who is a convicted sex offender. Also: Democrats in the United States are celebrating victories in a series of elections, including Zohran Mamdani becoming the mayor of New York. And the French government says it has started the process of suspending the online platform of the fast-fashion retailer Shein.

Duration:00:30:32

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The Chancellor hints that taxes will go up for millions

11/4/2025
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has warned voters that she will need to make what she described as "necessary choices" to balance the books, in the Budget, three weeks tomorrow. She took the rare step of publicly laying out her thinking at Downing Street - a move that has been widely interpreted as preparing the ground for tax rises. Ms Reeves refused to rule out breaking Labour's manifesto pledge to not increase income tax, VAT or National Insurance. The Conservatives said the Chancellor had delivered a "laundry list of excuses" and did not need to put up taxes.

Duration:00:30:34

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Police investigate whether train stabbings suspect is linked to three other incidents

11/3/2025
Police are investigating whether the man charged with stabbing people on a train on Saturday is linked to three other knife incidents. Anthony Williams has appeared in court.

Duration:00:30:25

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A 32-year-old man is questioned over train stabbings

11/2/2025
Police investigating a stabbing attack on a train last night say they are now treating a 32-year-old man as their only suspect. A second man, aged 35, has been released.

Duration:00:16:32

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Pressure grows on Andrew to testify to US inquiry into Epstein

11/1/2025
Pressure is growing on the former prince, Andrew, to agree to face questions in the US about his links to Jeffrey Epstein. Months of criticism over his close friendship with the late sex offender has culminated in Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor being stripped of his title. Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing. But members of Congress in the US say if he wants to clear his name, he should give evidence to their inquiry.

Duration:00:16:32

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Downing Street says there are no plans to remove Andrew Mountbatten Windsor from the line of succession

10/31/2025
The government has said it has no plans to introduce a law to change the line of succession, after the King stripped his brother of all his titles and honours. Also: A former Sergeant-Major is jailed for sexually assaulting a teenaged recruit, who later killed herself. And a charity proposes restorative justice for sub postmasters wronged by the Horizon IT scandal, so they can meet the people responsible.

Duration:00:30:34

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Letting agent apologises for not applying for rental licence on behalf of Rachel Reeves

10/30/2025
Rachel Reeves's letting agent has apologised for not applying for a special licence on her behalf, when renting out her home in south London. Also: The UN says there must be accountability for the atrocities being carried out by the RSF militia in Sudan. And scientists make extraordinary discoveries in some of the coldest, deepest and most remote waters on the planet.

Duration:00:30:20

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Allegations of killings and abductions in western Sudan

10/29/2025
The World Health Organization has said it is "appalled" at reports that more than 460 civilians have been killed at a hospital in El-Fasher in western Sudan, after the city was seized by paramilitary fighters on Sunday. Also: more than twenty people, including at least ten children, have been killed in Haiti in flooding caused by Hurricane Melissa. And Westminster's youngest ever MP is to become TV's newest detective.

Duration:00:30:28

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Israel carries out "powerful strikes" on Gaza

10/28/2025
Israel says it has carried out intense strikes on Gaza, after claiming a coffin handed over by Hamas did not contain the body of another deceased hostage, but further remains of a captive who'd already been returned and buried. Also: the government in Jamaica warns people not to take chances as Hurricane Melissa hits the island. And one of Britain's most popular comedy actresses, Prunella Scales, has died at the age of 93.

Duration:00:30:28

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Nigel Farage rejects accusation that Reform MP is "racist"

10/27/2025
The Reform leader, Nigel Farage, has rejected an accusation from the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, that the MP Sarah Pochin was racist, after she apologised for saying adverts were full of black and Asian people. Also: A protester heckles the King about Prince Andrew. And an academic gets substantial damages for his portrayal in a Steve Coogan film.

Duration:00:30:33

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Migrant Sex Offender Caught After Wrongful Jail Release

10/26/2025
A migrant sex offender who was wrongly released from prison and spent two days at large in Essex and London is now back behind bars. Hadush Kebatu - who was jailed for 12 months in September - was freed instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre. In other news, the health secretary Wes Streeting has accused the Reform UK MP, Sarah Pochin, of using "racist" language after she complained that adverts were "full of black and Asian people". And two people have been arrested in connection with the theft of France's crown jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris last weekend.

Duration:00:16:42

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The MP Lucy Powell has been elected as Labour's deputy leader

10/25/2025
Lucy Powell has won the election to become Labour's deputy leader, after campaigning for the party to change course. She won 54% of the 161,000 votes that were cast in a ballot of members. Her opponent, the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, polled 46%. Lucy Powell will be free to speak out from the back benches after she was sacked by Sir Keir Starmer in the reshuffle that followed Angela Rayner's resignation.

Duration:00:16:44

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The asylum seeker who was jailed for a sexual assault in Epping has been released by mistake

10/24/2025
It's been confirmed that an asylum seeker who was jailed last month for a year for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping has been released from prison by mistake. Also: Plaid Cymru celebrates a decisive victory in the Senedd by-election in Caerphilly, a stronghold for Labour for a century. And one of England's oldest football clubs, Sheffield Wednesday, goes into administration.

Duration:00:30:34

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A former paratrooper is cleared of murder on Bloody Sunday

10/23/2025
A British Army veteran, known only as Soldier F, has been cleared of murdering two people in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday in 1972. Also: Three metropolitan police officers have been sacked for gross misconduct after featuring in an undercover report by the BBC’s Panorama. And The hosts of Strictly Come Dancing, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkelman, have announced they are to leave the programme at the end of the current series.

Duration:00:30:33

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A second candidate to chair the grooming gang inquiry has withdrawn

10/22/2025
The government's beleaguered inquiry into grooming gangs has run into further difficulty with the final significant candidate to chair it ruling himself out, and a fourth survivor stepping down from the panel. Also: A migrant has returned to the UK on a small boat after being removed to France under the "one in, one out" scheme. And the director of the Louvre blames under-investment in equipment for weaknesses in the museum's security.

Duration:00:30:32

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Senior politicians add to the mounting scrutiny of Prince Andrew

10/21/2025
Senior politicians have added to the mounting scrutiny of Prince Andrew, as the discussion around his connection to the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, has thrown the spotlight on his living arrangements. Also: A third abuse survivor resigns from the Government's grooming gang inquiry, because of concerns about its direction. And the British designer, Grace Wales Bonner, becomes the first black woman to lead design at a major fashion house, after signing as creative director of menswear at Hermes.

Duration:00:30:19

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Calls grow for Prince Andrew to be permanently stripped of his royal titles

10/20/2025
Buckingham Palace has urged people to focus on the King's royal work and not be distracted by the scandal surrounding his brother Prince Andrew because of his relationship with the sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Also: The pilot of a new treatment for a form of blindness that affects a quarter of a million people in the UK has been welcomed by specialists and medical charities. And online access returns after a major outage at Amazon Web Services.

Duration:00:30:35

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Thieves steal eight priceless objects from the Louvre Museum

10/19/2025
French police are searching for a gang who stole priceless treasures from the Louvre in Paris this morning .Officers found a damaged nineteenth century crown near the gallery. The item was covered with 1,300 diamonds, and was among several taken when thieves scaled a ladder, broke a window and escaped on motorbikes.

Duration:00:16:29

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Prince Andrew drops his royal titles

10/18/2025
The family of Virginia Giuffre - who accused Prince Andrew of sexual abusing her when she was a teenager - have welcomed the announcement that he is to stop using his Royal titles. He has faced continuing revelations about his links to the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, and said in a statement that the accusations against him were distracting from the King's work. Andrew again stressed that he vigorously denied all the claims against him. Virginia Giuffre took her own life earlier this year, and her memoir is about to be published.

Duration:00:16:44