ITV Lunchtime News

The broadcast led with an inquest into the deaths of three sisters who entered the sea in Brighton despite not being able to swim, after their mother had drowned 16 years earlier. The coroner concluded they had entered a suicide pact, though it was not for the court to speculate on why. They had travelled to Birmingham to the road where their mother lived and near the lake where she drowned, and the coroner believed they had visited her grave; they then took a taxi to London and travelled the same day to Brighton, arriving late at night, with their bodies found in and around the water early the next morning. A police officer said a laptop search history showed 179 searches relating to suicide in the days before their deaths, and a bank account had been cleared and debts repaid. Their father said in a written statement that no words could adequately describe the pain of losing a child and that losing three daughters had caused unimaginable heartbreak, and he hoped they were reunited with their mother. It also reported that Royal Navy sailor Teddy Young appeared in court for the first time accused of plotting to leak classified information, with it understood he may have been sharing intelligence with Russia. He occupied the lowest rank but his job in warfare intelligence gave him access to high-level secrets, and he was charged under the National Security Act with obtaining, recording, retaining or copying classified information and engaging in activity consistent with preparing to pass protected information to a foreign power. Court documents alleged he made a note in Russian and tried on the dark web to contact Russian authorities. The judge said the offences were so serious they must be tried at Crown Court and adjourned the hearing to the Old Bailey. The seventh man arrested in the investigation into the suspected RAF Fairford terror plot was bailed; the 22-year-old British national was the latest to be detained, and six others had already been released on bail after vans were spotted near the Gloucestershire airbase last month. ASOS told customers to remain cautious over unexpected messages or calls as it issued more details on how it was hacked, saying an unauthorised party gained access to its systems by impersonating a trusted contact to get login information. Names, contact details and certain non-personal account related information were accessed, but no payment card information or account passwords were, and the website and app were safe throughout and remain safe. ASOS had around 17 million customers worldwide and said a full investigation was ongoing.

A first hearing was due in Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's legal challenge against Thames Valley Police over the lawfulness of search warrants used to raid two of his properties in February. He had been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office following allegations he shared sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the UK's trade envoy, and he denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers were seeking to quash the search warrants, which were granted by a judge at the Old Bailey the day before his arrest and the raids, and he was not likely to attend court. Police were seeking to make sure the documents did not go public. Since being stripped of all duties and royal titles last year by his brother, Andrew received money from the king's private funds, but palace sources said the king had insisted his money was not to be used to fund Andrew's legal bills. Microsoft president Brad Smith spoke to business editor Joel Hills and was optimistic about AI's impact on jobs in the long run, but expected a period of upheaval and job losses, with a role for government in managing the transition and ensuring people had the right skills. He discussed taxing companies that use AI or robots to replace human labour and protecting jobs such as teachers, doctors, judges and care workers. He said AI had become much more powerful than anyone thought possible within the industry over the last two years and there was a risk humans would lose control unless there was regulation. He agreed with Bill Gates's concerns about AI, including dangers such as bioterrorism or cyber attack, and wanted safeguards, independent testing, the ability to switch AI off, governments able to ground AI, and legal liability for companies if AI caused catastrophic harm through negligence. The Prime Minister arrived in Berlin for his first official visit to Germany, meeting the country's Chancellor, and deeper cooperation was said to be needed in the face of rising hybrid security threats. The UK indicated it was open to Germany joining a cross-national effort to build next generation fighter jets. British staff had been withdrawn from the UK's consulate in East Jerusalem after Israel said it would be closed in retaliation for the government's trade ban with illegal West Bank settlements, but the foreign secretary insisted the building was not closing and would now be known as the UK mission.

The bulletin reported how slimming medications were affecting supermarket sales. It was estimated households spent £400 less per year on average on food shopping if at least one member was on any sort of slimming medication, and the boss of Tesco told ITV News this was part of a wider shift customers were making towards healthier options. It was estimated 8.25 million people in the UK had either taken or were considering appetite suppressing medications such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, and households spent £418 less per year on average when at least one family member was on such medication, a £780 million fall in grocery spending. Supermarkets were making meals with smaller portions and higher protein and fibre, some more expensive than standard ready meals; dietician Priya Chu said some might be worth the premium but some not, suggesting halving a standard ready meal and adding green leafy vegetables, and said people on the medication should stick to regular meals with protein and fibre. New figures showed a big rise in prostate cancer diagnoses but also an improvement in survival rates; cases were up seven percent last year according to the National Prostate Cancer Audit, while experts stressed earlier detection meant the risk of death had dropped by nearly a quarter in seven years. Motorists could now find the best fuel prices on Google Maps, with the tool launched today showing real-time petrol and diesel prices across the UK, as diesel prices soared to an all-time high with a quarter of British forecourts charging at least £2 a litre. Jane Austen and Winston Churchill would soon make way for the puffin and the European hedgehog as the face of UK banknotes; the two animals, along with the barn owl and the buff-tailed bumblebee, were chosen from a shortlist of 18 types of UK wildlife. A cancer survivor who lost most of her tongue in surgery to remove a tumour said her life had been turned around after being fitted with a bespoke prosthetic. Dr Imogen Brooks struggled to speak after her cancer treatment but became the first person on the NHS to be given an artificial tongue, made by medics at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital; she wore it most of the time except when eating or sleeping and had joined the charity Young Tongues. A 150-year-old witch elm in County Down was crowned the UK's Tree of the Year; it won this year's theme against all odds, was described as a perfect example of how nature survives adversity, and was the first time Northern Ireland had won the competition, taking 30% of the public vote organised by the Woodland Trust.