Mirror's Daily Digest - New Madeleine McCann search update to driverless taxis
In this Tuesday's Mirror Daily Digest, we've pulled together the biggest stories of the day from Madeleine McCann search updates to the latest on driverless taxis
Welcome to the Mirror's Daily Digest, where we'll be pulling together all the best stories of the day from our News, Showbiz, Politics teams and more. This Tuesday, we're featuring everything from the latest search updates on the Madeleine McCann case to driverless taxis which will be brought to the UK next year.
Our Showbiz team has covered Strictly star Oti Mabuse's heartache as she travelled to west Africa to meet stricken mums nursing premature babies. Meanwhile, our News team has been closely following the couple who have been charged with trying to smuggle cannabis into the UK after being stopped at Heathrow Airport.
Driverless Uber taxis coming to UK in months - all you need to know
This morning, our Politics team reported that driverless taxi and bus services will be brought to the UK next year. The Government will bring forward self-driving commercial pilots on England's roads to Spring 2026, transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed today.
Firms will be able to pilot small scale 'taxi- and bus-like' services without a driver for the first time, which could be available to members of the public to book via an app. Uber will trial robotaxis - autonomous cars - in a partnership with UK AI firm Wayve in London as soon as next spring. Ministers said the driverless car expansion could create 38,000 jobs and a £42billion industry.
A potential wider rollout is expected when the full Automated Vehicles (AV) Act becomes law from the second half of 2027. Driverless vehicles aim to reduce human error, which contributes to 88% of all road collisions. Unlike human drivers, AVs can never get distracted or tired and they won't drink-drive or speed.
Oti Mabuse's baby heartache - 'I could only touch her through glass window'
In other news, our Showbiz team exclusively covered Oti Mabuse's heartache after the Strictly Come Dancing star travelled to west Africa to meet stricken mums nursing premature tots. The pro dancer, 34, returned to a neonatal unit for the first time since she endured a 16-hour labour with her daughter, who arrived two months early, weighing 3lbs, in 2023.
The baby spent the next six weeks in intensive care at University College London Hospital after she was born with an infection and Oti developed sepsis. Baby and mother recovered, but the Dancing On Ice judge has revealed her trauma after visiting a UNICEF-funded specialist clinic in Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) in Africa.
Reflecting on her own experience, Oti said: 'I remember the only way I could touch my child and have skin-on-skin was through this glass window – there's no mother who wants to experience that.'
According to UNICEF, globally in 2024 an estimated 4.8 million children died before reaching their fifth birthday, including 2.3 million newborns who died within the first 28 days of life. In Cote D'Ivoire, lack of access to specialised care is one of the reasons that prematurity is the leading cause of death for children under five.
Madeleine McCann cops find 'clothing and bones' as they probe samples from dig
In a breaking update, our News team reported that police are investigating samples of 'clothes and bones' found in last week's search for Madeleine McCann, it is claimed. On Thursday, a team of German and Portuguese investigators wrapped up a three-day search along a 120-acre stretch of land in Lagos, Portugal, in their latest attempt to find new evidence against prime suspect Christian Brueckner.
Initial reports suggested the operation - which took place 30 miles from where the three-year-old went missing in May 2007 - had failed to turn up any new leads. But now, it has been claimed that fragments of clothing and bones are to undergo testing this week after being uncovered at the scene.
During the search - the first to take place since 2023 - crews spent three days scouring scrubland and abandoned structures, including a derelict farmhouse. A source told Berlin Morning Post: 'Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory.
'As Portuguese media report, clothing debris and bones were found, among other things. The investigators have not officially commented on whether the finds could have anything to do with Madeleine's disappearance but that is clearly their hope.'
Met Office details exact day half a month's rain to batter UK in three hours
After a brief sunny spell, Brits can expect around half a typical month's rainfall across parts of the UK this week, the Met Office has forecasted. The "intense rainfall" - of up to 40mm - is anticipated across south Wales and Southwest England and will be slow moving, lingering into Thursday.
Thunderstorms are also likely during the deluge, which the Met Office says is expected on Wednesday evening. Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, Mike Silverstone, said: "After largely benign weather early in the week, some intense, thundery showers will move in on Wednesday evening. These thunderstorms are being triggered by some warm, humid air that is moving into the UK from the south.
"The intense rainfall could see 20-40mm accumulating over just a few hours, which could cause some disruption. While there are no severe weather warnings issued at the moment, it is possible thunderstorm warnings may be issued this week."
Brit couple found with £1m of cannabis in luggage in latest 'drug mule' fears
Finally, a couple have been charged with trying to smuggle cannabis valued at £1million into the UK after being stopped at Heathrow Airport, our News team have reported. Sian Warren, 34, and Daniel McDonald, 36, were on their way back from Thailand when officers from the National Crime Agency reportedly found more than 51kg of cannabis in their luggage.
It is understood that the drug was in four cases that the pair were carrying. They appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court where they have been charged with importing Class B drugs and have been bailed under curfew ahead of a plea hearing on June 26 at Isleworth Crown Court.
Warren and McDonald, from Salford, went to Bangkok on holiday last month and Warren's dad Tony told The Sun that there must have been a mistake. He said: 'Sian's not brought anything back, definitely not. She had her own suitcase with clothes in it.'
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