Downing Street flags fly at half-mast after Tom Moore death

The flags above 10 Downing Street are flying at half-mast following the death of Captain Sir Tom Moore.

Latest stories

  • Nicola Sturgeon made untrue statements and must resign, says Salmond committee member

    Nicola Sturgeon broke the ministerial code by making "untrue" statements and should step down, a member of the inquiry investigating the Alex Salmond scandal has said the day after her marathon eight-hour appearance. Murdo Fraser, a Tory member of the committee, said he believed some of the First Minister's account was not truthful and that she previously misled the Scottish Parliament. While Ms Sturgeon had denied a litany of claims made by Mr Salmond, Mr Fraser pointed out that he had provided witness statements corroborating key parts of his testimony while she did not. He said the evidence was "clear" that some of her statements had been untrue and predicted that a separate inquiry, being conducted by James Hamilton QC, would conclude that she had broken the ministerial code. Mr Fraser said motions of no confidence in Ms Sturgeon and John Swinney, her deputy, remained on the table but the Tories would see what additional legal advice the Scottish Government hands over before deciding whether to move them. The First Minister is expected to face a further scrutiny at Thursday's First Minister's Questions. However, Mike Russell, a senior SNP minister, said Ms Sturgeon has "demolished the scare stories, the conspiracy theories and lies" during her testimony to the inquiry.

  • Capitol rioter who put feet on Pelosi’s desk yells in court over pre-trial jailing: ‘It’s not fair!’

    Richard Barnett, 60, of Arkansas faces federal charges including disorderly conduct in a capitol building

  • Meghan and Harry could’ve been Britain’s greatest asset, but we screwed it up. Royally

    This was a golden opportunity for the royal family and everyone in the UK, as demonstrated by the Oprah interview everyone is talking about. It was squandered terribly

  • Cyprus to welcome vaccinated British tourists from May 1

    Tourists would be required to have had their second dose at the latest seven days before travel.

  • Trump issues lengthy rant about veteran Republican Karl Rove after strategist criticises him

    The former president lashed out and called on Fox to fire ‘pompous fool’ Rove

  • Asthma sufferers eligible for Covid vaccine are being turned away, charity says

    Asthma UK has received thousands of calls to its helpline about the vaccine rollout

  • US intelligence investigating links between Capitol rioters and members of Congress

    FBI looking at whether lawmakers knowingly or unknowingly helped pro-Trump mob

  • Car crashes into Chelmsford Aldi store

    Cameras have captured the moment a car crashed through a supermarket window and knocked over shoppers. It happened at an Aldi store in Chelmsford, Essex, just before 12:00 GMT on Wednesday.

  • WandaVision fans heartbroken by episode 9 ‘death’ scene

    ‘I’m so grateful to have been able to experience this,’ one viewer wrote

  • SNP ministers refuse to follow Rishi Sunak by extending property sales tax holiday

    Homebuyers in Scotland have been dealt a huge blow after SNP's Finance Secretary refused to follow the Chancellor in England by extending Scotland's property sales tax holiday. Rishi Sunak announced in Wednesday's Budget the stamp duty holiday south of the Border, which had been due to end on March 31, would be extended for a further six months. The current nil-rate band for purchases in England up to £500,000 will continue until the end of June, with a "tapered" period running until September. Mr Sunak also handed the SNP government an additional £1.2 billion- more than double the £500 million that the Scottish Government had assumed that they would get when the draft Scottish Budget was published. But Kate Forbes, the SNP's Finance Secretary, said yesterday the equivalent Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) holiday in Scotland will still finish at the end of March. She said there was no need to extend the holiday as it has "achieved its purpose", with "record" levels of home purchases being recorded despite the Covid pandemic.

  • EU parliament shelves vote on Brexit deal after Boris Johnson ‘violates’ agreement

    Group leaders have paused the ratification process amid the latest row

  • Dawn French’s funniest joke in The Vicar Of Dibley revealed

    Each episode of the comedy, which originally ran between 1994 and 1998, closed with a joke.

  • Why the ICC war crimes probe into the Gaza war has rattled Israel and what will happen next

    The International Criminal Court this week announced it will begin an investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by Israel and Palestinian militants since 2014, which could theoretically put senior figures on both sides in the dock at the Hague. Fatou Bensouda, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, has described the process as “daunting and complex” because it will be launched during a global pandemic, signalling that the investigation and any trial which follows could drag on for many years. Israel has condemned the ICC’s decision as “pure anti-semitism,” while Palestinian leaders and human rights groups say that a war crimes probe is long overdue. Here we look at the key allegations over war crimes, the possible timeline for the ICC process and what penalties could be imposed in the event of a guilty verdict. How did we get here? The ICC has powers to prosecute those accused of crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes in the territories of the court's members. Back in December 2019, the ICC said that after a “thorough” investigation it had sufficient grounds to investigate both Israel and Palestinian militants over allegations of war crimes. Ms Bensouda, the ICC chief prosecutor, then asked senior judges at the court to make a ruling on whether it had jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank.

  • Meghan and Harry are the victims here – but the royal family refuse to see it

    The Duchess of Sussex is a woman who fell in love with a man. That’s it. Unfortunately for her, this man happened to be a British prince

  • Newly published legal advice appears to contradict Salmond claim

    The documents related to the botched investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by the former First Minister.

  • Brexit: EU ‘simply can’t trust’ Boris Johnson’s government as negotiating partner, says Simon Coveney

    ‘It’s the British government essentially breaking the protocol – breaking their own commitments again’

  • Lauren Boebert criticised for calling Equality Act ‘supremacy of gays’

    Bill to prevent discrimination against LGBT+ people passed House last week

  • Home Office pays civil servant £340,000 to settle Priti Patel bullying claim

    A former top civil servant has agreed one of the biggest civil service pay-offs to settle his dismissal claim after accusing Priti Patel of bullying. Former Home Office permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam has received a £340,000 payout, plus his legal costs, from the Government after agreeing to end his unfair dismissal claim. Sir Philip resigned in February last year, accusing Ms Patel of a "vicious and orchestrated" briefing campaign against him, claiming constructive dismissal and accusing Ms Patel of bullying her subordinates. A 10-day employment tribunal to hear Sir Philip's case was due to take place in September. But, in a statement on Thursday, the Home Office said: "The Government and Sir Philip's representatives have jointly concluded that it is in both parties' best interests to reach a settlement at this stage rather than continuing to prepare for an employment tribunal. "The Government does not accept liability in this matter and it was right that the Government defended the case." In a statement issued via his FDA union, Sir Philip said: "I am pleased to say that the Government has today settled the claims that I brought against them and which were due to be heard in an employment tribunal in September. "This settlement resolves my own case. The FDA is continuing to pursue in separate proceedings the wider issues that have been raised. I now look forward to the next stages of my career." The Government said it "regrets the circumstances" surrounding his resignation but added that both parties were "pleased that a settlement has been reached to these proceedings." Sir Philip’s resignation led the Cabinet Office to launch an inquiry into whether Ms Patel had broken the code governing ministers' behaviour. Boris Johnson's standards chief Sir Alex Allan found that she had - but the Prime Minister rejected his findings and kept her in post. Sir Alex resigned in response. In his report, Sir Alex found Ms Patel's "approach on occasions has amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying in terms of the impact felt by individuals." "To that extent her behaviour has been in breach of the ministerial code, even if unintentionally," he concluded. Ms Patel apologised for her alleged behaviour, saying "any upset I have caused was completely unintentional". Mr Johnson said he did not think Ms Patel was a bully, and had "full confidence" in her. The FDA launched a judicial review in a bid to overturn Mr Johnson's decision to stand by Ms Patel. Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour's shadow home secretary, accused the Prime Minister of "terrible judgement", adding: "Taxpayers will be appalled at having to pick up the bill for the Home Secretary's unacceptable behaviour.

  • Coronavirus latest news: Italy is not the problem, AstraZeneca is, claims country's MP

    Europe's volte-face on Oxford Covid vaccine PM faces Tory backlash over masks in classroom Judith Woods: Masks will be the least of our problems when schools return Excess deaths could already be back at normal levels Subscribe to The Telegraph for a month-long free trial Italy is not the problem, AstraZeneca is, an Italian MP has said as she defended the decision by the country to block the export of 250,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Australia. Lia Quartapelle, an Italian politician of the Democratic Party (PD), said the move was legal due to EU law, and said: "I'm amazed by the fact that the problem is that Italy bans the export and the problem is not AstraZeneca not delivering what is written in the contracts. "Italy is coming under scrutiny for something that is allowed while AstraZeneca is doing something that is not allowed under the contract it signed. I do not understand why." While Australian prime minister Scott Morrison insisted the blocked shipment of the AstraZeneca jabs would not affect Australia's vaccine programme, former former leader of the Liberal Party of Australia Alexander Downer said a phonecall would have been better than "bludgeoning around with some sort of EU law where you can just terminate arrangements with other countries outside the EU". Follow the latest updates below.

  • Smoke Billows From Guatemala's Pacaya Volcano

    Guatemala’s Pacaya volcano erupted on Wednesday, March 3, spewing lava and ash into the air near Villa Nueva, south of Guatemala City.Guatemala’s National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) said the volcano’s lava was flowing to the northwest early on Wednesday morning.Communities surrounding Pacaya were being monitored due to the increased risk, according to reports.This timelapse footage shows the billowing smoke on March 3, captured by Jeison Morales. Credit: Jeison Morales via Storyful