Opening Up The Forgotten Mail Rail

A new plan could open up one of London's underground secrets - a Royal Mail railway which once carried millions of parcels a day.

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  • COVID-19: England's pubs, restaurants and shops prepare for Monday reopening - but PM postpones his pint

    England's coronavirus restrictions will be eased further on Monday, with pubs and restaurants allowed to serve customers outdoors. Hairdressers will reopen, as will non-essential shops, indoor gyms, swimming pools, libraries, zoos and nail salons. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has postponed his celebratory pint and is not expected to mark the reopening of businesses with a statement.

  • Prince Philip death: Elton John claimed late royal once dubbed him ‘a bloody fool’ in awkward exchange

    Interaction between pop star and Duke of Edinburgh occurred in the Seventies

  • Conor Benn destroys Samuel Vargas inside one round with explosive knockout

    The Destroyer had too much for his more experienced opponent at the Copper Box in London

  • Ashley Cain: Ex on The Beach star says ill daughter has returned home after giving him 'best eight months of my life'

    Reality TV star and former footballer Ashley Cain has said his young daughter has returned home after giving him "the best eight months of my life". Ms Vorajee earlier said the couple would be bringing Azaylia home to "give her the best possible time left that we can".

  • PM will allow second referendum if SNP wins, says Sturgeon

    PM will allow second referendum if SNP wins, says SturgeonScottish first minister tells Guardian fresh poll impossible to resist should her party land majority next monthNicola Sturgeon: No 10 cannot stand in the way of independence Nicola Sturgeon’s party is on course to win a majority next month, according to two polls. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

  • Coronavirus deaths fall to single figures for first time in seven months

    Deaths from coronavirus in Britain fell to just seven on Sunday, the first time the UK has reported single figures for nearly seven months, and the lowest number since mid-September. The low figure came ahead of non-essential shops and outdoor hospitality opening on Monday and demonstrates that lifting restrictions has, so far, not led to a rise in cases. Britain has not seen such a low figure since five cases were reported on Sept 13, which was also a Sunday. It is the first time the UK has recorded single figures since Sept 14. The death figure is likely to be artificially low because of the weekend effect, and is expected to rise early next week. The number of people testing positive for coronavirus has also fallen by more than 30 per cent in a week, with just 1,730 lab-confirmed cases reported on Sunday, the lowest figure since August. The total number of deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate is now 149,968, while those who died within 28 days of a test is 127,087. The Government said that, as of 9am on Sunday, there had been a further 1,730 lab-confirmed cases in the UK. It brings the total to 4,369,775. It was also another record day for second vaccine doses, with 475,230 receiving their booster jab on Saturday. Government data up to April 10 shows that of the 39,587,893 jabs have been given in the UK so far, of which 32,121,353 were first doses.

  • Mother delighted by daughter's Grand National win

    Rachael Blackmore's mother says she's delighted by her daughter's 'unreal' win at the Grand National. Blackmore made history becoming the first female winner of the race, riding Minella Times at Aintree today.

  • Prince Philip's death leaves 'huge void' for Queen: son

    Queen Elizabeth II has been left bereft at the death of her husband, Prince Philip, one of their sons said on Sunday, as prayers were said at memorial services across Britain.

  • Risk of two vaccinated people catching Covid from meeting indoors is 'tiny'

    The risk of two vaccinated people catching Covid from meeting up indoors is “tiny”, scientists have calculated, with just a one in 400,000 chance of picking up an infection. Last week, Boris Johnson warned that people should not be allowing others into their homes, even if they had both had the vaccine. “The vaccines are not giving 100 per cent protection, that’s why we need to be cautious,” said the Prime Minister. But Professor Tim Spector, at King’s College London, has calculated that the risk of catching a symptomatic infection is around one in 400,000 for two people who have been vaccinated – which is far less than the risk of developing a blood clot from the AstraZeneca jab. Prof Spector, who is lead scientist on the ZOE Covid Symptom Study app and professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s, said there was currently just a one in 1,400 risk of “bumping into someone” with symptomatic Covid, and people should feel more “relaxed” if they had been vaccinated.

  • Duchess of Cornwall's relative accuses wife of lying about her age when they married - denying him the chance of more children

    An aristocrat and relative of the Duchess of Cornwall has accused his wife of lying about her age in an ongoing divorce battle, which he claims denied him more children. Charles Villiers, 58, has been embroiled in a six-year divorce case that has so far played out in five different courts and before twelve judges. The couple, who share 25-year-old daughter Clarissa, married in 1994 and Charles has said he believed his wife to be 35 at the time. He has made various claims of dishonesty from his ex wife in court, the most serious of which was when he accused her of bigamy, which she vehemently denied. As part of the ongoing legal battle, he now claims to have unearthed new evidence on one of his wife's previous marriage certificates which would mean she was in fact 40 when they tied the knot, according to the Sunday Times. Mr Villiers told the newspaper: "Most of my friends were in their thirties at the time, with wives of similar age and additional children kept appearing for them. "I couldn't understand what the problem conceiving additional children was. Now I know. "I'm left in the situation that my wife might still try to claim millions of pounds off me, soley owing to the fact that we were married when, arguably, she married me under false pretences as I believed she was in her thirties, not in her forties in 1994, almost past child-bearing.” Mr Villiers went on to state that his wife did not wish to celebrate milestone birthdays, which he found "bizarre", before adding: "If it was a genuine error made in the creation of a marriage certificate document, not one word of explanation has ever been offered to me by Emma in 27 years." An electoral role registers Mrs Villiers as being born in 1958, which would make her current age 62, and 35 when they married.

  • Florida anti-masker who coughed on cancer patient sentenced to 30 days in prison

    Debra Hunter has been sentenced to serve 30 days in prison, pay a $500 fine, take anger management classes – and pay for her victim’s Covid test

  • Coronavirus latest news: South Africa variant can 'break through' Pfizer's vaccine

    Half of people in England live in areas that are Covid free Why Europe's approach to AstraZeneca jab differs from ours Two-thirds of pubs lack outdoor space to open on Monday Private Covid tests to be subject to quality checks Subscribe to The Telegraph for a month-long free trial The coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa can "break through" Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine to some extent, a real-world data study in Israel found, though its prevalence in the country is low and the research has not been peer reviewed. The study, released on Saturday, compared almost 400 people who had tested positive for Covid-19, 14 days or more after they received one or two doses of the vaccine, against the same number of unvaccinated patients with the disease. It matched age and gender, among other characteristics. The South African variant, B.1.351, was found to make up about 1 per cent of all the Covid-19 cases across all the people studied, according to the study by Tel Aviv University and Israel's largest healthcare provider, Clalit. The vaccine appeared to be less effective against the South African variant, researchers noted. Crucially, however, the study shows that the variant does not spread effectively, they say. It is believed that this reduced effectiveness may also only occur in a short window of time. Results from the study showed that there were no reported cases of B.1.351 in fully vaccinated individuals who had received their second dose more then 14-days prior. Follow the latest updates below

  • Army engineers began preparing Prince Philip’s Land Rover hearse after hospital stay

    Army engineers worked around the clock to make sure the Duke of Edinburgh’s specially-designed Land Rover hearse was ready in time for his funeral. A team from the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) was deployed to prepare the hearse after the Duke was admitted to hospital in February. His month-long stay at the age of 99 was the longest period Prince Philip had spent in a hospital. Details about the hearse are a closely-guarded secret but sources have suggested the converted Land Rover has an open-top design. It is also understood to be from the Land Rover Defender series. Two vehicles were commissioned from Land Rover and converted for “belt and braces” purposes but only one will be used at the funeral on Saturday. Sources have suggested one vehicle is green and the other black and it is unclear which will be deployed. The Corps of engineers, formed in 1942, is responsible “for maintaining and repairing the Army’s equipment”.

  • Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury fight ‘on the verge’ says Eddie Hearn

    The undisputed world heavyweight title fight is due to take place this summer but terms are yet to be finalised

  • Harry can attend funeral on ‘compassionate grounds’

    The Duke of Sussex will not have time to complete the 10 days quarantine ahead of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral next Saturday.

  • Husband walks in on wife being allegedly sexually assaulted at Sydney aged care home

    Husband walks in on wife being allegedly sexually assaulted at Sydney aged care home. José says he hasn’t been able to sleep since alleged assault, which was described as ‘cuddling’ in incident report

  • What we know about Philip’s funeral and the days ahead

    The duke died peacefully in his sleep on Friday at the age of 99.

  • Who will be the 30 people attending Prince Philip’s funeral?

    Queen must take into account strict limit on numbers due to Covid crisis

  • The Long Mile put down after Grand National 2021

    The seven-year-old was euthanised after suffering an injury while running on the flat between fences

  • Police launch manhunt after 12-year-old shot in chest while out walking in New York

    Police have not yet made any arrests over the shooting