Wednesday evening news briefing: Mystery surrounds route of lorry found in Essex containing 39 bodies

Murder investigation as 39 bodies found inside lorry container

Police have launched a murder investigation after 39 bodies were discovered in a refrigerated lorry container thought to have been left abandoned at an Essex industrial estate. Police were called by the ambulance service to Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, at about 1.40am today and found the bodies in the vehicle. It is understood 38 were adults and one was a teenager. The driver - a 25-year-old-man from Northern Ireland - was arrested on suspicion of murder.

It is understood the lorry was registered in Bulgaria and entered the UK on Saturday at Holyhead - more than 300 miles from where the bodies were discovered near Thurrock. Watch a video of Detective Chief Constable Pippa Mills from Essex Police holding a press conference on the discovery and see the "unorthodox route" the lorry is believed to have taken before it was found.

Brexit extension appears likely after Johnson and Corbyn meet

Boris Johnson has met Jeremy Corbyn to discuss a possible timetable for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, after the Government's proposed schedule was rejected last night in the House of Commons. Yet Downing Street's hope to agree a new timetable so the UK can leave the EU before October 31 was dashed when the two leaders failed to agree. It is now expected EU leaders will grant an extension until January 31. Follow The Telegraph's liveblog for the latest. Tony Diver examines what could happen next: delay, no deal or general election? And here are the latest odds on an election this year, and who would win.  PS - I'm sure many of you can relate to this piece from The Telegraph’s Marriage Diaries, where our writer exclaims: "Brexit is tearing me and my wife apart."

Motorists sent on 41-mile diversion around 65ft long roadworks

A diversion caused by roadworks is a frustration for drivers across the country. Yet spare a thought for motorists in Dorset who are being sent on a 41-mile round trip to bypass a 65ft stretch of sewage works. The small section of the A352 in Godmanstone will be closed between Monday and Friday next week for the operation. Read on for how long it is expected to take drivers to travel the official diversion route set by Dorset County Council, which usually takes around a second to cover while traveling at the 30mph speed limit.

News digest

• Hospital failures | A&E patients left in unnecessary pain, watchdog warns

• Misconduct hearing | Senior doctor filmed junior colleague belly dancing

• Knife assault | Man arrested after female police officer attacked with knives 

• 'I don't want to suffer' | Paralympic champion dies by euthanasia

• Abortion pill case | Northern Ireland woman acquitted after law change

Video | Prince Charles: 'Wales will make us all proud'

The Prince of Wales wished Wales's Rugby World Cup squad well during a training ground visit ahead of Sunday's semi-final against South Africa. Charles is in Tokyo for the enthronement of Japan's new Emperor Naruhito, and he spent around 30 minutes with the Wales players, coaches and management at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Stadium. Captain Alun Wyn Jones presented him with a signed Wales shirt. Read on for details.

Comment

• Douglas Carswell | Entitled political elites will pay at the next election

• Asa Bennett | Macron won't bail out Boris. He'll have to save Brexit himself

• David Thomas | The reasons why it's time trans people carried ID cards

• Jeremy Warner | Britain's savings market is an accident waiting to happen

• Krissy Turner | Why it's right women of colour dominate Model of the Year

World news: The one story you must read today...

Kim Jong-un orders demolition | Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has ordered the destruction of all facilities built by South Korea at the Mount Kumgang tourist zone, apparently because of Seoul's refusal to break ranks with the United States. Mr Kim visited the resort, which was initially operated by the two nations and was seen as a way of improving cross-border ties, and declared that "all the unpleasant-looking facilities" designed by South Korea should be torn down, state-run media reported. See what the resort looks like here.

Editor's choice

1. 'I lost 9st playing Pokémon Go' | How the viral app turned into a health boon

2. 'You are trashing my scene!' | The story behind Christian Bale's Terminator outburst

3. Gene drain | 'I yearn for the North, but the South has made me who I am'

Business and money briefing

British Steel deadline looms | Hopes British Steel will be rescued by Turkish investor Ataer Holding are fading ahead of a deadline for the bid tomorrow. Read on for details of what might happen next if a deal falls through.

• FundingSecure collapses | Woe for thousands of peer-to-peer investors

• Moral Money | 'Should I stop buying organic food so I can afford a house?'

• Stay on top of the markets | Live stocks and shares updates 24 hours a day

Sport briefing

England XVs to take on New Zealand | The Telegraph's sports writers pick their teams for Saturday's Rugby World Cup semi-final against the All Blacks.

• Danny Care | Eddie Jones is brilliant at taking the heat off his players

• Roman Abramovich in exile | How he has filled the void left by Chelsea

• Leicester City | Rodgers prepares to spend £80m from Maguire transfer fee

And finally...

The era of 'quantum supremacy' | Google says it has made a breakthroughin quantum computing after its processing chip took 200 seconds to perform a calculation that would have taken a classical supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. Researchers said this indicated they had achieved what is known as "quantum supremacy". Hannah Boland and Ellie Zolfagharifard explain what it means. But IBM has hit back at Google's claim. Read on for details.