Ed Miliband has been accused of endangering the nation’s food security after giving the go-ahead for Britain’s biggest solar farm on green land despite the objections of officials.

The Energy Secretary’s decision to overturn the planning inspectorate and give the green light to the controversial project in rural eastern England has sparked fury from MPs and campaigners.

The scheme will see Sunnica, an energy firm, building a 2,792-acre solar farm and energy storage infrastructure around several villages in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, providing power for 100,000 homes. Mr Miliband has also given the go-ahead along to two solar farms in Lincolnshire. 

It is feared this will be the first of many further decisions that will sacrifice vast amounts of farmland to net zero energy projects. 

The danger is that the fall in domestic agricultural production will compromise the nation’s food security, meaning it will face the prospect of greater dependence on food imports and increasing vulnerability to price rises on international markets.

The decision suggests it is likely that Mr Miliband will make meeting net zero targets a priority over preserving agricultural land in the dozens of other solar farm decisions making their way through the planning system.

On Saturday night, he defended the move, saying: “Some of these cases had been held up for months before I arrived in the department. They were put on my desk on Monday, and I’ve made a decision in three days.

“This is the speed we’re working at to achieve energy independence, cut bills for families and kick-start green economic growth. We will make tough decisions with ambition and urgency – all part of our plan to make the UK a clean energy superpower.”

It comes as the Labour Government is set to introduce a number of net zero measures in the King’s Speech on Tuesday, including legislation to set up GB Energy, a publicly-owned energy company.

More than 35 new Bills will be announced, which will include overhauling planning rules to boost house-building and legislation to nationalise the railways.

The speech, which will be delivered by King Charles at the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday, will include a cyber security Bill, aimed at reining in the ability of hackers from rogue states to target public services such as the NHS.

There will be legislation empowering the Office for Budget Responsibility to publish independent forecasts of major fiscal events.

It is understood legislation to lower the voting age to 16 – one of Labour’s manifesto commitments – will not feature.

Other measures include abandoning zero hours contracts, a national truant register and more breakfast clubs.

The Sunnica project, which is equivalent to the size of 2,115 football pitches, was one of three solar farms Mr Miliband waved through on Friday evening.

Critics have decried the size of the solar farm on agricultural land and the potential danger of the large lithium-ion battery units needed to store the electricity generated by solar panels before transfer to the National Grid. In recent years, similar units have been involved in fires and explosions in Britain and abroad.

Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said: “It’s clear that Ed Miliband has more interest in listening to the demands of Just Stop Oil than the needs of rural communities, even going as far as to overrule an expert Examining Authority to impose a large-scale solar farm in one case.

“Climate policy cannot come at the expense of struggling families, or the nation’s food or economic security or it will fail.”

Nick Timothy, the Tory MP for West Suffolk, hit out at the “arrogant” decision, adding: “It was made with such haste it is difficult to believe that the Secretary of State respected the process or acted with good reason. I am already receiving correspondence from residents who are extremely worried about what it means for their families, homes and futures.”

Mr Timothy pointed out that the Examining Authority – the Government’s planning inspectors – stated that the scheme’s significant costs were not outweighed by any kind of public benefit.

“Across the country, people living near proposed giant solar and battery farms should beware – the Government has made clear it is not willing to listen to the evidence, the experts or local residents,” he said.

Charlotte Cane, the Liberal Democrat MP for neighbouring Ely and East Cambridgeshire said she was “shocked” that the Energy Secretary had “overridden all advice to the contrary and given this scheme permission”.

She added: “Green energy is vital, and solar farms are key to meeting our net zero targets. But that must not mean that every solar farm application should get permission regardless of its impact on our food security, biodiversity, landscape character and our existing farming and horse racing businesses.”

Of the 1,360 representations received by the Government, all the relevant local authorities expressed their opposition and the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service raised concerns about the safety of the battery energy storage system.

South Korea had 23 battery farm fires in two years, while Lithium-ion batteries used in solar farm energy storage systems were deemed an “unacceptable risk” in Arizona after causing two serious ­fires in 2019. Solar farm battery units are not covered by the Control of Major Accident Hazards regulations, and are unregulated under UK law.

Dr John Constable, the director of the Renewable Energy Foundation, said Mr Miliband was already “looking like a liability to his party’s growth agenda because he simply does not understand how damaging these renewable plans are to the economy. This is beginning to look like it is some kind of dogmatic ideology”.

He added: “There are dozens of solar projects across the UK at all stages of development. If this is a sign of things to come, it looks to me as though developers are going to get a free hand.

“Any concern for planning balance and environmental impact for reasonable decisions is being thrown to the winds. Food security matters – why not let the land make good food rather than second or third-rate electricity?”

A Sunnica spokesman said: “Sunnica is immensely pleased with the decision to grant development consent for Sunnica Energy Farm. Sunnica would make a nationally significant contribution towards the UK’s legal obligation to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and its ongoing energy security.

“This important milestone, and the decision by the Secretary of State, has come after many months of intense scrutiny and robust engagement with the planning process and wider public consultations.

“We will now move forward towards the implementation phase, ultimately allowing us to create clean renewable energy for the UK, and look forward to meeting with local authorities and the wider community to plan the next steps.”

To the unsuspecting onlooker, it would appear that Sir Keir Starmer is running a rather slick operation. 

With his Cabinet appointed and his Downing Street team in place, a steady drumbeat of Government announcements has dominated the news agenda this week.

But just over a week into the new regime, tensions are bubbling under the surface. Allies of Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, fear she is being “frozen out” and believe she is already being unfairly stripped of responsibilities.

Ms Rayner, directly elected by Labour members as Deputy PM and therefore unsackable, has already been identified as the biggest potential threat to Sir Keir’s authority.

The darling of the Left, she has her own power base within the party and is particularly popular among those who, like her, have come up through the ranks from the trade union movement.

A Savanta poll earlier this month showed she was by far the most popular choice among Labour voters to succeed Sir Keir. She has a powerful mandate from the membership, having been elected deputy in 2020 with more than twice as many votes in the final round as Rosena Allin-Khan, her nearest rival.

However, friends of Ms Rayner are growing concerned that her authority is being gradually and subtly undermined.

While in opposition, she had been leading one of Labour’s flagship policies, the new deal for working people, which promises to boost wages and give workers more rights.

But it is now Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, whose department will take the lead. “This probably means that the new deal will get killed off as Jonny Reynolds will want to do what is best for business, not what is best for the unions – it will be a clash,” said one Labour source.

According to party insiders, there is now growing speculation that Ms Rayner is also set to have the planning brief taken away from her after Rachel Reeves made it the focus of her first major speech as Chancellor.

“Angela has been frozen out of everything. She was sitting in the front row of a speech about her own department,” said a source.

Others point to the fact that many of Ms Rayner’s shadow cabinet team were overlooked when it came to getting jobs in the Government. 

Mike Amesbury, Paula Barker and Flo Eshalomi, close allies and members of her shadow housing team, have been relegated to the backbenches. Matt Pennycook and Jim McMahon, also members of her shadow team, have been appointed as ministers in her department.

Friends of Ms Rayner are urging her to “get out there” more and take ownership of her brief. One said: “Everyone has been looking busy – Wes, Ed and Rachel have all been out there doing things. Within a few days, she is already being frozen out of stuff, having parts of her brief taken off her – it is not a great start.”

Wes Streeting used his first day as Health Secretary to declare that the NHS is “broken” and this would be his department’s official policy. He went on to hold a first round of talks with the British Medical Association, aimed at breaking the deadlock on junior doctor strikes.

Meanwhile, Ms Reeves chose the Churchill Room at the Treasury, where the creation of the NHS was announced, to deliver her maiden speech as Chancellor, and Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, has spent the past few days implementing a ban on North Sea oil and setting up a new net zero task force.

One issue said to be hampering Ms Rayner is that the office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not yet been defined. Nick Parrott, her chief of staff, was not able to get hold of Sue Gray, Sir Keir’s powerful chief of staff, to discuss it before election day.

But John McTernan, who was political secretary to Sir Tony Blair from 2005 to 2007, said that this should not pose a problem for her.

“Angela has got the position in the party with its own mandate and a position in the Cabinet of Deputy Prime Minister,” he said. “She has the relationships with the powerhouses at the centre of the operation – Keir, Rachel and Ed – and if you look at her department, she is at the heart of Labour’s growth agenda.”

The Telegraph understands Ms Rayner is happy with her team of ministers and will still remain closely involved with the  new deal.

Meanwhile, a restructure at Labour’s campaign headquarters, which was meant to take place last week, has been delayed because David Evans, the party’s general secretary, has been unable to get the green light from Ms Gray.

“David was meant to be overseeing this but can’t start it as he hasn’t had a steer from Sue Gray about what the structure of Downing Street will look like,” said a Labour source. “He is blowing up because Sue Gray isn’t answering the phone to him.”

While some staff have been offered plum jobs in either Downing Street or government departments, dozens of others are now left in limbo. Anyone hired on a general election contract is now officially working out their notice, which was triggered on polling day.

A Labour source said: “Following the election, many members of the team have moved into government roles, meaning changes to the HQ operation. This will allow the party to support the Government on delivering its mission of national renewal.

“The restructure of the Downing Street operation has moved at pace. It would not be correct to say that this has caused frustration for senior personnel in the party.”

Tourists in Crete were forced to wade into the sea and throw their backpacks on board a ferry after locals reportedly banned the use of a floating platform.

A line of tourists can be seen bobbing along with the help of a rope from the shore in Balos beach to the waiting ferry.

Many can be seen desperately trying to hold their belongings above water before having to throw it to others to catch onboard.

The ferry had stopped at the picturesque lagoon as part of a sightseeing trip and was due to go to the town of Kissamos when the tourists were ordered to disembark and reboard through the water. The reason behind the passengers having to disembark the ferry is unclear.

One American tourist told local news website zarpanaws it was an “unacceptable situation”.

“People have to walk through neck-deep water to reach the edge of the sea. Elderly people are unable to walk,” they said.

Giorgos Mylonakis, the mayor of Kissamos, said the platform had been removed by mistake but has since been repositioned and “the situation is better”.

“It’s not only a matter of safety, but also of the visitors’ general experience. Balos is one of the most beautiful places in Greece and we must ensure the best possible experience for everyone,” he told broadcaster ERT.

Police investigating the deaths of two men whose remains were found in two suitcases on the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol have arrested a man.

The 34-year-old man was arrested in the Bristol area in the early hours of Saturday following a joint operation by the Metropolitan Police and Avon and Somerset Police.

Armed officers arrested him at the city’s Temple Meads railway station. He is due to be taken from Bristol to London, where he will be questioned by detectives later on Saturday.

The development comes hours after more human remains were found at a property in Shepherd’s Bush, west London. Detectives confirmed that they belonged to the same two men whose remains were found in Bristol.

The Shepherd’s Bush property was raided on Friday as officers smashed down the door and cordoned off the street while forensics officers conducted searches. A police helicopter circled overhead for much of the day.

On Saturday afternoon, investigators in blue forensic suits, wearing masks and gloves, could be seen working behind the cordon. One took photographs of the area, while other investigators worked near a set of bins outside an estate just off Scotts Road. Three police vehicles were used to block the view from beyond the cordon.

Dept Asst Commissioner Andy Valentine, of Scotland Yard, said: “This is a significant development in our investigation, and I would like to thank the public for their support.

“We understand the concerns of local communities in both Bristol and London, and officers will remain in the Clifton and Shepherd’s Bush areas over the coming days to reassure those affected by this tragic incident. Anyone with any concerns is encouraged to speak with them.”

Police said they were not looking for anyone else. Earlier, they had released a photograph and named a suspect they were seeking in connection with the grim discovery, which was made shortly before midnight on Wednesday.

Yostin Andres Mosquera, a 34-year-old Colombian national, was being sought as police released images thought to be of him and taken close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

He was believed to have travelled to Bristol from London in a vehicle in which he was not the driver. He was picked up in a taxi outside a pub in Clifton, an affluent area in the west of the city.

It is thought he then made a short journey from outside the pub to the other side of the bridge, which connects Bristol with Leigh Woods in North Somerset.

The manhunt began at 11.57pm on Wednesday, when police received reports of a man seen “acting suspiciously” near the Bristol bridge. Officers arrived within 10 minutes but the man had left the scene, leaving a suitcase behind. A second suitcase was found nearby a short time later.

Both were found to contain human remains. One post-mortem examination has been carried out, which proved “inconclusive”, police said. A second remains ongoing. The victims have not yet been formally identified, but both are believed to be adult men, detectives have said.

A 36-year-old man arrested on Friday in Greenwich, south London, in connection with the investigation has since been released without charge.

John Hunt, the BBC racing commentator, has said the trauma suffered by his family after the murders of his wife Carol and daughters Hannah and Louise “cannot be put into words”.

In a statement released on Saturday morning, Mr Hunt said he and Amy, his surviving daughter, were grateful for the support of their community, but that “the devastation that we are experiencing cannot be put into words”.

Just over four days after his 61-year-old wife and his daughters, 28 and 25, died after being attacked with a crossbow in their home in Bushey, Herts, Mr Hunt said he and Amy were going through “an extremely difficult time”. Carol, Hannah and Louise died on Tuesday evening.

The statement, released through Hertforshire Police, said: “We would like to thank people for their kind messages and for the support we have received in recent days. These have provided great comfort to us, for which we are very grateful.

“As you can imagine, this is an extremely difficult time for us and we need time and space to come to terms with what has happened and start the grieving process.”

Kyle Clifford, from Enfield, north London, was arrested on suspicion of three counts of murder after being found with a wound to his chest at a cemetery close to his home on Wednesday afternoon. Police said Clifford, a former soldier and security guard, remains in a serious condition in hospital.

On Friday evening, more than 200 mourners paid their respects to the victims at a church service.

The pews of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and St John the Evangelist Church, in Bushey High Street, were full for the vigil for Mrs Hunt and her daughters. Alex Klein, Hannah’s partner, was seen being comforted by attendees.

Father Jim McNicholas thanked friends and relatives of the Hunt family for coming to the “wonderful expression of communal love and caring”.

He said: “It is a good example to remember that no matter how dark things are, no matter how evil or bad, the light of love always displaces that darkness.”

The parish priest said that people with “goodness” in their life were “hostage to those whose lives are not”, adding: “The Hunt family have had to pay the terrible price for someone whose life and choices were not.”

Mr Klein had earlier posted a picture of himself and Hannah on Instagram, with the message: “RIP the love of my life, I will never forget you, stolen from me too soon. The brightest light in my life. My brave queen for life. Until we meet again… I love you Hansy.”

Shabbat prayers were also said for the Hunt family at Bushey Synagogue. Elchonon Feldman, the senior rabbi, said the local Jewish community was “in a state of shock and mourning at the brutal attack and murder of three innocent Bushey residents”.

He added: “It will certainly take time to comprehend that such a tragedy took place in our midst, but in the first instance we stand together in sorrow and prayer with all family and friends who are grieving at this time of immense loss.”

Flowers continued to be left at the scene of the murders in Ashlyn Close, with notes bearing messages attached to some of the bouquets.

A tornado-like cloud was filmed careering across parts of Devon on Saturday.

The rotating column of cloud could be seen spiralling down from a dark cloud towards the ground near Ivybridge on the edge of the Dartmoor National Park.

The “twister” was filmed by a motorist travelling on the A38 in the early afternoon.

It is likely the formation was in fact a funnel cloud which emerged from storm clouds over Devon and Dorset.

Funnel clouds or tuba are spinning cone-shaped clouds that reach towards the ground but do not actually connect. If they do connect, they become classified as tornados. If they hit a body of water, they become waterspouts.

The Met Office says they are made up of a “rotating column of wind which draws in cloud droplets, making a region of intense low pressure visible”.

They are formed in the same way as a tornado building around this localised area of intensely low pressure and are typically associated with the formation of cumulonimbus thunderclouds.

The UK sees up to 35 tornados each year, although they are rarely strong enough to cause significant damage.

Israel targeted the leader of the Hamas military in an air strike on Saturday, in what would be the most significant assassination of the war if he is confirmed to have been killed.

Mohammed Deif is considered one of the orchestrators of the Oct 7 massacre, and has been involved in the kidnapping and killing of Israeli citizens for decades.

Known as “The Guest” because of his reported habit of switching where he sleeps every night, Deif is also said to be the architect of the tunnel network stretching hundreds of kilometres underneath Gaza.

Saturday’s attack left more than 70 people dead and more than 100 injured, according to local media. Palestinian media said the strike hit a designated safe zone, known as known as al-Mawasi, in Khan Younis.

Israeli media cited military officials who said the strike targeted a building in the humanitarian zone between al-Mawasi and Khan Younis, but not in the tent camp, as Palestinian media reported. The Israeli army estimates that no hostages were in the area.

An Israeli official told The Telegraph: “Mohammed Deif was our target and so was the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, Rafa’a Salameh. We are waiting for final confirmation on the situation, but we are optimistic.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that it “isn’t absolutely certain” that Deif was killed in Khan Younis on Saturday, but promised that Israel will get to the entire leadership of Hamas.

Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, announced that he had held an operational situation assessment with the heads of the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet intelligence agency “in light of developments in Gaza”.

Deif, born in Khan Younis in 1967, joined Hamas during the first Intifada. He became the leader of the terror group’s military in 2002 after Ahmed Jabari, his predecessor, was assassinated by Israel.

In the hours after the Oct 7 attack, Deif appeared in a recorded video message announcing the start of “Operation al-Aqsa Storm”. Urged Palestinians to take up arms, he said in the clip: “Enough is enough.”

Israel holds Deif responsible for the kidnappings and murders of two Israeli soldiers, Shahar Simani and Aryeh Frankenthal, in 1994.

Deif was also behind suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Askhelon in February 1996, in which more than 50 Israelis were killed. The attacks were seen as revenge for an Israeli assassination of Yahya Ayyash, a senior Hamas official known as “The Engineer” for his role in bombings.

He is seen as responsible for the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006, as well as strengthening Hamas’ military ties with Iran in recent years.

Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, was also targeted in the strike, according to Israeli media.