Ukraine has made an impassioned plea to Sir Keir Starmer to allow it to use British-donated Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russian territory, insisting the weapons will “turn the tide of war”.

Kyiv’s force would use the long-range missiles against Russian airfields, command posts and supply lines, an advisor to Volodymyr Zelensky has told TheTelegraph.

Mykhailo Podolyak said if Britain loosened restrictions on the use of the weapons, it would allow Ukraine to increase the intensity of strikes against key targets deep inside Russia that could speed up the end of the war.

It is the most forthright appeal for the British to grant permission for strikes on Russian soil since the British prime minister spurned Mr Zelensky’s request last month during meetings in London.

Kyiv has drawn up a list of potential targets, including an airfield its forces recently struck in a drone attack, that would complicate Russian efforts to resupply its defences in Kursk and drop deadly glide bombs along the front lines.

Mr Zelensky last week instructed Ukrainian officials and diplomats to draw up plans to convince his Western allies to end their opposition to their missiles being used on targets inside Russia.

Kyiv has already been given permission to use some of its advanced Western weapons inside Russia.

Ukrainian forces have been spotted using British Challenger 2 tanks as part of the invasion of Kursk, as well as American Himars rocket launchers.

But Western governments have so far rebuffed Ukrainian requests for permission to carry out long-range missile strikes across the border, amid fears of escalation.

“Undoubtedly, Ukraine urgently needs our British partners to authorise the use of Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike Russian territory,” Mr Podolyak told The Telegraph, revealing part of Kyiv’s diplomatic strategy for the first time.

He detailed how command posts, cruise missile storage depots and military airfields located near the Ukrainian border would be targeted in “systematic and large-scale strikes”.

One of those airbases is Lipetsk, which Kyiv has targeted with multiple waves of strikes using domestically made drones. Officials last week claimed to have destroyed 700 Russian glide bombs in one assault.

The airfield is about 200 miles from the Ukrainian border with Russia’s Kursk region, the staging post for Kyiv’s audacious offensive on Russian territory.

“Ukraine has already demonstrated its ability to effectively destroy such targets. Such strikes have been carried out using Ukraine’s existing capabilities, and they are very complex and time-consuming operations,” Mr Podolyak said.

“If Ukraine is able to use Storm Shadow missiles in such operations, the quality and number of such strikes could increase significantly.

“And the systematic and large-scale strikes are one of the keys to finally turning the tide of the war in favour of the democratic pro-Ukrainian coalition.”

Warheads can penetrate reinforced shelters

Storm Shadows can hit targets as far as 190 miles away and come with modern technologies that could become crucial in disrupting the Kremlin’s war machine inside Ukraine.

The Franco-British missile’s bunker-buster warhead is capable of penetrating strongly protected targets, such as specially reinforced shelters housing Russian aircraft and munitions.

It also flies low to the ground, skirting terrain, and concealing itself from enemy radar coverage, making it harder for air-defence systems to target it.

“Allowing the use of Storm Shadow missiles on the territory of the Russian Federation will significantly slow down and complicate Russian logistics and force Russia to withdraw its aircraft to more remote airfields,” Mr Podolyak said.

Ukraine will outline plans to use Storm Shadow in tandem with “other means of destruction” in its renewed diplomatic push to obtain permission for strikes deep inside Russia from the UK and other Western allies.

“By the way, as is already clear from the course of the current war, Russia understands only significant force and losses,” the adviser added.

Kyiv sent requests to both Britain and France to drop restrictions on the Storm Shadow and its French sister Scalp-EG. Mr Zelensky has also repeatedly asked Washington for American-donated Atacms ballistic missiles to be used to strike targets deep within Russia.

It is understood that London, Paris and Rome, which have firms involved in the missile’s manufacturing, would have to sign off on any decision over Storm Shadow.

A British defence source said the US was the real stumbling block because it was blocking use of a “key enabling requirement” for launching Storm Shadow into Russia.

Germany refused to hand over Taurus missile

Germany has refused to hand over its own Taurus cruise missile and on Saturday it emerged it was freezing all military aid to Ukraine.

Defence minister Boris Pistorius had written up a wish list for €4 billion in additional military supplies to Ukraine, but a letter sent to him by the finance ministry made clear that no extra money would be freed up because of the need to cut federal spending.

The European nations are also hesitant to move without an agreement with the US, providing them with diplomatic and military cover for any decision.

Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman for the US department of defence, last week admitted that Washington was “worried about escalation” over Ukraine’s long-range strikes.

A UK Government spokeswoman said: “There has been no change in the UK’s position. We have been providing military aid to support Ukraine’s clear right of self-defence against Russia’s illegal attacks in accordance with international humanitarian law.

“We are clear that equipment provided by the UK is intended for the defence of Ukraine.”

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, has published a video of himself driving a Tesla Cybertruck with what looked like a machine gun mounted on top, saying he would send it to the Ukraine conflict zone.

Kadyrov, known for extravagant publicity stunts, heaped praise on both the vehicle and Elon Musk, owner of Tesla, on the Telegram messaging app, calling him the “strongest genius of modern times” and inviting him to Chechnya.

“We… await your future products that will help us finish the special military operation,” Kadyrov wrote, using the official term by which Russia describes its war in Ukraine. The phrase is abbreviated as SWO in Russian.

“Based on such excellent characteristics, the cyber truck will soon be sent to the SWO area, where it will be reclaimed in the appropriate conditions. I am sure this “beast” will be of great use to our fighters.”

Mr Kadyrov went on to invite Mr Musk to Russia, writing: “I literally fell in love with this car. Elon, thank you! Come to Grozny, I’ll receive you as my dearest guest! I don’t think our Russian Foreign Ministry would object to such a trip.

“And, of course, we are waiting for your new developments that will contribute to the completion of the SWO.”

Clapping the NHS during the pandemic may have had “dangerous” consequences by insulating it from criticism, the health ombudsman has suggested.

Rebecca Hilsenrath warned against treating the health service as a “national religion” as she called on its leaders to radically overhaul the culture and listen to those it fails.

She also accused the NHS of “doubly traumatising” those who had lost loved ones by refusing to even acknowledge the harm caused.

Ms Hilsenrath’s office has submitted evidence to an investigation of the NHS, led by Prof Lord Darzi, which is due to be published next month.

It shows a near 50 per cent rise in complaints about the NHS to the ombudsman – the highest authority for unresolved grievances – since 2020/21.

‘National mood has changed’

The independent investigation was ordered by Wes Streeting when he became Health Secretary last month, after he came to the conclusion that “the NHS is broken”.

Ms Hilsenrath told The Telegraph: “There is an argument I have heard that clapping for the NHS during the pandemic was quite a dangerous thing to do … because no organisation can be a national religion, and no organisation should be beyond constructive criticism.”

“I don’t think that it is helpful for any organisation to be treated as religion,” she added, suggesting the “national mood has changed” since the gratitude seen in the pandemic, with a significant upsurge in complaints.

Ms Hilsenrath, who previously led the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the failure of the health service to listen to those it had let down meant it was not learning the lessons of deadly errors.

She raised particular concern about a surge in maternity investigations, saying too many lives were lost as a result of failures to listen to women in labour.

In the last year, the ombudsman for England has investigated almost twice as many maternity cases as the previous year, in every case because the NHS had failed to probe sufficiently, new figures show.

Evidence submitted to the investigation, and shared with The Telegraph, show 27,479 complaints about the NHS in England to the Ombudsman in 2023/24, with two in three at least partly upheld.

This is 47 per cent up on the 18,727 received in 2020/21, and almost double the 14,615 complaints recorded in 2011/12

“I think it does speak to a change in attitude towards the NHS and a far lower degree of happiness with services,” Ms Hilsenrath said.

She added she did not think the service should be treated as a religion, but nor did she subscribe to the view expressed by Mr Streeting that it is “broken”.

She said: “I don’t think that’s really helpful. We have to have an honest conversation about what’s really going on and how it needs to do better.”

Ms Hilsenrath said she could understand why the health service had won applause during the pandemic.

“Of course, people were enormously grateful for the extraordinary efforts that people in NHS went to during that time, including risking their own personal safety,” she said.

“I also know that the national mood has changed since then, and I think it’s incredibly difficult as an NHS worker to consistently read about the failings in your service, and how you’re letting people down.”

To go from being clapped to being derided in such a short space of time left NHS workers “in a place of risk” she said.

She went on: “There is a lack of consistency, as you see completely brilliant things happening in some places, not in others. I think we ask a lot of NHS leaders, sometimes we get it back but we don’t always. And of course, the ultimate price for failure is tragedy.

“We ought to be able to have an adult conversation, which doesn’t detract from the dedication and the brilliance that I talked about, but recognises that things need to be better.”

Ms Hilsenrath said she was particularly worried about the recent trends in maternity, with 28 investigations by the ombudsman in 2023/24, compared with 15 the previous year.

Despite a “phenomenal” succession of maternity inquiries, including a 2022 investigation into Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which found more than 200 avoidable deaths in the previous two decades, the situation appears to be worsening, Ms Hilsenrath said.

Two thirds of units are rated as inadequate or requiring improvement for safety by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

In a recently upheld complaint, Carly Hardwidge, a 33-year-old mother, told clinicians seven times that she couldn’t feel her baby moving.

Ms Hardwidge  also repeatedly told midwives she was experiencing pain, contractions, water leakage and had blood-stained discharge.

The ombudsman found staff at Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust failed to properly investigate her concerns or refer her to an obstetrician on multiple occasions before her daughter was stillborn in December 2018.

Ms Hilsenrath said: “The catalogue of failings by the Trust in this case is truly shocking and it led to the devastating loss of a baby.

“Once again, we see a patient’s concerns dismissed and not taken seriously. The lack of continuity of care meant nobody took a holistic view of what was happening. Ultimately, this led to the tragic avoidable death of a baby girl.”

Ms Hilsenrath also said it was vital that reform of the NHS focuses on changing the way it works, not on the funding.

“Above all .. its got to be about culture. And if we get bogged down in money and structures, ultimately we’ll end up back where we are now, because it’s got to be about culture and behaviours.

“An NHS that isn’t listening isn’t learning, and that’s what takes you into repeat behaviors, and that’s the single critical thing that we see. And I’m afraid we see it over and over again.

“When big things go wrong and terrible things happen you get the NHS saying ‘never again’, but actually it’s just not true.

“Being patient-centric lies at the heart of that, because until the NHS listens more with people when things go wrong and before they go wrong, of course, those mistakes will continue to be made.”

‘Culture starts from the top’

She said the NHS had failed to act on previous recommendations to improve its leadership, and change its behaviours.

“Culture starts from the top, so we need leaders who aren’t just looking at numbers, but also looking at the culture within their organisation, and that’s on two levels. So partly it’s about patients, and partly it’s about staff, and can they speak out when things are going wrong.”

The case of the Nottingham killer illustrates failings which are common across the NHS, Ms Hilsenrath added.

Valdo Calocane was sectioned under the Mental Health Act four times, but discharged, despite his family raising concerns about his state of mind.

He went on to stab three strangers to death on the street.

Ms Hilsenrath said the failure of staff at Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust to listen to concerns about Calocane showed that the “tragic and appalling case” had wider lessons for all services.

Care Quality Commission ‘not fit for purpose’

Mr Streeting has ordered a review of all safety organisations, after an interim review found that the CQC was “not fit for purpose”.

Ms Hilsenrath, who reports to Parliament, said: “The regulatory landscape is an urgent need of reform. It’s very crowded, it’s very fragmented. I’ve actually, genuinely lost count of how many bodies there are in the health and social care regulatory space, but it’s over 130.

“There’s a vast amount of duplication. It’s very difficult for regulators in health to speak with a clear and united voice, because there’s just so many of them, and they all have slightly different but overlapping roles.

“The organisations in question, the NHS, tend to get faced by multiple recommendations which all come from different people, and … of course, it’s a grossly inefficient way to run anything.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman: “The NHS is broken but we are determined to get it back on its feet so it can be there for all of us when we need it.

“We will be honest about the challenges facing the health service and will work to tackle them.

“The Independent investigation into the NHS by Lord Darzi is a step towards identifying and solving these problems as we create an NHS fit for the future.”

BBC Proms ticket holders have been told they will be barred from bringing “protest flags” to the Last Night.

At the patriotic finale of the season, the Royal Albert Hall is typically filled with audience members carrying the Union Jack, or the more controversial flag of the EU.

The venue has this year told concert goers that “flags related to protest” and “hatred” are not allowed at the event on Sept 14, and may be confiscated by staff.

The explicit statement of policy marks a departure from previous years, when the potentially obstructive size of flags was the principal issue raised ahead of each Last Night concert.

The clear statement that certain flags are unacceptable comes following years of discontent over the EU flags often brought into the event, and during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Palestinian flags have become a fixture of frequent political marches through London and other UK cities since the conflict began.

The Albert Hall has said that its policy has not changed, but new wording has been introduced to make its rules clear.

These rules state in an online guide to attending the Proms: “Flags are permitted at the Proms and are traditionally part of the Last Night celebrations provided they do not interfere with the smooth running of the concert.

It adds that “some flags will not be allowed in the auditorium, including those from proscribed groups, flags related to protest, hatred”.  It also sets out size limits for the size of flags.

An additional PDF document has been provided online clearly setting out “restricted items”. This states that “flags related to protest may be confiscated”.

The Albert Hall has not provided any guidance advice on which flags specifically would contravene the rules on “protest” and “hatred”.

Prior to the 2024 season, online advice for attending the Last Night had the same preamble about flags being part of the experience, so long as they did not interfere with the show.  It also warned concert-goers about the size of their flags and flag poles.

In 2022, following reports that bags would be searched for flags, Albert Hall representatives explicitly set out the venue’s flag policy, repeating the stipulation that flags must not exceed a certain size or interfere with the smooth running of the concert. No mention was made at this time of protest, hatred, or proscription.

The Hall’s explicit statement of flag restrictions comes following months of pro-Palestine protests across the country.

In the aftermath of the Oct 7 attacks in Israel, the Premier League banned Israeli and Palestinian flags from grounds across the country.

It also follows the 2023 Last Night, which saw the standing section of the auditorium filled with a sea of EU flags.

This followed the efforts of a Remainder group called Thank EU For The Music, who organised the spectacle and handed out thousands of EU flags outside the Hall. They called the event an “incomparable festival of joyful music-making”.

This year Last Night, which traditionally includes renditions of Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia and Jerusalem, will be conducted by Sakari Oramo, the Finnish conductor .

He is the chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the ensemble that has in a recent tradition performed at both the Last Night and First Night of the Proms.

A prison where convicted murderers are given knives to prepare their own meals and call staff by their first names has been rated the best in the country.

Staff at HMP Oakwood, Britain’s biggest jail, do not carry batons and instead try to resolve conflicts by talking to prisoners rather than using force, Sean Oliver, the prison director, said after the rating was revealed following a snap inspection.

It represents a dramatic transformation for the G4S-run jail near Wolverhampton, which was dubbed “Jokewood’ shortly after it opened in 2012.

Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales, said the prison was “bucking trends in challenging times”, with low rates of violence and self-harm among the 2,100 men held there.

Around 1,700 inmates at HMP Oakwood are assessed as posing a ‘high risk of harm’.

Mr Oliver, 59, who has been in charge since 2021, said that treating every offender at the jail with respect was key to establishing good relationships and maintaining order.

He insists that inmates call him Sean rather than “Governor” – the traditional way prison managers are greeted.

He told The Telegraph: “Walking past the prisoner and going ‘good morning’ to everyone is what we do.

“I always say to staff it’s very difficult for a prisoner to assault you if you’re being helpful. Find out what the problem is, try to resolve the problem and most of the anger will go away.

“You’ve got to embrace trust. There also have to be consequences, if there’s a breach of that trust.”

Making meals fosters ‘community spirit’

About half the prisoners at Oakwood are permitted to prepare their own meals, which inspectors said contributed to a “community spirit”. There are also opportunities for inmates to cook for and eat with relatives during visits. Family dogs are sometimes allowed to visit too.

The prisoners cook in kitchens equipped with a full range of utensils, including knives, but Mr Oliver, who was a chef before joining the prison service, said there had rarely been problems.

“The truth is [cooking] holds too much value to them to lose it. If they want to hit you with something, there’s many things they can find. Thankfully, they don’t hit us very often,” he explained.

The success of Oakwood, one of 14 jails operated by private companies, is in stark contrast to the overall performance of the prison system, in which 50 out of 119 establishments are said to be giving cause for “concern” or “serious concern”, according to the latest Ministry of Justice figures.

A chronic shortage of prison cells is at the root of the crisis, with only 700 spare places in men’s jails. 

With the prison population expected to surge over the coming months, the Government is introducing emergency measures in September and October to free up space. Around 5,500 prisoners will be released early, after serving 40 per cent of their sentence, rather than the standard 50 per cent.

Jail space has also been affected by this month’s riots and unrest across the country. More than 1,000 people have been arrested and more than 600 charged in connection to the disorder.

Another problem is the flow of illicit drugs.

Drugs have been found in parcels with fake Amazon labels and at the bottom of tins of food. Drones have even landed drugs packages disguised as grass on fields next to the jail, while mobile phones have been discovered hidden in electrical equipment.

“They’re ingenious,” said Mr Oliver, who has boosted the prison security team at Oakwood to stay one step ahead of the criminals.