Sir Keir Starmer will not be allowed to “cherry-pick” a new Brexit deal, Brussels has vowed ahead of the Prime Minister’s meeting with Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday.

European Commission officials told ambassadors of the 27 EU member states that the red lines of the original Brexit negotiations with the Tories would not change for a Labour government and that they would guard against British efforts to bend EU rules.

“It is important to protect the integrity of the internal market,” an EU diplomat told The Telegraph after the behind closed door meeting with envoys on Monday evening.

“The Commission promised to guard the balance of rights and obligations and acknowledged that the scope to start further cooperation is limited.”

Sir Keir is holding his first substantive talks with Mrs von der Leyen, the Commission president, in Brussels on Wednesday as he looks to cement his “reset” of relations with the EU and forge closer post-Brexit ties with the bloc.

Last week Sir Keir said he would not pretend that talks with Brussels were going to be “easy”.

The Government wants to strike a security and migration pact with the EU and overhaul the post-Brexit trade deal, which is up for review in 2026.

During the first Brexit negotiations from 2017 to 2021, the Commission’s inflexible approach was driven by the red line that London could not “cherry-pick” the benefits of single market membership without the obligations of EU membership.

The Prime Minister has ruled out any return to free movement or rejoining the single market, which the EU believes will limit the ambition of any revamped trade deal.

EU capitals are also reluctant to reopen talks over an agreement they see as weighted in their favour, sources in Brussels said.

The envoys also demanded Mrs von der Leyen get clarity from Sir Keir over Britain’s intentions ahead of fisheries negotiations before the UK-EU deal on access to British waters expires at the end of 2026.

The Commission will meet the Prime Minister’s call to revamp the UK-EU trade deal with its own demand for access to British waters.

An EU diplomat said there was “broad and explicit” support from some 16 member states for the meeting between Sir Keir and Mrs von der Leyen “now that positive momentum seems to be building with the Labour Government in office”.

“Though with the key and important caveat from member states that principles that applied during the Brexit negotiations still apply,” the diplomat told The Telegraph.

There was “broad support for strengthening foreign and defence cooperation” to shore up a united European front after Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, sources said.

But EU-27 ambassadors insisted that any new deals with Britain could only be agreed if the UK stuck to its existing Brexit agreements.

They also urged the Commission to ensure the UK fully implemented the Windsor Framework agreement on the Irish Sea border before striking new deals.

Despite the treaty on post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland being signed in February 2023, it has still not been fully implemented.

The ambassadors also wanted Mrs von der Leyen to grill Sir Keir on plans for better energy cooperation.

The Government also wants a UK-EU veterinary deal to reduce border checks on animals and animal products, an agreement on chemicals regulations, better terms for UK touring artists and improved recognition of UK professional qualifications.

Youth mobility deal

Mrs von der Leyen is likely to press the EU’s case for an improved youth mobility deal, making it easier for European students to come to the UK, during her meeting with the Prime Minister. Sir Keir rejected the initial call for the agreement.

Her officials have warned her against any quid pro quo on Sir Keir’s hopes of a better deal for UK bands.

Brussels is willing to agree on the chemicals and the veterinary deals, if the UK aligns with EU rules, which are governed by the European Court of Justice.

But sources said a UK-EU migration deal, which is supported by France and Germany and would allow the return of Channel migrants, is not currently “on the table”.

Dr Mike Galsworthy, Chair of European Movement UK, said the Government must “reconsider its apparent hostility to a youth mobility scheme with the EU”.

“After all, the UK has youth mobility schemes with 13 other countries – including Australia and Japan – so it makes sense to have one with our nearest neighbours and closest partners,” he said.

Gary Lineker’s 18-year-old nephew was crushed to death by a falling tree, an inquest has heard.

Jonty Parkinson, who was nephew to Lineker from his first marriage, died of a crush injury to his abdomen in Oxfordshire.

An inquest into the death, which opened last week at Oxford Coroner’s Court, heard that Mr Parkinson, of Aldwyns, Cirencester, died on Sept 6.

The inquest held on Sept 25 heard the teenager had been working as a tree surgeon when the incident occurred.

A GoFundMe has since been set up in Parkinson’s memory, with more than £32,000 raised to date.

Allison Murray, a family friend who created the donation page, wrote: “To friends of Bob and Ali Parkinson, I have started this fundraiser to help them create a beautiful memorial or event to celebrate the life of their much-loved son Jonty, who tragically lost his life on Sept 6.

“I realise money can’t fill the great chasm of loss they are feeling but I hope it can be used to ease the burden of funeral expenses or go towards a fitting memorial for Jonty or in any way the family see fit.”

It is understood that Mr Parkinson’s funeral took place on Friday, with several local businesses closing for the day so that staff could attend the service.

Lineker, who presents the BBC’s Match of the Day, is not believed to have made a public statement following the death of his nephew-in-law.

Mr Parkinson was the nephew of Lineker, 63, from his marriage to Michelle Cockayne, with whom he shares four children – George, Harry, Tobias and Angus.

Mr Parkinson’s mother Ali Cockayne, who was previously married to former England rugby captain Will Carling, is Michelle Cockayne’s sister.

Lineker’s 31-year-old son, George, posted on social media shortly after the death.

In a tribute on Instagram, he described Mr Parkinson as “one of the nicest boys you’ll meet, taken far too soon. Fly high cousin, you’ll be missed by all.”

Tobias Lineker, aged 28, wrote: “Taken from us far too soon, rest in peace little cousin.”

An acid attack at a London school has left two pupils and a teacher injured.

Three people were attacked with a substance believed to be acidic at Westminster Academy at around 4.40pm on Monday, with a 14-year-old girl suffering life-changing injuries.

Police and the London Fire Brigade responded to the incident in Paddington following reports of an assault.

The girl and a 16-year-old boy are in hospital. The boy’s injuries are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening.

A 27-year-old woman was also taken to hospital for treatment but has since been discharged.

Two police officers responding to the incident received medical treatment as a precaution after reporting feeling unwell.

Tests of the substance are ongoing but it is believed to be acidic, police said. Urgent inquiries are underway and several crime scenes are in place.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police on patrol were flagged down at 4.42pm on Monday, Sep 30 by staff at a school in Alfred Road W2 after a substance was allegedly thrown at pupils and a staff member.

“Officers responded with paramedics and the London Fire Brigade and found three people injured.

“Urgent inquiries are underway to identify and arrest those responsible. A number of crime scenes are in place.”

In a statement on the school’s website, Westminster Academy said the site was closed on Tuesday due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

The school was contacted by The Telegraph for comment. It is a non-selective academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

Sue Gray enjoyed hundreds of pounds worth of Premier League hospitality tickets and a free trip to a networking summit in the Highlands, The Telegraph can reveal.

Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff received matchday hospitality tickets to the north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April and another Premier League football match at the same venue a month before.

She is among several top Labour staffers to benefit from “freebies” with others accepting free tickets to the Wimbledon Ladies final, the Brit Awards, and other top-flight football matches.

The Prime Minister is battling a growing scandal over donations and gifts after it emerged Lady Starmer received thousands of pounds in clothes from Lord Alli, the Labour peer and donor.

The peer also loaned Sir Keir the use of an £18 million penthouse where he watched election night. He also gave Labour the use of a Soho townhouse worth £4 million for strategy meetings.

The Georgian property in central London was used by senior aides and shadow ministers, including Pat McFadden, as well as Ms Gray.

Scrutiny has turned to whether Labour should have declared the use of the house, which Downing Street does not believe personally benefited Sir Keir.

In September, Ms Gray was pictured in a corporate box with the Prime Minister and David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, watching the north London derby between Spurs and Arsenal.

The Telegraph can reveal that this was at least the third time Ms Gray has enjoyed hospitality at the stadium.

Ms Gray first accepted matchday hospitality from Tottenham Hotspur during the club’s 3-1 win against Crystal Palace in March.

The following month she watched Spurs lose 3-2 to Arsenal at the same stadium. Sir Keir and Mr Lammy have both declared five tickets worth £2,500 for the match.

Ms Gray receives a taxpayer-funded salary of £170,000 – meaning that she is on £3,000 more than Sir Keir. Previously, the top salary band for special advisers was £140,000 to £145,000.

She also enjoyed a two-day trip to the Braemar Summit in Scotland in September last year, an event that has been nicknamed “McDavos”, days after she became Labour’s chief of staff.

She did not need to declare the exact amount the benefit was worth, but Mr Lammy declared flights, transfers, hotels and food worth £1,117.94 after speaking at the event.

The Labour chief of staff was pictured smiling at dinner at the summit held in an Aberdeenshire village where guests listened to bagpipers and enjoyed a fire pit and canapes put on by Hawthorne Advisors, a PR company.

Others in Sir Keir’s inner circle to receive gifts include a staff member who was given a ticket to the Oliviers in April provided by the Society of London Theatres.

Another advisor received two tickets and hospitality to the Brit Awards in March paid for by UK Music.

They were joined at the event by another aide, who has now left Labour, and also received two hospitality tickets from Aviva for a Chemical Brothers concert in November 2023.

A fifth member of Sir Keir’s team received two tickets to the Chelsea vs Sheffield United Premier League match in December 2023 paid for by Three, the mobile network.

Other ‘freebies’

Those working for other senior cabinet members have also received gifts including an advisor to Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, who enjoyed food, drink and two free tickets to the Chemical Brothers at the O2 and tickets to the Brit Awards.

He also received a complimentary ticket to the Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in December 2023 as well as two hospitality tickets for the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley in February.

The advisor was given food, drink and tickets to Arsenal’s 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in the Champions League in April from the Premier League.

An advisor to Bridget Phillipson received two hospitality tickets to the Wimbledon Ladies Final in July. Although the staffer was invited on the same day as the Education Secretary, she was not in the Royal Box with the cabinet minister who has estimated that her two tickets were worth £1,060.

Those working for Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, have also received a free ticket including an advisor who received a ticket to Arsenal against Newcastle in February. A second aide went to the same match with the ticket paid for by the Premier League.

There is no suggestion that any staff have broken any rules but the majority of secretaries and research assistants listed as working for MPs have not received any gifts in the most recent update to the register of interests.

Gifts or benefits must be declared if the value exceeds £450 in a year and if it relates to or arises from work in Parliament.

Labour declined to comment.

A fortnight ago, there would have been no questioning the devotion felt by Lebanese Shia Muslims for Iran.

As for their brethren across the Middle East, Iran has long been their political and spiritual lodestar. “What the Vatican is for you Christians, Iran is for us Shia – only more so,” one is often told by Shias in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region.

Yet with Iran shying away from direct confrontation with Israel even as Hezbollah – its creation and most important proxy – lurches ever deeper into crisis, there are mounting signs that, in Lebanon at least, loyalty has begun to slip.

Beirut’s famous Corniche, a seaside promenade where fashionable residents of the Lebanese capital have long come to take the air, has for the past few days become a refuge for many Shia Muslims fleeing Israeli bombing raids on the city’s southern suburbs.

Among this community of the newly homeless stretching the length of the three-mile esplanade, it is not difficult to find discontent directed at Iran, with emotions ranging from philosophical disappointment to angry accusations of betrayal and outlandish conspiracy theories.

“If Iran had wanted to help, they would have helped a long time ago,” said Hana Mrad, a 43-year-old housewife who has been sleeping in her car with her two daughters since the air strikes that killed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, on Friday evening.

“Everyone has abandoned us and now Iran has, too.”

Other Shias, still struggling to digest the death of the man many knew simply as “Sayyid” or “Master”, hinted at deeper and darker betrayal.

Echoing comments that have been made on social media, one man went so far as to say that Iran had betrayed Nasrallah, revealing his whereabouts to Israel in exchange for an undertaking that Israeli forces would not strike Iran’s nuclear programme.

“Iran sacrificed Nasrallah, that is the only explanation,” the man said. “Iran organised the meeting where Nasrallah was killed and told Israel where he would be. How else would Israel know where he was and what other reason can there be for Iran refusing to fight with Hezbollah?”

Nasrallah’s death in a massive air strike on Hezbollah’s secret subterranean complex in southern Beirut came as he met senior commanders of the Iran-backed group.

Among the 20 people Israel says it killed at the meeting was Abbas Nilforoushan, the deputy commander of operations in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

The suggestion that Iran and Israel would collude to kill Nasrallah is, of course, beyond far-fetched.

Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, is said to have been both shaken and grief-stricken by the death of a man he regarded not merely as a close friend but as arguably the greatest individual asset the Islamic regime had in its fight against Israel.

Yet the fact that such sentiments are being voiced at all shows that Iran is in danger of losing the affection of the Shia street, something that could in turn further diminish its ambitions for regional domination.

For four decades, Iran has nurtured, funded, armed and trained Hezbollah, which under Nasrallah’s leadership had emerged as by far the most potent of the proxy network of militias in Tehran’s “Axis of Resistance” against Israel.

But over the past fortnight, Hezbollah’s once formidable reputation has been battered by Israel’s sustained military assault on Lebanon that killed not just Nasrallah but also most of his top commanders.

With Hezbollah clearly struggling to mount an effective response despite firing hundreds of rockets across Lebanon’s border with Israel in the past two weeks, many Shia Lebanese had assumed that Iran would join the fray.

Instead, Tehran has hung back. Having long pursued a strategy of using proxies to attack Israel on its behalf, it has been reluctant to reverse the dynamic by fighting on behalf of its proxies.

Aware of Israel’s technological and military superiority, Iran also fears that an all-out war with the Jewish state may draw in the US and could quite possibly result in the downfall of the Islamic regime, which seized power in 1979.

Yet such caution carries costs. Iran’s reticence will look like weakness to many in the Middle East. Worse, as seems to be becoming clear, there will be a whiff of betrayal as well.

“Hezbollah sacrificed itself for Iran, but Iran will not sacrifice for Hezbollah,” said Haidar, another Shia who has fled his home in southern Beirut.

Not all Shia Muslims expressed such views, with some saying they assumed that Iran was working behind the scenes and that it still had a plan to defeat Israel.

Others flatly refused to believe Nasrallah was dead at all.

For many Shia Lebanese he was the man who gave their historically marginalised community a political voice, a sense of pride and a position of power within Lebanese society.

“We have not seen a body and they keep delaying the funeral,” one woman said. “Maybe this is all a plan to trick the Israelis and we will see him again soon.”

Mount Everest has grown up to 164ft taller because of the combined forces of erosion and upward pressure from beneath Earth’s crust, researchers have said.

Experts say that a nearby river is cutting into the landscape around the mountain, eroding away a large amount of rocks and soil.

This process is causes a section of Earth’s crust to float upwards because the intense pressure below is greater than the downward force of gravity.

Erosion from a river network about 46 miles from the mountain is carving away a substantial gorge, causing it to rise up by as much as two millimetres a year over the past 89,000 years.

Adam Smith, the study’s co-author and a PhD student at UCL Earth Sciences in London, said: “Mount Everest is a remarkable mountain of myth and legend and it’s still growing.

“Our research shows that as the nearby river system cuts deeper, the loss of material is causing the mountain to spring further upwards.”

Dr Xu Han, the lead author, from China University of Geosciences, said: “The changing height of Mount Everest really highlights the dynamic nature of the Earth’s surface.

“The interaction between the erosion of the Arun river and the upward pressure of the Earth’s mantle gives Mount Everest a boost, pushing it up higher than it would otherwise be.”

The tallest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest is 29,000ft high and towers about 820ft above the next tallest peak in the Himalayas.

However, it is considered to be an anomaly, because the next three tallest peaks – K2, Kangchenjunga and Lhotse – all differ only by about 390ft from each other.

Today, the Arun river runs to the east of Mount Everest and merges downstream with the larger Kosi river system.

Over millennia, the Arun has carved out a substantial gorge along its banks, washing away billions of tons of earth and sediment.

Dr Jin-Gen Dai, the study’s co-author, of UCL Earth Sciences, said: “An interesting river system exists in the Everest region. The upstream Arun river flows east at high altitude with a flat valley.

“It then abruptly turns south as the Kosi river, dropping in elevation and becoming steeper. This unique topography, indicative of an unsteady state, likely relates to Everest’s extreme height.”

The uplift also affects neighbouring peaks including Lhotse and Makalu, the world’s fourth and fifth highest peaks respectively.

Co-author Dr Matthew Fox, of UCL Earth Sciences, said: “Mount Everest and its neighbouring peaks are growing because the isostatic rebound is raising them up faster than erosion is wearing them down.

“We can see them growing by about two millimetres a year using GPS instruments and now we have a better understanding of what’s driving it.”

The study, published in the Nature Geoscience journal, looked at the erosion rates of the Arun, the Kosi and other rivers in the region.

The researchers were able to determine that about 89,000 years ago the Arun river joined and merged with the Kosi river network, causing more water to be funnelled through the Kosi and increasing its erosive power.

With more of the land washed away it triggered an increased rate of uplift, pushing the mountains’ peaks higher.

US military bases will be protected by attack drones, under Pentagon plans to repel Iran-linked groups in the Middle East.

On Monday, Lloyd Austin, the defence secretary, announced that the US would expand its Replicator programme, which has been developing American attack drones to be deployed against China.

A new phase of the programme will focus on defensive drones to be deployed at US installations at home and abroad.

It follows months of drone attacks on US bases in the Middle East by Iran-linked groups, with one killing three troops at a site in Jordan in January.

On Sunday, the latest strike took place at a base at Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria. No group has yet claimed responsibility.

US forces have a variety of defences against the so-called “suicide drones”, which are packed with high explosives and flown into military compounds.

The existing defences include electronic jamming devices and anti-aircraft machine guns.

Monday’s announcement suggests the Pentagon expects drone battles to become commonplace around US bases in the coming years.

The defensive drones could also be deployed around US Navy carrier groups, but a list of possible sites has not yet been compiled, a defence official told The Telegraph.

In a memo on Monday, Mr Austin said that “the next stage of Replicator will tackle the warfighter priority of countering the threat posed by small uncrewed aerial systems to our most critical installations and force concentrations”.

He added: “The expectation is that Replicator 2 will assist with overcoming challenges we face in the areas of production capacity, technology innovation, authorities, policies, open system architecture and system integration, and force structure.”

Mr Austin said that the first phase of Replicator, which was tasked with producing drone swarms that could be deployed against China in the event of an invasion of Taiwan, was “on track” to be completed next summer.

The second phase will begin after Congress has approved funding for the project in the Pentagon’s next budget request in March. The first drones could be deployed two years later, Mr Austin said.

Protecting US troops in the Middle East against attack drones has become one of the Pentagon’s top priorities, after a year of conflict that followed Hamas’s Oct 7 attack on Israel.

A variety of Iran-linked Islamist groups have targeted US forces in Syria, Iraq and Jordan since then, viewing the conflict as an opportunity to push Western forces out of those countries.

Following the death of three US troops in an attack in January, the US launched retaliatory strikes against several groups, launching 125 precision bombs in Iraq and Syria.

The White House said at the time that it “will not hesitate to defend our people and hold responsible all those who harm Americans at a time and place of our choosing”.

As Israeli troops entered Lebanon for the first time since the war of 2006, artillery struck Hezbollah positions in the south and launched repeated air strikes on Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

Despite this latest escalation, Hezbollah fighters appear, at least for now, to have avoided any direct confrontation with Israeli troops on Lebanese soil.

The group has made no public mention of Israel’s incursion at all this morning, although it did say it had targeted artillery fire at Israeli troops on the other side of the border.

The Israeli ground raids came exactly a fortnight after the simultaneous detonation of thousands of pagers carried by mid-ranking Hezbollah fighters – an operation which Israel has not officially acknowledged but which clearly marked the start of this campaign.

Israel, of course, will say it did not fire the first shots of a confrontation that is starting to look like a war in all but name.

Instead, it insists, the responsibility lies with Hezbollah, which launched rockets into northern Israel almost immediately after Hamas slaughtered more than 1,000 people when it attacked Israel’s territory on Oct 7 last year.

Although the first fortnight of Israel’s operation against the Iran-backed group has been conducted with metronomic precision, a ground operation is a gamble with a different complexion.

During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Israel encountered much stiffer resistance from Hezbollah than it expected.

The two sides fought to a bloody standstill and Ehud Olmert, then the Israeli prime minister, bowed to international pressure and agreed to a ceasefire – much to the anger of many Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Since that conflict, Hezbollah has fortified its positions in southern Lebanon, digging tunnels deep under the rocks of the region’s mountains and, thanks to Iran, steadily accumulating a much vaster and more precise rocket capability.

Hezbollah’s arsenal of rockets, guided missiles and drones was estimated to be 150,000 strong last year – ten times greater than in 2006.

Likewise, Hezbollah’s fighters are much more battle-hardened than they were 18 years ago after more than a decade of battle experience in Syria, where the group intervened, often viciously, in support of the Assad regime.

On the other hand, Israel has also spent the intervening years planning for this moment and has a battle plan that has proved stunningly effective so far.

Its preliminary attacks have been far more devastating than in 2006.

Israel’s air strikes last Monday were described by defence think tanks as the most extensive mounted in a single day this century.

In one week, almost as many people have been killed as during the 34 days of the 2006 campaign. It is unclear how many Hezbollah fighters are among the dead, although there have also been many civilian casualties, scores of women and children among them.

Not only would the strikes have eroded Hezbollah’s ability to fight back, the movement had also already been plunged into total disarray following the sabotage of its communication devices and the “decapitation strikes” that killed many of its top leaders.

The former has largely crippled Hezbollah’s ability to communicate effectively.

It has also hindered an estimated 1,500 mid-ranking battlefield commanders, many of whom suffered serious injuries, ranging from lost fingers and hands to blindness — the result of pulling their pagers or walkie-talkies out of their pockets just before they detonated.

The assassinations, meanwhile, eliminated eight of the nine top commanders sitting on Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, its top decision-making body in military matters. On Friday, they also accounted for the movement’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, along with the 20 senior officials he was meeting in his underground bunker.

For Hezbollah, engaging Israel in close combat on the ground was always regarded as a leveller. Israel’s technological edge in the air would be blunted, while Hezbollah would engage in the kind of guerrilla warfare it has long excelled at in the mountains where it is so deeply embedded – some of the tunnels in which it stores its most sophisticated weaponry are 85 yards below the surface.

Yet the group had also not anticipated fighting in circumstances in which it had been so weakened even before the first shots of a ground campaign were fired.

For Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, the gamble is probably a necessary one if he is to neutralise Hezbollah’s rocket-firing capacity significantly enough to allow 60,000 residents in northern Israel to return to their homes.

The coming days and weeks will decide whether his campaign in Lebanon remains the Israeli triumph it has so far been — or whether a ground operation beyond Israel’s borders proves to be, yet again, a grave miscalculation.

Israel has launched what is says is a limited ground invasion into Lebanon following months of tension on the border.

Troops crossed the border in Operation Northern Arrows despite calls for restraint by world leaders fearing a wider regional war.

Why is Israel invading Lebanon?

Israel says it has invaded because it wants to restore security to Israeli communities living in the north, which were displaced because of constant incoming rocket fire from Hezbollah.

The precise parameters of the military operation are not yet clear. A “limited” invasion could be an attempt to simply clear southern Lebanon of Hezbollah fighters and positions in order to restore calm to northern Israel and allow residents to return.

Israeli soldiers may immediately withdraw after completing their missions in southern Lebanon, as some US officials hinted in comments to The Washington Post.

But for Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, this could be part of a wider plan to fully invade Lebanon and remove Hezbollah from power entirely, rather than just kill its members in the south.

In that scenario, it is unclear whether Israel plans to occupy southern Lebanon, create a demilitarised zone, or simply leave the area completely after completing their objectives.

What triggered the war?

Northern Israel has been under near-constant rocket fire from Hezbollah since Oct 7, forcing some 60,000 to flee their homes near the northern border north.

The IDF has returned fire at Hezbollah positions and launched sporadic airstrikes on Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon in return.

But in recent weeks Israel has massively ramped up pressure on the terrorist organisation, setting off a wave of sabotage explosions in pagers carried by Hezbollah members, which injured more than 3,000 people.

Israeli air strikes on Lebanon also intensified, culminating in an attack on Beirut that killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.

What is Hezbollah?

Hezbollah, which means “Party of God”, is a radical, Shia paramilitary group based in Lebanon and backed and funded by Iran.

It is politically and financially supported by Iran, and has been described as the most heavily armed non-state actor worldwide.

Nasrallah had previously claimed that the group has more than 100,000 trained fighters, though it is thought that the true figure is around 20,000 to 50,000.

It has a vast network of tunnels and defensive positions in southern Lebanon and also controls much of southern Beirut.

What happens next?

It is unclear where the conflict goes from here. Israel is already facing pressure from the United States to keep the scale of the invasion to a minimum.

However, there are growing doubts over whether Mr Netanyahu considers the views of the Biden administration in his decision-making.

There are fears Iran could launch a revenge attack on Israel for killing the Hezbollah leader.

Mr Netanyahu also hinted that Iran could be next in a speech on the eve of the invasion into Lebanon, telling the regime that “there is nowhere in the Middle East” Israel could not strike.

Republicans have condemned as “deplorable” a 43-foot effigy of a naked Donald Trump that has been erected near Las Vegas.

The sculpture of the former president, which is made of foam coating a steel mesh and weighs more than 6,000lbs, looms over a highway north of the city with its arms outstretched.

The artists behind the graphic effigy said that Trump’s nudity was “intentional, serving as a bold statement on transparency, vulnerability, and the public personas of political figures”.

However, critics claim that it has been designed for “shock value” and say it will appall families driving through Las Vegas.

The Nevada Republican Party said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the deplorable statue of President Donald J Trump recently hung from a crane”.

It continued: “While families drive through Las Vegas, they are forced to view this offensive marionette, designed intentionally for shock value rather than meaningful dialogue.

“President Trump and Republicans are focused on delivering results that matter – reducing inflation, securing our borders, creating jobs, and ensuring a brighter future for all Americans.

“While Democrats, especially Kamala Harris, continue to prioritise shock value over substance, President Trump is the only candidate in this race standing up for working men and women across Nevada.”

The naked Trump is held aloft by a crane on an industrial estate outside Las Vegas, and according to local media is expected to be moved and taken on tour on Tuesday.

Attempts by The Telegraph to contact the artists, who reportedly want to remain anonymous, were unsuccessful. The leasing agent for the land where the sculpture was installed declined to provide any additional information.

The Wrap reported that the Trump effigy has been named “Crooked and Obscene” by its creators, who want those who see it to “think critically about political influence”.

It comes days after a rally in Wisconsin where Trump boasted of his “beautiful” body, adding: “Much better than Sleepy Joe [Biden].”

In 2016, Joshua “Ginger” Monroe, an artist, installed several naked statues of Trump in major cities including Seattle, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“It wasn’t about personally humiliating him but more about getting the message out to the republic,” Mr Monroe told Cleveland Magazine the following year.

“The reason we show Trump’s veins [is] to show a visible representation of his thin skin. Him without any armour – whether it’s an Armani suit, his lawyers around him.”

A luxury cruise liner which embarked on a voyage around the world following a four-month delay is returning to port just hours after it set sail.

The Villa Vie Odyssey finally set off from the Harland & Wolff dockyards in Belfast at 11.30pm on Monday, far later than its initial cast-off date of May 30.

But it has now been recalled owing to paperwork issues. The Belfast Harbour website said the ship will return at 1.30pm on Tuesday, before leaving again at 11pm.

The vessel is embarking on a cruise that will last 1,301 days, visiting all seven continents and stopping at 425 ports from Rio de Janeiro to Singapore. Its first destination is Brest in France, before heading to Bilbao and Vigo in Spain.

The ship – which has restaurants, a pool, a spa, a business centre and medical facilities – offers rentals from 35 to 120 days, or the purchase of villas at a price ranging from £90,000 to £260,000.

The Villa Vie Odyssey is billed as “a long-term cruise”, sailing “to the world’s most stunning destinations” on a continual journey that allows passengers to “marvel at awe-inspiring landscapes from your home at sea”.

Mary Ann Demsar, a passenger, said she was still “very excited” to be going to “see the world”, and told the BBC: “It’s been tough getting here with all the delay.

“But I’ve had the time of my life these last five months exploring Ireland and Europe and enjoying everything Belfast has to offer.”

Ms Demsar, who is Canadian, added: “[I’m] not sure exactly what’s happening but we are going to be docking back in Belfast today and then leaving later on. There is some paperwork that still needs to be done.”

Passengers had cheered, applauded and hugged the liner’s chief when he informed them on Monday night that they were ready for departure.

Many of the cruise’s passengers had made Northern Ireland their home for several months while they waited for the ship to set sail.

Two passengers got engaged while they waited for the cruise to begin. Gian Perroni, from Vancouver in Canada, and Angie Harsanyi, from Colorado in the US, struck up the relationship while they waited for the voyage to commence.

Andy Garrison, 75, who said he will be on board for the entire voyage, ordered a model of the Titanic which he built while waiting for the ship’s seaworthiness to be certified.

Asked if he was worried the model Titanic was a bad omen, he said: “No, I’m not. As a matter of fact I’m going to put this on the wall of my room.”

He said the passengers had been “resilient” in waiting for the repairs to be completed and described them as a “really nice group”.

“I like Belfast a lot actually, I would stay here and enjoy myself except I’m leaving on a ship,” he said.

“I am so happy to be sailing away, I’m ready to go. We stop briefly in Brest, France, and then we go to Spain, we go to Portugal, and we head across the ocean to go to the Bahamas, where we stay for a while.”

‘A little stressed’ 

Cyndi Grzybowski, 69, from the US, said she had always wanted to see the world and was excited for the voyage to begin.

“My better half passed away three years ago so this is giving me an opportunity to get off the farm, literally, and see the world, which is something that I have wanted to do,” she said.

Mike Petterson, chief executive of Villa Vie Residences, said on Monday he was “a little stressed” as efforts were made to clear “a few last-minute things”.

“It’s administrative paperwork. We needed the right person to press the button, at the end of the day. It’s been done and we’re putting the vessel in motion right now.

“The harbour master has been in direct contact with the MD. We’ve been expecting this outcome for hours.”

He said departure was due just before midnight on Monday, when the terminal was due to close.

“The good news is that we have complete clearance and we will be out of here very, very, very soon.”

Asked how he would remember Belfast, he said “your summer is horrible” and “you can’t cook to save your lives, but you do know how to drink”.

Villa Vie Residences was contacted for comment.

The disabled BBC journalist Frank Gardner has said he was forced to crawl down the aisle of a Polish airliner to use the toilet.

Mr Gardner posted a picture of himself sprawled on the floor of the aircraft on X, formerly Twitter, with two other people standing next to him.

It is the latest in a long line of discriminatory incidents suffered by the security correspondent, who requires a wheelchair after he was left partially paralysed when terrorists shot him 20 years ago.

Mr Gardner wrote: “Wow. It’s 2024 and I’ve just had to crawl along the floor of this LOT Polish airline to get to the toilet during a flight back from Warsaw as ‘we don’t have onboard wheelchairs. It’s airline policy’.

“If you’re disabled and you can’t walk this is just discriminatory.”

In a follow-up post, he added: “In fairness to the cabin crew, they were as helpful and apologetic as they could be. Not their fault, it’s the airline. Won’t be flying LOT again until they join the 21st century.”

When asked by a well-wisher if he was alright, he replied: “Bit of a sore backside and my suit is not thrilled but hey.”

It is not the first time the security correspondent has suffered discriminatory treatment while travelling by air.

Two years ago Heathrow Airport apologised to Mr Gardner after he was left on an empty airliner when ground staff failed to deliver his wheelchair to the door.

In 2022, he lambasted the “consistently crap” performance of UK airports with wheelchair delivery to airliners’ doors after being stranded on his arriving flight at Gatwick airport.

LOT, which is Poland’s biggest airline, said it was “deeply sorry for the distressing experience” that Mr Gardner encountered on Monday’s flight.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and discomfort caused by the lack of an onboard wheelchair,” an airline spokesman said, adding that because of “limited space” there are no such devices aboard any of its short-haul fleet.

He added: “We understand the importance of accessibility and are actively testing solutions to equip our short-haul aircraft with onboard wheelchairs in the near future.”

The airline said wheelchairs suitable for moving around the cabin are carried aboard its long-haul Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, and that passenger assistance is available “from check-in to boarding”.

Mr Gardner told The Telegraph that he was on a LOT flight between Warsaw and London on Monday evening. Data from FlightRadar24, a tracking website, shows that the airliner in question was a Boeing 737 Max.

Addressing LOT’s apology for his treatment, the BBC security correspondent said: “I’m afraid I don’t accept that as I flew them in May from Tallinn to London and they didn’t have an onboard wheelchair then either, saying ‘it’s not our policy’.

“These things fold up so small they can fit in the cupboard or even in an overhead locker so there’s really no excuse not to have them on a short haul flight. Why should some passengers be allowed to go to the loo in mid-flight and others not?”

He added: “If BA, easyJet and everyone else I’ve flown can manage it there is no reason for this airline to still be flying in and out of Heathrow with such a discriminatory policy towards disabled passengers in 2024.”

Mr Gardner has used a wheelchair since being shot six times by al-Qaeda while reporting on terrorist activity in Saudi Arabia in 2004. Bullets damaged his spinal nerves and left him partially paralysed.

While he survived the attack in Riyadh on June 6 2004, his cameraman colleague Simon Cumbers, 36, was shot in the head and died instantly.

The billionaire behind Soho House is locked in a planning row with villagers over his plans for a Cotswolds mansion.

Ron Burkle has faced significant backlash after submitting an application to build the country home in Oxfordshire.

There are around 25 objections logged on the official application, with one nearby homeowner describing the plans as “grotesque”.

Planning documents state Mr Burkle intends to build a “new country house set within gardens with the provision of various ancillary buildings”. The property is to be built in Little Tew, less than three miles from Soho House’s countryside outpost, Soho Farmhouse.

The plans include: construction of a swimming pool and pool pavilion; a stables with a courtyard; a staff flat; a new lake; and solar panels.

In a formal objection, one resident wrote: “Rather than being a development of ‘truly outstanding quality’, I believe it to be a proposal of truly outstanding grotesquery. Adjectives which many have voiced and which seem more appropriate would be ‘ludicrous’ and ‘monstrous’.”

Mr Burkle, a Californian investor behind a string of deals involving US supermarkets, bought a majority stake in Soho House in 2012 and serves as executive chairman.

The chain runs more than 40 clubs from Nashville, in the US, to Bangkok, in Thailand. Annual membership in the UK costs as much as £2,950.

Mr Burkle’s initial plans for his Little Tew property were rejected in 2022 for failing to represent a “truly outstanding development” and not meeting specific planning criteria.

He has now reapplied to West Oxfordshire district council for the development, which will sit on 4.4 hectares of farmland between Banbury and Chipping Norton.

‘Ruthless and unpleasant’

One objector branded Mr Burkle a “very deep-pocketed, ruthless and unpleasant developer” in her objection to the plans and added that the new application did not significantly differ from the previous rejected iteration.

Another opponent of the scheme said it would be more suited to Disneyland than Little Tew. She wrote: “The new design continues to be a pastiche. It takes design elements from numerous stately homes, large public buildings and Oxford colleges, and amalgamates too many features into a design more suited to Disneyland.”

Little Tew parish council described the project as “unwarranted, unsustainable and unsuitable greenfield development”.

An objection letter from the organisation reads: “The Little Tew Parish meeting calls upon West Oxfordshire district council to reject on the grounds that it remains an unwarranted, unsustainable and unsuitable greenfield development that runs counter to the policies of the West Oxfordshire 2031 Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework 2023.”

Other reasons for refusing the proposals included the potential harm it posed to the natural environment and disruption the construction project would cause to locals and wildlife.

The site is located to the south of Banbury Road and comprises eight fields of differing sizes, six used for intensive arable cultivation, one as permanent pasture and the remaining one reverted from arable to grassland.

Mr Burkle was contacted for comment.

A 75-year-old grandfather choked to death on chicken nuggets after care home staff failed to cut up his food, an inquest has found.

Bob Buckley, who had dementia, was vulnerable to choking and required specialist care with meals while a resident at The Chase in Canterbury.

He was seen turning “blue in the face” after being left unsupervised at the care home, which was found by Kent and Medway coroner’s court to have caused his death through negligence.

When he was found choking, staff tried dislodging food from his throat by repeatedly slapping his back and using a thrusting technique.

A risk assessment from the care home had stressed that Buckley needed food to be cut into small pieces, and staff had to be nearby when he ate.

Despite two ambulance crews arriving in minutes, Buckley’s heart stopped and, because of a do-not-resuscitate order, paramedics did not attempt to revive him.

Medics discovered that he had eaten whole chicken nuggets and half a baby carrot. He died on Aug 11 2019.

‘Surprised at the size of the food’

Ian Brownhill, the coroner, said: “The food was not cut into small pieces, and paramedics were surprised at the size of the food removed from Bob’s airway.

“Carer one handed Bob the plate of food at tea time. She also plated the food, which he ate.

“She previously said the plates were pre-prepared, but this does not accord with what she told police after his death.”

Carer two was thought to have been responsible for monitoring Buckley as he ate, according to the manager.

But she was discovered to have left him, and other guests, unsupervised, the court heard.

“Carer two was aware they ought not to leave residents unsupervised but did so,” Mr Brownhill said.

Representatives for the care home previously argued that the factors of his death “was so unclear that you could not conclude this was unlawful killing”.

Mr Brownhill said that while The Chase breached its duty of care, the death did not meet the requirements for corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter.

Recording a narrative conclusion of neglect, he said: “Bob had been identified as a risk of choking despite the fact that those caring for Bob did not properly mitigate this risk.

“They did not cut up his food or monitor him closely enough. This led to his death.”

Buckley’s family had been forced to wait five years for the inquest to conclude because, in part, of criminal charges being lodged against a staff member.

In August 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges.

Guilt ‘will never leave mum’

Lisa, Buckley’s step-daughter, told KentOnline: “My mum made it very clear on more than one occasion that Bob was a choking risk as he ate very quickly and tended to pouch food in his mouth.

“He had to have someone sit with him while eating.

“To hand over the care of your loved one to someone else is one of the hardest things you can do.

“The guilt of making that decision and what happened after will never leave mum.”

A spokesman for The Chase said: “We acknowledge the coroner’s findings and would like to offer our sincere condolences and apologies to Mr Buckley’s family for their loss.

“Due to the ongoing investigations, which have now concluded, we have been unable to comment on this matter previously.

“Since Mr Buckley’s death, a new management team has been put in place.

“We have implemented a number of new policies and procedures, specifically in relation to the management of risks around diet and nutrition and all staff have received further training.

“A further inspection was carried out at the home by the CQC [Care Quality Commission] in May 2023 and the home was assessed to be good, safe and well-led.

“We remain fully committed to maintaining this high standard of care to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our residents at all times in the future.”

A female soldier stubbed out a cigarette on a colleague’s face after she rejected her advances, a court has heard.

Olivia Nelson, a 21-year-old airtrooper in the British Army Air Corps, is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a fellow soldier who had tried to console her following a breakup.

Winchester Crown Court heard how AirTpr Nelson forced herself on her alleged victim in an Army barracks and then in the toilet of a pub during a night out.

When the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, managed to escape being groped, AirTpr Nelson then put out a cigarette on her face, jurors were told.

AirTpr Nelson has been charged with five counts of sexual assault, one count of attempting to assault by penetration and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The Army Air Corps is the combat aviation arm of the British Army where Prince Harry served as an Apache helicopter pilot.

Opening the case on Tuesday, Mark Karpinski, prosecuting, told the court that AirTpr Nelson and her colleague “quickly became friends in a strictly platonic sense” when they met at Middle Wallop Army Barracks, Hampshire.

‘Unwanted sexual activity’

The alleged assaults took place several days after AirTpr Nelson ended her relationship with her girlfriend.

He told the court: “The [colleague] wanted to be supportive and offered [AirTpr Nelson] all of the comfort that you would expect from a good friend. A couple of days later the defendant went out drinking.”

Nelson returned to the barracks “intoxicated”, and tried to kiss her colleague, the jurors were told.

Mr Karpinski continued: “[The colleague] was in bed and [AirTpr Nelson] walked up to [her] bedside and initiated unwanted sexual activity without consent, particularly, she tried to kiss [her].”

“Some time later [the colleague] went to the communal toilet cubicles and showers.”

AirTpr Nelson followed her and tried to kiss her again, the court heard.

The alleged victim rejected AirTpr Nelson’s advances and tried to go to bed, but Mr Karpinski said it was there that she tried to undress her, “again without her consent”.

A few days later, during a night out at a pub in Andover, AirTpr Nelson allegedly followed her colleague into the toilets “grabbed her breasts and tried to kiss her”, before also trying to touch her intimately.

The colleague is said to have “managed to escape” but AirTpr Nelson went after her and tried touching her intimately again, over her clothing.

A short while later, Nelson “put a cigarette out by stubbing it on [the alleged victim’s] face”.

In a police interview, AirTpr Nelson answered no comment to all questions put by detectives.

She has denied all charges. The trial continues.

A lorry driver survived after his vehicle plummeted more than 60 feet from a bridge on the M6 in Cheshire.

The vehicle fell from the Thelwall Viaduct between junctions 20 and 21, landing on the embankment below.

The driver of the lorry survived the crash without life-threatening injuries.

Cheshire Police were called to reports of an incident on the M6 shortly after 6.50pm on Monday.

Fire crews used rescue equipment to lower themselves to the driver.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service used water to cool the lorry and bunding to contain a leak of around 1,000 litres of fuel from the vehicle.

Three lanes are expected to remain closed on the northbound carriageway well into the morning due to the damage caused to the barrier, the force said. One lane will remain open with a reduced speed limit.

Police have advised motorists to avoid the area and find alternative routes during this time.

National Highways said “specialist recovery crews” had now arrived at the scene to undertake the “complex” repair operation.

Princess Beatrice is expecting her second child, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The late Queen’s granddaughter,36,  and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40, are preparing to welcome the baby in the spring.

The newborn will be a younger sibling for three-year-old Sienna and eight-year-old Christopher – known affectionately as Wolfie – Mr Mozzi’s son from his previous relationship with Dara Huang, an American architect.

The palace said in a statement: “Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. are very pleased to announce that they are expecting their second child together in early spring; a sibling for Wolfie, aged eight, and Sienna, aged three.

“His Majesty The King has been informed and both families are delighted with the news.”

Two new pictures were shared to mark the announcement, with one showing blonde-haired Sienna from behind as she walks along a country lane, holding hands in the middle of her father and big brother Wolfie.

Sienna, with a red bow in her hair, is kitted out in bright yellow wellies and an all-in-one blue waterproof puddlesuit decorated with cloud and bird motifs.

In another picture, an overjoyed Beatrice – wearing a black puffer jacket – smiles at the camera, while being embraced by Mr Mapelli Mozzi, who is gazing at his wife.

The baby will not have a royal title as the Princess and Mr Mapelli Mozzi opt to bring their children up away from the glare of public life.

He or she will be born 11th in line to the throne, with Princess Eugenie, Beatrice’s younger sister, moving down to 12th place.

The newborn will also be the 14th great-grandchild of the late Elizabeth II, and the second to be born since her death in 2022, following the arrival of Eugenie’s second child, Ernest, last year.

The Princess married Mr Mapelli Mozzi, a property developer, during the pandemic in July 2020 at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park.

‘Bonus son’

Wolfie acted as best man and page boy and Beatrice later revealed that she considered her stepmother role “an honour”.

She said she referred to Wolfie as her “bonus son”,  a relatively new way of describing such a relationship that is considered warmer than “stepchild” or “step-parent”.

The couple have an apartment at St James’s Palace and are also said to have purchased a £3.5million house in the Cotswolds.

Their daughter Sienna was born at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on September 18, 2021.

Princess Beatrice works for Afiniti, a US-based software company, as vice president of partnerships and strategy.

She also carries out charity work for organisations including Big Change, a dyslexia charity she co-founded, and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The happy news comes after a difficult few months for the Princess’s parents, the Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York.

Prince Andrew has found himself back in the spotlight following the release of a Prime Video series about his disastrous Newsnight interview, while his ex-wife has battled both breast cancer and skin cancer.

The billionaire behind Soho House is locked in a planning row with villagers over his plans for a Cotswolds mansion.

Ron Burkle has faced significant backlash after submitting an application to build the country home in Oxfordshire.

There are around 25 objections logged on the official application, with one nearby homeowner describing the plans as “grotesque”.

Planning documents state Mr Burkle intends to build a “new country house set within gardens with the provision of various ancillary buildings”. The property is to be built in Little Tew, less than three miles from Soho House’s countryside outpost, Soho Farmhouse.

The plans include: construction of a swimming pool and pool pavilion; a stables with a courtyard; a staff flat; a new lake; and solar panels.

In a formal objection, one resident wrote: “Rather than being a development of ‘truly outstanding quality’, I believe it to be a proposal of truly outstanding grotesquery. Adjectives which many have voiced and which seem more appropriate would be ‘ludicrous’ and ‘monstrous’.”

Mr Burkle, a Californian investor behind a string of deals involving US supermarkets, bought a majority stake in Soho House in 2012 and serves as executive chairman.

The chain runs more than 40 clubs from Nashville, in the US, to Bangkok, in Thailand. Annual membership in the UK costs as much as £2,950.

Mr Burkle’s initial plans for his Little Tew property were rejected in 2022 for failing to represent a “truly outstanding development” and not meeting specific planning criteria.

He has now reapplied to West Oxfordshire district council for the development, which will sit on 4.4 hectares of farmland between Banbury and Chipping Norton.

‘Ruthless and unpleasant’

One objector branded Mr Burkle a “very deep-pocketed, ruthless and unpleasant developer” in her objection to the plans and added that the new application did not significantly differ from the previous rejected iteration.

Another opponent of the scheme said it would be more suited to Disneyland than Little Tew. She wrote: “The new design continues to be a pastiche. It takes design elements from numerous stately homes, large public buildings and Oxford colleges, and amalgamates too many features into a design more suited to Disneyland.”

Little Tew parish council described the project as “unwarranted, unsustainable and unsuitable greenfield development”.

An objection letter from the organisation reads: “The Little Tew Parish meeting calls upon West Oxfordshire district council to reject on the grounds that it remains an unwarranted, unsustainable and unsuitable greenfield development that runs counter to the policies of the West Oxfordshire 2031 Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework 2023.”

Other reasons for refusing the proposals included the potential harm it posed to the natural environment and disruption the construction project would cause to locals and wildlife.

The site is located to the south of Banbury Road and comprises eight fields of differing sizes, six used for intensive arable cultivation, one as permanent pasture and the remaining one reverted from arable to grassland.

Mr Burkle was contacted for comment.

The prison officers’ union is taking Labour to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in an attempt to win back its right to strike.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) is seeking to persuade the Government to repeal Conservative laws from 1994 that removed their right to strike.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) sources have, however, said there are no plans to review the ban on strike action, raising the prospect of a court battle in the ECHR.

The POA’s appeal to the ECHR has been accepted by Strasbourg, but the European judges have written to the UK Government asking them to open talks with the union to see if a compromise solution can be agreed before the case is heard.

Mark Fairhurst, the general secretary of the POA, said Labour politicians in opposition had supported the repeal of the “pernicious” restriction on officers’ right to strike. Police are also barred from taking industrial action.

But he said the party had “conveniently forgotten” to include the measure in its plan to boost workers’ rights – an overhaul of employment legislation that is to be set out in draft legislation within 100 days of taking office.

“The Labour manifesto pledged to repeal anti-trade union legislation. That should include the most draconian laws which have affected prison officers for 20 years. It would be embarrassing for a union to take a socialist government to court to repeal it,” said Mr Fairhurst.

“We are waiting for the Government to write to us and say they will get round the table to sort it out. We are more than willing to sit down with them and sort it out.”

The POA argues that section 127 of the 1994 Criminal Justice Act banning strikes by prison officers is a breach of their members’ human rights under article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This protects the right to freedom of association and assembly, including the right to form trade unions.

It claims that section 127 has prevented the POA exercising its legitimate rights as a trade union after the Government rejected a pay review body recommendation for a £3,000 pay increase for POA members.

An MoJ source said there are “no plans to review this legislation”. The Government had raised prison officers’ pay by five per cent, bringing starting salaries above £34,000, because it recognised the challenging conditions they worked in, and their “critical importance in keeping the public safe”, the source added.

The POA argues the pay rise will make little difference to a recruitment and retention crisis in the prison service. The union warns that it will exacerbate difficulties in privately run prisons, where starting salaries are now around £2,000 lower than in the public estate.

A report by Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, said staff shortages were a key factor undermining safety in jails. This made it difficult to support prisoners with addiction problems, help them with everyday needs, give them enough time out of their cells or run educational activities.

Officers were being bussed across the country to keep some jails running, the watchdog said, adding: “Even where there were enough officers, they were often very inexperienced and the number of staff who left within the first two years continued to be worryingly high.”

The POA led some of its 34,000 members out on strike in 2018, despite the legal ban, and Mr Fairhurst said the POA would not hesitate to back action by its members again.

The Scottish Government has lifted the ban in Scotland but it remains in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

An MoJ spokesman said: “Prison officers work in difficult environments every day with some of the most challenging people in society, and we recognise their critical importance in keeping the public safe.

“That is why we accepted an independent pay review body’s recommendation of a five per cent pay increase, raising starting salaries for officers’ to more than £34,000, and will soon set out plans to fix our broken prisons system.

“There are no plans to review this legislation.”

For the past century, its wood-panelled rooms have been filled with the sounds of 125,000 couples promising “I do”.

But even by the standards of such a distinguished wedding venue, Old Marylebone Town Hall was a hive of unaccustomed activity on Tuesday.

A hundred couples were getting married, entering civil partnerships and renewing their vows at the central London building to celebrate its 100-year anniversary, in back-to-back ceremonies from 8am until 10.30pm.

The lucky brides and grooms each paid just £100 to celebrate at the town hall, a fraction of the usual fee.

The historic building is famous for hosting the weddings of legendary figures such as Ringo Starr, Sir Paul McCartney, and Liam Gallagher – who had both his big days there.

In its eagerness to ensure Old Marylebone Town Hall fulfilled its pledge to wed 100 couples – and perhaps mindful of the potential for last-minute cold feet – Westminster city council in fact overbooked the venue.

A council insider said: “There are reserve couples lined up, just in case – the actual number of bookings today is likely closer to 103.”

Georgia and Conor Rowley were one of the first couples to get married at the town hall on Tuesday morning, 40 years after Mrs Rowley’s parents married at the same venue.

“I didn’t sleep, I was so nervous. I feel like it should be in the afternoon or evening, but it’s so early!” said Mrs Rowley, who had been up since 3.30am to get her hair and make-up done with her bridesmaids.

“My parents actually married here in the 1980s,” she said. “They learned that the town hall was doing this through friends, and we were engaged, so we just thought, ‘Let’s go for it!’”

Her husband added: “It’s just amazing to be part of history. Celebrating 100 years at a beautiful historic building — we couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

Photographs shared with The Telegraph by Mrs Rowley show her mother Anita and father Andy’s wedding at Old Marylebone Town Hall.

But while history may have drawn the couple to choose this wedding venue, their romance was very much a modern one as they got together on a dating app.

“We met on Hinge a couple of years ago, and it went from there,” Mrs Rowley said.

‘We are a part of history’

Mr Rowley said: “For our first date, we met on the South Bank, and the rest is history! Now we are a part of history! It’s amazing.”

Describing the ceremony, Mrs Rowley said: “It was just amazing. Everyone was so friendly. There was such a sense of camaraderie with the other couples here –  it’s just a wonderful atmosphere in a beautiful building.”

Mrs Rowley added that her daughter Harper wore a dress made by her grandmother Anita.

Asked what was next, Mr Rowley said: “We’re going to enjoy the day, have a nice lunch at L’Escargot, drink some champagne, and have cake!”

Thomas Mackintosh, a BBC journalist, was another of the grooms.

The BBC announced this morning that he would be reporting on the town hall’s centenary celebrations himself – although Mr Mackintosh was quick to point out he wasn’t actually working on his wedding day.

“I’m not covering it live! I’ve written everything ahead of time,” he said. “It’s the beauty of broadcast.”

Sally Wall, 37, and Kris Wall, 40, from London, also tied the knot today. Mrs Wall put on her denim jacket outside the venue. Chosen for the occasion, the jacket has “Till Death” embroidered on the back, above two embracing skeletons.

Mrs Wall told The Telegraph that it was “really important” for the couple to find a wedding venue in London because that’s where they met and fell in love.

“We just happened across a news article about today and applied, and we got a place,” she said, adding that she believed they were one of the first couples to book a slot.

“To be part of this historic day is such an honour — something we will all remember forever.”