Qatar Airways sets up Oman hub for stranded passengers

Muscat International Airport is tiny by Middle Eastern standards, with barely one-eighth of the passenger numbers handled in a typical year by Dubai.

But with airports in the UAE, Qatar and beyond either operating with only a small fraction of normal operations or closed completely due to airspace restrictions, the airport in the Omani capital is experiencing a surge in flights and passengers.

Qatar Airways, which has flown no passengers since the weekend, is launching a “mini hub” in Muscat. From Friday, a small number of jets together with pilots and cabin crew will be shuttling from there to London Heathrow as well as Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam.

The first flight was to Heathrow. The Boeing 777 was scheduled for 1pm local time on Thursday, but departed late, and is expected to arrive shortly after 8pm GMT.

By road, the distance from Doha to Muscat is over 1,000km. Border crossings for Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman add to the journey time from Qatar to Muscat airport.

British Airways has announced that a fourth passenger flight will be operated from Muscat to London Heathrow. The departure in the early hours of Sunday is strictly for British Airways passengers who have been stuck in the Gulf region, especially Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

A BA spokesperson said: “Please do not travel to the airport unless you have a confirmed booking.

“This flight is for BA customers who are in Oman or the UAE with an existing booking. If you wish to travel on this flight, please contact us via our dedicated phone line on +44 203 467 3854. Our teams will also be getting in touch with BA customers directly via email.

“We are constantly reviewing the situation and will continue to do everything we can to support our customers and colleagues in the region and remain in regular contact with them.”

Muscat was also the departure airport for the UK government charter flight that was severely delayed due to what a minister called “problems with getting passengers on board”.

In addition, the national airline, Oman Air, is laying on extra flights between its hub at Muscat and several international airports – including London Heathrow. The carrier is redeploying aircraft and crew that would normally fly to destinations in the Gulf.

The additional departures will operate from Saturday for nine days initially.

Other destinations served include Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai. The carrier may accept bookings from these Asian cities to London, adding much-needed capacity and helping to keep fares low.

Emirates is continuing to increase the number of repatriation flights that it is operating from Dubai. On Thursday, it has three departures to Heathrow, two to Manchester and one to Gatwick.

Virgin Atlantic is flying once again between Heathrow and Dubai.

Read more: Gulf crisis reveals air passengers’ rights rules are unfit for purpose

Iran is no Iraq – it’s much worse than that

The Trump administration has been criticised for not explaining why the United States has attacked Iran. Sadly, the problem appears to be that it cannot get its story straight, offering so many different explanations that it has yet to settle on one.

That is more than a communication issue. It suggests either a lack of consensus as to what the Great Leader is thinking, or that he is thinking too many things.

Donald Trump’s original announcement, sent on social media in the middle of the night, was a clear call for regime change. The Iranian regime was “a vicious group of very hard terrible people”, he said. Fair enough. Is it uniquely awful? Perhaps. But one could easily throw Russia, North Korea and Afghanistan into that mix, and we are not attacking them.

Nor does being terrible in a domestic sense generally give other countries a right to attack when there is no imminent danger to them. And even if there is a duty to stop genocide, what is happening in Iran, though horrific, does not remotely meet the criteria.

Trump’s midnight message also made the danger argument. He said that Iran’s “menacing activities endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world”. That may have been true by Sunday, when Iran started firing missiles, but was it true on Saturday, before the airstrikes started?

There seemed to be a consensus that Iran and its proxies had been degraded, its economy was a shambles, its nuclear programme had been obliterated, and the regime was threatened from within. Its ability to project power outside its borders, and its apparent inclination to do so, were far more limited than they had been in decades. So the threat of imminent danger to the United States seems concocted.

Moving on, Trump threw in a greatest hits tour of Iranian wrongdoing: the chanting of “Death to America”, supporting terrorism, the violent 1979 takeover of the US embassy (for those not born then, that destroyed Jimmy Carter’s re-election chances, and most of the 66 hostages were not released until 444 days later, when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated). Omitted from Trump’s history was the 1953 CIA coup that deposed an elected president and installed the brutal Shah, whose departure led directly to the creation of the Islamic Republic.

Trump did reference the appalling bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 by Iranian forces. To be sure, this and other actions have made Iran a uniquely awful actor, but this seems a strange time to be avenging a savage crime of more than 40 years ago. The US president also suggested that Iran knew about, and was probably involved in, the 1998 attack on the USS Cole, although al-Qaeda claimed credit for that and a US judge held Sudan responsible for the attack.

But wait, there are more explanations. Iran’s leaders have “rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions”. They are trying to develop ballistic missiles that can reach “our very good friends and allies” and “could soon reach the American mainland”. The concerns about Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon or firing conventional ballistic missiles are real and serious. That is why the Obama administration concluded an agreement in 2015, which was not perfect, but blocked the four paths to gaining nuclear weapons for 10 to 15 years. Iran followed the terms of the agreement until Trump tore up the deal three years later. After all, it was Obama’s deal, so how could it be any good?

But weren’t there negotiations between Iran and the United States as recently as last Thursday, after which the mediator, the foreign minister of Oman, said “a peace deal is within our reach”? The interview was pre-recorded on Friday to be aired on Sunday, by which time the attack had begun. Clearly, the planning for this invasion had started long before these negotiations, where the United States took maximalist provisions that it knew would not be accepted.

Oh, and weren’t Iran’s nuclear facilities “completely and totally obliterated” last June, along with its “nuclear ambitions”, in the words of both President Trump and Secretary of War Hegseth? On Saturday, Iran was further from achieving nuclear weapons than it had been in years, by any reasonable estimation.

When the Iranian people took to the streets, the regime murdered somewhere between 3,000 and 30,000 people for protesting. The regime said they were terrorists who had attacked Iranian forces. The violence against civilians was terrible. But Trump invading another country in order to establish its citizens’ right to dissent has to be taken with many grains of salt. Echoes of Iraq in 1991, or Hungary in 1956, cannot be ignored.

On Monday, Pete Hegseth’s message was a complete 180-degree turn from the president’s. He said, “This is not a so-called regime-change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world will be better off for it.” On Tuesday, Marco Rubio and Speaker Johnson came up with a new talking point: Israel was going to attack anyway; Iran would accordingly retaliate against US targets anyway; so why not follow along with the Israeli agenda? It is hard to imagine a greater gift to those who claim the US is in Netanyahu’s pocket.

This war veers from one poorly thought-through justification to another, hoping one will stick with the American people. Bellicose, improvisational grandiosity is no substitute for clear and competent strategy.

UK’s care sector blasted as ‘utter s****’ by inquiry chief

People in need of adult social care are sometimes being charged for “utter shite”, the government’s social care tsar said as she called for a “reckoning” over the sector.

Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading an independent commission on adult social care, described social care as a “creaking, inconsistent and impenetrable” system held together with “sticking plasters and glue”.

Speaking at a Nuffield Trust summit on Thursday, Baroness Casey suggested sometimes people are charged for “utter shite” care, although she said some services were “brilliant”.

During her speech, Baroness Casey also criticised the NHS for “winning” over social care when it comes to funding, and blasted the NHS medicines regulator, NICE, for rejecting a new expensive Alzheimer’s drug.

“New breakthrough drugs are ‘too expensive’ to deliver on the NHS for what they call the ‘small benefits’ they’ll give,” she said in her speech.

“I know the NHS can’t afford every drug, but if I was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and a treatment would give me six months to talk to my family and get my affairs in order before the disease took hold, I’m not sure I would call that a small benefit,” she added.

In a letter to Wes Streeting published on Thursday, Baroness Casey called for new backing to “scale up investment in dementia trials”.

“As a first step, I am asking the government to fund a small trial that is ready to proceed, using funding that is already available,” she said.

Baroness Casey also called for Wes Streeting to create a new government dementia tsar.

The baroness criticised the social care waits for patients with Motor neurone disease (MND), which affects 5,000 people in the UK at any given time. She explained patients face long waits for home care packages, warning some wait more than a year for changes to their house, yet the life expectancy from diagnosis is just under two years.

During her speech, Baroness Casey said there has not yet been “a moment of reckoning” as to how society supports and cares for “an older, sicker population and greater levels of disability”.

She described the current system between the NHS and social care as “drawn-out discussions on who pays for what”, as “simply anxiety-laden and confusing”.

The peer, who has previously headed a number of major reviews including into rough sleeping, culture and standards of behaviour in the Metropolitan Police, and a national audit into grooming gangs, added: “I have been in Whitehall long enough and I have run enough cross-government programmes to know that when responsibility is shared it can end up being no-one’s responsibility.”

Labour faced criticism after it was elected in 2024 for scrapping plans for an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England would need to spend on their personal care over their lifetime, having argued the proposals were not “deliverable” in the time frame.

Unlike NHS care, social care is not free at the point of use and challenges of meeting high care costs have sometimes meant people have been forced to sell their homes to pay for what they need.

Responding to Baroness Casey’s speech, Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund, said: “The Commission will now need to convert understandable outrage about the state of adult social care into actionable recommendations for wider reform that live up to the language of a ‘moment of reckoning’ Baroness Casey put forward today.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The government is taking decisive action by establishing a new National Safeguarding Board to better protect vulnerable adults, fast‑tracking access to care for people with motor neurone disease and accelerating work to transform dementia care and research, including by creating a dementia leadership role to drive forward action.”

Spurs self-destructed against Palace. Relegation is a real prospect

Tottenham’s precarious Premier League plight worsened significantly after a calamitous period culminated in a 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace.

The loss leaves the north London club staring down the barrel of relegation, having started the night just a single point above the bottom three following West Ham’s midweek victory over Fulham.

The match began with an early scare for Spurs when Ismaila Sarr had a goal disallowed for offside, but hope briefly flickered five minutes later as Dominic Solanke netted a 34th-minute opener.

However, any momentum was swiftly extinguished by a moment of inexplicable folly from stand-in captain Micky Van de Ven, whose blatant pull-back on Sarr inside the area earned him a straight red card.

Sarr calmly converted the resulting spot-kick, and the Eagles capitalised further during a chaotic end to the first half. Jorgen Strand Larsen added a second for Palace with a low effort, before Sarr grabbed his brace, leaving the home side shell-shocked and facing an uphill battle with ten men.

Manager Igor Tudor, who had controversially dropped big-money signings Conor Gallagher and Xavi Simons for the visit of Palace, now faces intense scrutiny.

His tactical gamble failed to pay off, with Guglielmo Vicario forced into an early save from Adam Wharton within the first minute.

Debutant Souza was booked after just seven minutes for a poor tackle that saw Daniel Munoz limp off, setting a tense tone.

Despite a snapshot from Mathys Tel in the 15th minute, Tottenham struggled to gain a foothold.

Palace thought they had scored just before the hour mark when Sarr raced onto Evann Guessand’s through ball, but a lengthy VAR check ruled it offside, prompting loud cheers from the home crowd.

These cheers soon turned to despair as Solanke’s opener, set up by Gray after a deflected Tel strike, was quickly overshadowed.

Four minutes after taking the lead, Van de Ven’s red card and Sarr’s subsequent penalty completely shifted the dynamic.

Tudor introduced Gallagher and Yves Bissouma, but the changes couldn’t stem the tide. Wharton was instrumental in Palace’s late first-half surge, threading a pass to Strand Larsen, who fired past Vicario, and then delivering a clipped ball that Sarr poked in, exposing a static Tottenham defence and leaving Pedro Porro looking foolish.

Loud boos greeted the half-time whistle, but the ten men of Spurs showed some resilience in the second half.

Kevin Danso was denied by Dean Henderson, and Gray had an effort blocked.

Substitutions including Brennan Johnson, Richarlison and Xavi failed to alter the scoreline, as Tottenham set an unwanted club record of 11 Premier League matches without a win, deepening the crisis for Tudor and the club.

PA contributed to this report

Britney Spears arrested and charged with DUI in California

Britney Spears has been arrested in California for allegedly driving under the influence.

Spears, 44, was pulled over Wednesday night by California Highway Patrol officers, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office’s inmate records.

The 911 dispatch audio obtained by US Weekly revealed that Spears was driving a black BMW 2026 convertible, with the operator describing the vehicle “erratic[ly] braking, swerving and driving with no taillight.”

She was booked by the sheriff’s office around 3 a.m. Wednesday, and was released from custody hours later. Spears is due in court May 4.

A representative for Spears told The Independent: “This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable. Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life. Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time.

“Her boys are going to be spending time with her. Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being.”

Spears — who appears to have deleted her Instagram profile yet again following her arrest — faced legal trouble in 2007 when she allegedly hit a parked car in Los Angeles, resulting in four misdemeanor charges and a jail sentence.

The charges were later dropped and Spears avoided jail time after a jury acquitted her of driving without a California license.

Shortly after that incident, Spears lost custody of her two sons with her ex-husband Kevin Federline: 20-year-old Sean Preston Federline and 19-year-old Jayden James Federline. In 2008, she was placed into a conservatorship, leaving her personal finances and affairs under the control of her father Jamie Spears.

The controversial legal arrangement came to an end in November 2021, 13 years after it was put in place.

Spears remained estranged from them until late 2024 when she reunited with Jayden.

In January, Spears posted an old tour photograph of herself sat on stage at a white piano. She captioned the image: “Sending this piano to my son this year!!! Interestingly enough, I dance on IG to heal things in my body that people have no idea about. Yup and it’s embarrassing sometimes… but I walked through the fire to save my life…”

She continued: “I will never perform in the U.S. again because of extremely sensitive reasons but I hope to be sitting on a stool with a red rose in my hair, in a bun, performing with my son… in the UK and AUSTRALIA very soon. He’s a huge star and I’m so humbled to be in his presence!!! God speed, little man!!!”

Last March, she shared videos of Jayden rapping and playing the piano and described him as a “genius.”

In one video, the “Toxic” singer could be heard shouting in excitement: “My son just played, oh my God! I felt it in my bones, and my heart, and my lungs.”

When Spears published her memoir The Woman in Me in 2023, she wrote as a dedication in the book: “For my boys, who are the loves of my life.”

Why Gran Hotel Taoro is Tenerife’s must-book luxury stay for 2026

Tenerife’s iconic Gran Hotel Taoro holds a special place in Spanish history. As the first luxury hotel in Spain, opening its doors in 1890, it was a glamorous haven for high society, welcoming everyone from King Alfonso XIII and the Duke of Kent to author Agatha Christie.

Now, after a complete renovation, the landmark hotel has been reborn as an elegant 21st-century destination that’s ready to welcome you for the ultimate five-star break.

The hotel’s carefully preserved neo-classical architecture exudes old-world elegance, while colonial-inspired interiors in earthy tones and modern five-star comforts promise a stay that feels both timeless and contemporary.

Set on a lush hilltop in northern Tenerife and overlooking the historic town of Puerto de la Cruz, the hotel’s 199 rooms and suites make the most of its enviable location, featuring breathtaking panoramic views of Mount Teide – the highest point in Spain – the Atlantic Ocean, and the palm-dotted greenery of its terraces and surrounding botanical parks.

Prepare to embark on an unforgettable culinary journey throughout your stay, with exceptional restaurants celebrating local and international flavours.

At fusion restaurant OKA, helmed by Michelin-starred chef Ricardo Sanz, Japanese fine dining is given a mouthwatering Mediterranean twist.

Two-Michelin-starred chef Erlantz Gorostiza is the mastermind behind two more restaurants: Spanish gourmet bistro Amalur, with a menu inspired by the four elements; and fine dining restaurant Lava, whose exclusive setting includes a Chef’s Counter for six guests.

Breakfast at Atlantico Buffet is the perfect way to start the day as you savour delicious dishes alongside terrace views. For leisurely poolside lunches, La Carola is the place to be, serving Mediterranean flavours and crisp Canarian wines with a generous side of Tenerife sunshine.

Secure your holiday to Gran Hotel Taoro with British Airways Holidays and enjoy a great-value holiday with quality and peace of mind. You’ll benefit from ATOL protection from the moment you book, a 24-hour helpline and a generous checked baggage allowance. Book your holiday with a low deposit and spread the cost with flexible payments* – so all that’s left to focus on is enjoying your holiday in style.

If you upgrade to Club Europe, you’ll enjoy a host of additional benefits including lounge access,** increased checked baggage allowance, and priority check-in and boarding. Members of The British Airways Club benefit from collecting Avios, earning tier points and using Avios towards the cost of holiday packages.

Spend your days at the Gran Hotel Taoro relaxing by three heated pools, set amidst beautifully landscaped gardens and providing a postcard-perfect setting for some downtime.

If you want to up the relaxation factor further, head to the serene sanctuary of the Sandara Wellness Center, which offers a range of exclusive treatments in partnership with luxury French brand Anne Semonin.

Guests who want to explore the history, culture and natural wonders of the local area – including Puerto de la Cruz, the oldest tourist destination in the Canaries – can take advantage of the hotel’s new X-Plora programme, offering a range of tailor-made experiences both within and beyond the hotel grounds through the dedicated concierge team.

More than a luxury retreat, Gran Hotel Taoro is a grand hotel reborn: a destination where heritage, culture and five-star service come together in one of Tenerife’s most treasured and authentic settings. Book with British Airways Holidays to experience this Spanish icon’s remarkable return in 2026.

British Airways Holidays packages include a generous checked baggage allowance for each customer and come with full ATOL protection for complete peace of mind. Secure your Tenerife holiday to Gran Hotel Taoro with a low deposit and enjoy flexible payments until you fly*.

*Based on two sharing. Full balance due four weeks before departure. Subject to availability. T&Cs apply. **Subject to availability

• Secure your holiday with a low deposit and spread the cost with flexible payments.*

• All holiday packages include a generous checked baggage allowance.

• ATOL protection from the moment you book your holiday package giving you financial reassurance.

• Quality car hire with no hidden fees, 24-hour support and roadside assistance.

• Upgrade to Club Europe (Business Class) for a host of additional benefits including lounge access,** increased checked baggage allowance, delicious food and drink options and dedicated check-in and priority boarding.

• Members of The British Airways Club benefit from collecting Avios, earning tier points and using Avios towards the cost of holiday packages.

The Peaky Blinders movie doesn’t need to exist

I will concede this to the flat-capped and pocket-watched fleet of Peaky Blinders zealots: there is something mightily compelling about watching Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby stride in slow motion through fog, suited and pistol bared, as Fontaines DC’s Grian Chatten growls so loudly it threatens to shake the speakers off their perch.

He’s a character so embedded in British pop culture that in The Immortal Man, his feature-length swan song, when he encounters a soldier at a bar who spits out derisively, “who the f*** is Thomas Shelby?”, the whole cinema audience responded by hooting with laughter. Tommy responds by shoving a grenade down the man’s shirt.

The Immortal Man exists purely to spin out that mythology one more time, with Murphy having formally retired the role ahead of a new prequel series. Clearly, it’s intended as a bridge between the two shows, though what it actually contributes in terms of thematic or narrative development is negligible. Season six already did the necessary work.

That said, Steven Knight’s small screen empire (from Peaky Blinders and Taboo to A Thousand Blows and House of Guinness) is united by a common vision: you can sloppily chip away at history all you like, but if it’s bombastic enough in its delivery, then it’s all the easier to surrender to its pleasures. And, when a Knight project is at its most enjoyable, it’s usually because he’s placed someone at its centre as formidably talented as Murphy.

Tommy Shelby is one of the actor’s cornerstone performances, because he can level all that early 20th-century Brummie crime boss braggadocio with the soul of an innate philosopher. In Murphy’s hands, it’s never mere macho stoicism – we fully understand Tommy as a man buckled by accumulated loss and violence. And he’s as good as ever in The Immortal Man, though he’s found a true successor in Barry Keoghan, taking over from Conrad Khan as Tommy’s illegitimate son, Erasmus “Duke” Shelby.

Keoghan’s swagger is more mischievous in nature, but he shares with Murphy the same ability to poke holes in his own charisma so we can glimpse the vulnerability behind it. He’s a natural fit for Peaky Blinders. In fact, it’s a little too natural – Duke’s a cookie-cutter Keoghan role, the rogue element who ends up humbled with his face down in the mud (literally this time).

Duke, in Tommy’s noted absence, is now in charge of the Peaky Blinders. The year is 1940. But as Tommy’s sister Ada (Sophie Rundle) warns, he’s running the gang like it’s “1919 again”. He was abandoned by his father (twice), so deems any form of allegiance as futile. He’ll happily steal munitions from the army and conspire with a fascist (Tim Roth’s Beckett) to help flood the British economy with forged notes, and potentially win the war for the Nazis, as long as he gets a decent pay cut.

There’s not much meat on the bones of Duke’s character there, and neither is there on Rebecca Ferguson’s mysterious Romany woman Kaulo, who crashes Tommy’s self-imposed exile out in a countryside mansion. He’s been busy chatting up ghosts of his dead loved ones, pausing occasionally to write a few more chapters of his autobiography and solemnly wear a turtleneck.

But Kaulo has her own connection to the other side (the film, as the series did before it, plays fast, loose, and carelessly with Romany culture) and she brings a message that will have Tommy slap back on the suit and the flat cap to ride out for a final mission. In slow motion. Through fog. While guitars scream in back (new music includes a slowed-down version of Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand”, contributions by Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers, and two Massive Attack covers). What’s worked before works here just as well. Tommy Shelby persists.

Dir: Tom Harper. Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Sophie Rundle, Barry Keoghan, Stephen Graham. Cert 15, 112 minutes

‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’ is in cinemas from 6 March, and streams on Netflix from 20 March

BBC calls for ‘urgent’ change to licence fee as broadcaster faces ‘jeopardy’

The BBC has warned that its current funding model is “not sustainable and needs reform” and that it now faces “jeopardy” in a rapidly changing TV landscape.

The broadcaster published a 100-page report in response to the government’s Green Paper, in which it committed to exploring options around reforming the licence fee. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said in the report in December that it would look into a new funding system “that better accounts for different household situations”.

Responding to the Green Paper, the BBC stated on Thursday that it won’t survive as a broadcaster unless changes are made due to the “permanent and irreversible” trends in UK viewing habits – and would welcome “radical” options.

Explaining that licence fee evasion has increased from 5.3 per cent to 12.5 per cent between 2024 and 2025, the BBC stated that the total number of licence fees has fallen by 2.5 million.

“The primary driver for these changes is the rise in SVOD services and video sharing platforms, and the corresponding decline in live TV consumption,” the BBC wrote.

As a result, the BBC is no longer “a service almost every household paid for and used”, but instead one “that almost every household uses but millions do not pay for”.

It added that the BBC is “at risk like never before”, saying that the new Charter is an opportunity for change. “But we have to be clear-eyed about the jeopardy we now face – both for the BBC and for the UK as a whole.”

While the BBC called for change, it warned that the government’s suggestion of a subscription model would lead to “a very different BBC” that would exclude “many households – particularly older people and people on lower-incomes”.

Instead, it called for a reformed model that asks “more households to contribute at a lower cost” to “strengthen fairness and sustainability”.

The BBC also suggested that platforms like Netflix and YouTube could raise awareness to their viewers about which content required a TV licence, and offered to host the content of ITV, Channel 4 and other public service broadcasters on iPlayer to create a platform that can compete with the streamers.

Those watching any live video content of streaming services – including Netflix and Prime Video, which host live sport – are required to have a TV licence, with it costing £174.50 per year.

The BBC’s charter, which needs renewing every 10 years, expires on 31 December 2027 – an awkward time for the BBC considering its director-general Tim Davie resigned in November.

He stepped down from the role following allegations that the BBC had selectively edited Donald Trump’s speech on the day of the US Capitol attack in a Panorama documentary.

Referring to the recent controversy, the BBC said in its response: “We know that recent issues have impacted public trust in the BBC as an organisation.

“Attitudes about the quality and impartiality of our news, current affairs and wider content offer are a key driver of public trust.”

Rhodri Talfan Davies is set to take over as the BBC’s interim director-general from 3 April.