A government scheme aimed at cutting energy use by insulating homes was botched on a vast scale, a spending watchdog has found, leaving tens of thousands of homes in need of remedial work.

According to the National Audit Office (NAO) 98% of homes that had external wall insulation installed under the scheme have problems that will lead to damp and mould if left unaddressed.

Nearly a third, or 29%, of the homes that were given internal insulation also need fixing, it said.

Energy Consumer Minister Martin McCluskey said the government was taking action and that the homes would be fixed "at no cost to the consumer".

Mohammed Mahedi, who had external wall insulation fitted to his Luton home two years ago, is living with the consequences.

''Some mornings I wake up breathing really, really heavily. I feel it in my neck. I feel it in my lungs,'' he says.

The BBC first reported the impact of faulty insulation in Luton last year.

Mohammed is still fighting to get the problem fixed.

"We got a scheme done that was meant to be helping us but it's made everything worse.''

In 2022 the previous government directed energy companies to spend billions of pounds, raised via levies on energy bills, on insulating homes across the UK, targetting people receiving benefits and those in very poorly insulated homes.

However, the NAO found there were "clear failures" in the design of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, which resulted in "poor-quality installations as well as suspected fraud".

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said it was now up to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to ensure the businesses responsible repaired "all affected homes as quickly as possible".

"It must also reform the system so that this cannot happen again," he said.

The NAO, which monitors how public money is spent, cited an "under-skilled workforce", businesses cutting corners and uncertainty over which standards to apply to which jobs, as some of the reasons for the substandard work.

It found that between 22,000 and 23,000 homes that had received external wall insulation, and up to 13,000 properties with internal wall insulation were now in need of repairs.

A small percentage of installations - 6% for external and 2% of internal insulation - posed an "immediate health and safety risk" from faults such as exposed live electrical cabling or blocked boiler ventilation, it said.

The NAO report focused on two specific schemes, ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme.

But it also directed criticism at TrustMark, a consumer protection scheme set up in 2021 to monitor the quality of insulation programmes. It said there had been "weak" oversight and insufficient auditing of the schemes.

The NAO said that had allowed installers to "game" the system. Last year the whole-industry regulator, Ofgem, estimated that businesses had falsified claims for ECO installations in up to 16,500 homes, potentially claiming between £56m and £165m from energy suppliers.

TrustMark said it accepted that more needed to be done and said it remained "completely committed to ensuring strong consumer protection and confidence".

It said the organisation took "firm, fair and decisive action" when it first noticed issues with the work in 2024 and "kept industry groups and government fully informed at every stage".

Energy minister, McCluskey said the NAO report revealed "unacceptable, systemic failings" left by the previous government.

He said there would be "comprehensive reforms" and "clear lines of accountability" in future.

People should plan for potential cyber-attacks by going back to pen and paper, according to the latest advice.

The government has written to chief executives across the country strongly recommending that they should have physical copies of their plans at the ready as a precaution.

A recent spate of hacks has highlighted the chaos that can ensue when hackers take computer systems down.

The warning comes as the National Cyber-Security Centre (NCSC) reported an increase in more serious cyber attacks this year.

Criminal hacks on Marks and Spencer, The Co-op and Jaguar Land Rover have led to empty shelves and production lines being halted this year as the companies struggled without their computer systems.

Organisations need to "have a plan for how they would continue to operate without their IT, (and rebuild that IT at pace), were an attack to get through," said Richard Horne, chief executive of the NSCS.

Firms are being urged to look beyond cyber-security controls toward a strategy known as "resilience engineering", which focuses on building systems that can anticipate, absorb, recover, and adapt, in the event of an attack.

Preferably the plans should be in paper form or stored offline, the agency suggests.

Although the total number of hacks that the NCSC dealt with in the first nine months of this year was, at 429, roughly the same as for a similar period last year, there was an increase in hacks with a bigger impact.

The number of "nationally significant" incidents represented nearly half, or 204, of all incidents. Last year only 89 were in that category.

A nationally significant incident covers cyber-attacks in the three highest categories in the NCSC and UK law enforcement categorisation model:

• Category 1: National cyber-emergency.
• Category 2: Highly significant incident.
• Category 3: Significant incident.
• Category 4: Substantial incident.
• Category 5: Moderate incident.
• Category 6: Localised incident.

Amongst this year's incidents, 4% (18) were in the second highest category "highly significant".

This marks a 50% increase in such incidents, an increase for the third consecutive year.

The NCSC would not give details on which attacks, either public or undisclosed, fall into which category.

But, as a benchmark, it is understood that the wave of attacks on UK retailers in the spring, which affected Marks and Spencer, The Co-op and Harrods, would be classed as a significant incidents.

One of the most serious attacks last year, on a blood testing provider, caused major problems for London hospitals. It resulted in significant clinical disruption and directly contributed to at least one patient death.

The NCSC would not say which category this incident would fall into.

The vast majority of attacks are financially motivated with criminal gangs using ransomware or data extortion to blackmail a victim into sending Bitcoins in ransom.

Whilst most cyber-crime gangs are headquartered in Russian or former Soviet countries, there has been a resurgence in teenage hacking gangs thought to be based in English-speaking countries.

So far this year seven teenagers have been arrested in the UK as part of investigations into major cyber-attacks.

As well as the advice over heightened preparations and collaboration, the government is asking organisations to make better use of the free tools and services offered by the NCSC, for example free cyber-insurance for small businesses that have completed the popular Cyber-Essentials programme.

The government's national security adviser Jonathan Powell made no decisions about the content of any evidence provided in the collapsed case against two men accused of spying for China, a minister has said.

Prosecutors unexpectedly dropped charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry - who deny the allegations - in September.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch claimed the case collapsed because the government had refused to give the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) "vital information" as it wanted to "curry favour" with China.

Security Minister Jarvis dismissed claims the government deliberately collapsed the case as "baseless".

Mr Powell, who is one of the prime minister's most senior advisers and political allies, is facing pressure over whether he played a role in the collapse of the trial, with the Conservatives saying he has "questions to answer".

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he has "full confidence" in his national security adviser, telling broadcasters: "He is doing an excellent job."

Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry were charged under the Official Secrets Act in April 2024, when the Conservatives were in power.

They were accused of gathering and providing information prejudicial to the safety and interests of the state between December 2021 and February 2023.

But last week the head of the CPS said the case collapsed because evidence could not be obtained from the government referring to China as a national security threat.

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said while there was sufficient evidence when charges were originally brought against the two men in April 2024, a precedent set by another spying case earlier this year meant China would need to have been labelled a "threat to national security" at the time of the alleged offences.

Giving a statement to MPs in the Commons, Jarvis denied reports Mr Powell had ruled China could not be defined as a national security threat at a meeting of Whitehall officials in September, shortly before the charges were dropped.

"Of course, [the national security adviser] takes part in discussions about national security and diplomatic relations. That is literally his job," he said.

"But any discussions were on the basis that the case would be going ahead and how to handle the implications.

"The national security adviser was not involved in any decisions about the substance of the evidence."

Jarvis said it was deputy national security adviser Matthew Collins who provided a witness statement in December 2023 under the previous Conservative government, with further witness statements requested and provided in February and July this year.

He said Mr Collins was given "full freedom to provide evidence without interference", adding: "Ministers and special advisers did not take decisions about that evidence and they were not cited on the contents."

Jarvis said all the evidence provided was based on the law and the Tory government's position on China at the time of the alleged offences.

He added that the decision about whether to proceed with the prosecution was taken by the CPS, "who were hamstrung by antiquated legislation".

The Official Secrets Act of 1911 has since been replaced by the 2023 National Security Act, which Jarvis said closed "the loopholes that have been exposed by this particular case".

"Suggestions that the government concealed evidence, withdrew witnesses, or restricted the ability of witnesses to draw on particular bits of evidence are all untrue," he said.

"The [deputy national security adviser] did not materially change his evidence and was under no pressure from anyone to do so...

"What has changed is the CPS's assessment of the case law."

Jarvis sought to blame the previous Tory government for not classifying China as a threat to national security and being too "slow" to update national security laws.

Defending her party's record, Badenoch pointed to a number of examples where Tory ministers and government documents had described China as a "threat".

"The trial has collapsed because for months and months, the government has been refusing to give the CPS vital information," she said.

"This wasn't a mistake. This wasn't a misunderstanding. This looks like a deliberate decision to collapse the case and curry favour with the regime in China."

She added: "I suspect that [ministers] have decided that closer economic ties with China were more important than due process and our national security."

The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to "come clean on why this case fell apart" and publish all correspondence between the deputy national security adviser and the CPS.

The party's foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller said: "The government's attempts to duck scrutiny and scapegoat a single official simply won't wash.

"It's inconceivable that neither Keir Starmer nor his national security adviser knew what evidence was being submitted in such an important case.

"The buck for this fiasco ultimately stops with the prime minister."

Meanwhile, Jarvis confirmed that MI5's National Protective Security Authority had published new advice for politicians on how to protect themselves from espionage and foreign interference.

The guidance warns MPs they are a potential target for foreign spies, with China, Russia and Iran identified as particular risks to British institutions.

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As Tina walks onto the stage in front of hundreds of people she is beaming.

She's collecting her British Sign Language (BSL) certificate which is the culmination of a journey that began with tragedy.

"Learning BSL has helped me say words that I cannot speak," she says.

In 2018, while returning from a holiday, Tina fell down a flight of stairs and was in a coma for six weeks.

The accident caused a traumatic brain injury that dramatically changed her life, leaving her struggling to speak.

Before the fall, Tina had been a high achiever - she and her husband Mark met while working as navigators in the RAF, and Tina went on to retrain as a lawyer.

Now 59, Tina says learning sign language has given her a new way to communicate.

"I'm scared of talking sometimes but BSL has helped me relax as sometimes I remember the sign if I can't remember a word."

Three years ago, Tina and Mark moved to Hughenden Gardens Retirement Village in High Wycombe to access more support.

"When I arrived here I only spoke a bit and I was very silent as I wasn't very confident," explains Tina.

But as a result of moving to the village, they became participants in the BBC series Rose Ayling-Ellis: Old Hands, New Tricks, filmed in March, which set out to explore how British Sign Language could transform the lives of older residents.

The series sees Rose, who has been deaf since birth, teach BSL to a group of older residents, showing how it uses visual sign language using gestures, facial expressions and body language to communicate.

"People think sign language is just for deaf people but it's so much more than that, especially for people who are losing their hearing," Ayling-Ellis explains.

"BSL has helped Tina communicate as you use your face and expressions as well as hands so you can understand emotions better," Mark, 64, says.

She is one of five residents to achieve a Level 1 BSL qualification, alongside several staff members.

"I'm so proud of them," Ayling-Ellis says. "I didn't think they could get further than the alphabet but they proved me wrong and should be proud of themselves."

Tina has continued to learn BSL after the documentary through classes taught by her husband.

Despite never intending to teach, after taking part in the TV series, Mark now leads regular practice sessions with 20 people.

"We raised some money to get a proper instructor to give us lessons but alongside the formal lessons I run a group every week for a few hours where I put people through their paces," Mark says.

The pair have benefited immensely from learning BSL, but "it was surprisingly tiring".

"I'm fit and heathy and was still finding it tough going - we were knackered from it," Mark says.

There were classes three times a week and then homework and revision in the evening. The group started by learning the alphabet and numbers which came in handy when the residents hosted a signed bingo evening.

The lessons also proved useful in unexpected ways.

"At medical appointments we realised we could sign to each other to communicate something privately," explains Mark.

Since the documentary aired, the couple have helped turn Hughenden Gardens into a hub of deaf awareness.

"We are running deaf classes, building links with local deaf community and investigating new technologies to help people with hearing problems," Mark says.

A monthly Deaf Café has been launched and a Jewish Deaf Association group of 29 people is due to visit the village later this month.

It's also bought residents closer together and fostered a sense of community as "there's nothing like adversity to help a team gel," according to Mark.

The impact is being felt far beyond Hughenden.

Mark says: "Since March we've had many interesting visitors - one from Canada and there's a deaf club in another retirement village where there are 20 people all learning BSL.

The retirement village is now focusing on how to be more deaf inclusive. Plans include deaf awareness training for all staff, new deaf-friendly entry intercoms, improved signage and the rollout of SignLive, a deaf-led video interpreting app.

While Mark continues to transform the retirement village, Tina is pleased that BSL has helped her regain confidence and improve her communication.

And the ripple effect continues. "Our family all watched the documentary," says Mark.

"And people come up to us in the streets to say we've inspired people to take it up."

Nato chief Mark Rutte joked about the condition of Russia's naval fleet on Monday as Moscow denied one of its submarines had to surface because of technical problems.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet said the diesel-powered submarine Novorossiysk had surfaced off France to comply with navigation rules in the English Channel, through which it was shadowed by a UK warship and helicopter.

Dutch authorities had said on Saturday the submarine was under tow in the North Sea.

"What a change from the 1984 Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October. Today, it seems more like the hunt for the nearest mechanic," Rutte said in a speech in Slovenia, saying the "broken" vessel was "limping" home.

Rutte said there was "hardly any Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean left".

VChK-OGPU, a Telegram channel that publishes purported Russian security leaks, reported on 27 September that fuel was leaking into the hold of the Novorossiysk in the Strait of ­Gibraltar, raising the risk of an explosion.

As it was returning from its deployment in the Mediterranean, the Royal Navy said it tracked the vessel over three days, from 7 to 9 October.

Taking part in joint Nato efforts, the navy said HMS Iron Duke monitored the surfaced Russian Kilo-class submarine and its support tug as they passed through the Channel and into the North Sea.

On Saturday, the Dutch defence ministry said the Dutch navy had then escorted the Novorossiysk and the accompanying towing vessel.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet said on Monday that the submarine, part of a group of submarines that carry Kalibr cruise missiles, was conducting a "scheduled inter-fleet transit".

"Information disseminated by a number of media outlets about an alleged malfunction and, as a result, the emergency surfacing of the diesel-electric submarine Novorossiysk off the coast of France does not correspond to reality," the Russian Black Sea Fleet's press service said, as quoted by Interfax news agency.

"In accordance with international navigation regulations, submarines are to navigate the English Channel only while on the surface," it added.

The incident comes two weeks after the Royal Navy tracked a Russian frigate and cargo vessel through the Channel.

Al Carns, minister for the armed forces, said the navy's latest operation was "a clear sign of how the UK stands strong with our NATO allies to push back against Russian aggression".

In June, a Russian warship disguised itself using a fake ID signal while travelling through the English Channel with two sanctioned oil tankers, a BBC Verify investigation found.

It travelled alongside two vessels known to be part of Russia's "shadow fleet" - a network of tankers whose ownership can be obscured and are used to transport sanctioned oil products.